EN BANC
G.R. No. L-26112 April 11, 1972
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, MIGUEL TOLENTINO, SR., ZOILA DE CHAVEZ, DEOGRACIAS MERCADO, MARIANO PANTOJA, GUILLERMO MERCADO, AGAPITO REYES, ISIDRO BESAS, LEONA LACHICA, ELENO MACALINDONG, DIONISIO MACALINDONG, DOROTEO SARA, JOAQUIN CAUNCERAN, VIRGILIO AGUILAR, FELIX DUMAN, PIO BACULI, ANTERO APOLINAR, FLAVIANO CURZADO, ROSENDO IBAÑEZ, ARCADIO GONZALES, FELIX BORJA and BLAS BASCO, petitioners,
vs.
HON. JAIME DE LOS ANGELES, Judge, COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF BATANGAS, Branch III, Balayan, Batangas; AYALA Y CIA AND/OR HACIENDA CALATAGAN and ALFONSO ZOBEL, respondents.
Separate Opinions
MAKALINTAL, J., concurring:
I concur in the resolution penned by Mr. Justice Julio Villamor denying reconsideration of the resolution of this Court dated October 4, 1971.
However, I am constrained to write this concurrence in view of certain assumptions in the dissenting opinion penned by Mr. Justice Claudio Teehankee, which to my mind not only begs the very question at issue by asserting as a categorical fact that "it reverses and sets aside the damage award therein against Ayala in favor of Tolentino (estimated at close to P2 million now)," the existence of such award being precisely the bone of contention, but also misreads the scope and import of said resolution by ascribing to it consequences which are neither expressed nor implied, namely, that it "would promote usurpations of the public domain, as well as simulation of sales thereof by the usurper ..."
To make my own position clear, I deem it proper and necessary to state the question as I see it and thereby circumscribe what I understand to be the real thrust of the majority resolution. That question is whether respondent Ayala, under the judgment of the Court of First Instance as affirmed with modification by this Court on appeal, is liable to petitioner Tolentino for the compensatory damages mentioned in said judgment, "in the sum of P3,000 a year per hectare of Lot 360 from March 11, 1954, until he is placed in lawful possession of said area." Considering the area of the said lot, the damages reach a total of P90,000 yearly, or over P1-1/2 million from 1954 up to the present, plus the corresponding predictable increase every year hereafter. The undisguised bitterness of the dissent, it would seem, proceeds from the fact that Tolentino has failed to collect this huge and, in our view, undeserved largesse. Thus it is said: "Tolentino has been left now holding an empty verdict awarding him against Ayala compensatory damages of close to P2 million ..." Again there is here a begging of the question.
The basis — the only one in fact — of the award of damages to Tolentino is set forth in the decision of the trial court as follows:
From the evidence thus submitted, only intervenor Miguel Tolentino has submitted evidence to substantiate his claim to Lot 360 of Psd-40891 in TCT No. T-9550 which this Court has found it to be a portion of the land belonging to the public dominion. Tolentino's contention that he is entitled to damages consisting of fruits of fishpond received by the defendants Dizons is well taken. ... To the mind of the Court, insofar as this Lot 360 is concerned, the Dizons began possessing in bad faith from the time that they became aware of a defect in their title or mode of acquisition (Art. 526 of the Civil Code, Leong Yee v. Strong Machinery Company, 37 Phil. 644). This was on March 11, 1954, when the Director of Fisheries dismissed their protest to the fishpond application of the Tolentinos on the ground that the fishpond was outside the boundaries of Hacienda de Calatagan and a part of the territorial sea. As such possessor, they are liable for the fruits received as well as those which the lawful possessors would have received pursuant to Article 549 of the Civil Code. From the time this complaint has been filed up to the present, it has been admitted that the defendants Dizons are in possession of the portion of the sea denominated as Lot 360 of Psd-40891. Evidence shows that the fruits that could be received were P1,000.00 per hectare of milk-fish or bañgos and P2,000.00 per hectare of shrimps, crabs and other fishes. Intervenor Tolentino should therefore be awarded damages in the sum of P3,000.00 a year per hectare from March 11, 1954 until he is placed in lawful possession of the fishpond in Lot 360. (Emphasis supplied)
Several points, legal and factual, are implicit in the foregoing statement of the trial court: (1) Tolentino is entitled to damages because he is entitled to the possession of the property, and his right to the possession started in 1954; (2) the defendants Dizon are liable to pay such damages because since 1954 they have been possessors in bad faith; and (3) the damages consist of the fruits received by the Dizons in the form of fish, crabs and shrimps during that period. This is in accordance with Article 549 of the Civil Code, which provides that "a possessor in bad faith shall reimburse the fruits received and those which the legitimate possessor could have received." It should be noted that the liability for damages is imposed by this provision upon the possessor, if his possession is in bad faith, and upon no other person. This, of course, is but the logical consequence of the fact that the damages are for the fruits received and the fruits are received only by the possessor.
