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Standard Oil Co. of New York vs.

Jaramillo, 44 SCRA 630


FACTS:
De la Rosa was the lessee of a piece of land, on which a house she owns was built.
She executed a chattel mortgage in favor of the petitionerpurporting the leasehold interest
in the land and the ownership of house. After such, the petitioner moved for its registration
with the Register of Deeds, for the purpose of having the same recorded in the book of record
of chattel mortgages. After said document had been duly acknowledge and delivered, the
petitioner caused the same to be presented to the respondent, Joaquin Jaramillo, as register of
deeds of the City of Manila, for the purpose of having the same recorded in the book of record
of chattel mortgages. Upon examination of the instrument, the respondent was of the opinion
that it was not a chattel mortgage, for the reason that the interest therein mortgaged did not
appear to be personal property, within the meaning of the Chattel Mortgage Law, and
registration was refused on this ground only.
ISSUE:

Whether

or

not

respondents

position

is

tenable?

HELD:
No. The respondents duties, as a register of deeds, in respect to the registration of chattel
mortgage are of a purely ministerial character; and no provision of law can be cited which
confers upon him any judicial or quasi-judicial power to determine the nature of any document of
which registration is sought as a chattel mortgage. Generally, he should accept the
qualification of the property adopted by the person who presents the instrument for
registration and should place the instrument on record, upon payment of the proper fee,
leaving the effects of registration to be determined by the court if such question should arise for
legal determination. The Civil Code supplies no absolute criterion in discriminating between real
property and personal property for purposes of the application of the Chattel Mortgage
Law. The articles state general doctrines, nonetheless, it must not be forgotten that under
given conditions, property may have character different from that imputed to it in the
said articles. It is undeniable that the parties in a contract may by agreement treat as
personal property that which by nature would be real property.

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