CRISTOBAL MARCOS, APPLICANT AND APPELLANT, VS. THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS ET AL., OPPOSITORS AND APPELLEES.

This is an appeal taken by the applicant
Cristobal Marcos from the judgment entered by the Court of First
Instance of Masbate in registration case No. 61, G. L. R. O. Record No.
40263, the dispositive part of which reads as follows:

“Wherefore, in accordance with the evidence
presented, the court declares that the applicant Cristobal Marcos,
married to Justa Loneso, is the owner of the land described in plan,
Exhibit A, as shown by the sketch, Exhibit 3, of the Director of Lands,
and upon amendment of the application and the plan Exhibit A, in
conformity with the facts above stated, the court orders the
registration of said land in favor of Cristobal Marcos and his wife
Justa Loneso. After this decision has become final, it is ordered that
the corresponding judgments, orders and decrees be issued.

“The applicant shall pay the costs of the proceedings. It is so ordered.”

In support of his appeal, the appellant assigns the following alleged
errors as committed by the trial court in its said decision, to wit:

“1. The trial court erred in sustaining the opposition of the Director of Forestry on the following grounds: (a)
that the portion of land (parcel 1) is a mangrove swamp belonging to
the Government included in the plan of the land applied for, and that
the Government has issued a license to the Syndicate Mining Company to
cut timber thereon; (b) that the portion (parcel 2) forms a
part of the forestal reservation certified by the Government to be
unsuitable for agricultural purposes.

“2. The trial court
erred in declaring that the mangrove swamp, which bounds the land
applied for on the south, is included in the plan of the applicant.

“3. The trial court erred in sustaining the opposition of the Director
of Lands on the ground that the portion objected to by him is public
land which is not included in the royal title of Aldecoa and Company.

“4. The trial court erred in not ordering the issuance of a title to
all the land applied for in favor of the applicant, with the exception
of the portion occupied by the municipal cemetery in the barrio of San
Isidro, Aroroy, Masbate, Philippine Islands.”

This case originated from an application filed by Cristobal Marcos
praying for the confirmation of his title to the land the boundaries,
area and technical description of which are shown in the plan attached
to the application; and the registration thereof in his name, in
accordance with the Land Registration Act, invoking in his favor the
benefits granted by Chapter 8 of Act No. 2874, by reason of the fact
that he has been in possession of said land, built a wire fence around
it and dedicated it to the cultivation of coconuts and to pasturage.

Said application was opposed by the Director of Lands through the
Attorney-General, who alleged that the land, the registration of which
is sought, is public land belonging to the Government of the United
States under the control and administration of that of the Philippine
Islands, and that the applicant has not proven that he, either by
himself or by his predecessors, has sufficient title for the
registration of said parcel which has an area of 13,320,340 square
meters, or that he has acquired it from the Spanish Government by
purchase or adjustment with the State; or even obtained possessory
information which is equivalent to an adjustment according to the
provisions of the Royal Decree of February 13, 1894; and prayed that
said application be denied and the land, the registration of which is
sought, be declared public land.

The Director of Forestry likewise opposed the application alleging
that in the parcel of land sought to be registered are included certain
portions of public forest of the Government of the Philippine Islands,
and prayed that said portions be segregated from said parcel.

The following facts have been proven at the trial, some without dispute and others by a preponderance of the evidence, to wit:

On March 1, 1889, the General Director of Civil Administration of
these Islands, during the former regime, issued in favor of Aldecoa y
Cia. a title by adjustment with the State to a piece of land having an
area of 898 hectares, 18 ares and 50 centares, situated at Natimbunan,
barrio of Dayjagan, within the jurisdiction of the municipality of San
Agustin, Province of Masbate and Ticao, which was bounded on the north
by public land, on the east by the Dayjagan River, on the south by said
river, the land of Angelo Caballero and mangrove swamps of the
Government, and on the west by said mangrove swamps, the seashore and
the Tagarigni Brook. (Exhibit A.)

On March 11,1896, Aldecoa y Cia. sold said land to Tomas Madrid by
means of a public instrument, Exhibit B, wherein the same area and the
same boundaries in the adjustment title, Exhibit A, were stated.

On July 2, 1906, Tomas Madrid declared the land in his name for
taxation purposes (Exhibit “2-Director of Lands”) describing it as
follows: North, public land; east, Dayjagan River; south, Dayjagan
River and the land of Angelo Caballero; west, mangrove swamps, seashore
and Tagarigni Brook. Area, 898 hectares, 18 ares and 50 centares.

