Office of the City Mayor of Parañaque City v. Mario D. Ebio

Summary

This Supreme Court case involves a property dispute over 406 square meters of accreted land along Cut-cut creek in Parañaque City. Respondents Mario Ebio and his children claimed ownership through acquisitive prescription, tracing possession back to 1930 when Pedro Vitalez first occupied the alluvial deposits. The conflict arose when Parañaque City planned to construct an access road traversing the property. The RTC initially denied respondents' injunction application, but the Court of Appeals reversed, finding valid ownership through prescription. The Supreme Court affirmed, ruling that alluvial deposits belong to adjoining landowners under Article 84 of the Spanish Law of Waters and Article 457 of the Civil Code, not to the public domain. The Court held that over 30 years of continuous possession, tax payments, and improvements established ownership through acquisitive prescription, making the State's participation as a party unnecessary since no public property was involved.