A. Importance of Land Registration !

2!

B. Function of Land Registration!

2!

C. General Legal Principles in Land Registration!

2!

1. The Identity of the Object and the Subject!

2!

2. The Consent!

2!

3. The Booking !

2!

4. The Publicity !

2!

D. Title and Deed Registration System!

3!

1. Deed Registration !

3!

2. Title Registration !

3!

3. Difference !

3!

E. Kinds Title Registration !

4!

1. Original Registration!

4!

2. Subsequent Transactions and Transfers of Right!

4!

E. Torrens System of Land Registration!

4!

1. Purpose of the Torrens System in General!

4!

2. Principles Behind the Torrens System!

5!

II. Land Registration in the Philippines!

5!

A. System of Recording of Unregistered Lands!

5!

B. Torrens System of Land Registration!

5!

III. Operations of the Torrens System in the Philippines! 6!

A. Operation of the Torrens System in the Philippines!
1. Act 496 and Presidential Decree No. 1529!

6!
6!

2. The Mirror Principles - the register is supposed to reflect the correct legal
situation on the parcel.!
6!
3. Exception to Indefeasibility!

Page 1 of 23

8!

3. Insurance Principle !

13!

4. Booking Principle!

13!

5. Publicity!

13

I. Land Registration in General !

A. Importance of Land Registration !
Provide order and stability in society by creating security in property ownership not
only for landowners but also for investors, bankers, government, etc.!
The systems of land registration are frequently directed at protecting the interests of
individual landowners but they are also instruments of national land policy and
mechanisms to support economic development.!

B. Function of Land Registration!

Every land administration system should include some form of land registration,
which is a process for recording, and in some countries guaranteeing, information
about the ownership of land.!
Land registration is a process of official recording of rights in land through deeds or
as title on properties. It means that there is an official record (land register) of rights
on land or of deeds concerning changes in the legal situation of defined units of
land. It gives an answer to the questions who and how. In some countrys, this
information regarding ownership of identifiable parcel units are contained in a
cadastre!
The function of land registration is to provide a safe and certain foundation for the
acquisition, enjoyment and disposal of such rights in land.!

C. General Legal Principles in Land Registration!

1. The Identity of the Object and the Subject!
The concerned subject (owners and rights holders) and object (real property
defined as a parcel) is unambiguously and clearly identified.!
What is owned by who or who owns what?!

2. The Consent!
The real entitled person who is booked as such in the register must give his
consent for a change of the inscription in the land register.!
Exception - Involuntary actions!

3. The Booking !
The change in real rights on an immovable property, especially by transfer, is not
legally effected until the change or the expected right is booked or registered in
the land register.!

4. The Publicity !
The legal registers are open for public inspection, the published facts can be
upheld as being correct by third parties in good faith and can be protected by law.!
Page 2 of 23

D. Title and Deed Registration System!

1. Deed Registration !
In Deed Registration, the deed executed by the parties, being a document which
describes an isolated transaction on a piece of land, is registered. This deed is
evidence that a particular transaction took place between the parties, but it is in
principle not in itself a proof of the legal rights of the transacting parties to deal
with the land. Thus before any dealing can be safely effected, the ostensible
owner must trace his ownership back to a good root of title. !
In Deed Registration, the initial enrolment or original registration of a parcel of
land to the system is not necessary. The determination of the rights of the holder
of the ostensible title is not material to the registrar as what he is recording are
not titles that his office guarantees but only the transactions or dealings of the
parties.!

2. Title Registration !
In Title Registration, it is not the deed describing the transfer of rights but the legal
consequence of the transaction or the right itself that is registered. The registrar
modifies, cancels and issues new titles in accordance with the deed executed by
the parties to a transaction. To be able to effectively register and issue titles, the
registrar only accepts titles that has been determined and declared by the State
as indefeasible titles or those titles has been adjudicated in a proceeding that
binds everyone. This indefeasible titles are then registered and a certificate of title
issued to the owner with a guarantee from the State that the person holding the
same is the true and lawful owner of the property described and that any person
can transact with the registered owner with confidence that the land is not subject
to any unregistered claim coming from third persons. !
Title Registration system shifts the balance significantly towards facility of transfer.
It provides a public register of interests in land and enables a purchaser who
complies with the system to acquire ownership free of a prior interest which is not
recorded in the register.!

3. Difference !
Deed registration is concerned with the registration of the legal fact and while title
registration is concerned with the legal consequence of that fact. In other words,
in deed registration, the registrar only records the fact that there was a transaction
on a piece of land between the parties by recording the deed evidencing said
transaction while in title registration, the registrar records the effect of the deed
executed by the parties and correspondingly makes modification on the title to the
land subject of the transaction. Thus, if the deed that was executed by the parties
effectively transferred the land to the buyer, the title registry will cancel the title of
the registered owner and issue a new title to the buyer as the new owner of the
land since this cancellation of the title and issuance of a new one is the legal
consequence of the such sale.!

Page 3 of 23

E. Kinds Title Registration !

1. Original Registration!
It deals with the initial compilation of land titles in the registers through the
determination of tenurial right holder to the land.!
In the Philippines, this is done through the registration of patents and registration
of decrees after original disposition of the State of lands from the public domain.!
Adjudication, as it is called in other countries, of private ownership on lands is the
first function that the system of land registration has to fulfil. The conferment of
first time ownership of the land by the State to a private individual or entity creates
titles that are registered with the land registry. These original titles made up the
initial compilation of land rights in a land registration system. !

