[FORMATION OF CONTRACT OF SALE – FORMALITIES OF THE CONTRACT – Held:

GENERAL RULE: FORM NOT IMPORTANT] YES, the contract of sale was valid.
25 DALION V. CA  Forgery was not proved by Dalion
February 28, 1990 | MEDIALDEA, J. | o Merely denied that he signed document
o Did not present any witnesses or other testimony
Doctrine: The provision of Art. 1358 on the necessity of a public document is only o His signature was counterchecked with other documents,
for convenience, not for validity or enforceability. It is not a requirement for the
which is proved to look the same
validity of a contract of sale of a parcel of land that this be embodied in a public
instrument. o People who witnessed the execution of the deed positively
testified on its authenticity
Facts:  Stated that it had been executed and signed by the
 A land in Southern Leyte was declared in the name of Segundo Dalion. signatories. 

Sabesaje sued to recover ownership this land based on a private NO, a public document is not needed for transfer of ownership.
document of absolute sale, allegedly executed by Segundo Dalion. 
  The provision of NCC 1358 on the necessity of a public document is only
 Dalion, however, denied the sale, saying that: 
 for convenience, not for validity or enforceability. 

o The document was fictitious  That this be embodied in a public instrument is not a requirement for the
o His signature was a forgery, and
o That the land is conjugal validity of a contract of sale of a parcel of land 

property, which he and his wife acquired in 1960 from  Dalion: 

Saturnina Sabesaje as evidenced by the "Escritura de Venta o That the sale is invalid because it is embodied in a private
Absoluta." document
 The spouses denied the claims of Sabesaje that after executing a deed of o That "acts and contracts which have for their object the
sale over the parcel of land, they had pleaded 
with Sabesaje to be creation, transmission, modification or extinction of real rights
allowed to administer the land because Dalion did not have livelihood. 
 over immovable property must appear in a public instrument."
 Spouses Dalion admitted, however, administering 5 parcels of land in (NCC 1358 par. 1)
Southern Leyte, which belonged to Leonardo 
Sabesaje, grandfather of  A contract of sale is a consensual contract, which means that the sale is
Sabesaje, who died in 1956. 
 perfected by mere consent.
 The Dalions never received their agreed 10% and 15% commission on the o No particular form is required for its validity.
sales of copra and abaca. 
 o Upon perfection of the contract, the parties may reciprocally
 Sabesaje's suit, they say, was intended merely to harassand forestall demand performance (NCC 1475, NCC), i.e., the vendee may
Dalion's threat to sue for these unpaid commissions. 
 compel transfer of ownership of the object of the sale, and the
 TC decided in favor of Sabesaje and ordered the Dalions to deliver the vendor may require the vendee to pay the thing sold (NCC
parcel of land in a public document. 
 1458).
 CA affirmed. 
  The trial court thus rightly and legally ordered Dalion to deliver to
Sabesaje the parcel of land and to execute 
corresponding formal deed
Issue: of conveyance in a public document. 

 W/N the contract of sale was valid - YES  Under NCC 1498, when the sale is made through a public instrument, the
 W/N a public document is needed for transfer of ownership - NO execution is equivalent to the delivery of the 
thing. 

  Delivery may either be actual (real) or constructive. Thus delivery of a
parcel of land may be done by placing the vendee in control and
possession of the land (real) or by embodying the sale in a public
instrument (constructive).

Dispositive
ACCORDINGLY, the petition is DENIED and the decision of the Court of Appeals
upholding the ruling of the trial court is hereby AFFIRMED. No costs.