Reserva Troncal 1
Sumaya v. IAC (1991) On the question of registration of reserva troncal
Raul Balantakbo inherited from 2 different ascendants the 2 sets of properties
subject of this case:
1) A 1/3 interest, pro-indiviso in a parcel of land situated in Dita, Lilio
(Liliw), Laguna from his father Jose, Sr., who died on January 28, 1945
2) A 1/7 interest pro-indiviso in 10 parcels of registered lands from his
maternal grandmother, Luisa Bautista, who died on November 3, 1950.
On June 13, 1952, Raul died intestate, single, without any issue, and leaving
only his mother, Consuelo Joaquin Vda. de Balantakbo, as his sole surviving heir
to the real properties.
On November 3, 1952, Consuelo adjudicated unto herself the said properties in
an Affidavit entitled "Caudal Herederario del finado Raul Balantakbo."
On December 21, 1959, Consuelo Joaquin vda de. Balantakbo sold the property
inherited from Jose, Sr., to Mariquita H. Sumaya. The same property was
subsequently sold by Sumaya to Villa Honorio Development Corporation, Inc., on
December 30, 1963.
Also on December 30, 1963, Consuelo Joaquin vda. de Balantakbo sold the
properties inherited from Luisa Bautista, to Villa Honorio Development
Corporation, Inc. The latter in turn transferred and assigned all its rights to the
properties in favor of Laguna Agro-Industrial Coconut Cooperative, Inc. which
properties are presently in its possession.
On January 23, 1967, Villa Honorio Development Corporation transferred and
assigned its rights over the property in favor of Agro-Industrial Coconut
Cooperative, Inc. The properties are presently in the name of the Cooperative,
2/3 share and the remaining 1/3 share is in the name of Sancho Balantakbo.
The parties admit that the certificates of titles covering the above described
properties do not contain any annotation of its reservable character.
On June 3, 1968, Consuelo Joaquin vda. de Balantakbo died.
On March 4, 1970, Amadeo, Sancho, Donato, Luis, and Erasto, all surnamed
Balantakbo, brothers in full blood of Raul Balantakbo and Luisa, Jose and
Dolores, also all surnamed Balantakbo, surviving children of deceased Jose
Balantakbo, Jr., another brother of the first named Balantakbos, filed suit to
recover the properties which they claimed were subject to a reserva troncal in
their favor.
Held:
Upon the death of the propositus, Raul Balantakbo, the reservista, Consuelo
vda. de Balantakbo caused the registration of an affidavit of self-adjudication of
the estate of Raul, wherein it was clearly stated that the properties were inherited
by Raul from his father Jose, Sr., and from his maternal grandmother, Luisa
Bautista. Said affidavit was, in its form, declaration and substance, a recording
with the Registry of Deeds of the reservable character of the properties.
In Spanish language, the affidavit clearly stated that the affiant, Consuelo, was a
lone ascendant and heir to Raul Balantakbo, her son, who died leaving
properties previously inherited from other ascendants and which properties were
inventoried in the said affidavit.
Although the certificates of titles covering the properties in question show that
they were free from any liens and encumbrances at the time of the sale, the fact
remains however, that the affidavit of self-adjudication executed by Consuelo
stating the source of the properties thereby showing the reservable nature
thereof was registered with the Register of Deeds of Laguna, and this is
sufficient notice to the whole world.
Thus, in Gatioan v. Gaffud, We held:
"When a conveyance has been properly recorded such record is constructive
notice of its contents and all interests, legal and equitable, included therein…
"Under the rule of notice, it is presumed that the purchaser has examined every
instrument of record affecting the title. Such presumption is irrebuttable.
He is charged with notice of every fact shown by the record and is presumed to
know every fact shown by the record and is presumed to know every fact which
an examination of the record would have disclosed. This presumption cannot be
overcome by proof of innocence or good faith. Otherwise, the very purpose and
object of the law requiring a record would be destroyed.
Such presumption cannot be defeated by proof of want of knowledge of what
the record contains any more than one may be permitted to show that he was
ignorant of the provisions of the law. The rule that all persons must take notice
of the facts which the public record contains is a rule of law. The rule must be
absolute, any variation would lead to endless confusion and useless litigation…"
On the question of whose duty the annotation of the reserva troncal rests
The obligation to reserve rests upon the reservor, Consuelo Joaquin vda. de
Balantakbo.
 Reserva Troncal 2

Consistent with the rule in reserva viudal where the person obliged to reserve
(the widowed spouse) had the obligation to annotate in the Registry of Property
the reservable character of the property, in reserva troncal, the reservor (the
ascendant who inherited from a descendant property which the latter inherited
from another descendant) has the duty to reserve and therefore, the duty to
annotate also.

On the question of prescription of cause of action

The cause of action of the reservees did not commence upon the death of the
propositus Raul Balantakbo on June 13, 1952 but upon the death of the reservor
Consuelo Vda. de Balantakbo on June 3, 1968.

Relatives within the third degree in whose favor the right (or property) is reserved
have no title of ownership or of fee simple over the reserved property during the
lifetime of the reservor. Only when the reservor should die before the reservees
will the latter acquire the reserved property, thus creating a fee simple, and only
then will they take their place in the succession of the descendant of whom they
are relatives within the third degree. The reserva is extinguished upon the death
of the reservor, as it then becomes a right of full ownership on the part of the
reservatarios, who can bring a reivindicatory suit therefor.

