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Descallar Vs CA
Descallar Vs CA
COURT
OF APPEALS and CAMILO F. BORROMEO, Respondents.
GRIÑO-AQUINO, J.:
The Court is amazed that the trial court and the Court of Appeals
appear to have given no importance to the fact that the petitioner
herein, besides being the actual possessor of the disputed property,
is also the registered owner thereof, as evidenced by TCTs Nos.
24790, 24791, and 24792 issued in her name by the Register of
Deeds of Mandaue City on December 3, 1987. Her title and
possession cannot be defeated by mere verbal allegations that
although she appears in the deed of sale as vendee of the property,
it was her Austrian lover, Jambrich, who paid the price of the sale of
the property (Sinoan vs. Soroñgan, 136 SCRA 407). Her Torrens
certificates of title are indefeasible or incontrovertible (Sec. 32, P.D.
1529). chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library
Even if it were true that an impecunious former waitress, like
Descallar, did not have the means to purchase the property, and
that it was her Austrian lover who provided her with the money to
pay for it, that circumstance did not make her any less the owner,
since the sale was made to her, not to the open-handed alien who
was, and still is, disqualified under our laws to own real property in
this country (Sec. 7, Art. XII, 1987 Constitution). The deed of sale
was duly registered in the Registry of Deeds and new titles were
issued in her name. The source of the purchase money is immaterial
for there is no allegation, nor proof, that she bought the property as
trustee or dummy for the monied Austrian, and not for her own
benefit and enjoyment. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library
There is no law which declares null and void a sale where the
vendee to whom the title of the thing sold is transferred or
conveyed, paid the price with money obtained from a third person.
If that were so, a bank would be the owner of whatever is
purchased with funds borrowed from it by the vendee. The holding
of the trial court and the Court of Appeals that Jambrich,
notwithstanding his legal incapacity to acquire real property in the
Philippines, is the owner of the house and lot which his erstwhile
mistress, Antonietta, purchased with money she obtained from him,
is a legal heresy.
chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library
SO ORDERED.