ChapterIIIOriginalRegistration

OrdinaryRegistrationProceedings

REGISTRATIONUNDERPRD

SEC. 14. Who may apply. The following persons may file in the proper Court of First Instance
an application for registration of title to land, whether personally or through their duly
authorized representatives:
(1) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors- in-interest have been in open,
continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of alienable and disposable
lands of the public domain under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, or earlier.
(2) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands by prescription under the provisions of
existing laws.
(3) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned river beds by right of
accession or accretion under the existing laws.
(4) Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other manner provided for by law.
Where the land is owned in common, all the co-owners shall file the application jointly.
Where the land has been sold under pacto de retro, the vendor a retro may file an application
for the original registration of the land, provided, however, that should the period for
redemption expire during the pendency of the registration proceedings and ownership to the
property consolidated in the vendee a retro, the latter shall be substituted for the applicant and
may continue the proceedings.
A trustee on behalf of his principal may apply for original reg- istration of any land held
in trust by him, unless prohibited by the instrument creating the trust.

NOTES:

o PURPOSEOFTHETORRENSSYSTEMOFREGISTRATION
TheprimepurposeoftheTorrenssystemofregistrationistodecreelandtitlesthatshallbe
final,irrevocable,andundisputable.Incontestabilityisthegoal.AsexpressedinSection31of
thePropertyRegistrationDecree(PDNo.1529),(t)hedecreeofregistrationshallbindthe
landand,andshallbeconclusive uponandagainstall persons, includingthe National
Governmentandallthebranchesthereof.
AsstressedinLegardav.Saleeby,4a1915decision:Therealpurposeofthatsystemisto
quiettitletoland;toputastopforevertoanyquestionofthelegalityofthetitle.
Thetitle,onceregistered,isnoticetotheworld.Allpersonsmusttakenotice.Noonecan
pleadignoranceoftheregistration.
o REGISTRATIONONLYCONFIRMSEXISTINGTITLE
TheTorrenssystemoflandregistrationisasystemfortheregistrationoftitletoland
only,andnotasystemestablishedfortheacquisitionofland.Itisnotintendedthatlands
maybeacquiredbysaidsystemofregistration.Itisintendedonlythatthetitle,whichthe
petitioner has, shall be registered and thereby cleared of all liens and burdens of
whatsoevercharacter,exceptthosewhichshallbenotedintheorderofregistrationandin
thecertificateissued.
Registrationdoesnotvestorgivetitletotheland,butmerelyconfirmsandthereafter
 protectsthetitlealreadypossessedbytheowner,makingitimprescriptiblebyoccupation
ofthirdparties.Theregistrationdoesnotgivetheowneranybettertitlethanhehas.He
doesnotobtaintitlebyvirtueofthecertificate
Registration means anyentry made in the books of the regis try, includingboth
registration in its ordinary and strict sense, and cancellation, annotation, and even
marginalnotes.Initsstrictacceptation,itistheentrymadeintheregistrywhichrecords
solemnlyandpermanentlytherightofownershipandotherrealrights.

1. REGISTRATIONUNDER[SEC.14(1)],PRD[POSSESSION]
o THEAPPLICANTMUSTPROVE:[REQUISITES]
a. Filipino citizenship
b. Land - agricultural, alienable and disposable
c. Applicant, by himself and predecessor-in-interest, has been in open, continuous,
exclusive and notorious possession and occupation thereof, in the concept of
owner (OCENCO);
d. Since June 12, 1945 or earlier

