Republic of the Philippines
MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT OF LA TRINIDAD
FIRST JUDICIAL REGION
Benguet Province
Tel. No. (074) 422-2603/ Mobile Nos.
0929-397-7945(Smart); 09458235135 (Globe)
Email address: mtc2ltr000@judiciary.gov.ph
PAUL CASTILLO, ROSE
CIVIL
CASE NO. R- 1521
ANN F. CASTILLO, TARA
CASTILLO ANGELES and
For: QUIETING OF
TITLE
ALBIN CASTILLO,
Plaintiffs,
-versus-
SPS. RUTH AMOS SALES
AND ERIC TOMAS SALES,
SPS. PATRICIO AMOS AND
SOCORRO AMOS, ANTONIO
AMOS, THE REGISTRY OF
DEEDS FOR BENGUET, and
THE ASSESSOR’S OFFICE
OF LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET,
Defendants
x-------------------------------------x
SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION
WHEREAS,
on July 26, 2022,
plaintiffs, through counsel, filed a
verified
Complaint, quoted in part, as
follows:
“xxx
THE
PARTIES
Plaintiffs Rose Ann F.
Castillo, single; Alvin F. Castillo, single; Tara Castillo Angeles, married to
Marvin William Angeles; and Paul F. Castillo, married to Glynda D. Castillo,
all of legal age, Filipinos, and residents of No. 20 City Camp Proper, Baguio
City;
Defendants
Ruth Amos Sales married to Eric Tomas Sales; Patricio
Amos married to Socorro Amos and Patricio Amos, widower, are of legal age,
Filipinos and with address at 323 Cruz, La Trinidad, Benguet;
The
Register of Deeds for Benguet is impleaded as a nominal party being the public
repository of all records and documents affecting registered lands in the
Province of Benguet with office address located at La Trinidad, Benguet;
The
Assessor’s Office of La Trinidad, Benguet is impleaded as a nominal party being
the public repository of all records and documents affecting registered and
unregistered lands and buildings in La Trinidad, Benguet with office address
located at Municipal Hall, La Trinidad, Benguet;
Third
Parties claiming the property are impleaded as necessary parties having adverse
claim over the property and being the actual and material possessors and
holding the property adverse to the plaintiff;
II. THE
CAUSE OF ACTION
Plaintiffs
are the compulsory heirs of the late spouses Cipriano and Teodora Castillo who
died on June 15, 2000 and September 15, 2016, respectively, both at Baguio
City;
On the
other hand, defendants are the forced heirs of the late Michael Amos who was
the previous owner of the vast parcel of land located at Pico La Trinidad,
Benguet which was then an unregistered land;
During his
lifetime in October, 1982, Michael Amos sold three parcels of land each
containing an area of 1,000 square meters in favor of Cipriano Castillo,
Teodora Castillo and Alvin Castillo pursuant to the three (3) Deeds of Sale of
Unregistered Land[1] notarized before the faith of notary public
Juanito B. Castillo all dated 23 October 1982;
At the
time, the parcels of land were covered by Tax Declaration No. 0206 of the
Assessor’s Office of La Trinidad, Benguet, identically described as bounded on
the North by Ganasi Ingosan, et al., Lot 1, Psu-179220; on the East by Lot 6;
on the South by the City of Baguio and on the West by property of Isabelo
Acyapat;
The three
(3) parcels of land are further identified in the Sketch Plan designated as Lot
1, Psu-198528 as surveyed by Thomas A. Batnag, geodetic engineer, containing an
aggregate area of 48,938 square meters as Lot 1-B for Cipriano Castillo, Lot
1-C for Teodora F. Castillo, and Lot 1-D for Alvin F. Castillo;
The
Castillo’s processed the transfer and segregation of the lots they bought,
registered the Deeds of Sale and paid the Capital Gains and Documentary Stamp
Taxes. Consequently, the Assessor’s Office issued three tax declarations under
Assessment of Real Property bearing numbers 0320, 0321, and 0322 (now, ARP NOS.