Nonetheless, this right if not exercised within the time for recovery may
prescribe in 10 years under the old Code of Civil Procedure or in thirty years
under Article 1141 of the New Civil Code. The action for recovery of the reserved
property was brought by the respondents on March 4, 1970 or less than two (2)
years from the death of the reservor. Therefore, the respondents' cause of
action has not prescribed yet.
 Reserva Troncal 3

De Papa v. Camacho (1986) the sole intestate heir of Faustino. Eustacio received the said property subject
to a reserva troncal, which was annotated on the Certificates of Title.

In 1939 Trinidad died intestate, and her rights and interests in the 7 parcels of
X&Y land were inherited by her only child, Dalisay, subject to the usufructuary right of
her surviving husband, Primo Tongko.

Romana Tioco Balbino Tioco On June 14, 1965, Eustacio died intestate, and was survived by his only
legitimate descendant, Dalisay.

The parties agree that Dalisay now owns one-half (1/2) of all the 7 parcels of
land as her inheritance from her mother, Trinidad.

Eustacio Toribia Nicolas Manuel Francisca Issue:

Dizon Tioco Tioco Tioco Tioco de
Whether or not all relatives of the praepositus, within the third degree in the
Papa appropriate line, succeed without distinction to the reservable property upon the
death of the reservista? Or, are the rights of said relatives subject to, and should
be determined by, the rules on intestate succession?
Faustino Trinidad
Held:
Dizon Dizon-Tongko
The reserva troncal merely determines the group of relatives (reservatarios) to
whom the property should be returned; but within that group, the individual right
Dalisay D. Tongko-
to the property should be decided by the applicable rules of ordinary intestate
Camacho succession.

Reversion of the reservable property being governed by the rules on intestate

The late Balbino Tioco had 4 children: Toribia (deceased), Nicolas, Manuel and succession, the plaintiffs must be held without any right thereto because, as
Francisca. He also had a sister, Romana Tioco. aunt and uncles of Faustino Dizon (the praepositus), they are excluded from the
succession by his niece, Dalisay, although they are related to him within the
Toribia was married to Eustacio Dizon, and had 2 legitimate children: Faustino same degree as the latter.
and Trinidad. Trinidad is the mother of defendant Dalisay D. Tongko-Camacho.
Under Article 1009, the absence of brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces of the
Thus, Dalisay is the great granddaughter of Balbino Tioco, and the decedent is a precondition to the other collaterals (uncles, cousins, etc.) being
granddaughter of the plaintiffs. called to the succession.

Romana, during her lifetime, donated 4 parcels of land to her niece Toribia. The We, therefore, hold, and so rule, that under our laws of succession, a
latter died intestate in 1915, survived by her husband and their two children. decedent's uncles and aunts may not succeed ab intestato so long as nephews
Thus, these lands were inherited by her children in equal pro-indiviso shares. and nieces of the decedent survive and are willing and qualified to succeed…

In 1928, Balbino died intestate. In the partition of his estate, 3 parcels of land This conclusion is fortified by the observation in Padura v. Baldovino, that as to
were adjudicated as the inheritance of the late Toribia Tioco, which devolved the reservable property, the reservatarios do not inherit from the reservista, but
upon her children Faustino and Trinidad Dizon in equal pro-indiviso shares. from the descendant praepositus:

In 1937, Faustino died intestate, single and without issue. Thus, Eustacio, his "… It is likewise clear that the reservable property is no part of the estate of the
father, inherited his 1/2 pro-indiviso share in the 7 parcels of land, as he was reservista, who may not dispose of it by will, as long as there are reservatarios
 Reserva Troncal 4

existing. The latter, therefore, do not inherit from the reservista, but from the
descendant prepositus, of whom the reservatarios are the heirs mortis causa,
subject to the condition that they must survive the reservista…"

Had the reversionary property passed directly from the praepositus, there is no
doubt that the plaintiffs would have been excluded by the defendant under the
rules of intestate succession.

There is no reason why a different result should obtain simply because "the
transmission of the property was delayed by the interregnum of the reserva;"
i.e., the property took a "detour" through an ascendant ---- thereby giving rise
to the reservation ---- before its transmission to the reservatario.

