Legal Insights
Plain-language guides and case briefs on Philippine law — researched from the firm's law library of 184,000+ statutes, Supreme Court decisions, and agency issuances, and written so non-lawyers can understand and act on them.
Disputed Inheritance: Proving Ownership in Land Claims After a Family Fallout
A Supreme Court ruling on proving land ownership in family disputes, where a photocopied title and bare claims failed against a registered certificate of title.
Reclaimed Lands and Constitutional Limits: The Central Bay Case on Corporate Land Ownership
The Supreme Court voids a compromise agreement transferring reclaimed land to a private corporation's assignee, upholding constitutional bans on corporate land ownership.
Forum Shopping in Land Expropriation: When Separate Claims for Just Compensation Are Allowed
The Supreme Court clarifies when filing separate cases for just compensation over different lots taken by the government does not constitute forum shopping.
Foreign Land Ownership Constitutionality Prevails Over Execution Sales
Supreme Court nullifies auction sales to a Canadian citizen, reaffirming the constitutional ban on alien land ownership in the Philippines.
Upholding Land Ownership: Technicalities Yield to Substantive Rights in Property Disputes
SC rules procedural lapses cannot defeat a registered owner's right to recover property from tolerated occupants.
Mining Rights vs Land Ownership: Reconstitution Rights Under Philippine Law
Supreme Court ruling clarifies that mining patent holders cannot seek reconstitution of land titles they do not own.
Land Ownership Disputes: Proving Your Claim in the Philippines
Learn how the Supreme Court distinguishes government instrumentalities from GOCCs in real property tax disputes, and what this means for proving ownership claims.
Finality Prevails: Citizenship Challenges Barred After Judgment in Property Disputes
A losing party cannot raise a buyer's citizenship after judgment becomes final. The Supreme Court explains why res judicata bars such challenges.
Private Land Rights Prevail Over Free Patent Applications Understanding Land Ownership Disputes
Learn how the Supreme Court ruled that private land cannot be subjected to free patent applications, settling a decades-long ownership dispute.
Establishing Land Ownership The Critical Role of Property Identification in Acquisitive Prescription
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on why identifying the exact property is essential before claiming ownership through acquisitive prescription.
When Constitutional Limits Bar Recovery of Illegally Acquired Property
Philippine Supreme Court explains why an alien who bought land through a Filipino cannot recover the property or his money.
Alien Land Ownership: Constitutional Ban Survives Even After Heirs Become Filipino Citizens
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on land reconstitution, alien ownership bans, and how Filipino heirship cures constitutional defects.
Alien Land Ownership and Pari Delicto: When Title Reverts to the State
Explaining the pari delicto doctrine in alien land sales, and when the State—not the vendor—may pursue reversion of title.
Upholding Land Ownership Claims: The Importance of Evidentiary Proof in Reconveyance Disputes
A Supreme Court ruling on reconveyance underscores that ownership claims must be proven by clear evidence, not mere allegations.
Upholding Land Ownership: The Significance of Continuous Possession and Tax Declarations in Property Disputes
Explore how continuous possession and tax declarations resolved a property ownership dispute in Tabuso v. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 108558).
Torrens Title vs. Fraud: Protecting Land Ownership in the Philippines
Learn how the Torrens system protects land ownership in the Philippines and why proving fraud requires clear and convincing evidence, based on a landmark Supreme Court case.