Only when these conditions are met may the possessor of the land acquire, by operation of law,
a right to a grant, a government grant, without the necessity of a certificate of title being
issued.
The Supreme Court would explain, in the case of Director of Lands v. Buyco, the meaning of
immemorial which means beyond the reach of memory, beyond human memory, or time
out of mind. And when referring to possession, specifically immemorial possession, it
means possession of which no man living has seen the beginning, and the existence of which
he has learned from his elders.
Section 48(b) of the Public Land Act (Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect or Incomplete Title)
applies exclusively to alienable and disposable agricultural lands of the public domain. Lands
classified as forest or timber lands, mineral lands and lands within national parks are
excluded. The right to file the application for registration derives from a bona fide claim of
ownership going back to June 12, 1945 or earlier, by reason of the claimants open,
continuous, exclusive and notorious possession of alienable and disposable lands of the
public domain.
Registration under Section 48(b), as amended, presumes that the land was originally public
agricultural land but because of adverse possession since June 12, 1945 (judicial confirmation
of imperfect title), the land has become private. Open, adverse, public and continuous
possession is sufficient provided the possessor files the proper application. It should be
stressed, however, that the adverse possession which may be the basis of a grant of title in
confirmation of imperfect title cases applies only to alienable lands of the public domain.
As explained in the recent case of Republic v. Court of Appeals and Naguit,10 the phrase
since June 12, 1945 qualifies its antecedent phrase under a bona fide claim of ownership.
Generally speaking, qualifying words restrict or modify only the words or phrases to which
they are immediately associated, and not those distantly or remotely located. Hence, what the
law merely requires is that the property sought to be registered is already alienable and
disposable at the time the application for registration of title is filed. In other words, it is not
necessary that the land be first classified as alienable and disposable before the applicants
possession under a bona fide claim of ownership could start.
 A different rule obtains for lands which are incapable of registration as when they belong to the
category of forest or timber, mineral lands and national parks. The reason for this is that,
under Section 2, Article XII of the Constitution, only agricultural lands may be the subject of
alienation.
The rule on confirmation of imperfect title does not apply unless and until the land classified
as, say, forest land is released in an official proclamation to that effect so that it may form part
of the disposable agricultural lands of the public domain.
oThe inclusion in a certificate of title of non-disposable public land, whether such title was
issued during the Spanish sovereignty or under the present Torrens system of
registration, nullifies the title.
oHence, the applicant must secure a certification from the government that the land
applied for by the applicant is alienable and disposable. To prove that the land subject
of an application for registration is alienable, an applicant must establish the existence
of a positive act of the government such as a presidential proclamation or an executive
order; an administrative action; investigation reports of Bureau of Lands investigators;
and a legislative act or statute.
oIn the absence of such classification, the land remains unclassified public land until
released therefrom and open to disposition.
When the conditions specified in Section 48(b) of the Public Land Act are complied with, the
possessor is deemed to have acquired, by operation of law, a right to a grant, without the
necessity of a certificate of title being issued.
oThe land, therefore, ceases to be of the public domain, and beyond the authority of the
Director to dispose of. The application for confirmation is a mere formality, the lack of
which does not affect the legal sufficiency of the title as would be evidenced by the
patent and the Torrens title to be issued upon the strength of said patent.
oFor all legal intents and purposes, the land is segregated from the public domain, because
the beneficiary is conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions
essential to a Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title under the
provisions of this chapter.
Where all the requirements for a government grant are complied with, i.e., possession in the
manner and for the period required by law, the land ipso jure ceases to be public land and
becomes private property.
o NOTES:
JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF INCOMPLETE TITLES
As a rule, no title or right to, or equity in, any lands of the pub- lic domain may be
acquired by prescription or by adverse possession or occupancy except as expressly
provided by law.
Under this paragraph, ownership is based on adverse possession and the right of
acquisition
PD NO. 1073 HAS REVERTED PERIOD OF POSSESSION TO JUNE 12,
