LAND TITLES AND DEEDS

Land Registration (LR)

a. Is a judicial or administrative proceeding
b. Whereby a person’s claim of ownership over a particular land
c. Is determined and confirmed or recognized
d. So that such land and the ownership thereof may be recorded in a public registry.

Purposes of Land Registration

a. To issue a certificate of title to owner which shall be the “best evidence” of his
ownership of the land described therein;
b. To give every registered owner complete peace of mind
c. To relieve the land of unknown claims
d. To quiet title to land and to stop forever any question as to its legality
e. To avoid conflicts of title in and to real estate, and to facilitate transactions
f. Guarantee the integrity of land titles and to protect their indefeasibility once the
claim of ownership is established and recognized. (Juris)

Torrens System of Land Registration

Introduce in the Philippines by Act No. 496 (February 1, 1903) which was amended and
superseded by P.D. No. 1529 (June 11, 1978) “Property Registration Decree”.

Judicial Land Registration – Two Kinds

a. Ordinary land registration proceedings – where the application for land
registration is initiated and filed in court by owner or person claiming ownership
of the land (P.D. 1529, Section 14); and
b. Cadastral land registration proceedings – where it is the government
thatundertakes the survey of the land and files the petition in court for registration
of the whole or part of the lands in an municipality, city or province, and where all
persons are given notice by publication and required to make known and prove
their claims of ownership or interest over the same, otherwise the lots will be
declared public land. In this sense, a cadastral proceeding is in the nature of a
large scale compulsory proceedings (Act 2259, as amended by PD 1529, Sections
35-37).

- The court, after hearing the application for land registration and as warranted by
evidence, shall render judgment confirming the title of the applicant and ordering:
(a) the LRA to issue the decree of registration; and (b) for the RD to issue the
corresponding OCT to the applicant or adjudged owner.

Administrative Land Registration

Is a proceeding where the application for a Free Patent, Homestead Patent, Sales Patent
or OTHER GRANT of public land is filed in and determined by the DENR. If the
application is granted, the DENR issues a patent for the land applied for. Such patent
shall be registered in the office of the RD who shall issue the corresponding certificate of
title in the name of the registered owner. (See PD. 1529, Section 103)

In BOTH judicial and administrative proceedings, the RD makes the proper entries in his
Record Book and issues the corresponding owner’s duplicate certificate of the OCT to the
registered owner.

Torrens Certificate of Title

Is the evidence of ownership issued by the RD to the owner of a particular land which is
registered under the Torrens System of Registration by virtue of judicial or administrative
proceeding. It may be OCT (PD1529 Section 40) or a TCT (Id., Section 43).
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Original Certificate of Title
Is the first title issued in the name of the registered owner. The original of the OCT is
filed in the RD whereas the “owner’s duplicate certificate” is delivered to the owner. If
two or more persons are registered owners, one owner’s duplicate may be issued for the
whole land unless co-owners so desire a separate duplicate to be issued to them
individually in like form. (PD 1529 Sections 40-41)

Transfer Certificate of Title

Is the title issued by the RD to the transferee to whom the ownership of the land have
been transferred (by virtue of sale or other modes of conveyance). The original of the
TCT is filed in the RD whereas the “owner’s duplicate certificate” is delivered to the
transferee. The TCT is issued in lieu of the certificates of title of the transferor which is
cancelled by virtue of the transfer of ownership. (PD 1529 Sections 41, 43)

Laws Implementing LR
The laws on LR and issuance of Torrens Titles pursuant to Decrees of Registration,
Patents, Certificates of Land Transfer, Emancipation Patents, and Certificates of Land
Ownership Awards are:
1. PD 1529 as amended or Property Registration Decree
2. Act 2259 or Cadastral Act
3. Com. Act 141 as amended or Public Land Act
4. PD 27
5. RA 6657 or CARL of 1988 as amended

Regalian Doctrine
Under the regalian doctrine which is embodied in our Constitution, all lands of the public
domain belong to the state which is the source of any asserted right to ownership of
lands. All lands NOT appearing to be clearly within private ownership are presumed to
belong to the State. Unless public land is shown to have been reclassified or alienated to
a private person by the State, it remains part of the inalienable public domain. (Republic
vs. Lao, 405 SCRA 291)

It must be noted that Regalian doctrine does not negate native title to lands held in private
ownership since time immemorial. (Cruz vs. Secretary of Environment and Natural
Resources, 347 SCRA 128).

