FACTS:

In Land Registration Case (LRC) No. N-983, the Spouses Diego Lirio and Flora Atienza applied for the registration of title to Lot No. 18281. The application was granted, and the decision became final and executory. The court issued an order directing the Land Registration Commission to issue the corresponding decree of registration and certificate of title in favor of the spouses Lirio. In 1997, petitioner Rolando Ting filed an application for the same lot. The heirs of Diego Lirio, the respondents, argued that the decision in LRC No. N-983, which had become final and executory, barred petitioner's application based on res judicata. The trial court dismissed petitioner's application on the ground of res judicata.

ISSUES:

1. Whether the decision in LRC No. N-983 constitutes res judicata in LRC No. 1437-N.

RULING:

1. The Supreme Court held that the decision in LRC No. N-983 constitutes res judicata in LRC No. 1437-N. Under Section 30 of Presidential Decree No. 1529, the judgment in a land registration proceeding becomes final upon the expiration of thirty days from the date of receipt of notice of the judgment. After judgment has become final and executory, it is the duty of the court to issue an order for the issuance of the decree of registration and certificate of title. In land registration proceedings, the decision of the court confirming the title and ordering its registration constitutes res judicata against the whole world when final. The decision in LRC No. N-983 settled the ownership of the lot and is binding on petitioner. While petitioner claimed that the decision had become "extinct" because no decree of registration was issued, there is no evidence that the Land Registration Authority credited the alleged claim and reported it to the court. The duty of the land registration officials to issue the decree is merely ministerial and they have no discretion in the matter. Lastly, Section 6, Rule 39 of the Rules of Court does not apply in land registration proceedings, thus the claim that the decision became "extinct" due to the failure of respondents to execute it within the prescriptive period is baseless. The petition was denied.