cases expressly provided for in this Decree or upon order of the court, for
cause shown.
Notes: Assignment
● Andal - 421-437( DONE)
● Cruz - 438-454 (DONE)
● de Guzman - 455-471 (DONE)
● Gomez - 472-488
● Osorio - 489-506 (DONE)
Chapter VI Subsequent Registration
1. Voluntary Dealings – Secs. 51-59
Sec. 51 Conveyance and other dealings by registered owner. An owner of
registered land may convey, mortgage, lease, charge or otherwise deal with
the same in accordance with existing laws. He may use such forms of deeds,
mortgages, leases or other voluntary instruments as are sufficient in law. But
no deed, mortgage, lease, or other voluntary instrument, except a will
purporting to convey or affect registered land shall take effect as a
conveyance or bind the land, but shall operate only as a contract between
the parties and as evidence of authority to the Register of Deeds to make
registration.
The act of registration shall be the operative act to convey or affect the land
insofar as third persons are concerned, and in all cases under this Decree,
the registration shall be made in the office of the Register of Deeds for the
province or city where the land lies.
Sec. 52 Constructive notice upon registration. Every conveyance, mortgage,
lease, lien, attachment, order, judgment, instrument or entry affecting
registered land shall, if registered, filed or entered in the office of the
Register of Deeds for the province or city where the land to which it relates
lies, be constructive notice to all persons from the time of such registering,
filing or entering.
Sec. 53 Presentation of owner's duplicate upon entry of new certificate. No
voluntary instrument shall be registered by the Register of Deeds, unless the
owner's duplicate certificate is presented with such instrument, except in
The production of the owner's duplicate certificate, whenever any voluntary
instrument is presented for registration, shall be conclusive authority from
the registered owner to the Register of Deeds to enter a new certificate or
to make a memorandum of registration in accordance with such instrument,
and the new certificate or memorandum shall be binding upon the registered
owner and upon all persons claiming under him, in favor of every purchaser
for value and in good faith.
In all cases of registration procured by fraud, the owner may pursue all his
legal and equitable remedies against the parties to such fraud without
prejudice, however, to the rights of any innocent holder for value of a
certificate of title. After the entry of the decree of registration on the
original petition or application, any subsequent registration procured by the
presentation of a forged duplicate certificate of title, or a forged deed or
other instrument, shall be null and void.
Sec. 54 Dealings less than ownership, how registered. No new certificate shall
be entered or issued pursuant to any instrument which does not divest the
ownership or title from the owner or from the transferee of the registered
owners. All interests in registered land less than ownership shall be
registered by filing with the Register of Deeds the instrument which creates
or transfers or claims such interests and by a brief memorandum thereof
made by the Register of Deeds upon the certificate of title, and signed by
him. A similar memorandum shall also be made on the owner's duplicate. The
cancellation or extinguishment of such interests shall be registered in the
same manner.
Sec. 55 Grantee's name, nationality, etc., to be stated. Every deed or other
voluntary instrument presented for registration shall contain or have
endorsed upon it the full name, nationality, residence and postal address of
the grantee or other person acquiring or claiming an interest under such
instrument, and every deed shall also state whether the grantee is married
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or unmarried, and if married, the name in full of the husband or wife. If the
grantee is a corporation or association, the instrument must contain a recital
to show that such corporation or association is legally qualified to acquire
private lands. Any change in the residence or postal address of such person
shall be endorsed by the Register of Deeds on the original copy of the
corresponding certificate of title, upon receiving a sworn statement of such
change. All names and addresses shall also be entered on all certificates.
Notices and processed issued in relation to registered land in pursuance of
this Decree may be served upon any person in interest by mailing the same
to the addresses given, and shall be binding, whether such person resides
within or without the Philippines, but the court may, in its discretion, require
further or other notice to be given in any case, if in its opinion the interest of
justice so requires.
Sec. 56 Primary Entry Book; fees; certified copies. Each Register of Deeds shall
keep a primary entry book in which, upon payment of the entry fee, he shall
enter, in the order of their reception, all instruments including copies of
writs and processes filed with him relating to registered land. He shall, as a
preliminary process in registration, note in such book the date, hour and
minute of reception of all instruments, in the order in which they were
received. They shall be regarded as registered from the time so noted, and
the memorandum of each instrument, when made on the certificate of title
to which it refers, shall bear the same date: Provided, that the national
government as well as the provincial and city governments shall be exempt
from the payment of such fees in advance in order to be entitled to entry and
registration.
Every deed or other instrument, whether voluntary or involuntary, so filed
with the Register of Deeds shall be numbered and indexed and endorsed
with a reference to the proper certificate of title. All records and papers
relative to registered land in the office of the Register of Deeds shall be open
to the public in the same manner as court records, subject to such
reasonable regulations as the Register of Deeds, under the direction of the
Commissioner of Land Registration, may prescribe.
All deeds and voluntary instruments shall be presented with their respective
copies and shall be attested and sealed by the Register of Deeds, endorsed
with the file number, and copies may be delivered to the person presenting
them.
Certified copies of all instruments filed and registered may also be obtained
from the Register of Deeds upon payment of the prescribed fees.
(A) CONVEYANCES AND TRANSFERS
Sec. 57 Procedure in registration of conveyances. An owner desiring to convey
his registered land in fee simple shall execute and register a deed of
conveyance in a form sufficient in law. The Register of Deeds shall thereafter
make out in the registration book a new certificate of title to the grantee and
shall prepare and deliver to him an owner's duplicate certificate. The
Register of Deeds shall note upon the original and duplicate certificate the
date of transfer, the volume and page of the registration book in which the
new certificate is registered and a reference by number to the last preceding
certificate. The original and the owner's duplicate of the grantor's certificate
shall be stamped "canceled". The deed of conveyance shall be filled and
indorsed with the number and the place of registration of the certificate of
title of the land conveyed.
Sec. 58 Procedure where conveyance involves portion of land. If a deed or
conveyance is for a part only of the land described in a certificate of title, the
Register of Deeds shall not enter any transfer certificate to the grantee until
a plan of such land showing all the portions or lots into which it has been
subdivided and the corresponding technical descriptions shall have been
verified and approved pursuant to Section 50 of this Decree. Meanwhile,
such deed may only be annotated by way of memorandum upon the
grantor's certificate of title, original and duplicate, said memorandum to
serve as a notice to third persons of the fact that certain unsegregated
portion of the land described therein has been conveyed, and every
certificate with such memorandum shall be effectual for the purpose of
showing the grantee's title to the portion conveyed to him, pending the
actual issuance of the corresponding certificate in his name.
Upon the approval of the plan and technical descriptions, the original of the
plan, together with a certified copy of the technical descriptions shall be filed
LTD | Dec 4 | 2

with the Register of Deeds for annotation in the corresponding certificate of
title and thereupon said officer shall issue a new certificate of title to the
grantee for the portion conveyed, and at the same time cancel the grantor's
certificate partially with respect only to said portion conveyed, or, if the
grantor so desires, his certificate may be canceled totally and a new one
issued to him describing therein the remaining portion: Provided, however,
that pending approval of said plan, no further registration or annotation of
any subsequent deed or other voluntary instrument involving the
unsegregated portion conveyed shall be effected by the Register of Deeds,
except where such unsegregated portion was purchased from the
Government or any of its instrumentalities. If the land has been subdivided
into several lots, designated by numbers or letters, the Register of Deeds
may, if desired by the grantor, instead of canceling the latter's certificate and
issuing a new one to the same for the remaining unconveyed lots, enter on
said certificate and on its owner's duplicate a memorandum of such deed of
conveyance and of the issuance of the transfer certificate to the grantee for
the lot or lots thus conveyed, and that the grantor's certificate is canceled as
to such lot or lots.
Sec. 59 Carry over of encumbrances. If, at the time of any transfer, subsisting
encumbrances or annotations appear in the registration book, they shall be
carried over and stated in the new certificate or certificates; except so far as
they may be simultaneously released or discharged.
a. Formal Requirements – Sec. 51
i. Denial of Registration
b. Presentation of Owner’s Duplicate Original (Sec. 53);
Constructive Notice (Sec. 52)
c. Dealings Less than Ownership (Sec. 54)
d. Other Dealings (Secs. 60-68)
SEC. 51
1. FORMAL REQUIREMENTS OF CONTRACT INVOLVING REAL PROPERTY
- Contracts are obligatory in whatever form provided that all essential
requisites are present (Consent, Object, and Cause) [see. Art. 1356 -
1358 NCC]
- The contract of sale of real property even if not complete in form, so
long as the essential requisites concur and they were clearly
established to be present, is valid and effective between parties.
(1) Form is important for validity, convenience and enforceability
- As a general rule, form is not important for validity of a contract
provided that there is consent, subject matter and cause. But this rule
applies only to consensual contracts.
- When the law requires that a contract be in some form in order that it
may be valid or enforceable, or that a contract be proved in a certain
way, that requirement is absolute and indispensable. Example of
contract requiring a specified form is donation of real property which
must be in a public instrument.
