IGNACIO GRANDE VS CA, DOMINGO AND ESTEBAN CALULANG

No. L-17652; 30 June 1962

Barrera, J.

FACTS:
 Petitioner Grande et al are owners of a land in Isabela. They inherited it from
their grandparents, Isidro Angui and Ana Lopez, in whose name the land appears
registered (OCT No. 2982);
 When the land was surveyed in 1930, its northeastern boundary was the Cagayan
River. Since then, a gradual accretion on the northeastern side took place so that
by 1958, the bank had receded to a distance of 105 meters from its original site
and an alluvial deposit of 19,964 sqm. had been added to the registered area;
 On 25 Jan 1958, petitioners filed an action against respondents Calulang to quiet
title to said portion formed by accretion because they & their predecessors in
interest were formerly in peaceful and continuous possession until 1948 when
respondents entered upon the area to claim ownership;
 Respondents Calulang averted that they have been in continuous and open
ownership and possession of the land since prior to 1934 and the area gradually
increased as the years went by;
 CFI ruled in favor of petitioners. On appeal, the CA ruled in favor of respondents
because of petitioner’s unjustifiable delay in filing an action and petitioners never
declared the land for taxation purposes. CA was convinced that the defendants
were really in possession of the land since 1934 or immediately after alluvion
started and petitioners only woke up to their rights in 1958 – when they received
the copy of their title (CA said the title is not necessary to file an action to recover
land which was legally theirs by accession). By then, prescription has supervened
in favor of respondents.
 Hence, this petition.

ISSUE: Whether the accretion automatically becomes registered land just because the
lot which receives it is covered by a Torrens title thereby making the alluvial property
imprescriptible

RULING: No.

An accretion does not automatically become registered land just because the lot which
receives such accretion is covered by a Torrens title. Ownership of a piece of land is one
thing; registration under the Torrens system of that ownership is another. Ownership
over the accretion received by the land adjoining a river is governed by the Civil Code.
Imprescriptibility of registered land is provided in the registration law. Registration
under the Land Registration and Cadastral Acts does not vest or give title to the land,
but merely confirms and thereafter, protects the title already possessed by the owner,
making it imprescriptible by occupation of third parties. But to obtain this protection,
the land must be placed under the operation of the registration laws wherein certain
judicial procedures have been provided.

In this case, petitioners never registered the alluvial property which was formed
sometime after the petitioner’s property was registered on 1934). Therefore, the
increment never became registered property and hence is not entitled to the protection
of Imprescriptibility enjoyed by registered property under the Torrens system.
Consequently, it was subject to acquisition through prescription by third person.

As to whether respondents acquired the alluvial property by acquisitive

prescription:
The Court ruled that the law on prescription applicable to the case is provided in Act
190 which was enforced at the time of the beginning of the possession in 1933/1934.
Hence, the respondents acquired the alluvial lot by acquisitive prescription.