DOJ Opinion No. 104, s. 1981

DOJ OPINION NO. 104 , s. 1981 2nd Indorsement July 22, 1981 Respectfully returned to the Honorable, the Minister for foreign Affairs, his within request "for comment and/or appropriate action on the request of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning the effort of that country to recover the properties being held by the members of the family of the late Shah." The within papers show that the Embassy if Iran in manila has informed that Ministry that the Public Prosecutor 's Office of Iran has issued a writ of attachment on all the properties and assets of the fifty-nine (59) members of the deceased Shah's family, a list of whose names is part of the within enclosures. The aforesaid Embassy now requests that our Ministry of Foreign Affairs "makes the necessary representations to the proper . . . Philippine . . . authorities to deny preparation and/or confirmation of any transaction of Letter of Attorney, Deed of Conveyance, Affidavit, Deed of Grant and any other legal means in connection with the concerned properties", and inform the said Embassy "of any claims on the concerned properties". Hereunder set forth are our comments. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may not legally make the requested representations which would adversely affect the property rights of the members of the family of the late shah of Iran. The rights of a person to due process of law under the Bill of Rights of the Philippine constitution (Article IV, Section 1) imposes certain substantive and procedural requirements for the validity of any governmental action amounting to deprivation of liberty or property. Laws passed by the legislative body, like the acts or orders of the executive and the judicial branches of the government which would deprive, curtail or restrict property rights, must observe this constitutional guarantee of due process in order to avoid the consequence of nullity. prcd One law which regulates property rights is the Property Registration Decree (P.D. 1529). It states that involuntary dealings with land registered with the Registry of Deeds shall be entered or recorded therein. The pertinent provision of the said decree is quoted hereunder: "Section 69. Attachments . An attachment, or a copy of any Writ, order or process issued by a court of record, intended to create or preserve any lien, status, right, or attachment upon registered land, shall be filed and registered in the Registry of Deeds for the province or city in which the land lies, and, in addition to the particulars required in such papers for registration, shall contain a reference to the number of the certificate of title to be affected and the registered owner or owners thereof, and also if the attachment, order, process or lien is not claimed on all the land in any certificate of title, a description sufficiently accurate for identification of the land or interest intended to be affected. A restraining order, injunction or mandamus issued by the court shall be entered and registered on the certificate of title affected, free of charge." "Section 70. Adverse claim . Whoever claims any part or interest in registered land adverse to the registered owner, arising subsequent to the dated of the original registration, may, if no other provision is made In this Decree for registering the same, make a statement in writing setting forth fully his alleged right or interest, and how or under whom acquired, a reference to the number of the certificate of title of the registered owner, the name of the registered owner, and a description of the land in which the right or interest is claimed. The statement shall be signed and sworn to, and shall state the adverse claimant's residence, and a place at which all notices may be served upon him. This statement shall be entitled to registration as an adverse claim on the certificate of title. The adverse claim shall be effective for a period of thirty days from the date of registration. After the lapse of said period, the annotation of adverse claim may be cancelled upon filing of a verified petition therefor by the party in interest: Provided, however, that after cancellation, no second adverse claim based on the same ground shall be registered by the same claimant." prcd In view however of the provisions of the Constitution limiting Ownership of private lands in the Philippine to Philippine citizens and to corporations or associations at least sixty per centum (60%) of the capital of which is owned by such citizens, except lands acquired by hereditary succession or by natural-born citizens of the Philippines who have acquired foreign nationality (Article XIV, Sections 7 and 9 ), it would not have been possible for any of the members of the family of the late Shah to have acquired land/s situated in the Philippine unless he/she might have been naturalized as Filipino citizens or might have acquired ownership of such land/s by hereditary succession, occurrence of which latter event is quite remote. Another law which affects property rights is Republic Act No. 1405, "An Act Prohibiting Disclosure Of Or Inquiry Into, Deposits With Any Banking Institution And Providing Penalty Therefor". The said law precludes an Inquiry into any assets in the form of deposits the aforesaid persons might have in Philippine banks except in the limited instances prescribed by said law. We are quoting hereunder the provisions of the above cited law insofar as pertinent: "Sec. 2. All deposits of whatever nature with banks or banking institutions in the Philippines including investments in bonds issued by the Government of the Philippines, its political subdivisions and its instrumentalities, are hereby considered as of an absolutely confidential nature and may not be examined, inquired and looked into by any person, government official, bureau or office, except upon written permission of the depositor, or in cases of impeachment, cases of bribery, or in cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject matter of the litigation . (Emphasis supplied.) "Sec. 3. It shall be unlawful for any official or employee of a banking Institution to disclose to any person other than those mentioned in Section two hereof any information concerning said deposits. "Sec. 5. Any violation of this law will subject the offender upon conviction to an imprisonment of not more than five years or a fine of not more than twenty thousand pesos or both, in the discretion of the court." It bears emphasis that compliance with the provisions of P.D. No. 1529 and the above-quoted provision of R.A. No. 1405 is mandatory. Any involuntary dealing involving a piece of land situated in the Philippines or any adverse claim there to may be refused registration by the Register of Deeds if there is failure to conform with the provisions of the said decree, whereas any violation of R.A. 1405 is punishable as an offense. You may therefore advise accordingly the Embassy of Iran to take the necessary legal steps prescribed by the pertinent laws, such as those mentioned above, in order that they may be able to prevent any dealings or transactions with respect to the properties of the members of the family of the late Shah and/or be informed of the claims thereon or of their status. prcd Regarding other property interests consisting of shares of stock in Philippine Corporations or shares/interests in partnerships and other associations which are grantees of primary franchises and/or licenses or permits issued by the government to operate in the Philippines, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran may be Advised to consult with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is the government body vested with jurisdiction over said juridical entities (Soc. 3, P.D. No. 902-A, as amended by P.D. 1653). (SGD.) RICARDO C. PUNO Minister of Justice