SEVEN STEPS IN JUDICIAL LR (Under PD 1529)

1. Application for LR shall be filed in court;
2. Publication of the notice of the initial hearing of said application;
3. Opposition to said application shall be filed by person who claims the land or
interest therein;
4. Hearing and presentation of evidence;
5. Judgment
6. Decree of Registration for the land shall be issued by the LRA; and
7. OCT for the land shall be issued by the LRA Administrator, which shall then be
entered by the RD in his record book. The owner’s duplicate of said certificate of
title shall be given to the registered owner thereof.

STEP ONE: APPLICATION FOR LR IN COURT (P.D. 1529, Section 14)

A. Who may apply for LR

1. Under PD 1529 (Section 14)

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“Section 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
provision 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 registration of any land
held in trust by him, unless prohibited by the instrument creating the trust.”

2. Under CA No. 141

CHAPTER VIII. - Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect or Incomplete Titles

“Sec. 47. The persons specified in the next following section are hereby granted
time, not to extend beyond December 31, 2020, within which to take advantage of
the benefit of this chapter: Provided, That this period shall apply only where the
area applied for does not exceed 12 hectares: Provided, further, That the several
periods of time designated by the President in accordance with section forty-five
of this Act shall apply also to the lands comprised in the provisions of this
chapter, but this section shall not be construed as prohibiting any of said persons
from acting under this chapter at any time prior to the period fixed by the
President. (As amended by RA 9176, November 13, 2002)

Sec. 48. The following-described citizens of the Philippines, occupying lands of

the public domain or claiming to own any such lands or an interest therein, but
whose titles have not been perfected or completed, may apply to the Court of First
Instance of the province where the land is located for confirmation of their claims
and the issuance of a certificate of title therefor under the Land Registration Act,
to wit:

(a) (Repealed by P.D. 1073.)

(b) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been

in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and, occupation of
agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisition or
ownership for at least 30 years immediately preceding the filing of the application
for confirmation of title, except when prevented by war or force majeure. Those

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 shall be 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.

(c) Members of the national cultural minorities who by themselves or through

their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive and
notorious possession and occupation of lands of the public domain suitable to
agriculture, whether disposable or not, under a bona fide claim of ownership since
June 12, 1945, shall be entitled to the rights granted in subsection (b) hereof. (As
amended by Rep. Act No. 1942 and by Rep. Act No. 3872, and P.D. 1073.)”

[NOTE: The aforesaid citizens of the Philippines are deemed to have acquired imperfect
or incomplete titles to alienable lands of occupied by them and their predecessor-in-
interest since June 12, 1945, or earlier. They are allowed by law to file in court their
applications for land registration under PD 1529, Section 14 paragraph 1 and for judicial
confirmation of their imperfect or incomplete titles within a period, not to extend beyond
December 31, 2020, Provided, that this period shall apply only where the area applied for
does not exceed 12 hectares. (CA 141 Sec. 47, as amended by CA No. 292, RA Nos. 107,
2061, 6236, PD 1073, RA No. 6940 and RA 9176, approved November 13, 2002; see also
CA 141 Sections 50 and 51.)

The applicant for land under PD 1529 must be the owner of the land because registration
under Torrens system is NOT a mode of acquiring ownership of the land.

