4/7/2021
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thereof, BCDA sold the parcel of land to Patrick per Deed of Absolute Sale dated March
4, 2009. Two days later, or on March 6, 2009, the subject parcel of land was registered
under Patrick's name as evidenced by Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 98257.[10]
On November 5, 2010, Patrick filed a Complaint for Forcible Entry and Damages against
Federico, averring that after the subject property was adjudicated by the siblings to him
and their sister, Lourdes, he took possession of the same and made improvements
thereon, making it his residence whenever he goes to Baguio City from the United
States of America (USA). He, however, learned later on that Federico entered and
occupied the subject property without his permission. When he came back from the
USA sometime in March 2010, he tried to settle the matter with his brother, but instead
of apologizing, Federico threatened Patrick with bodily harm if he comes back to
Baguio.[11]
For his part, Federico averred in his Answer with Special and Affirmative Defenses that
the subject property is an ancestral and family home put up by their parents; that upon
the death of their parents, he and his siblings became co-owners thereof; that the
Deed of Adjudication of Real Property and Quitclaim was agreed upon by the siblings to
be executed merely for the purpose of facilitating the award and titling of the property,
with the clear understanding that the same will remain to be their ancestral and family
home to be enjoyed by any of the siblings including their respective families. Federico
further averred that Patrick cannot invoke that he was in prior physical possession of
the property when he never possessed the property exclusively on his own. Neither was
it right for Patrick to claim that he was the one who introduced the improvements in the
subject property when it was their sister, Lourdes, who primarily provided therefor.[12]
The MTCC Ruling
In a Judgment dated January 6, 2012, the MTCC dismissed Patrick's Complaint, ruling
that he failed to sufficiently allege, much less prove, an essential element of a forcible
entry case, i.e., that he had prior physical possession of the property. Further, the
MTCC found the Complaint lacking of allegations that Patrick was dispossessed of the
subject property by force, intimidation, threats, strategy, or stealth. In fact, the
allegations in the Complaint showed that the alleged dispossession of the property was
not done, if at all, by any of the means above-cited. The MTCC disposed, thus:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, this case is hereby dismissed.
No pronouncement as to costs.
SO ORDERED.[13]
The RTC Ruling
On appeal, the RTC reversed the MTCC's Judgment, finding that the Complaint
sufficiently alleged Patrick's prior possession of the property, as well as that he was
dispossessed thereof by Federico through stealth. Specifically, the RTC ruled that
Patrick's allegation that he "took possession of the house and made improvements,
using the same as his residence whenever he comes up to Baguio" after the siblings
executed the Deed of Adjudication of Real Property and Quitclaim in his and Lourdes'
https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/66248
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