99-012-09498, 99-012-09500 and 99-012-09501) in the names of Cipriano Castillo,
Teodora Castillo and Alvin Castillo, respectively;
Since they
acquired the properties, plaintiffs and their ancestors occupied and possessed
the properties unmolested for more than twenty (20) years. To further secure
their ownership, they marked its boundaries with concrete monuments (mojon) to
define its metes and bounds and fenced with barbed wires to visibly warn
trespassers and deter speculators;
To
complete their ownership, plaintiffs applied for
titling of the properties but was unduly stalled indefinitely and were not able
to pursue and perfect their application for titling because the defendants
refused to sign documentary requirements of the DENR;
In 2012 to
2015, every time Paul Castillo came home from abroad, he never failed to visit
and claim ownership to their properties but the caretakers of the defendants
exercised hostilities and effectively barred him from entering the premises. He
demanded the defendants to vacate and surrender the property but to no avail;
In order
to peaceably settle the matter with the defendants, plaintiff Paul Castillo
earnestly and unceasingly reached out to the defendants through a series of
Demand Letters but defendants failed to respond to all of the letters sent to
them rendering it futile;
Defendants
for unknown reason refused and up to now still refuse to honor the existence of
the deeds and so failed to deliver the properties to the complainants thereby
depriving plaintiffs of their ownership and actual possession thereof;
Despite
being fully aware of plaintiffs’ claim over the property, defendants by subreption
and bad faith proceeded to have the properties titled with the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources resulting to the issuance of the Original
Certificate of Title No. O-245;
Defendants
unmindfully included in their titling application the parcels of land duly
conveyed to the plaintiffs by the late Michael Amos therefore deliberately and
fraudulently misrepresented themselves in the process in spite of their
knowledge on plaintiffs’ claim of ownership over the properties. In other words,
they misrepresented in the course of their titling application in claiming that
they are the owners and claimants of the entire lot when in truth, the 3,000
square meter portion thereof is not already theirs;
They
subsequently subdivided it resulting to the issuance of several derivative
titles and tax declarations, among others are the Transfer Certificates of Tile
bearing numbers T-71203, T-71207, T-71208 and T-71209 and tax declarations
bearing ARP Nos. 2010-03-12-06357, 2010-03-12-06356, 2010-03-12-09993, and
2010-03-12-06358 in the name of the defendants. These titles and tax
declarations overlaps the three (3) parcels of land owned by the plaintiffs;
The three
properties claimed by the plaintiffs have a total assessed value of
P253,320.00;
Plaintiffs
previously filed a case for Enforcement of Deeds of Sale before the Regional
Trial Court, La Trinidad, Benguet docketed under Civil Case No. 16-CV-3232 but
was dismissed with prejudice;
The
Judicial Affidavit of plaintiff Paul Castillo is attached hereto and forms part
of this Complaint;
III.
COMPULSORY COUNTERCLAIM
Due to
fraud, bad faith and illegal manipulation of the private defendants in
conniving with each other wrongfully deprived the plaintiffs of their ownership
over the property in question, they sustained mental anguish, fright, serious
anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded feelings and mental shock for which the
defendants should be liable to the plaintiffs in the sum of P100,000.00 as
moral damages;
To protect
the rights and interest of the plaintiff in the illegal actuations of the
defendants, they were forced to engage the services of counsel for which they
are obligated to pay the sum of P100,000.00 as attorney’s fees and P5,000.00
per court appearance;
To deter
similar minded people from perpetrating such despicable acts, defendants should
be ordered to pay the amount of P30,000.00 per month as rental fees reckoned
from the time of defendants’ occupation of the subject properties in 2012 as
payment for their illegal occupation to be determined by the court during the
course of hearing;
IV.