Gonzales v. CFI (1981)
Benito Legarda y Tuason died on June 17, 1933. He was survived by his widow,
Filomena Roces, and their 7 children: 4 daughters named Beatriz, Rosario,
Teresa and Filomena and 3 sons named Benito, Alejandro and Jose.
On July 12, 1939, the real properties left by Benito Legarda y Tuason were
partitioned in 3 equal portions by his daughters, Consuelo and Rita, and the
heirs of his deceased son Benito Legarda y De la Paz, represented by Benito F.
Legarda.
Filomena Legarda y Roces died intestate and without issue on March 19, 1943.
Her sole heiress was her mother, Filomena Roces Vda. de Legarda.
Mrs. Legarda executed on May 12, 1947 an affidavit adjudicating extra-judicially
to herself the properties which she inherited from her deceased daughter,
Filomena Legarda. These properties are in litigation in this case.
As a result of the affidavit of adjudication, Filomena Roces succeeded her
deceased daughter Filomena Legarda as co-owner of the properties held pro-
indiviso by her other 6 children.
On March 6, 1953, Mrs. Legarda executed 2 hand-written identical documents
wherein she disposed the properties she inherited from her daughter in favor of
the children of her sons, Benito, Alejandro and Jose (16 grandchildren in all).
During the period from July, 1958 to February, 1959, Mrs. Legarda and her 6
surviving children partitioned the properties consisting of the 1/3 share in the
estate of Benito Legarda y Tuason which the children inherited in representation
of their father, Benito Legarda y De la Paz.
Mrs. Legarda died on September 22, 1967. Her will was admitted to probate as a
holographic will. In the testate proceeding, Beatriz Legarda Gonzalez, a
daughter of the testatrix, filed on May 20, 1968 a motion to exclude from the
inventory of her mother's estate the properties which she inherited from her
deceased daughter, Filomena, on the ground that said properties are reservable
properties which should be inherited by Filomena Legarda's three sisters and
three brothers and not by the children of Benito, Alejandro and Jose, all
surnamed Legarda. That motion was opposed by the administrator, Benito F.
Legarda.
Without awaiting the resolution on that motion, Mrs. Gonzalez filed on June 20,
1968 an ordinary civil action against her brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces
and her mother's estate for the purpose of securing a declaration that the said
properties are reservable properties which Mrs. Legarda could not bequeath in
Reserva Troncal 5
her holographic will to her grandchildren to the exclusion of her three daughters
and her three sons.
Issues:
1) Whether or not the properties in litigation are reservable propeDid rties?
2) Did Mrs. Legarda have the right to convey mortis causa the properties
she inherited from her daughter, to the reservees within the 3 rd degree
and to bypass the reservees in the 2nd degree? Or, should that
inheritance automatically go to the reservees in the 2nd degree?
Held:
In reserva troncal, (1) a descendant inherited or acquired by gratuitous title
property from an ascendant or from a brother or sister; (2) the same property is
inherited by another ascendant or is acquired by him by operation of law from
the said descendant, and (3) the said ascendant should reserve the said
property for the benefit of relatives who are within the third degree from the
deceased descendant (prepositus) and who belong to the line from which the
said property came.
So, 3 transmissions are involved:
(1) a first transmission by lucrative title (inheritance or donation) from an
ascendant or brother or sister to the deceased descendant;
(2) a posterior transmission, by operation of law (intestate succession or
legitime) from the deceased descendant (causante de la reserva) in
favor of another ascendant, the reservor or reservista, which two
transmissions precede the reservation, and
(3) a third transmission of the same property (in consequence of the
reservation) from the reservor to the reservees (reservatarios) or the
relatives within the third degree from the deceased descendant
belonging to the line of the first ascendant, brother or sister of the
deceased descendant.
If there are only two transmissions, there is no reserva.
The persons involved in reserva troncal are:
(1) the ascendant or brother or sister from whom the property was received
by the descendant by lucrative or gratuitous title,
(2) the descendant or prepositus (propositus) who received the property,
(3) the reservor (reservista), the other ascendant who obtained the property
from the prepositus by operation of law and
(4) the reservee (reservatario) who is within the third degree from the
prepositus and who belongs to the line (linea o tronco) from which the

property came and for whom the property should be reserved by the
reservor.
The person from whom the degree should be reckoned is the descendant, or the
one at the end of the line from which the property came and upon whom the
property last revolved by descent. He is called the prepositus.
The reservees may be half-brothers and sisters. Fourth degree relatives are not
included. First cousins of the prepositus are in the fourth degree and are not
reservees. They cannot even represent their parents because representation is
confined to relatives within the third degree.
Within the third degree, the nearest relatives exclude the more remote subject to
the rule of representation. But the representative should be within the third
degree from the prepositus.
Reserva troncal contemplates legitimate relationship. Illegitimate relationship and
relationship by affinity are excluded.
Gratuitous title or titulo lucrativo refers to a transmission wherein the recipient
gives nothing in return such as donation and succession.
The reserva creates two resolutory conditions, namely, (1) the death of the
ascendant obliged to reserve and (2) the survival, at the time of his death, of
relatives within the third degree belonging to the line from which the property
came.
The reservor has the legal title and dominion to the reservable property but
subject to the resolutory condition that such title is extinguished if the reservor
predeceased the reservee. The reservor is a usufructuary of the reservable
property. He may alienate it subject to the reservation. The transferee gets the
revocable and conditional ownership of the reservor. The transferee's rights are
revoked upon the survival of the reservees at the time of the death of the
reservor but become indefeasible when the reservees predecease the reservor.
The reservor's title has been compared with that of the vendee a retro in a pacto
de retro sale or to a fideicomiso condicional.
The reservor's alienation of the reservable property is subject to a resolutory
condition, meaning that if at the time of the reservor's death, there are
reservees, the transferee of the property should deliver it to the reservees. If
there are no reservees at the time of the reservor's death, the transferee's title
would become absolute.
On the other hand, the reservee has only an inchoate, expectant or contingent
right. His expectant right would disappear if he predeceased the reservor. It
would become absolute should the reservor predecease the reservee.
Reserva Troncal 6
The reservee cannot impugn any conveyance made by the reservor but he can
require that the reservable character of the property be recognized by the
purchaser.
The renunciation of the reservee's right to the reservable property is illegal for
being a contract regarding future inheritance.
The reservee's right is a real right which he may alienate and dispose of
conditionally. The condition is that the alienation shall transfer ownership to the
vendee only if and when the reservee survives the reservor.
"The reservatario receives the property as a conditional heir of the descendant
(prepositus), said property merely reverting to the line of origin from which it had
temporarily and accidentally strayed during the reservista's lifetime. The
authorities are all agreed that there being reservatarios that survive the
reservista, the latter must be deemed to have enjoyed no more than a life
interest in the reservable property."
"Even during the reservista's lifetime, the reservatarios, who are the ultimate
acquirers of the property, can already assert the right to prevent the reservista
from doing anything that might frustrate their reversionary right, and, for this
purpose, they can compel the annotation of their right in the registry of property
even while the reservista is alive"
This right is incompatible with the mere expectancy that corresponds to the
natural heirs of the reservista. It is likewise clear that the reservable property is
no part of the estate of the reservista who may not dispose of them (it) by will,
so long as there are reservatarios existing.
"The latter, therefore, do not inherit from the reservista but from the descendant
prepositus, of whom the reservatarios are the heirs mortis causa, subject to the
condition that they must survive the reservista."
Hence, upon the reservista's death, the reservatario nearest to the prepositus
becomes, "automatically and by operation of law, the owner of the reservable
property."
1) In the instant case, the properties in question were indubitably
reservable properties in the hands of Mrs. Legarda. Undoubtedly, she
was a reservor.
The reservation became a certainty when at the time of her death the
reservees or relatives within the third degree of the prepositus were
living.
2) Mrs. Legarda could not convey in her holographic will the reservable
properties which she had inherited from her daughter Filomena because
 Reserva Troncal 7

