ACCRETION

Vda. De Nazareno vs. Court of Appeals, Salasalan, Rabaya, Labis

GR No. 98045
June 26, 1996

FACTS:
Antonio Nazareno is an owner of a titled property situated beside an accretion area along the banks of
Cagayan River. Jose Salasalan & Leo Rabaya leased parcels of land from Nazareno. When Salsalan & Rabaya
stopped paying rentals, Nazareno filed an ejectment suit. The Municipal Trial Court ruled in favor of Nazareno; the
RTC affirmed the decision. Thus, Nazareno filed an application with the Bureau of Lands to perfect his title over the
accretion area being claimed by him.

ISSUE:
Whether or not the subject land is a public land?

ARGUMENTS:

VDA. DE NAZARENO SALASALAN AND RABAYA

The subject land is a private land being an They contend the public character of the
accretion to Antonio Nazarenos titled subject land.
property. Mere application of the Miscellaneous Sales
Art. 457 of the Civil Code which provides that Patent by Nazareno is an admission that the
To the owners of lands adjoining the banks of land being applied is a public land.
rivers belong the accretion which they
gradually receive from the effects of the
current of the waters.
The accumulation was gradual and
imperceptible, resulting from the action of the
waters or current of the Balacanas Creek and
Cagayan River.

RULING:
The Court ruled that the subject land is part of the public domain since the accretion was man-made or artificial. Under
Article 457 of the Civil Code:

To the owners of lands adjoining the banks of rivers belong the accretion which they gradually receive from the effects
of the current of the waters.

But the Court provides the following requisites of accretion (Rules of Alluvion):

1. That the deposition of soil or sediment be gradual and imperceptible;

2. That it be the result of the action of the waters of the river (or sea); and

3. That the land where the accretion takes place is adjacent to the banks of rivers (or sea coast).

In Republic v. CA, the requirement that the deposit should be due to the effect of the current of the river is
indispensable. In Hilario v. City of Manila, the word current indicates the participation of the body of water in the ebb
and flow of waters due to high and low tide.
Here, the subject land was the direct result of the dumping of sawdust by the Sun Valley Lumber Co. consequent to its
sawmill operations.