- A conveyance of land made in private document does not affect its
validity
- The fact that the deed of sale still had to be signed and notarized does
not mean that no contract had already been perfected. A sale of land is
valid regardless of the form it may have been entered into (Claudel vs.
Court of Appeals, 199 SCRA 113, 119 [1991]). The requisite form under
Article 1458 of the Civil Code is merely for greater efficacy or
convenience and the failure to comply therewith does not affect the
validity and binding effect of the act between the parties (Vitug,
Compendium of Civil Law and Jurisprudence, 1993 Revised Edition, p.
552). If the law requires a document or other special form, as in the sale
of real property, the contracting parties may compel each other to
observe that form, once the contract has been perfected. Their right
may be exercised simultaneously with action upon the contract (Article
1359, Civil Code).(Limketkai Sons Milling, Inc. v. CA)
(2) Contracts in a public instrument is only for convenience
- Art. 1358 of the Civil Code which requires the embodiment of certain
contracts in a public instrument, is only for convenience; and
registration of the instrument only adversely affects third parties, and
non-compliance therewith does not adversely affect the validity of the
contract or the contractual rights and obligations of the parties
thereunder.
(3) Contract perfected by mere consent
- A contract of sale is perfected at the moment there is a meeting of the
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 minds upon the thing which is the object of the contract and upon the
price.
CONTRACT OF SALE CONTRACT TO SELL
- The perfection of a contract of sale should not, however, be confused
with its consummation. In relation to the acquisition and transfer of The title to the property passes to Ownership is, by agreement,
ownership, it should be noted that sale is not a mode, but merely a title. the vendee upon delivery of the reserved in the vendor and is not to
- A contract of sale is deemed consummated where the sellers and thing sold. pass to the vendee until full
buyers have performed their respective obligations under the contract payment.

(4) Rule in case of sale of real property; pricing agreement The vendor loses ownership of the Payment of the price is a positive
- In sales involving real estate, the parties may choose between two property and cannot recover it until suspensive condition, failure of
types of pricing agreement: and unless the contract is resolved which is not a breach but an event
- A unit price contract wherein the purchase price is determined or rescinded. that prevents the obligations of the
by way of reference to a stated rate per unit area (e.g. 1k per vendor to convey title from
square meter); or becoming effective
- A lump sum contract which states a full purchase price for an
immovable the area of which may be declared based on the
estimate or where both the area and boundaries are stated (e.g.
3. DELIVERY AS MODE OF TRANSMISSION, REAL OR CONSTRUCTIVE
1M for 1K square meters)
- The law recognizes two principal modes of delivery:
- Where both the area and the boundaries are declared, the area covered
- Actual delivery
within the boundaries of the immovable prevails over the stated area.
- Legal or constructive delivery
In cases of conflict, boundaries shall prevail.
(1) Execution of a public document equivalent to delivery
(5)Rule in case of sale of conjugal property
- Under the Civil Law, delivery (tradition) as a mode of transmission of
- The Family Code provides that any alienation or encumbrance made by
ownership may be actual (real tradition) or constructive (constructive
the husband of the conjugal partnership property without the consent
tradition)
of the wife is void (Art. 124, FC)
- The execution of a public instrument shall be equivalent to the delivery
- The sale of a conjugal property requires the consent of both the
of the thing that is the object of the contract, but this gives rise only to a
husband and the wife. The absence of the consent of one renders the
prima facie presumption of delivery. It is deemed negated by the failure
sale null and void, while the vitiation thereof makes it merely voidable.
of the vendee to take actual possession.
Only in the latter case can ratification cure the defect.(Guiang v. CA)
- Exceptions exist, among which is when the mere presumptive and not
- Where the sale was made before the effectivity of the Family Code, Art.
conclusive delivery is created in cases where the buyer fails to take
173 of the Civil Code applies.
material possession of the subject of sale. A person who does not have
- The court applied Art. 173 in a case where the wife sold some parcels of
actual possession of the thing sold cannot transfer constructive
land belonging to the conjugal partnership without the consent of the
possession by the execution and delivery of a public instrument.
husband. The Court rules that the contract of sale was voidable subject
to annulment by the husband. (Felipe v. Aldon)
4. DACION EN PAGO
- The delivery and transmission of the a thing by the debtor to the
2. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONTRACT OF SALE AND CONTRACT TO SELL
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 creditor as an accepted equivalent of the performance of the obligation.
It is a special mode of payment where the debtor offers another thing to
the creditor, who accepts it as an equivalent of payment of debt.
- In modern concept, dacion en pago is an objective novation of the
obligation where the thing offered as an accepted equivalent of the
performance of an obligation is considered as the object of the contract
of sale, while the debt is considered as the purchase price.
SEC. 52
1. ACT OF REGISTRATION IS THE OPERATIVE ACT TO CONVEY OR AFFECT
REGISTERED LAND
(1) Registration of document ministerial on the part of Register of Deeds
- Registration is a mere ministerial act by which a deed, contract, or
instrument is sought to be inscribed in the record of the Office of the
Register of Deeds and annotated at the back of the certificate of title
covering the land subject of the deed, contract, or instrument.
- Registration does not add to its validity nor converts an invalid
instrument to a valid one as between parties, nor amounts to a
declaration by the state that the instrument is valid and subsisting
interest in the land.
- The law on registration does not require that only valid instruments
shall be registered. If the purpose of registration is merely to give
notice, then questions regarding the effect or invalidity of instruments
are expected to be decided after, not before, registration.
(2) As between parties, registration is not essential for validity of sale
- Actual notice is equivalent to registration
- The purpose of registration is merely to notify and protect the interests
of strangers to a given transaction, who may be ignorant thereof, and
the non-registration of the deed evidencing said transaction does not
relieve the parties thereto of their obligations thereunder. Where no
right of innocent third persons is involved, the conveyance between the
vendee and his vendors, although not registered, is valid and binding
upon the latter as well as upon his heirs. Indeed, no action for the
enforcement of the contract is needed, since the delivery and
possession of the land sold consummated the sale and transferred title
to the purchaser. (Sapto v. Fabiana)
(3) Actual notice equivalent of registration
- As between the parties to a contract of sale, registration is not
necessary to make it valid and effective, for actual notice is equivalent
to registration.
- The registration is intended to protect the buyer against claims of third
persons arising from the subsequent alienation of by the vendor, and is
not necessary to give effect to the deed of sale, as between the parties
to the contract (Lustan v. CA)
SEC. 53
1. SURRENDER OF OWNER’S DUPLICATE CERTIFICATE IS AUTHORITY FOR
THE REGISTER OF DEEDS TO ENTER REGISTRATION
- Under our land registration law, no voluntary instrument shall be
registered by the Register of Deeds unless the owner's duplicate
certificate is presented together with such instrument, except in some
cases or upon order of the court for cause shown. In case the person in
possession of the duplicate certificates refuses or fails to surrender the
same to the Register of Deeds so that a voluntary document may be
registered and a new certificate issued (Ligon v. CA)
(1) Remedy in case of refusal or failure to surrender owner’s duplicate
certificate
- The party in interest may file a petition in court to compel surrender of
the owner’s duplicate certificate to the Register of Deeds pursuant to
Sec. 107:
Sec. 107. Surrender of withheld duplicate certificates . — Where it
is necessary to issue a new certificate of title pursuant to any
involuntary instrument which divests the title of the registered
owner against his consent or where a voluntary instrument
cannot be registered by reason of the refusal or failure of the
holder to surrender the owner's duplicate certificate of title,
the party in interest may file a petition in court to compel
surrender of the same to the Register of Deeds. The court, after
hearing, may order the registered owner or any person
withholding the duplicate certificate to surrender the same and
direct the entry of a new certificate or memorandum upon such
LTD | Dec 4 | 5
 surrender. If the person withholding the duplicate certificate is
not amenable to the process of the court, or if for any reason
the outstanding owner's duplicate certificate cannot be
delivered, the court may order the annulment of the same as
well as the issuance of a new certificate of title in lieu thereof.
Such new, certificate and all duplicates thereof shall contain a
memorandum of the annulment of the outstanding duplicate.
- Upon the filing of petition, the court may:
- Order the registered owner or any persons witholdin the
duplicate certificate to surrender the same and direct the entry
of a new certificate or memorandum upon such surrender; or
- If the registered owner or any person withholding the duplicate
certificate refuses to surrender or the same cannot be
delivered,, the court may order the annulment of the duplicate
certificate as well as the issuance of a new certificate of title.
2. GENERALLY, A FORGED DEED IS NULLITY AND CONVEYS NO TITLE
- Sec. 53 of PD 1529 states that “...After the entry of the decree of
registration on the original petition or application, any subsequent
registration procured by the presentation of a forged duplicate
certificate of title, or a forged deed or other instrument, shall be null
and void.”
- The innocent purchaser for value protected by law is one who
purchases a titled land by virtue of a deed executed by the registered
owner himself, not by a forged deed.