2. Subsequent Transactions and Transfers of Right!

After the original registration of titles conferred by the State, registered owners may
transact their rights on the lands with other persons through deeds and other pubic
instruments. Such deed or public instrument affecting registered land is made of
public record through registration of such deed or sale with the land registry. !

a) Simple transfer of rights !

A person takes the interest of the registered owner of a parcel of land as the same
well-defined parcel.!

b) Transfers of rights with property changes !

The transaction caused the formation of new parcels of land. In this kind of
transfer, the parcel as a property as a unit and the interest thereat changes as a
result of the transfer. This changes are caused by subdivision or consolidation of
land parcels and involves an elaborate procedure of delineation of the new
property unit/s. The new owner and his interest will have to be connected to the
newly formed parcels. This means that the existing registers have to be updated
due to subsequent changes in the boundaries of the parcels. !

E. Torrens System of Land Registration!

1. Purpose of the Torrens System in General!
Provide security of ownership, that is, it should protect an owner against being
deprived of ownership except by his or her own act or by specific operation of a
legal process such as expropriation or debt collection.!
Provide facility of transfer, that is, it should enable anyone, particularly a
purchaser, to acquire ownership easily, quickly, cheaply and safely. Unfortunately,
the measure designed to achieve one of these purposes is likely to militate
against achieving the other.!

!
Page 4 of 23

2. Principles Behind the Torrens System!

Under the torrens system was devise to make transfer of title effective, efficient and
simple. In order to do this, title to land are initially acquired only by enrolling the land
into the system (original registration) and thereafter all subsequent transfers and
dealings on the land have to be registered to have an effect against third persons
should be registered.!

The Mirror Principle !

The register is supposed to reflect the correct legal situation on the parcel; the
register should reflect as accurately as possible the true state of title to land so
that persons who propose to deal with land can discover all the facts relative to the
tile!

The Curtain Principle !

No further historical investigation on the title "beyond what is stated register is
necessary; a purchaser should not need to go behind the register to investigate
the root of the title!

The Insurance or Guarantee Principle !

The State guarantees that what is registered is true for third parties in good faith
and that a bona fide rightful claimant who is contradicted by the register is
reimbursed from an insurance fund of the state.!

!
CASES:!
50. Case #1!
51. Case #2!

!
II. Land Registration in the Philippines!

In the Philippines, there are presently only two (2) systems of registration of real
property or rights therein, namely, the Torrens system, and the system of recording of
unregistered real estate. The Spanish Mortgage Law system of registration has been
discontinued with the enactment of P.D. 892, dated February 16, 1976 and P.D. 1529
dated June 11, 1978. Section 1 of P.D. 892 provides that the system of registration
under the Spanish Mortgage Law is discontinued and all lands recorded under said
system which are not yet covered by Torrens Titles shall be considered unregistered
lands.!

A. System of Recording of Unregistered Lands!

!
B. Torrens System of Land Registration!

!
Page 5 of 23

!
III. Operations of the Torrens System in the Philippines!

A. Operation of the Torrens System in the Philippines!

1. Act 496 and Presidential Decree No. 1529!
2. The Mirror Principles - the register is supposed to reflect the correct legal
situation on the parcel.!
a) Original Registration - Issuance of First Torrents Title!
Nature of Proceedings - In Rem!

Publication !
To charge the whole world with the knowledge of claim on the land!
To invite third persons, including the State, to contest the claim of ownership
and prove their rights on the land!
Confer the court jurisdiction over the land applied for!

Service of Notices!
DENR/Solicitor General!
Adjoining Owners!
Occupants!
National/Local Government Agencies as the case maybe !

!
Judicial if Title is Acquired by Operations of Law!
Administrative if Title is Conferred by Public Land Patent!

!
b) Certainty as to the Identity of the Land !
Land identification is done through survey; survey is a requirement before a land
can be registered.!
Survey of the land before approval of public land application (Section 8 of
CA No. 141)!
Survey of the land before registration (Section 15 for original voluntary
registration and Section 35 and 36 for Cadastral)!
Approval of the subdivision survey of the land before issuance of new
derivative titles (Section 50, PD No. 1529)!
Page 6 of 23

 Exception: Mistakes in the resurvey or subdivision of registered land

resulting in the expansion of the area in the certificate of title is not a
recoverable loss from the Assurance fund (Section 101 of PD No. 1529)!

c) Certainty as to the Ownership of the Land !

The identity of the owner of the registered land is ensured during the original
registration proceedings, cadastral registration proceedings or through the
processing of public land application under the Public Land Act; the personal
circumstances of applicants are secured during the proceedings; !
The proceedings in original registration by operations of law is in rem and
adversarial, thus, the whole world is given an opportunity to contest ownership of
the applicant. In public lands where the state (as owner) directly confers the land
to the grantee who has to be qualified by the lands department.!
Statement of personal circumstances in public land applications;!
Statement of personal circumstances in ordinary and cadastral registration
proceedings;!
Statement of personal circumstances in the certificate of title. (Section 45 of
PD No. 1529)!
Posting of Notice of the Applications!
Publications!
CASES: (See Survey Cases)!

