1.

The real purpose of the Torrens System of registration is

a. to quiet title to land
2. The Regalian Doctrine embodies the concept that
b. all lands not clearly within private ownership presumptively belong to the
State
3. In what instances may first level courts exercise jurisdiction to hear
land registration cases?
c. where the land is not contested, or even if contested, has an assessed value
not exceeding P100,000.
4. Opposition to an application for registration of the title must be based
on the right of dominion or some other real right opposed to the
adjudication of the ownership of the applicant. The following may
properly interpose an opposition

16. Sec 23 of PD 1529 provides: "The court shall, within five days from
the filing of the application, issue an order setting the date and hour of
the initial hearing which shall not be earlier than 45-days nor later than
90 days from the date of the order." The court, in an order dated June 13,
2009, set the initial hearing of the case on Sep 25, 2009. After trial, the
court rendered judgment in favor of the applicant. On appeal, the OSG
contends that the notice of initial hearing is defective and/or it did not
vest the trial court with jurisdiction over the case.
c. the OSG is not correct since the issuance and publication of the notice of
initial hearing involve a process in which the applicant has had no
participation
17. Amendments to the application for registration may be allowed.
However.
a. it is not permissible to make amendments after the registration of the
property has been declared except upon order of the court.

a. a homesteader who has not yet been issued his title but has fulfilled all the
conditions required by law for the issuance of patent.

18. Pedro applied for the registration of land containing 1,000 sq m. He

bought the adjoining lot with an area of 20sq m. To bring the additional
area of under the Torrens system, what must Pedro do?

5. PD No. 892, dated February 16, 1976, has outlawed Spanish titles as
evidence of ownership in registration case. However,

c. he must amend his application to include the additional area subject to the
requirements of publication.

c. such a title is absolutely barred without if's or but's

19. Overt acts of possession to show claim of ownership may consist in

introducing valuable improvements on the property like fruit-bearing
trees. In Republic vs. CA and Chavez, the Court held that in a practical
and scientific way of planting,

6. Prevailing jurisprudence states that Section 14(1) of PD No. 1529

merely requires that the land sought to be registered is already alienable
and disposable "at the time of the application for registration is filed."
The basis for that rule is that
a. it is only when the land is classified as A and D that the State is deemed to
have abdicated its exclusive prerogative over the land.
7. The function of the Register of Deeds to register instruments affecting
registered land is ministerial. Accordingly

b. it takes only 10 years for mango trees and 5years for coconut trees to begin
fruit bearing.
20. The capacity to acquire private land is determined by the
b. capacity to acquire public land

c. his duty is to register the instrument without prejudice to a determination of

its validity before the proper forum afterwards.

21. In determining the sufficiency of the evidence in a registration case,

the SC generally may not re-evaluate the findings of the fact of the trial
and appellate courts. The recognized exceptions are:

8. Registration is not a mode of acquiring ownership. It is simply a

procedure

a. when the findings of fact are conclusions without citation of specific

evidence on which they are based

b. to establish proof of one's claim of ownership in the land

b. when the appellate court, in making its findings, went beyond the issues of
the case

9. Registration under the Torrens system is proceeding in rem. This

means that
a. all interested persons are notified of the proceedings and have a right to
appear in opposition to the application for registration.
10. Only alienable and disposable lands of the public domain may be the
subject of alienation. The following may be considered sufficient to show
the prior classification of the land as A and D
d. an executive proclamation withdrawing from a reservation a specific area
and declaring the same open for entry, sale, or other mode of disposition.
11. Submerged land, when already reclaimed from the sea
b. become alienable and disposable lands upon a positive act of the
government
12. One of the distinguishing marks of the Torrens system is the absolute
certainty of the identity of a registered land. Hence, for purposes of
registration, and in line with prevailing jurisprudence,
b. the submission of a certified copy of the blueprint or whiteprint plan as
approved by the DENR RED will suffice

22. The CC provides that accretion belongs to the owners of the land
adjoining the banks of the river. It is however necessary that the accretion
b. is made through the effects of the current of water
23. What is the concept of ownership of ancestral domains?
b. ancestral domains are the private but community property of indigenous
people
24. Under the Indigenous Peoples Right Act (RA 8371), registration under
the Torrens system of individually-owned ancestral land requires
a. possession for not less than 30 years
25. The primary purpose of cadastral proceedings is
c. to settle and adjudicate title to lands
26. Sec 22 of PD 1529 allows land subject of registration to be dealt with
after the filing of the application and before the issuance of decree subject
to prescribed procedures. In case of sale, for instance, it is required

13. When is a right to property deemed vested?

b. that the instrument evidencing the transaction be presented to the court for
appropriate consideration

a. when the right to its enjoyment, present or prospective, has become the
property of a particular person.

