36 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

0
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
G.R. No. 91797. August 7, 1992. *

WIDOWS & ORPHANS ASSOCIATION, INC., petitioner, vs. COURT

OF APPEALS and ORTIGAS & COMPANY LIMITED
PARTNERSHIP, respondents.
Remedial Law; Civil Procedure; Bar by prior judgment.; A party cannot evade the
application of the principle of bar by prior judgment by simply varying the form of
the action or by adopting a different mode of presenting its case.—We should add
that Widora’s prayer for alternative relief in the form of confirmation of imperfect
title over the land covered by its application for registration, is immaterial. That
alternative relief is also premised upon Widora’s claim that Ortigas had fraudulently
registered the land in its (Ortigas) own name such that the land remained
presumptively public land. The firmly entrenched rule is that a party can not evade
the application of the principle of bar by prior judgment by simply varying the form
of the action or by adopting a different mode of presenting its case.
Same; Same; Jurisdiction; Lack of jurisdiction which renders an action dismissible
may be determined by the court seized with it motu proprio, and may be raised by a
party, at any stage of the proceedings even on appeal.—We believe and so hold that
there was no such waiver of res adjudicata by Ortigas in the case at bar. It is most
important to note, in the first place, that the defense of res adjudicata pleaded by
Ortigas in this case relates ultimately to the jurisdiction of the land registration court
to try LRC No. Q-336. The Court of Appeals correctly stressed that Ortigas having
shown that the land applied for by Widora is already registered in Ortigas’ name, the
land registration court simply had no jurisdiction to decree the registration of that
same land in the name of some other person. The well-established rule is that lack
of jurisdiction which renders an action dismissible may be determined by the court
seized with it motu proprio, and may be raised by a party, at any stage of the
proceedings even on appeal.
PETITION for reconsideration to review the decision of the Court of
Appeals.
The facts are stated in the resolution of the Court.
________________
* THIRD DIVISION.
361
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 361
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
 Quijano & Padilla for petitioner.
Jose S. Songco for private respondent.
RESOLUTION
FELICIANO, J.:
On 27 August 1974, petitioner Widows’ and Orphans Association, Inc.
(“Widora”) instituted Land Registration Case (“LRC”) No. Q-336 before
Branch 4 of the Court of First Instance of Quezon City (now Branch 83
of the Regional Trial Court, same city). Widora applied for original
registration of title over a parcel of land described in Plan LRC (SWO)-
15352, alleging that said property is covered by Titulo Propiedad No.
4136 dated 25 April 1984, supposedly issued in the name of one,
deceased, Mariano San Pedro y Esteban. In an amended application,
1

Widora stated that the land applied for was situated at Malitlit-Ugong,
Quezon City, with an area of 156 hectares. 2

On 13 October 1978, private respondent Ortigas & Co. Limited

Partnership, Inc. (“Ortigas”) filed an opposition to the application. This 3

pleading was followed by a motion to dismiss dated 23 October 1978. 4

In a supplementary report dated 14 November 1978, the Commissioner

of Land Registration informed the trial court that the land sought to be
registered was “identically the same” as that covered by Lot 7 of
Transfer Certificate of Title (“TCT”) No. 77652 and of Lot 8 of TCT
No. 77653, both of which were issued and standing in the name of
Ortigas. 5

In an order dated 20 April 1979, the trial court set the case for hearing to
enable Widora to prove its assertion that TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653
were not derived from the Original Certificates of Title (“OCT”)
referred to on their faces (i.e., OCT
___________________
1 Decision, p. 2; Rollo, p. 24; unless otherwise qualified, references to the “Rollo” are the
folio of G.R. No. 91797.
2 Id.
3 Rollo, of C.A.-G.R. SP No. 18085, p. 65.
4 Id., pp. 70-71.
5 Id., p. 90.
362
36 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
2
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
Nos. 19, 336, 337 and 344) and to give Ortigas an opportunity to show the
contrary. 6

For nine (9) years, from 1979 until 1988, hearings were held where the
parties adduced evidence in support of their respective contentions. 7

In an order dated 30 March 1988, the trial court denied Ortigas’ motion to
dismiss, holding that its TCT’s were apparently not derived from the
OCT’s mentioned on their faces and did not appear to have been based on
an existing original decree of registration.
8

Ortigas’ motion for reconsideration having been denied, and the trial court
having set the case for hearing on the merits, Ortigas filed a petition for
certiorari with prayer for a writ of preliminary injunction with the public
respondent Court of Appeals on 10 July 1989. 9

In a decision dated 27 November 1989, the Court of Appeals gave due

course to the petition and nullified the trial court’s order of 30 March
1988. It held that TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653 were derived from OCT
No. 351, which in turn was based on Decree of Registration No. 1425
issued in favor of Ortigas’ predecessor-in-interest in 1905, in G.L.R.O.
Record No. 917 which had been tried by the Land Registration Court of
Manila. The Court of Appeals dismissed LRC No. Q-336 because the land
subject thereof was already registered in favor of Ortigas, with the result
that the trial court had no jurisdiction over the subject matter of the
action. 10

Its motion for reconsideration having been denied, Widora filed the
present petition for review with the Court on 22 March 1990. In a decision
dated 28 August 1991, the Court’s Third Division set aside the decision
of the Court of Appeals and reinstated the order of the trial court dated 30
March 1988.
The Court’s Third Division held that the Court of Appeals erred in making
factual findings determinative of Widora’s ap-
_________________
6 Id., p. 108.
7 Id., pp. 12 and 328.
8 Id., pp. 45-47.
9 Id., pp. 2, 40 and 41.
10 Decision, pp. 9-12; Rollo, pp. 31-34.
363
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 363
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
plication on the basis of “secondary evidence” offered by Ortigas, in
unilaterally correcting entries in the Ortigas Torrens titles and held that
the controversy regarding the authenticity of said titles should be resolved
in “full-blown” hearings before the trial court.
11

Hence, the present Motion for Reconsideration filed by Ortigas.

Examination of the Court’s Decision of 28 August 1991 shows that two
(2) considerations led the Court to remand this case to the trial court to
hear Widora’s application for land registration on the merits.
Firstly, the Court was apparently not entirely certain that the land covered
by Widora’s application was already registered under the Torrens system
in Ortigas’ name, such that it appeared prudent to conduct a “full-blown”
trial on the merits to clear up that matter, considering: (1) Ortigas argued
that its ownership of the land which is the subject of Widora’s application
was confirmed by Decree No. 1425 issued in G.L.R.O. Record No. 917
of the Land Registration Court of Manila in 1905; however, Widora’s
evidence tended to show that Decree No. 1425 adjudicated to Ortigas only
seventeen (17) hectares of land situated in Sta. Ana, Manila, while
Widora’s application related to one hundred fifty-six (156) hectares of
land situated in Quezon City; and (2) it appeared that Ortigas’ TCT Nos.
77652 and 77653 carry some erroneous statements on their face relating
to “their source or mother Original Certificate of Title (OCT)” lending
some credence to Widora’s contention that the genuineness of those TCTs
was dubious.
The second consideration was the feeling that the Court of Appeals should
not have resolved these factual uncertainties by using “secondary”
evidence offered by Ortigas, considering the limited nature of certiorari
jurisdiction, since Torrens titles are conclusive on their face and any
inaccuracies of entries thereon are to be corrected only by the proper land
registration court.
In the Motion for Reconsideration and in the oral hearing on that Motion,
Ortigas invited our attention to the existence of previously decided cases
showing that the factual uncertainties
_____________
11 Id., pp. 7-14; Rollo, pp. 234-241.
364
36 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
4
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
we had noted had already been adjudicated by the Court with finality and
are now matters of judicial notice. 12