- In Yu v. Pacleb, 2009, the court states that “The law protects to a
greater degree a purchaser who buys from the registered owner
himself. Corollarily, it requires a higher degree of prudence from one
who buys from a person who is not the registered owner, although the
land object of the transaction is registered. While one who buys from
the registered owner does not need to look behind the certificate of
title, one who buys from one who is not the registered owner is
expected to examine not only the certificate of title but all factual
circumstances necessary for him to determine if there are any flaws in
the title of the transferor, or in his capacity to transfer the land.”
(1) But a forged deed may be the basis of a good title in the hands of a bona fide
purchaser
- A fraudulent or forged document of sale may become the root of a valid
title if the certificate of title has already been transferred from the
name of the true owner to the name of the forger or the name indicated
by the forger, and while it remained that way, the land was
subsequently sold to an innocent purchaser. For then, the vendee had
the right to rely upon what appeared in the certificate. As a sulre,
forgery cannot be presumed, but must be proved.
(2) Other illustrative cases (Start here Bianca) Yes anak
● Fule v. De Legare
○ FACTS:at the time the Petitioners purchased the properties
from John Legare, he was not yet the registered owner of the
said property.
○ SC: the fact alone could not have caused the petitioners to lose
their status as innocent purchased for value. Although the title
was in the name of Emilia Legare, the certificate of title was
already in the possession of her adopted son, John Legare
which Sec. 55 of Act 496 ( sec. 53 PD 1529) operated as
conclusive authority from the registered owner to the RD to
enter a new certificate.
○ Although the deed of sale in favor of John Legare was
fraudulent, he was able to secure a registered title to the house
and lot. Such title was subsequently conveyed to the
petitioners.
○ A forged or fraudulent deed is a nullity and conveys no title.
○ DOCTRINE: Fraudulent document may become a root a valid
title. (where the certificate of title was already transferred from the
name of the true owner to the forger, and while it remained that
way, the land was subsequently sold to an innocent purchaser, from
then, the vendee had the right to rely upon what appeared in the
certificate.
● Medina v. Chanco
○ FACTS: respondents filed a complaint alleging that a certain
piece of land, registered under their parent’s name was
fraudulently transferred to J.O Wagner, who sold part of the
property to Yee and Shank. Then, Shank sold the portion of the
property to petitioners. A MTD was filed by the petitioners
alleging that they are Innocent purchasers for value .
LTD | Dec 4 | 6
 ○ SC: although the law allows an original owner of the registered
land to seek annulment of the transfer on the ground of fraud,
such remedy is without prejudice to the right of an innocent
holder for value.
○ Deemed in GF:
■ They did not acquired the property in question from
Wagner but from Leungs.
■ Conveyance to petitioners took place 19 years after
the sale to Leungs by Wagner
■ Complaint was filed more than 50 years after the 1st
transaction.
(3) Rule when the owner is not at fault.
● Adriano v. Pangilinan
○ FACTS: petitioner entrusted the original owner's copy of his
certificate of title to Salvador(distant relative), to securing a
mortgage loan. Without petitioner's consent, Salvador
mortgaged the property to Pangilinan. Petitioner found an
annotation on his title a mortgage he executed in favor of
respondent. Petitioner alleged that his signature was on the
deed was forgery.
○ ISSUE: whether or not respondent is a mortgagee in good
faith and for value.
○ SC: petitioner to be faultless since he did not mortgage the
property himself nor did he authorize Salvador as his agent in
procuring the mortgage, SPA would have been necessary for
the purpose. A mortgage is invalid if the mortgagor is not the
owner of the property. Respondent, as mortgagee, admitted
that he has been in the mortgage business for (7) years, he
should be deemed at fault for not verifying the identity of the
impostor mortgagor.
● Blondeau v. Nan and PNB v. CA and Chu Kim Kit.
○ FACTS: the seller and the mortgagor appeared in the titles as
the registered owners,
○ Compared to Adriano v. Pangilinan, the mortgagor was an
impostor, not the registered owner.
● Joaquin v. Madrid,
3. Rule in case of double sale.
○ SC: when the instrument presented is forged, even if
accompanied by the owner's duplicate certificate of title, the
registered owner does not thereby lose his title, and neither
does the assignee in the forged deed acquire any right or title
to the property,
○ The giving of a certificate of title by the owner to another
person is not in itself an act of negligence, especially so where
it does not appear that the owner has executed any document
authorizing the holder of the certificate to execute deeds for
and in his behalf.
○ BUT one who consents to be the mortgagee of land covered
by said certificate of title without taking Sufficient care to see
to it that the person who executed the deed of mortgage is the
real registered owner of the property is guilty of negligence
and must suffer for it.
● Solivel v. Francisco,
○ ISSUE: WON the buyer of property is deemed a purchaser in
good faith on the basis of a deed of sale executed in the name
of the owners by one falsely claiming to be the latter's
authorized attorney-in-fact.
○ SC: clarified that in Blondeau, the registered owner's
negligence or acquiescence, if not actual connivance, had
made possible the commission of the fraud.
○ SC cited De Lara v. Ayros : where it annulled a mortgage
executed by an impostor who had, without authority, gained
possession of the certificate of title through the owner's
daughter and forged the owners' name on the deed of
mortgage.
■ De Lara v Ayros, the title was still in the name of the
real owner when the land was mortgaged to the
plaintiffs by the impostor.
■ Plaintiffs were defrauded not because they relied
upon what appeared in the Torrens certificate Of title
but because they believed the impostor when he told
them that he was the person named as owner in the
certificate.
LTD | Dec 4 | 7
● The ownership of immovable property sold to 2 different buyers at
different times is governed by Art. 1544 NCC which provides: "
○ Should it be immovable property, the ownership shall belong to
the person acquiring it who in good faith first recorded it in the
Registry of Property." T
● The rules on double or multiple sales apply only to purchasers in good
faith.
● It disqualifies any purchaser in bad faith.
● The registration contemplated under Art. 1544 NCC refers to
registration under PD1529.
● Remalante v. Tibe
○ SC: civil law provision on double sale is not applicable where
there is only one valid sale, the previous sale having been
found to be fraudulent.
● Espiritu and Apostol v. Valerio,
○ despite the fact that 1 deed of sale was registered ahead of
the other, Art. 1544 NCC will not apply where said deed is
found to be a forgery, the result of this being that the right of
the other vendee should prevail.
● Garcia v.CA
○ FACTS: Lapus was an innocent purchaser for value. He validly
transmitted to his successors-in-interest his indefeasible title
or ownership over the disputed lots or parcels of land. That
title could not be nullified or defeated by the issuance 43
Years later to other persons of another title over the same lots
due to the failure of RD to cancel the title preceding the title
issued to Lapus. This must be so considering that Lapus and
his successors-in-interest remained in possession of the
disputed lots and the rival claimants never possessed the
same.
○ GR: in the case of 2 certificates of title, purporting to include
the same land, the earlier in date prevails, whether the land
comprised in the latter certificate be wholly, or only in part,
comprised in the earlier certificate.
○ MAXIM: prior est in tempore, potior est in jure (he who is first
in time is preferred in right) is followed in land registration
matters.
● Gatioan v. Gaffud
○ RULE: where 2 certificates of title are issued to different
persons covering the same land in whole or in part, the earlier
in date must prevail as between original parties and in case of
successive registrations where more than one certificate is
issued over the land, the person holding under the prior
certificate is entitled to the land as against the person who
rely on the second certificate.
○ Remedy of the aggrieved party: The purchaser from the
owner of the later certificate and his successors, should resort
to his vendor for redress, rather than molest the holder of
the first certificate and his successors, who should be
permitted to rest secure in their title."
4. Mortgagee generally has the right to rely on the certificate of title of the
mortgagor.
● A mortgagee has a right to rely in GFon the certificate of title of the
mortgagor of the property given as security
● In the absence of any sign that might arouse suspicion, has no
obligation to undertake further investigation.
● DOCTRINE: Even if the mortgagor is not the rightful owner of, or does
not have a valid title to' the mortgaged property, the mortgagee in GF
is entitled to protection
○ It presupposes, however thas the mortgagor, who is not the
rightful owner of the property' already succeeded in obtaining
a Torrens title over the property In his name and that, after
obtaining the said title, he succeeds in mortgaging the
property to another who relies on what appears on the said
title.
● DOCTRINE NOT APPLICABLE: to a situation where the title is still in
the name of the rightful owner and the mortgagor is a different person
pretending to be the owner. The mortgagee is not an innocent
mortgagee for value and the registered owner will generally not lose
his title.
● Penullar v. PNB
○ SC: where the certificate of title was in the name of the
mortgagor when the land was mortgaged to the bank, the bank, as
mortgagee, had the right to rely on what appeared in the
certificate and, in the absence of anything to excite suspicion, was
LTD | Dec 4 | 8
 under no obligation to look beyond the certificate and
investigate the title of the mortgagor.
○ Subsequent cancellation of the title on the ground that it covered
land that was previously the subject of a free patent, cannot affect
the rights of the bank as mortgagee for value and in good faith.
● Llanto v. Alzona,
○ FACTS: mortgagors were impostors who pretended as the
real owners of the property.