2. The Curtain Principle - The Creation of an Indefeasible Titles !

No further historical investigation on the title beyond what is stated in the
certificate of title issued by the title registry is necessary; a purchaser should not
need to go behind the certificate of title to investigate the root of the title;
indefeasible titles on land are created by registration under the system.!
Every registered owner receiving a certificate of title in pursuance of a decree
of registration and every subsequent purchaser of registered land taking a
certificate of title for value and in good faith holds the same free form all
encumbrance except those noted in the certificate. (Section 44, PD No. 1529);!
A certificate of title shall not be subject to collateral attack. It cannot be altered,
modified or cancelled except in a direct proceeding in accordance with law
(Section 48, PD No. 1529) !
No title to registered land in derogation of the title of the registered owner shall
be acquire by prescription. (Section 47, PD No. 1529)!
CASES:!
52. Soliven v. Francisco, GR No. 51450, Feb. 10, 1989 (Where innocent third
persons relying on the correctness of the certificate of title issued, acquire
rights over the property, the court cannot disregard such rights and order the
total cancellation of the certificate for that would impair the public confidence in
the torrens system.)!
Page 7 of 23

53. Duran v. IAC, GR No. L-64159, Sep. 10, 1985!

3. Exception to Indefeasibility!
Every registered owners and subsequent purchasers of registered lands are
subject to the following encumbrances on the title even if these does not appear
on the certificate of title. !
Liens, claims or rights under the law which are not required to appear of record
in the Registry of Deeds!
Unpaid real estate taxes levied and assessed within 2 years!
Public high ways/canals or private way if the title does not state that the
boundaries of such highway have been determined!
Disposition pursuant to agrarian reform law!
Registered land are subject to burdens and incident as any arise by operation
of law.!
Rights incident to marital relation!
Landlord and tenant!
Liability to attachment or levy on execution!
Liability to any lien of any description established by law on the land and the
buildings!
Change the laws of descent!
Rights of partition between co-owners!
Right to take the same by eminent domain!
Liability to be recovered by an assignee in insolvency or trustee in bankruptcy
under the laws relative to preferences!
Change or affect in any way other rights or liabilities created by law and
applicable to unregistered land, except as otherwise provided under PD No.
1529.!
a) Deferred indefeasibility!
In Decree - the case cannot be reopened except if such decree was
obtained by actual fraud, action should be filed within 1 year after the
issuance of decree. (Section 32, PD No. 1529)!
In Patents - the date of the issuance of patents corresponds to the date of
the issue of the decree in ordinary registration cases, because the decree
finally awards the land applied for registration to the party entitle to it and the
patent issued by the Director of Lands equally and finally grants, awards and
conveys the land applied for to the applicant. The purpose and effect of both
the decree and the paten is the same !
Case !
Page 8 of 23

52. Sumail vs. Judge CFI of Cotobato, GR No. L-8278, April 30, 1955!
Exception to the exception - If the property was acquired by an innocent
purchaser for value, then the one year period will not apply.!
b) Statutory Liens!

!
2. Reconveyance!
a) A legal and equitable remedy granted to the rightful land owner of land which has
been wrongfully or erroneously registered in the name of another for purpose of
compelling the latter to transfer or reconvey the land to him.!
b) A person who has been wrongfully or fraudulently deprived of his real property or
interest therein may file an action for reconveyance of said property against the
person who perpetuated the fraud. Instances: mistake, fraud, forgery, breach of
trust, misrepresentation, illegality, lack of marital consent, erroneous inclusion of the
lan, registration in bad faith, double titles, double sales, exclusion of co-heirs,
expanded areas, equity, re issuable contracts, voida le contracts, up enforceable
contracts, void and in existent contracts.!
c) Effect - it operates as an implied trust under Article 1456 of the Civil Code. Thus, an
action to enforce an implied trust is an action based upon an obligation created by
law. (Villagonzago v. IAC, 167 SCRA, 535)!
d) Instances:!
(1) Forgery !
(a) Cannot be presumed (Aznar Brother Realty Co. v. CA, 327 SCRA
359)!
(b) The rule is that the registration procured by the presentation of a
forged duplicate certificate of titles forged deed of sale or other
instruments is null and void (Sec. 53 of PD 1529)!
i) Fule v. De Lagare (7 SCRA 351)!
ii) Deed executed by an impostor (Tenorio-Obsequio v. CA, 230
SCRA 550)!
(1) Duty of the buyer to ascertain the identity of the seller
especially when he is not e registered owner (Treasurer of
the Philippines v. CA, 153 SCRA 359)!
(2) Failure to exercise caution is equivalent to bad faith (Egao v.
CA, 283 SCRA 484)!
(3) Not applicable when the land is already titled in the name of
the forger or such name indicated by the forger - fraudulent
deed maybe a root of a valid title. The right of an innocent
purchaser for value will have to be respected.!

Page 9 of 23

(a) Does not apply when the real owner had in her
possession her own certificate of title to the land all the
time. !
(b) Applicable only when the forger acquires the owner's
duplicate, converts it and then sell it to an innocent
purchaser for value!
(2) Lack of Marital Consent !
(a) A deed of sale of a conjugal property executed by the wife without
her husband's consent is null and void (Embrado v. CA, 233 SCRA
335)!
(3)

Defects, Errors, on identity of Land!

(a) Section 50 par (4) - The Commission may not order or cause any
change, modification, or amendment in the contents of any
certificate of title, or of any decree or plan, including the technical
description therein, covering any real property registered under the
Torrens system, nor order the cancellation of the said certificate of
title and the issuance of a new one which would result in the
enlargement of the area covered by the certificate of title.!
(b) Can be corrected; the long and continued possession of petitioners
under a claim of title cannot be defeated by the claim of a registered
owner whose title is defective from the very beginning (Agne v.
Director of Lands, 181 SCRA 793)!
(c) Mere possession of certificate of title under the Torrens system is
not conclusive as to the holder's true ownership of all the property
described therein for he does not by virtue of said certificate alone
become the owner of the land illegally included. (Galloy v. cA 173
SCRA 26; Caragay-Layno v. CA, 133 SCRA 718)!
(d) The inclusion is null and void, land registration cannot be made a
shield (Vda. De Recinto v. Inciong, 77 SCRA 196)!
(e) Action is not subject to prescription (see Caragay-Layno and De
Recinto)!
(f)

Expanded area - see Section 50, PD 1529 and (Republic v. De los

Angeles, 159 SCRA 264) Hacienda Calatagan!