In this Resolution, the Court will address this principal argument of

Ortigas as well as the argument concerning the character of evidence
submitted by Ortigas before the trial court.
I.
In holding that the Court of Appeals should not have resolved the factual
issues considering the nature of certiorari jurisdiction, the Court relied on
Dioquino v. Intermediate Appellate Court. In Dioquino, this Court
13

rejected the factual findings made by the Court of Appeals in the course
of resolving a petition for review filed under Section 22, B.P. Blg. 129,
because, inter alia, those factual findings were based on evidence
presented ex parte as appendices to a motion for reconsideration from the
decision of the trial court. Considering that no evidence had been
presented by either party in the principal proceedings, either before the
Municipal Circuit Trial Court or before the Regional Trial Court, the
Court in Dioquino concluded that the Court of Appeals’ power to resolve
issues of fact under Section 9, paragraph 2, B.P. Blg. 129, was misapplied
because the opposing party had no real opportunity to reject the evidence
submitted ex parte by its opponent. 14

Careful examination of the Dioquino case shows that the facts there are
so different from those of the present case as to render our holding in
Dioquino inapplicable here. Here, the Court of Appeals had conducted
hearings on four (4) occasions, during which it required both parties to
present evidence to establish their respective contentions on Ortigas’ right
to a writ of preliminary injunction. At these hearings, both parties
reproduced before the Court of Appeals the same evidence they had
adduced before the trial court during the 9-year long hearings on Ortigas’
motion to dismiss, which evidence tended to support their respective
contentions on the derivation of Orti-
_____________
12 Memorandum, pp. 12-13; Rollo, pp. 313-314.
13 179 SCRA 163 (1989); Decision, pp. 8-9; Rollo, pp. 235-236.
14 179 SCRA at 166-167 and 172-173.
365
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 365
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
gas’s TCTs. Thus, the acceptance of ex parte evidence which the Court
15

rejected in Dioquino, never occurred in the instant case. Moreover, the

determination of whether an inferior court had arbitrarily disregarded
preponderant evidence of record adduced in protracted hearings before it,
is a proper subject of inquiry by an appellate court in a certiorari
proceeding.
II.
In arriving at its conclusion that TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653 are proper
derivatives of OCT No. 351, which in turn had been issued pursuant to
Decree No. 1425, the Court of Appeals had relied on (a) a certified true
copy of OCT No. 351; (b) survey plans prepared by Ortigas’ Geodetic
Engineer, Mr. Carlos Angeles, which were based on plottings of the
boundaries of parcels of land appearing in the Notice of Initial Hearing in
G.L.R.O. Record No. 917 and in the technical description found in the
body of OCT No. 351, and in TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653; and (c) the
testimony of Engineer Angeles that these plottings showed that the land
covered by the TCTs was inside the larger parcel of land covered by the
OCT, which in turn was inside the much larger parcel of land (The
Hacienda de Mandaloyon) adjudicated to Ortigas’ predecessor-in-interest
by Decree No. 1425 issued in G.L.R.O. Record No. 917. As noted earlier,
16

the above evidence had been presented by Ortigas before the trial court
during the prolonged hearings on its motion to dismiss. The Court
described the above evidence as “secondary” in nature and noted that
Ortigas did not establish the due execution and subsequent loss of the
original documents, as required by the Rule on Secondary Evidence. 17
After careful re-examination of the evidence of record and applicable
rules of evidence, the Court considers that the word “secondary evidence”
was inaccurate. The copy of OCT No. 351 offered by Ortigas was a
certified
_______________
15 Rollo of C.A.-G.R. SP No. 18085, pp. 285 and 460; Folder of Exhibits for Ortigas in SP
No. 18085; Folder of Exhibits for Widora in SP No. 18085.
16 Decision, pp. 4-6; Rollo, pp. 26-28.
17 Section 5, Rule 130; Decision, p. 7; Rollo, p. 234.
366
36 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
6
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
true copy of the original thereof found in the Registration Book of the
Register of Deeds of Rizal. The admissibility of such a copy in court
18

proceedings is an exception to the ordinary rule on secondary evidence; 19

such admissibility is in fact mandated by Section 47 of Act No. 496 (The

Land Registration Act). Under the Land Registration Act which was in
20

force at the time OCT No. 351 was issued, the original thereof found in
the Registration Book of the Register of Deeds of Rizal was an official
transcript of Decree No. 1425, with respect to the land covered by such
decree situated in the Province of Rizal. 21

Thus, OCT No. 351 constitutes direct proof of the existence of Decree No.
1425 upon which the Ortigas TCTs (Nos. 77652 and
______________
18 Rollo, p. 256.
19 Sections 3[d] and 7, Rule 130, Rules of Court.
20 Section 47 of Act No. 496 provides: “SEC. 47. The original certificate in the registration
book, any copy thereof duly certified under the signature of the clerk, or of the register of
deeds of the province or city where the land is situated and the seal of the court, and also
the owner’s duplicate certificate shall be received as evidence in all courts of the Philippine
Islands and shall be conclusive as to all matters contained therein except so far as otherwise
provided in this Act.” (Italics supplied)
21 Sections 40 and 41 of Act No. 496 provide:
“SEC. 40. Every decree of registration shall bear the day of the year, hour and minute of its entry,
and shall be signed by the clerk. x x x The decree shall be stated in a convenient form for
transcription upon the certificates of title hereinafter mentioned.
SEC. 41. Immediately after final decision by the court directing the registration of any property,
the clerk shall send a certified copy of such decision to the chief of the General Land Registration
Office, who shall prepare the decree in accordance with section forty of Act Numbered Four
Hundred and ninety-six, and he shall forward a certified copy of said decree to the register of
deeds of the province or city in which the property is situated. The register of deeds shall transcribe
the decree in a book to be called the ‘Registration Book’ in which the leaf, or leaves, in consecutive
order shall be devoted exclusively to each title. The entry made by the register of deeds in this
book in each case shall be the original certificate of title, and shall be signed by him and sealed
by his office. x x x” (Italics supplied)
367
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 367
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
77653) are based. We believed further that the Court of Appeals was
justified in relying upon the plotting prepared by Engineer Carlos Angeles
and his testimony explaining the significance thereof, notwithstanding the
secondary nature of that plotting and testimony. For, as will be seen
shortly, the authenticity and correctness of these survey plans and of
Engineer Angeles’s explanation thereof had already been judicially
sustained in previously decided cases.
III.
In its Motion for Reconsideration and its supporting memorandum,
Ortigas argued that the seeming factual uncertainties relating to its TCTs
which had impelled the Court to order a remand of this case to the trial
court, had already been resolved with finality in previously decided cases
and are now matters of judicial notice.
We have reviewed the underlying record carefully and must conclude that
this claim of Ortigas is impressed with considerable merit. When evidence
of record in the instant case is considered together with the findings and
conclusions embodied in previously decided cases, the factual
uncertainties initially feared by the Court are dissipated. In truth,
resolution of these uncertainties results from the application of the
principle of res judicata and of its two (2) component concepts, i.e.,
conclusiveness of judgment and bar by prior judgment.
As early as 1906, in Cia. Agricola de Ultramar v. Domingo, et. al., this 22

Court affirmed on appeal the trial court’s confirmation of the title of La

Compania Agricola de Ultramar as registered owner under the Torrens
System of the Hacienda de Mandaloyon. Such confirmation, referring to
title over a specific thing, has now acquired immutability and
incontestability. Thus, in Ortigas v. Hon. Ruiz the Court ruled that the
23 24

Ortigas & Co., Ltd. Partnership was the successor-in-interest of

_______________
22 6 Phil. 246 (1906).
23 Section 49[a], Rule 39; Vda. de Cailles v. Mayuga, 170 SCRA 347, 356 (1989).
24 148 SCRA 326 (1987).
368
36 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
8
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
La Compania Agricola de Ultramar and can invoke the benefits of the
Court’s 1906 ruling, under the doctrine of the law of the case, to defeat an
action for annulment of some of its transfer certificates of title on the
ground of alleged fraud. 25