the reservable properties did not form part of her estate. The reservor
cannot make a disposition mortis causa of the reservable properties as
long as the reservees survived the reservor.

Article 891 clearly indicates that the reservable properties should be

inherited by all the nearest relatives within the third degree from the
prepositus who, in this case, are the 6 children of Mrs. Legarda. She
could not select the reservees to whom the reservable property should
be given and deprive the other reservees of their share therein.

To allow the reservor in this case to make a testamentary disposition of

the reservable properties in favor of the reservees in the third degree
and, consequently, to ignore the reservees in the second degree would
be a glaring violation of article 891. That testamentary disposition
cannot be allowed.

This case is governed by the doctrine of Florentino vs. Florentino,

where it was ruled:

"Reservable property left, through a will or otherwise, by the death of

ascendant (reservista) together with his own property in favor of another
of his descendants as forced heir, forms no part of the latter's lawful
inheritance nor of the legitime, for the reason that, as said property
continued to be reservable, the heir receiving the same as an
inheritance from his ascendant has the strict obligation of its delivery to
the relatives, within the third degree, of the predecessor in interest
( prepositus), without prejudicing the right of the heir to an aliquot part
of the property, if he has at the same time the right of a reservatario"
(reservee).

This means that as long as during the reservor's lifetime and upon his
death, there are relatives within the third degree of the prepositus,
regardless of whether those reservees are common descendants of the
reservor and the ascendant from whom the property came, the property
retains its reservable character. The property should go to the nearest
reservees. The reservor cannot, by means of his will, choose the
reservee to whom the reservable property should be awarded.

It should be repeated that the reservees do not inherit from the reservor
but from the prepositus, of whom the reservees are the heirs mortis
causa, subject to the condition that they must survive the reservor.
 Reserva Troncal 8

Cabardo v. Villanueva (1922)
The last owner of the property in question was Cornelia Abordo; she died on
October 30, 1918, intestate and without issue. Her mother, Basilia Cabardo,
died as far back as in February, 1899; and as Cornelia had no brothers or
sisters, her own father, Lorenzo Abordo, succeeded to all of her properties.
The estate possessed by Cornelia at the time of her death was derived by
inheritance from two sources: in part, from her mother Basilia, and in part, from
her grandmother Isabel Macaraya (mother of Basilia Cabardo, who died in
November, 1912).
Lorenzo, Cornelia’s father, died in December, 1920.
The present claimant, Rosa Cabardo, was a sister to Basilia in life, who had no
brothers or sisters living at the time of the death of her niece, Cornelia.
Issue:
Whether or not the properties are subject to reserva troncal?
imposing any obligation on the part of the recipient; and that the person
receiving the property transmitted deliver, give or do nothing in return.
"In a case where the question raised was as to the right of a minor to the
inheritance of his grandmother, and which question were settled by a
compromise, the Court held that it was not the document of compromise that
determined the character of the title by virtue of which the minor got the
amounts awarded to him, but the thing which was the subject-matter of the
compromise, i.e., the hereditary rights, which import a gratuitous title."
The person from whom the degrees are reckoned is Cornelia Abordo herself,
since she was at the end of the line from which the property came and the
person upon whom the property last devolved by descent. Lorenzo Abordo was
a stranger to that line and not related by blood to those for whom the property is
reserved.
Thus, upon the death of Lorenzo Abordo, the plaintiff was entitled to succeed to
the aforementioned properties, she being the only living person within the limits
of the third degree belonging to the line from which the property came.

Held:

The case falls precisely under Article 811 of the Civil Code. The property which
Cornelia Abordo acquired from her mother, Basilia Cabardo, upon the death of
the latter in 1899, became impressed with the character of reservable property in
the hands of Lorenzo Abordo when he succeeded to those properties by
inheritance from his daughter Cornelia.

The circumstance that said property originally pertained to the conjugal

partnership composed of Basilia Cabardo and Loranzo Abordo is immaterial. It
is sufficient that Cornelia acquired it by inheritance from her mother.

Also, the property acquired by Cornelia Abordo from her grandmother, Isabel
Macaraya, upon the death of the latter in 1912 - whether by testate or intestate
succession is immaterial - pertains to the reservable estate, notwithstanding the
fact that a division of Isabel Macaraya's estate was effected by a partition deed
executed by the persons in interest.