○ Justice AustriaMartinez, explained the doctrine of mortgagee
in GF: Art. 2085 NCC, one of the essential requisites of the
contract of mortgage is that the mortgagor should be the
absolute owner of the property to be mortgaged; otherwise,
the mortgage is considered null and void. XPN: the doctrine of
'mortgagee in good faith.- “even if the mortgagor is not the
owner of the mortgaged property, the mortgage contract and any
foreclosure sale arising therefrom are given effect by reason of
public policy,
○ This is based on the rule that all persons dealing with
property covered by a Torrens Certificate of Title, as buyers
or mortgagees, are not required to go beyond what appears
on the face of the title.
○ Mortgagee has a right to rely in GF on the certificate of title of the
mortgagor to the property given as security and in the absence of
any sign that might arouse suspicion, has no obligation to
undertake further investigation. Hence, even if the mortgagor is
not the rightful owner of, or does not have a valid title to, the
mortgaged property, the mortgagee in good faith is, nonetheless,
entitled to protection."
○ The mortgagees in this case first conducted a credit
investigation, inspected the property and met the persons
who represented themselves to be the owners of the property
before they entered into the transaction.
SEC. 54. Dealings less than ownership, how registered. (see box for full text)
1. Memorandum of encumbrances.
● At the dorsal side of a certificate of title is a memorandum of
encumbrances affecting the property.
○ All interests in registered land less than ownership, like a mere
contract to sell for example, shall be entered by RD.
○ Not necessary to issue a new certificate on the basis of an
instrument which does not divest the ownership or title from
the owner or from the transferee of the registered owner.
○ Brief memorandum Of the nature of the instrument entered
on the certificate of title, signed by RD, - NOTICE TO 3rd
PARTIES of the instrument affecting the property.
■ Also made on the owner's duplicate certificate of
title.
○ Cancellation or extinguishment of such interests or rights
shall be recorded in the same manner
● Logarta v. Mangahis
○ SC: in a deed of conditional sale, ownership is transferred
after the full payment of the installments of the purchase
price or the fulfillment of the condition and the execution of a
definite or absolute deed of sale.
○ Efficacy or obligatory force of the vendor's obligation to
transfer title in a conditional sale is subordinated to the
happening of a future and uncertain event, such that if the
suspensive condition does not take place, the parties would
stand as if the conditional obligation had never existed.
○ Since the deed is in the nature of a voluntary instrument, it
must be registered as such and not as an adverse claim.
SEC. 55. Grantee's name, nationality, etc., to be stated.(see box for full text)
1. Contents of the instrument presented for registration.
● It states what a deed or other voluntary instrument presented to
theRD for registration shall contain:
○ Full name
○ Nationality
○ Status, residence,
○ Postal address of the grantee or person acquiring interest
under such instrument.
● Changes in the names, residences and postal addresses of all parties
to the instrument shall also be entered on all certificates.
LTD | Dec 4 | 9
 ● If the grantee is a corporation or association, the instrument shall
contain a statement whether or not it is legally qualified to acquire
private lands.
○ GR: Private corporations or associations may not hold
alienable lands of the public domain
○ XPN: by lease.
● Notices and processes affecting the land shall be served upon the
person in interest at the address given, which shall be binding
whether or not such person is within or outside the Philippines.
○ But the court may require that service may be made in any
other manner when the interest of justice so requires.
SEC. 56. Primary Entry Book; fees; certified copies.(see box for full text)
1. Primary entry book or day book.
● Primary entry book: it is a record of all instruments, including copies
of writs and processes, affecting registered lands, which are entered
by RD in the order of their filing, upon payment of the proper fees.
● The recording is a preliminary process in registration and shall note
the date, hour and minute of receipt of said instruments.
● An instrument shall be regarded as registered only from the time it is
so noted.
● The order of entries in the primary entry book determines the priority
in registration.
● Every deed or instrument, whether voluntary or involuntary, shall be
numbered and endorsed by RD with proper reference to the
certificate of title.
● All records and papers relative to registered land shall be open for
examination by the public, subject to such reasonable regulations as
may be prescribed by RD.
● Sec. 56, the reckoning point of registration of instruments dealing
with registered land is
○ (1) when the instrument is received as noted in the Primary
Entry Book;
○ (2) when the memorandum of the instrument is later made on
the certificate of title to which it refers.
● All deeds and voluntary instruments and copies shall be
○ (1) attested and sealed by RD
○ (2) copies with the Corresponding file number shall be
delivered to the person presenting them.
2. Deeds entered in the day book considered registered from the moment
they are so noted,
● Sec. 56 PRD: deeds relating to registered land shall, upon payment of
the filing fee, be entered in the primary entry book (also called day
book) with a notation of the date, hour and minute of reception, and
"they shall be regarded as registered from the moment so noted "
● Levin v. Bass
○ SC: "an innocent purchaser for value of registered land
becomes the registered owner and in the contemplation of
law the holder of a certificate thereof the moment he
presents and files a duly notarized and lawful deed of sale
and the same is entered on the day book and at the same time
he surrenders or presents the owner's duplicate certificate
of title to the property sold and pays the full amount of
registration fees, because what remains to be done lies not
within his power to perform.
● In an Execution sale of real property:
○ Purchaser acquires only such right or interest as the judgment
debtor had on the property at the time of the sale.
○ If at that time the judgment debtor had no more right to or
interest in the property because he had already sold it to
another, then the purchaser acquires nothing.
○ Where the judgment debtor had already deeded the property
and delivered his certificate of title to another, who on the
following day presented the deed and certificate of title to the
RD for registration and paid the corresponding fees, the act
of registration operated to convey the property to the buyer.
3. Record is constructive notice of its contents.
● When a conveyance has been properly recorded, such record is
constructive notice of its contents and all interests, legal and
equitable, included therein.
● Rule of notice: It is presumed that the purchaser has examined every
instrument of record affecting the title.
LTD | Dec 4 | 10
 ● Charged with notice of every fact shown by the record and is
presumed to know every fact which an examination of the record
would have disclosed.
● This presumption CANNOT be overcome by proof of innocence or
good faith.
○ Reason: very purpose and object of the law requiring a record
would be destroyed
○ . Such presumption cannot be defeated by proof of want of
knowledge of what the record contains anymore than one
may be permitted to show that he was ignorant of the
provisions of the law.
● The rule that all persons must take notice of the facts which the public
record contains is a rule of law.
○ Rule must be absolute.
○ Any variation would lead to endless confusion and useless
litigation.
4. Requirements for the registration of voluntary and involuntary
transactions.
● Voluntary transactions
○ Sale, mortgage, lease and the like, registration is complete
and operates to convey or affect the land upon the:
■ (a) filing and registration in the day book of the
notarized deed or instrument;
■ (b) surrender of the owner's duplicate certificate of
title;
■ (c) payment in full of the proper registration fees
within 15 days from date of entry.
○ EXAMPLE: a purchaser for value becomes the registered
owner and in contemplation of law deemed the holder of a
transfer certificate the moment the deed of sale and the
owner's duplicate certificate of title are presented and
entered on the day book and the registration fees are paid in
full.
○ Sec. 53: no voluntary instrument shall be registered unless
the owner's duplicate certificate is Presented with such
instrument.
○ The production of the owner's duPlicate certificate shall be
conclusive authority from the registered Owner to the RD to
enter a new certificate or to make a memorandum of
registration in accordance with such instrument.
● Involuntary transactions
○ attachment, levy upon execution, lis pendens and the like,
entry of the corresponding order or notice on the day book
operates as a sufficient notice to all persons of such incidents,
even without the presentation of the owner's duplicate
certificate of title.
● Mendoza v. Garana,
○ Justice Brion: Entry or notation of an involuntary instrument
in the primary entry book or day book amounts to a valid
registration.
○ In accordance with Sec. 56 in relation to Sec. 52, such
registration constitutes notice to all persons dealing with the
registered land from the date of entry or notation.
○ Neither the registrant of the involuntary instrument nor the
buyer of the property affected with the encumbrance not
annotated on the title, may be considered to be in bad faith.
○ The first person to register his instrument has a superior right
over the others.
○ If entry in the primary entry book or day book of the RD
precedes the registration of the sale, such involuntary
registration will prevail over the subsequent sale of the land.
● Tt is necessary to issue a new certificate of title pursuant to an
involuntary instrument which divests the title of the registered owner
against his consent, or where a voluntary instrument cannot be
registered by reason of the refusal or failure of the holder to surrender
the owner's duplicate certificate of title, the party in interest may file
a petition in court to compel surrender of the same to the RD
● Although RD may properly refuse to register an attachment where it
appears that the titles involved are not registered in the name of the
defendants (debtors), where there is evidence submitted to indicate
that the defendants have present or future interests in the property
covered by said titles, regardless of whether they still stand in the
names of other persons.