The Court noted in its 1906 decision that the identity and area of the
Hacienda de Mandaloyon were not disputed by the oppositors in the land
registration proceeding. Neither was the validity of the land registration
26

proceeding therein impugned by said oppositors. Hence the Court had no

occasion there to discuss the detailed matters dealt with below.
However, in at least two subsequent cases cited by Ortigas, the Supreme
Court had occasion to affirm decisions rendered by the Court of Appeals,
based on facts adduced before the Courts of First Instance, clarifying these
matters. The legal conclusions drawn in these two cases, as well as the
factual findings on which they were based, supplemented the Cia.
Agricola ruling and demonstrate that the land registration court hearing
Widora’s application in LRC No. Q-336, could not have acquired
jurisdiction over the land subject of the application, since that land is
already registered under the Torrens system (TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653)
and in fact formed part of a larger tract of land similarly previously
brought under the Torrens system in the name of Ortigas’ predecessor-in-
interest.
IV.
In the first of these cases, Felipe C. Navarro v. Ortigas & Co. Ltd.
Partnership, this Court affirmed in 1979 by way of a minute resolution
27

the decision of the Court of Appeals in C.A.-G.R. No. 53125-R dated 13

December 1978. In that decision, the Court of Appeals established that
28

the land registration application of La Compania Agricola de Ultramar

over the
________________
25 Id., pp. 331 and 335-336.
26 Cia. Agricola at p. 247.
27 G.R. No. L-50156, promulgated 7 May 1979, final judgment entered 22 June 1979, Rollo
of C.A.-G.R. No. 53125-R, p. 541; Rollo of G.R. No. L-50156, p. 110.
28 Penned by J. Ramon Gaviola Jr.
369
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 369
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
Hacienda de Mandaloyon was granted under Decree No. 1425, actually
issued under G.L.R.O. Record No. 917 by the Land Registration Court of
Manila in 1905, the very same Decree affirmed by this Court in its 1906
decision. The Court of Appeals noted that Ortigas had established this
proposition by offering an extant portion of Decree No. 1425 covering
land within the territorial jurisdiction of the City of Manila, which
“coincides with a portion of the entire vast tract of land embraced by the
technical description appearing in the notice of initial hearing published
in the Manila American and (in) La Democracia (English and Spanish
language newspapers of general circulation existing in 1904, certified true
copies of which were offered in evidence by Ortigas) and was distinctly
shown in a map or sketch plotted by Mr. Carlos Angeles, Geodetic
Engineer.” 29

By way of background, the Navarro case involved a suit for injunction

instituted by Ortigas on 11 February 1972 before Branch 16 of the Court
of First Instance of Rizal [docketed as Civil Case No. Q-16265] in order
to restrain a certain Felipe Navarro from fraudulently selling portions of
its property to innocent third persons. Felipe Navarro was allegedly the
attorney-in-fact of the physical occupants of a 17,955 square meter parcel
of land owned by Ortigas and bounded by Amado T. Reyes St., Harapin
ng Bukas St. and Luna St., San Juan, Manila. Felipe Navarro answered
the complaint by impugning the validity of the Torrens titles held by
Ortigas over the entire Hacienda de Mandaloyon, situated partially in
Manila, partially in Quezon City and partially in Pasig, because, among
30
other things, they were allegedly declared void in a decision rendered by
Branch 15 of the Court of First Instance of Rizal in Civil Case No. 7-
M(10339). 31

__________________
29 Rollo, pp. 327, 351 and 356.
30 A total of 235 TCTs, including TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653, as plotted in Sheet 5 of Psu-
25904 [Index of Exhibits, Civil Case No. Q-16265, p. 12; Rollo of C.A.-G.R. No. 53125-
R, p. 20], the same piece of documentary evidence [Annex K-1] offered by Ortigas in the
present Widora case to show the location of the land covered by these TCTs.
31 This decision was in fact nullified by the Court of Appeals in
370
37 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
0
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
After trial, CFI Judge Sergio Apostol rejected Navarro’s contention in a
decision granting injunction dated 16 December 1972, holding that the
Ortigas titles were indefeasible, being based on Decree No. 1425 issued
in 1905. 32

Before reaching the conclusion that the Ortigas titles had become
indefeasible, Judge Apostol satisfied himself as to the existence of
original Decree of Registration No. 1425, issued in 1905 in G.L.R.O.
Record No. 917, from which these titles were derived:
“There seems to be no question that there exists in the dockets of the General Land
Registration Office a case known as G.L.R.O. Record No. 917 with La Compania
Agricola de Ultramar as petitioner. The record of said case is, however, no longer
complete. Copies of the application for registration, plan technical description,
decision and decree can no longer be found. However, the expediente of the case
still contains documents which reflect part of the proceedings that transpired therein,
among which are:
1  1.
‘Mocion Pidiento Se Deja Sin Efecto A La Rebeldia’, dated April 13, 1905;
2  2.
‘Decision on Motion to Vacate General Default’ dated March 29, 1905;
3  3.
‘Minutes of the session of the Land Registration Court presided by the
Honorable Auxiliary Judge James Ross on the 29th day of March, 1905 in
G.L.R.O. Record No. 917;
4  4.
‘Minutes of the session of the Land Registration Court presided by the
Honorable Auxiliary Judge James Ross on the 29th day (sic) of March, 1905
in G.L.R.O. Record No. 917;
5  5.
‘Mocion Emmendado Pidiendo Se Deja sin Efecto A La Sentencia Por
Rebeldia’ and
6  6.
‘Mocion Pidiendo Se Deja Sin Efecto A La Rebeldia.
The foregoing, the court believes, establishes beyond doubt that there was such
a land registration case known as G.L.R.O. Record No. 917 with Compania Agricola
de Ultramar as petitioner.
xxx xxx xxx
_______________
C.A.-G.R. CV No. 00039-R by a decision dated 12 November 1971. The Court of Appeals
decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court in G.R. No. L-34440 (See below, Part V).
32 Rollo, pp. 327-329 and 334; Rollo of C.A.-G.R. No. 53125-R, pp. 20, 22, 517.
371
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 371
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
Defendant, however, contends that because the decree in that case could no longer
be found in the expediente of the case, Decree No. 1425, the decree number
appearing in the titles issued under G.L.R.O. Record No. 917, is non-existent and
fictitious.
To rebut this contention of the defendant, plaintiff presented the following evidence:
1  1.
A certified xerox copy of page 18 of the Book of Decrees, Bk. I;
2  2.
A certified xerox copy of page 19 of the same book;
3  3.
A certified xerox copy of Decree No. 1425 insofar as it covers the areas located
in Manila;
4  4.
A copy of the letter of transmittal from the Clerk of Court to the Register of
Deeds of Manila dated August 15, 1907 signed by (Clerk of the Land
Registration Court) A.K. Jones requesting that a separate title be issued for
each parcel of land covered by Decree No. 1425; and
5  5.
A certification issued by Alberto H. Lingayo, Chief Surveyor of the Land
Registration Commission to the effect that in the index card of ordinary cases
kept in the Land Registration Commission, La Compania Agricola de
Ultramar appears to be the petitioner in G.L.R.O. Record Nos. 699, 875 and
917 and that Decree Nos. 240, 696 and 1425 were issued on August 9, 1904,
September 14, 1905 and April 26, 1905, respectively in these cases as (shown
by) the Decree Book of Ordinary Cases of the Commission.
This Court finds that there is nothing in Exhibits ‘7’, ‘384’ or ‘CCCC’ (evidence of
defendant Navarro) from which it may be inferred that Decree No. 1425 is non-
existent or fictitious. On the contrary, the wordings of these certifications imply that
such a decree did exist but the same can no longer be found in the expedients of
G.L.R.O. Record No. 917 because it was lost during the war.” (Citations of
33
evidence omitted, italics supplied)
Judge Apostol also established that the Ortigas titles covered a large tract
of land described in the technical description appearing in the initial notice
of hearing in G.L.R.O. Record No. 917:
_____________
33 Record on appeal, pp. 331-335; Rollo of C.A.-G.R. No. 53125-R, p. 77-A.
372
37 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
2
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
“All these titles were traced back to their respective Original Certificates of Title,
which were issued under G.L.R.O. Record Nos. 699, 875 and 917. Finally, it
(Ortigas) proved that the lands in question are all embraced by the land described
in the notice of initial hearing in G.L.R.O. Record No. 917 as published in the Manila
American and La Democracia (Exhibit ‘NNNN’), and Decree No. 1425. (Italics 34