It is sufficient that the property descend to Cornelia Abordo from her

grandmother by gratuitous title (por titulo lucrativo):

"The transmission is by gratuitous title when the recipient does not give anything
in return. It matters not whether the property transmitted be or be not subject to
any prior charges; what is essential is that the transmission be made
gratuitously, or by an act of mere liberality of the person making, without

Cano v. Director of Lands (1959)
The Certificate of Title of the land in question was registered in the name of
Maria Cano, subject to reserva troncal in favor of Eustaquia Guerrero.
On September 8, 1955, the reservista Cano, died. Thus, in October, 1955, the
reservee (reservatorio) Eustaquia applied for the cancellation of the original title
and a new one issued in her favor.
The motion was opposed by the sons of Cano: Jose and Teotimo Fernandez.
They contended that the application and operation of the reserva troncal should
be ventilated in an ordinary proceeding, not in the Registration Court.
However, the lower court granted the petition on the basis of the recorded
reserve. It held that the issuance of a new certificate is proper, for the reason
that the death of the reservista vested the ownership of the property in the
petitioner as the sole reservatario troncal.
The oppositors appealed and argued that the reversion in favor of the
reservatario requires the declaration of the existence of the following facts:
(1) The property was received by a ascendant by gratuitous titled from an
ascendant or from a brother or sister;
(2) Said descendant dies without issue;
(3) The property ascendant by operation of law; and
(4) The existence of relatives within the third degree belonging to the line
from which said property came.
Held:
The requisites enumerated by appellants have already been declared to exist by
the decree of registration wherein the rights of the appellee as reservatario
troncal were expressly recognized.
The property was inherited by Cano from her deceased daughter, Lourdes
Guerrero, who inherited the same from her father, Evaristo Guerrero. Hence,
falls squarely within the provisions of Article 891 of the Civil Code.
The only requisites for the passing of title from the reservista to the appellee are:
(1) the death of the reservista; and
(2) the fact that the reservatario has survived the reservista.
Both facts are admitted, and their existence in nowhere questioned.
Reserva Troncal 9
The contention that an intestacy proceeding is still necessary rests upon the
assumption that the reservatario will succeed in, or inherit, the reservable
property from the reservista. This is not true.
The reservatario is not the reservista's successor mortis causa nor is the
reservable property part of the reservista's estate; the reservatario receives the
property as a conditional heir of the descendant (prepositus), said property
merely reverting to the line of origin from which it had temporarily and
accidentally strayed during the reservatarios that survive the reservista, the latter
must be deemed to have enjoyed no more than a life interest in the reservable
property.
It is a consequence of these principles that upon the death of the reservista, the
reservatario nearest to the prepositus becomes, automatically and by operation
of law, the owner of the reservable property. Hence, its acquisition by the
reservatario may be entered in the property records without necessity of estate
proceedings, since the basic requisites therefor appear of record.
It is equally well settled that the reservable property cannot be transmitted by a
reservista to her or his own successors mortis causa, so long as a reservatario
within the third degree from the prepositus, and belonging to the line whence
the property came, is in existence when the reservista dies.
Of course, where the registration decree merely specifies the reservable
character of the property, without determining the identity of the reservatario, or
where several reservatarios dispute the property among themselves, further
proceedings would be unavoidable. But this is not the case.
The rights of the reservataria Eustaquia Guerrero have been expressly
recognized, and it is nowhere claimed that there are other reservatarios of equal
or nearer degree.
 Reserva Troncal 10

Carillo v. De Paz (1966)
The property in question is Lot No. 221, originally owned by Severino Salak and
Petra Garcia (deceased, September 21, 1941).
On August 16, 1943, Severino sold to Honoria Salak his 1/2 portion of Lot 221.
A year later, or on December 5, 1944, Severino died.
Thus, on November 6, 1950, Ernesto filed a petition for the execution of
the said judgment. Acting on said petition, the court held:
"… in view of the death of the reservista, Doña Agustina, the court
declares all her interest in the 3/4 share of the properties terminated,
and that the reservee, Ernesto, entitled to the immediate delivery to him
of the said 3/4 share declared reserved to him …"

Sometime in January 1945, Honoria and other members of her family died — On April 22, 1963, Prima Carrillo and Lorenzo Licup, heirs of Agustina, filed suit
massacred by the Japanese. for the recovery of their share in Lot No. 221 against Francisca and Ernesto.

As a result, two settlement proceedings were instituted: On June 20, 1963, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that
the cause of action is barred by prescription.
(1) SP No. 3, to settle the estates of Severino Salak and Petra Garcia
Held:
On September 4, 1946, a Project of Partition adjudicated Lot No. 221 to
Francisca Salak de Paz (1/4 of it, in her capacity as heir, the other 3/4 According to Manresa, the reserva is extinguished upon the death of the
by purchase and/or exchange with her co-heirs: Rita Sahagun, Aurea reservista, as it then becomes a right of full ownership on the part of the
Sahagun and Ernesto Bautista). reservatarios, who can bring a revindicatory suit therefor. However, this right, if
not exercised within the time for recovering real properties, prescribes.
On November 9, 1948, Agustina de Guzman Vda. de Carrillo filed an
action against the Francisca to recover 1/2 of Lot No. 221. Scaevola shares the view that prescription can apply against the reservatarios to
cut off their right to the reservable property.
(2) SP No. 23, to settle the estates of the Salak family
Appellants, as reservatarios, had the right to claim the property from the time
 Parents: Simeon Salak and Isabel Carrillo when the reservista, Agustina, died on April 24, 1950.
 Children: Adolfo, Honoria, Consuelo and Ligaya
Section 40 of the Code of Civil Procedure fixes 10 years as the period of
The court held that the heirs entitled to the estates of the Salak family prescription for actions to recover real property, counted from the time the
were Agustina (3/4 share) and Ernesto (1/4 share), applying the cause of action accrued.
survivorship presumption:
Appellants' suit herein, having been filed only on April 22, 1963, or more than 10
i. Simeon died first — his properties went to his children: Adolfo, years from April 24, 1950, has prescribed.
Honoria, Consuelo and Ligaya (1/4, each);
ii. Honoria, Consuelo and Ligaya died next — Honoria's and
Consuelo's properties went to their mother, Isabel; those of
Ligaya went to her son, Ernesto Bautista;
iii. Isabel died next — her properties went to her son Adolfo; and
iv. Adolfo died last — his properties went to his maternal
grandmother, Agustina.

