Republic of the Philippines

Department of Justice
PROVINCIAL PROSECUTION SERVICE
OFFICE OF THE PROVINCIAL PROSECUTOR OF RIZAL
Taytay, Rizal

DEOGENES RODRIGUEZ, &

JAIME BALMACEDA, NPS Docket No. INV-
204-00453-57
Complainants,

-versus- FOR: Usurpation of

Real Property, Estafa,
Grave Threats, Grave
Coercion, and
Qualified Trespass to
Dwelling
SUMMIT HOMES DEV’T CORP., &
ELMER NICDAO, MELCHOR
ALCANTARA, REYNALDO LAGUERTA,
EDNA SALES, & HILDA MACALINO,
Respondents,

x----------------------------------------------------x

JOINT COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT

Respondents, through counsel, to the Honorable Prosecutor,

most respectfully states that:

We, ELMER NICDAO, MELCHOR ALCANTARA, REYNALDO

LAGUERTA, EDNA SALES, & HILDA MACALINO, all of legal age,
Filipino, holding office at New Cubao Central Market, Felix Avenue,
Cainta, Rizal, do solemnly depose and state that:

1. We are the respondents in the above entitled case filed by

DEOGENES RODRIGUEZ and JAIME BALMACEDA before the
Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Rizal, ridiculously and
baselessly charging us with the crimes of Usurpation of Real

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 Property, Estafa, Grave Threats, Grave Coercion, and Qualified
Trespass to Dwelling;

2. We vehemently deny all the false, baseless, and delusional

accusations of the complainants, for being malicious and a form
of harassment, the truth of the matter are hereinafter stated;

PREFATORY STATEMENT

“SECTION 2. Conclusive Presumptions—The following are instances

of conclusive presumptions:

(b) The tenant is not permitted to deny the title of his landlord at the
time of the commencement of the relation of landlord and tenant
between them” Section 2 (b), Rule 131, Revised Rules on
Evidence

Usurpation of Real Property, Estafa, Qualified Trespass to

Dwelling

1. That the complainants rely on a false, fraudulent, and spurious

claim of “title” which, according to their farcical claim,
originates from “Original Certificate of Title No. 01-4 issued by
the King of Spain Alfonso XII in the name of Don Hermogenes
Rodriguez and Don Miguel Rodriguez”;

2. That such false claims over property, tantamount to theft, have

been addressed several decades ago by law through Presidential
Decree No. 892, which states:
“WHEREAS, fraudulent sales, transfers, and other forms
of conveyances of large tracts of public and private lands
to unsuspecting and unwary buyers appear to have been
perpetrated by unscrupulous persons claiming
ownership under Spanish titles or grants of dubious
origin;

WHEREAS, these fraudulent transactions have often resulted in

conflicting claims and litigations between legitimate title holders,
bona fide occupants or applicants of public lands, on the one hand,
and the holders of, or persons claiming rights under, the said
Spanish titles or grants, on the other, thus creating confusion and
instability in property ownership and threatening the peace and
order conditions in the areas affected;

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 WHEREAS, statistic in the Land Registration Commission show
that recording in the system of registration under the Spanish
Mortgage Law is practically nil and that this system has become
obsolete;

WHEREAS, Spanish titles to lands which have not yet been

brought under the operation of the Torrens system, being subject
to prescription, are now ineffective to prove ownership unless
accompanied by proof of actual possession;

WHEREAS, there is an imperative need to discontinue the system

of registration under the Spanish Mortgage Law and the use of
Spanish titles as evidence in registration proceedings under the
Torrens system;

Xxx

Section 1. The system of registration under the Spanish

Mortgage Law is discontinued, and all lands recorded
under said system which are not yet covered by Torrens
title shall be considered as unregistered lands.

All holders of Spanish titles or grants should apply for registration

of their lands under Act No. 496, otherwise known as the Land
Registration Act, within six (6) months from the effectivity of this
decree. Thereafter, Spanish titles cannot be used as evidence of
land ownership in any registration proceedings under the Torrens
system.