supplied)
Exhibit ‘NNNN’ (above cited by Judge Apostol) in turn was based on the
map plottings prepared by Geodetic Engineer Carlos Angeles of said
technical descriptions as they appeared in certified true copies of the
Manila American and La Democracia. 35

It should also be observed that Judge Apostol had noted an inaccuracy in

the destination of the source titles of TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653 similar
to that noted by Widora in this case, but Judge Apostol held that this
inaccuracy did not affect the validity of the titles:
“Finally, defendant questions the fact that some of plaintiff’s Transfer Certificates
of Title, particularly Transfer Certificates of Title Nos. 73884, 77652, 71436-A and
77653, show that they were originally registered under Original Certificates of Title
Nos. 19, 313 (sic), 336, 334 (sic) and 699 whereas Original Certificate of Title No.
19 covers land which is located in Antipolo. Plaintiff’s witness, the surveyor Carlos
Angeles, however, explained this as follows:
‘ It has been pointed out, Mr. Angeles that the present titles
Q of the plaintiff Ortigas and Company Limited Partnership
now indicate that these lands covered by these titles were
originally registered in Original Certificate of Titles 337,
19, 336 and 334. Were you able to trace how these entries
appeared in these titles?
A In Transfer Certificate No. 77652 and 77653, it is indicated
 at the bottom of the title that it came from Original
Certificate of Title Nos. 337, 19, 336, 337 (sic) and 344.
We found out that 19 could not have been a source because
it is in
__________________
34 Record on appeal, p. 378; Rollo of C.A.-G.R. No. 53125-R, p. 77-A.
35 Index of Exhibits, Civil Case No. Q-16265, p. 12; Rollo of C.A.-G.R. No. 53125-R, p.
20.
373
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appea
Antipolo, Rizal. Now, we trac
where that error is, and then w
have been 13, as indicated in
Nos. 443880, 27111, 44381 a
meretopographical (sic) error
Q How about Transfer Certifica
A 699 is a G.L.R.O. Record Nu
title.’
To better illustrate this, plaintiff’s witness traced these errors in a diagram which
he prepared and which was marked as Exhibit ‘YYYY’.
This Court is satisfied that the error in the statement of the sources of plaintiff’s titles was,
as shown by Exhibit ‘YYYY’, merely typographical. Besides, these errors do not go into
the validity of plaintiff’s titles. And they have all been traced to their respective Original
Certificates of Title.”36 (Citations of evidence omitted; italics supplied)
The decision of Judge Apostol was affirmed in its entirety by Gaviola, J.
of the Court of Appeals. As noted earlier, Felipe Navarro’s petition for
37

review of the Gaviola decision was denied by the Supreme Court for lack
of merit. The Court’s minute resolution is a judgment on the merits for
38

the purpose of applying the principles of bar by prior judgment and

conclusiveness of judgment.39
The factual matters raised, controverted, litigated and established in G.R.
No. 50156 (Navarro v. Ortigas) which are relevant to the present case are
as follows: 1) the inaccuracies in the sourcing of the mother titles of TCT
Nos. 77652 and 77653 did not impair their probative value as evidence of
Ortigas’ ownership over the land described in their technical descriptions;
2) the Registry of Deeds of Manila was the source of an original copy of
Decree No. 1425 to the extent that that Decree covered property situated
in Manila; but this Decree, in it entirety,
_______________
36 Record on Appeal, pp. 375-377; Rollo of C.A.-G.R. No. 53135-R, p. 77-A.
37 Rollo of C.A.-G.R. No. 53125-R, p. 420.
38 Id., p. 542.
39 Heirs of the late Santiago Maningo v. Intermediate Appellate Court, 183 SCRA 691, 699
(1990) and cases cited thereunder.
374
37 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
4
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
really covers much more, i.e., the entire Hacienda de Mandaloyon; 3) the
extant sources of the boundaries of the Hacienda de Mandaloyon are the
technical descriptions thereof appearing in the initial notice of hearing in
G.L.R.O. Record No. 917; and 4) the land described in and covered by
TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653 formed part of the Hacienda de Mandaloyon.
Under the doctrine of conclusiveness of judgment, these factual matters
established in G.R. No. 50156 are binding on Widora and can no longer
be relitigated by it in G.R. No. 91797. Both cases, to a certain extent,
40

involve the same subject matter (i.e., the parcels of land described in
Ortigas’ TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653. Ortigas’ cause of action in G.R. No.
50156 consisted of the fraudulent sales of its property made by Felipe
Navarro in behalf of his “owner”-clients. That differs somewhat from
Ortigas’ cause of action in G.R. No. 91797, which consists of the adverse
claim of ownership asserted by Widora over Ortigas’ property, manifested
through the filling of Widora’s application for land registration. But more
importantly, there is a substantial identity between Felipe Navarro (and
his clients) on one hand and Widora on the other; both parties sought to
question the validity of Decree No. 1425 and its particular derivatives here
involved (TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653), insofar as the Decree had
adjudicated in favor of Ortigas ownership of land being claimed by
Navarro and Widora. This circumstance makes them privies in law for
purposes of the operation of the rule on conclusiveness of judgment. 41

Furthermore, it must be observed that Widora is bound by the ruling laid

down in the Cia. Agricola case of 1906 that Ortigas (through its
predecessor-in-interest) is the registered owner of land comprising the
Hacienda de Mandaloyon because the factual matters resolved in the
Navarro case show that the
__________________
40 Lopez v. Reyes, 76 SCRA 179, 186-187 (1977); reiterated in Smith Bell and Co. [Phils.]
v. Court of Appeals, 197 SCRA 201, 210-211 (1991).
41 See Calalang v. Register of Deeds of Quezon City, G.R. Nos. 76265 and 83280, 22 April
1992, p. 12; Valencia v. Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Br. 90, 184 SCRA 80, 91
(1990); Legarda v. Savellano, 158 SCRA 194, 199 (1988).
375
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 375
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
land covered by Widora’s application forms part of that vast tract of land
adjudicated to Ortigas’ predecessor-in-interest in the 1906 decision.
Finally, as held in the Court of Appeals decision which we affirmed in
G.R. No. 50156, the Torrens titles of Ortigas served as evidence of its
indefeasible title over the property covered thereby and they became
incontrovertible one year after entry of the final decree of registration
from which they were derived in 1906. The Supreme Court’s affirmance
42

of this ruling in fact constitutes a holding that the land covered by these
titles (particularly TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653) have been duly brought
under the Torrens System of land registration and that this circumstance
prevented the land registration court hearing Widora’s application in LRC
No. Q-336 from acquiring jurisdiction over the land covered by that
application. 43

V.
In the second previously decided case, Del Rosario, et al. v. Ortigas &
Co. Ltd., Partnership, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the
44