EXHIBITS
|
EXHIBITS
|
DESCRIPTION
and PURPOSE
|
|
A
|
Special
Power of Attorney dated 29 April 2016
|
|
B
|
Death
Certificate of Cipriano Castillo
|
|
C
|
Death
Certificate of Teodora Castillo
|
|
D
|
Birth Certificate
of Rose Ann Castillo
|
|
E
|
Birth
Certificate of Tara Castillo Angeles
|
|
F
|
Birth
Certificate of Alvin Castillo
|
|
G
|
Birth
Certificate of Paul Castillo
|
|
H
|
Deed of
Sale of Unregistered Land dated 23 October 1982 of Michael Amos in favor of
Teodora Castillo
|
|
I
|
Deed of
Sale of Unregistered Land dated 23 October 1982 of Michael Amos in favor of
Cipriano Castillo
|
|
J
|
Deed of
Sale of Unregistered Land dated 23 October 1982 of Michael Amos in favor of
Alvin Castillo
|
|
H-1
|
Sketch Plan (dorsal side of Exh. H)
|
|
I-1
|
Sketch
Plan (dorsal side of Exh. I)
|
|
J-1
|
Sketch
Plan (dorsal side of Exh. J)
|
|
K
|
Receipt
dated January 15, 1982
|
|
L
|
Certification
issued by Barangay Pico
|
|
M
|
Survey
Plan Year 1982 by Engr. Agustin Timpac
|
|
N
|
Survey
Plan Year 1996 by Engr. Arnel Buado
|
|
O
|
Tax
Declaration No. 0206 in the name of Michael Amos
|
|
P
|
Certificate
Authorizing Registration bearing number 009476 issued by the BIR
|
|
Q
|
Certificate
Authorizing Registration bearing number 009479 issued by the BIR
|
|
R
|
Certificate
Authorizing Registration bearing number 009480 issued by the BIR
|
|
S
|
Tax
Declaration No. 0322 in the name of Alvin F. Castillo
|
|
T
|
Tax
Declaration No. 0321 in the name of Cipriano S. Castillo
|
|
U
|
Tax
Declaration No. 0322 in the name of Teodora F. Castillo
|
|
V
|
History
Report for Cipriano Castillo issued by the Office of the Municipal Assessor
of La Trinidad
|
|
W
|
History
Report for Teodora Castillo issued by the Office of the Municipal Assessor of
La Trinidad
|
|
X
|
History
Report for Albin Castillo issued by the Office of the Municipal Assessor of
La Trinidad
|
|
Y
|
Assessment
of Real Property No. 2010-03-12-10405
|
|
Z
|
Assessment
of Real Property No. 2010-03-12-10406
|
|
AA
|
Assessment
of Real Property No. 2010-03-12-10403
|
|
BB &
Series
|
Receipts
|
|
CC
|
Survey
Plan Year 1999 by Engr. Thomas Batnag
|
|
DD
|
Demand
Letter dated February 9, 2011
|
|
EE
|
Demand
Letter dated July 14, 2014
|
|
FF
|
Demand
Letter dated March 25, 2015
|
|
GG
|
Assessment
of Real Property No. 2010-03-12-06356 in the name of Ruth Amos Sales
|
|
HH
|
Assessment
of Real Property No. 2010-03-12-06357 in the name of Ruth Amos Sales
|
|
II
|
Assessment
of Real Property No. 2010-03-12-06358 in the name of Ruth Amos Sales
|
|
JJ
|
Assessment
of Real Property No. 2010-03-12-09993 in the name of Ruth Amos Sales
|
|
KK
|
Transfer
Certificate of Tile No. T-71203 in the name of Ruth Amos Sales, et al.
|
|
LL
|
Transfer
Certificate of Tile No. T-71207 in the name of Ruth Amos Sales, et al.
|
|
MM
|
Transfer
Certificate of Tile No. T-71208 in the name of Ruth Amos Sales, et al.
|
|
NN
|
Transfer
Certificate of Tile No. T-71209 in the name of Ruth Amos Sales, et al.
|
The foregoing exhibits will be
presented to prove the following:
The
plaintiffs are the owners of the 3,000 square meter lot located in Pico, La
Trinidad, Benguet;
The
parcels of land were sold by Michael Amos to Cipriano Castillo, Teodora
Castillo and Alvin Castillo;
After
buying the properties, plaintiffs entered and possessed the property and
introduced fence and barbed wires on its peripheries;
Defendants
forcibly entered the premises without the consent of the plaintiffs;
Plaintiffs
were forcibly prevented to use and enter the property by the defendants
The
plaintiffs are entitled to the reconveyance of the properties;
The
plaintiffs are entitled to the ownership and possession of the subject
properties;
V. WITNESS
Paul
Castillo
He will be
presented to prove the following:
The
plaintiffs are the owners of the 3,000 square meter lot located in Pico, La
Trinidad, Benguet;
The
parcels of land were sold by Michael Amos to Cipriano Castillo, Teodora
Castillo and Alvin Castillo;
forthwith,
they entered and possessed the property and introduced fence and barbed wires
on its peripheries;
they were
forcibly prevented to use and enter the property;
The
plaintiffs are entitled to the reconveyance of the properties;
The
plaintiffs are entitled to the ownership and possession of the subject
properties;
VI. P R A
Y E R
WHEREFORE, it is respectfully
prayed that judgment be rendered in favor of the plaintiffs and against the
defendants:
Ordering
the removal of cloud over the properties of the plaintiffs;
Declaring
as invalid, ineffective or unenforceable the defendants’ Transfer Certificates
of Title Nos. 71203, 71207, 71208, and 71209; tax declarations with ARP Nos.
