Facts:
Petitioners purchased 2 parcels of land from the family of Blanco’s and subsequently declared ownership over the land for taxation purposes and took possession thereof by assigning a caretaker over the property who built his house thereon. Respondent Cayaba claims to be the owner of the property by virtue of a deed of sale executed in his and Bienvenido Noriega’s favor from the heirs of Verano and ousted the caretaker from the property and constructed an apartment thereon. Petitioners filed an action for recovery of possession of the land. The court decided in favor of the petitioner but on appeal, the CA reversed the decision and dismissed the complaint of the petitioner on grounds that the description of the property in the complaint is different from the subdivision plan provided by the respondents with their respective area and boundaries appearing to be completely different. The court did not find any compliance to the requirement of the law that the property in dispute must be clearly identified. Under the Civil Code, Articles 433 and 541, the actual possessor of the property has the presumption of a just title and he need not be compelled to show or prove why he possesses the same. It was clear that the respondent is the current possessor of the property having constructed the apartment on the property in dispute. Contrasting the evidence of the respondent and petitioner, the court choose the respondent’s evidence as they were able to provide a vicinity plan that shows the land position in relation to the adjoining properties with known boundaries and landmarks. Petitioner merely presented a sketch prepared by Dr. Blanco constituting as mere guess works. Subsequently, the respondents filed a petition for registration of the property before the CFI which was opposed by the petitioner. Respondent moved for the dismissal of the opposition that the same is barred by a prior judgment of the court. The CFI dismissed the opposition on ground of res judicata thus this appeal before the SC. With the petition given due course by the SC, it orders both parties to submit their briefs. Only the petitioner submitted their own brief within the given period thus the SC considered the case submitted for decision with the brief of the respondent. The petitioner filed a motion to amend the application to include Bienvenido Noriega as a co-applicant to the petition.