Hereafter, all instruments affecting lands originally registered

under the Spanish Mortgage Law may be recorded under Section
194 of the Revised Administrative Code, as amended by Act 3344;”

3. That the Supreme Court, in the case of Nemencio Evangelista

vs. Carmelino Santiago, G.R. No. 157447, April 29, 2005,
debunked and stripped of all probative value the primary source
of these fraudulent claims, namely all titles stemming and
originating from Don Hermogenes Rodriguez, the Court stated
that:

“There is no need to elaborate on the above-cited provisions of PD

892 as they are self-explanatory. Suffice it to say that there is no
showing, that plaintiffs complied with the said law i.e. to "apply
for registration of their lands under Act No. 496, otherwise known
as the Land Registration Act, within six (6) months from the
effectivity of this decree (February 16, 1976). Thereafter, Spanish
titles cannot be used as evidence of land ownership in any
registration proceedings under the Torrens System."

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 This being the case and likewise being clear that plaintiffs were
not the lawful owners of the land subject of this case, for they did
not comply with PD 892, the said plaintiffs do not have the legal
standing to bring before this Court the instant complaint…

Xxx

The title to and possession of the Subject Property by

petitioners’ predecessors-in-interest could be traced only as far
back as the Spanish title of Don Hermogenes Rodriguez.
Petitioners, having acquired portions of the Subject Property by
assignment, could acquire no better title to the said portions than
their predecessors-in-interest, and hence, their title can only be
based on the same Spanish title.

Respondent maintained that P.D. No. 892 prevents

petitioners from invoking the Spanish title as basis of their
ownership of the Subject Property. P.D. No. 892 strengthens the
Torrens system by discontinuing the system of registration under
the Spanish Mortgage Law, and by categorically declaring all
lands recorded under the latter system, not yet covered by Torrens
title, unregistered lands. It further provides that within six months
from its effectivity, all holders of Spanish titles or grants should
apply for registration of their land under what is now P.D. No.
1529, otherwise known as the Land Registration Decree.
Thereafter, Spanish titles can no longer be used as evidence of
land ownership in any registration proceedings under the Torrens
system. 35 Indubitably, P.D. No. 892 divests the Spanish titles of
any legal force and effect in establishing ownership over real
property.

P.D. No. 892 became effective on 16 February 1976. The

successors of Don Hermogenes Rodriguez had only until 14 August
1976 to apply for a Torrens title in their name covering the Subject
Property. In the absence of an allegation in petitioners’ Complaint
that petitioners’ predecessors-in-interest complied with P.D. No.
892, then it could be assumed that they failed to do so. Since they
failed to comply with P.D. No. 892, then the successors of Don
Hermogenes Rodriguez were already enjoined from presenting
the Spanish title as proof of their ownership of the Subject
Property in registration proceedings.”

4. That in the case of Pedro Santiago vs. SBMA, G.R. No. 156888,
November 20, 2006, the Supreme Court reiterated the
aforementioned fact,

“Nevertheless, even if we were to overlook the foregoing grievous

error, we would be hard pressed to find fault in the assailed orders
of the RTC. The present petition is substantially infirm as this

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 Court had already expressed in the case of Nemencio C.
Evangelista, et al. v. Carmelino M. Santiago,18 that the Spanish
title of Don Hermogenes Rodriguez, the Titulo de Propriedad de
Torrenos of 1891, has been divested of any evidentiary value to
establish ownership over real property.”