1945
On January 25, 1977, PD No. 1073 was issued: (a) extending the period for the filing of
applications for judicial confirmation of imperfect and incomplete titles to December
31, 1987; (b) limiting the area of the land applied for to 144 hectares; (c) repealing
Section 48(b) on judicial confirmation of incomplete titles to public land based on
unperfected Spanish grants; and (d) amending Sections 48(b) and (c) in the sense that
these provisions shall apply only to alienable and disposable (A and D) lands of the
public domain which have been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious
 possession and occupation by the applicant himself or through his predecessors-in-
interest, under a bona fide claim of acquisition of ownership, since June 12, 1945.
RA NO. 3872 HAS ADDED A NEW SECTION RECOGNIZING RIGHTS
OF CULTURAL MINORITIES
RA NO. 9176 HAS EXTENDED PERIOD OF FILING TO DECEMBER
31, 2020
On November 13, 2002, RA No. 9176 was enacted: (a) extending the period to file an
application for judicial confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles to December 31,
2020; (b) further limiting the area applied for to 12 hectares; and (c) providing that all
pending applications filed before the effectivity of the amendatory Act shall be treated
as having been filed in accordance with the provisions thereof.
2.REGISTRATION UNDER SEC. 14(2); [PRESCRIPTION]
REQUISITES:
a. Land - patrimonial or private in character
b.Possession must be for 10 years (in good faith) or 30 years (regardless of
good faith)
c. Not needed for publicservicenor for development of nationalwealth
NOTES:
Prescription is one of the modes of acquiring ownership under the Civil Code.
Properties classified as alienable public land may be converted into private property by
ordinary prescription of ten years, or extraordinary prescription of thirty years, without
need of title or good faith.
oWith such conversion, such property may now fall within the contemplation of
private lands under Section 14(2), and may be registered even if the
possession commenced on a date later than June 12, 1945
By prescription, one acquires ownership and other real rights through the lapse of time
in the manner and under the action laid down by law.
To consolidate prescription, the possession must be that of owner, and it must be
public, peaceful and uninterrupted. Acts of apossessory character done by virtue of a
license or mere tolerance on the part of the real owner are not sufficient.
In the computation of time necessary for prescription, the present possessor may
complete the period necessary for prescription by tacking his possession to that of his
grantor or predecessor-in- interest.
3.REGISTRATION UNDER SEC. 14(3) RIGHTOFACCESSIONOR
ACCRETION
a.Art. 461, Civil Code (ACCESSION)
River beds which are abandoned through the natural change in the course of the waters
ipso facto belong to the owners whose lands are occupied by the new course in
proportion to the area lost. However, the owners of the lands adjoining the old bed
shall have the right to acquire the same by paying the value thereof, which value shall
not exceed the value of the area occupied by the new bed.
REQUISITES (SPNA)
(a) The change must be sudden in order that the old river may be identified.
(b) The changing of the course must be more or less perma- nent, and not temporary
overflooding of anothers land.
(c) The change of the river must be a natural one, i.e., caused by natural forces (and
 not by artificial means).
(d) There must be definite abandonment by the government.
b.Art. 457, Civil Code (ACCRETION)
Article 457 of the Civil Code provides that to the owners of lands adjoining the banks of
rivers belong the accretion which they gradually receive from the effects of the current of
the waters.
The law is taken from the Law of Waters of 1866 which provided in Article 84 that the
accretion resulting from the gradual deposit by or sedimentation from the waters belongs
to the owners of land border- ing on streams, torrents, lakes, and rivers.
REQUISITES:
(a) That the deposit be gradual and imperceptible;
(b) That it be made through the effects of the current of the water; and
(c) That the land where accretion takes place is adjacent to the banks of rivers
Under Article 457 of the Civil Code, the registered owner of property is considered the
lawful owner of the accretion to his property. But the accretion does not become
automatically registered land just because the lot which receives it is covered by a
Torrens title thereby making the alluvial property imprescriptible.
Thus, where petitioners never sought the registration of the alluvial property, the
increment never became registered property, hence, not subject to the protection of
imprescriptibility of registered property under the Torrens system. Consequently, the
land may still be acquired through prescription by third persons.
It should be noted, however, that alluvial formation along the seashore is part of the
public domain and, therefore, not open to acquisition by adverse possession by private
persons. It is outside the commerce of man, unless otherwise declared by either the exe-
cutive or legislative branch of the government.

