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648 Phil. 372
FIRST DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 173021, October 20, 2010 ]
DELFIN LAMSIS, MAYNARD MONDIGUING, JOSE VALDEZ, JR.
AND HEIRS OF AGUSTIN KITMA, REPRESENTED BY EUGENE
KITMA, PETITIONERS, VS. MARGARITA SEMON DONG-E,
RESPONDENT.
DECISION
DEL CASTILLO, J.:
There is laches when a party is aware, even in the early stages of the proceedings,
of a possible jurisdictional objection, and has every opportunity to raise said
objection, but fails to do so, even on appeal.
This is a Petition for Review[1] assailing the March 30, 2006 Decision[2] of the Court
of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CV No. 78987 as well as its May 26, 2006 Resolution[3]
which denied petitioners' motion for reconsideration. The dispositive portion of the
assailed Decision reads:
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the appeal is hereby DISMISSED
for lack of merit and the judgment dated January 8, 2003 of the Regional
Trial Court of Baguio City in Civil Case No. 4140-R is AFFIRMED in toto.
SO ORDERED.[4]
Factual antecedents
This case involves a conflict of ownership and possession over an untitled parcel of
land, denominated as Lot No. 1, with an area of 80,736 square meters. The
property is located along Km. 5 Asin Road, Baguio City and is part of a larger parcel
of land with an area of 186,090 square meters. While petitioners are the actual
occupants of Lot No. 1, respondent is claiming ownership thereof and is seeking to
recover its possession from petitioners.
According to respondent Margarita Semon Dong-E (Margarita), her family's
ownership and occupation of Lot No. 1 can be traced as far back as 1922 to her late
grandfather, Ap-ap.[5] Upon Ap-ap's death, the property was inherited by his
children, who obtained a survey plan in 1964 of the 186,090-square meter property,
which included Lot No. 1.[6]
On the same year, they declared the property for
taxation purposes in the name of "The Heirs of Ap-ap."[7] The 1964 tax declaration
bears a notation that reads: "Reconstructed from an old Tax Declaration No. 363
dated May 10, 1922 per true of same presented."[8]
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