FIELDMAN AGRICULTURAL TRADING V. REPUBLIC (LAND REGISTRATION)

Section 23 of PD 1529, the Property Registration Decree, explicitly provide that before the court can act on the application for the land registration, the public shall be given notice of the initial hearing thereof by means of publication, mailing, and posting.

The Republic is correct that in land registration case, publication of the notice of initial hearing is a jurisdictional requirement and non-compliance therewith affects the jurisdiction of the court. The purpose of publication of the notice is to require all persons concerned, who may have any rights or interests in the property applied for, to appear in court at a certain date and time to show cause why the application should not be granted.

Section 14 provides that before one can register his title over a parcel of land, he must show that:

1. he by himself or through his predecessor-in-interest has been in open, continuous, exclusive possession and occupation thereof under a bona fide claim of ownership since 12 June 1945 or earlier; and
2. the land subject of the application is alienable and disposable land of the public domain.

To prove its length of possession, FACTO offered the testimonies of its division manager, owner of the adjacent lot and it also presented deeds of conveyance and several tax declarations covering the lands in question.

Unfortunately for FACTO, the testimonies of its witnesses do not serve to prove the validity of its cause, which consist only of general statements with no specifics as to when he began occupying the land.

Neither do the tax declarations proved FACTO's assertion. We have ruled that while a tax declaration by itself is not sufficient to prove ownership, it may serve as sufficient basis for inferring possession.

Basic is the rule that an applicant in a land registration case must prove the facts and circumstances evidencing the alleged ownership of the land applied for. General statements which are mere conclusions of law and not factual proof of possession are unavailing and cannot suffice.