27. The duty of the LRA administrator to issue decree of registration is

ministerial, the reason being that

14. The notice of initial hearing must be published both in the Official
Gazette and in a newspaper of general circulation; however, the law
provides that publication in the OG "shall be sufficient to confer
jurisdiction upon the court." Pedro, as applicant, believes that there is no
need to publish the notice in the newspaper anymore.

b. he is an officer, and acts upon order, of the court.

d. Pedro is wrong because publication in the newspaper is a part of procedural

due process.

29. Actions for reversion shall be instituted by the Sol Gen in the name of
the Rep of the Phil. Reversion is proper where defendant's title covers

15. Pedro applied for the registration of Lot 1, Psu-4597. The government
opposed. After trial judgment was rendered in favor of Pedro. The
judgment became final. Thereafter, Pedro sold the land to Jose. Can the
government appeal the judgment?

a. land consisting of alluvial deposits caused by the action of the sea

d. No because the land is now transferred to 3rd person

28. To avail of a petition for review,

d. the property has not passed to an innocent purchaser for value

30. Recovery from the Assurance fund is possible

c. when plaintiff is deprived of any interest in land on account of bringing
land under the Torrens system

31. When the deed of sale presented for registration is forged,

a. the registered owner does not lose his title to the land
32. The burden of proving status of a purchaser in good faith is
discharged
a. by one who asserts the status
33. Jose forged the signature of the registered owner, Pedro, in a deed of
sale purportedly made by the latter in favor of Mario who paid the full
purchase price thereof. Is Mario a buyer in good faith?
b. no because the forged deed does not convey any valid title
34. Pedro sold registered land to an alien. The sale was not registered.
Realizing that the sale is prohibited, Pedro seeks to recover the land from
an alien vendee. Will the action prosper?
d. yes because the sale is designed for the protection of the Filipino vendor.
35. Lot X is registered in the name of "Pedro, married to Maria." Pedro
sells the land to Jose without the written consent of Maria. May the
Register of Deeds refuse registration?
a. yes because the sale does not bear the signature of Maria who is presumed
to be a co-owner of the land
36. A homesteader is prohibited from alienating the homestead within five
years from the issuance of the patent pursuant to Sec 118 of the Public
Land Act. Which of the following situation is not covered by the
prohibition?
d. none of the above
37. Pedro is the registered owner of land. Minerals are discovered
underneath the property. Who has the right to exploit the minerals?

petitioned the court for reconstitution. During the pendency of the case,
Lita died. Assuming that the petition is substantiated, what action should
the court take? The court should issue an order of reconstitution
c. in the name of 'Pedro Valdez, married to Lita Marquez."
46. If the Register of Deeds is unsure whether or not an instrument
affecting registered land is registrable, what should he do?
c. he should himself refer the matter to the LRA for the determination of the
issue
47. Is the purchase by a Dutch national of a residential unit in a
townhouse project constituted under the Condominium Act valid?
b. yes because for as long as 60% of the members of the condominium
corporation are Filipinos, the remaining members can be foreigners.
c. Yes, because the unit owner is simply a member of the condominium
corporation and land remains owned by the condominium corporation
48. The owner or dealer who has been issued a registration certificate is
not authorized to sell any subdivision lot or condominium unit in the
registered project unless he shall first obtained a license to sell the
project. The absence of the license to sell
c. subjects the condominium developer and its officers civilly and criminally
liable for the violation
49. If only a portion of the land covered by a certificate of title is
conveyed by the owner, and the deed of conveyance is presented for
inscription, what action should the Register of Deeds take?
a. he shall annotate the deed by way of memorandum on the grantor's
certificate of title, original and duplicate, to serve as a notice to third persons.

a. the government has the absolute right to exploit the minerals

b. He shall not enter any transfer certificate to the grantee until a plan of the
land showing all the portions or lots into which it has been subdivided shall
have been verified and approved.

