Heirs of Flores Restar Namely: Esmenia R. Restar v. Heirs of Dolores R. Cichon

Summary

This case involves a property dispute among the eight heirs of Emilio Restar who died intestate in 1935. Flores Restar, the eldest son, secured a tax declaration in his name in 1960 for a 5,918 square meter lot that was part of his father's estate and possessed it exclusively until his death in 1989. His co-heirs filed a partition case in 1999, claiming their rightful shares. The Supreme Court ruled that Flores and his heirs acquired ownership through extraordinary acquisitive prescription under Article 1137 of the Civil Code, having possessed the property adversely, openly, continuously, and exclusively for 38 years (1960-1999) without title or good faith. The Court emphasized that tax declarations coupled with actual possession constitute evidence of great weight for prescription claims, and that respondents' failure to assert their rights for nearly four decades despite knowledge of Flores' adverse claim resulted in loss of their co-ownership rights through prescription.