LTD | Dec 4 | 11
(A) Conveyances and Transfers
SEC. 57. Procedure in registration of conveyances (see box for full text)
1. Procedure in registering a deed of conveyance.
● An owner who desires to convey the land covered by his title to
another shall execute the proper deed of conveyance:
○ (1) in proper form,
○ (2) present the same, together with the owner's duplicate
certificate, to the RD for entry and registration.
● The Register of Deeds shall enter in the registration book the fact of
conveyance and then prepare a new certificate of title in the name of
the grantee, the owner's duplicate of which shall be delivered to him.
● The Register of Deeds shall note upon the original and duplicate
certificate the:
○ (a) date of the conveyance
○ (b) volume and page of the registration book in which the new
certificate is registered,
○ (c) a reference by number to the last preceding certificate.
● The original and owner's duplicate of the grantor's certificate shall be
stamped "Cancelled. "
● The deed of conveyance shall be filed with a notation of the number
and place of registration of the certificate of title of the land conveyed.
● While Article 1358 NCC requires that contracts transmitting or
extinguishing real rights over immovable property should be in a
public document, hornbook doctrine is that the embodiment of
certain contracts in a public instrument is only for convenience.
● Non-Observance of the prescribed formalities does not necessarily
excuse the contracting parties from complying with their respective
obligations under their covenant, and merely grants them the Compel
each other to execute the proper deed.
SEC. 58. Procedure where conveyance involves portion of land (see box for
full text)
1. Procedure where only portions of the land are conveyed '
● Sec. 58: lays down the procedure in cases, where the conveyances
involve only certain portions of land described in a certificate of title.
● Sec. 49: provides the procedure by which the distinct parcels of
embraced by petitioners' title can be issued separate titles.
● If only a portion of the land covered by the certificate of title is the
subject of conveyance, the RD shall not issue any transfer certificate of
title to the grantee until a plan of such land showing the portion or
portions into which it has been subdivided and the corresponding
technical descriptions shall have been verified and approved pursuant
to Sec. 50
● Deed of conveyance may in the meantime be annotated by way of
memorandum on the grantor's certificate of title, which shall serve as
a notice to third persons of the fact of conveyance.
○ The effect of such memorandum is to recognize the grantee's
title to the portion thus conveyed pending actual issuance to
him of the corresponding transfer certificate of title.
● APPROVAL of the plan and the technical descriptions of the specific
portions which the land has been subdivided:
○ It shall be filed with the office of the RD for annotation on the
corresponding certificate of title.
○ Then, RD shall issue a new transfer certificate of title to the
grantee for the portion conveyed to him upon cancellation of
the grantor's certificate as to said portion.
○ But if the grantor desires, his certificate of title may be
cancelled totally and a new one issued to him for the
remaining portion of the land.
● PENDING approval of the plan:
○ GR: no further registration or any annotation of any deed or
voluntary instrument affecting the unsegregated portion shall
be made
○ XPN: except where such portion was purchased from the
government or any of its instrumentalities.
● If the land has been subdivided into several lots, designated by
numbers or letters,RD, if requested by the grantor, may, instead of
cancelling his certificate of title, simply issue in his name a new
certificate of title for the remaining unconveyed lots, enter on said
certificate and on the owner's duplicate a memorandum as to the fact
of conveyance of a portion of the land, the issuance to the grantee of a
transfer certificate of title for said portion, and the cancellation of the
grantor's certificate insofar as said portion is concerned.
SEC. 59. Carry over of encumbrances (see box for full text)
1. Carrying over of encumbrances in the new certificate.
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 ● Ministerial duty of RD to carry over existing encumbrances to the
new certificates of title.
● Whenever registered land is conveyed, all subsisting encumbrances
or annotations appearing in the registration book and noted on the
certificate of title shall be carried over and noted on the new
certificate of title
○ except where said encumbrances or annotations are
simultaneously released or discharged.
● PURPOSE : it is to show that the grantee obtained the land or portion
thereof subject to sub sisting encumbrances attached to the title of his
grantor.
● RULE: Between two involuntary documents, the earlier entry prevails.
Where, however, the notice of lis pendens filed by a claimant, refers to
a lot different from that covered by the adverse claim of another, the
lis pendens, notwithstanding its prior registration, cannot be carried
over to the new title to be issued to the adverse claimant.
(B) MORTGAGES AND LEASES
Sec. 60 Mortgage or lease of registered land. Mortgage and leases shall be
registered in the manner provided in Section 54 of this Decree. The owner of
registered land may mortgage or lease it by executing the deed in a form
sufficient in law. Such deed of mortgage or lease and all instruments which
assign, extend, discharge or otherwise deal with the mortgage or lease shall
be registered, and shall take effect upon the title only from time of
registration.
No mortgagee's or lessee's duplicate certificate of title shall hereafter be
issued by the Registers of Deeds, and those issued prior to the effectivity of
this Decree are hereby deemed canceled and the holders thereof shall
immediately surrender the same to the Register of Deeds concerned.
Sec. 61 Registration. Upon presentation for registration of the deed of
mortgage or lease together with the owner's duplicate, the Register of
Deeds shall enter upon the original of the certificate of title and also upon
the owner's duplicate certificate a memorandum thereof, the date and time
of filing and the file number assigned to the deed, and shall sign the said
memorandum. He shall also note on the deed the date and time of filing and a
reference to the volume and page of the registration book in which it is
registered.
Sec. 62 Discharge or cancellation. A mortgage or lease on registered land may
be discharge or canceled by means of an instrument executed by the
mortgage or lessee in a form sufficient in law, which shall be filed with the
Register of Deeds who shall make the appropriate memorandum upon the
certificate of title.
Sec. 63 Foreclosure of Mortgage.
(a) If the mortgage was foreclosed judicially, a certified copy of the final
order of the court confirming the sale shall be registered with the
Register of Deeds. If no right of redemption exists, the certificate of
title of the mortgagor shall be canceled, and a new certificate issued
in the name of the purchaser.
Where the right of redemption exists, the certificate of title of the
mortgagor shall not be canceled, but the certificate of sale and the
order confirming the sale shall be registered by a brief
memorandum thereof made by the Register of Deeds upon the
certificate of title. In the event the property is redeemed, the
certificate or deed of redemption shall be filed with the Register of
Deeds, and a brief memorandum thereof shall be made by the
Register of Deeds on the certificate of title of the mortgagor.
If the property is not redeemed, the final deed of sale executed by
the sheriff in favor of the purchaser at a foreclosure sale shall be
registered with the Register of Deeds; whereupon the title of the
mortgagor shall be canceled, and a new certificate issued in the
name of the purchaser.
(b) If the mortgage was foreclosed extrajudicially, a certificate of sale
executed by the officer who conducted the sale shall be filed with
the Register of Deeds who shall make a brief memorandum thereof
on the certificate of title.
In the event of redemption by the mortgagor, the same rule provided for in
the second paragraph of this section shall apply.
In case of non-redemption, the purchaser at foreclosure sale shall file with
the Register of Deeds, either a final deed of sale executed by the person
LTD | Dec 4 | 13
authorized by virtue of the power of attorney embodied in the deed of
mortgage, or his sworn statement attesting to the fact of non-redemption;
whereupon, the Register of Deeds shall issue a new certificate in favor of the
purchaser after the owner's duplicate of the certificate has been previously
delivered and canceled.
(C) POWERS OF ATTORNEY; TRUSTS
Sec. 64 Power of attorney. Any person may, by power of attorney, convey or
otherwise deal with registered land and the same shall be registered with
the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies. Any
instrument revoking such power of attorney shall be registered in like
manner.
Sec. 65 Trusts in registered land. If a deed or other instrument is filed in order
to transfer registered land in trust, or upon any equitable condition or
limitation expressed therein, or to create or declare a trust or other
equitable interests in such land without transfer, the particulars of the trust,
condition, limitation or other equitable interest shall not be entered on the
certificate; but only a memorandum thereof shall be entered by the words
"in trust", or "upon condition", or other apt words, and by a reference by
number to the instrument authorizing or creating the same. A similar
memorandum shall be made upon the original instrument creating or
declaring the trust or other equitable interest with a reference by number to
the certificate of title to which it relates and to the volume and page in the
registration book in which it is registered
Sec. 66 Trust with power of sale, etc., how expressed. If the instrument creating
or declaring a trust or other equitable interest contains an express power to
sell, mortgage or deal with the land in any manner, such power shall be
stated in the certificate of title by the words "with power to sell", or "power
to mortgage", or by apt words of description in case of other powers. No
instrument which transfers, mortgages or in any way deals with registered
land in trust shall be registered, unless the enabling power thereto is
expressly conferred in the trust instrument, or unless a final judgment or
order of a court of competent jurisdiction has construed the instrument in
favor of the power, in which case a certified copy of such judgment or order
may be registered.
Sec. 67 Judicial appointment of new trustee. If a new trustee of registered land
is appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, a new certificate may be
issued to him upon presentation to the Register of Deeds of a certified copy
of the order or judicial appointment and the surrender for cancellation of the
duplicate certificate.
