FACTS:

The case involves three petitions for review on certiorari of the decisions of the Court of Appeals. The first two cases are consolidated as G.R. No. 56622 and G.R. No. L-36827 and are both land registration cases in the province of Pangasinan. The third case, G.R. No. 70076, is consolidated with G.R. No. L-36827 as it involves incidents related to the same piece of land.

In G.R. No. 56622, the respondents filed an application for registration and confirmation of title to a parcel of land in Pangasinan. The Director of Lands opposed the application on various grounds, including the absence of sufficient title to acquire fee simple ownership and failure to fulfill the requisites prescribed in the Public Land Act. The Court of First Instance approved the confirmation of the applicants' imperfect title, but the oppositors moved for reconsideration, which was denied. The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision.

In G.R. No. L-36827 and G.R. No. 70076, the private respondent filed an application for registration of titles to several parcels of land in Pangasinan. The case was pending for several years.

The plaintiffs in G.R. No. 70076 received a partial release of their loan from the bank and appointed their nephew as an administrator/overseer of their plantation. The nephew discovered the defendant's cattle grazing on the plantation, causing damage to the trees. The plaintiffs sought an injunction to prevent the defendant from grazing their cattle. The trial court and the appellate court denied the prayer for an injunction. The plaintiffs filed a petition for certiorari with the Intermediate Appellate Court, which was also denied. This led to the filing of a second petition (G.R. No. 70076) with the Supreme Court. The Court required the parties to file their memoranda, and while the petitioners complied, there was no record of the private respondent filing their memorandum. The petitioners assigned several errors, including the failure of the appellate court to declare that the subject property is timberland and that the possession of the respondents was not adverse in the concept of owners.

ISSUES:

1. G.R. No. 56622:

2. Whether or not the subject property is timberland and beyond the commerce of man.

3. Whether or not the possession of the respondents-spouses over the subject property was adverse and in the concept of owners.

4. Whether or not the application for registration and confirmation of title of the respondents-spouses should be dismissed.

5. G.R. No. L-36827:

6. Whether or not there was identity between the land applied for and the land described in the informacion posesoria title.

7. Whether or not the land applied for became private property upon the issuance of the Spanish title and possession by the applicant and her predecessor-in­-interest.

8. Whether or not the applicants acquired a registerable title prior to the establishment of the forest reservation.

9. Whether or not the decision of the court a quo is uncertain as to the area of the land subject thereof.

10. G.R. No. 70076:

11. Whether or not the petitioners are entitled to injunctive relief.

12. Whether or not it is proper for a judge or justice to decide a case pending before him when he had acted as counsel in another case involving the same parties and the same subject matter.

13. Whether the subject parcel of land is within the alienable and disposable area

14. Whether the land subject of registration is forest or timberland

15. Whether private respondents have established 30 years of continuous possession in the concept of an owner

16. Whether the informacion posesoria submitted by the private respondents is acceptable as evidence of possession.

17. Whether the survey plan attached to the application for registration has the approval of the Director of Lands.

18. Whether the requirements for the conversion of registration of possession into ownership have been complied with.

19. Whether the private respondents have established uninterrupted possession for the statutory period.

20. Whether the private respondents can claim ownership over public lands within the forest zone.

21. Whether forestlands can be owned by private persons.

22. Whether tax declaration secures ownership over forested land.

23. Whether the private respondents have a registerable right over the lot described in Plan Psu-114232.

24. Whether the petitioner in G.R. No. 70076 is entitled to the issuance of a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction.

RULING:

1. G.R. No. 56622:

2. The subject property is timberland and beyond the commerce of man. (Undetermined)

3. The possession of the respondents-spouses over the subject property was adverse and in the concept of owners. (Undetermined)

4. The application for registration and confirmation of title of the respondents-spouses should be dismissed. (Undetermined)

5. G.R. No. L-36827:

6. There was identity between the land applied for and the land described in the informacion posesoria title. (Undetermined)

7. The land applied for became private property upon the issuance of the Spanish title and possession by the applicant and her predecessor-in­-interest. (Undetermined)

8. The applicants acquired a registerable title prior to the establishment of the forest reservation. (Undetermined)

9. The decision of the court a quo is uncertain as to the area of the land subject thereof. (Undetermined)

10. G.R. No. 70076:

11. The petitioners are not entitled to injunctive relief. (Undetermined)

12. It is not proper for a judge or justice to decide a case pending before him when he had acted as counsel in another case involving the same parties and the same subject matter. (Undetermined)

13. The subject parcel of land is not within the alienable and disposable area as confirmed by the Director of Forestry.

14. The land subject of registration is forest or timberland and cannot be acquired by prescription.

15. Private respondents failed to establish 30 years of continuous possession in the concept of an owner.

16. The informacion posesoria submitted by the private respondents is not acceptable as evidence of possession, as it only contains estimates of the distance between two points and not actual measurements.

17. The survey plan attached to the application for registration does not have the approval of the Director of Lands, rendering it inadmissible as evidence.

18. The requirements for the conversion of registration of possession into ownership have not been complied with, as none of the necessary conditions have been met.

19. The private respondents have not successfully established uninterrupted possession for the statutory period.

20. The private respondents cannot claim ownership over public lands within the forest zone, as forest lands of the public domain cannot be acquired by prescription.

21. Forestlands cannot be owned by private persons and are not registerable, whether the title is a Spanish title or a torrens title.

22. A tax declaration secured over forested land does not vest ownership to the declarant.

23. The private respondents do not have a registerable right over the lot described in Plan Psu-114232.

24. The petitioner in G.R. No. 70076 is not entitled to the issuance of a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction.

PRINCIPLES:

• A petition for review on certiorari is filed to question the ruling of the appellate court.

• A court can order the submission of memoranda from the parties in a petition for review on certiorari.

• Failure to file a required memorandum may result in the dismissal of the petition.

• The Director of Lands, the Director of Forest Administration, and the Republic of the Philippines may file oppositions to applications for registration of lands in the public domain.

• Public lands classified as timberland are not subject to private appropriations.

• Leasehold rights over a property do not confer ownership rights over the property itself.

• Possession of a property covered by a lease agreement does not establish adverse possession.

• Land classified as timberland remains as such until reclassified as alienable and disposable land.

• Identity of land is essential in applications for registration of title.

• The establishment of a forest reservation does not affect the ownership of lands previously acquired in good faith.

• A court decision must clearly state the area covered by the land subject to registration.

• A judge or justice should not decide a case in which he had acted as counsel involving the same parties and subject matter.

• The nature and character of a public land made in the investigation report of the Bureau of Land is binding on the courts.

• Parcels of land classified as forest or timberland cannot be owned by private persons and are not registerable.

• Failure to establish the identity of the land claimed and a disparity in the boundaries of the land sought to be registered may invalidate the registration.

• The informacion posesoria must contain specific and accurate measurements and should bear the approval of the Director of Lands.

• The requirements for the conversion of registration of possession into ownership under Article 393 of the Spanish Mortgage Law must be complied with.

• Failure to perform all conditions essential to a government grant does not entitle an applicant to confirmation of an imperfect title.

• Uninterrupted possession for the statutory period is necessary to convert possession into ownership.

• Forest lands of the public domain cannot be acquired by prescription.

• Forestlands cannot be owned by private persons.

• Forestlands are not registerable.

• A tax declaration does not vest ownership over forested land.

• In order to grant an injunction, the party applying must show the existence of the right to be protected, that the facts are violative of said right, invasion of the right is material and substantial, the right of the complainant is clear and unmistakable, and there is an urgent and permanent necessity for the writ to prevent serious damage.