Purchasing a land is a wise investment if the transaction is smooth and hassle-free. What if your hard-earned money went down the drain upon discovering that the parcel of land you have purchased was also sold to another buyer? It even gets more complicated as you are no longer allowed to transfer the title of the property in your name because the other buyer already did so. What are the legal implications of these circumstances? It is clear that the property was sold to two buyers with different interests, hence there is a double sale. Article 1544 of the Civil Code states that:

If the same thing should have been sold to different vendees, the ownership shall be transferred to the person who may have first taken possession thereof in good faith, if it should be movable property.

Should it be immovable property, the ownership shall belong to the person acquiring it who in good faith first recorded it in the Registry of Property.

Should there be no inscription, the ownership shall pertain to the person who in good faith was first in possession; and, in the absence thereof, to the person who presents the oldest title, provided there is good faith.

In case of double sale the person who will be considered as the owner of the property will be based on the order of priority:

1. the first person to register the sale in good faith;
   
   
2. the first possessor in good faith;
   
   
3. the buyer who in good faith presents the oldest title.

There can be cases when you are the first possessor of the property, but the other claimant was the first registrant. While it may appear that the other claimant is the rightful owner of the property, you should take a few factors into consideration. As part of the aforementioned conditions, the person who registers the sale in good faith will be deemed as the property owner. In the event that the other claimant purchased the property even when he/she had full knowledge that it was previously sold to another buyer, the first buyer will be entitled to prove that he/she has a better right to own the property.

If the other claimant who has already registered the property proved that he/she is a registrant in good faith, then he/she has a better right to the property according to Article 1544 of the Civil Code. The seller has legal liability, which gives you the authority to file chargers and demand contract rescission with damages.

As a consumer you have the right to: safety, basic needs, information, representation, redress, consumer education, choose and healthy environment. Making informed buying decisions will ensure that you are getting the right products and services. If you want to make an online purchase, the first thing you need to check is the DTI sales promotion permit of the online store. It is not enough that you read reviews or feedback from previous buyers because you also need protection against online scams. While you may not have the luxury of time to check the items you are purchasing, it still pays to get some essential information such as the product’s expiry date, brand name, name and address of the manufacturer and English or Filipino translation if the labels are written in other languages. Perhaps you are already familiar with the ‘No Return, No Exchange’ policy and if ever you bought a defective product, you should insist on replacing or refunding the item.

Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines provides detailed information about consumer rights and practices.

“ARTICLE 5. Declaration of Policy. — It shall be the duty of the State:

a) to develop and provide safety and quality standards for consumer products, including performance or use-oriented standards, codes of practice and methods of tests;
b) to assist the consumer in evaluating the quality, including safety, performance and comparative utility of consumer products;
c) to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer products;
d)to undertake research on quality improvement of products and investigation into causes and prevention of product related deaths, illness and injuries;
e) to assure the public of the consistency of standardized products.
ARTICLE 6.  Implementing Agencies. — The provisions of this Article and its implementing rules and regulations shall be enforced by:
a)   the Department of Health with respect to food, drugs, cosmetics, devices and substances;
b)   the Department of Agriculture with respect to products related to agriculture, and;
c)   the Department of Trade and Industry with respect to other consumer products not specified above.

ARTICLE 7.   Promulgation and Adoption of Consumer Product Standards. — The concerned department shall establish consumer product quality and safety standards which shall consist of one or more of the following:

a)    requirements as to performance, composition, contents, design, construction, finish, packaging of a consumer product;
b)    requirements as to kind, class, grade, dimensions, weights, material;
c)  requirements as to the methods of sampling, tests and codes used to check the quality of the product;
d)  requirements as to precautions in storage, transporting and packaging;
e)  requirements that a consumer product be marked with or accompanied by clear and adequate safety warnings or instructions, or requirements respecting the form of warnings or instructions.

For this purpose, the concerned department shall adopt existing government domestic product quality and safety standards: Provided, That in the absence of such standards, the concerned department shall form specialized technical committees composed of equal number of representatives from each of the Government, business and consumer sectors to formulate, develop and purpose consumer product quality and safety standards. The said technical committees shall consult with the private sector, which may, motu proprio, develop its own quality and safety standards that shall be subject to review and approval of the concerned government agency or agencies after public hearings have been conducted for that purpose; and shall likewise consider existing international standards recognized by the Philippine Government.

ARTICLE 8.   Publication of Consumer Product Standards. — The concerned department shall, upon promulgation of the above standards, publish or cause the publication of the same in two (2) newspapers of general circulation at least once a week for a period of not less than one (1) month. It may likewise conduct an information campaign through other means deemed effective to ensure the proper guidance of consumers, businesses, industries and other sectors concerned.”