How to acquire ownership of land:

a. By possession of land since time immemorial. – Their possession of the land for
such a length of time justifies the presumption that the land had never been part of
the public domain and that it had been private even before the Spanish conquest.

b. By possession of alienable public land. –Under the Public Land (Act CA No.
141), citizens of the Philippines who by themselves or predecessors-in-interest
have been in OCEN possession and occupation of alienable and disposable
agricultural land of the public domain UNDER a bona fide claim of acquisition of
ownership since June 12, 2945, or earlier, except when prevented by force
majeure, shall be conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions
essential to a government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title. (CA
No. 141, Section 47 and 48b, as amended by PD 1073.)

c. Other modes of acquiring ownership [ (1) by law: Art. 712 of the NCC ie. public
grants, title to accretion in river banks under Art. 457 NCC; title by escheat under
Rule 91; (2) donation; (c) succession; (d) consequence of contract, agreement,
tradition ie. sale; (e) prescription under Art. 712, 1134 and 1137 NCC]

B. WHERE TO FILE THE APPLICATION

1. RTC of the Province or City where the land is located (PD 1529 Section 2)
2. MTC or MCTC (if authorized by the SC as provided in Section 34 “Delegated
Jurisdiction in Cadastral and Land Registration Case” under Batas Pambansa
Blg. 129 – “where there is no controversy or opposition, or contested lots
where the value does not exceed P100,000.00”.)

C. CONTENTS OF THE APPLICATION

1. Name of applicant and other personal circumstance;

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 2. Description of the Land including the name of the occupants and adjoining
owners;
3. Verification;
4. Annexes: (a) survey plan approved by DENR (PD1529 Sec. 17); (b) technical
description (Sec 15); (c) certificate of geodetic engineer; (d) certificate of last
assessment for taxation

STEP TWO: PUBLICATION OF THE NOTICE OF INITIAL HEARING

A. NOTICE OF INITIAL HEARING

1. Must be in the Official Gazette and in a newspaper of general circulation. –

Upon receipt of the Order of the Court setting the date and hour of the initial
hearing of the application for land registration, the Administrator of the LRA
shall cause the notice of initial hearing to be published once in the Official
Gazette and once in a newspaper of general circulation. Said notice shall be
addressed to include all persons appearing to have interest in the land involved
including the adjoining owners so far as known and to “all whom it may
concern.” Said notice shall also require all persons concerned to appear in
court at a certain date and time to show cause why the prayer of said
application shall not be granted. (PD 1529, Section 23)

Lack of personal notice to persons who may claim certain right or interest in
the property cannot invalidate the decree or title issued therein because the
proceedings to register land under ACT 496 (now PD 1529) are in rem and not
in personam. (Aguilar vs. Caogdan, 105 Phil. 661)

2. Mailing of Notice of Initial Hearing. – The LRA shall also after publication of
said notice, cause a copy of the notice of initial hearing to be mailed to: (a)
every person named in the notice whose address is known; (b) government
officials concerned ie. Secretary of DA, DPWH, Director of Forrest
Development, Director of Mines and the Director of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources, Mayor etc. if necessitated by circumstance; (c) such other person
as directed by the court and in such manner as it may deem proper (PD 1529
Sec. 23).

3. Posting of Notice of Initial Hearing. – The Administrator of the LRA shall

cause a duly attested copy of the notice of initial hearing to be posted by the
sheriff of the province or city, as the case may be, or by his deputy, in a
conspicuous place on each parcel of land included in the application and also
in conspicuous place on the bulletin board of the municipality or city in which
the land or portion of land is situated, 14 days at least before the date of initial
hearing (PD 1529 Section 23).

STEP THREE: OPPOSITION TO THE APPLICATION

Who may file? Any person claiming the land or adverse interest therein, whether named
in the notice or not, may appear and file an opposition to the application for LR on or
before the date of the initial hearing, or within further time as may be allowed by the
court.

What are the contents of the Opposition? The opposition shall state all the objections to
the application, the interest claimed by the party filing the same, and apply for the
remedy desired (including his counter-claim); it shall be signed and sworn to by the
oppositor or some other duly authorized person (PD 1529 Section 25)

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What is the effect of failure of Government to oppose? The government cannot be
estopped from questioning the validity of certificates of title which was granted without
opposition of the government.

