SC: Lapu-Lapu City owns donated school property

CEBU, Philippines — The Supreme Court has affirmed Lapu-Lapu City’s ownership of a parcel of land donated for educational purposes, ruling that the city did not commit a substantial breach of the conditions attached to the donation despite the demolition and relocation of the school previously built on the property.

In a 10-page decision promulgated on July 13, 2026 and uploaded on the Supreme Court website on July 30, the Court’s First Division denied the petition for review filed by the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), affirming the Court of Appeals’ 2018 decision and 2020 resolution declaring the deed of donation over Lot No. 4726-A valid and subsisting.

The High Court likewise declared Lapu-Lapu City the lawful owner of the property.

Court records showed that in 1935, spouses Marcos and Basilisa Seno donated Lot No. 4726-A to Lapu-Lapu City on the condition that it be used “exclusively and forever for school purposes.”

Ibo Elementary School was subsequently constructed on the property. However, the school was later demolished and transferred to another location due to the increasing student population.

In 1958, some of the Seno heirs executed an extrajudicial settlement and sale covering the entire Lot No. 4726, including Lot No. 4726-A, in favor of MCIAA.

The heirs later sought to recover the property, claiming the sale was void because the lot had already been donated to Lapu-Lapu City. They also argued that ownership had reverted to them after the city allegedly failed to comply with the condition requiring the property to be used for school purposes.

MCIAA, meanwhile, maintained that the city’s failure to continuously use the property as a school site effectively revoked the donation. It argued that ownership had subsequently passed to the airport authority through the extrajudicial settlement and sale.

The Supreme Court rejected the airport authority’s arguments.

Writing for the Court, Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando said revoking a donation for breach of a condition requires proof of a substantial and fundamental violation, not merely a slight or temporary noncompliance.

The Court found no evidence that Lapu-Lapu City had abandoned the property or disregarded the donors’ intent.

Instead, it ruled that the demolition of Ibo Elementary School was prompted by the need to accommodate a growing student population and did not amount to abandonment of the property’s educational purpose.

The decision also cited records showing that the city had consistently maintained its intention to continue using the lot for school-related purposes.

The Court further noted that the city’s inability to presently utilize the property for a school was attributable, at least in part, to MCIAA’s own occupation and use of the land.

“It is up to Lapu-Lapu City to institute the proper proceedings to take back possession of Lot No. 4726-A so that it can comply with the condition attached to the donation,” the Court said.

The High Court added that a party cannot invoke the nonfulfillment of a condition when such noncompliance was caused or materially contributed to by its own acts.

Without a valid revocation of the donation, the Court ruled that no ownership reverted to the heirs. Consequently, MCIAA could not acquire any better right over the property through the 1958 extrajudicial settlement and sale.

“For these reasons, the Petition is DENIED,” the Court said, affirming the appellate court’s ruling and declaring Lapu-Lapu City the lawful owner of Lot No. 4726-A.

The ruling effectively ends MCIAA’s bid to overturn the validity of the 1935 donation and confirms that ownership of the property remains with the Lapu-Lapu City Government. — (FREEMAN)