Sec. 68 Implied, trusts, how established. Whoever claims an interest in
registered land by reason of any implied or constructive trust shall file for
registration with the Register of Deeds a sworn statement thereof
containing a description of the land, the name of the registered owner and a
reference to the number of the certificate of title. Such claim shall not affect
the title of a purchaser for value and in good faith before its registration.
(B) Mortgages and Leases
SEC. 60. Mortgage or lease of registered land. (see box for full text)
1. Essence of a mortgage.
● Essence of a contract of mortgage indebtedness: a property has been
identified or set apart from the mass of the property of the debtor-
mortgagor as security for the payment of money or the fulfillment of
an obligation to answer the amount of indebtedness, in case of default
of payment.
● RULE: in a REM when the obligation is not paid when due, the
mortgagee has the right to foreclose the mortgage and to have the
property seized and sold in view of applying the proceeds to the
payment of the obligation. For a person to validly constitute a valid
mortgage on real estate, he must be the absolute owner as required
by Art. 2085 NCC, otherwise the mortgage is void
● BUT a mortgage is invalid even in the hands of an innocent
mortgagee where the title covers NON-REGISTRABLE LAND.
SEC. 61. Registration. — (see box for full text)
REGISTRATION OF MORTGAGE OR LEASE
● All interests in registered land less than ownership, like mortgage or
lease, shall be registered by filing with the RD the instrument which
creates or transfers or claims such interests.
● Upon presentation of the deed of mortgage or lease for registration
together with the owner’s duplicate, the RD shall enter upon the
LTD | Dec 4 | 14
 original of the certificate of title and alos upon the owner’s duplicate
certificate a memorandum thereof, the date and time of filing, and the
file number assigned to the deed
● The act of registration shall be the operative act to convey or affect
the land insofar as third persons are concerned
RECORDED MORTGAGE IS A RIGHT IN REM
● The recording of the mortgage puts the whole world on constructive
notice of its existence and warns everyone who deals with the
property o which it was constituted that he would have to reckon with
that encumbrance
● A mortgage is an accessory contract; a mortgage is lien is inseparable
from the mortgaged property
● A mortgage subsists notwithstanding a change in ownership
EFFECT OF LIS PENDENS ON A PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED MORTGAGE
● A notice of lis pendens is an announcement to the whole world that a
particular real property is in litigation and anyone who acquires an
interest over said property does so at his own risk
● However, it has been held that any subsequent lien or encumbrance
annotated at the back of the certificate of title cannot, in any way,
prejudice mortgage previously registered, and the lots subject thereto
pass to the purchaser at public auction sale free from any lien or
encumbrance. Otherwise, the value of the mortgage could be easily
destroyed by a subsequent record of an adverse claim, for no one
would purchase at a foreclosure sale if bound by the posterior claim
UNRECORDED SALE OF A PRIOR DATE VS. RECORDED MORTGAGE ON A
LATER DATE
● The former is preferred over the latter for the reason that if the
original owner had parted with his ownership of the thing sold then he
no longer had the ownership and free disposal of that thing so as to be
able to mortgage it again
Sec. 62. Discharge or cancellation
MORTGAGE DISCHARGED ONLY BY FULL PAYMENT OF INDEBTEDNESS
● Upon full payment of indebtedness or expiration of the lease
agreement, a mortgage or lease on registered land may be discharged
or cancelled by means of an instrument executed by the mortgagee or
lessee in a public instrument which shall be filed with the RD who shall
make the appropriate memorandum upon the certificate of title
PACTUM COMMISSORIUM
● A stipulation in the contract of mortgage that the ownership of the
property would automatically pass to the mortgagee in case no
redemption was effected within the stipulated is void ab initio for
being a pactum commissorium which enables the mortgagee to
acquire ownership of the mortgaged property without the need for
foreclosure
● Elements:
○ There should be a property mortgaged by way of security for
the payment of the principal obligation; and
○ There should be a stipulation for automatic appropriation by
the creditor of the thing mortgaged in case of non-payment of
the principal obligation within the stipulated period
Sec. 63. Foreclosure of Mortgage
CONCEPT OF FORECLOSURE
● Foreclosure is the process by which a mortgagee acquires an absolute
title to the property of which he had previously been only the
conditional owner, or upon which he had previously e mere lien or
encumbrance
● In case of default or the mortgagor in the payment of the loan
obligations, the mortgagee may foreclose the mortgaged property by
filing a petition for extrajudicial foreclosure of mortgage
● In real estate mortgage when the principal obligation is not paid when
due, the mortgagee has the right to foreclose the mortgage and to
have the property seized and sold with the view of applying the
proceeds to the payment of the obligation. Once the proceeds have
been applied, the debtor cannot anymore be required to pay, unless
there is a deficiency between the amount of the loan and the
foreclosure sale price, because the obligation has already been
extinguished
LTD | Dec 4 | 15
REMEDIES IN CASE OF DEFAULT
action action
● 3 requisites necessary for a finding of default
○ Obligation is demandable and liquidated Governed by the Rules of Court Governed by Act 3135, as amended
○ Debtor delays performance
○ Creditor judicially/extrajudicially requires the debtor’s There is an equity of redemption in a There is a right of redemption
performance judicial foreclosure but not right of
● Where a debt is secured by a mortgage and there is default in payment redemption except when the
on the part of the mortgagor, the mortgagee has a choice of one of two mortgagee is a banking institution
remedies, but he cannot have both. The mortgagee may:
○ Foreclosure the mortgage; or There could be a deficiency No judgment for a deficiency
○ File an ordinary action to collect the debt judgment rendered by the court because there is no judicial
proceeding, although recovery of the
OPTIONS OF A SECURED CREDITOR IN CASE OF DEATH OF THE DEBTOR deficiency is allowed
● A secured creditor holding a real estate mortgage has 3 options in case
Recovery of the deficiency can be Recovery of the deficiency is through
of death of the debtor. These are:
done by mere motion for a deficiency an independent action
○ To waive the mortgage and claim the entire debt from the
judgment
estate of the mortgagor as an ordinary claim;
○ To foreclose the mortgage judicially and prove any deficiency
as an ordinary claim; and REDEMPTION
○ To rely on the mortgage exclusively, foreclosing the same at ● Any time within 1 year from the date of the registration of the
anytime before it is barred by prescription, without right to certificate of sale
file a claim for any deficiency ● The mortgagor or his successor-in-interest must redeem the
foreclosed property within one year from the registration of the sale
FORECLOSURE; PRESCRIPTION OF ACTION with the RD to avoid the title from consolidating in the purchaser
● An action to enforce a right arising from a mortgage should be ○ By failing to redeem, the mortgagor loses all interest over the
enforced within 10 years from the time the right of action accrues, or foreclosed property
from default in payment of the loan amortizations. Otherwise, it will be ○ The consolidation of ownership in the purchaser’s name and
barred by prescription and the mortgage creditor will lose his rights the issuance to him of a new TCT then entitles him to demand
under the mortgage possession of the property at any time, and the issuance of a
● Foreclosure made beyond the prescriptive period renders the writ of possession to him becomes a matter of right
proceedings null and void
EQUITY OF REDEMPTION VS. RIGHT OF REDEMPTION
JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE VS. EXTRAJUDICIAL FORECLOSURE

Equity Right
JUDICIAL EXTRAJUDICIAL
The right of the mortgagor to The right of the mortgagor to
Involves the filing of an independent Does not require the filing of an redeem the mortgaged property repurchase the property even after

LTD | Dec 4 | 16

after his default in the performance the confirmation of the sale, in cases
of the conditions of the mortgage, of foreclosure by banks, within 1
but before the sale of the property or year from the registration of the sale
confirmation of the sale
CONFIRMATION OF SALE
● The acceptance of a bid at the foreclosure sale confers no title on the
purchaser. Until the sale has been validly confirmed by the court, he is
nothing more than a preferred bidder
● Title vests only when the sale has been validly confirmed by the court
● In order that a foreclosure sale may be validly confirmed by the court,
it is necessary that a hearing be given the interested parties, at which
they may have an opportunity to show cause why the sale should not
be confirmed
● It is the confirmation by the court of the auction sale that would divest
the mortgagors of their rights to the mortgaged lot and vest such
rights in the bank as purchaser at the auction sale
WRIT OF POSSESSION
● An order by which the sheriff is commanded to place a person in
possession of real or personal property. It may be issued under the
following instances:
○ Land registration proceedings which is a proceeding in rem to
place the applicant or oppositors, or whoever is the successful
litigant, in possession of the property;
○ In an extrajudicial foreclosure of a realty mortgage;
○ In a judicial foreclosure of a mortgage, a quasi in rem
proceeding, provided that the mortgagor is in possession of
the mortgaged realty and no third person, not a party to the
foreclosure suit, had intervened; and
○ In execution sales
Issuance of writ ex parte and ministerial
● The purchaser in a foreclosure sale is authorized to apply for a writ of
possession during the redemption period by an ex parte motion under
oath
● Approval of bond
● Directs the court to issue the order for a writ of possession
● Writ of possession issues as a matter of course without the filing and
approval of the bond AFTER consolidation of ownership and the
issuance of a new TCT in the name of the purchaser
● Upon expiration of the redemption period, the right of the purchaser
to the possession of the foreclosed property becomes ABSOLUTE
○ Mere filing of an ex parte motion for the issuance of the writ
of possession would suffice
○ No bond is necessary
Proceedings for the issuance of writ summary and non litigious in nature
● Ex parte petition for the issuance of a writ of possession, by its nature,
is NON-LITIGIOUS PROCEEDING
○ Respondents are neither entitled to a copy of the petition nor
to a notice of hearing
○ Any objection to the validity of the sale and the writ issued
should be threshed out in a subsequent proceeding under Sec.