STEP FOUR: HEARING AND PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE

A. RULES OF COURT

The Rules of Court shall NOT apply to LR and cadastral proceedings, except by
analogy or in a suppletory character and whenever practicable and convenient
(PD 1529 Section 34; ROC Rule I, Section 4).LR under the Torrens system is a
judicial proceedings in rem (Meaning, LR constitutes constructive notice to the
whole world – and will bar indifferently all who might be minded to make an
objection) (PD 1529 Section 2), intended to confirm and register the ownership or
title of a person over the land.

B. EVIDENCE

1. To prove that the Notice of Initial Hearing of the Application had been
Published, Mailed and Posted as Required by Law.

2. To prove that the applicant is the Owner

Possession of a public land which ripen to ownership: General Rule: Public Land
cannot be acquire by Prescription. Mere possession of land of public domain
since June 12, 1945 or earlier, DOES NOT make the possessor the owner of the
land because there can be no prescription against the State.

Exception: Under the Public Land (Act CA No. 141), citizens of the Philippines
who by themselves or predecessors-in-interest have been in OCEN possession and
occupation of alienable and disposable agricultural land of the public domain
UNDER a bona fide claim of acquisition of ownership since June 12, 2945, or
earlier, except when prevented by force majeure. These persons:
a. shall be conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions essential
to a government grant;
b. shall be entitled to a certificate of title. (CA No. 141, Section 47 and 48b, as
amended by PD 1073.)
c. are deemed to have acquired imperfect

Filipino corporation availing the benefits of CA No. 141, Section 47 and 48b: If a
private corporation is the applicant for land registration, the character of the lands
– whether private or public – at the time of the institution of the registration
proceedings must first be determined (Republic vs. Intermediate Appellate Court,
168 SCRA 165). If the land was already private at the time the corporation
bought it from the seller, then the prohibition in the Constitution against
corporations holding alienable lands of the public domain, except by lease (1987
Constitution Art XII, Section 3), does NOT apply (Director of Lands vs. Manila
Electric Company, 153 SCRA 686). The corporation may register the land which
became private land by prescription (Dir. of Lands vs. Hermanos y Hermanas de
Sta. Cruz de Mayo, Inc., 141 SCRA 21). HELD: The land in question had already
been converted to private ownership through acquisitive prescription by the
predecessor-in-interest of TCMC when the latter purchased them in 1979. All that
was needed was the confirmation of the titles of the previous owners or
predecessors-in-interest of TCMC (Natividad vs. CA. 202 SCRA 493). A parcel

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of land acquired by a corporation from a private individual should be deemed
applied for by such private person for registration purposes (Dir. of Lands vs.
Hermanos y Hermanas de Sta. Cruz de Mayo, Inc., 141 SCRA 21).

NOTE: Art. 12 Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution means that: Qualified

corporations and associations MAY acquire private lands BUT NOT alienable
lands of the public domain except by lease.

Accretion in river banks. The applicant for registration of the accretion to land
adjoining the bank of a river (if caused by sea is part of the public domain:
Lamprea vs. Dir. of Lands, 67 Phil. 505) shall establish the following facts: (a)
that the applicant if the owner of the land adjoining the river; (b) that an accretion
to his land was caused gradually by the effects of the current of the river (Art. 457
NCC.)