(4) Double Title!

(a) Prior title prevails!
i) A land registration court has no jurisdiction to order the
registration of the land already decreed in the name of another in
an earlier land registration case (Heirs of Gonzaga v. CA, 261
SCRA 327)!
ii) Applies to subsequent owners who derives his title from the
earlier title (Sales Entrerprise, Inc. V. IAC, 154 SCRA 327)!
Page 10 of 23

iii) Exception: when there is infirmity in the prior title (Azarcon v.

Vallarta, 100 SCRA 450)!
(b) Owner with two certificate of titles who sold the land to two different
persons using each of the title (DBP v. Mangawang, 11 SCRA 405) first registration rule!
(5) Double Sale!
(a) General Rule: Article 1544. Should an immovable property, the
ownership belong to the person acquiring it who in good faith first
recorded the transaction in the Registry of Property. Should there be
no inscription, the ownership shall pertain to the person who I. Good
faith was first in possession and in the absence thereof, to the
person who presents the oldest title, provided there is good faith.!
(b) The buyer must not be aware of the flaw; in good faith!
(6) Exclusion of co-heirs - A co-heir who, through fraud, obtained a certificate of title in his
name to the prejudice of his co-heirs, is deemed to hold the land in trust for the latter.
The action does not prescribe. (Vda. De Jacinto v. Vda de Jacinto, 5 SCRA 371)!
e) Prescription of Action!
(1) Bilog - annulment of deed of sale prescribes in four years on eh ground that the
defendant had obtained a certificate of title by means of fraudulent deed of sale is
virtually an action for e annulment of the deed by reason of fraud which action should
be filed within a period of four (4) years from the time the deed os sale was registered
at the RoD. From said date, it is considered as a constructive notice of the existence
of the deed of sale (Armentia v. Patricia, 18 SCRA 1253; Gatioan v. Tapucar, 140
SCRA 311)!
(2) But see Civil Code Article 1114 (10 years to bring action; upon a written contract,
obligation created by law and judgements)!
(a) Ten years from the cause of action accrued which is not necessarily
the date of execution of the contact, Naga Telephone Co., Inc. v. cA,
230 SCRA 351)!
(b) Title acquired by fraud creates constructive trust - the legal principle
is that if the registration of the land is fraudulent, the person in
whose name the land is registered holds it as a mere trustee; and
the real owner is thus entitled to file an action for reconveyance
within a period of ten (10) years (Pajarillo vs. IAC); there is an
obligation to reconvey (Caro vs. CA, 180 SCRA 401)!
(3) Action base on Fraud - 10 years from the issuance of title or date of registration of
deed. (Caro v. CA, GR No. 76148, Dec. 201989; Leyson v. Bontuyan, GR No.
156357, Feb. 18, 2005; Casipit v. CA, GR No. 96829, Dec. 9, 1991)!
(4) Action base on implied trust - 10 years after issuance of title or date of registration
(Villagonzalo v. IAC, GR No. 71110, Nov. 22, 1988; Amerol v. Bagumbaran)!
(5) Action base on void contract - Imprescriptible (Solid State Multi-Products Corp. v.
CA GR No. 8338, May 6, 1991)!
Page 11 of 23

(6) Action based on fictitious deed - imprescriptible (Lacsamana vs. CA, GR No.
121658, March 27, 1988)!
(7) Action to quiet title - imprescriptible when in possession (Sapto v. Fabiana, GR No.
L-11285, May 16, 1958; Caragay-Layno v. CA GR No. 52064, Dec. 26, 1984; Leyson
vs. Buntuyan)!
(8) Laches - is one of estoppel because it prevents people who have slept on their rights
from prejudicing the rights of third parties who have placed reliance on the inaction of
the original patentee and his successors in interest (Lucas vs. Gamponia, GR No.
L-9335, Oct. 31, 1956)!
(9) Res Judicata - Court cancels the title (Roxas v. Court of Appeals, GR No. 138660,
Feb. 5, 2004)!
(10) State not bound by prescription (Republic v. Ruiz, GR No. L-23712, April 29,
1968)!
(11) Laches - There is no statutory limit for recovery of a registered land base on laches. A
a long list of cases were decided upholding the doctrine. A word of caution, however,
is necessary because the Supreme Court has decided on a case by case basis and it
has not categorically set a specific time which could serve as a precedent.!
3. Reversion - restoration of public land fraudulently awarded or disposed of to the mass
of the public domain!
(1) Section 101 of the Public Land Act in relation to Section 35, Chapter XII, Title III of the
Administrative Code of 1987 (EO No. 292); !
(2) Action for reversion is instituted by the Solicitor General.!
(3) Grounds: !
(a) Violation of the Constitution, disposition of inalienable land!
(b) Falsehood in the application for a patent!
i) Section 91 of the PLA!
(4) Director of Lands may investigate even if the patent is already registered and
indefeasible (Republic v. De Guzman, 326 SCRA 267)!
(5) Action is imprescriptible !
4. Caveat Emptor - Although it is a recognized principle that a person dealing with
registered land need not go beyond its certificate of Title, it is expected from the
purchaser of a valued property to inquire first into the status or nature of possession of
the occupant, whether or not the occupants possess the land en concepto de dueo, in
concept of an owner.!
a) The rule of caveat emptor requires the purchasers to be aware of the supposed title
of the vendor and one who buys without checking the vendors title takes all the risks
and losses consequent to such failure. Possession by people other than the vendor
without making inquiry, cannot be regarded as bona fide purchaser in good faith.
(Dacasin v. Court of Appeals, GR No. L-32723, Oct 28, 1977, Roxas v. Court of
Appeals, GR No. 138660, February 5, 2004).!
Page 12 of 23

