Land Titles & Deeds

Land Registration PD 1529

STEPS IN JUDICIAL LAND REGISTRATION
[ PD 1529 ]

 1. SURVEY of the land

 Approval of Plan by the Director of Lands

 2 . APPLICATION FOR LAND REGISTRATION shall be filed in

COURT by the applicant

 3. PUBLICATION of the notice of the initial hearing of said

application

 Publication of notice initial hearing in the Official Gazette shall be

sufficient to confer jurisdiction (Republic vs Marasigan 198 SCRA
219)

 4. OPPOSITION to said application shall be filed by an person who

claims the land or interest therein
steps in Original Registration

 5. HEARING of said application and presentation of evidence in

court

 6. JUDGMENT shall be rendered by the COURT

 7. ISSUANCE OF DECREE OF REGISTRATION for the land by the LRA

 8. ISSUANCE OF ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF TITLE for the land by the

LRA, which shall then be entered by the Register of Deeds in his record
book.

 Decree of registration and certificate of title becomes incontrovertible

upon expiration of one year after the entry of the final decree.
1987 Philippine Constitution

 Art. XII, Sec. 7. Save in cases of hereditary

succession, no private lands shall be transferred or
conveyed except to individuals, corporations or
associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the
public domain.

 Krivenko vs Reg of Deeds

 Ramirez vs Vda de Ramirez, 111 SCRA 704

 The constitutional provision which enables aliens to
acquire private lands does not extend to testamentary
succession for otherwise the prohibition will be naught
and meaningless. Any alien would be able to circumvent
the prohibition by paying money to Philippine landowner
for a devise of a piece of land.
 (Ramirez v Vda De Ramirez 111 SCRA 704, (1982)
 What is the effect of naturalization of alien buyer?
 For if the aim of the ban on aliens from acquiring land is
to preserve such land for future generations of Filipinos,
that aim would not be thwarted by making lawful such
acquisition of an alien who has now become a Filipino by
naturalization. (Vasques v Li Seng Giap et al Phil 447
(1995).

 May a corporation sole with a Canadian citizen as
incumbent acquire by purchase a private agricultural
land?

 Can a Deed of donation executed by a Filipino in

favor of a foreign religious organization be registered?
 In determining, therefore, whether the constitutional
provision requiring 60 per centum Filipino capital is
applicable to corporation sole, the nationality of the
constituents of the diocese, and not the nationality of the
actual incumbent of the parish, must be taken into
consideration. (Roman Catholic Apostolic of Davao, Inc. v
LRC, 102 Phil. 596 (1956)
 The fact that the appellant religious organization has no
capital stock does not suffice to escape the Constitutional
inhibition, since it is admitted that its members are
foreign nationality.
 To permit religious associations controlled by non-
Filipinos to acquire agricultural lands would be to drive
the opening wedge to revive alien religious landholdings
in this country
 (Register of Deeds vs Ung Sui Si Temple, 97 Phil 58 (1995)
Exceptions to the restriction on foreigners
acquisition of land

 Acquisition before the 1935 Constitution

 Acquisition through hereditary succession if the foreigner
is a legal or natural heir
 Purchase of not more than 40% interest in a
condominium project
 Purchase by a former natural-born Filipino citizen subject
to the limitations prescribed by law.
 Filipinos who are married to aliens who retain their
Filipino citizenship, unless by their act or omission
they have renounced their Filipino citizenship

 FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF
HOUSE/IMPROVEMENTS

 A foreigner may own a house and the improvements,

which may be constructed on the land owned by a
Filipino [ e.g. under lease ]
 Section 8. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section
7 of this Article, a natural-born citizen of the
Philippines who has lost his Philippine citizenship
may be a transferee of private lands, subject to
limitations provided by law.

 Note: The transfer refers to either voluntary sale, devise or donation or

involuntary sale, foreclosure and execution judgment
 REMEDIES CONSEQUENT TO
FRAUDULENT OR IRREGULAR
REGISTRATION
REMEDIES
 Review of decree of registration
Extrinsic Fraud - any fraudulent act committed outside the trial of
of the case.
Filed before the expiration of one year from the entry of the final decree of
registration
Provided, not transferred to innocent purchaser for value

Sec 32 PD 1529 – ..“ in no case shall such (petition for

review) be entertained by the court where an innocent
purchaser for value has acquired the land or an interest
therein, whose rights may be prejudiced.”
 Reconveyance
Action in personam
Property not passed yet to innocent purchaser for value
 The essence of an action for reconveyance is that the
certificate of title is respected as incontrovertible. What is
sought is the transfer of the property which has been
wrongfully or erroneously registered in another’s person’s
name, to its rightful owner or to one with better right.
 Medizabel v Apao GR 143185 Feb 20, 2006
 Lis Pendens may be annotated
 Prescription
 Action based on fraud – 4 years
 Action based of implied trust – 10 years
 Action based on void contract – imprescriptible
 Action to quiet title where plaintiff is in possession –
imprescriptible
 Recovery for damages
 Actual or constructive fraud

 Action for compensation from Assurance Fund

 (Sec 95 PD 1529)
CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
 A document proving ownership over a parcel or parcels of land
which is issued only by the Office of the Register of Deeds
concerned.

