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republic-act-26.html

JUDICIAL RECONSTITUTION UNDER

REPUBLIC ACT 26
JUDICIAL RECONSTITUTION UNDER REPUBLIC ACT 26

> Republic Act 26: An Act Providing a Special Procedure For The Reconstitution of
Torrens Certificate of Titles Lost or Destroyed

> Reconstitution of title is an action in rem

> A judicially reconstituted title has the same validity and legal effect as the original
thereof, and isn’t subject to the reservation that it shall be without prejudice to any party
whose right or interest in the property was duly noted in the original at the time of loss or
destruction but which entry or notation hasn’t been
made on the reconstituted title

> The limitation that reconstitution of title should be limited to the certificate as it stood at
the time of its loss or destruction has reference only to changes which alter or affect title
of the registered owner and not to mere liens and other encumbrances

RECONSTITUTION DENOTES RESTORATION OF THE LOST TITLE IN

ITS ORIGINAL FORM AND CONDITION
> Purpose is to have it reproduced, after observing the procedure prescribed by law in
the same form they where when the loss or destruction occurred

> The fact that the title to the land was lost doesn’t mean that the lot ceased to be a
registered land before the reconstitution of its title
 As the subject land didn’t cease to be titled, it cannot be acquired by acquisitive
prescription
> Reconstitution is proper only when it is satisfactorily shown that the title sought to be
reconstituted is lost or no longer available

> Where the petition for reconstitution wasn’t to restore a lost registered certificate of
title but to re-register and issue a new certificate in the names of petitioner and her
deceased husband, in lieu of one originally registered in the names of other persons,
the petition should be denied without prejudice to the right of the
parties to take the necessary action under Section 51 and 53 of PD1529

> Republic Act 26 provides for special procedure for the reconstitution of torrens
certificate of title that are missing and not fictitious titles which are existing. Where a
certificate of title over a parcel of land was reconstituted judicially and later it was found
that there existed a previous certificate of title covering the same land in the name of
another person, the court ruled that the existence of the prior title ipso facto nullified the
reconstitution proceedings

SOURCES OF RECONSTITUTION ORIGINAL CERTIFICATES OF TITLE

1. The owner’s duplicate certificate of title

2. The co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, or lessee’s duplicate certificate of title
3. A certified copy of the certificate of title, previously issued by the RD or by a legal
custodian thereof
4. An authenticated copy of the decree of registration or patent, as the case may be, pursuant to which the original certificate of title
was issued
5. A document, on file with the RD, by which the property, the description of which is given in said document, is mortgaged, leased,
or encumbered, or an authenticated copy of said document showing that its original has been registered
6. Any other document which, in the judgment of the court is sufficient and proper basis for reconstituting the lost or destroyed
certificate of title

FOR TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE

1. The owner’s duplicate certificate of title

2. The co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, or lessee’s duplicate certificate of title
3. A certified copy of the certificate of title, previously issued by the RD or by a legal custodian thereof
4. The deed of transfer or other document, on file in the RD, containing a description of the property, or an authenticated copy
thereof, showing that its original had been registered, and pursuant to which the lost or destroyed transfer certificate of title was
issued
5. A document, on file with the RD, by which the property, the description of which is given in said document, is mortgaged, leased,
or encumbered, or an authenticated copy of said document showing that its original has been registered
6. Any other document which, in the judgment of the court is sufficient and proper basis for reconstituting the lost or destroyed
certificate of title

FOR LIENS AND ENCUMBRANCES

1. Annotations or memoranda appearing on the owner’s co-owner’s mortgagee’s or lessee’s duplicate

2. Registered documents on file in the RD, or authenticated copies thereof showing that the originals thereof had been registered
3. Any other document which, in the judgment of the court is sufficient and proper basis for reconstituting the liens or encumbrances
affecting the property covered by the lost or destroyed certificate of title

MEANING OF “ANY OTHER DOCUMENT”

> As per LRC circular #35, the signed duplicate copy of the petition to be forwarded to this Commission shall be accompanied by
the following:
o A duly prepared plan of said parcel of land in tracing cloth, with 2 print copies thereof, prepared by the government agency which
issued the certified technical
description, or by a duly licensed Geodetic Engineer who shall certify thereon that he prepared the same on the basis of a duly
certified technical description. Where the plan as submitted is certified by the government agency which issued the same, it is
sufficient that the technical description be prepared by a duly licensed Geodetic Engineer on the basis of said certified plan.
o The original, 2 duplicate copies, and a Xerox copy of the original of the technical description of the parcel of land covered by the
certificate of title, duly certified by the authorized officer of the Bureau of Lands or the LRC who issued the technical description
o A signed copy of the certification of the RD concerned that the original of the certificate on title on file with the RD was either lost
or destroyed, indicating the name of the registered owner, if known from the other records in file in said office.

WHERE TO FILE PETITION; CONTENTS

> Shall be filed by the registered owner, his assigns, or any person having interest in the property with the proper RTC where the
same is based on sources enumerated earlier

> Contents shall be as followed—

1. That the owner’s duplicate had been lost or destroyed
2. That no co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, lessee’s, duplicate had been issued or, if any had been issued, the same had been lost or
destroyed
3. The location, area and boundaries of the property
4. The nature and description of the buildings or improvements, if any, which don’t belong to the owner of the land, and the names
and addresses of the owners of such buildings or improvements
5. The names and addresses of the occupants or persons in possession of the property, of the owners of the adjoining properties
 and all persons who may have any interest in the property
6. A detailed description of the encumbrances if any, affecting the property
7. A statement that no deeds or other instruments affecting the property have been presented for registration, or if there be any, the
registration thereof hasn’t been accomplished, as yet

REQUIREMENTS OF NOTICE BY PUBLICATION, POSTING AND

MAILING

1. To be published twice, at the expense of the petitioner, in successive issues of the Official Gazette
2. To be posted on the main entrance of the provincial building and of the municipal building of the municipality or city in which the
land is situated
3. Copy of the notice to be sent by registered mail or otherwise, at the expense of the petitioner, to every person named therein
whose address is known, within 30 days prior the date of hearing

> The jurisdiction of the court is hedged in the forewalls of the petition and the published notice of hearing which define the subject
matter of the petition.

