SPOUSES MARIANO (a.k.a. QUAKY) and EMMA BOLAOS, Petitioners, s. ROS!E" #UI$A BERNAR%E, !LARO #UI$A, PER"E!

%O #UI$A, and !E"ERINA #UI$A&$AR!IA, Res'ondents. ($.R. No. )*+,,-, No e./er )-, 0+)+, NA!1URA, 2.3 %OPI!4 E. Order Of Intestate Succession 5O!%RINE4 Since no will was executed, his legitimate children by his first and second marriages inherit such lot in equal shares as intestate heirs (Article 9 !, "he #i$il #ode%. It follows that &ot 'o. ()* has to be di$ided among them into ele$en equal shares. +ntil such time that the said lot has been ,artitioned, as co)owners being co)heirs, their shares remain ideal (Article (!- , "he #i$il #ode%. 'ot one of the ele$en children can claim as his or hers a s,ecifically identified ,ortion of the lot. "A!%S4 .oman /u0iga, Sr. during his lifetime married twice. 1is first wife was 2la$ia while #eferina became his second wife. 2la$ia died sometime in the year (933 or (934. .oman Sr. and 2la$ia begot se$en children, namely5 6osefina, 2la$ia, 7oodrow, *ablo, 8anuel, .oman, 6r. and #resencia. On ( October (943, .oman /u0iga, Sr. married #eferina 9enda0a. "hey had four children, and they were the ,laintiffs .oscef, #laro, *erfecto and #eferina. .oman /u0iga, Sr. died on 9 August (9-:. It a,,ears that his second wife #eferina 9enda0a died ahead of him. 1is ele$en children by his first and by his second marriage sur$i$ed him. 2la$ia, without authority from the co)owners of the lot, executed a notari;ed <eed of Absolute Sale o$er it in fa$or of #resencia= #resencia, in turn, also without authority from the said co)owners, executed on the same day a notari;ed <eed of Absolute Sale in fa$or of ,etitioner)s,ouses. *etitioner)s,ouses, then, forcibly entered her house and demolished a large ,ortion of it. "hey asserted that they had acquired the lot in good faith and for $alue, without any >nowledge of the ad$erse claim of .oscef, et al. or that the ,ro,erty did not fully belong to #resencia. ."# ruled that the ,ro,erty interest acquired by the s,ouses is limited only to the ideal shares belonging to 2la$ia A. /u0iga and #resencia /u0iga)Echague constituti$e of an ideal share equi$alent to ?@(( ,ortion of such lot. #A affirmed. 1ence, this case. ISSUE4 7hether or not the #A wrongly a,,lied the law on co)ownershi,, s,ecifically Article 3 3, relati$e to Article 9 ! of the #i$il #ode. 1EL54 "he rec>oning date for the acquisition of &ot 'o. ()* should be the date when it was declared for tax ,ur,oses in the name of the defendant 2la$ia A. /u0iga, sisters and brothers A which is (3 <ecember (93 . As earlier noted, his first wife died in the year (933 or (934 while he married his second wife on ( October (943. Ob$iously, .oman /u0iga, Sr., while still a widower in the year (93 , acquired &ot 'o. ()*. #learly such lot was his ca,ital ,ro,erty. 7hen he died on 9 August (9-:, the lot now forms ,art of his estate. Since no will was executed, his legitimate children by his first and second marriages inherit such lot in equal shares as intestate heirs (Article 9 !, "he #i$il #ode%. It follows that &ot 'o. ()* has to be di$ided among them into ele$en equal shares. +ntil such time that the lot has been ,artitioned among .oman /u0iga, Sr.Bs ele$en legitimate children, as co) owners being co)heirs, t6eir s6ares re.ain idea7 (Article (!- , "he #i$il #ode%. Not one o8 t6e e7e en 96i7dren 9an 97ai. as 6is or 6ers a s'e9i8i9a77: identi8ied 'ortion o8 t6e 7ot . "hus, the $alidity of the deed of absolute sale #resencia /u0iga)Echague executed in fa$or of the s,ouses is limited to her ideal share and the other ideal share she acquired from 2la$ia A. /u0iga. "he claim by the s,ouses 8ariano and Emma 9ola0os that they were ,urchasers in good faith has little rele$ance. "he lot a,,ears as an unregistered lot, and thus they merely ste, into the shoes of the seller. "hey cannot acquire a ,ro,erty interest greater than #resencia. o Art. 9-9. &egitimate children and their descendants succeed the ,arents and other ascendants, without distinction as to sex or age, and e$en if they should come from different marriages. x x x. Art. 9 !. "he children of the deceased shall always inherit from him in their own right, di$iding the inheritance in equal shares. "he lot rightfully belongs to the (( children of .oman, se$en (-% from his first marriage with 2la$ia and four (3% from his second marriage with #eferina, in equal shares. As there was no ,artition among .omanBs children, o

the lot was owned by them in common. "he s,ouses only acquired ?@(( share of the lot. "herefore, the restitution of the ,ro,erty in excess of that ,ortion by ,etitioner s,ouses is clearly warranted.