10.

VOLTAIRE ARBOLARIO, LUCENA ARBOLARIO TA-ALA, FE ARBOLARIO, EXALTACION ARBOLARIO, CARLOS ARBOLARIO, and Spouses ROSALITA RODRIGUEZ and CARLITO SALHAY, petitioners, vs. COURT OF APPEALS, IRENE COLINCO, RUTH COLINCO, ORPHA COLINCO and GOLDELINA COLINCO, respondents. [G.R. No. 129163. April 22, 2003 PANGANIBAN, J.:] FACTS: 1. spouses Anselmo Baloyo and Macaria Lirazan had 5 children, all are dead now Child FACTS AFTER DEATH Agueda Colinco 1.Antonio Colinco (+) (respondent) Ruth Orpha and Goldelina, and 2. (respondent) Irene Colinco Catalina Baloyo - Juan Arbolario Purificacion Arbolario (+) Juans children with Francisca (petitioners) Voltaire, Lucena, Taala, Fe, Exaltacion 2. Eduardo Baloyo sold his entire interest to his sister Agueda by virtue of a notarized document acknowledged before Notary Public Deogracias Riego. 3. Gaudencia Baloyo, conveyed her interest in the said lot in favor of her two nieces, Irene Colinco to one-half (1/2) and Purificacion Arbolario to the other half. 4. Julian Baloyo died without any issue 5. Respondents contend that they are the only heirs of Anselmo Baloyo and Macaria Lirazan, executed a Declaration of Heirship and Partition Agreement, 6. The Colincos filed a civil case against spouses Rosalita Salhay and Carlito Salhay to recover possession of a portion of the aforesaid lot occupied by [respondent] spouses (Salhays hereinafter) since 1970. a. Salhays alleged in their defense that they have been the lawful lessees of the late Purificacion Arbolario since 1971 up to 1978; and that said spouses allegedly purchased the disputed portion of Lot No. 323 from the deceased lessor sometime in [September] 1978. 7. The petitioners filed a Civil Case for the cancellation of title with Damages against the Colincos a. They contend that the Declaration of Heirship and Partition Agreement executed by the Colincos was defective and thus voidable as they (Arbolarios) were excluded therein b. Arbolarios claim that they succeeded intestate to the inheritance of their alleged halfsister, Purificacion Arbolario; and, as forced heirs, they should be included in the distribution of the aforesaid lot 8. RTC ruled in favour of the Abolarios declaring them as heirs of Purificacion Arbolario a. Their 1987 Declaration of Heirship and Partition Agreement was made in bad faith, because they knew all along the existence of, and their relationship with, the Arbolarios. b. The Salhays, on the other hand, had no document to prove their acquisition and possession of a portion of the disputed lot. 9. CA declared the Arbolarios as are illegitimate half-brothers and half-sisters of Purificacion, the daughter of Juan and Catalina. a. They were born before the death of Catalina, under the extramarital affair of Juan and Francisca b. Illegitimate children are barred by Article 992 of the Civil Code from inheriting intestate from the legitimate children and relatives of their father or mother.

c. no clear and reliable evidence to support the allegation of the Salhays that they purchased from the decedent, ISSUE: W/N the petitioners have a right in the lot in question. HELD: Illegitimacy of Petitioners 1. A marriage certificate or other generally accepted proof is necessary to establish the marriage as an undisputable fact. a. No marriage certificate was shown, petitioners relied on the fact that they were born after the first wife died Evidence of Purchase 1. Sc stood by the findings of the CA and ruled that no supporting evidence was presented to prove the sale. Partition 1. the partition of the property had not been contemplated by the parties, because respondents merely sought recovery of possession of the parcel held by the Salhays, while petitioners sought the annulment of the Deed of Partition respondents had entered into. 2. The purpose of partition is to put an end to co-ownership. It seeks a severance of the individual interests of co-owners, vesting in each of them a sole estate in a specific property and a right to enjoy the allotted estate without supervision or interference 3. Petitioners were unable to establish any right to partition a. Failed to establish that they were legitimate brothers and sisters of Purificacion 4. Questions as to the determination of the heirs of a decedent, the proof of filiation, and the determination of the estate of a decedent and claims thereto should be brought up before the proper probate court or in special proceedings instituted for the purpose. Such issues cannot be adjudicated in an ordinary civil action for the recovery of ownership and possession