Court of Appeals in A.C.-G.R. CV No. 61356 dated 29 December 1983, 45

holding that various Ortigas TCT’s including TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653,
overlapping various portions of a seventy-hectare parcel of land situated
in Ugong Norte, Pasig and Bagumbayan, Quezon City had become
indefeasible and could no longer be impugned by the physical occupants
of the overlapping property. 46

By way of background, this Del Rosario case originated as Civil Case No.
7-M (10339) before Branch 15 of the CFI of Rizal. In 1967, two (2) groups
of occupants of the disputed property,
_________________
42 Decision, p. 25; Record on Appeal of C.A.-G.R. No. 53125-R, p. 413; Tirado v. Sevilla,
188 SCRA 321, 327 (1990).
43 See Pamintuan v. San Agustin, 43 Phil. 558, 560-561 (1922), reiterated in Gabriel v.
Court of Appeals, 159 SCRA 461, 468 (1988).
44 G.R. No. 66110, promulgated 16 February 1985, final judgment entered 10 April 1985;
Rollo of G.R. No. 66110, p. 111.
45 Penned by Sison, P.V., J.
46 Rollo of G.R. No. 66110, pp. 20, 25, 39 and 107.
376
37 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
6
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
faced with final and executory judgments for ejectment obtained by
Ortigas, instituted this Del Rosario case as a class suit to impugn the
validity of Ortigas’ Torrens titles. The theory of the plaintiffs was that
G.L.R.O. Record No. 917, and its incidents, were void ab initio for alleged
lack of notice of initial hearing, among other reasons. In a decision dated
31 March 1970, Judge Vivencio Ruiz ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and
declared the Ortigas TCTs null and void.
Judge Ruiz’ decision was, however, nullified on petition for certiorari,
prohibition and mandamus by the Court of Appeals in its decision dated
12 November 1971 in C.A.-G.R. No. 00039-R. The Court of Appeals
47

also decreed a remand of the case for new trial based on Ortigas’ newly-
discovered evidence. This decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court
48

in G.R. No. L-34440 by a Resolution dated 4 April 1972. 49

In a decision dated 3 November 1973, CFI Judge Arsenio Alcantara (to

whom the case was remanded) rendered a decision on new trial upholding
and confirming, among others, “the validity of Decree No. 1425, issued
in Expediente 917 and all titles emanating therefrom.” This decision was
affirmed in its entirety by the Court of Appeals in AC-G.R. No. CV-
61356, as
___________________
47 Decision in C.A.-G.R. No. SP-00039, p. 1A, contained in Brief of Defendant-Appellee
in C.A.-G.R. No. 61356-R, Rollo of G.R. No. 66110.
48 The newly discovered evidence consisted of certified true copies of the 1904 issues of
the Manila American and La Democracia newspapers containing the notice of initial
hearing in G.L.R.O. Record No. 917. This evidence was offered to rebut the holding in the
Ruiz decision that the land registration court hearing G.L.R.O. Record No. 917 failed to
acquire jurisdiction over the land subject matter of Cia. Agricola’s application for lack of
publication of the initial notice of hearing.
By happenstance, Ortigas received information that the Library of the U.S. Congress in
Washington, D.C. might have the newspaper issues containing the publication of the notice
of hearing of G.L.R.O. Case No. 917. The information proved correct and Ortigas secured
the certified true copies from Washington, D.C. (Decision in C.A.-G.R. No. SP 00039, pp.
10A, 21A-32A).
49 Supreme Court Judgment Entry Book, May-August 1972 Volume-S. Judgment entered
25 June 1972.
377
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 377
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
noted earlier. In turn, this Court of Appeals decision was affirmed by the
50

Supreme Court in G.R. No. 66110 in a Resolution denying Del Rosario’s

petition for review for lack of merit dated 16 February 1985. 51

It should be noted that Ortigas’ evidence and argument establishing the

existence and regularity of the proceedings in G.L.R.O. Record No. 917
and of Decree No. 1425 from which its controverted TCTs were derived,
first adopted in the Navarro case, were likewise used and sustained again
in the Del Rosario case, and are, by and large, the same evidence and
52

argument submitted by Ortigas to resolve the same alleged factual

uncertainty raised for the third time in this case. 53

In the Del Rosario case, Geodetic Engineer Carlos Angeles again drew
and offered in evidence a map indicating the full extent of the Hacienda
de Mandaloyon, based on plottings of the technical descriptions appearing
in the initial notice of hearing in G.L.R.O. Record No. 917, offered and
marked as Exhibit 43-A New Trial. Judge Alcantara noted that these
54

plottings were quite adequate for the purpose of identifying the land
registered in Cia. Agricola’s name in 1906:
“Plaintiffs [Del Rosario, et al.] also attempted to show as per technical description
published in the Manila American and La Democracia, a polygon does not close
such that one cannot give the exact area of the land sought to be registered. They
claim that the plan submitted by said Surveyor Carlos Angeles is ‘doctored’ because
it had a closed polygon. In this connection, it should be emphasized that the
Hacienda Mandaloyon is a vast tract of land having an area of 4,000 hectares with
natural boundaries consisting of rivers and creeks as
_________________
50 Rollo of G.R. No. 66110, pp. 5, 20, 24-25, 35, 37-38 and 42; Rollo, p. 358.
51 Rollo of G.R. No. 66110, p. 107.
52 Decision in Civil Case No. 7-M[10339] New Trial, Appellee’s Brief in C.A.-G.R. No. 61356-
R, pp. 34B-36B.
53 Comment, pp. 12-15; Rollo, pp. 91-94.
54 Rollo of G.R. No. 66110, p. 41; Appellee’s Brief in A.C.-G.R. CV No. 61356-R, p. 180; Exhibit
“1”, Amended Record on Appeal in A.C.-G.R. CV No. 61356-R, Vol. II, pp. 971-972; Amended
Record on Appeal in A.C.-G.R. CV No. 61356-R, Vol. II, pp. 878-879.
378
37 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
8
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
shown in the plan Exh. ‘43-A’ New Trial. Its natural boundaries are the Marikina
River, Pasig River, San Juan River, Diliman Creek and Estero de Buaya, etc. Indeed,
boundaries which are natural and fixed such as creeks and rivers, not the area,
should govern in determining the identity of the land sought to be registered. And
even conceding that the magnetic survey employed in surveying the disputed
property in 1904 was erroneous, yet ‘mistake in survey is not a ground for alteration
of decree of registration.’ In fact, plaintiffs’ [Del Rosario] witness, Geodetic
Engineer Pedro Samson, readily admitted that the properties being claimed by them
are inside the area described in the notices.” (Citations omitted, italics supplied)
55

