Gallardo vs IAC, GR No. L-67742, October 29, 1987
Subject: Obligations and Contracts
FACTS
Meliton
claims that on Aug. 10, 1937, Pedro sold to him (Meliton) in a private
document, an unnotarized deed of sale, allegedly signed by Pedro, now deceased,
the property in question. Based on the private document of sale, the Original
Certificate of Title was cancelled and a New Certificate of Title issued in the
name of Meliton. The office of the Register of Deeds where the records were
kept were destroyed. So, by an affidavit of reconstitution, dated Dec. 2, 1958,
and upon presentation of the Owner's Duplicate Certificate of Title, the title
was administratively reconstituted and the Register of Deeds issued the
corresponding transfer certificate of title in the name of Meliton. On Nov. 17,
1976, Marta, the daughter of Pedro, executed and filed an affidavit of adverse
claim with the Office of the Register of Deeds. On December 9, 1976, a deed of
conveyance and release of claim was prepared which provided that Marta is
withdrawing the adverse claim. But Marta refused to sign the affidavit of
quitclaim.
Meliton
sued Marta by filing a complaint for quieting of title. Marta countered that
the deed of sale be declared null and void ab initio. The trial court declared
the deed of sale of August 10, 1937, as well as the reconstituted certificate
of title of Meliton void ab initio. 'The Intermediate Appellate Court affirmed
the trial court. The Supreme Court sustained both the trial and appellate
court.
ISSUE
Whether
or not the deed of sale is valid.
RULING
No.
Under
the law (Art 1356, NCC), contracts shall be obligatory, in whatever form they
may have been entered into, provided all the essential requisites for their
validity are present. However, when the law requires that a contract be in some
form in order that it may be valid or enforceable, or that a contract be proved
in a certain way, that requirement is absolute and indispensable.
The
deed of sale is not registerable under the Land Registration Act. True, a
private conveyance of registered property is valid between the parties. But the
only right the buyer of registered property in a private document is to compel
through court processes the seller to execute a deed of conveyance sufficient
in law for registration purposes.
Meliton's
reliance on Art. 1356 of the Civil Code is unfortunate. The general rule
enunciated in Art. 1356 is that contracts are obligatory, in whatever form they
may have been entered, provided all the essential requisites for their validity
are present. The next sentence provides the exception, which requires a
contract to be in some form when the law so requires for validity or
enforceability. Said law in Sec. 127 of Act 496 requires that the conveyance be
executed "before the judge of a court of record or clerk of a court of
record or a notary public or a justice of the peace, who shall certify such
acknowledgment substantially in form next hereinafter stated." Such law
was involved here. The Register of Deed's act in allowing the registration of
the private deed of sale was authorized and did not validate the defective
private document of sale.
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