Accretion by lake, etc. Accretions deposited gradually upon lands contiguous to

creeks, streams, rivers, and lakes, by accessions or sediments from the waters
thereof, belong to the owners of such lands.” (Article 84 Spanish Law of Waters
of August 3, 1866)

Inundation of lands. “Lands accidentally inundated by the waters of lakes, or by

creeks, rivers and other streams, shall continue to be the property of their
respective owners.” (Article 77 Spanish Law of Waters of August 3, 1866)

Islands. Islands which, through successive accumulation of alluvial deposits, are

formed in non-navigable and non-floatable rivers, belong to the owners of the
margins or banks nearest to each of them or to the owners of both margins if the
island is in the middle of the river, in which case it shall be divided longitudinally
in halves. If a single island thus formed be more distant from one margin than
from the other, the owner, of the nearer margin shall be the sole owner thereof.
(Art. 465 NCC)

Abandoned river bed. The applicant for registration of abandoned river bed shall
establish the following facts: (a) that the applicant is the owner of a parcel of land;
(b) that due to the change of course of the waters of a river, his land is now
occupied by the new course; (c) and that the abandoned river bed which is
claimed by him as the new owner is proportionate to the area of the land lost by
him. (Art. 461 NCC)

Deed of sale, donation, deed of conveyance, deed of transfer, etc. It is basic law
that conveyance or transfer of any titled real property must be in writing, signed
by the registered owner or at least by his attorney-in-fact by virtue of a proper
SPA and duly notarized. (Ducat, Jr. vs. Villalon, Jr., 337 SCRA 622)

Probative value of tax declarations and real estate tax receipts - can be basis of
claim of ownership through prescription, when coupled with proof of actual
possession of the property. (Tabuena vs. CA, 196 SCRA 650)

3. To Prove the Identity of the Land

The land applied for registration must be identified (Dir. of Lands vs. CA, 130
SCRA 91) through genuine and duly approved survey plan and technical
description (Republic Cement Corporation vs. CA, 198 SCRA 734).

What defines a piece of titled property is NOT the numerical data indicated as
area of the land, but the boundaries or “metes and bounds” of the property

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 specified in its technical description as enclosing it and showing its limits.
(Republic vs. CA, 301 SCRA 366).

In an application for judicial confirmation of titles, the submission of original

tracing cloth plan of the land approved by the Director of Lands is a statutory
requirement of mandatory character (Dir. of Lands vs. Reyes, 68 SCRA 177).
This mandatory requirement CANNOT be waived either expressly or impliedly
(Dir. of Lands vs. IAC, 214 SCRA 604). The applicant is duty bound to retrieve
the tracing cloth plan from the LRA and to present it in evidence in the trial court
(Del Rosario vs. Republic, 383 SCRA 262).

Spanish titles are NO longer admissible as evidence of ownership. With the

passage of PD 892, effective February 16, 1976, Spanish Titles can no longer be
used as evidence of land ownership (Rep. vs. CA, 135 SCRA 156). Under the
same decree, lands not under the Torrens System shall be considered as
UNREGISTERED (Rep. vs. CA, 186 SCRA 88).

4. To Prove that the land is “Alienable” and “Disposal”

Release and reclassification of land as “alienable”. Unless public land is shown

to have been reclassified or alienated to a private person by the State, it remains
part of the inalienable land of the public domain (Menguito vs. Rep., 129 SCRA
689). – “Alienable lands of the public domain SHALL BE LIMITED to
agricultural lands (1987 Constitution, Art. XII, Section 3)

STEP FIVE: JUDGMENT

1. Judgment confirming title. - If the court finds that the applicant has
sufficiently proved his ownership of the land subject of registration, it shall
render judgment confirming the applicant’s claim of ownership or title and
ordering the issuance of a certificate of title to the land in the name of the
applicant. (Section 29 PD 1529, CA No. 141, Section 48[b] as amended by
RA 1942, June 22, 1957, Section 4 PD 1073, January 25, 1977.)

2. When judgment becomes final. – The judgment rendered in a land registration

proceeding becomes final upon the expiration of 15 days to be counted from
the receipt of notice of the judgment. (Heirs of Cornelio Labrada vs. Monsato,
131 SCRA 651; Rep. vs. Associacion Benevola de Cebu, 178 SCRA 692;
Section 39 BP Blg. 129). EXCEPTION: It has been held, however, that as
long as the final decree is not issued, and the one year within which it may be
revised has not elapsed, the decision remains under the control and sound
discretion of the court rendering the decree or adjudicate the land to another
party. The adjudication of the land in a registration or cadastral case does not
become final and incontrovertible until the expiration of one year after the
final decree. (Rep. vs. Associacion Benevola de Cebu, 178 SCRA 692; PD
1529 Section 32)

Judgment binds the whole world – A land registration case is a proceeding in

rem (Garcia vs. Bello, 13 SCRA 769).