Exhibit 43-A New Trial submitted in the Del Rosario case showed the
boundaries and location of the entire Hacienda Mandaloyon. Annex P
submitted in the present Widora case shows the same entire Hacienda
Mandaloyon and is identical with Exhibit 43-A New Trial. In the present
Widora case, Ortigas also submitted Annex K-1 to show the location and
boundaries of the land covered by TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653. When the
map which is Annex K-1 is placed side by side with (or on top of) the map
of the whole Hacienda Mandaloyon which is Exhibit 43-A New Trial and
Annex P, the Annex K-1 map coincides with a portion of the Exhibit 43-A
map. In other words, the lots covered by TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653
which are mapped in Annex K-1 constituted a portion of the Hacienda
Mandaloyon. These Exhibits also show that the parcels of land covered
by TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653 are located west of the Marikina river,
which river was established in Del Rosario to be the eastern natural
boundary of the Hacienda de Mandaloyon.
Thus, once more, it is apparent that the factual matters which Widora
seeks to litigate in G.R. No. 91797 have already been resolved in the Del
Rosario case. Since the subject matter of the controversy in Del Rosario
and in G.R. No. 91797 are identical (parcels of land covered by TCT Nos.
77652 and 77653), the cause of action of Widora in G.R. No. 91797 is
identical to that of the petitioners in Del Rosario, i.e., the petitioners in
Del Rosario contested Ortigas’ claim of ownership over the land from
_____________
55 Decision in Civil Case No. 7-M (10339) New Trial; Appellee’s Brief in A.C.-G.R. CV
No. 61356-R, pp. 41B-42B.
379
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 379
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
which they were being ejected, which is of course the same claim of
ownership embodied in Ortigas’ opposition to Widora’s land registration
application over the same land in the instant case. It follows that Widora
in G.R. No. 91797 must also be deemed privy in law of the petitioners in
Del Rosario (for they too assailed the validity of Decree No. 1425 and its
particular derivatives, TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653). Accordingly, the
factual and legal matters resolved with finality in the Del Rosario case,
which are determinative of the merits of Widora’s application for land
registration in G.R. No. 91797 must be considered, as in the Navarro case,
as a bar to the grant of the Widora application under the rule on
conclusiveness of judgment.
VI.
There is another important element of Widora’s claim being asserted in
the present proceedings which is precluded by both the principle of bar
by prior judgment and the principle of conclusiveness of judgment.
Widora’s application for registration in the present case (LRC No. Q-
336), essentially rest on an alleged Spanish title: “Titulo de Propiedad
No. 4136,” dated 25 April 1894, said to be issued in the name of one
Mariano San Pedro y Esteban, supposedly covering land of unimaginably
large proportions: 173,000 hectares in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Rizal,
Quezon City, Caloocan City and Pasay City. 56

Back in 10 December 1976, or only two (2) years after Widora had filed
LRC No. Q-336, one Justino Benito and Widora commenced another
case, Civil Case No. Q-22410 before the CFI of Quezon City. Benito
claimed there that he was co-administrator of the intestate estate of Don
Mariano San Pedro y Esteban, and that part of this estate was land covered
by the supposed Spanish title, including a piece of land situated in Ugong
Norte, Pasig and Bagumbayan, Quezon City, which land was covered by
TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653 issued in Ortigas’ name. Benito
______________
56 Order dated 17 November 1978 in SP No. 312-R entitled “In re: Intestate Estate of the
late Mariano San Pedro y Esteban,” contained in Brief for defendant-appellee in C.A.-G.R.
No. 64424-R, pp. 57C-58C.
380
38 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
0
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
and Widora, therefore, sought in Q-22410 to annul those TCTs for
covering land allegedly previously owned by the Don Mariano San Pedro
y Esteban estate as evidenced by the supposed Titulo de Propiedad No.
4136, and subsequently sold or assigned by the estate to Widora. 57

Ortigas moved to dismiss the Benito-Widora complaint, arguing inter

alia, that the alleged Spanish title relied upon by Benito and Widora had
already been divested of probative value as evidence of land ownership,
by P.D. No. 892. Ortigas’ motion to dismiss was sustained on that ground
by the trial court in a decision dated 28 February 1978. 58

That decision of the trial court in Q-22410 was affirmed on appeal by the
Court of Appeals in C.A.-G.R. No. CV-64424 in a decision written by
Jurado, J., dated 31 May 1984. The Court of Appeals, thus, affirmed the
trial court’s ruling that the Spanish title relied upon by Benito and Widora
was no longer any good. 59

Widora (but not Benito) went on a Petition for Review before the Supreme
Court, in G.R. No. 69343. This Court affirmed the decision of the Court
of Appeals in a minute resolution dated 6 February 1985. Entry of final
judgment was made on 29 March 1985. 60

As noted, in the case at bar, Widora is relying upon the same supposed
Spanish title—Titulo de Propiedad No. 4136. We believe and so hold that
the Resolution of this Court in G.R. No. 69343, holding that the alleged
Spanish title had become bereft of any probative value is res adjudicata
in respect of the present case. Put a little differently, the principle of bar
by prior judgment precludes any reliance by Widora in the case at bar on
that fantastic Spanish title considering the essential identities of parties
and identity of subject matter and of cause of action between Civil Case
No. Q-22410 and LRC Case No. Q-336.
We should add that Widora’s prayer for alternative relief in the form of
confirmation of imperfect title over the land covered by its application for
registration, is immaterial. That alterna-
____________________
57 Rollo of G.R. No. 69343, pp. 25-26.
58 Id.
59 Id., pp. 32-33.
60 Id., pp. 7, 19, 116 and 124.
381
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 381
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
tive relief is also premised upon Widora’s claim that Ortigas had
fraudulently registered the land in its (Ortigas) own name such that the
land remained presumptively public land. The firmly entrenched rule is
that a party can not evade the application of the principle of bar by prior
judgment by simply varying the form of the action or by adopting a
different mode of presenting its case. 61

VII.
We consider finally the question of whether or not the defense of res
adjudicata has been waived by Ortigas by failure to plead that defense
seasonably in its opposition or motion to dismiss in LRC No. Q-336.
We believe and so hold that there was no such waiver of res adjudicata
by Ortigas in the case at bar. It is most important to note, in the first place,
that the defense of res adjudicata pleaded by Ortigas in this case relates
ultimately to the jurisdiction of the land registration court to try LRC No.
Q-336. The Court of Appeals correctly stressed that Ortigas having shown
that the land applied for by Widora is already registered in Ortigas’ name,
the land registration court simply had no jurisdiction to decree the
registration of that same land in the name of some other person. The well-
established rule is that lack of jurisdiction which renders an action
dismissible may be determined by the court seized with it motu proprio,
and may be raised by a party, at any stage of the proceedings even on
appeal. 62

_______________
61 Magdangal v. City of Olongapo, 179 SCRA 506, 509-510 (1990); Bugnay Construction
and Development Corporation v. Laron, 176 SCRA 240, 250 (1989); Sangalang v. Caparas,
151 SCRA 53, 59 (1987); Ibabao v. Intermediate Appellate Court, 150 SCRA 76, 85
(1987); Ramos v. Pangasinan Transportation Co. Inc., 79 SCRA 170, 176 (1977).
62 Section 2, Rule 9, see Calimlim v. Ramirez, 118 SCRA 399, 406 (1982); reiterated in
People v. Eduarte, 182 SCRA 750, 754-756 (1990).
382
38 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
2
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
With particular reference to the ruling that Widora’s alleged Titulo de
Propiedad No. 4136 was bereft of probative value, we note that the
Benito-Widora case reached finality (in the Supreme Court) only in 1985,
when the proceedings in the motion to dismiss filed by Ortigas in LRC
No. Q-336 were already in an advanced stage.
In the second place, the Resolutions of the Supreme Court in the Navarro
and Del Rosario cases, disposed of those cases on their merits by
affirming the pertinent decisions of the Court of Appeals. Those
Resolutions are part of the case law and the records of this Court itself of
which we are bound to take judicial notice. We are certainly not at liberty
63

