MARQUEZ vs. COURT OF APPEALS, G.R. No. 125715 December 29, 1998
MARQUEZ vs. COURT OF APPEALS, G.R. No. 125715 December 29, 1998
Private respondents, dissatisfied with the trial court's ruling, sought recourse before the Court of Appeals. On
April 29, 1996, the said court reversed the trial court's finding, thus:
In line with the decision of the Supreme Court in Gerona v. de Guzman, 11 SCRA 143, 157, the action
therefor may be filed within four (4) years from the discovery of the fraud. Such discovery is deemed to
have taken place in the case at bar on June 16, 1982, when the affidavit of self-adjudication was filed
with the Register of Deeds and new certificate of title (No. 33350) was issued in the name of Rafael
Marquez, Sr. (Exhibits E and 5, page 16, record). Considering that the period from June 16, 1982, when
TCT No. 33350 was issued in the name of Rafael Marquez Sr., to May 31, 1991, when appellees'
complaint was filed in court, is eight (8) years, eleven (11) months and fifteen (15) days, appellants'
action to annul the deed of self-adjudication is definitely barred by the statute of limitation.
Petitioner's motion for reconsideration proved unavailing. Hence, they are now before this Court to raise the
issue of whether their action for reconveyance had prescribed.
Petitioners, in contending that the action had not yet prescribed, assert that by virtue of the fraudulent "Affidavit
of Adjudication" and "Deed of Donation" wherein they were allegedly deprived of their just share over the
parcel of land, a constructive trust was created. Forthwith, they maintain that an action for reconveyance based
on implied or constructive trust prescribes in ten (10) years.
It must be noted that Felicidad Marquez died in 1952; thus, succession to her estate is governed by the
present Civil Code. Under Article 887 thereof, her compulsory heirs are her legitimate children, petitioners and
private respondent therein, and her spouse, Rafael Marquez, Sr. Now, in 1982, Rafael Marquez, Sr. decided to
adjudicate the entire property by executing an "Affidavit of Adjudication" claiming that he is the sole surviving
heir of his deceased wife Felicidad F. Marquez.
As such, when Rafael Marquez Sr., for one reason or another, misrepresented in his unilateral affidavit that he
was the only heir of his wife when in fact their children were still alive, and managed to secure a transfer of
certificate of title under his name, a constructive trust under Article 1456 was established. Constructive trusts
are created in equity in order to prevent unjust enrichment. They arise contrary to intention against one who, by
fraud, duress or abuse of confidence, obtains or holds the legal, right to property which he ought not, in equity
and good conscience, to hold. Prescinding from the foregoing discussion, did the action for reconveyance filed
by the petitioners prescribe, as held by the Court of Appeals?
In this regard, it is settled that an action for reconveyance based on an implied or constructive trust prescribes
in ten years from the issuance of the Torrens title over the property. For the purpose of this case, the
prescriptive period shall start to run when TCT No. 33350 was issued, which was on June 16, 1982. Thus,
considering that the action for reconveyance was filed on May 31, 1991, or approximately nine years later, it is
evident that prescription had not yet barred the action.
To bolster the foregoing position, the Court of Appeal's reliance on Gerona v. de Guzman, is misplaced. In
Amerol v. Bagumbaran, we ruled that the doctrine laid down in the earlier Gerona case was based on the old
Code of Civil Procedure which provided that an action based on fraud prescribes within four years from the
date of discovery. However, with the effectivity of the present Civil Code on August 30, 1950, the provisions on
prescriptive periods are now governed by Articles 1139 to 1155. Since implied or constructive trusts are
obligations created by law then the prescriptive period to enforce the same prescribes in ten years.
Cognizant of the fact that the disputed land was conjugal property of the spouses Rafael, Sr. and Felicidad,
ownership of the same is to be equally divided between both of them.
Prescinding therefrom, can Rafael Marquez Sr., as trustee of his wife's share, validly donate this portion to the
respondents? Obviously, he cannot, as expressly provided in Art. 736 of the Civil Code, thus:
Art. 736. Guardians and trustees cannot donate the property entrusted to them.
Moreover, nobody can dispose of that which does not belong to him.
Be that as it may, the next question is whether he can validly donate the other half of the property which he
owns? Again, the query need not detain us at length for the Civil Code itself recognizes that one of the inherent
rights of an owner is the right to dispose of his property.
Whether this donation was inofficious or not is another matter which is not within the province of this Court to
determine inasmuch as it necessitates the production of evidence not before it.
Finally, while we rule in favor of petitioners, we cannot grant their plea for moral damages and attorney's fees
since they have not satisfactorily shown that they have suffered "mental anguish" as provided in Article 2219
and Article 2290 of the Civil Code.
Similarly, the plea for attorney's fees must likewise be denied because no premium should be placed on the
right to litigate.
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CV No. 41214 is
REVERSED and SET ASIDE. Except as to the award of attorney's fees which is hereby DELETED, the
judgment of the trial court in Civil Case No. 60887 is REINSTATED. No costs.