THIRD DIVISION
[G.R. No. 213208. October 21, 2015.]
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES,petitioner, vs. HEIRS OF THE SPS. GERMAN N. ESGUERRA AND MARIA CRUZ ESGUERRA, REPRESENTED BY GERMAN C. ESGUERRA, JR., respondents.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Third Division, issued a Resolution dated October 21, 2015, which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 213208 (Republic of the Philippines vs. Heirs of the Sps. German N. Esguerra and Maria Cruz Esguerra, represented by German C. Esguerra, Jr.). — The petitioner, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), assails the Decision 1 dated October 31, 2013 and the Resolution 2 dated June 27, 2014 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CV No. 96667, which affirmed the Decision 3 dated August 17, 2010 of the Municipal Trial Court (MTC) of Cainta, Rizal in LRC No. MTC-04-AF(97).
On August 11, 1997, the Heirs off the Spouses German N. Esguerra and Maria C. Esguerra, represented by German C. Esguerra, Jr. (respondents), filed an Application for Registration of Title 4 over two adjacent parcels of land, more particularly identified as Lot Nos. 18107 and 18108 described on plans Ap-04-010503 and Ap-04-010502, both of Cad-688-D, Cainta-Taytay Cadastre, constituting 10,334 square meters situated in Barangay San Juan, Municipality of Cainta, Province of Rizal. They claimed that they and their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, actual, continuous, uninterrupted and adverse possession of the subject parcels of land for more than 60 years.
After due proceedings, the MTC, in its Decision 5 dated August 17, 2010, approved the respondents' application for registration of title.
The OSG appealed from the MTC Decision dated August 17, 2010, asserting that the respondents failed to prove that the subject parcels of land form part of the alienable and disposable lands of the public domain and that the period of possession thereof by the respondents is not sufficient to warrant registration of title in their names. 6
The CA rendered a Decision dated October 31, 2013 which affirmed the MTC Decision dated August 17, 2010. The petitioner's motion for reconsideration 7 was denied by the CA in its Resolution 8 dated June 27, 2014. Thus, on August 20, 2014, the petitioner filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari9 with the Court, alleging that the evidence presented by the respondents were insufficient to prove that the subject parcels of land are alienable and disposable. 10
On September 9, 2014, the respondents filed a Motion to Withdraw Application, 11 stating that due to health and personal reasons, they have decided to withdraw their application for land registration. Thus, the respondents prayed that the Court issue an order dismissing the case.
The Court, in its Resolution 12 dated February 11, 2015, required the petitioner to comment on the respondents' Motion to Withdraw Application. The OSG filed its Comment 13 stating that it interposes no objection to the respondents' motion.
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing disquisitions, the Motion to Withdraw Application filed on September 9, 2014 by the respondents, Heirs of the Spouses German N. Esguerra and Maria Cruz Esguerra, is hereby GRANTED. Accordingly, the Decision dated August 17, 2010 of the Municipal Trial Court of Cainta, Rizal in LRC No. MTC-04-AF(97), which granted the respondents' application for registration of the subject properties, is SET ASIDE. The respondents' application for the registration of the subject properties is considered WITHDRAWN, and the instant case CLOSED and TERMINATED." (Jardeleza, J., no part in view of his participation in the Office of the Solicitor General; Leonen, J., designated additional Member in lieu of Perez, J., per Special Order No. 2255 dated October 14, 2015; Peralta, J., no part in view of the concurrence of his spouse in the assailed CA decision; Perlas-Bernabe, J., designated additional Member per Raffle dated January 28, 2015.) CAIHTE
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) WILFREDO V. LAPITANDivision Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1. Penned by Associate Justice Francisco P. Acosta, with Associate Justices Fernanda Lampas Peralta and Angelita A. Gacutan concurring; rollo, pp. 23-30.
2. Id. at 31-32.
3. Rendered by Acting Presiding Judge Alberto L. Vizcocho; id. at 56-58.
4. Id. at 59-66.
5. Id. at 56-58.
6. Id. at 71-76.
7. Id. at 33-39.
8. Id. at 31-32.
9. Id. at 10-21.
10. Id. at 18.
11. Id. at 81-82.
12. Id. at 83-84.
13. Id. at 85-86.