However, when the case was appealed to this Court, the judgment of the trial court was modified. We held, in the decision penned by Mr. Justice Barrera (G.R. No. L-20950, May 31, 1965), that the Dizons were possessors in good faith, that "they have a right to retention of the property until they are reimbursed of the necessary expenses made on the land, which must properly be established and determined ... (and) that as such possessors in good faith the defendants Dizon cannot also be held liable for damages allegedly suffered by the other parties on account of their possession of the property."
The necessary and logical implications of our decision are: (1) the Dizons, being possessors in good faith, are entitled to retain possession of the land and receive the fruits thereof until they are reimbursed the necessary expenses they have incurred on the property; (2) as long as they have a right to the fruits the same right cannot be recognized in favor of Tolentino; and (3) and by the same token, as long as they continue in rightful possession, Tolentino can have no right thereto. For possession is indivisible and cannot be exercised by two or more persons having adverse interests.
The real question of substantive law which has a material and persuasive bearing on the interpretation of the judgment of the trial court insofar as Ayala is concerned is not who should pay damages to Tolentino but rather whether or not he is entitled to damages at all. His right thereto being inexistent, his claim should not be entertained, against whichever party he may address it. To recognize such right by reason of an ambiguous and unhappy phrasing of the judgment of the trial court would do violence to one of the most basic principles in equity — that no one may enrich himself unjustly at the expense of another.
Viewing the situation from Ayala's standpoint, it must be remembered that the said defendant was not a possessor vis-a-vis Tolentino, for when Tolentino applied for a fishpond permit, on which his claim of the right to possess is based, Ayala had already sold and delivered the land to the Dizons. Ayala was completely out of the picture when Tolentino came in for the first time. If Ayala had any liability at all it was in favor of the Dizons, upon the implied warranty of title in connection with the sale. But certainly not in favor of any party subsequent to the sale who does not claim under any derivative title proceeding directly or through intermediate parties from Ayala as original holder of the registered title. As far as Tolentino is concerned the question of whether Ayala acquired the property in good faith or in bad faith is entirely immaterial. As a matter of fact, however, there is nothing in the decision of the trial court or in the decision of this Court on appeal which declares or even suggests that Ayala's possession prior to the sale to the Dizons was in bad faith. Neither is there any reference in the body of either decision to Ayala's responsibility for damages. The entire discussion on the point is focused on the Dizons, as logically it should be, for under the law it is only the Dizons who could possibly be made liable to Tolentino, considering that they were the ones in possession.
The liability allegedly imposed on Ayala in the decision of this Court relative to the execution of the judgment is predicated exclusively on paragraph (c) of said judgment of the trial court which states as follows:
Ordering all the defendants to jointly and severally pay Intervenor Miguel Tolentino compensatory damages in the sum of P3,000.00 a year per hectare of Lot 360 from March 11, 1954, until he is placed in lawful possession of the said area.
Tolentino clings to the phrase "all the defendants" and contends that Ayala, being necessarily included therein, remains liable after the Dizons were eliminated therefrom by the amendatory decision of this Court of May 31, 1965. A situation — unthinkable in its consequences — is at once conjured by the contention. The Dizons have been declared possessors in good faith and entitled to retain the land until they are reimbursed the necessary expenses they have incurred thereon. Presumably — the decision does not say so — Tolentino is the party called upon to make the reimbursement, since it is he who wants to take possession. Indeed, if he was serious in asserting his right to such possession all he had to do was to reimburse the Dizons for the value of the improvements, of which he would then be the beneficiary. But of course he can hardly be expected to reimburse the Dizons, because, under his theory, as long as he does not do so he will continue to receive from Ayala the amount of P90,000 a year in concept of damages as awarded in the judgment, without investing a single centavo for production. In short, at Ayala's expense, Tolentino will be receiving indefinitely the equivalent value of the fruits which rightfully pertain to the Dizons, this in spite of the fact that Ayala had already divested itself of the title and possession of the land before Tolentino's claim even started its period of gestation.
