Foreigners cannot own land in PH

Foreigners cannot own land in PH "I discovered that the seller of the land I bought last year was married to a foreigner. The latter is claiming the proceeds of the sale because he is the real owner of the said land and it was his money that was utilized to purchase the same as his wife did not shell out anything. He alleged that he could recover the amount he paid for the same because this was allowed under the law on contracts in our country. Can he recover the property from me?Clyde Dear Clyde,Generally speaking, aliens are prohibited from owning a land in our country. This is in consonance with Section 14, Article XIV of the 1973 Constitution, which provides that: “Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private land shall be transferred or conveyed except to individuals, corporations or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands in the public domain.”In the situation you shared with us, the alien married to a Filipina might have been mistakenly anchoring his claim on Article 1416 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines which states that: “When the agreement is not illegal per se but is merely prohibited, and the prohibition by the law is designed for the protection of the plaintiff, he may, if public policy is thereby enhanced, recover what he has paid or delivered.”Unfortunately, this provision pertains to an agreement which is not illegal per se. To guide you further, in the case of Frenzel vs Catito (GR 143958, July 11, 2003), the Supreme Court, through Associate Justice Romeo Callejo Sr., stated: “The provision applies only to those contracts which are merely prohibited, in order to benefit private interests. It does not apply to contracts void ab initio. The sales of three parcels of land in favor of the petitioner who is a foreigner is illegal per se. The transactions are void ab initio because they were entered into in violation of the Constitution. Thus, to allow the petitioner to recover the properties or the money used in the purchase of the parcels of land would be subversive of public policy.”Applying the above-cited decision in your situation, the alien husband cannot recover the land or his money since he is prohibited from owning land in the Philippines. Assuming that the alien husband was the real buyer of said land, the transaction is void and not merely a prohibited contract so that he can recover what he has paid. Article 1416 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines applies only to prohibited contract and not to a contract which is void ab initio like the sale of land to an alien.We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated. Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net" - https://www.affordablecebu.com/