Republic v Sin G.R. No. 157485, March 16, 2014 Fact: Fact: Respondents Respondents claim that they are the lawful heirs of the late Maxima Lachica Sin who was the owner of a parcel of land situated at Barangay Tambac, New ashington, !"lan# $n !ugust %&, '((', they respondent heirs instituted in the RT) of *alibo, !"lan a complaint against !"lan National )ollege of +isheries !N)+- for reco.ery of possession, /uieting of title, and declaration of ownership with damages claiming that the latter usurped their rights o.er the property# !N)+ countered that the sub0ect land was the sub0ect of 1roclamation No# %234 of then 1resident +erdinand 5# Marcos allocating the area of said property as ci.il reser.ation for educational purposes of !N)+# The !N)+ Superintendent furthermore a.erred that the sub0ect parcel of land is timberland and therefore not susceptible of pri.ate ownership# The respondents respondents presented presented e.idence e.idence that they inherited inherited a bigger parcel of land from their mother who ac/uired it by .irtue of a deed of sale# That in '(66 a potion thereof was occupied by !N)+ and con.erted into a 7shpond for educational purpose# Respondent heirs asserted that they were pre.iously in possession of the disputed land in the concept of an owner# To pro.e possession, respondents presented presented se.eral tax declarations, the earliest of which was in the year '(48# The M)T), M)T), the RT RT) and the )ourt )ourt of !ppeals unanimously held held that respondents retain pri.ate rights to the disputed property by .irtue of their and their predecessors9 open, continuous, exclusi.e and notorious possession amounts to an imperfect title, which should be respected and protected# !ue" hether !ue" hether or not the claim of the respondents amounts to 0udicial con7rmation con7rmation of imperfect title# #el$" No# !t the outset, it must be noted that respondents ha.e not 7led an application for 0udicial con7rmation of imperfect title under the 1ublic Land !ct or the 1roperty Registration ecree# Section 46b- of the 1ublic Land !ct and Section '4'- of the 1roperty Registration ecree pro.ide the re/uisites for 0udicial con7rmation of imperfect title: '- open, continuous, exclusi.e, exclusi.e, and notorious possession and occupation of the sub0ect land by himself or through his predecessors;in;int predecessors;in;interest erest under a bona 7de claim of ownership since time immemorial or from nder the Regalian doctrine, which is embodied in our )onstitution, all lands of the public domain belong to the State, which is the source of any asserted right to any ownership of land# !ll lands not appearing to be clearly within pri.ate ownership are presumed to belong to the State# !ccordingly, public lands not shown to ha.e been reclassi7ed or released as alienable agricultural land or alienated to a pri.ate person by the State remain part of the inalienable public domain# >nless public land is shown to ha.e been reclassi7ed as alienable or disposable to a pri.ate person by the State, it remains part of the inalienable public domain# 1roperty of the public domain is beyond the commerce of man and not susceptible of pri.ate appropriation and ac/uisiti.e prescription# $ccupation thereof in the concept of owner no matter how long cannot ripen into ownership and be registered as a title#
The burden of proof in o.ercoming the presumption of State ownership of the lands of the public domain is on the person applying for registration or claiming ownership-, who must pro.e that the land sub0ect of the application is alienable or disposable# To o.ercome this presumption, incontro.ertible e.idence must be established that the land sub0ect of the application or claim- is alienable or disposable# There must be a positi.e act declaring land of the public domain as alienable and disposable# To pro.e that the land sub0ect of an application for registration is alienable, the applicant must establish the existence of a positi.e act of the go.ernment, such as a presidential proclamation or an executi.e order= an administrati.e action= in.estigation reports of Bureau of Lands in.estigators= and a legislati.e act or a statute# The applicant may also secure a certi7cation from the go.ernment that the land claimed to ha.e been possessed for the re/uired number of years is alienable and disposable# ?n the case at bar, it is therefore the respondents which ha.e the burden to identify a positi.e act of the go.ernment, such as an o@cial proclamation, declassifying inalienable public land into disposable land for agricultural or other purposes# Since respondents failed to do so, the alleged possession by them and by their predecessors;in;interest is inconse/uential and could ne.er ripen into ownership# !ccordingly, respondents cannot be considered to ha.e pri.ate rights within the pur.iew of 1roclamation No# %234 as to pre.ent the application of said proclamation to the sub0ect property#
