“PRINCESS married Roberto and bore a son, Onofre. Roberto died in a plane crash. Princess later married Mark and they also had a son, Pepito. Onofre donated to Pepito, his half-brother, a lot in Makati City worth P3,000,000. Pepito succumbed to an illness and died intestate. The lot given to Pepito by Onofre was inherited by his father, Mark. Mark also died intestate. Lonely, Princess followed Mark to the life beyond. The claimants to the subject lot emerged: Jojo, the father of Princess; Victor, the father of Mark; and Jerico, the father of Roberto. Who among the three (3) ascendants is entitled to the lot? Explain. (5%)”
I was running out of time. I had 10 minutes left to finish the exam. I was already exhausted and could not keep up with the pressure.
It was the second Sunday of the 2016 Bar Examinations. The above-mentioned question was the last question in the Civil Law exam and I had second thoughts if I could still finish it answering in less than 10 minutes.
When I first read the question, I instantly knew it was about reserva troncal. I am thankful that my law professor in Succession comprehensively discussed this topic with us.
What is reserva troncal?
The principle of reserva troncal is provided in Article 891 of the Civil Code. It states that “the ascendant who inherits from his descendant any property which the latter may have acquired by gratuitous title from another ascendant, or a brother or sister, is obliged to reserve such property as he may have acquired by operation of law for the benefit of relatives who are within the third degree and who belong to the line from which said property came.”
The persons involved in reserva troncal are: the ascendant or brother or sister from whom the property was received by the descendant by lucrative or gratuitous title; the descendant or prepositus who received the property; the reservista; and the reservatario who is within the third degree from the prepositus and who belongs to the line from which the property came and for whom the property should be reserved by the reservor.
In the case of Maria Mendoza, et al. vs Julia Polo Carpio Delos Santos, et al. (G.R. No. 176422, March 20, 2013), the Supreme Court discussed the principle of reserva troncal. It states that “reserva troncal is a special rule designed primarily to assure the return of a reservable property to the third degree relatives belonging to the line from which the property originally came, and avoid its being dissipated into and by the relatives of the inheriting ascendant.”
There are three lines of transmission. First, the transmission is by gratuitous title. It is either through inheritance or donation from an ascendant or brother or sister to a descendant called the prepositus.
Second, the transmission is by operation of law from the prepositus to the other ascendant or reservor, also called the reservista.
Lastly, the transmission is from the reservista to the reservees or reservatarios who must be relatives within the third degree or belonging to the same line from which the property originally came.
The reservista is an absolute or full owner. Upon the death of the reservista, the reservatario becomes, by operation of law, the absolute owner of the reservable property.
It should be noted that there is representation in reserva troncal. The representative must also be within the third degree from the propositus.
Considering all of these, the answer in the above-mentioned question is: Jojo, Princess’ father, is entitled to the lot. The property originally came from Onofree. The prepositus is Pepito. The mode of transmission is by gratuitous title. The reservista is Mark, who acquired it from Pepito by operation of law. The reservatario is Princess, a relative of the Pepito within the third degree and who belonged to the line of origin (the maternal line).
When Mark died, the property passed to Princess. Upon Princess’s death, the property was transmitted to her father Jojo. The reserva was extinguished upon the transmission of the property to Princess. This makes Princess the absolute owner. Thus, transmission to Jojo is by the ordinary rules of compulsory and intestate succession.
I discussed this principle because it might be totally repealed. The House of Representatives approves on second reading House Bill No. 10372 which repeals the reserva troncal provision under Article 891 of the Civil Code.
At least, before it is withdrawn from the Civil Code people will have a glimpse of what this principle is all about./PN