b) Generally, circumstances which would have reasonably require the purchaser to

investigate defects in title (Caram v. Laureta, GR No. L-28740, Feb. 24, 1981)!
c) Rule applies to mortgages of real property (Crisostomo v. Court of Appeals, GR
No. 91383, May 31, 1991)!
5. Faulty Registration - A certificate of title is not conclusive where it is a product of a
faulty registration. (Widows and Orphans Associations, Inc. v. Court of Appeals,
GR No. 919797)!

3. Insurance Principle !
Section 93 to 102 of PD No. 1529 The Assurance Fund is an indemnity fund
created for the purpose of compensating a person who sustains loss or
damage, or is deprived of land or any interest therein in consequence of the
bringing of the land under the operation of the Torrens system or arising
after original registration of the land, through fraud or in consequence of any
error, omission, mistake or misdescription in any certificate of title or in any
entry or memorandum in the registration book. The Fund is sourced from
the amount collected by the register of deeds upon the entry of a certificate
of title in the name of registered owner, as well as upon the original
registration on the certificate of title of a building or other improvement on
the land covered by said certificate equivalent to one-fourth of one per cent
of the assessed value of the real estate on the basis of the last assessment
for taxation purposes. All the money received by the register of deeds shall
be paid to the National Treasurer who shall keep the same in an Assurance
Fund which may be invested in the manner and form authorized by law.!
4. Booking Principle!
The act of registration from the time of such registering, filing or entering before the
register of deeds is the constructive notice and operative act to affect land that
affects third persons (Sections 51-52, PD No. 1529).!
Presentation of owners duplicate necessary to transact voluntary registration
(Section 54, PD No. 1529).!
Registration of the transaction in the primary entry book (Section 53, PD No. 1529).!

5. Publicity!
Notice Requirement in Original and Cadastral proceedings - publication, mailing and
posting.!
Certified copies of all instruments filed and registered may also be obtained from the
Register of Deeds upon payment of the prescribed fees. (Section 56, PD No. 1529)!

!
II.

Registration of Deeds!

A. Meaning - Registration of Deeds and other Instruments or subsequent registration

takes place when a deed or instrument affecting land is made of public record after the
Page 13 of 23

date of its original registration. Thus, the registration of a sale, mortgage, lease,
attachment, notice of levy or other encumbrances falls within the purview of
subsequent registration.!
B. Kinds of Deed Registration - deed registration is either voluntary of involuntary
registration of instruments.!
1. Voluntary - are contracts or agreements willfully executed by the land owner or his
duly authorized representative such as sales, leases, mortgages, donations,
exchanges, trusts or variations thereof affecting real estate.!
2. Involuntary - refers to those executed against the will or without the consent of the
landowner contrary to his interest or will affect him adversely such as attachments, levy
on execution, adverse claim, lis pendens and other liens!
C. Registration of Voluntary Transactions!
1. Compliance with the essential requisites of a contract!
a) Consent - meeting of the minds;!
b) Object Certain - subject of the contract; within the commerce of man and lawful;
and!
c) Cause - consideration; prestation, services, benefits, pure beneficence or liberality.!
2. Observance of the Formal requirements of a public instrument!
a) When the law requires that some contracts be in some form in order for it to be valid
or enforceable, i.e. must be in writing (agreements in marriage, lease of more than
one year, agency to sell real property, donations inter-vivos, etc.)!
b) The contract must be executed in the form of a public instrument;!
c) Signed by the person/s executing the same;!
d) In the presence of two witnesses who shall likewise sign and acknowledge to be
their free act and deed of the parties;!
e) Before a notary public or other public officer authorized by law to take
acknowledgement. Documents executed in a foreign country should be
acknowledged before a Philippine diplomatic or consular official. If acknowledged
before a foreign notary public, it should be authenticated by the Philippine diplomatic
or consular official before it can be registered.!
f) All pages of the deed must be signed.!
g) The documents presented shall contain the full name, nationality, residence and
postal address of the grantee or other person acquiring or claiming interest; and!
h) Must state marital status and name of wife/husband if married.!
3. Submission of supporting documents for certain transactions before registration
as provided by special laws!
a) Certified true copy of the Tax Declaration in transaction involving transfer of
ownership;!
Page 14 of 23

b) Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) or Certificate of Exemption from the BIR in

