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Held: NO!
1. Although respondents might be in open & continuous possession of the lan
d, still it is part of the public dominion
a. Public lands become only patrimonial not only w/ a declaration that thes
e are alienable & disposable lands but there must be an express govt manifestati
on that the property is already patrimonial or no longer retained for public ser
vice or the devt of the national wealth &&& only so will prescription run agains
t it
2. The classification of the land to be public or alienable should have 1st
been addressed to but was regrettably neglected
3. Public Land Act requires more than constructive possession & casual cult
ivation ---- a mere casual cultivation of portions of the land by the claimant
does not constitute possession under a claim of ownership
a. In this case lot 1 = 2k coconuts = 119 hectares
b. Lot 2 = 1k coconuts = 19 hectares
c. Reality = 1 hectare = 114 coconuts w/c means that only 25 hectares out o
f 138 hectares being applied for was in fact cleared, cultivated & planted w/ co
conut w/c need not be tendered or watched
d. This only showed that casual or occasional cultivation of portions of th
e land in question. In short, possession is not exclusive nor notorious, much le
ss continuous, so as to give rise to a presumptive grant from the govt