G.R. No. 169272 Case Digest

G.R. No. 169272, July 11, 2012

National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the Philippines, petitioner

vs Alfredo Pascual, respondent

Ponente: Brion

Facts:

December 11, 2000, Bahais filed a complaint with RTC for quieting of title, injunction and other claims against Silverio Songcuan and/or his heirs, the secretary of DENR and the regional executive director of DENR of Tuguegarao, Cagayan.

Bahais alleged that it is the lawful and absolute owner of two parcels of land, who acquired ownership from Marcelina Ordono. The Bahais had been in possession of the land for 30 years, until the Bureau of Lands rejected the sales applications of the Bahais predecessors-in-interest for the lots and ordered all those in privity to vacate the lots and to remove their improvements. DENR secretary affirmed with this decision. Recourse to the office of the President had been unavailing, so DENR issued writs of execution pursuant to the President's decision.

Pascual moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state cause of action. Saying that the petitioner had no legal right to file the complaint since the final and executory Bureau of Lands’ decision ruled that the petitioner was not entitled to possess the lots.

RTC's Ruling: denied the motion to dismiss, Bureau of Lands was not yet final since President's ruling on the appeal was unavailable. Respondent elevated this case to the CA, questioning the propriety of the RTC's denial of the motion to dismiss.

CA's Ruling:CA set aside the RTC, the RTC should have dismissed the complaint for prematurity.

Issue: Whether CA committed a reversible error in finding that RTC committed a grave abuse of discretion in not dismissing the complaint.

Held:

Petition lacks merit, CA committed no reversible error.

A cause of action is the act or omission by which a party violates a right of another.

A complaint states a cause of action when it contains three essential elements: (1) a right in favor of the plaintiff by whatever means and whatever law it arises; (2) the correlative obligation of the defendant to respect such right; and (3) the act or omission of the defendant violates the right of the plaintiff. If any of these elements is absent, the complaint becomes vulnerable to a motion to dismiss on the ground of failure to state a cause of action.

"Failure to state a cause of action refers to the insufficiency of allegation in the pleading. In resolving a motion to dismiss based on the failure to state a cause of action only the facts alleged in the complaint must be considered. The test is whether the court can render a valid judgment on the complaint based on the facts alleged and the prayer asked for."

From these allegations, we find it clear that the petitioner no longer had any legal or equitable title to or interest in the lots. The petitioner’s status as possessor and owner of the lots had been settled in the final and executory December 4, 1985 decision of the Bureau of Lands that the DENR Secretary and the OP affirmed on appeal. Thus, the petitioner is not entitled to the possession and ownership of the lots.