The issues presented to us in Ayala's second and supplemental second motions for reconsideration * do not involve a change or modification of the judgment which has already become final, but rather its interpretation for purposes of execution. In view of the considerations hereinabove set forth it is not only a fair but compelling inference that the trial court, in using the phrase "all the defendants" in paragraph (c) of the dispositive portion of the decision, had in mind all the defendants enumerated in the paragraph immediately preceding, namely, "Antonino Dizon, Lucia Dizon, Adelaida Dizon Reyes, Consolacion Dizon Degollacion, Artemio Dizon, Ruben Dizon, Amando Dizon and Zenaida Dizon," who were ordered "to vacate lot 360 in favor of Intervenor Miguel Tolentino." Not having made any reference to the previous possession of Ayala and having confined its discussion concerning the question of damages to the issue of good or bad faith in the possession of the Dizon alone, the trial court should not have meant to include Ayala in the award of damages. The ambiguity in the judgment proceeds, on one hand, from the loose wording and juxtaposition of the different paragraphs thereof, and on the other hand, from the entire absence of rationale in the body of the decision to justify the interpretation insisted upon by Tolentino. To construe the ambiguous portion in the light of justice and substantive law and of what the trial court obviously meant in its exposition of the case is not to change the judgment at all.
Article 10 of the Civil Code states that "in case of doubt in the interpretation or application of laws, it is presumed that the lawmaking body intended right and justice to prevail." This injunction cannot be any less binding upon the courts in relation to its judgments. The following citations are apropos:
The judgment must be read in its entirety and it must be construed as a whole so as to bring all of its parts into harmony as far as this can be done by fair and reasonable interpretation and so as to give effect to every word and part, if possible, and to effectuate the obvious intention and purpose of the Court, consistent with the provisions of the organic law. (49 C.J.S. 436)
Doubtful or ambiguous judgments are to have a reasonable intendment to do justice and avoid wrong. When a judgment is susceptible of two interpretations, that will be adopted which renders it the more reasonable, effective, and conclusive, and which makes the judgment harmonize with the facts and law of the case and be such as ought to have been rendered. (supra)
When language of decree is susceptible of two constructions, from one of which it follows that the law has been correctly applied to facts and from other that law has been incorrectly applied, that construction should be adopted which correctly applies the law. (Footnote of 49 C.J.S., 436)
... Necessary legal implications are included altho not expressed in terms, but the adjudication does not extend beyond what the language governs. In case of doubt or ambiguity, the entire record may be examined and considered. Where a judgment is susceptible of two interpretations, that one will be adopted which renders it more reasonable, effective and conclusive and which makes the judgment harmonize with the facts and law of the case and be such as ought to have been rendered. (34 C.J.P. 501)
As a general rule, judgments are to be construed like other written instruments. The determinative factor is the intention of the court, as gathered from all parts of the judgment itself. In applying this rule, effect must be given to that which is unavoidably and necessarily implied in a judgment, as well as to that which is expressed in the most appropriate language. Such construction should be given to a judgment as will give force and effect to every word of it, if possible, and make it as a whole consistent, effective, and reasonable. Sometimes, it is declared that the interpretation of a judgment must be characterized by justice and fairness. If a judgment is susceptible of two interpretations, one of which would render it legal and the other illegal, those court will adopt the former.