Agustina, thereby, succeeded to the properties that came by intestate

succession from Honoria and Isabel, including 1/2 of Lot No. 221.

On April 24, 1950, Agustina died. Subsequently, or on June 8, 1950,

the court decreed the properties inherited by Agustina subject to
reserva troncal.
 Reserva Troncal 11

De los Reyes v. Paterno (1916) "Upon the death of Juana Reyes y Reyes, who died intestate, Concepcion
Crispina Dorotea Severina del Rosario y Reyes, a daughter of the marriage of
This action was commenced on February 7, 1914, for the purpose of declaring the deceased with the applicant, Tomas G. del Rosario, was declared to be the
the plaintiff as owner of 1/2 of 2 parcels of land located in Sta. Cruz, Manila. sole heir of decedent on February 20, 1892.

The defendant, in his special defense, alleged that the said Tomas G. del
Rosario, at the time of his death, was the sole and only owner of said lots or
parcels of land.
The court a quo rendered a judgment ordering the defendant to deliver to the
plaintiff one-half of one of said parcels of land.
From that conclusion the defendant appealed, and made this assignment of
error: that the lower court "erred in not holding that the decree of the Court of
Land Registration is res judicata against the plaintiff; and that the two
certificates of title of the properties that are the subject matter of the complaint,
issued in behalf of Tomas G. del Rosario by virtue of said decree, are
conclusive and decisive proof against the plaintiff."
Held:
If it is true that during the lifetime of Tomas G. del Rosario, he obtained a
Torrens title for the lots or parcels of land in question, and if that judgment or
decree of the Court of Land Registration became final, or if more than one year
had elapsed after the decree, then his title is unimpeachable and cannot be
annulled or set aside, even for fraud.
"On June 3, 1900, the said Concepcion del Rosario y Reyes also died, at the
age of 9 years, and was succeeded in all her rights and actions, and in respect
to one-half of the property, by the applicant Tomas G. del Rosario, who was
already the owner of the other half of the property."
From the 21st of September, 1909, until the 7th of February, 1914, much more
than one year elapsed. The title, therefore of Tomas G. del Rosario was absolute
and complete. The failure of the plaintiff, if he ever had any interest or title in
said land, to appear and oppose the registration of the same in the name of
Tomas G. del Rosario or to question the registration in his name during a period
of one year after the certificate of title had been issued, operates to exclude him
forever from questioning the title granted under the Torrens system.
The plaintiff having lost his right to claim any interest in the lots or parcels of
land in question, by virtue of his (a) failure to present any opposition to the
registration of the same under the Torrens system in favor of Tomas G. del
Rosario, or (b) to question the validity of such registration within a period of one
year thereafter he has forever lost his right therein, if he ever had any.

As was noted above, the present action was commenced on the 7th of
February, 1914. During the trial, the defendant presented as proof Exhibit C
which shows the following facts:

First. That the said Tomas G. del Rosario presented a petition in the Court of
Land Registration on the 24th of April, 1909, for the registration under the
Torrens system of the two parcels of land in question.

Second. That on the 21st of September, 1909, the Court of Land Registration
rendered the following decree, ordering said parcels of land to be registered in
the name of Tomas G. del Rosario:

"The applicant has presented documentary evidence, from which a certified

copy issued by the register of deeds of Manila on July 17, 1907, of the entry
made in the old property registry, it was deduced that these properties have
been the subject of successive and legal conveyances since the year 1879, until
they were acquired by the applicant in August and September, 1891, by
purchase, during his conjugal partnership, now dissolved, with his wife, Juana
Reyes y Reyes, and that the ownership of both properties was recorded in the
said property registry in the name of Tomas G. del Rosario.

