Fort Bonifacio holdouts lose in court

The Court of Appeals has nullified the title of a contested piece of land inside Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City that was earlier issued to the Navy Officers’ Village Association Inc., (NOVAI) saying that the property is part of public domain.

In a 47-page decision penned by Associate Justice Renato Dacudao, the CA’s eighth division overturned a previous ruling issued by the Pasig City regional trial court which gave the NOVAI ownership of the 47.5-hectare lot.

In its decision, the appellate court said the property, situated inside the former Fort Bonifacio Military Reservation Area, is subject to the provisions of Republic Act No. 7227, in relation to Executive Order No. 40 and other pertinent laws and statutes.

"TCT (transfer certificate of title) No. 15387 and all derivative titles, if any, are declared null and void," the CA decision said.

The appellate court ordered the NOVAI to surrender the owner’s copy of the said title to the Register of Deeds of Pasig City for cancellation. The CA also ordered the Pasig Register of Deeds to cancel the deed and all its derivative titles.

"The defendant-appellee NOVAI, its privies, agents, successors or any person claiming title or any right under it are ordered to vacate the premises and remove whatever improvements they have introduced therein, and to desist from exercising acts of ownership or possession thereover," the CA ruled.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the Philippine Navy against the NOVAI last Dec. 23, 1993, for the cancellation of the title, contending that the NOVAI allegedly has no record of any application with the Land Management Bureau for the acquisition of the property.

It also said that the deed of sale, dated Nov. 25, 1991 and purportedly executed by LMB director Abelardo Palad in favor of the NOVAI, which was the basis for the issuance of the title, was fictitious because Palad’s signature was purportedly forged.

The court noted the testimony of National Bureau of Investigation handwriting expert Eliodoro Constantino who told the court that the questioned signature of Palad "is a product of traced forgery."

"Having reached the well-considered view that the alleged deed of absolute sale in question was indeed false or falsified, we must perforce arrive at the inexorable conclusion that the trial court’s finding thereon in the converse or to the contrary is clearly a reversible error," the CA said.

The Philippine Navy hailed the ruling, saying it would file a motion asking the Makati City Regional Trial Court to lift the permanent injunction it issued in favor of the retired officers.

"The move is a welcome development to the Navy which continues to assert its ownership over the land in Fort Bonifacio for the benefit of its personnel in the active service," Navy spokesman Lt. Cdr. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said.

Last May, the Navy ordered the eviction of 56 retired officers from the property who were not covered by the restraining order. Only 17 officers, who were covered by the TRO, remain at the property up to the present.

The dispute began when retired Navy officers refused to leave their homes, which the Navy says are only meant for active duty officers. The retired officers maintained that the property was owned by the NOVAI.

The NOVAI argued that its members have a right under the law to purchase the property because they were long-time residents in the area. The Pasig City RTC ruled in favor of the NOVAI prompting the Navy to elevate the dispute to the Court of Appeals.