The judgment way be read in connection with the entire record and construed accordingly, at least where there is uncertainty and ambiguity. In the latter case, it is proper to consider the pleadings, and verdicts or findings, in light of the applicable statutes. If a finding is inconsistent with the judgment proper or decretal part of the decree, the latter must control. The issues involved in the action are also important factors in determining what was intended by the judgment. (30 Am. Jur., pp. 212-213)
In the case of Locsin vs. Paredes and Hodges, 63 Phil. 87, this Court allowed a judgment that had become final and executory to be "clarified" by supplying a word which had been inadvertently omitted and which, when supplied, in affect changed the literal import of the original phraseology. This Court said:
... it clearly appears from the allegations of the complaint, the promissory note reproduced therein and made a part thereof, the prayer and the conclusions of fact and of law contained in the decision of the respondent judges, that the obligation contracted by the petitioners is joint and several and that the parties as well as the trial judge so understood it. Under the juridical rule that the judgment should be in accordance with the allegations, the evidence and the conclusions of fact and of law, the dispositive part of the judgment under consideration should have ordered that the debt be paid severally, and in omitting the word or adverb "severally" inadvertently, said judgment became ambiguous. This ambiguity may be clarified at any time after the decision is rendered and even after it had become final (34 Corpus Juris, 235, 236). The respondent judge did not, therefore, exceed his jurisdiction in clarifying the dispositive part of the judgment by supplying the omission.
Language is, at times, less than perfect as a medium of expression, and the imperfection is great or small according to the linguistic proficiency of each individual. Equity and justice, on the other hand, are fairly constant, being moral values that have evolved through the long period of man's civilized existence. I would not sacrifice these values simply out of a stubborn adherence to a dictum that, through careless and imprecise phrasing, turns out to be equivocal and seems to mean something different from what was really intended — something which upon close analysis not only flies in the face of the law, of reason and of common sense, but is indeed utterly devoid of support in the rationale of the decision. To set things alright, to clarify the dictum in its setting for purposes of proper implementation is not to change or amend it; and this is all that the resolution of the majority does, the clarification being only insofar as the claim of Tolentino to damages against Ayala is concerned. The resolution in no way affects the rights of the Government as declared in the decision.
Zaldivar and Castro, JJ., concur.
Footnotes
* Subject of our resolution of October 4, 1971.
Separate Opinions
BARREDO, J., concurring:
I concurred in the resolution of October 4, 1971 and I find no cogent reason why I should change my vote now that the motions for the reconsideration thereof are being denied. Except for the matter of the alleged disqualification of the writer of this separate opinion to act with the Court in this case, which, anyway, the undersigned already considered best to explain in his separate opinion concurring in the resolution of October 4, 1971, there are no points of consequence raised therein which have not been previously considered and ruled upon in the aforesaid resolution, notwithstanding the hard work and diligent study undertaken by the distinguished array of counsel of petitioners, evident from a careful reading of their voluminous and numerous pleadings, manifestations and memoranda.
All the arguments advanced to support the aforementioned supposed disqualification are predicated on the theory or assumption that since I co-signed the petition that initiated this case, I stand in the position of having been counsel of the petitioners now before the Court, hence it is violative of Section 1 of Rule 137 for me to act here, there being no showing that all the parties have given their written consent thereto. As I have already explained in my previous concurrence, this premise had already lost every factual and legal basis by the time I become a member of the Court.
Indeed, from the very outside of my participation in the deliberations in this case in this Court, after December 17, 1968, the date of my assumption of office as Associate Justice, what was before the Court was no longer the petition which I had co-signed, but the motions for reconsideration of the private respondents of the decision of this Court of June 30, 1967, penned by the Chief Justice. All these motions as well as the related manifestations and motions subsequent thereto alleged nothing adverse to the Government and, as a matter of fact, had only the following practically identical and specifically limited prayers:
WHEREFORE, respondents respectfully pray that the judgment at bar be set aside insofar as it orders respondent Ayala y Cia and, Alfonso Zobel jointly and severally, to pay Miguel Tolentino the sum of P3,000 per hectare per year for 29.8639 hectares of Lot No. 360, from March 11, 1954 until he is placed in lawful possession thereof.1
WHEREFORE, respondents respectfully pray that the decision of this Honorable Court herein promulgated on June 30, 1967, be set aside insofar as the execution of the award of damages is concerned, and the corresponding portion of the order dated February 2, 1966 of the respondent Judge be affirmed.2
WHEREFORE, premises considered, respondents respectfully reiterate their prayer that the Decision of this Honorable Court herein promulgated on June 30, 1967 be set aside insofar as the execution of the award of damages is concerned, and the corresponding portion of the order dated February 2, 1966 of the respondent Judge be affirmed.3
WHEREFORE, premises considered, respondents respectfully reiterate their prayer that the Decision of this Honorable Court herein promulgated on June 30, 1967 be set aside insofar as the execution of the award of damages is concerned, and the corresponding portion of the Order dated February 2, 1966 of the respondent Judge be affirmed.4
WHEREFORE, respondents-movants Ayala y Cia and Alfonso Zobel respectfully reiterate their prayer as contained in their Second Motion for Reconsideration under date of September 19, 1967, or pray, that the decision of this Honorable Court under date of June 30, 1967 be reversed and set aside, and that this proceeding be dismissed with costs against petitioner Miguel Tolentino, Sr.5
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing premises, respondents respectfully reiterate their prayer as contained in their Second Motion for Reconsideration dated September 19, 1967, their Supplemental Second Motion for Reconsideration dated September 22, 1967, and their Second Supplement to the Second Motion for Reconsideration dated October 12, 1968.6
Hence, all other matters involved in this case as well as all matters and claims which could have been raised herein, other than those referring to Petitioner Tolentino's claim for damages had been definitely settled for failure of any of the interested parties, including the Government, to file any motion for reconsideration within the reglementary period.
