Court holding that a conveyance of a residential land to aliens infringes Section 5, Article XIII of the Constitution. As a result, on December 15, 1947, plaintiffs demanded from the defendants to restore to them the lands above-referred to on the ground that the sale they made thereof to the defendants was null and void, but the latter refused to do so. Hence the plaintiffs brought this action on January 14, 1948, seeking the annulment of the sale above-mentioned. The court in that case said that the Krivenko doctrine does not apply because at the time of the contract of sale was executed on 1943, the Philippines was under Japanese occupation thus the Constitution of the Philippines, political in nature, being the basis of the Krivenko ruling, was not in force at that time. Hence, the Krivenko doctrine was not yet used by the court although the court still denied the application of the plaintiffs for declaration of nullity of the contract of sale because of their “guilty knowledge” in contracting an illegal sale. This ruling in Cabauatan v Hoo was further reaffirmed by courts in subsequent proceedings seeking to annul a contract of sale made during the Japanese occupation and depending on the Krivenko doctrine. Examples cited in Arambulo v So, G.R. No. L-7196, August 31, 1954: Ricamara vs. Ngo Ki, 92 Phil., 1084; Rellosa vs. Gaw Chee Hun, 49 Off. Gaz., (10) 4321, 93 Phil., 827; Caoile vs. Yu Chiao, 49 Off. Gaz., (10) 4345, 93 Phil., 861; Cortes vs. O. Po Poe L-2943, October 30, 1953; Talento and Talento vs. Makiki, et al., 93 Phil., 855. Exceptions Eugene Moss appealed from the decision of the Court of First Instance of Leyte denying his application for the registration of a ten-hectare island on the ground that, being an American citizen or an alien, he is disqualified to acquire lands under section 5, Article XIII of the 1935 Constitution following the decision in Krivenko v Register of Deeds. The case involved Calumpihan Island acquired by Moss on January 20, 1945, from Rufino Pascual. On March 27, 1962, Moss was proclaimed its sole owner. On April 3, 1965, Moss, through Dr. Teodorico H. Jaceldo, his administrator and attorney-in-fact, filed an application for the registration of the said land. Moss is a retired army colonel, an American citizen, and a resident of Texas, USA. The court reversed the denial of registration