case of sale, exchange or other disposition of real property;!
c) Certification from the BIR that the documentary stamp tax has been paid;!
d) Certification from the LGU Treasurer that the property is not delinquent in the
payment of real estate taxes in case of alienation, transfer or encumbrance of real
property (Sec. 209, RA 7160, LGC1991);!
e) Certification for the LGU Treasurer that the land transfer tax due on the transaction
has been paid in case of sale, donation, barter or any other mode of transferring
ownership or title of real property (Sec. 135, LGC 1991);!
f) Clearance from Department of Agrarian Reform and Affidavit of Total Landholdings
by the vendee in case of sale of agricultural lands;!
g) An Order fro the DAR Regional Director approving the sale in case the property sold
is covered by an Emancipation Patent;!
h) Duly approved subdivision plan and its corresponding Technical Description where
the property to be titled by virtue of the transaction is a resulting lot of a subdivision;!
i) Special Power of Attorney - if the transaction is through an agent;!
j) Court Order - if made through a guardians or administrators; and!
k) For Corporations - Secretary Certificate or a copy of the Board Resolution
authorizing the transaction (sale, purchase, exchange) designating the officer
authorize to sign the deed.!
4. Performance of the jurisdictional requisites for registration !
a) Entry of the document in the primary entry book;!
b) Payment of entry and registration fees; and!
c) Production of the owners duplicate of title!
D. Registration Procedure in Voluntary Registration in General!
1. Entry of the document in the primary entry or day book, accompanied by all supporting
documents applicable to the transaction; All supporting documents applicable to the
transaction should also be submitted together with the basic instruments.!
2. Section 56 of PD 1529 require each register of deeds to keep a primary entry book
where all instruments relating to registered land shall be entered in the order of their
reception. Entry in the day book is the preliminary step in registration. The annotation
of memorandum or the issuance of a new certificate of title is the final step to
accomplish registration. While the preliminary step and the final step may not be
accomplished in the same day, this however, is of no consequence because if actual
registration is accomplished its effect retroacts to the date of entry in the day book.
Thus, it has been held that when a sale is registered in the name of the purchase
registration takes effect on the date when the deed was noted in the entry book and not
when final registration was accomplished.!

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3. To be noted in this book is the date, hour and minute of reception of all instrument in
the order they were received.!
4. Payment of the entry and registration fee - Upon entry of the document, the
corresponding entry and registration fees should be paid. In default of payment, the
entry in the primary entry book will ipso fact become null and void.!
5. Surrender of the owners duplicate certificate and al co-owners duplicate if any had
been issued. !
a) No voluntary instrument shall be registered by the registry of deeds, unless the
owners duplicate certificate is presented with such instruments, !
b) Exception in cases expressly provided for in PD 1529 or upon order of the court, for
cause shown.!
c) If co-owners duplicate certificates has been issued, all outstanding certificates so
issued shall be surrendered whenever the register of deeds shall register any
subsequent voluntary transaction affecting the whole land or part thereof or any
interest therein!
6. Examination of the document, certificate of title and supporting papers by the deeds
examiner.!
a) Registrability of an instrument is initially determined by the deeds examiner of the
registry. If the document is found to comply with all requirements the examiner
recommends its registration to the register of deeds. Otherwise, he recommends
denial of registration.!
b) The deeds examiner, on his own, is generally not allowed to register or deny
registration.!
7. Review by the Register of Deeds of the action taken by the deeds examiner.!
a) The authority to register or deny registration being lodge with the register of deeds,
he is required to review the action taken by the deeds examiner.!
b) He may either adopt, alter, modify or reverse such action depending upon his own
appraisal of registrability of the instrument filed for registration.!
8. Registration of the document or denial of registration by the register of deeds.!
a) If the register of deeds finds that the document presented complies with all the
requisites for registration, it is his duty to immediately register the same. !
b) If the instrument is not registrable, he shall forthwith deny registration thereof and
inform the presentor of such denial in writing, stating the ground or reason therefor,
and advising him of his right to appeal by consulta in accordance with Section 117 of
P.D. 1529!
c) Where the documents conveys the simple title, such as in sales, donations, barter
and other conveyances, the register of deeds shall make out in the registration book
a new certificate of title to the grantee and shall prepared and deliver to him as
owner an owners certificate, noting the original and owners duplicate certificate the
date of transfer, the volume and page of the registration book in which the new
certificate is registered and a reference by number to the last preceding certificate.
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The original and owners duplicate of the grantors certificate shall be stamped
cancelled.!
d) In case the instrument does not divest the ownership or title from the owner or from
the transferee of the registered owner, now new certificate of title shall be issued.
The instrument creating such interests less than ownership shall be registered by a
brief memorandum thereof made by the register of deeds upon the certificate of title
and signed by him. The cancellation or extinguishment of such interests shall be
registered by a brief memorandum thereof made the the register of deeds upon the
certificate of the title and signed by him. The cancellation or extinguishment of such
interests shall be registered in the same manner. In case the conveyance affects
only a portion of the land described in the certificate of title, no new certificate shall
also be issued until a plan of the land showing all the portions or lots into which it
has been subdivided and the corresponding technical descriptions shall have been
verified and approve. The instrument shall only be registered by annotation on the
grantors title and its owners duplicate. Pending approval of the plan, no further
registration or annotation of any subsequent deed or other voluntary instrument
involving the unsegregated portion conveyed shall be affected, except where such
unsegregated portion was purchase from the government or any of its
instrumentalities.!
e) Should there be subsisting encumbrance or annotation on the grantors title, they
shall be carried over and stated in the new certificate of title except so far as they
may be simultaneously released or discharged.!
E. Involuntary Registration!
1. Attachment and Execution - a juridical institution which has for its purpose to secure
the outcome of the trial; the chief purpose is to secure a contingent lien on defendants
property until plaintiff can, by appropriate proceedings, obtain a judgment and have a
property applied to tis satisfaction or to make some provision for unsecured debts in
case where the means of satisfaction thereof are liable to be removed beyond the
jurisdiction or improperly disposed of or concealed or otherwise placed beyond he
reach of creditors.!
2. Kinds !
a) Preliminary Attachment - issued at the institution or the during the progress of an
action commanding the sheriff or other proper officer to attach property rights,
credits or effects of defendant to satisfy the demand of plaintiff; an auxiliary remedy
and cannot have an independent existence apart form the main claim!
b) Garnishment - attachment for credits belonging to the judgement debtor and owing
to him from a stranger to the litigation; does not usually involve actual seizure of the
property;!
c) Levy on execution - is the attachment issued to enforce the writ of execution of a
judgment which has become final and executory.!
3. Registration of Attachments and Execution!
a) Statutory Provisions - Section 69 of PD 1529 and Section 7, Rule 57 of the Rules
of Court!
b) Documents to be Registered!
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(1) Writ of Attachment or Execution;!

