Serafia Macua v. The Honorable Intermediate Appellate Court (First Civil Cases Division)

Summary

This Supreme Court case involved a land ownership dispute between family members over a 4,110 sq.m. agricultural lot in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental. Private respondents Inocentes Macua and Zarcila Tacasan claimed ownership through a 1948 deed of sale, while petitioners claimed ownership through 1953 affidavits of transfer and subsequent possession. The Intermediate Appellate Court found the transfer affidavits to be forgeries based on signature inconsistencies and ruled for the private respondents. However, the Supreme Court reversed this decision, finding that petitioners had been in good faith possession for over 23 years as concept of owners, paying taxes and maintaining the property. The Court rejected the forgery allegations, noting testimony that Zarcila Tacasan could write her name, and applied the doctrine of acquisitive prescription under Article 1134 of the Civil Code. The Court also found that private respondents were barred by laches for failing to assert their ownership rights for over two decades, ultimately reinstating the trial court's decision favoring the petitioners.