to disregard them in any case. So to disregard our own decisions would

be to inflict substantial injustice and irreparable injury upon Ortigas which
would be compelled to do all over again what it had done at least twice
before—to prove it has indefeasible title to the land covered by TCT Nos.
77652 and 77653. The resulting injustice and injury would not be limited
to Ortigas, but would engulf many thousands of present registered private
owners of Transfer Certificates of Title covering the thousands of hectares
of land embraced by Decree No. 1425. The grave social implications of
permitting a cloud to arise on all those Transfer Certificates of Title by
our failure to take into account our own decisions in earlier cases, can
scarcely be contemplated.
In the third place, waiver of res adjudicata, certainly in cases like the one
before us, cannot casually be assumed to have been made. What is
involved here is not an academic doctrine of law but very valuable
property rights, so valuable that at least thrice before, various persons or
groups of persons (including Widora, for the second time) have attempted
to usurp title thereto by assailing the same two (2) TCTs. Ortigas
tenaciously fought off those efforts at least three (3) times before, from
the trial court thru the Court of Appeals to our own Court, each litigation
stretching out to many years. In this situation, only the most explicit and
deliberate statement, in unmistakable
_______________
63 Section 1 of Rule 129 of the Rules of Court; see Tiburcio v. Phil. Homesite and Housing
Corporation, 106 Phil. 477 (1959) and Lewin v. Galang, 109 Phil. 1041 (1960).
383
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 383
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
language, will suffice to constitute waiver; that is certainly not present
here. What is claimed here is merely implied or presumed waiver, which
has been expressly denied by Ortigas. Yet as Lantin, J. of the respondent
Court of Appeals observed, as far back as 27 June 1979, in its motion for
reconsideration of the trial court’s order of 20 April 1979 denying its
motion to dismiss, Ortigas had already brought to the attention of the trial
court the fact that its assailed titles had been upheld by Courts of First
Instance and appellate courts in prior cases. Moreover, during the
64

proceedings on Ortigas’ motion to dismiss, the Government itself, through

the Land Registration Commission, had advised the trial court that the
156 hectare parcel Widora was seeking to register were “covered by valid
and subsisting titles in the name of Ortigas.” 65

Finally, the record of the instant case shows that Ortigas pleaded as a
special and affirmative defense bar by prior judgment in its very first
Opposition dated 13 October 1978 to Widora’s application in LRC Q-
336. That defense was elaborated by Ortigas in its motion to dismiss
66

dated 23 October 1978, where it stressed that the land applied for was
already registered in its name under the Torrens system and that such
previous registration of its title amounts to res adjudicata binding upon
the whole world. During the protracted hearings on its motion to dismiss
67

before the trial court, Ortigas specifically pleaded our decision in the
Benito-Widora case which by then had attained finality, in a
Memorandum dated 28 October 1986 as a bar to further proceedings in
the case at bar. In its motion for reconsideration of the trial court’s order
denying the motion to dismiss, Ortigas again specifically pleaded the
BenitoWidora case, as well as the Compania Agricola case to show
________________
64 Rollo, p. 24. Our decision in Navarro v. Ortigas (supra), was promulgated on 7 May
1979. Our decision in Del Rosario v. Ortigas (supra), was then still six (6) years in the
future, being promulgated on 16 February 1985. So was our decision in the Benito and
Widora v. Ortigas (supra).
65 Rollo, p. 24.
66 Rollo of C.A.-G.R. SP No. 18085, p. 65.
67 Id., pp. 70-71.
384
38 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
4
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
that its registered title over the disputed land had become indefeasible. 68

Further, Ortigas specifically pleaded not only the Compania Agricola and
the Benito-Widora cases but also the decisions in the Navarro, Del
Rosario and Ruiz cases in its petition for certiorari, prohibition and
mandamus before the Court of Appeals. We accordingly find it extremely
69