On November 8, 1912, Tomas Madrid, in turn, sold the land to one
Severo Madrid, stating in the deed of sale that said land is situated
in the barrio of San Isidro; that it has an-area of approximately 898
hectares, 18 ares and 50 centares; and is bounded on the north by
public land, on the east by the Dayjagan River; on the south by said
Dayjagan River, the land of Angelo Caballero and mangrove swamps of the
State; and on the west by said mangrove swamps, the seashore and the
Tagarigni Brook. (Exhibit C.)

On December 9, 1927, Severo Madrid, in turn, sold the land to the
herein applicant Cristobal Marcos, describing it as situated in San
Isidro, municipality of Aroroy, Province of Masbate; having an area of
approximately 1,400 hectares, and bounded on the north by public land
and without any visible sign; on the south by the Dayjagan River and
the land of Angelo Caballero, with said river as a visible sign; on the
east by said Dayjagan River, and without any other visible sign except
the river; and on the west by the seashore and the Tagarigni Brook
(Exhibit B).

On March 21, 1929, a revision of said tax declaration was made in
the name of Severo Madrid stating that said land had an area of 1,095
hectares, 51 ares and 36 centares, and is bounded on the north by
public land, on the east by the Dayjagan River and the land of Angelo
Caballero; on the south by said Dayjagan River, and on the west by the
seashore and a brook. (Exhibit “1-Director of Lands.”)

In view of the application filed by Cristobal Marcos, the Director
of Lands ordered an inspection of the land by one of his inspectors,
who submitted his report (Exhibits “3 and 4-Director of Lands”), the
pertinent portions of which are as follows:

“11. That the northwestern portion of this land
with an area of about 50 hectares is inside of Block A-Timber Land of
the Bureau of Forestry;

“12. That all the papers, documents,
and tax declarations compiled and certified by the former investigator
which were presented as exhibits in this investigation are found
correct upon which the owner bases his claim of ownership.

“13. That these papers and documents show that the land in question had
already passed through several hands when Cristobal Marcos acquired it
through sale from the last owner, Severo Madrid.

“14. That
based upon the ‘titulo real’ which is marked Exhibit A, the claim of
Cristobal Marcos is for 8,981,850 square meters, while the area
surveyed is 13,320,744 square meters. Thus, an excess of 4,338,894
square meters is found.

“15. That the said ‘titulo real’
also states that the boundary on the west is the sea and the Tagarigni
River as corroborated in the Tax Declaration No. 475, but the survey
had encroached beyond the Tagarigni, thereby increasing the area
claimed.”

From the year 1924 up to 1930, the Bureau of
Forestry has been issuing permits to cut timber and firewood within
certain areas of the land, shown on the blue print (Exhibit “1-Director
of Forestry”) as “Parcel No. 1 and Parcel No. 2” (Exhibits Nos. “1 to
11-Director of Forestry”).

The land granted to Aldecoa y Cia. by composition with the State
was used by said company and its successor Tomas Madrid as pasture for
their cattle.

The principal question to be decided in this appeal is whether or
not the land, the title to which was granted to Aldecoa y Cia. by the
Spanish Government by virtue of a composition with the State (Exhibit
E), comprises all the land having an area of 1,400 hectares, the
registration of which is sought by the applicant-appellant Cristobal
Marcos, in accordance with the provisions of Act No. 496, otherwise
known as the Land Registration Act.

