- Petitioner
- Land Bank of the Philippines
- Respondent
- Republic of the Philippines
- Citation
- G.R. No. 150824
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- Third Division
- Ponente
- R.T., J.
- Decided
- February 4, 2008
Summary
The Supreme Court affirmed the nullification of land titles covering forest lands, upholding the constitutional principle that forest lands cannot be privately owned. LBP mortgaged property from Lourdes Farms Inc. covered by TCT No. T-57348, derived from OCT No. P-2823 issued to Bugayong in 1969 when the land was still classified as forest land. The land was declared alienable only in 1981. The Court ruled that LBP acquired no valid mortgage rights since the mortgagor was never the legal owner, applying Civil Code Article 2085. The decision emphasized that forest land preservation constitutes valid exercise of police power, justifying restrictions on contractual rights under the constitutional guarantee of non-impairment of contracts. The Court remanded LBP's cross-claim for payment against Lourdes Farms Inc. to the trial court due to insufficient factual basis for resolution.