HEIRS OF DATU PENDATUN, APPLICANTS AND APPELLEES, VS. THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS ET AL., OPPONENTS. THE DIRECTOR OP LANDS, APPELLANT.

This is an appeal by the Director of Lands
from a decision of the Court of First Instance of Cotabato awarding to
the Heirs of Datu Pendatun, represented by their guardian, Edward M.
Kuder, a tract of land with an area of 3,071 hectares in the district
of Buluan, Province of Cotabato.

Salipada, Tinomimbang, Abu-Bakal and Bagutao, minors, represented
by their guardian, Edward M. Kuder, filed an application on December
12, 1929, for the registration of said tract of land in accordance with
the provisions of the Land Registration Act (No. 496) or with those of
the Public Land Act (No. 2874). Some ninety private claimants filed
their respective oppositions claiming portions of said land. The
Director of Lands and the Director of Forestry opposed the application
on the ground that all of said lands are public domain.

On November 18, 1930, the private claimants and the registration
applicants made a compromise whereby the applicants excluded from their
application the eastern portion of the land described by drawing a
straight line from corner 6 to corner 43 of the applicants’ plan marked
Exhibit A containing an area of 500 hectares and the private oppositors
withdrew their opposition to the application of the heirs of Pendatun
for the remaining portion of the land. The compromise recites:

“2. The opponents hereby withdraw their opposition
to the application of the heirs of Pendatun whose ownership of the
remaining portion they acknowledge and recognize and support the
registration.”

Besides excluding the 500 hectares on the east in pursuance of said
compromise, the applicants, for some reason that does not appear in the
record, likewise “temporarily” excluded a tract of 500 hectares on the
west side of the land in question embraced within points 22 to 34 of
the said plan, Exhibit A.

On June 15, 1931, the trial court entered a judgment ordering the
registration in favor of the applicants of the entire land in question
except that which was excluded as aforesaid. The Director of Lands
makes the following assignments of error:

‘The lower court erred:

“1. In ordering the registration in favor of the
applicants of the real property involved in the case, and in not
declaring the same to be public land; and

“2. In denying the motion for new trial.”

The decision of the trial court, which is very brief and incomplete
considering the immense area of the land in question, makes the
following findings of fact which leave much to be desired in the way of
specific detail:

“De las pruebas practicadas por los solicitantes se han establecido los siguientes hechos:

“Que los solicitantes han heredado el terreno descrito en el Exhibit A
de su padre, el Datu Pendatun, quien a su vez lo heredo de su padre
Datu Ante y este de su padre el Sultan Masandag, quien tambien lo
heredo del Sultan Umbul, quien a su vez lo heredo del Sultan Diluyudin,
que era el fundador de Bago Ingued donde estan situados los terrenos en
cuestion; que los solicitanteg y sus causantes por si y por medio de
sus inquilinos han estado poseyendo el terreno solicitado desde tiempo
inmemorial de una manera pacifica, publica y abierta, continua,
adversa, exclusiva y en concepto de duenos, cultivando gran porcion del
mismo y dedicando parte al pasto de ganados, sembrandolo de arboles
frutales las partes altas y sembrando las partes bajas de palay, maiz y
otros productos; que en el terreno solicitado no existe bosque ni
arboles maderables.

“Estos hechos se deducen de las
declaraciones de los testigos de los solicitantes Salipada, Arba,
Sintuan, Lumiguis, Maraguia, Manambuay, Labu y Rugungan y corroborados
en cierta manera por los testigos de la oposicion (Ramos vs. Director of Lands, 39 Phil., 175, 176).”

We have examined the entire record in this case and come to the
conclusion that the applicants have not proven with that certainty
required by the statute that they have been in continuous and exclusive
possession, holding said land as owners, so as to bring this case
within paragraph (b) of section 45 of Act No, 2874. We are convinced that said land should be declared public domain.

The decision of the trial court, and apparently the appellees
likewise, seem to assume that by proving the descent of the claimants
from Sultan Diluyudin the applicants have proven their right to the
land in question. But the succession referred to in the decision and
the genealogical tree shown on page 3 of the appellees’ brief proves at
most a succession to political authority and does not establish in any
sense private possession by each of the individuals mentioned of the
land in question. The possession which Act No. 2874 contemplates is
“the open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and
occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona fide
claim of acquisition of ownership.” Even assuming that the rights and
prerogatives of Sultan Diluyudin passed by succession in the line as
aforesaid, there is nothing in the evidence that convinces us that any
of them ever made a bona fide claim of acquisition of ownership or that any of them held adversely and exclusively for himself and against all the world.

Neither the applicants nor their predecessors ever declared the
land for the purpose of taxation until the year 1929. Most of it is
still uncultivated, covered with trees, cogon and tall grass. It “is
probable that from time to time nomadic individuals occupied and
cultivated small portions of the land but later abandoned it.

There being no evidence whatever that the property in question was
ever acquired by the applicants or their ancestors either by
composition title from the Spanish Government or by possessory
information title or by any other means for the acquisition of public
lands, the property must be held to be public domain.

The judgment of the court below is reversed and the land described
in the application and shown on Exhibit A thereof is declared to be
public domain. Costs de oficio.

Street, Abad Santos, Hull, and Diaz, JJ., concur.