FACTS:
Alolino is the registered owner of two (2)
contiguous parcels of land. Alolino initially constructed a bungalow-type house
on the property. In 1980, he added a second floor to the structure. He also
extended his two-storey house up to the edge of his property. There are
terraces on both floors. There are also six (6) windows on the perimeter wall:
three (3) on the ground floor and another three (3) on the second floor.
In 1994, the respondent spouses Fortunato and
Anastacia (Marie) Flores constructed their house/sari sari store on the vacant
municipal/barrio road immediately adjoining the rear perimeter wall of
Alolino's house. The structure is only about two (2) to three (3) inches away
from the back of Alolino's house, covering five windows and the exit door. The
respondents' construction deprived Alolino of the light and ventilation he had
previously enjoyed and prevented his ingress and egress to the municipal road
through the rear door of his house.
Respondents on their part argued that they had
occupied their lot where they constructed their house in 1955, long before the
plaintiff purchased his lot in the 70s. They further alleged that plaintiff
only has himself to blame because he constructed his house up to the very
boundary of his lot without observing the required setback. Finally, they
emphasized that the wall of their house facing Alolino's does not violate the
latter's alleged easement of light and view because it has no window.
ISSUE:
(1) Whether or not Alolino has acquired easement
of light and view; and (2) whether or not Alolino has acquired an easement of
right of way.
DECISION:
Alolino does not have an easement of light and
view or an easement of right of way over the respondents' property or the
barrio road it stands on. Articles 649-657 governs legal easements of right of
way. None of these provisions are applicable to Alolino's property with respect
to the barrio road where the respondents' house stands on.
On the other hand, an easement of light and view
can be acquired through prescription counting from the time when the owner of
the dominant estate formally prohibits the adjoining lot owner from blocking
the view of a window located within the dominant estate. Notably, Alolino had
not made (and could not have made) a formal prohibition upon the respondents
prior to their construction in 1994; Alolino could not have acquired an easement
of light and view through prescription.
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