The Agency Mission and Vision

MISSION

The Land Registration Authority is mandated to issue decrees of registration and certificates of title and register documents, patents, and other land transactions for the benefit of landowners, Agrarian Reform beneficiaries and the registering public in general; to provide a secure, stable and trustworthy record of land ownership and recorded interests therein so as to promote social and economic well-being and contribute to national development. To achieve this mission, the Land Registration Authority is committed to effectively implement the laws and regulations relative to the registration of land and titles and deeds to maintain and foster greater public trust and confidence in the Torrens title through honest, prompt and efficient service to preserve and maintain the integrity of land records; to provide vital, accurate and timely landrelated development as well as provide convenient working conditions and adequate incentives to all LRA personnel. For the successful achievement of this mission, the LRA solemnly commits itself.

VISION
A Land Registration Authority that is: An independent corporate body exercising quasi-judicial functions with automated systems & modern facilities; An effectively managed organization responsive to the needs of its clientele and its personnel as well; and An entity conscious of its role to promote and attain the full trust and confidence of the public in the Torrens Title.

Brief History
Sir Robert Torrens originated the system of Land registration known today all over the world as the Torrens system. As the commissioner of customs in South Australia, Torrens was inspired by the facility with which ships or undivided shares therein were negotiated and transferred in accordance with the Merchant Shipping Acts. Becoming a register of deeds, he devised a scheme of registration of title that improved on the old system. When he became a member of South Australias First Colonial Ministry, he introduced in the parliament a bill providing for the adoption of his scheme of land registration. The measure was passed and came to be known as the Torrens System. On November 6, 1902, the Philippine Commission enacted Act 496, known as the Land Registration Law. This provided for the creation of the Court of Land Registration (CLR), the offices of the Registers of Deeds and the institution in this country of the Torrens System of registration whereby real estate ownership may be judicially confirmed and recorded in the archives of the government. However, the system actually took effect February 1, 1903. Five judges were appointed by the Governor-General with the advice and consent of the Philippine Commission. One judge was designated judge of court; the rest were assigned Associate Judges. Other members of the court were a clerk and assistant clerk, both appointed by the Attorney General with the approval of the Secretary of Finance and Justice. Along with the court were established the Registries of Deeds. Later, the Court of Land Registration, by virtue of Act 2347, was given over the Court of First Instance and a new office was established- the General Land Registration Office. On June 17, 1954, Republic Act. No. 1151 abolished the GLRO and created in its instead the Land Registration Commission (LRC). The Commissioner of Land Registration took over the powers of the GLRO, including those of the judge of the fourth branch of the Court of First Instance of Manila. The LRC worked under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice, and was in direct control of the Registers of Deeds (RDs) as well as the clerks of Court of First Instance in land registration cases. It was then that a registry of deeds was established in every city and every province, and a branch registry was put up wherever else possible at the time. On February 19, 1981, the President issued Executive Order No.649, recognizing the LRC into National Land Titles and Deeds Registration Administration (NLTDRA). This agency operated under the

administrative auspices of the then Ministry of Justice, and extended effective assistance to the Ministry of Agrarian Reform, the Land Bank of the Philippines, and other agencies in line with the Land Reform Program. In a Presidential Memorandum Circular on September 30, 1988, the NLTDRA was changed into the Land Registration Authority. This was in line with Executive Order No.292 of July 25,1987, instituting the Administrative Code of 1987, which took effect on November 23, 1989. The Authority has grown through the years. It now has 2,500 employees nationwide, and has been a virtual workhorse for the Department of Justice. It has consistently increased its revenues through its registries of deeds for the past seven years. Many new methods and techniques have been developed by the administration in the defense of the rights of the landowners. Time has not stymied the purpose of the agency, but has honed its sense of duty to that of a fine new razor. In truth, the Authority is more active than ever, willing and able to defend the integrity of the Torrens system in the Philippines for the benefit of the landownerand the Filipino!