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RP-DENR vs Heirs of Angeles, Heirs of de Leon, et al

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, Represented by the Regional Executive Director, Region III, Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR), petitioner, vs. HEIRS OF AGUSTIN L. ANGELES, HEIRS OF CARMEN DE LEON Vda. DE ANGELES, LUZ GANCAYCO ALVAREZ and the REGISTER OF DEEDS of BALANGA, BATAAN, respondents.

G.R. No. 141296 | 2002-10-07

D E C I S I O N

PANGANIBAN, J.:

Elementary is the rule that prescription and laches will not bar actions filed by the State to recover its own property acquired through fraud by private individuals.

The Case

Before us is a Petition for Review on Certiorari[1] seeking to set aside the Order[2] dated September 7, 1999, issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Balanga, Bataan in Civil Case No. 6789. The challenged Order granted, on the ground of prescription, herein respondents' Motion to Dismiss petitioner's Complaint for Reversion.

The decretal portion of the assailed Order reads as follows:

WHEREFORE, [being] meritorious, the...