GR 37125; (September, 1933) (Digest)
G.R. No. 37125 ; September 30, 1933
MARIA ARRIETE, in her capacity as guardian of the minor Carmen Jagunap, plaintiff-appellant, vs. THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, THE PROVINCIAL SHERIFF OF ILOILO, ANTONINA LEDESMA, FERMIN CARAM, MARIANO NAVA, JR., and SEVERINO QUIDATO, defendants-appellees.
FACTS
The case involves three lots owned by the minor Carmen Jagunap. To collect unpaid irrigation system charges, the Director of Public Works filed a case (Civil Case No. 7610) against delinquent persons, naming Adela Gustilo as the owner of the lots. Judgment by default was rendered, and the lots were sold at a sheriff’s auction to Antonina Ledesma for P892.91, despite their assessed value of P8,800 and market value of P14,000. Ledesma later sold the lots to Fermin Caram. The minor owner, Carmen Jagunap, her legal guardian Maria Arriete, and the administrator of her father’s estate were never named as parties in the delinquency case nor served with any summons or notice as required by law. Evidence suggested the irrigation charges may have already been paid prior to the judgment.
ISSUE
Whether the sheriff’s sale of the minor’s lots is valid despite the lack of proper summons and notice to the actual owner or her legal representatives as required by statute.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s judgment and declared the sheriff’s sale null and void. The Court held that statutes authorizing the deprivation of property, such as the Irrigation Act ( Act No. 2152 as amended), must be strictly complied with as they are in derogation of general rights. Due process requires that the actual owner or her legal representative be properly named and notified. Since the minor Carmen Jagunap and her guardian were neither named in the proceedings nor served with summons as required by Section 13 of the Irrigation Act and Section 399 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the judgment and the subsequent sale were void. The certificates of title issued to Fermin Caram were cancelled, and the original titles were reinstated. Possession was ordered restored to the minor’s guardian. The guardian was ordered to reimburse Caram the purchase price (P892.91) less the rents and profits collected from the land since his possession.
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