Llanto, Karl Jeremy F.

18-01726

LTD

1. RULES ON ACCRETION:
The Supreme Court stated the rules of alluvion in the cases of Republic vs. CA and, VDA
Nazareno vs. CA: a) that the deposit be gradual and imperceptible; b) that it be made through
the effects of the current of water; and, c) that the land where the accretion takes place is
adjacent to the bank of rivers. The first requirement means that the accretion should take place
over time. It is not abrupt where you can easily see the addition of the land. The second
requisite which requires that it should be the effect of the current of water is indispensable. This
excludes all deposits caused by human intervention. Lastly, the requirement that it should take
place in a land adjacent to the river. This is logical because the deposits of the river can only be
added to lands near it.

2. TITLE vs. CERTIFICATE OF TITLE

Title is the right of a person over a property. It is the foundation of ownership of
property. Certificate of title, on the other hand, is the document which is considered as the
evidence of ownership.

3. REGALIAN DOCTRINE DOES NOT NEGATE NATIVE TITLE

In the case of Cruz vs. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, the petitioners
challenged the constitutionality of the IPRA on the ground that it amounts to unlawful
deprivation of the State’s ownership over lands of public domain and all other natural resources
therein. The Court upheld the constitutionality of IPRA and ruled that the lands have been held
by the Indigenous People even before the Spanish regime. Hence, their ownership of the lands
are respected.

4. LANDS THAT CAN BE ACQUIRED THRU PRESCRIPTION:

Acquisitive prescription is either ordinary or extraordinary. Ordinary acquisitive prescription

requires possession in good faith and with just title for 10 years. In extraordinary prescription,
ownership and other real rights over immovable property are acquired through uninterrupted
adverse possession thereof for 30 years without the need of title or good faith.
a.) Patrimonial Property – these are properties owned by the State that is not devoted to public
use, public service or to the development of the national wealth.
b.) Private Lands – these are lands which are owned by private individuals.
c.) Lands of Public Dominion which was declared alienable by the government – this lands are
originally of public dominion, however, they became alienable by express declaration that
the property is no longer intended for public use.