Salvador Sapugay v. Natividad Capus Bobis

Summary

Salvador Sapugay challenged the sale of land by his parents while he was a minor, claiming violation of the Public Land Act and seeking redemption. The Court of First Instance dismissed the case, and the Supreme Court affirmed via certiorari proceedings. The SC corrected the lower court's prescription analysis, holding that Sapugay's right to repurchase under Section 119 of the Public Land Act had prescribed. The five-year redemption period ran from the 1964 conveyance, and Sapugay's 1979 attempt to redeem came too late. The Court ruled that prescription runs against minors with living parents or guardians under Article 1108 of the Civil Code, rejecting Sapugay's minority disability defense since his mother was still alive.