Judgment dismissing an application - does NOT operation as a conclusive

adjudication (res judicata). The denial of the petition for registration simply
indicates that the petitioner has not furnished that kind of proof showing an
absolute title in fee simple which is required under the Torrens system.
(Malolos vs. Dir. of Lands, 25 Phil. 548)

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STEP SIX: DECREE OF REGISTRATION

1. Decree of Registration - After judgment has become final and executory, it shall devolve upon
the court to forthwith issue an order in accordance with Section 39 of this Decree to the
Commissioner for the issuance of the decree of registration and the corresponding certificate
of title in favor of the person adjudged entitled to registration. (PD 1529, Section 30.)

2. Contents of decree of registration. - Every decree of registration issued by the Commissioner

shall bear the date, hour and minute of its entry, and shall be signed by him. It shall state
whether the owner is married or unmarried, and if married, the name of the husband or wife:
Provided, however, that if the land adjudicated by the court is conjugal property, the decree
shall be issued in the name of both spouses. If the owner is under disability, it shall state the
nature of disability, and if a minor, his age. It shall contain a description of the land as finally
determined by the court, and shall set forth the estate of the owner, and also, in such manner
as to show their relative priorities, all particular estates, mortgages, easements, liens,
attachments, and other encumbrances, including rights of tenant-farmers, if any, to which the
land or owner's estate is subject, as well as any other matters properly to be determined in
pursuance of this Decree. (PD 1529, Section 31.)

3. Motion for execution not required. – A petition is instead filed with the land
registration court for the issuance of an Order direction the LRA to issue a decree
of registration, a copy of which is then sent to the Register of Deeds for
transcription in the registry book, and issuance of OCT.

STEP SEVEN: ISSUANCE OF ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF TITLE

After the decree of registration has been issued by the Administrator, and entered in the registration
book, of the LRA, the Administrator shall cause the preparation of the OCT. The OCT shall be signed
by the Administrator and shall be sent, together with the owner’s duplicate certificate, to the RD of the
city or province where the property is situated for entry in the registration book. (PD 1529, Section
39.)

Upon receipt by the Register of Deeds of the original and duplicate copies of the original certificate of
title the same shall be entered in his record book and shall be numbered, dated, signed and sealed by
the Register of Deeds with the seal of his office. Said certificate of title shall take effect upon the date
of entry thereof. The Register of Deeds shall forthwith send notice by mail to the registered owner that
his owner's duplicate is ready for delivery to him upon payment of legal fees. (PD 1529, Section 40.)

Owner's duplicate certificate of title. The owner's duplicate certificate of title shall be delivered to the
registered owner or to his duly authorized representative. If two or more persons are registered
owners, one owner's duplicate certificate may be issued for the whole land, or if the co-owners so
desire, a separate duplicate may be issued to each of them in like form, but all outstanding certificates
of title 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. The Register of
Deeds shall note on each certificate of title a statement as to whom a copy thereof was issued. (PD
1529, Section 41.)

Registration Books (consist of OCTs). The original copy of the original certificate of title shall be filed
in the Registry of Deeds. The same shall be bound in consecutive order together with similar
certificates of title and shall constitute the registration book for titled properties. (PD 1529, Section
42.)

Actions to Recover Real Property:

For real property – FEUD/accion interdictal; accion publiciana – for question as to who
have a better right to possess; accion reinvindicatoria; writ of preliminary mandatory
injunction; writ of possession.

