MEMBERS OF THE CULT OF SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL, PETITIONERS-APPELLEES, VS. PEDRO NARCISO, TRUSTEE-APPELLANT.

Appeal from an order of the Court of First Instance of Pangasinan to the Court of Appeals, ‘which certified the
case to Us, upon the ground that only questions of law are involved in the
appeal.

Upon the death of Policarpio Narciso, a bachelor, with­out forced heirs, residing in the
barrio of San Miguel Abu, Municipality
of Bani, Province
of Pangasinan,
sometime before August 9, 1920,
special proceeding No. 546 of the Court of First Instance of Pangasinan, for the settlement of his estate, was com­menced.  A document, executed by the deceased, on January 3, 1910, as his last will and
testament, and allowed to probate in said proceeding, provided, inter alia:

” x x x que en caso me llamara la Divina Justicia tendran derecho mis sobrinos
de primer grado y mis parientes que debieran
heredarde mis bienes expresados en este testamento re­partiran en tres; que en la primera parte es el deber
que repartiran los rnismos herederos;
en la segunda parte es mi donacion que sirve en la Ermita de este barrio con las imagines de los Santos precisamente el Patron Sr. San Miguel Arcangel
para sostener los necesarios ocasionados, y la tercera parte me compremeto dar volun­tariamente al Albacea que to nombre para que
cuidase arreglar todos  mis bienes, lo cual es el Sr. Tranquilino Jimenez.

“Todos los
bienes espresados en los docu­mento que entregue a dicho Albacea, desde hoy en adelante,
digo en realidad traspase el poder para que tendra
derecho de distribuir en la
espresada primera parte, a los herederos,
en la segunda parte es mi donacion que cuidase de mi Albacea que no podran reclamar de mis herederos en la espresada segunda parte, por que
donde previene los gastos que
sirve en la Ermita, los bultos y vestuarios
de los santos con la casa como convento de la citada Ermita; en la tercera parte es
mi promesa que le doy a mi albacea libre de toda gravamen
como cor­responde de sus trabajos que
no podran renovar de mis herederos y parrientes de ambas partes, y todos los bienes que
ya entregue al citado Albacea son los siguientes:

x        x          x          x          x          x          x          x”

Purporting to act in conformity with these provisions of the
will, on August 9, 1920, the court ordered the executor therein named, Tranquilino Jimenez, (1) to segregate from the mass of the
estate of the deceased a building used as chapel (Ermita),
a house of wood intended for convent, a bell, and the religious images and
ornaments specified in said instrument; (2) to divide the rest of the estate
into three (3) equal parts; (3) to distribute one part among the nearest
relatives^[1]
of the deceased; and (4) to keep another part for himself, as compensation for
his (executor’s) services.  The order,
likewise, provided that the remaining third part:

“x x x se destina-para las atenciones y sostenimiento del culto en la Ermita y tambien de la casa-convento y los ornamentos y estara bajo el cuidado y adrministracion del albacea Tranquilino Jimenez, quien como tal
fideicomisario prestara una fianza igual
al valor de los bienes y de
la Ermita convento y demas cosas, presentando
ademas un inventario de todos los bienes
puestos a su cuidado coma fideicomisario; x x x “

By an order, dated April 21, 1921, the court directed that said
third part be administered by the executor, as trustee thereof, for the
application of its products to the support of the Cult (to St. Michael
Archangel) as ordained by the testator, without authority to alienate the
chapel and other religious objects mentioned in the order of August 9, 1920,
but with the duty to conserve them, ac­cording to the testator’s will. Another
order, dated September 13, 1921,
commanded the executor to institute a trusteeship proceeding for the
administration of the property bequeathed for the support of the Cult in the
Chapel (Ermita) in the barrio of San Miguel.  In compliance with this order, Tranquilino Jimenez commenced special proceeding No. 979 of
the court above mentioned, which, on December
18, 1922, appointed him trustee, for the administration of said
property.

Since then, said proceeding No. 979 was included in the monthly
report, to the Department of Justice, of cases pending in the Court of First
Instance of Pangasinan, up to October 31, 1956, when
its presiding judge ordered that it be no longer included in said report,
because for all “practical purposes”, it should be “con­sidered
as terminated without prejudice, however, that the annual report of accounts of
the trustee and/or any incident that may here­inafter arise x x x be presented to the court for
its resolution.”

Meanwhile, Tranquilino Jimenez had died1
and was suc­ceeded, as trustee, by Pedro Narciso.  Thereafter, two (2) petitions were filed for
a change of trustee:  one,2 by
several members of the “Cult of San Miguel Arcangel“,
alleging mismanagement by Pedro Narciso and praying
that Bonifacio Orias,
another member of the “Cult”, be appointed in his stead; and another,3 by
Bartolome Aquino, likewise,
a regular member of said “Cult”, who prayed that he be the one
appointed as trustee.  In view of the
seeming division among the members of the “Cult”, the court issued an
order, dated Novem­ber 8, 1962,
postponing the hearing of the petitions for change of trustee and, urging the
different factions to get together and settle their internal conflicts.

