This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2016-01-27 |
REYES, J. |
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| Finally, the subject matter of the case before the RTC - the recovery by the Republic of a 342,842-sq m property in Cavite covered by an allegedly non-existent title - necessitates a full-blown trial. To sustain the peremptory dismissal of Civil Case No. TM-1001 due to the erroneous appreciation by the Republic's counsel of the applicable rules of procedure is an abdication of the State's authority over lands of the public domain.[44] Under the Regalian doctrine, "all lands of the public domain belong to the State, and the State is the source of any asserted right to ownership in land and charged with the conservation of such patrimony." The Court, therefore, must exercise its equity jurisdiction and relax the rigid application of the rules where strong considerations of substantial justice are manifest.[45] | |||||