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I. Forcible Entry
a. Summary action to recover mere material or physical possession (and not juridical
possession or ownership) of real property when a person originally in possession
(must prove prior possession) was deprived thereof by FITSS (Rule 70 ROC)
b. Must be brought within 1 year from dispossession, or in case of strategy and
stealth, from discovery of the same.
c. Remember: the allegation in the complaint determines jurisdiction (MTC, MCTC,
MeTC) and nature of action (Sps. Benitez vs. CA, 77 SCAD 793) and not the
allegation in the answer (Aquino vs. Deala, 63 Phil 582).
d. May be brought against the owner (lessee vs. lessor – since the owner has
surrendered physical possession to the lessee) (Masallo vs. Cesar, 39 Phil. 134).
e. The question of ownership may be touched to find who has the better right to
possess. It is not a matter of res judicata in forcible entry and an action may be
filed raising the same (Section 18, Rule 70 ROC).

II. Unlawful Detainer

a. Action to recover real property when possession (de facto only not de jure or
ownerchip) have been unlawfully withheld after the expiration or termination of
the right to possess by virtue of any contract, express or implied (including
possession by tolerance or permission: there is an implied promise to vacate upon
demand [Yu vs. De Lara, L-16084, 11/3062]). In such case, prior physical
possession is not required (Sps. Benitez vs. CA 77 SCAD 793).
b. Must be filed within one year from the “unlawful deprivation or withholding of
possession – (a) upon receipt of the last demand to vacate. (Villaluz vs. CA, 86
SCAD 589); (b) if there is a fixed period for termination of possession, the right
to possess ends automatically without need of demand upon termination of the
contract or lease.
c. Demand to vacate (within 5 days in case of buildings and 15 days in case of land
before the action may be brought [Section 2, Rule 70, ROC]) is mandatory in
certain cases (Gallarde vs. Moran L-19572, 7/30/65).
d. Remember: the allegation in the complaint determines jurisdiction (MTC, MCTC,
MeTC) and nature of action (Sps. Benitez vs. CA, 77 SCAD 793) and not the
allegation in the answer (Aquino vs. Deala, 63 Phil 582). However, the MTC do
not have jurisdiction when the question of possession cannot be determined
without first deciding the question of ownership (Ariem vs. De los Angeles, L-
32164, 1/31/73)
e. “all persons claiming right under the illegal possessor” are included.
f. When the judgment be against the defendant (where the judgment of possession to
the plaintiff is immediately executory), he can prevent the surrender of possession
to the plaintiff by posting a supersedeas bond to answer for the back rentals upon
filing the appeal (Section 19, Rule 70, ROC).

III. Accion Publiciana

a. Intended for the recovery of the better right to possess (Roman Catholic Bishop of
Cebu vs. Mangaron, 6 Phil 301) where the main issue is possession de jure
(Rodriguez vs. Taino, 16 Phil 301)
b. Accion publiciana is applicable when the deprivation was not obtained thru
FITSS and does not require proof of prior physical possession. Accion publiciana
is also proper where the 1 year period for bringing FEUD has already expired.

IV. Accion Reinvindicatoria

a. Is an action to recover ownership over real property.
b. Applicable against persons who obtained title by fraudulent representation or
mistake. In case of fraud or mistake, a constructive trust is created in favor of the

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 real owner – which action prescribed in ten years [for mistake] or four years [for
fraud] (Eustaquio Jan et vs. Zuniga, L-17044, 4/28/62).
c. If the plaintiff is in possession of the subject property, the action is
imprescriptible. If not in possession, the action prescribes in 10 years from the
issuance of the Certificate of Title or until the ownership over the property have
been transferred to an innocent purchaser for value.
d. Adjudication of ownership does not necessarily include possession. The
exception is when the party defeated has not been able to show any right to
possess independent of his claim of ownership. (Olejo vs. Hon. Rebueno, L-
39350, 10/29/75)

