trust but merely implied a new lease ov er the property, with the same terms and conditions provided in the original contract, except as to the period of the lease. 8. Article 1670 of the Civil Code Article 1670 of the C ivil Code provides that “if a t the end of the contract the lessee should continue enjoying the thing lea sed for 15 days with the acquiescence of the lessor, and unless a notice to the contrary by either party has previously been given, it is understood that there is an implied new lease, not for the period of the original contract, but for the time established in a rticles 1682 and 1687. The other terms of the original contract shall be revived.” 9. Fiduciary relationship relationship an essential essential characteristic characteristic of trust; No express trust There is nothing in the record that evidence the creation of a fiduciary relationship between the lessors and the lessee afte r the expiration of their written contract of lease. Fiduciary relationship is an essential characteristic of trust, and no written instrument has been pointed to as establishing an express trust, which writing is required in express trusts over immovables. There is no basis for the claim clai m that an express trust was create d when Camon continued to cultivate the land after the expiration of the written contract of lease.
40.
Vda. de Gordon v. CA (GR L-37831, 23 November 1981)
Vda. De Gordon v. CA [G.R. No. L-37831. November 23, 1981.] First Division, Teehankee (J): 4 concur, 1 took no part Facts: Two parcels of land belong to Restituta V. Vda. De Gordon (covered by TCT 12204 and 12205). For the years 1953 to 1963, inclusive, the taxes against said parcels of land remained unpaid. The combined assessed value of the parcels of land is P16,800 and the residential house on the land was assessed at P45,580. The City Treasurer of Quezon City, upon warrant of a certified copy of the record of such delinquency, advertised for sale the parcels of land to satisfy the taxes, penalties and a nd costs for a period of 30 days prior to the sale on 3 December 1964, by keeping a notice of sale posted at the main entrance on the City Hall and in a public and conspicuous place in the district where the same is located and by publication of said notice once a week for 3 weeks in the “D aily Mirror”, a newspaper of g eneral circulation in Quezon City, the advertisement stating the amount of taxes and penalties due, time and place of sale, name of the taxpayer against whom the taxes a re levied, approximate area, lot and block number, location by district, street and street number of the property. The public sale on 3 December 1964, the parcels of land were sold to Rosario Duazo for the amount of P10,500.00 representing the tax, penalty and costs. The certificate of sale executed by the City Treasurer was duly registered on 28 December 1964 in the office of the Register of Deeds of Quezon City. Upon the failure of the registered owner to redeem the parcels of land within the 1 -year period prescribed by law, the City Treasurer of Quezon City executed on 4 January 1966 a final deed of sale of said lands and the improvements thereon. Said final deed of sale was also registered in the O ffice of the Register of Deeds of Quezon City on 18 January 1966.
Later on, Duazo filed a petition for consolidation of ownership. The appellate court upheld the tax sale of the r eal properties at which Duazo acquired the same a nd her ownership upon vda. de Gordon’s failure to redeem the same, having found the sale to have been conducted “under the direction and supervision of the City Treasurer of Quezon City after the proper procedure and legal formalities had been duly accomplished.” The Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court’s decision under review; Without costs.
1. (CA Decision) Material averments admitted The opposition *to Duazo’s petition for consolidation of ownership+ has not controverted by specific denials the material averments in the petition. Hence, the material averments in the petition are deemed admitted. (Section 1, Rule 9, 9 , Revised Rules of Court) 2. (CA Decision) Issue on the irregularity of public sale of parcels of land waived The opposition has not raised the issue of irregularity in the public sale of the two parcels of land in question. This defen se is deemed waived. (Section 2, Rule 9, id.) 3. (CA Decision) Price in auction sale not grossly grossly inadequate inadequate to be shocking shocking to the the conscience of court Noting that the 1961 assessment of the combined value of the two parcels of land is P16,800, and the residential house on the land is P45,580; that the present value of the house would be much less considering the depreciation for for over 10 years; and t hat while the price of P10,500 is less than the total assessed value of the land and the improvement thereon, said price cannot be considered so grossly inadequate as to be shocking to the conscience of the court.