difficult to suppose that there was implied or presumed waiver here of the
defense of res adjudicata.
FOR ALL THE FOREGOING, we hold that the Motion for
Reconsideration should be as it is hereby GRANTED; that our Decision
dated 28 1991 is hereby RECONSIDERED and SET ASIDE; that
Widora’s Petition for Review in the instant case is hereby DENIED for
lack of merit. The Regional Trial Court’s order of 30 March 1988 is
hereby SET ASIDE and that court is hereby ORDERED to dismiss
immediately LRC Case No. Q-336. The Decision and Resolution of the
Court of Appeals dated 27 November 1989 and 25 January 1990,
respectively, are hereby AFFIRMED in toto. Costs against petitioner.
Gutierrez, Jr. (Chairman), Davide, Jr. and Romero, JJ., concur.
 Bidin, J., See dissenting opinion.
BIDIN, J.: Dissenting
With due respect, I find it difficult to agree with the ponencia written by
my esteemed colleague, Mr. Justice Florentino Feliciano.
In disposing of the controversy before us, the Court resolved, the issue
on the basis of facts which are not extant in the records of the case (GR
No. 97197). This is quite unprecedented.
Invoking the concept of judicial notice, the Court considered certain
facts which led it to rule in favor of respondent Ortigas. I submit that
these “facts”, substantial as they are, should not have been considered by
the Court for the simple reason that they were not even alleged by
respondent itself nor do they
_____________
68 Id., pp. 134-136.
69 Id., pp. 26-35.
385
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 385
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
appear on the records before us. In so doing, it is my submission that the
Court over-stretched the concept of judicial notice. The immutable rule
on burden of proof is that each party must prove his own affirmative
allegations (Sec. 1, Rule 131) by the amount of evidence required by law
which is preponderance of evidence in civil cases. That is why the
decision sought to be reconsidered, remanded the case to the trial court
for further proceedings. At the risk of being repetitious, I would like to
emphasize that the facts narrated in the Resolution were gathered
substantially from sources outside of the records of the case.
In its motion for reconsideration, respondent Ortigas contends, among
others, that the petition filed by Widows and Orphans is already barred by
res judicata; that the origin of TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653 has been
correctly identified by the Court of Appeals as OCT 351, notwithstanding
the fact that the said TCTs themselves show on their faces that they have
been derived from OCT Nos. 19, 334, 336 and 337.
First, as to the defense of res judicata. At the outset, it is significant to
note that respondent Ortigas did not set up or raise the doctrine of res
judicata anent the existence of previous cases involving the same parties
(Widora v. Court of Appeals, GR No. 69343 and Del Rosario v. Ortigas
& Co., GR No. 66110) either in its Comment to the petition, in its
memorandum or in its motion for reconsideration. In said pleadings,
respondent merely alleged that the trial court has no jurisdiction over LRC
Case No. Q-336 simply because the land applied for is alleged to have
been already decreed and titled in its name and cannot be decreed a second
time (Rollo, pp. 101 & 194). They were bare recitals of general principles
applicable to land registration cases with respect to indefeasibility of
certificates of titles, made without the benefit of any discussion regarding
the application thereof to the case at bar nor was there any reference made
to any case (now being relied upon) as constitutive of res judicata.
Likewise, the existence of the said cases does not appear to have been
raised in the court a quo or put in issue before respondent Court of
Appeals (as in fact it was not even considered by the Court of Appeals in
the appealed decision). Before this Court, respondent Ortigas chose to
maintain its silence in
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38 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
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Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
raising the defense of res judicata and did so only after an adverse
decision was rendered. Furthermore, it was not even raised in its motion
for reconsideration but only in its memorandum submitted after the
hearing on said motion. Such being the case, I do not think this Court is
at liberty to cull evidence not borne by the records and in the process go
beyond what appears in the pleadings.
It is my considered opinion that the defense of res judicata must be
seasonably pleaded in order to be valid, (Fernandez v. de Castro, 48 Phil.
123 [1925]; see also Del Val v. Del Val, 29 Phil. 534 [1915] and if not set
up as a defense or ground of objection seasonably, the doctrine of res
judicata is deemed waived (Alvarez v. Court of Appeals, 158 SCRA 401
[1988]; Vergara v. Rugue, 78 SCRA 312 [1977]; Phil. Coal Miners’ Assn.
v. Cebu Portland Cement, 10 SCRA 784 [1964]). Where res judicata was
raised as a defense only in the motion for reconsideration, the same was
deemed waived (Pulido v. Pablo, 117 SCRA 16 [1982]). Here, respondent
raised the defense of res judicata only in its memorandum submitted after
filing its motion for reconsideration of the decision dated August 28,
1991, which motion, as stated earlier, did not even contain any reference
to the cases now belatedly set up as a defense by respondent in its
memorandum in support of its motion for reconsideration. Respondent’s
invocation of res judicata having been made too late in the day, the same
must be considered as having been waived (Sec. 8, Rule 15 and Sec. 5,
Rule 16).
In any event, a perusal of the cases belatedly relied upon by respondent as
defense (res judicata) would readily disclose that OCT 351, the alleged
origin of TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653, was not the subject matter of said
cases much less passed upon in the disposition of said cases. The issue of
the applicability of OCT 351 to the case at bar is even more compounded
by the fact that TCT Nos. 776752 and 77653 do not, on their faces, reflect
that their origin is OCT 351 as claimed by respondent. On the contrary,
said TCTs trace their origin to OCT Nos. 19, 334, 336 and 337 and hence,
not to OCT 351. Otherwise stated, Ortigas’ evidence (TCTs 77652 and
77653) do not support its contention that the said TCTs were derivatives
of OCT 351.
The majority opines, however, that this Court has already given its
imprimatur to the claim of Ortigas that the identity of
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VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 387
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
the disputed parcel of land has already been decided as far back in 1906
in the case of Cia. Agricola de Ultramar v. Domingo (6 Phil. 246) and
later in Ortigas v. Ruiz (148 SCRA 326 [1987]). Examining said cases, I
see no clear and definite technical description of the contested land.
Ortigas v. Ruiz (supra) involves a parcel of land covered by TCT No.
227758 with an area of 162 hectares located in Pasig, Rizal. There is no
identity of subject matter between Ortigas v. Ruiz and the instant case.
They refer to different parcels of land covered by different transfer
certificates of title. On the other hand, the 1906 case of Ultramar v.
Domingo (supra) involves a parcel of land known as “Hacienda de
Mandaluyon” without any specification as to its location, area and
boundaries. Hence, it cannot be said that the parcel of land applied for in
this case is identical with the lots covered by Ortigas’ title. As stated in
the decision sought to be reconsidered, Decree 1425 (alleged by Ortigas
to embrace the lots covered by its TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653), covers a
17-hectare lot located at Sta. Ana, Manila, while the lot applied for is
alienable and disposable as certified by the Bureau of Lands and by the
Bureau of Forestry and has an area of 156 hectares located in Quezon City
four (4) kilometers away from Sta. Ana, Manila.
Respondent next argues that the Court of Appeals committed no error in
admitting as evidence OCT 351 on the ground that Sec. 47 of Act itself
declares it to be admissible in all courts. Said Section provides:
“Sec. 47. The original certificate in the registration book, any copy thereof duly
certified under the signature of the clerk, or of the register of deeds of the province
or the city where the land is situated and the seal of the court, and also the owner’s
duplicate certificate shall be received as evidence in all courts of the Philippine
Islands and shall be conclusive as to all matters contained therein except so far as
otherwise provided in this Act.” (italics supplied)
Following the line of respondent’s argument, OCT 351 should not have
been admitted and/or considered as proof that TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653
were derived from it (OCT 351). This is because the said TCTs
themselves show that they were derived not from OCT 351 but from other
OCTs stated above. To admit
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38 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
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Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
OCT 351 as the supposed origin of TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653 at this
stage of the proceeding would in effect be disregarding the official entries
made therein which indicate that said TCTs were derivatives of OCT Nos.
19, 334, 336 & 337. These entries are conclusive, so the law says.
Consequently, Ortigas’ contention that TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653 are
derivatives of OCT 351 has no leg to stand on.
The procedure adopted by the respondent Court of Appeals in arriving at
its conclusion that TCT Nos. 77652 and 77653 were derived from OCT
351 contrary to what is stated in the faces of said TCTs, finds no support
in law as it amounted to a correction and/or alteration of the TCTs in
violation of the existing applicable law. Under the Sec. 112 of Act 496
(now Sec. 108 of PD 1529), no certificate of title may be amended or
altered except by order of the proper regional trial court. The petition for
the purpose must be filed before the regional trial court, sitting as a land
registration court, and entitled in the original case in which the decree of
registration was entered. Certainly, the Court of Appeals, in a certiorari
and injunction proceeding, cannot arrogate unto itself that power lodged
exclusively with the land registration court without running afoul with the
said provision of law.
Unfortunately, this Court sustained the findings of respondent court. Thus
giving judicial assent to the illegal assumption of jurisdiction by the
respondent Court of Appeals in the amendment or alteration of TCTs
contrary to the procedure which the law has explicitly provided. In effect,
and by virtue of this Court’s Resolution, we assumed the functions of a
trial court and a land registration court at the same time. This, I believe,
should not be done.
Ortigas also questions the ruling of this Court which considers the plan
submitted as well as the testimony of its surveyor as secondary evidence
to prove the contents of Decree 1425. However, what was submitted by
Ortigas as the survey plan of the land and attached to its memorandum as
an annex is actually a location map prepared by its own surveyor in 1972
or 67 years after its alleged registration and not the blueprint copy of the
original survey plan, showing the sketch and the technical description of
the lot applied for approved by the Director of Lands. Hence, a secondary
evidence of doubtful competency.
389
VOL. 212, AUGUST 7, 1992 389
Widows & Orphans Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals
Ortigas further assails the ruling of this Court to the effect that the issue
of whether the land applied is a registered land as contended by it or a
public land as certified by the Bureau of Lands and the Bureau of Forestry
calls for a full-blown trial before the court a quo.
The issue in this case is whether the 156-hectare parcel of land applied
for, located at Ugong Norte, Quezon City, is covered by Ortigas’ TCT
Nos. 77652 and 77653, or is alienable and disposable land as contended
by petitioner and certified by the Bureau of Lands and the Bureau of
Forestry. These are questions of facts and questions of facts are beyond
the province of this Court (PLDT v. National Telecommunications
Commission, 190 SCRA 717 [1990]).
As stated earlier, the correction of the entries in the transfer certificates of
title should be effected before the Regional Trial Court sitting as a land
registration court which has original jurisdiction over the same pursuant
to Sec. 112 of Act 496 (now Sec. 108, PD 1529). For as long as these
entries appear in the transfer certificates of title, they are binding and
conclusive upon the court (Sec. 47, Act. 496). Otherwise stated, these
entries, until ascertained to be erroneous in an appropriate proceeding
before the land registration court, are binding and conclusive in all courts
including the respondent Court of Appeals and this Court. Inasmuch as
Ortigas insists that the subject parcel of land is covered by OCT 351 under
Decree 1425, while its own Transfer Certificate of Title Nos. 77652 and
77653 state that they are derivatives of OCT Nos. 19, 334, 336 and 337,
it follows that Transfer Certificates of Title Nos. 77652 and 77653 do not
embrace the subject parcel of land, not being derivatives of OCT 351. The
entries in the TCTs of Ortigas cannot be dismissed as mere errors since
the said entries are conclusive. Hence, the necessity of remanding the case
to the court a quo for resolution of the factual issues in the exercise of its
original jurisdiction. Neither this Court nor the respondent Court of
Appeals can initially make the correction, if there be any.
But what is more disturbing is the fact that the ponencia based its decision
on evidenciary facts not borne out by the records. The ponencia made a
number of references to the records had in the Court of Appeals which,
unfortunately, does
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39 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
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De la Calzada-Cierras vs. Court of Appeals
not appear on the records presented before this Court for resolution. This,
I believe, amounted to over-extending the concept of judicial notice. I
submit that it is not the duty of this Court to supply what the party litigants
have failed to present. Otherwise, this Court might as well sit as a trier of
facts.
In view of the foregoing considerations, I vote to DENY the motion for
reconsideration.
Motion granted.
Note.—The case of People vs. Munar, 53 SCRA 278 stated that
jurisdiction may not be raised for the first time on appeal. But that is the
exception rather than the general rule (People vs. Eduarte, 182 SCRA
750).
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