V. Writ of Injunction
a. Availed by person being deprived of possession against the defendant in the
original case of forcible entry and during appeal during unlawful detainer to
restore him in possession of the property under certain conditions.
b. May also be availed by the owner, still in possession, who desires to prevent
repeated or further intrusion into his property by a stranger. (Rustia vs. Franco, 41
Phil 281)

VI. Writ of Possession

a. Writ of possession used in connection with the Land Registration Law is an order
directing the sheriff to place a successful registrant under the Torrens system in
possession of the property covered by a decree of the Court. It is part of the
registration proceedings. It may be issued only against the person defeated in the
registration case and against the person unlawfully and adversely occupying the
land during the registration proceedings up to the issuance of the final decree
(Bishop of Legaspi vs. Calleja, L-14134, 5/25/60)
VII. Quieting of Title

Article 476. Whenever there is a cloud on title to real property or any interest therein,
by reason of any instrument, record, claim, encumbrance or proceeding which is
apparently valid or effective but is in truth and in fact invalid, ineffective, voidable, or
unenforceable, and may be prejudicial to said title, an action may be brought to remove
such cloud or to quiet the title.

An action may also be brought to prevent a cloud from being cast upon title to real
property or any interest therein.

Par. 1 is remedial; Par. 2 is preventive.

The “cloud” (doubt) on title exists because:

a. Of an instrument (deed or contract) or record or claim or encumbrance or
proceedings;
b. Which is APPARENTLY valid or effective
c. But is, in truth and in fact invalid, ineffective, voidable, or unenforceable, or
extinguished (or terminated) or barred by extinctive prescription (Article 476-
478);
d. And may be prejudicial to the title.
e. The plaintiff must have legal or equitable title to, or interest in the real property
which is the subject matter of the action. He need not be in possession of said
property (Art. 477).

“Apparently” valid or effective - illustration:

1. An agent, with the written authority of his principal to sell the latter’s property,
sold the same AFTER the death of the principal but antedated the contract of sale;

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 2. If the contract is forged;
3. Contract by an incapacitated person;
4. A mortgage valid on its face;
-- The deed, document, contract is valid on its face (apparently valid) although in
reality, it is null and void. If the deed, document etc., is invalid on its face, the
remedy of quieting of title is not applicable.

Quieting of Title is an accion in personam and is not res judicata against the co-
owners not impleaded in a case (Sapno et. al vs. Fabiana, 103 Phil. 683).

Does action to Quiet Title Prescribe:

If the plaintiff is in possession of the property, the action DOES NOT PRESCRIBE
(Foja vs. CA, 75 SCRA 441). Otherwise, the action prescribes (inaction for a period
of time) and laches (where there is no excuse offered for failure to assert the title
sooner even if the action was filed within the period of limitation - Ongsiako, et al. vs.
Ongsiako, et al., L-7510, March 30, 1957) may even apply.

Article 477. The plaintiff must have legal or equitable title to, or interest in the real
property which is the subject matter of the action.He need not be in possession of said
property.

Article 478. There may also be an action to quiet title or remove a cloud therefrom
when the contract, instrument or other obligation has been extinguished or has
terminated, or has been barred by extinctive prescription.

Example: A possessed B’s land in bad faith openly, continuously, exclusively and
notoriously for 30 years. A, therefore is the owner. A can file a quieting of title case
against B.

Article 479. The plaintiff must return to the defendant all benefits he may have received
from the latter, or reimburse him for expenses that may have redounded to the
plaintiff's benefit.

A bought land through an agent whose authority was not in writing. A then built a fence
around the land. After recovering the property, the plaintiff must reimburse A for the
expenses for the fence, since it redounded to his benefit. This is because “he who comes
to equity must do equity” and because the precise purpose of the action is merely to quiet
title and not to obtain some pecuniary benefits.

Article 480. The principles of the general law on the quieting of title are hereby adopted
insofar as they are not in conflict with this Code.

Article 481. The procedure for the quieting of title or the removal of a cloud therefrom
shall be governed by such rules of court as the Supreme Court shall promulgated.

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