COSMIC LUMBER CORPORATION CORPORATION
vs.
COURT OF APPEALS and ISIDRO PEREZ,
G.R. No. 114311. Noveme! "#, 1##$ BELLOSILLO, %.
FACTS& ACTS& Cosmic Cosmic Corporat Corporation, ion, through its General General Manager executed executed a Special Special Power Power of Attorney appointing Paz G. Villamil!strada as attorneyinfact to initiate, institute and "le any court action for the e#ectment of third persons and$or s%uatters of the entire lot &'() and **+ for the said s%uatters to remoe their houses and acate the premises in order that the corpor corporati ation on may ta-e ta-e materi material al posses possessio sion n of the entir entire e lot. lot. Villa Villamil mil!s !stra trada da then then instituted an action for the e#ectment of priate respondent sidro Perez and recoer the possession of a portion of lot **+ /efore the 01C.
Su/se%uently, !strada entered into a Compromise Agreement with Perez, the terms and conditions such as2 3 n order for Perez Perez to /uy the said lot he is presently presently occupying, he has to pay to plainti4 through !stada the sum of P(5,5*6 computed at P76$s%uare meter and that Cosmic 8um/er recognizes ownership and possession of Perez /y irtue of this compromise agreement oer said portion of +++ s%m of lot **+ and whateer expenses of su/diision, registration and other incidental expenses shall /e shouldered /y Perez. Although the agreement was approed /y the trial court and the decision /ecame "nal and executory it was not executed within the 9 year period from date of its "nality allegedly due to the failure of Cosmic 8um/er to produce the owner:s duplicate copy of 1itle ;o. +)5*& needed to segregate from 8ot ;o. **+ which is the portion sold /y Villamil!strada, to priate respondent respondent under the compromise compromise agreement. agreement.
;owhere in this authorization was Villamil!strada Villamil!strada granted expressly or impliedly any power to sell the su/#ect property nor a portion thereof. ;either can a conferment of the power to sell /e alidly inferred from the speci"c authority 3to enter into a compromise agreement> /ecause of the explicit limitation "xed /y the grantor that the compromise entered into shall only /e 3so far as it shall protect the rights and interest of the corporation in the aforementioned aforementioned lots>. n the context of special inestiture of powers to Villamil!strada, Villamil!strada, alienation alienation /y sale of an immoa/le certainly cannot /e deemed protectie of the right of Cosmic 8um/er to physically possess the same, more so when the land was /eing sold for a price of P76$s%m , ery much less than its assessed alue of P(96$s%m and considering further that plainti4 neer receied the proceeds of the sale.
=hen the sale of a piece of land or any interest thereon is through an agent, the authority of the latter shall /e in writing? otherwise, the sale should /e oid. 1hus, the authority of an agent to execute a contract for the sale of real estate must /e conferred in writing and must gie him speci"c authority, either to conduct the general /usiness of the principal or to execute a /inding contract containing terms and conditions which are in the contract he did execute. @or the principal to confer the right upon an agent to sell real estate, a power of attorney must so express the powers of the agent in clear and unmista-a/le language. t is therefore clear that /y selling to Perez a portion of Cosmic 8um/ers land through a compromise agreement, Villamil!strada acted without or in o/ious authority. 1he sale ipso #ure is conse%uently oid and so is the compromise agreement. 1his /eing the case, the #udgment /ased thereon is necessarily oid. =hen an agent is engaged in the perpetration of a fraud upon his principal for his own exclusie /ene"t, he is not really acting for t he principal /ut is really acting for himself, entirely outside the scope of his agency.