In other words, when I reached this Court, the Republic's aspect of the case had already been fully and finally terminated and the only matter left for resolution in this case affected no one else but Petitioner Tolentino who had a claim of around P1,500,000.00 against private respondents. As Solicitor General, I never acted nor was I supposed to act as counsel for Petitioner Tolentino in regard to such claim, and whether I believed in it or not is immaterial, as long as in co-signing the petition my purpose was to protect properly the interests of the Government, and if it served to at least clarify the exact position of the Government in the premises, my doing so could not have any bearing at all on Tolentino's present claim for damages, which are different and distinct from those which might have arisen from the Government's failure to deliver to him possession of the property leased to him, which, if at all actionable,7 has, however, been barred already by the finality of the decision of G.R. No. L-20950, not having been set up therein.
It is claimed that the best refutation of my disclaimer of Government interest in this case at the time I took part and voted is that the present Solicitor General has filed a motion for the reconsideration of the resolution of October 4, 1971. In this connection, I must say that I am not privy to the Solicitor General's motivations and, surely, his having filed such motion which hardly touches on any interest of the Government even as it fully and vigorously supports Petitioner Tolentino's claim for damages in which the Government has no share or interest whether actual or inchoate, present or future, positive or contingent, is not for me to explain. All I know is that neither during my incumbency nor that of Justice Makasiar, when he succeeded me, was there any opposition ever filed by the Office of the Solicitor General to respondents' motion for reconsideration, whose prayers, exclusively against the award of damages to Petitioner Tolentino, I have quoted above. Frankly, I cannot see very clearly why the Solicitor General has to move for reconsideration of the granting of a motion which his office never opposed and had no reason to oppose since it dealt exclusively with the private and personal interests of Petitioner Tolentino, particularly if the motion for reconsideration does not specifically discuss the Government's interests at all.
It is also averred that my position that the Government has no more interest in this case is contradicted by the portion of the October 4, 1971 resolution stating that "Tolentino's cause of action was necessarily against his lessor (the Government) due to the failure of the latter to place him in peaceful possession of the property leased to him." As I have stated above and as explained in the main opinion now of Justice Villamor, such discussion is merely academic and could pose no danger to the Government, considering that Tolentino's failure to make his claim before this case was decided in Civil Case No. 373 of the lower court and in G.R. No. L-20950 in this Court precludes any possibility of his enforcing the same after the finality of said decisions. Indeed, the possibility of Petitioner Tolentino having such a claim against the Government was not even within the scope anymore of this case before the decision of June 30, 1967 and more so after the said decision became final as to the Government.
