GAN TIANGCO, plaintiff-appellee,

vs.
SILVINO PABINGUIT, defendant-ppellant.

Doctrine:

Article 1459, No. 5, of the Civil Code, prohibits judges from acquiring by purchase, even at public or
judicial sale, either in person or by an agent, any property or rights litigated in the court in the
jurisdiction or territory within which they exercise their respective duties; this prohibition includes
taking of property by assignment.

Issue: Can a judge validly sell a property which he acquired from a public auction which he has
executed?

Facts:

On 1907 Silvestre Abastos allegedly filed a complaint against Candida Acabo for non-payment of 150
cavanes of corns, Judge Henry Gardner being the presiding justice of peace at that time ordered the
sheriff to levy six parcels of lands belonging to Candida Acabo. An auction was held for the said property
and Judge Henry Gardner was the highest bidder. When he realized that he cannot validly obtain
ownership through the auction because of the laws prohibiting him to do so, he sold the six parcels of
land to Faustino Abad, son of Silvestre Abastos. Abad then sold land to Silvino Pabinguit who has the
possession of the land at the time this action was filed.

On June 12 1911 Candida Acabo sold the land to Gan Tiangco, however he was not able to take
possession of the land for the reason that they were in the possession of Silvino Pabinguit.

Gan Tiangco then filed a complaint to the CFI praying that the land to be declared as the rightful owner
of the said property. The lower court ruled in favour of Tiangco, ordering Silvino to surrender the land to
him. Thus the instant case filed to the Supreme Court having been brought by bill of exceptions.

The appellant states that the lower court erred in holding that Candida Acabo remains to be the owner
of the land because of certain irregularities and defects in the said auction specifically among others the
right of Henry Gardner to purchase such property.

Held:

No, Article 1459, No. 5, of the Civil Code, prohibits judges from acquiring by purchase, even at public or
judicial sale, either in person or by an agent, any property or rights litigated in the court in the
jurisdiction or territory within which they exercise their respective duties; this prohibition includes
taking of property by assignment.

Therefore, if under the law Gardner was prohibited from acquiring the ownership of Acabo's lands, then
he could not have transmitted to Faustino Abad the right of ownership that he did not possess; nor
could Abad, to whom this alleged ownership had not been transmitted, have conveyed the same to
Pabinguit. What Gardner should have done in view of the fact that the sale, as he finally acknowledged,
was void, was to claim the price that had been deposited in court, and the justice of the peace of
Guijulngan should have declared the auction void and have ordered a new sale to be held, besides
correcting the errors that had been committed in the proceedings.