8 of Act No. 3135
● Issuance of writ of possession - ministerial duty of the court
○ It does not become discretionary simply because the RD had
elevated en consulta to the LRA the question of whether the
Torrens title should be issued in favor of petitioner whose
affidavit of consolidation was registered in the Office of the
RD
Issuance of writ of possession not ministerial where third party is in adverse
possession or is not a privy to the debtor
● G.R.: a purchaser in a public auction sale of a foreclosed property is
entitled to a writ of possession and, upon an ex parte petition of the
purchaser, it is ministerial upon the trial court to issue the writ of
possession in his favor
● Exception: Sec. 33, Rule 39, ROC:
○ “Unless a third party is actually holding the property adversely
to the judgement debtor”
● A third party not privy to the debtor is protected by law
○ He may be ejected from the premises only after he has been
given an opportunity to be heard (due process)
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Writ should not issue if the validity of the levy and sale is in issue in another
case or involves special circumstances
● In Barican, the issuance of the writ of possession was deferred
because a PENDING action for declaration of ownership over the
foreclosed property was made by an adverse claimant who was IN
POSSESSION of the property
○ Rights of third parties would be adversely affected with the
implementation of the writ
○ The Court took into account the circumstances that long
before the mortgagee bank had sold the disputed property to
the respondent, it was no longer the judgement debtor who
was in possession but the petitioner spouses who had
assumed the mortgage, and that there was a pending civil case
involving the rights of the third parties
● In Cometa, the properties in question were found to have been sold at
an unusually LOWER price than their true value (from P500k to
P57,396)
○ The Court decided to withhold the issuance of the writ of
possession on the ground that it could work injustice because
the petitioner might not be entitled to the same
● In Sulit, there was due in favor of the private respondent, as
mortgagor, a SURPLUS from the proceeds of the sale equivalent to
approximately 40% of the total mortgage debt, which excess is
indisputably a substantial amount
○ The Court held that equitable considerations demand that a
writ of possession should also not issue
(C) POWERS OF ATTORNEY; TRUSTS
Sec. 64 Power of attorney. Any person may, by power of attorney, convey or
otherwise deal with registered land and the same shall be registered with the
Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies. Any instrument
revoking such power of attorney shall be registered in like manner.
Agency to sell land
“Special power of attorney” (SPA)
● A clear mandate, express/implied, specifically authorizing the
performance of an act, and must be distinguished from an agency
couched in general terms
● When a sale of land or any interest therein is through an agent, the
authority of the latter (agent) shall be in writing; otherwise, the sale
shall be void
● Any interest therein includes usufruct, easement,etc
● Void sale NOT subject to ratification
● A SPA to sell excluded the power to mortgage, and SPA to mortgage
does not include the power to sell
Registration of power of attorney
● Sec. 64, any person may, by power of attorney, convey or deal with
registered land and the same shall be registered with the RD of the
province/city where the land lies
● Any instrument revoking such power of attorney shall be registered in
like manner
Sec. 65 Trusts in registered land. If a deed or other instrument is filed in order
to transfer registered land in trust, or upon any equitable condition or
limitation expressed therein, or to create or declare a trust or other equitable
interests in such land without transfer, the particulars of the trust, condition,
limitation or other equitable interest shall not be entered on the certificate;
but only a memorandum thereof shall be entered by the words "in trust", or
"upon condition", or other apt words, and by a reference by number to the
instrument authorizing or creating the same. A similar memorandum shall be
made upon the original instrument creating or declaring the trust or other
equitable interest with a reference by number to the certificate of title to
which it relates and to the volume and page in the registration book in which it
is registered
Trust defined
● A fiduciary relationship with respect to property which involves the
existence of equitable duties imposed upon the holder of the title to
the property to deal with it for the benefit of another
● Trustor - person who establishes a trust
● Trustee - one in whom confidence is reposed as regards property for
the benefit of another
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 ● Beneficiary or cestui que trust - the person for whose benefit the trust
has been created
Basic concepts of trust relationship
● Trust is a fiduciary relationship with respect to property which
involves the existence of equitable duties imposed upon the holder of
the title to the property to deal with it for the benefit of another. A
person who establishes a trust is called the trustor; one in whom
confidence is reposed as regards property for the benefit of another
person is known as the trustee; and the person for whose benefit the
trust has been created is referred to as the beneficiary or cestui que
trust.
● Trust is either express or implied.
○ Express trust is created by the intention of the trustor or of
the parties.
○ Implied trust comes into being by operation of law. The latter
kind or neither constructive or resulting trust.
■ A constructive trust is imposed where a person
holding title to property is subject to an equitable
duty to convey it to another on the ground that he
would be unjustly enriched if he were permitted to
retain it. The duty to convey the property arises
because it was acquired through fraud, duress, undue
influence or mistake, or through breach of a fiduciary
duty, or through the wrongful disposition of another's
property.
■ On the other hand, a resulting trust arises where a
person makes or causes to be made a disposition of
property under circumstances which raise an
inference that he does not intend that the person
taking or holding the property should have the
beneficial interest in the property. It is founded on the
presumed intention of the parties, and as a general
rule, it arises where, and only where such may be
reasonably presumed to be the intention of the
parties, as determined from the facts and
circumstances existing at the time of the transaction
out of which it is sought to be established
Co-ownership is a form of trust
● Co-ownership is a form of trust and every co-owner is a trustee for the
other
● In co-ownership, the relationship of each co-owner to the other co-
owners is fiduciary in character and attribute
● Whether established by law or by agreement, the property or thing
held pro-indiviso is impressed with a fiducial nature that each co-
owner becomes a trustee for the benefit of his co-owners and may not
do any act prejudicial to the interest of his co-owners
Trusts are either express or implied
● Express trust are those which the direct and positive act of the parties
create, by some writing or deed, or will, or by words evincing an
intention to create a trust
● Implied trust comes into being by operation of law
○ Art. 1448. There is an implied trust when property is sold, and
the legal estate is granted to one party but the price is paid by
another for the purpose of having the beneficial interest of the
property. The former is the trustee, while the latter is the
beneficiary. . . .
○ Art. 1453. When property is conveyed to a person in reliance
upon his declared intention to hold it for, or transfer it to
another or the grantor, there is an implied trust in favor of the
person whose benefit is contemplated.
○ Implied trusts are either resulting or constructive trusts
■ Resulting trusts are based on the equitable doctrine
that valuable consideration and not legal title
determines the equitable title or interest and are
presumed always to have been contemplated by the
parties. They arise from the nature or circumstances
of the consideration involved in a transaction
whereby one person thereby becomes invested with
legal title but is obliged in equity to hold his legal title
for the benefit of another.
■ Constructive trusts are created by the construction of
equity in order to satisfy the demands of justice and
prevent unjust enrichment. They arise contrary to
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 intention against one who, by fraud, duress or abuse
of confidence, obtains or holds the legal right to
property which he ought not, in equity and good
conscience, to hold."
Laches may bar an action to enforce the trust
● G.R. implied resulting trusts do not prescribe
● Exception: when the trustee repudiates the trust
● The action to reconvey does not prescribe so long as the property
stands in the name of the trustee
● In Mejia, the Court held that while a person may not acquire title to a
registered property through continuing adverse possession in
derogation of the title of the original registered owner, nevertheless,
such owner or his heirs, by their inaction and neglect over a long
period of time, may lose the right to recover the possession of the
property and the title from defendants
No particular form required for the creation of an express trust; entry of
memorandum on certificate
● Under the law on Trusts, it is NOT NECESSARY that a document
expressly states and provides for the express trust, for no particular
words are required for the creation of an express trust, it being
sufficient that a trust is clearly INTENDED
● An express trust is created by the direct and positive acts evidencing
an intention to create a trust
Sec. 66 Trust with power of sale, etc., how expressed. If the instrument
creating or declaring a trust or other equitable interest contains an express
power to sell, mortgage or deal with the land in any manner, such power shall
be stated in the certificate of title by the words "with power to sell", or "power
to mortgage", or by apt words of description in case of other powers. No
instrument which transfers, mortgages or in any way deals with registered land
in trust shall be registered, unless the enabling power thereto is expressly
conferred in the trust instrument, or unless a final judgment or order of a court
of competent jurisdiction has construed the instrument in favor of the power,
in which case a certified copy of such judgment or order may be registered.