Dizon v. Galang (1926)
Rufina Dizon was married to Vicente Galang, with whom she had a son named
Francisco. She inherited from her parents the 3 parcels of land in question.
On October 4, 1904, Rufina Dizon died. Francisco inherited from her the said
lands.
On December 8, 1904, Francisco died and his father Vicente, by operation of
law, inherited from him the 3 parcels of land. These lands, under the law, are
considered as reservable property, although they do not appear as such in the
registry of deeds.
In 1913, Vicente sold the 1st 2 parcels to Juan Medina; in 1909, the 3rd to
Teodoro Jurado, without informing them that they were reservable property.
The plaintiffs: Pedro and Severina Dizon, brother and sister of the deceased
Rufina, being related to her within the third degree, brought this action against
Vicente Galang, Juan Medina and Teodoro Jurado.
The complaint prays that the sales of this land by Vicente Galang to Juan
Medina and Teodoro Jurado be set aside; that Juan Medina and Teodoro Jurado
be ordered to return the said parcels of land; that Vicente Galang be compelled
to record in the registry of deeds the reservable character of this land and to
execute a mortgage to secure its value. The complaint was dismissed.
Held:
The provisions regarding a reservation by the widowed spouse in Article 968 are
also applicable to the reservation known as troncal referred to in Article 811.
Article 975 permits the sale of reservable property by the widower, after
contracting a second marriage, subject, however, to the reservation as a
resolutory condition, in case, at the time of the death of the vendor bound to
make the reservation, there should be legitimate children or descendants of the
first marriage, without prejudice to the provisions of the Mortgage Law.
According to the foregoing, the sales made by Vicente Galang (who was bound
to make the reservation) of the three parcels of land, which are reservable
property, in favor of Juan Medina and Teodoro Jurado, cannot be set aside
unless the resolutory condition imposed by the reservation shall have occurred,
which is not the case here.
Since these parcels of land have been legally transferred to third persons,
Vicente Galang has lost ownership thereof and cannot now register nor record in
the registry of deeds their reservable character; neither can he affect the fee
simple, which does not belong to him, to the damage of Juan Medina and
Reserva Troncal 12
Teodoro Jurado, who acquired the said land in good faith, free of all
incumbrances.
As already intimated, the law relating to the reservation by the widowed spouse
in Article 968 is applicable to the reserva troncal in Article 811. However, in the
reserva troncal, the property goes to the reservor as reservable property and it
remains so until the reservation takes place or is extinguished.
In a reservation by the widowed spouse there are two distinct stages: one, when
the property goes to the widower without being reservable; two, when the
widower contracts a second marriage, the property becomes reservable. These
two stages affect differently transfers that may be made of the property.
If the property is sold during the 1 st stage, before becoming reservable, it is
absolutely free and is transferred to the purchaser unencumbered. But if the sale
is made during the 2nd stage, that is, when the duty to reserve has arisen, the
property goes to the purchaser subject to the reservation, without prejudice to
the provisions of the Mortgage Law.
This is why the law provides that should the property be sold before it becomes
reservable, or before the widower contracts another marriage, he will be
compelled to secure the value of the property by a mortgage upon contracting a
new marriage, so that the reservation may not lose its efficacy and that the
rights of those for whom the reservation is made may be assured.
This mortgage is not required by law when the sale is made after the reservation
has arisen because the reservation will follow the property, without prejudice to
the contrary provisions of the Mortgage Law and the rights of innocent
purchasers.
Thus, the rules established for reservation by a widowed spouse to secure the
value of the property sold by the widower, before becoming reservable, are not
applicable to the reserva troncal where the property goes to the ascendant
already reservable in character. A sale in the case of reserva troncal might be
analogous to a sale made by the widower after contracting a second marriage in
the case of reservation by the widowed spouse.

Florentino v. Florentino (1919)
Apolonio Isabelo Florentino II, during his lifetime, married twice. The 1 st time,
with Antonia Faz de Leon, with whom he begot 9 children: Jose, Juan, Maria,
Encarnacion, Isabel, Espirita, Gabriel, Pedro, and Magdalena.
On becoming a widower, he married the 2 nd time with Severina Faz de Leon, with
whom he had 2 children: Mercedes and Apolonio III.
On January 17 and February 13, 1890, Apolonio II executed a will instituting as
his universal heirs his 10 children, the posthumous Apolonio III and his widow
Severina Faz; he declared that all his property should be divided among all of his
children of both marriages.
Apolonio III died in 1891; his mother, Severina Faz, succeeded to all his
property.
Severina Faz died on November 18, 1908, leaving a will instituting as her
universal heiress her only living daughter, Mercedes Florentino. As such heir,
said daughter took possession of all the property left at the death of her mother,
among those is that property inherited from Apolonio II.
2.
Issues:
1. Whether or not the properties inherited by Severina Faz from her son,
Apolonio III, constitute reservable properties?
2. Whether or not the testator can dispose by will the properties subject to
reserva troncal?
3. Whether or not the reservista can choose which reservatorio can inherit
the property subject to reserva troncal?
Held:
1. At the death of Apolonio II, under a will, his 11 children succeeded to
the inheritance he left. In 1891, Apolonio III died; he was succeeded by
his mother Severina Faz (included in the inheritance is the property in
question).
That Apolonio III acquired the property in question by a lucrative title or
by inheritance from his father is without any doubt. Thus, when, on the
death of Apolonio III, without issue, the same passed by operation of
law into the hands of his mother, it became reservable property, with
the object that the same should not fall into the possession of persons
Reserva Troncal 13
other than those comprehended within the order of succession traced
by the law from Apolonio II, the source of said property.
When Severina Faz died in 1908, she left in her will said property,
together with her own, to her only daughter and forced heiress,
Mercedes. However, the reservable nature of such property was not
lost.
The law so provides that ascendants do not inherit the reservable
property, but only its enjoyment, use or trust. The law imposes the
obligation to reserve and preserve the same for certain designated
persons who, upon the death of the said ascendants-reservists, (taking
into consideration the nature of the line from which such property
came) acquire the ownership of said property in fact and by operation
of law in the same manner as forced heirs.
These designated persons (reservatarios) are the relatives, within the
third degree, of the descendant from whom the reservable property
came.
Reservable property neither comes, nor falls under, the absolute
dominion of the ascendant who inherits and receives the same from his
descendant. Therefore, it does not form part of his own property nor
become the legitime of his forced heirs. It becomes his own property,
only, in case all the relatives of his descendant shall have died
(reservista), in which case said reservable property losses such
character.
Any ascendant who inherits from his descendant any property, while
there are living, within the third degree, relatives of the latter, is nothing
but a life usufructuary or a fiduciary of the reservable property received.
But if, afterwards, all of the relatives, within the third degree, of the
descendant die or disappear, the said property becomes free property,
by operation of law, and the ascendant heir can transmit it at his death
to his legitimate successors or testamentary heirs.
If this property was clothed with the character and condition of
reservable property when Severina Faz inherited the same from her son
Apolonio III, she did not acquire the dominion or right of ownership but
only the right of usufruct or of fiduciary, with the necessary obligation to
preserve and to deliver or return it as such reservable property to her
deceased son's relatives within the third degree, among whom is her
daughter, Mercedes.
 Reserva Troncal 14