 ]

https://lawyerphilippines.org/2018/11/05/how-to-reconstitute-a-philippine-land-title/

You can reconstitute your Reegistry of Deeds (RD) copy by yourself through
administrative reconstitution if:
 The RD where the land was located announces that Administrative Reconstitution is possible.
This is usually when the Registry has suffered a natural catastrophe such as a fire or a flood. More than
10% of the titles have been destroyed and at least 500 titles must have been affected. We do not
maintain listings for which Registry of Deeds permit administrative reconstitution as these change all the
time. You’ll have to call locally to confirm.
 If you have your owners duplicate of the certificate of title or if you can present your co-owner’s,
mortgagee’s, or lessee’s duplicate of the certificate of title
 Administrative reconstitution is allowed only in very specific circumstances!
So, just to reiterate.
You can do administrative reconstitution if you have your owners or co-owner’s,
mortgagee’s, or lessee’s duplicate of the certificate of title AND if the Registry of
Deeds where the land is located announces that Administrative Reconstitution is
allowed.
If the RD doesn’t announce you can do Administrative Reconstitution or you don’t
have one of the documents, then you are going to have to go through Judicial
Reconstitution.
Most people will have to go through Judicial Reconstitution.
 Judicial Reconstitution is a court case. [Sec 110, PD 1529]
Aside from the case specifically mentioned in the Administrative Reconstitution
section, there is really no way around it. There are numerous fixers and middle men
but I’ve seen enough cases to be extremely wary. The clients can be taken
advantage of and the “quick fix” often doesn’t actually fix the problem.
ost people will need to go to court process to replace the lost RD copy!
Do it the correct way and avoid the very real problems you face in shady, backroom
deals. You may lose a lot of money and often, a lot of time too.
Quick Facts
Case:                   Reconstitution of Lost Owner’s Title
Timeline:            1 – 1 ½ years, depending on the court’s schedule
Cost:                    Court Fees, Registry of Deeds Fees, Lawyer’s Fees
Testimony:         At least once, or more as needed by the court
Documents:       Owner’s Duplicate Certificate of Title or other documents
enumerated below, Other documents required by the court
Process
Step 1: File a petition with the Regional Trial Court where the
land is located.

You must file the Petition for Reconstitution of Lost Owner’s title with the Regional Trial
Court where the land is situated.
You and your lawyer will create a petition requesting the court to order the
replacement of the Registry of Deeds copy.
Your lawyer will first need to assess evidence that you are the owner of the land. To
do that, he would first ask you for any of the following documents:

 our owner’s duplicate certificate of title

Your lawyer must present the proper documents to show ownership strengthen your claim.

 Your co-owner’s, mortgagee’s or lessee’s duplicate certificate

 Certified copy of the certificate previously issued by the RD
 Authenticated copy of the decree of registration or patent that was the basis of the certificate of
title, if the reconstitution is for the original certificate of title OR Deed of transfer or other document or an
authenticated copy with the property’s description covered by the transfer certificate of title and filed at the
RD, if the reconstitution if for a transfer certificate of title
 Deed or an authenticated copy of mortgage, lease or encumbrance with the property’s description
and filed at the RD
 Any other document which is sufficient in the judgement of the court
As with any court case, you need to have strong evidence for the case to succeed.
 The specific documents cited up top are documents acknowledged by the court as
valid sources of reconstitution. Your lawyer will have to carefully go over your case if
you can only present other proof.
When your attorney has gone over your documents, he’ll create a petition to be filed
at the court.
There will be filing fees, publication fees and other document related fees such as
postal or notarial fees. In addition, a land survey may have to be commissioned for
LRA approval if documentary evidence isn’t strong.

Step 2: Witness Testimony

Before the witness’ testimony at court, your lawyer will have done the following:
 Coordinated with the Official Gazette to publish a notice which must be completed 30 days before
the court’s first hearing.
 Complied with notice requirements
 Worked with you to create a land survey, if needed
 Appeared at court to show compliance to legal requirements
 Complied with other orders of the court
All of the above will take some time, so the witness might be called to the court only
several months after the filing of the petition.
Your lawyer will interview the witness and file a submission to the court called the
“judicial affidavit” which goes through the facts the witness presented.
Fees related to the petition, the court appearance and other submissions will be
paid.

Step 3: Court Decision

Unless there is opposition, your case should be headed for its conclusion. (a

hopefully happy ending where your land title is reconstituted    ).

Your lawyer is busy now putting together the final submission to the court and
dealing with any other legal requirements that court might have ordered.

A court decision is released after the evidence has been submitted.

The Court will release its decision and be prepared for a bit of a wait, as it can take
months.
The court case is concluded at this point but remember that you still have to register
this with the Registry of Deeds (RD) where the land is located.
Don’t skip registering the decision with the RD!
It is important as the RD will only reconstitute your title after the court’s decision has
been registered with them. I’ll admit that it is a time-consuming process to register
with the RD, but it is a very, very necessary one. (And yes, you will have to pay RD
fees as well)