(2) Notice of Attachment or levy on the execution; and !
(3) Description of the Property;!
c) Forms and Contents!
(1) The Notice of Attachment or levy on execution should contain a reference to the
number of the Certificate of Title, the volume and page of the registration book where
the certificate is registered and the name of the registered owner; not applicable in
case of unregistered lanD.!
(2) If the attachment is not claimed on all the land, a description sufficiently accurate for
the identification of the land or interest must be made!
d) Registration Procedure!
(1) Entry in the Day Book or Primary Entry Book;!
(2) Payment of entry and registration fee;!
(3) A memorandum of the attachment shall be made on the Original of the Certificate of
Title;!
(4) Indexing - the Register of deeds shall index attachments in the name of the applicant,
the adverse party, and the person by whom the property is held or in whose name it
stands in the records.!
e) Effects of Registration!
(1) Notice of the attachment is a notice that the property is taken in the custody of the law
as security for the satisfaction of any judgement;!
(2) Title still be subject to subsequent transaction but subject to the attachment lien!
III.

Actions after Registration!

All petitions or motions filed under this Section as well as under any other provision
of this Decree after original registration shall be filed and entitled in the original case
in which the decree or registration was entered.!
A. Amendment and alteration of certificates. !
1. No erasure, alteration, or amendment shall be made upon the registration book
after the entry of a certificate of title or of a memorandum thereon and the
attestation of the same be Register of Deeds, except by order of the proper
Court of First Instance. A registered owner of other person having an interest in
registered property, or, in proper cases, the Register of Deeds with the approval
of the Commissioner of Land Registration, may apply by petition to the court
upon the ground that the registered interests of any description, whether vested,
contingent, expectant or inchoate appearing on the certificate, have terminated
and ceased; or that new interest not appearing upon the certificate have arisen
or been created; or that an omission or error was made in entering a certificate
or any memorandum thereon, or, on any duplicate certificate; or that the same or
any person on the certificate has been changed; or that the registered owner

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has married, or, if registered as married, that the marriage has been terminated
and no right or interests of heirs or creditors will thereby be affected; or that a
corporation which owned registered land and has been dissolved has not
convened the same within three years after its dissolution; or upon any other
reasonable ground; and the court may hear and determine the petition after
notice to all parties in interest, and may order the entry or cancellation of a new
certificate, the entry or cancellation of a memorandum upon a certificate, or
grant any other relief upon such terms and conditions, requiring security or bond
if necessary, as it may consider proper; Provided, however, That this section
shall not be construed to give the court authority to reopen the judgment or
decree of registration, and that nothing shall be done or ordered by the court
which shall impair the title or other interest of a purchaser holding a certificate
for value and in good faith, or his heirs and assigns, without his or their written
consent. Where the owner's duplicate certificate is not presented, a similar
petition may be filed as provided in the preceding section. (Section 108).!
B. Reconstitution of lost or destroyed original of Torrens title!
1. Original copies of certificates of title lost or destroyed in the offices of Register of
Deeds as well as liens and encumbrances affecting the lands covered by such
titles shall be reconstituted judicially in accordance with the procedure
prescribed in Republic Act No. 26. !
2. Notice of all hearings of the petition for judicial reconstitution shall be given to
the Register of Deeds of the place where the land is situated and to the
Commissioner of Land Registration. No order or judgment ordering the
reconstitution of a certificate of title shall become final until the lapse of thirty
days from receipt by the Register of Deeds and by the Commissioner of Land
Registration of a notice of such order or judgment without any appeal having
been filed by any of such officials.!
C. Adverse Claim!
a) An adverse claim is a notice of a claim adverse to the registered owner, the
validity of which is yet to be stablished in court at some future date, and is no
better than a notice of lis pendens already pending in court (Acap v. CA, 251
SCRA 30). !
b) Purpose: to give notice to third persons dealing with the said property that
someone is claiming an interest on the subject.!
c) Judicial determination is still necessary (Garbin v. CA, 253 SCRA 187)!
d) Examples!
(1) Seller refused to deliver the owner's duplicate!
(2) Claim of heirs who were excluded (Carantes v. CA, 76 SCRA 514)!
e) Cancellation by petition in court after 30 days by way of a petition in Court;
after said petition, no second claim is allowed.!
D. Amendment to the Certificate!
1. Section 108. Amendment and alteration of certificates. !
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a) Rule: No erasure, alteration, or amendment shall be made upon the

registration book after the entry of a certificate of title or of a memorandum
thereon and the attestation of the same be Register of Deeds, except by
order of the court.

