Krivenko Vs Register of Deeds Digest
Krivenko Vs Register of Deeds Digest
November 15, 1947
Facts: Alexander Krivenko, an alien, bought a residential lot from Magdalena Estate Inc.
in December 1941. The registration was interrupted by the war. In May 1945, he sought
to accomplish the said registration but was denied by the Register of Deeds of Manila on
the grounds that he is a foreigner and he cannot acquire a land in this jurisdiction.
Krivenko brought the case to the CFI of Manila. The CFI ruled that he cannot own a land,
being an alien. Hence, this petition.
Issue: Whether or not an alien may own private lands in the Philippines.
Held: No. Sec. 1, Art 13 of the Constitution talks about the conservation and utilization
of natural resources. The said provision embraces all lands of any kind of the public
domain. Its purpose is to establish a permanent and fundamental policy for the
conservation and utilization of all natural resources of the nation. Although it mentions
agricultural, timber, and mineral lands, the court held that in determining whether a
parcel of land is agricultural, the test is not only whether it is actually agricultural, but
also its susceptibility to cultivation for agricultural purposes. Hence, “public agricultural
land” was construed as referring to those lands that were not timber or mineral.
Therefore, it includes residential lands.