4.REGISTRATION UNDER SEC. 14(4) ACQUISITIONOFOWNERSHIP

INANYOTHERMANNERPROVIDED BY LAW
(1) Reservation for a specific public purpose by Presidential proclamation
5.CORPORATIONSOLEIS QUALIFIED TO APPLY FOR
REGISTRATION
The rule then is that private corporations or associations are disqualified from acquiring
alienable lands of the public domain. But jurisprudence has evolved a doctrinal precept,
distinctly rooted in Susi, among others, that where at the time the corporation acquired the
land, its predecessor-in-interest had been in possession and occupation thereof in the
manner and for the period prescribed by law as to entitle him to registration in his name,
then the proscription against corporations acquiring alienable lands of the public domain
except through lease does not apply for the land was no longer public land but private
property.
It was held in Republic v. Intermediate Appellate Court and Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Lucena that a corporation sole is qualified to own and register private agricultural land. A
corporation sole by the nature of its incorporation is vested with the right to purchase and
hold real estate and personal property. It need not therefore be treated as an ordinary private
corporation because whether or not it be so treated as such, the Constitutional provision
involved will, nevertheless, be not applicable.
o A corporation sole is a special form of corporation usually associated with the
clergy.
o We might safely state that even before the establishment of the Philippine
Commonwealth and of the Republic of the Philippines every corpo- ration sole then
organized and registered had by express provision of law the necessary power and
 qualification to purchase in its name private lands located in the territory in which it
exercised its functions or ministry and for which it was created, independently of
the nationality of its incumbent unique and single member and head, the bishop of
the diocese.
o (C)orpo- rations sole in the Philippines are mere administrators of the
temporalities or properties titled in their name and for the benefit of the members
of their respective religion composed of an over- whelming majority of Filipinos.
o The corporation law has set up the fiction known as the corporation sole which
authorizes it to purchase and hold real estate and personal property for its church,
charitable, benevolent, or educational purposes, and may receive bequests or gifts
for such purposes.
o Thus, the temporalities of the church or of a parish or diocese are allowed to be
registered in the name of the corporation sole for purposes of administration and in
trust for the real owners. But the mere fact that the corporation sole is allowed to
acquire and hold real estate or other property does not make him the real owner
thereof, as his tenure of church property is merely for the purposes of
administration. T
o he bishop is only the legal (technical) owner or trustee, the parish or diocese being
the beneficial owner, or cestui que trust. The corporation sole is a mere contrivance
to enable a church to acquire, own and manage properties belonging to the church.
Hence, the citizenship of the priest forming the corporation sole should be no
impediment if the parish or diocese which owns the property is qualified to own
and possess the property.
6. Cases

Malabanan v. Republic, GR No. 179987, April 29, 2009; Resolution on motion for
reconsideration, Sept. 3, 2013Republic v. Zuburban Realty and Development
Corporation, GR No. 164408, March 24, 2014 Republic v. Remman Enterprises,
Inc., GR No. 199310, Feb. 19, 2014 Republic v. Joson, GR No. 163767, March 10,
2014Republic v. Cortez, GR No. 186639, Feb. 5, 2014City Mayor v. Ebio, GR No.
178411, June 23, 2010Republic v. East Silverlane Realty Development
Corporation, GR No. 186961, Feb. 20, 2012 Grande v. Court of Appeals, GR No.
L-17652, June 30, 1962

Republic, rep. by Mindanao Medical Center v. Court of Appeals, GR No. L-

40912, Sept. 30, 1976

REGISTRATIONUNDERCANO.141(PUBLICLANDACT)

ThePublicLandActgovernsthejudicialconfirmationofimperfectorincomplete
titlesonthebasisofpossessionandoccupationofalienableportionsofthepublic
domaininthemannerandforthelengthoftimerequiredbylaw.
1. Sec.2Coverage;Exceptions

e. Sec.48(b),CANo.141
 1 Requisites same as Sec. 14(1), PRD

2 No material difference between Sec. 14(1) of PD No. 1529 and Sec.

48(b) of CA No. 141

f. VestedRightsacquired under RA No. 1942 (30 years possession) not be impaired

by PD No. 1073 (requiring possession since June 12, 1945)

a. RANo.9176extended the period to file application to December 31, 2020If

denied under

PRD, can be under CA141 no longer part of land of public domain (Zara v Dir
of Lands) but Diaz v Republic says res judicata

2. Compliance with all requirements - IpsoJureConversiontoPrivateLand