4. (CA Decision) Director of Lands v. Abarca: Price inadequate to shock conscience of court In Director of Lands vs. Abarca (61 Phil. 70), the Supreme Court considered the price of P877.25 as so inadequate to shock the conscience of the court because the assessed value of the property in question was P60,000.00. The assessed value of the land was more than 60 times the price paid at the auction sale. In the present case, the price of P10,500.00 is about 1/6 of the total assessed value of the two parcels of la nd in question and the residential house thereon. The finding of the lower court that the house and land in question have a fair market value of not less than P200,000.00 has no factual basis. It cannot be said, therefore, that the price of P10,500.00 is so inadequate as to be shocking to the conscience of the court. 5. (CA Decision) Mere Mere inadequacy of price not ground ground to annul public sale, unlike in ordinary ordinary sale; Inadequacy Inadequacy of price an advantage in relation to owner’s right to redeem Mere inadequacy of the price alone is n ot sufficient ground to annul the public sale. (Barrozo vs. Macara eg, 83 Phil. 378) 378 ) In Velasquez vs. Coronel (5 SCRA 985, 988) , it was held that “while in ordinary sales for reasons of equity a transaction may be invalidated on the ground of inadequacy of price, or when such inadequacy shocks one’s conscience as to justify the courts to interfere, such does not follow when the law gives to the owner the right to redeem, as when a sale is made at public auction, upon the theory that the lesser the price the easier it is for the owner to effect the redemption. And so it was aptly said: ‘When there is the right to redeem, inadequacy of price should not be material, because the judgment debtor may reacquire the property or also sell his right to redeem and thus recover the loss he claims to have suffered by reason of the price obtaine d at the auction sale.” 6. (CA Decision) Decision) Public Sale governed by Section 40 of CA 470 The public sale is governed by Section 40 of Commonwealth Act 470 which gives the delinquent taxpayer a period of 1 year from the date of the sale within which to repurchase the property sold. In case the delinquent tax payer does not repurchase the property sold within the period of 1 year from the date of the sale, it becomes a mandatory duty of the provincial treasurer to issue in favor of the purchaser a final deed of sale. (Velasquez vs. Coronel) 7. No lack lack of personal notice of tax tax sale sale The alleged lack of personal notice of the tax sale is negated by her own averments in her own opposition filed in the lower court a quo that “the Oppositor in the petition is a woman 80 years of age. She was not aware of the aucti on sale conducted by the City Treasurer of Quezon City on 3 December 1964 or if there was any notice sent to her, the same did not reach her or it must have escaped her mind considering her age. ” 8. Quezon City Charter Charter (CA 502), not RA 1275, controlling on length of redemption period; Special law prevails over general law The period for redemption is not the 2-year period provided in RA 1275, since the specific law governing tax sales of properties in Quezon City is the Quezon City Charter, Commonwealth Act 502 which provides in section 31 thereof for a 1-year redemption period. The special law covering Quezon City necessarily prevails over the general law. In the present case, since the filing of Duazo’s brief in 1974, Vda. De Gordon had not sought to e xercise her alleged right of redemption or make an actual tender thereof. 9. Gross inadequacy inadequacy of purchase price price not material if owner has right right to redeem As held in Velasquez vs. Coronel, alleged gross inadequacy of price is not material “when the law g ives the owner the right to redeem as when a sale is made at public auction, upon the theory that the lesser the price the easier it is for the owner to effect the redemption.” 10. Laws on tax tax sales for delinquent taxes taxes necessary as taxes essential to life of Government As stressed in Tajonera vs. Court of Appeals, the law governing tax sales for delinquent taxes may be “harsh and drastic, but it is a necessary means of insuring the prompt collection of taxes so essential to the life of the Government”.
