THE ESTATE OF PEDRO C. GONZALES and HEIRS OF PEDRO C.
GONZALES, Petitioners, vs. THE HEIRS OF MARCOS PEREZ, Respondents. G.R. No.
169681, November 5, 2009.
“Article 1496 of the Civil Code provides:
The ownership of the thing sold is acquired by the vendee
from the moment it is delivered to him in any of the ways specified in Articles
1497 to 1501, or in any other manner signifying an agreement that the
possession is transferred from the vendor to the vendee.
In conjunction with the above-stated provision, Article 1497
of the Civil Code states that:
The thing sold shall be understood as delivered when it is
placed in the control and possession of the vendee.
In the present case, there is no dispute that Pedro took
control and possession of the said lot immediately after his bid was accepted
by the Municipal Government of Marikina. In fact, herein petitioners, in their
Answer with Compulsory Counterclaim admit that both Pedro and Marcos, together
with their respective heirs, were already occupying the subject property even
before the same was sold to Pedro and that, after buying the same, Pedro
allowed Marcos and his family to stay thereon.21 This only shows that upon
perfection of the contract of sale between the Municipality of Marikina and
Pedro, the latter acquired ownership of the subject property by means of
delivery of the same to him.
Hence, the issuance of TCT No. 223361, as well as the
execution of the Deed of Absolute Transfer of Real Property on February 7, 1992
by the Municipal Mayor of Marikina, could not be considered as the operative
acts which transferred ownership of Lot C to Pedro. Pedro already acquired
ownership of the subject property as early as 1966 when the same was delivered
to him by the Municipality of Marikina, and the execution of the Deed of
Absolute Transfer of Real Property as well as the consequent issuance of TCT
No. 223316 are simply a confirmation of such ownership.1avvphi1
It may not be amiss to point out at this juncture that the
Deed of Absolute Transfer of Real Property executed by the Mayor of Marikina
was no longer subject to approval by the Provincial Governor of Rizal because
Marikina already became part of Metro Manila on November 7, 1975.22 On December
8, 1996, Marikina became a chartered city.23”