It was noted that the land the title to which was granted by the
Spanish Government by means of a gratuitous and onerous composition
with the State (Exhibit E), is situated at Natimbunang, barrio of
Dayjagan, within the municipality of San Agustin, Province of Masbate
and Ticao; has an area of 898 hectares, 18 ares and 50 centares; and is
bounded on the north by public land, on the east by the Dayjagan River,
on the south by said Dayjagan River, the land of Angelo Caballero and
mangrove swamps of the State, and on the west by said mangrove swamps,
the seashore and the Tagarigni Brook; that in the deed of sale dated
March 11, 1926, which was executed by Aldecoa y Cia. in favor of Tomas
Madrid (Exhibit D), the said area and boundaries were stated; that in
the deed of sale of said land dated November 8, 1920, which was
executed by Tomas Madrid in favor of Severo Madrid, the same area and
boundaries were stated; that in the sworn tax declaration (Exhibit
“2-Director of Lands”) made by Tomas Madrid on July 2, 1906, the same
area and boundaries were stated; that only in the deed of sale executed
by Severo Madrid on December 9, 1927, in favor of the herein
applicant-appellant Cristobal Marcos, was it stated for the first time
that the land was used for pasture and had an area of approximately
1,400 hectares, being bounded on the north by public land and without
any visible sign; on the south by the Dayjagan River and the land of
Angelo Caballero, with said river as a visible sign; on the east by
said Dayjagan River, with no visible sign except the river; and on the
west by the seashore and the Tagarigni Brook; and that on March
21,1929, upon the revision of said tax declaration on said land in the
name of Severo Madrid, it was stated that the area of said land was
1,095 hectares, 51 ares and 36 centares. It will be noted that in the
sale made by Aldecoa y Cfa. in favor of Tomas Madrid, on March 11,
1896, the tax declaration made by Tomas Madrid on July 2, 1906, and the
deed of sale executed by Tomas Madrid in favor of Severo Madrid, on
November 8,1912, it had always been stated by the successive vendors
thereof that the land had an area of 898 hectares, 18 ares and 50
centares, and that only in the deed of sale executed by Severo Madrid
in favor of Cristobal Marcos, on December 9, 1927, was it stated for
the first time that the area of the land was approximately 1,400
hectares, without specifying, as in the former deeds of sale, the
number of ares and centares; and that on the northern part thereof
adjoining public land there was no visible sign, taking particular care
to state the existence or non-existence of visible signs in the
description of each boundary; but upon revision, in the name of Severo
Madrid’ who sold the land to Cristobal Marcos, of the tax declaration
originally filed by Tomas Madrid, it was stated that the area thereof
was 1,095 hectares, 50 ares and 36 centares.

It appears therefore that from November 8, 1912, when Severo Madrid
acquired the land, to December 9,1927, when he sold it to Cristobal
Marcos, said land increased by about 600 hectares.

To justify his claim that the land, the title to which was granted
by the Spanish Government to Aldecoa y Cia. by a gratuitous and onerous
composition with the State, really had an area of 1,400 hectares, the
applicant-appellant Cristobal Marcos attempted to prove that the entire
area described in his plan has been successively used for pasture by
Aldecoa y Cia., Tomas Madrid, Severo Madrid and himself, and had a wire
fence which has already been destroyed, with no remaining visible signs
except molave posts, a rock on which a balete and a banuyo tree
have grown, all on the northern part thereof which adjoined public
land, and now that of Domiciano Otaysa. If said signs had existed
during all that time, it is strange that they have not been mentioned
upon the execution of the deed of sale, Exhibit B, by Severo Madrid in
favor of Cristobal Marcos, on December 9, 1927. On the contrary,
particular care was taken in stating on what boundaries were there
visible signs and where there were none, particularly the absence of
every visible sign on the northern side which adjoins public land.

Granting the non-existence of any boundary mark on the northern
side of the land sought to be registered, the testimony of all the
witnesses who testified on posts and wire fences, fails by itself; and
if said signs really exist, they have been placed at a date subsequent
to that of the sale of the land by Severo Madrid to the herein
applicant-appellant Cristobal Marcos, on December 9, 1927, when, as
heretofore said, it was clearly and expressly stated that no visible
sign existed on said northern side. Furthermore, the kind and number of
head of cattle that were pastured on said land were not mentioned in
order to prove whether or not the excess of more than 600 hectares over
the area stated in the title by composition with the State, together
with the latter, was necessary for the maintenance and development of
the industry and infer therefrom the actual possession and occupation
of the 1,400 hectares sought to be registered. But even if it had been
sufficiently proven that Cristobal Marcos had been in the real and
actual possession and occupation of said excess of 600 hectares, and
had utilized it as pasture land, nevertheless, he would not be entitled
to its registration in accordance with the provisions of section 45 (b)
of Act No. 2874, inasmuch as his said possession under claim of
ownership only began in the year 1927, and not in the year 1894.

In view of the foregoing considerations, we are of the opinion and
so hold that when in a title to a parcel of public land, acquired by
composition with the State and issued under the former regime, in
accordance with the rules and regulations then in force, the area
thereof is stated in hectares, ares and centares, and the boundaries,
among them being a parcel of public land, are not all natural, the
registerable area cannot exceed that stated in said title, unless it is
conclusively proven that the excess thereof has been acquired for the
period, and in the manner and form prescribed in the Public Land Act
now in force.

Wherefore, finding no error in the appealed judgment, the same is
affirmed in all its parts, with costs against the appellant. So ordered.

Malcolm, Imperial, Butte, and Goddard, JJ., concur.