Krivenko v. Register of Deeds G.R. No. L-630. November 15, 1947

Facts:  Alexander Krivenko, an alien, bought a residential lot from Magdalena Estate Inc. in December 1941. The registration was interrupted by the war. In May 1945, he sought to accomplish the said registration but was denied by the Register of Deeds of Manila on the grounds that he is a foreigner and he cannot acquire a land in this jurisdiction. Krivenko brought the case to the CFI of Manila. The CFI ruled that he cannot own a land, being an alien. Hence, this petition.

Issue:  Whether or not an alien may own private lands in the Philippines.

Held: No.

Ratio: Sec. 1, Art 13 of the Constitution talks about the conservation and utilization of natural resources. The said provision embraces all lands of any kind of the public domain. Its purpose is to establish a permanent and fundamental policy for the conservation and utilization of all natural resources of the nation. Although it mentions agricultural, timber, and mineral lands, the court held that in determining whether a parcel of land is agricultural, the test is not only whether it is actually agricultural, but also its susceptibility to cultivation for agricultural purposes. Hence, “public agricultural land” was construed as referring to those lands that were not timber or mineral. Therefore, it includes residential lands.

StatCon maxim: If the only issue is a constitutional question which is unavoidable, the court should confront the question and decide the case on the merits.