- Petitioner
- Department of Education
- Respondent
- Mariano Tuliao
- Citation
- G.R. No. 205664
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- Third Division
- Ponente
- Mendoza, J.
- Decided
- June 9, 2014
Summary
The Supreme Court denied DepEd's petition in this property dispute involving recovery of possession of private land occupied by a public elementary school. Registered landowner Mariano Tuliao sued DepEd for recovery of his property where Atulayan Elementary School built structures, including a gymnasium constructed in 1999. The Court held that Tuliao's certificate of title, tax declarations, and tax receipts sufficiently established his better right of possession over DepEd's mere testimonial evidence. The Court found that DepEd's initial possession was by tolerance of Tuliao's predecessors and became adverse only from the gymnasium construction in 1999. Since Tuliao filed suit in 2002, only two years after demanding cessation, there was no laches. The decision applied Article 448 of the Civil Code regarding structures built on another's land, directing the landowner to exercise his options regarding the structures while protecting both parties' rights.