On January 3, 1963, the trustee, namely, Pedro Narciso, and Carmen Narciso,
Rafael Narciso and Felix Aquino,
herein­after referred to as petitioners – as alleged heirs of the founder of
the trust, objected to the appointment of a new trustee and moved for the
reversion, to the heirs of Policarpio Narciso, of the properties held in trust, upon the ground
that the trust had been terminated by the aforementioned order of October 31,
1956, and that a trust cannot exist for more than twenty (20) years, pursuant
to Art. 870 of the Civil Code of the Philippines.  In due course, the lower court denied this
petition for reversion and set a date for the hearing of the petitions for
change of trustee.  Forthwith, the pe­titioners
interposed the present appeal, in which they insist on the reasons adduced by
them in the trial court.

We find no merit in the appeal. 
It is not true that the trust was terminated by the aforementioned order
of October 31, 1956.  The same declared Special Proceeding No. 979
terminated insofar only as the monthly report of pending cases were
concerned “without prejudice to the annual report of accounts of the
trustee and/or any incident that may arise” thereafter, which “should
be presented to the court for its resolution.”  This qualification clearly refutes pe­titioner&
pretense.

Moreover, the Civil Code of the Philippines
became effective in 1950, or thirty (30) years after the establishment of the
trust in 1920.  Art. 870 of said Code, on
which petitioners rely, is not applicable, therefore, to the case at bar, for1
“changes made and new provisions and rules laid down by this Code which
may prejudice or impair vested or acquired rights in accordance with the old
legis­lation shall have no retroactive effect,” and2 “the Civil Code of 1889 and
other previous laws shall govern rights originating under said laws, from acts
done or events which took place under their regime, even though” the New
Code “may regulate them in a different manner, or may not recognize
them,”3
apart from the fact that4 “rights to the
“inheritance of a person who died, with or without a will, before the effectivity” of the Civil Code of the Philippines,
“shall be governed by the Civil Code of 1889, by other previous laws and
by the Rules of Court.”5

It is next urged that, at any rate, perpetuities are void under
the common law and against public policy and that, accordingly, the provision
in the will of Policarpio Narciso
seeking to establish a perpetual trust is null and void.  The validity of said provision was, however,
upheld, by necessary implication, in Special Proceedings Nos. 546 and
979 of the Court of First Instance of Pangasinan:  in the first, when the Court ordered the
executor therein to submit a project of partition, giving effect to said provi­sion
of the will, and later approved1 said project of partition, as well
as directed him to initiate another judicial proceeding for the administration
of the trust; and, in the second, when the Court ap­pointed Tranquilino
Jimenez as trustee and, then, for many years, passed upon2
his accounts as such and those of his successor.3

Even if erroneous, the orders of the Court in said two (2)
proceedings recognizing and, hence, upholding, the validity of said trust and
actually enforcing as well as implementing the same, were and are valid.  The nullity of said trust cannot now be
decreed with­out, in effect, reversing said valid orders, from which no appeal
was taken by petitioners herein or their predecessors in interest, and which
had become final and executory over 40 years
ago.  The least that can be said is that
petitioners are barred, by the principle of laches,
from assailing the validity and existence of said trust.4

WHEREFORE, the order appealed from is hereby affirmed and
the records of this case remanded to the lower court for further proceedings,
in accordance with law, with costs against petitioners herein.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Reyes, JBL, Dizon, Makalintal, Zaldivar, Sanchez,
Angeles, and Fernando, JJ., concur.

Ruiz Castro, J., in the result.

^[1]
Nephews and nieces.

1
In August 1955.

2
On June 22, 1962.

3
On November 8, 1962.

1
Pursuant to Art.  2252 of the Civil Code
of the Philippines.

2
Art. 2252 of the Civil Code of the Philippines
provides.

3
Manalansang v. Manalang,
L-13646, July 26, 1960; Uson v. Del Rosario, 92 Phil. 531.

4
According to Article 2263 of the Civil Code of the Philippines.

5
Morales v. Yanez, 98 Phil. 677; Vidaurrazaga v. Court of Appeals, 91 Phil. 492.

1 Presumably.

2 Presumably.

3 Petitioner Pedro Narciso.

4 Vismanos vs. Municipality
of Tagum,
et al., L-20685, August 31, 1965;
Felix Vda. de Rodriguez vs. Rodriguez, et al.,
L-23002, July 31, 1967;
Peoples Homesite vs. Mencias,
etc. , et L-24114, Aug. 16, 1967.