Possession, not occupation

In forcible entry cases, the person filing the action must prove prior possession of the premises until he is deprived thereof. The only issue in this proceedings is: who is entitled to physical or material possession of the premises; that is possession de facto (possession in fact), not possession de jure (possession as a matter of right). How is prior possession acquired? Must there be actual, physical occupation of every square inch of the property? This is one of the issues raised in this case.

The residential lot involved here was acquired on June 11, 1981 by a construction company (DMCI) in whose favor TCT No. T-82338 was issued by virtue of a duly notarized Deed duly registered with the Register of Deeds. On June 13, 1981, DMCI transferred said lot to Urban Property Developers Inc. (UPDI), its sister company in whose favor TCT No. T-279042 was issued pursuant to another Deed executed by DMCI in its favor which was duly registered with the Register of Deeds.

On December 1, 1993 however, the vacant lot was occupied by Leo who put up a restaurant on the premises without the knowledge and consent of UPDI. So on March 28, 1994 upon learning of Leo’s construction on the lot in question, UPDI filed before the Municipal Trial Court a complaint for Forcible Entry alleging that on December 1, 1993 Leo, by means of strategy and stealth, unlawfully entered the lot in question and constructed a restaurant thereon, thus illegally depriving UPDI of the possession of said lot since then.

In answer, Leo averred that UPDI’s complaint states no cause of action since UPDI failed to prove among others that its predecessor-in-interest DMCI had prior possession of the property. Was Leo correct?

No. Possession can be acquired not only by material occupation, but also by the fact that a thing is subject to the action of one’s will or by the proper acts and legal formalities established for acquiring such right.

Possession can be acquired by juridical acts. These are acts to which the law gives the force of acts of possession. Examples of these are donations, succession, x x x execution and registration of public instruments and the inscription of possessory information titles. For one to be considered in possession one need not have actual or physical occupation of every square inch of the property at all times. In the present case, prior possession of the lot by DMCI, UPDI’s predecessor-in-interest was sufficiently proven by evidence of the execution and registration of public instruments and by the fact that the lot was subject to its will from then until December 1, 1993 when Leo unlawfully entered the premises and deprived UPDI of possession thereof (Habagat Grill vs. DMC-Urban Property Developer Inc. G.R. 155110, March 31, 2005; 454 SCRA 653).

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