The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the appeal of a retired police officer seeking to overturn a ruling of the Taguig City Regional Trial Court that dismissed his and his family’s bid to stay in a compound in Taguig which the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) claims ownership.
In a 13-page decision dated April 25, 2024, the CA’s Fifth Division junked the petition of retired Police Senior Master Sergeant Arnel Delos Santos and his wife, Josephine Delos Santos, assailing the Nov. 15, 2022 ruling of the Taguig RTC Branch 271 dismissing their bid to stay in the parcel of land located at the Old RDSU Compound, Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Brgy. Western Bicutan, Taguig.
The NCRPO has asserted that the compound is government owned and that Delos Santos and his family were allowed to live there only until his retirement in 2019 as the logistic officer for the Philippine National Police (PNP).
The regional police office said the compound on which Delos Santos built his family’s home was part of the Fort Bonifacio reservation area covered by the agreement entered into by the PNP with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The ownership issue arose when in April 2020 a team of policemen from the Southern Police District led by Brig.General Arwin Pagkalinawan entered the property to try to evict Delos Santos and his family.
Delos Santos also accused several police officer, including then NCRPO chief, Maj.General Debold Sinas of harassing him and his family as he insisted he owned the property by purchasing it from one Deogenes Rodriguez.
The harassment claim prompted then PNP chief Archie Gamboa to order an investigation, especially after delos Santos’ son, Arles, posted on Facebook of several policemen including Sinas who went to their home.
The retired police officer claimed Rodriguez appointed him administrator of the Rodriquez estate, including the compound, before he bought the property.
He then filed a case before the Taguig RTC, naming as respondents the PNP, NCRPO and the SPD.
However, the RTC dismissed the case, prompting Delos Santos to elevate it to the appellate court.
But the appellate court sided with the RTC, saying Delos Santos’ appeal is “bereft of merit.”
“Petitioners-appellants contend that the court a quo’s act of not conducting a trial on the merits effectively deprived them of their right to due process, and consequently, of their property. They were likewise deprived of the opportunity to cross-examine the evidence of respondents-appellees. We are not persuaded,” stated the CA ruling penned by Associate Justice Ramon Garcia.
Associate Justices Michael Ong and Gabriel Robeniol concurred with the decision.
The CA stressed that RTC did not err in rendering a summary judgment on the case, adding that the trial court correctly held that “no genuine issues exists as to the ownership of the subject property.”
“From a careful perusal of the parties’ respective evidence, it found that TCT No.38400, from which petitioners-appellants derived their supposed legal and or beneficial ownership, was spurious.As such, the same could not be the source of any right, and all documents emanating therefrom are considered void and without any legal effect,” the CA said.
The CA said Delos Santos further confirmed the government’s ownership of the subject property when he admitted during the pre-trial of the case that he asked the NCRPO for an extension of time to stay when the regional police office asked him and his family to leave.
The appellate court also said the respondents were able to submit documentary evidence, including certifications issued by the Register of Deeds of Rizal, Antipolo City, Marikina and Pasig that TCT No.38400 does not exist in their respective official records.
“With the above admissions-petitioners-appellants effectively negated their own claims and further butressed respondents-appellees ownership of the subject property. Since there is no genuine issue existing as to the ownership of the subject property, the court a quo correctly rendered a summary judgment,” the CA said.
The appellate court likewise held that Delos Santos’ claim of denial of due process has no legal basis to stand on.
“By reason of the foregoing discussion, there is no compelling reason to veer away from the assailed judgment of the court a quo,” the appellate court held.