- Petitioner
- Spouses Rogelio Buce
- Respondent
- Hon. Court of Appeals
- Citation
- G.R. No. 75575
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- Second Division
- Ponente
- Sarmiento, J.
- Decided
- January 25, 1988
Summary
The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals decision declaring a purported deed of sale as an equitable mortgage. Spouses Buce allegedly sold three properties to Ramon delos Reyes for P179,000, but delos Reyes sought reformation claiming it was actually a loan secured by mortgage. The Court found the sale price grossly inadequate compared to actual property values (P450,000, P150,000, and P100,000 respectively) and noted the suspicious coincidence that the P179,000 'sale price' almost exactly matched the sellers' P178,953.37 bank debt. Key evidence included delos Reyes remaining in possession, continuing to pay real estate taxes, and making interest payments. Applying Civil Code Articles 1602, 1604, and 1605 on equitable mortgage, the Court concluded the parties' real intention was to secure a loan, not effectuate a sale, and ordered reformation of the instrument.