With full right, Severina Faz de Leon could have disposed in her will of
all her own property in favor of her only living daughter as forced
heiress. But whatever provision there is in her will concerning the
reservable property received from her son Apolonio III, is unlawful, null
and void, inasmuch as said property is not her own.
3. Following the order prescribed by law in legitimate succession, when
there are relatives of the descendant within the 3rd degree, the right of
the nearest relative, called reservatario, over the property which the
reservista (person holding it subject to reservation) should return to him,
excludes that of the one more remote.
The right of representation cannot be alleged when the one claming as a
reservatario of the reservable property is not among the relatives within the third
degree belonging to the line from which such property came.
Thus, there is a right of representation on the part of reservatarios who are
within the third degree mentioned by law, as in the case of nephews of the
deceased person from whom the reservable property came. These reservatarios
have the right to represent their ascendants (fathers and mothers) who are the
brothers of the said deceased person and relatives, within the third degree.

There are then 7 "reservatarios" who are entitled to the reservable

property left at the death of Apolonio III:

a. the 3 children of the 1st marriage of Apolonio II - Encarnacion,

Gabriel, Magdalena;

b. the other 3 children, Jose, Espirita and Pedro, represented by their

own 12 children respectively; and

c. Mercedes Florentino, his daughter by 2nd marriage.

All of the plaintiffs are the relatives of the deceased Apolonio III, within
the 3rd degree (4 of whom being his half-brothers and the remaining 12
being his nephews as they are the children of his 3 half-brothers). As
the first 4 are his relatives within the third degree in their own right and
the other 12 are such by representation, all of them are indisputably
entitled as reservatarios to the property.

It is true that when Mercedes Florentino, the heiress of the reservista

Severina, took possession of the property in question, same did not
pass into the hands of strangers. But it is likewise true that Mercedes is
not the only reservataria. And there is no reason founded upon law and
upon the principle of justice why the other reservatarios, the other
brothers and nephews, relatives within the third degree should be
deprived of portions of the property which, as reservable property,
pertain to them.

As there were seven reservees, Mercedes was entitled, as a reservee, to

one-seventh of the properties. The other six-sevenths portions were
adjudicated to the other six reservees.

Obiter: On the question of right of representation

 Reserva Troncal 15

Nieva v. Alcala (1920) vice versa, from which it must be deduced that natural parents neither have the
right to inherit from legitimate ones; the law in the article cited establishes a
Juliana Nieva, the natural mother of Segunda Maria Nieva, married Francisco barrier between the two families; properties of the legitimate family shall never
Deocampo. Of said marriage Alfeo Deocampo was born. pass by operation of law to the natural family."

Juliana died intestate on April 19, 1889, and her son, Alfeo Deocampo, inherited
from her ab intestate, the parcels of land in question.
Alfeo died intestate and without issue on July 7, 1890. Thus, the lands passed to
his father, Francisco, by intestate succession. Thereafter, Francisco married
Manuela Alcala, of which marriage was born Jose Deocampo.
Francisco died on August 3, 1914, whereupon his widow and son took
possession of the lands in question.
Scaevola, arrives at the same conclusion as Manresa. "La reserva del articulo
811 es privilegio de la familia legitima. (The reservation in article 811 i6 a
privilege of the legitimate family.)"
Article 943, above referred to by Manresa, provides as follows:
"A natural or legitimated child has no right to succeed ab intestate the legitimate
children and relatives of the father or mother who has acknowledged it; nor shall
such children or relatives so inherit from the natural or legitimated child."

On September 30, 1915, Segunda, as acknowledged natural daughter of Juliana, To hold that the appellant is entitled to the property left by her natural brother,
instituted the present action for the purpose of recovering from the parcels of Alfeo Deocampo, by operation of law, would be a flagrant violation of the
land in question, invoking the article 811 of the Civil Code. express provisions of the foregoing article (943).

Issue:

Whether or not an illegitimate relative within the 3 rd degree is entitled to the

reserva troncal?

Held:

Manresa, in determining the persons in whose favor the reservation is

established, says:

"Persons in whose favor the reservation is established. - … In the interpretation

of article 811 … the reservation is established in favor of the parents who are
within the third degree and belong to the line from which the properties came.

"It treats of blood relationship… It could not be otherwise, because relationship

by affinity is established between each spouse and the family of the other, by
marriage, and to admit it, would be to favor the transmission of the properties of
the family of one spouse to that of the other, which is just what this article
intends to prevent.

"It also treats of legitimate relationship. The person obliged to reserve is a

legitimate ascendant who inherits from a descendant property which proceeds
from the same legitimate family, and this being true, there can be no question,
because the line from which the properties proceed must be the line of that
family and only in favor of that line is the reservation established. Furthermore,
we have already said, the object is to protect the patrimony of the legitimate
family, following the precedents of the foral law. And it could not be otherwise.
Article 943 denies to legitimate parents the right to succeed the natural child and