Party making allegation carries burden of proving it by preponderance of evidence

It is a basic rule of evidence that the party making an allegation has the burden of proving it by preponderance of evidence. In this case, petitioners' evidence of their fathers (Bonifacio) ownership of the Wawa lot was the tax declarations of the adjacent lot owners and the testimonies of some witnesses who merely saw Bonifacio working on the lot. On the other hand, respondents presented tax declarations which indicated that the same lot is owned by their predecessors-in-interest, the children of the first marriage, evidence which carry more weight as they constitute proof of respondents ownership of the land in their possession. [G.R. No. 109262. November 21, 1996]