ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta @Magtanong Kay Attorney | Mar. 22, 2025
Dear Chief Acosta,
Bilang tulong sa pinsan ko at para makakuha ng loan, nagsagawa kami ng deed of sale ng lupa na pagmamay-ari naming mag-asawa. Ang usapan namin, matapos niyang makuha at mabayaran ang utang, ay ibabalik sa amin ang aming lupa. Subalit, ang problema ngayon ay inaangkin na ng pinsan ko ang lupa. Mababalik pa ba sa amin ang lupa? — Reynan
Dear Reynan,
Tinutukoy ng Article 1458 ng New Civil Code ang kontrata ng pagbebenta (contract of sale) bilang isang uri ng kontrata kung saan ang nagbebenta o seller ay obligadong ilipat ang pagmamay-ari niya sa pinag-uusapang ari-arian, at ang bumibili o buyer ay obligadong bayaran ang napag-usapang presyo para rito. Ayon sa nasabing probisyon:
“Art. 1458. By the contract of sale, one of the contracting parties obligates himself to transfer the ownership of and to deliver a determinate thing, and the other to pay therefor a price certain in money or its equivalent.
A contract of sale may be absolute or conditional.”
Base rito, ang mga mahahalagang elemento ng contract of sale ay: (a) pagsang-ayon o pagpayag na parehong partido na ilipat ang pagmamay-ari ng isang bagay kapalit ng napag-usapang halaga; (b) matukoy ang paksa; at (c) tiyak na presyo sa pera o katumbas nito. Ang lahat ng mga elementong ito ay dapat naroroon upang bumuo ng isang balidong kontrata.
Kaugnay nito, sa kasong Myrna C. Pasco vs. Isabel Cuenca, et. al., G.R. No. 214319, 04 Nobyembre 2020, sa panulat ni Kagalang-galang na Kasamang Mahistrado Henri Jean Paul B. Inting, idineklara ng ating Korte Suprema na walang bisa ang kontrata na ganap na gawa-gawa lamang (absolutely simulated):
“Respondents maintain that the subject deed of sale executed by the Spouses Baguispas in favor of petitioner is absolutely simulated as it was executed only to make it appear that the latter owned Lot No. 38-B for purposes of securing a loan. They claim that the Spouses Baguispas never really intended to sell the land to petitioner.
Simulation takes place when the parties do not really want the contract they have executed to produce the legal effects expressed by its wordings. Article 1345 of the Civil Code provides that the ‘[s]imulation of a contract may either be absolute or relative. The former takes place when the parties do not intend to be bound at all; the latter, when the parties conceal their true agreement.’ Hence, in absolute simulation the contract is void, and the parties may recover from each other what they may have given under the contract.
In determining the true nature of a contract, the primary test is the intention of the parties. As the CA aptly pointed out, the Spouses Baguispas never intended to be bound by the subject deed of sale, viz.:
The Court is convinced that Spouses Baguispas out of pity for their niece and moved by close-knit familial ties agreed to execute the assailed Deed of Sale of Real Estate dated 1 July 1986 in favor of [petitioner] just to enable her to obtain a loan with SSS but spouses Baguispas never really intended to sell Lot No. 38-B to [petitioner] and they never received the amount of P50,000.00 stipulated in the simulated deed of sale. x x x.
The CA also quoted Isabel’s testimony wherein she unequivocally stated that she and Antonio only signed the Deed of Sale of Real Property dated July 1, 1986 in order to accommodate petitioner's request for assistance in connection with her loan application with the SSS, x x x”
Kung kaya, kung mapatutunayan mo sa hukuman na wala kayong intensyon ng iyong asawa na ibenta ang lupa ninyo sa pinsan mo at wala rin kayong natanggap na bayad para rito, ang kontrata sa pagitan ninyo ay maaaring walang bisa. Samakatuwid, maaaring mabawi mula sa isa’t isa kung ano ang maaaring ibinigay sa ilalim ng kontrata.
Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang iyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na iyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng iyong salaysay.
Maraming salamat sa iyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.
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