As to the observations of Counsel Paredes to the effect that the Republic asked for mandamus against Judge de los Angeles to compel said Judge to enforce the nullification of the titles of private respondents and Dizon, I feel that the clarification contained in the present main opinion of Justice Villamor sufficiently elucidates that the interests of the Government cannot be prejudiced by the denial of said prayer for mandamus. Withal, if the decision of this Court of June 30, 1967 satisfies the interests of the Government, as I am sure it does, separately from Tolentino's I cannot see how the granting of respondents' motion for reconsideration thereof only insofar as the award of damages to Tolentino is concerned should cause so much concern about my vote in favor of such grant. If in any manner the dispositive portion of the resolution of October 4, 1971 denying the mandamus did give rise to apprehensions, the present resolution should serve to make it definitely clear that such denial cannot affect the Government adversely. I am sure that the five justices whom I am joining in denying Petitioner's motion for reconsideration are as firm as the three distinguished dissenters in the resolution not to allow this Court to be an instrument of land-grabbing as they are against the reversal or even modification in any substantial degree of any final and executory judgment whether of this Court or any other court in this country, and, that if there were such possibilities in consequence of the resolution of October 4, 1971 and the present resolution of denial, they would not give their assent to said resolutions. We are certain that in deciding against Petitioner Tolentino, We are not condoning nor permitting that the lands in question remain with the Dizons or with the Ayalas. What We see very clearly is that the respondent Judge has not denied any right of the Government, and if he has refused to take definite action so far, it is only because he disagrees with the procedure of execution pursued by the representatives of the Government or its otherwise awaiting the final judgment of this Court in deference to its superiority. With the same firm resolution, we will never allow ourselves to wittingly justify a claim for any amount, even less than that of Petitioner Tolentino, in favor of a party who files and perfects a lease application of a portion of the public domain knowing it is somebody else's possession. I have my grave doubts as to whether or not a lessee of a public land who has applied for his lease knowing that the said land is under litigation and delivery thereof to him would have to be contingent upon the results of the suit can have moral or legal basis to claim damages against the Government, in the same manner that I am not yet convinced of the correctness of the ruling in G.R. No. L-20950 that Dizon is entitled to any reimbursement as against the Government for improvements he has placed on land that by mere physical examination appears obviously to be part of the sea, even as I agree that in this particular case that point is already part of the law of the case in consequence of the final decision in G.R. No. L-20950, which in this respect, cannot be said to be suffering from any ambiguity.
IN VIEW OF ALL THE FOREGOING, and it being clear to me that the court a quo cannot put any legal obstacle, since there are none, as explained above and in the herein opinion of Justice Villamor, to the implementation of the decision of this Court favorable to the Government, specially, after the decision and resolution herein have become final, I maintain my vote to deny Petitioner Tolentino's claim for damages. I reiterate my views expressed in my earlier concurrence of October 4, 1971 and I concur in the clarifications in the main opinion of Justice Villamor, for all of which considerations, the plea that the writer of this separate opinion be considered disqualified from participating in this and in the resolution of October 4, 1971 must be as it is hereby denied, for lack of factual, legal and moral basis.
Footnotes
1 Motion for Partial Reconsideration of Attys. Jalandoni and Jamir dated Aug. 3, 1967, reiterated verbatim in the Second Motion for Reconsideration of Sept. 19, 1967.
2 Atty. Rafael Recto's Supplemental Second Motion for Reconsideration of Sept. 22, 1967.
3 Atty. Rafael Recto's Answer to Petitioner's Petition for Resolution dated March 8, 1968.
4 Atty. Rafael Recto's Answer to Petitioner's Memorandum dated Sept. 28, 1968.
5 Atty. Rafael Recto's Second Supplement to the Second Motion for Reconsideration dated Oct. 12, 1968. While this prayer is somewhat modified, a reading of eight (8) grounds alleged in the supplement and the discussion thereunder show that they are exclusively limited to the award of damages to Petitioner Tolentino.
6 Rejoinder to Reply of Petitioner Tolentino filed by Atty. Rafael Recto dated Sept. 19, 1968, reiterated verbatim in Respondent's Fourth Motion for Immediate Resolution dated March 19, 1969.
7 It is my view that even if Tolentino had timely claimed against the Government, he could not have succeeded, since he knew or ought to have known at the time of his application that the Government would not be in a position to deliver possession of the land covered by his application until after the actual possessors thereof have vacated the same, apart from the fact that from the very nature of the land herein involved as a part of the public domain, it does not seem justified that the Government be bound by the general laws on contracts of lease, since it is more of a grant of a privilege rather than the recognition of a right that the act of the Government in approving a lease application amounts to juridically speaking.
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