Honorio Bernardo v. Heirs of Eusebio Villegas

Summary

This case involves a property dispute where the heirs of Eusebio Villegas filed accion publiciana against Honorio Bernardo and others who allegedly illegally occupied their 18,369 square meter titled land. The key legal issue was whether the Regional Trial Court had jurisdiction when the complaint failed to allege the assessed value of the property as required under RA 7691. The Supreme Court applied the doctrine of estoppel from Tijam v. Sibonghanoy, holding that Bernardo could not challenge jurisdiction after actively participating in the trial without raising the specific jurisdictional defect. The Court found that a tax declaration in the case records showed the property's assessed value of P110,220, confirming RTC jurisdiction. The decision emphasizes that parties cannot strategically challenge jurisdiction only after receiving adverse judgments, and affirmed the lower courts' rulings ordering defendants to vacate the property.