5. That based on the foregoing decisions alone, the spurious claim

of complainants has already been stripped of any credibility and
legality, and any charges arising from any claim of ownership
should be dismissed outright;

6. However, the actual ownership of the properties allegedly and

criminally claimed by the complainants are in truth and in fact
owned by SUMMIT HOMES AND DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION, as evidenced by their true and original
Transfer Certificate of Titles, namely: TCT No. 011-2019—1662,
011-2019001663, 011-2019001664, 011-2019001665, 011-
2019001666, 011-2019001667, 011-2019001668, 011-
2019001669, 011-2019001670, 011-2019001671, 011-
2019001672, 011-2019001673, 011-2019001674, 011-
2019001675, copies of which are hereby made an integral part
thereof and attached as “ANNEX 1”

7. Furthermore, title to the property covered by a Torrens certificate

of title becomes indefeasible after the expiration of one year from
the entry of decree of registration. Such decree is incontrovertible
and is binding on all persons, whether they were notified of or
participated in the registration proceedings. In this case, no
amount of bare allegations may overcome the indefeasibility of a
Torrents title;

8. That the National Drive Against Professional Squatters and

Squatting Syndicates (NDAPSSS), a cooperation of several
government agencies, has released a warning on fraudulent title
claims being used by squatting syndicates, one of these being
OCT 01-4 Protocal and its derivatives and the Hermogenes
Rodriguez Group as professional squatting syndicates, a
photograph is hereto attached as ANNEX 2

9. In addition, qualified trespass to dwelling does NOT include

commercial spaces in a market that are being used as a sleeping

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 area without the consent and against the consent of the owner
of the property, which is the named corporate respondent
herein;

10. Therefore, without any base to stand on, as the claim of

ownership of complainants have been debunked thoroughly,
their complaint lacks any of the elements necessary for the
crimes charged;

Grave Threats and Grave Coercion

1. No such threats have been made against the life or property of

the complainants as to amount to threat or coercion under the
Revised Penal Code;

2. That the corporation and its agents, as the lawful owner of the
property, as shown by their Torrens Titles, have every right over
the disposition of their property, as provided for by the Civil
Code, which states:

“Article 428. The owner has the right to enjoy and dispose of a thing,
without other limitations than those established by law.

The owner has also a right of action against the holder and possessor of
the thing in order to recover it. (348a)

Article 429. The owner or lawful possessor of a thing has the right to
exclude any person from the enjoyment and disposal thereof. For this
purpose, he may use such force as may be reasonably necessary to repel
or prevent an actual or threatened unlawful physical invasion or
usurpation of his property. (n)

Article 430. Every owner may enclose or fence his land or tenements by
means of walls, ditches, live or dead hedges, or by any other means
without detriment to servitudes constituted thereon. (388)”

3. That such market renovations have been announced several

months in advance, and that the tenants, including the herein
complainants, have been notified of such renovation, and that
contrary to their absurd claims, they are being relocated to a
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 different area of the market to make way for the renovation of
the building;

4. That the allegations that the respondents unduly “cut” their

electricity was due to their failure to pay their electricity to the
company. This is due to the fact that the market runs on one
MOTHER METER and each tenant has a submeter to measure
their consumption. But the MERALCO billing is only addressed
to the MOTHER METER under the name of Summit Homes;

5. That this complaint filed by these tenants were made to abuse

the legal system to harass and gain leverage over the
respondent due to their unpaid and overdue rentals and the
numerous violations of Market house rules they continuously
violate such as converting their commercial stalls into sleeping
areas, squatting with their families, encroaching on public
hallways, and other violations of the New Cubao Central market
rules;

WHEREFORE, we execute this counter-affidavit to attest to the

truthfulness of the foregoing facts and based on authentic records to
address the false accusations against us and in order to pray to the
Honorable Prosecutor for the dismissal of this ludicrous and false
complaint, as a means of abusing the legal system purely for
harassment and the perpetuation of false and fraudulent documents
and claims;

AFFIANTS:

ELMER NICDAO

MELCHOR ALCANTARA

REYNALDO LAGUERTA

EDNA SALES

HILDA MACALINO

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 SUMMIT HOMES AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

ATTY. EHREN CHRISTIAN S. AZARRAGA

CORPORATE SECRETARY

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me, this

__________________, at Cainta, Rizal, Philippines. I hereby
certify that I have personally examined the affiants and I am fully
satisfied that they voluntarily read and executed their JOINT
COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT.