Dear PAOL

My car was impounded by the police when it was flagged down for allegedly disregarding traffic signs. I presented my OR/CR, deed of absolute sale and other papers to prove my ownership but the police still claimed that the car was stolen. What will be my legal remedy to recover the car?

Halona

Dear Halona,

Your legal remedy under the circumstance is replevin in consonance with the provision of Section 1, Rule 60 of the 1997 Revised Rules of Court, as amended, which provides that: “A party praying for the recovery of possession of personal property may, at the commencement of the action or at any time before answer, apply for an order for the delivery of such property to him, in the manner hereinafter provided.”

Correlative thereto, Section R of the same rule also states that: “The applicant must show by his own affidavit or that of some other person who personally knows the facts:

(a) That the applicant is the owner of the property claimed, particularly describing it, or is entitled to the possession thereof;

(b) That the property is wrongfully detained by the adverse party, alleging the cause of detention thereof according to the best of his knowledge, information and belief;

(c) That the property has not been distrained or taken for a tax assessment or a fine pursuant to law, or seized under a writ of execution or preliminary attachment, or otherwise placed under custodia legis, or if so seized, that it is exempt from such seizure or custody; and

(d) The actual market value of the property.

The applicant must also give a bond, executed to the adverse party in double the value of the property as stated in the affidavit aforementioned, for the return of the property to the adverse party if such return be adjudged and for the payment to the adverse party of such sum as he may recover from the applicant in the action.”

Replevin was further elaborated in the case of Police Sr. Supt. Romeo Uy, et al. v Sergio Jr. and Sales V. Jacalan, GR 232814, Feb. 3, 2021, where the Supreme Court, speaking through Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul B. Inting, stated that:

Replevin, broadly understood, is both a form of principal remedy and of a provisional relief. It may refer either to the action itself, i.e., to regain the possession of personal chattels being wrongfully detained from the plaintiff by another, or to the provisional remedy that would allow the plaintiff to retain the thing during the pendency of the action and hold it pendente lite. The action is primarily possessory in nature and generally determines nothing more than the right of possession. Replevin is so usually described as a mixed action, being partly in rem and party in personam in rem insofar as the recovery of specific property is, concerned, and in personam as regards to damages involved. As an “action in rem,” the gist of the replevin action is the right of the plaintiff to obtain possession of specific personal property by reason of his being the owner or of his having a special interest therein. x x x. Rule 60 of the Rules of Court allows an application for the immediate possession of the property but the plaintiff must show that he has a good legal basis, i.e., a clear title thereto, for seeking such interim possession. (Citation omitted).

Applying the above-cited decision in your situation, the filing of a replevin case is an appropriate legal remedy to recover the possession of your car which is deemed wrongfully detained by the authorities. Possession is an incident of ownership so it is essential to show that you have a good legal basis or a clear title to the car. You can use your OR/ CR, deed of absolute sale and other documents to prove this fact. After filing the replevin case, you may recover your car even while the case is still pending by complying with the provision of Rule 60 of the Rules of Court, particularly, the filing of the required affidavit and bond.

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.