SC voids ALI land title in Las Piñas

The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed with finality its ruling stripping Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) of ownership in a contested property in Las Piñas City.

In a resolution promulgated on Dec. 4 last year, the second division of the high court denied the appeal filed by ALI on its decision involving a 49-hectare golf course in its Southvale development.

The SC held that ALI’s motion for reconsideration lacked merit to warrant the reversal of the earlier ruling which voided the developer’s title on the property due to defective lot surveys.

The property was convert- ed into a golf course and materials depot of Ayala Corp’s Makati Development Corp. (MDC).

The SC ruled in favor of spouses Yu Hwa Ping and Mary Gaw and heirs of spouses Andres and Josefa Mia Diaz, who held original titles of the land.

It reversed and set aside the June 2006 ruling of the Court of Appeals that favored ALI, which traced its TCT from the purchase of the property from CPJ Corp. in 1992.

The SC cited numerous serious errors in land surveys that affected the validity of the original titles upon which Ayala’s TCTs were based.

It held that the defects were so blatant that the titles with CPJ should be voided even if it was duly registered.

SC pointed out that when a land registration decree is marred by severe irregularity that discredits the integrity of the Torrens system, it would not think twice in striking down such illegal title in order to protect the public against unscrupulous and illicit land ownership.

In favoring petitioners, the SC disagreed with findings of the CA that the Diaz couple committed fraud when they registered their lots despite overlapping claims by CPJ.

Petitioners “had no obligation to inform CPJ of their application for registration and they could not be held guilty of fraud,” the SC said.

In January 1994, spouses Yu acquired ownership over Lot 1-B originating from OCT No. 8510 of spouses Diaz with an area of 135,000 square meters.

Pursuant to the transfers of land to spouses Yu, TCT Nos. 39408 and 64549 were issued in their names.

CPJ, on the other hand, transferred their interest in the subject properties to third persons in May 1980. In 1988, Ayala Corp. obtained the subject properties from Goldenrod Inc. and PESALA.

In 1992, pursuant to the merger of respondent ALI and Las Piñas Ventures Inc., ALI acquired all the subject properties.