Prohibition on sublease refers only to land, not to building constructed by lessee

For the purpose of enforcing the "no-sublease" provision of the lease contract in this case, it is clear not only from the text of the agreement which unequivocally speaks of the sublease of "the land leased herein," but also from its context that it does not apply to the lease of the building which the lessee had constructed on the land leased. This is because the term of the lease is for 30 years. The purpose of the lease is for the lease to have a place on which to construct a building or a factory. The building could be a tenement house or a factory, either of which could be for commercial purposes such as for lease. A stipulation that upon the expiration of the lease the building constructed by the lessee will become the property of the owner of the land is usual with respect to commercial buildings, the lessee calculating that the building will bring him income sufficient to cover his investment besides a fair return. It is thus unlikely that, in entering into the 30 year lease contract in this case, the parties contemplated imposing restrictions on private respondents' rights of ownership of the building, by prohibiting even the lease of the building constructed by the lessee. The most natural and the most logical construction of the "no sublease" provision is that it refers only to the land leased but not to the building or factory which the lessee was authorized to construct on the land. [G.R. No. 94516. December 6, 1996]