- Petitioner
- Rosalio Bautista
- Respondent
- Francisco Sioson
- Citation
- G.R. No. 13125
- Court
- Supreme Court En Banc
- Division
- En Banc
- Ponente
- Torres, J.
- Decided
- February 11, 1919
Summary
This case involves a property ownership dispute over a camarin sold successively to two different buyers. Francisco Sioson and his wife first sold the camarin to Rosalio Bautista in 1912 under right of repurchase, then immediately leased it back. After his wife's death, Sioson sold the same camarin to Raymundo de la Cruz in 1914. The Supreme Court applied Article 1473 of the Civil Code and held that Bautista had better right as he first acquired possession through constitutum possessorium. Cruz's possession was deemed unlawful because Sioson, being merely a tenant when he made the second sale, had no right to convey ownership. The decision establishes important precedent on successive sales and the doctrine of constitutum possessorium in Philippine property law.