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b) Who may file: A registered owner of other person having an interest in

registered property, or, in proper cases, the Register of Deeds with the
approval of the Commissioner of Land Registration!
c) Grounds: !
(1) That the registered interests of any description, whether vested,
contingent, expectant or inchoate appearing on the certificate, have
terminated and ceased; or !
(2) That a new interest not appearing upon the certificate have arisen or
been created; !
(3) that an omission or error was made in entering a certificate or any
memorandum thereon, or, on any duplicate certificate; !
(4) That the same or any person on the certificate has been changed; or!
(5) That the registered owner has married, orif registered as married, that
the marriage has been terminated and no right or interests of heirs or
creditors will thereby be affected; or !
(6) that a corporation which owned registered land and has been dissolved
has not convened the same within three years after its dissolution; or!
(7) upon any other reasonable ground; !
d) The court may hear and determine the petition after notice to all parties in
interest, and may order the entry or cancellation of a new certificate, the
entry or cancellation of a memorandum upon a certificate, or grant any other
relief upon such terms and conditions, requiring security or bond if
necessary, as it may consider proper; Provided, however, That this section
shall not be construed to give the court authority to reopen the judgment or
decree of registration, and that nothing shall be done or ordered by the court
which shall impair the title or other interest of a purchaser holding a
certificate for value and in good faith, or his heirs and assigns, without his or
their written consent. Where the owner's duplicate certificate is not
presented, a similar petition may be filed as provided in the preceding
section.!
2. All petitions or motions filed under this Section as well as under any other
provision of this Decree after original registration shall be filed and entitled in the
original case in which the decree or registration was entered!
IV. DEALINGS WITH UNREGISTERED LANDS!
A. Registration Under Act 3344 - In order to provide for the registration of instruments
affecting unregistered lands, the Administrative Code in Section 194 established a
system of registration under which all documents, affecting lands not registered
under the Spanish Mortgage Law nor under the Torrens system, be recorded in the
land records of the province or city where the land lies. This section of the
Administrative Code was subsequently amended by Act No. 2837 and later on
December 8, 1926, Act No. 3344 was passed revising to a considerable extent the
provisions of the Administrative Code. Rights acquired under this system are not
absolute. By express provision of the governing law they must yield to better rights
Page 21 of 23

B. (See Legayde vs. Sullano, 49 O.G., pp. 603-609, February, 1953). These were
again subsequently amended by the provisions of Section 3 of Presidential Decree
1529 pertinent portion of which are herein quoted, to wit: The books of registration
for unregistered lands provided under Section 194 of the Revised Administrative
Code, as amended by Act 3344, shall continue to remain in force provided all
instruments dealing with unregistered lands shall henceforth be registered under
Section 113 of this Decree (Section 3, P.D. 1529)!
C. Recording of instruments relating to unregistered lands. No deed, conveyance,
mortgage, lease, or other voluntary instrument affecting land not registered under
the Torrens system shall be valid, except as between the parties thereto, unless
such instrument shall have been recorded in the manner herein prescribed in
the office of the Register of Deeds for the province or city where the land lies.!
D. The Register of Deeds for each province or city shall keep a Primary Entry Book
and a Registration Book. The Primary Entry Book shall contain, among other
particulars, the entry number, the names of the parties, the nature of the document,
the date, hour and minute it was presented and received. The recording of the deed
and other instruments relating to unregistered lands shall be effected by any of
annotation on the space provided therefor in the Registration Book, after the same
shall have been entered in the Primary Entry Book.!
E. If, on the face of the instrument, it appears that it is sufficient in law, the Register of
Deeds shall forthwith record the instrument in the manner provided herein. In case
the Register of Deeds refuses its administration to record, said official shall advise
the party in interest in writing of the ground or grounds for his refusal, and the latter
may appeal the matter to the Commissioner of Land Registration in accordance
with the provisions of Section 117 of this Decree. It shall be understood that any
recording made under this section shall be without prejudice to a third party with a
better right.!
F. After recording on the Record Book, the Register of Deeds shall endorse among
other things, upon the original of the recorded instruments, the file number and the
date as well as the hour and minute when the document was received for recording
as shown in the Primary Entry Book, returning to the registrant or person in interest
the duplicate of the instrument, with appropriate annotation, certifying that he has
recorded the instrument after reserving one copy thereof to be furnished the
provincial or city assessor as required by existing law.!
G. Tax sale, attachment and levy, notice of lis pendens, adverse claim and other
instruments in the nature of involuntary dealings with respect to unregistered lands,

Page 22 of 23

H. if made in the form sufficient in law, shall likewise be admissible to record under this
section.!
I. For the services to be rendered by the Register of Deeds under this section, he
shall collect the same amount of fees prescribed for similar services for the
registration of deeds or instruments concerning registered lands.!
V.

Reversion!

!
B. !
A.

VI. Foreign Ownership!

A. In general- only Filipino citizens may own land in the Philippines except if the
acquisition of the land was through hereditary succession. This is a constitutional
restriction that was placed under the 1935 Constitution. However, property rights of
American citizens existing prior to the 1935 Constitution are respected. The
provisions was modified in the 1987 Constitution to exempt natural-born citizens
who had lost his citizenship subject to certain conditions. The 1973 Constitution did
not explicitly allows former natural born citizens to own land, nonetheless, Batas
Pambansa Bilang 185 allows concession to former Filipinos under the general
power of the Prime Minister under Section 15 of Article XIII. The present
Constitution only allows two exception to the prohibition against foreign ownership:
(1) hereditary succession; and (2) former natural born-citizens. However, property
rights of alien prior to the 1936 Constitution and the special privileges given to
American citizens granted by the 1936 Constitution are respected.!
B. Two (2) laws were enacted to implement the rules regarding exceptions of former
natural born citizens to own land.!
1. Batas Pambansa Bilang 185 on residential lands; and!
2. Republic Act No. 8179 on commercial and industrial lands, amending certain
provisions of the Foreign Investment Act of 1991.!
VII. Actions and Petitions subsequent to registration!
A. Re-issuance of lost duplicate certificate of titles!
B. Reconstitution of lost certificate of title!
C. Reversion of the land to the public domain!
D. Reconveyance of Title!
E. Correction of Errors in the certificate of title!

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