Dear Atty. Angela,

I have been living in my property for 12 years now and one day, a person claiming to own my lot forcibly entered and dispossessed my family of our dwelling. I already won in my case with the Regional Trial Court but the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the other party citing that I had a previous detailed case where I was made to vacate the property. Is this ruling detrimental to my case and don’t I have the right to the house I have been in possession of?

Jim

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Dear Jim,

Notwithstanding the issue on ownership, as a possessor of the property, you had the right to occupy the premises.

In the case of Edgar M. Rico v. Ernie “Toto” Castillo, G.R. No. 215166 (23 July 2024), the Court clarified that in forcible entry cases, the issue is about physical possession, not legal ownership.

In forcible entry cases, persons are deprived of physical possession of land by means of force, intimidation, threat, strategy, or stealth. To prove forcible entry, a complainant must show that (a) they have prior physical possession of the property; (b) they were deprived of possession either by force, intimidation, threat, strategy, or stealth; and (c) the action was filed within one year from the time they learned that they lost physical possession of the property.

The only issue in forcible entry cases is whether the claimant has proved prior physical possession of the contested property. Since Rico in this case had established his prior possession, the SC ruled in his favor and ordered the respondents to vacate the property.

The Court stressed that issues of ownership and title are irrelevant in forcible entry cases. However, the question of ownership may be temporarily addressed if it is raised by the parties and is necessary to determine who has the better right of possession.

Atty. Angela Antonio