38. Lis pendens refers to the jurisdiction, power or control which a court
acquires over the property involved in a suit, pending the continuance
thereof and until final judgment. The purpose of a notice of lis pendens is

50. Pedro decides to sell his property to Jose only to discover the loss of
his owner's duplicate certificate of title covering the same. What initial
recourse should Pedro take?

c. to advise third persons who purchase the property that they do so at their
peril.

b. send a notice under oath to the Register of Deeds of the province or city
where the land lies as soon as the loss is discovered

39. To be valid and effective, a notice of lis pendens must be

51. In 1995, Pedro, a natural born Filipino, bought an agricultural land

from Jose who has been in possession thereof as an owner since 1942.
Pedro migrated to Canada where he acquired Canadian citizenship. He
came back to the Philippines in 2010 and applied for the registration of
the land which is now industrial in character. The government opposed
alleging that since Pedro is now an alien he is not qualified to apply for
registration. Is the opposition tenable?

d. annotated on the original duplicate certificate of title on file with the

Register of Deeds
40. May an adverse claim of ownership, based on prescription and
adverse possession, be registered over the registered land?
b. no because title to registered land is imprescriptible
41. An adverse claim is effective for 30 days from the date of registration.
To render the adverse claim functus officio,
c. the interested party should file a petition in court for the cancellation of the
adverse claim.
42. Reconstitution denotes reconstruction of a lost or destroyed original
certificate of title. The term "any other document" as a source of
reconstitution may include:
d. none of the above
43. Petitioner Gan Tan, a Chinese citizen, lost his Torrens system when his
house was burned in 1995. He filed a petition for reconstitution in 2004.
The court denied the petition on the basis of a BID certification submitted
by the OSG that petitioner is a chinese, hence his title is null and void. In
case Gan appeals, how should the case be resolved?
d. reconstitution should be ordered because a torrens title cannot be
collaterally attacked
44. Pedro files a petition for administrative reconstitution but it appears
from official records that the subject property is already covered by an
existing Torrens title in the name of Lim. Investigation disclosed that Lim
is a Chinese, hence his title is obviously void. What are the options open
to the LRA?
b. the LRA should dismiss Pedro's petition pending the filing by the OSG or
the competing claimant of an action before the RTC for the cancellation of
Lim's title

45. OCT No. 38621 was decreed in the name of "Pedro Valdez, married to
Lita Marquez." Because of the loss of the original copy of title, Pedro

c. no because the land at the time of its acquisition by Pedro is deemed already
a private land.
52. Titles generated pursuant to the agrarian reform program form and
integral part of the system of property registration and ownership. Who
has jurisdiction over cases involving the cancellation of registered
emancipation patent, certificates of land ownership award and other titles
issued under the agrarian reform program?
a. the Secretary of Agrarian Reform
53. In an action for specific performance, the court upheld the sale of the
property to the plaintiff and ordered the defendant vendor to comply
with the terms and conditions of the contract. Can plaintiff, in the same
case, ask to compel to surrender the duplicate certificate of title to the
Register of Deeds for the registration of the Sale?
b. yes this being a necessary incident in the main case
54. Pedro filed a complaint for a specific performance against Jose to
compel the latter to comply with his contractual obligation to sell to the
former the subject property. The court ruled in favor of Pedro and
directed Jose to surrender his owner's duplicate certificate of title to the
Register of Deeds for cancellation and issuance of a new title to Pedrp.
Mario, a mortgagee, intervened and objected, alleging that the issuance of
title to Pedro will substantially impair his rights and interests as a
mortgagee. Is Mario's objection valid?
b. no since any lien annotated on Jose's certificate of title shall be carried over
to the new transfer certificate of title of Pedro.

55.To secure a loan, Pedro mortgaged his titled property to the bank. The
mortgagee was annotated on the title. Subsequently, Jose, claiming prior
right of ownership, brought a suit in the RTC to quiet title and to nullify

Pedro's title. A notice of lis pendens was annotated on Pedro's title. For
failure of Pedro to pay his loan, the bank foreclosed and was successful
bidder at auction. Meantime, the RTC rendered judgment nullifying
Pedro's title as well as the mortgage to the bank. The bank claims that it
is a mortgagee and buyer in good faith. Is the bank correct?

c. yes because any subsequent lien or encumbrance annotated at the back of

the title cannot affect the mortgage previously registered.