2010-03-12-06357, 2010-03-12-06356, 2010-03-12-09993, and 2010-03-12-06358; and
any other title/s and tax declaration/s that also embrace the of real
properties of the plaintiffs;
Directing
the Assessor’s Offices of Municipality of La Trinidad, Benguet and the Province
of Benguet to remove and cancel the annotation inscribed in tax declaration
number 2010-03-06-03053 regarding the double assessment;
Directing
the Assessor’s Offices of Municipality of La Trinidad, Benguet and the Province
of Benguet to cancel the Tax Declaration of Real Property bearing number
2010-03-06-03055 under the name of defendant Dan Vincent Torres;
Ordering
the defendants to reconvey to the plaintiffs the three (3) parcels of land and
to surrender the possession thereof to the plaintiffs;
Ordering the Register of Deeds for Benguet to
cancel the Transfer Certificates of Title bearing numbers T-71203, T-71207,
T-71208 and T-71209 and to issue three titles in the name of the plaintiffs;
Ordering the defendants, jointly and severally, to
pay the amount of P30,000.00 as rental fees for the three lots due to their
illegal occupation reckoned from the time of defendants’ occupation of the
subject properties upon final determination of the instant case; and
Ordering the private defendants to pay the sum of P100,000.00
as attorney’s fees and litigation expenses, and FIVE THOUSAND PESOS (P5,000.00)
per court appearance; P100,000.00 as moral damages; and P100,000.00 as
exemplary damages; and the costs of this suit.
Other
reliefs, just and equitable under the premises, are likewise prayed for.
Baguio
City for La Trinidad, Benguet, July 18, 2022.
(SGD.)
GAT ANTHONY S. BAGBAGEN
Counsel for the Plaintiffs
Roll No. 61587
IBP Lifetime No. 010905, Baguio City
PTR No. 5411062, Jan. 3, 2022, Baguio City
MCLE Compliance No. VII-0012248 – valid until April
14, 2025
Room 204 Otek Square, Otek Street, AZCKO, Baguio
City
Tel. No. (074) 620-2180 / Mobile No. 0917-549-5747
Email: gsbabagenlawoffice@gmail.com
xxx”
WHEREAS, Summonses together with a copy of the
Complaint was issued for service upon defendants SPS. RUTH AMOS SALES &
ERIC TOMAS SALES, SPS. PATRICIO AMOS & SOCORRO AMOS, and ANTONIO AMOS, however,
the Process Server’s Return of Service showed that the same were
unserved for the reason that the defendants are no longer residing at the given
address and others are presently abroad;
WHEREAS, the
current addresses and whereabouts of defendants SPS. RUTH AMOS SALES & ERIC
TOMAS SALES, SPS. PATRICIO AMOS & SOCORRO AMOS, and ANTONIO AMOS are unknown and could not be ascertained
despite diligent inquiry;
WHEREAS,
on August 30, 2022, plaintiffs, through counsel, filed a “Motion for Leave to Serve Summons by
Publication” and the motion was granted
by this court in an Order dated August
31, 2022;
NOW,
THEREFORE, you, defendants SPS. RUTH AMOS SALES & ERIC TOMAS SALES, SPS.
PATRICIO AMOS & SOCORRO AMOS, and ANTONIO AMOS, whose addresses and whereabouts are
unknown, are hereby summoned through
this medium of publication and is therefore required to file with the Municipal
Trial Court of La Trinidad, Benguet your responsive pleading and/or Answer to
the above-quoted Complaint within SIXTY
(60) DAYS from date of the last publication, serving at the same time a copy of
your responsive pleading and/or Answer upon plaintiffs’ counsel, ATTY. GAT
ANTHONY S. BAGBAGEN at Room 204 Otek Square, AZCKO, Baguio City. Your failure
to do so within the period herein prescribed will enable the plaintiffs to take
judgment against you and demand from the Honorable Court the reliefs and
remedies prayed for in the Complaint.
You are reminded of the provision in the IBP-OCA Memorandum on Policy Guidelines dated March 12, 2002
to observe restraint in filing a motion to dismiss and instead allege the
grounds thereof as defenses in the Answer.
Let this Summons be published, at the expense of
the plaintiffs, in a newspaper of
general circulation within the Province of Benguet and in Baguio City, once a
week for two (2) consecutive weeks.
Furthermore, let a copy of this Summons and a copy of the Complaint be deposited with the La Trinidad
Post Office, postage pre-paid by registered mail with return slip to the last
known addresses of the defendants.
WITNESS the HONORABLE MYLENE MAY G. ADUBE-CABUAG,
Presiding Judge of this court, this
5th day of September 2022 at La
Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines.
JENNIFER
N. PALAEZ
Clerk of Court II
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