 Original Certificate of Title (OCT) – first title issued to a

parcel of land. It can be acquired thru judicial or administrative
procedures.

 Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) – subsequent titles issued

after original registration.

 Reconstituted Title (RO/RT) – title issued through

administrative or judicial procedures in replacement of those lost,
missing or destroyed.
Kinds of Certificate of Title
Different Information on the Title
1. Title Form Information
> Type of Form (109, 140 etc.)
> Date of Revision
> Serial No.
2. Registration Information
> Name of the Registry of Deeds
> Title No.; Book No; Page No.
> Place, time and date of registration
> Historical Information
3. Ownership Information
4. Survey Information (technical description)
> parcel identity
>location; adjoining lots;
> bearings and distances; area
5. Liens or encumbrances and annotations
Reconstitution
 Section 110. Reconstitution of lost or destroyed original of Torrens title.
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 insofar as not inconsistent
with this Decree. Xx

 Sources or bases for reconstitution

 Certified copy of certificate of title previously issued by the Registrar of
Deeds
 Authenticated copy of the decree of registration or patent
 Document on file in the Registry of Deeds
Administrative Reconstitution
under LRA Circular No. 13 (July 13, 1990)
- Without court proceeding
 a. Only in case of substantial loss or destruction of land
titles due to fire, flood or other force majeure

 b. Where the number of lost or damaged certificates of

title is at least ten percent (10%) of the total number of
titles in the custody of the Register of Deeds, but

 c. In no case shall the number of titles lost or damages is

less than five hundred (500)
Remedy when the owner’s copy is lost
 Section 109 PD 1529. Notice and replacement of lost
duplicate certificate. In case of loss or theft of an owner's
duplicate certificate of title, due notice under oath shall be
sent by the owner or by someone in his behalf to the Register
of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies as soon as
the loss or theft is discovered. If a duplicate certificate is lost
or destroyed, or cannot be produced by a person applying for
the entry of a new certificate to him or for the registration of
any instrument, a sworn statement of the fact of such loss or
destruction may be filed by the registered owner or other
person in interest and registered.
Voluntary Title Standardization Program
 Upon request of the registered owner
 LRA Circular 27-2011
 Benefits:
 1. It shall protect original copies of titles from loss by
storing this in its electronic original form, which are
regularly backed-up as owners shall no longer go through
the expensive and tedious process of reconstitution;
 2. It shall ensure clearer certified true copies as compared
to certified true copies on scanned images of the
manually-issued certificates of titles.
Amendment or Correction of title
 Section 108. Amendment and alteration of certificates. 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.

 Boundary prevails over area indicated in the title

 What really defines a piece of ground is not the area but the
boundaries therein laid down
CONSULTAS

 Section 117. Procedure. When the Register of Deeds is in

doubt with regard to the proper step to be taken or
memorandum to be made in pursuance of any deed, mortgage
or other instrument presented to him for registration, or
where any party in interest does not agree with the action
taken by the Register of Deeds with reference to any such
instrument, the question shall be submitted to the
Commissioner of Land Registration by the Register of Deeds,
or by the party in interest thru the Register of Deeds.
DOMINGO REALTY, INC, vs. COURT OF APPEALS

GR No. 126236 January 26, 2007

 (1) verify the origin, history, authenticity, and validity of the title with
the Office of the Register of Deeds and the Land Registration
Authority;

 (2) engage the services of a competent and reliable geodetic

engineer to verify the boundary, metes, and bounds of the lot subject
of said title based on the technical description in the said title and the
approved survey plan in the Land Management Bureau;

 (3) conduct an actual ocular inspection of the lot;

 (4) inquire from the owners and possessors of adjoining lots with
respect to the true and legal ownership of the lot in question;

 (5) put up signs that said lot is being purchased, leased, or

encumbered; and

 (6) undertake such other measures to make the general public aware
that said lot will be subject to alienation, lease, or encumbrance by
the parties.
 Thank you
 Sources:
 LRA website
 Land Titles and Deeds – Pena
 Registration of Land Titles and Deeds – Noblejas