Case Digest: Republic of the Philippines vs. Arcadio Santos III et.al. G.R. No. 160453 November 12, 2012

Facts:

Petitioners applied for the registration of a lot by the Parañaque River which they allegedly co-owned through continuous and adverse possession of more than ten years. The City of Parañaque (the City) opposed the application for land registration as it needed the property for its flood control program; that the property was within the legal easement of 20 meters from the river bank; and that assuming that the property was not covered by the legal easement, title to the property could not be registered in favor of the applicants for the reason that the property was an orchard that had dried up and had not resulted from accretion.

Issues:

1) Whether or not Art. 457 “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” is applicable; and 2) Whether or not respondents could claim the property by virtue of acquisitive prescription pursuant to Section 14(1) of Presidential Decree No. 1529 (Property Registration Decree) if the land was formed through the drying up of the river.

Ruling:  

The application by both lower courts of Article 457 of the Civil Code was erroneous because the evidence did not establish accretion, but instead the drying up of the Parañaque River. The deposit of soil, to be considered accretion, must be: (a) gradual and imperceptible; (b) made through the effects of the current of the water; and (c) taking place on land adjacent to the banks of rivers. These elements did not concur in this case because the land was caused by the drying up of the river which became an orchard. Thus, Article 457 which provides for accretion is inapplicable. Hence, the dried up river remains owned by the State as part of its public dominion which consequently cannot be claimed by virtue of acquisitive prescription without it being declared alienable and disposable land.