Director of Lands v. Reyes, G.R. No.

L-27594, L-28144, [November 28, 1975], 160-A PHIL 832-854)

Facts:
Alipio Alinsurin, later substituted by Parañaque Investment and Development Corporation, sought to
register under Act 496, a parcel of land indisputably included within the area reserved for military
purposes under Presidential Proclamation No. 237, dated December 19, 1955. Applicant claimed that his
predecessors acquired the land by virtue of a possessory information title issued during the Spanish
Regime on March 5, 1895. The application was opposed by the Government. The lower court adjudicated
(a) 2/3 portion of the land in favor of the corporation, subject to the rights of one Ariosto Santos per a
manifestation submitted in court, and (b) 1/3 portion to Roman Tamayo.

Within the extended period, the Government filed the corresponding record on appeal, copy of which was
duly served upon the corporation and Tamayo.

Pending approval of the Record on Appeal, and on motion of the corporation and of Tamayo, the lower
court directed the issuance of a registration decree of the entire parcel applied for, 1/3 pro-indiviso in
favor of Tamayo, and 2/3 pro-indiviso in favor of the corporation, and declared that as to Tamayo's share,
the court's decision had become final, but as to the share of the corporation, the registration shall be
subject to the final outcome of the appeal.

Hence, the Government instituted this Special Civil Action for certiorari and mandamus and the Supreme
Court issued a writ of preliminary injunction restraining the lower court from issuing a writ of possession,
the corporation and Tamayo from exercising acts of ownership over the property, and the register of
deeds from accepting for registration documents on the land until the government shall have filed a notice
of lis pendens.

During the pendency of the appeal in the registration case, a certain Honofre A. Andrada and others filed
with the Court of First Instance a complaint against the corporation and Tamayo for reconveyance of a
portion of the land in question. The trial court assumed jurisdiction over, and decided, the case in favor of
Andrada. Pursuant thereto, but in violation of the Supreme Court's injunction (in L-27594), the corporation
executed a subdivision plan of the parcel subject of the land registration, and the trial court ordered the
Register of Deeds to cancel the original certificate of title and to issue new titles to Andrada, et al., "free
from all liens and encumbrances."

Issue: Whether or not failure to serve a copy of notice of appeal impairs the right of appeal.

Ruling:
The Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari (L-27594) and reversed the appealed decision (L-
28144).

The failure of appellants to serve a copy of their notice of appeal to the counsel for one of the several
appellees is not fatal to the appeal, where admittedly, he was served with a copy of the original, as well as
the amended record on appeal in both of which the notice of appeal is embodied. Such failure cannot
impair the right of appeal, especially if the substantial rights of the adverse party is not impaired and the
appeal taken was from the entire decision which is not severable.

The lower court acted without jurisdiction or exceeded its jurisdiction in ordering the issuance of a decree
of registration despite the appeal timely taken from the entire decision a quo.

Where the oppositors in a land registration case caused the notice of lis pendens to be duly inscribed in
the Original Certificate of Title pending an appeal from the decision granting the registration, such
inscription keeps the whole land subject matter of the appeal within the power of the court until the
litigation is terminated. Such entry of lis pendens cannot be cancelled until the final termination of the
litigation, and the notice must be carried over in all titles subsequently issued, which will yield to the
ultimate result of the appeal.