Trusts, how expressed and registered
● Sec. 65 requires that if a deed or other instrument is filed in order to
transfer registered land in trust, or upon any equitable condition or
limitation expressed therein, or to create or declare a trust or other
equitable interest in such land without transfer, the PARTICULARS of
the trusts, CONDITION, LIMITATION or OTHER EQUITABLE
INTEREST shall NOT be entered on the certificate; but only a
MEMORANDUM shall be entered by the words “in trust” or “upon
condition” or other apt words, and by reference by number to the
instrument authorizing or creating the same
● A similar memorandum shall be made upon the original instrument
creating or declaring the trust or other equitable interest with a
reference by number to the certificate of title to which it relates and to
the volume and page in the registration book in which it is registered
● Sec. 66 states that no instrument which transfers, mortgages, or in any
way deals with registered land in trust shall be registered, unless the
enabling power is expressly conferred in the instrument, or unless a
final judgement or order of a court of competent jurisdiction has
construed the instrument in favor of the power, in which case a
certified copy of such judgement or order may be registered
● If the instrument creating or declaring a trust or other equitable
interest contains an express power to sell, mortgage, or deal with land,
such power shall be stated in the certificate of title by words “with
power to sell” or “power to mortgage” or by apt words of description in
case of other powers
● The deed of trust may be foreclosed according to its terms by the
trustee without authority of court
● A simple mortgage can be foreclose only under decree of court
Sec. 67 Judicial appointment of new trustee. If a new trustee of registered land
is appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, a new certificate may be
issued to him upon presentation to the Register of Deeds of a certified copy of
the order or judicial appointment and the surrender for cancellation of the
duplicate certificate.
Appointment of Trustee
● A trustee necessary to carry into effect the provisions of a will or
written instrument shall be APPOINTED by the RTC in which the will
was allowed
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 ● The executor/administrator/person appointed as trustee under the
will or written instrument shall file the PETITION for appointment of a
trustee in compliance with the wishes of the testator
● Sec. 1445, NCC: “no trust shall fail because the trustee appointed
declines the designation unless the contrary should appear in the
instrument creating the trust”
Powers, rights, and duties of a new trustee
● When a trustee under a written instrument declines, resigns, dies or is
removed before the objects of the trust are accomplished, and no
adequate provision is made in such instrument for supplying the
vacancy, the proper RTC may, after due notice to all persons
interested, APPOINT a new trustee to act alone or jointly with others
● The new trustee shall have the same powers, rights, and duties as if he
had been originally appointed, and the trust estate shall vest in him in
like manner as it had vested or would have vested, in the trustee in
whose place he is substituted
● The court may order the conveyance to be made by the former
trustee, as may be necessary or proper to vest the trust estate in the
new trustee, either alone or jointly with others
Sec. 68 Implied, trusts, how established. Whoever claims an interest in
registered land by reason of any implied or constructive trust shall file for
registration with the Register of Deeds a sworn statement thereof containing a
description of the land, the name of the registered owner and a reference to
the number of the certificate of title. Such claim shall not affect the title of a
purchaser for value and in good faith before its registration.
Registration of claim based on implied trust
● For the protection of a person claiming an interest in registered land
by reason of any implied/constructive trust, he should file with the RD
a SWORN STATEMENT
○ a.) containing the description of the land
○ b.) the name of the registered owner, and
○ c.) a reference to the number of the certificate of title
● Such claim will not affect the right of purchaser for value in good faith
prior to such registration
2. Involuntary Dealings – Secs. 69-77
II INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS
Sec. 69 Attachments. An attachment, or a copy of any writ, order or process
issued by a court of record, intended to create or preserve any lien, status,
right, or attachment upon registered land, shall be filed and registered in the
Registry of Deeds for the province or city in which the land lies, and, in
addition to the particulars required in such papers for registration, shall
contain a reference to the number of the certificate of title to be affected
and the registered owner or owners thereof, and also if the attachment,
order, process or lien is not claimed on all the land in any certificate of title a
description sufficiently accurate for identification of the land or interest
intended to be affected. A restraining order, injunction or mandamus issued
by the court shall be entered and registered on the certificate of title
affected, free of charge.
Sec. 70 Adverse claim. Whoever claims any part or interest in registered land
adverse to the registered owner, arising subsequent to the date of the
original registration, may, if no other provision is made in this Decree for
registering the same, make a statement in writing setting forth fully his
alleged right or interest, and how or under whom acquired, a reference to
the number of the certificate of title of the registered owner, the name of the
registered owner, and a description of the land in which the right or interest
is claimed.
The statement shall be signed and sworn to, and shall state the adverse
claimant's residence, and a place at which all notices may be served upon
him. This statement shall be entitled to registration as an adverse claim on
the certificate of title. The adverse claim shall be effective for a period of
thirty days from the date of registration. After the lapse of said period, the
annotation of adverse claim may be canceled upon filing of a verified petition
therefor by the party in interest: Provided, however, that after cancellation,
no second adverse claim based on the same ground shall be registered by the
same claimant.
Before the lapse of thirty days aforesaid, any party in interest may file a
petition in the Court of First Instance where the land is situated for the
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cancellation of the adverse claim, and the court shall grant a speedy hearing
upon the question of the validity of such adverse claim, and shall render
judgment as may be just and equitable. If the adverse claim is adjudged to be
invalid, the registration thereof shall be ordered canceled. If, in any case, the
court, after notice and hearing, shall find that the adverse claim thus
registered was frivolous, it may fine the claimant in an amount not less than
one thousand pesos nor more than five thousand pesos, in its discretion.
Before the lapse of thirty days, the claimant may withdraw his adverse claim
by filing with the Register of Deeds a sworn petition to that effect.
Sec. 71 Surrender of certificate in involuntary dealings. If an attachment or
other lien in the nature of involuntary dealing in registered land is
registered, and the duplicate certificate is not presented at the time of
registration, the Register of Deeds shall, within thirty-six hours thereafter,
send notice by mail to the registered owner, stating that such paper has been
registered, and requesting him to send or produce his duplicate certificate so
that a memorandum of the attachment or other lien may be made thereon. If
the owner neglects or refuses to comply within a reasonable time, the
Register of Deeds shall report the matter to the court, and it shall, after
notice, enter an order to the owner, to produce his certificate at a time and
place named therein, and may enforce the order by suitable process.
Sec. 72 Dissolution, etc. of attachments, etc. Attachments and liens of every
description upon registered land shall be continued, reduced, discharged and
dissolved by any method sufficient in law, and to give effect to the
continuance, reduction, discharge or dissolution thereof the certificate or
other instrument for that purpose shall be registered with the Register of
Deeds.
Sec. 73 Registration of orders of court, etc. If an attachment is continued,
reduced, dissolved, or otherwise affected by an order, decision or judgment
of the court where the action or proceedings in which said attachment was
made is pending or by an order of a court having jurisdiction thereof, a
certificate of the entry of such order, decision or judgment from the clerk of
court or the judge by which such decision, order or judgment has been
rendered and under the seal of the court, shall be entitled to be registered
upon presentation to the Register of Deeds.
Sec. 74 Enforcement of liens on registered land. Whenever registered land is
solved on execution, or taken or sold for taxes or for any assessment or to
enforce a lien of any character, or for any costs and charges incident to such
liens, any execution or copy of execution, any officer's return, or any deed,
demand, certificate, or affidavit, or other instrument made in the course of
the proceedings to enforce such liens and required by law to be recorded,
shall be filed with the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the
land lies and registered in the registration book, and a memorandum made
upon the proper certificate of title in each case as lien or encumbrance.
Sec. 75 Application for new certificate upon expiration of redemption period.
Upon the expiration of the time, if any, allowed by law for redemption after
registered land has been sold on execution taken or sold for the
enforcement of a lien of any description, except a mortgage lien, the
purchaser at such sale or anyone claiming under him may petition the court
for the entry of a new certificate of title to him.
Before the entry of a new certificate of title, the registered owner may
pursue all legal and equitable remedies to impeach or annul such
proceedings.
Sec. 76 Notice of lis pendens. No action to recover possession of real estate, or
to quiet title thereto, or to remove clouds upon the title thereof, or for
partition, or other proceedings of any kind in court directly affecting the title
to land or the use or occupation thereof or the buildings thereon, and no
judgment, and no proceeding to vacate or reverse any judgment, shall have
any effect upon registered land as against persons other than the parties
thereto, unless a memorandum or notice stating the institution of such
action or proceeding and the court wherein the same is pending, as well as
the date of the institution thereof, together with a reference to the number
of the certificate of title, and an adequate description of the land affected
and the registered owner thereof, shall have been filed and registered.
Sec. 77 Cancellation of lis pendens. Before final judgment, a notice of lis
pendens may be canceled upon order of the court, after proper showing that
the notice is for the purpose of molesting the adverse party, or that it is not
necessary to protect the rights of the party who caused it to be registered. It
LTD | Dec 4 | 22

may also be canceled by the Register of Deeds upon verified petition of the
party who caused the registration thereof.
At any time after final judgment in favor of the defendant, or other
disposition of the action such as to terminate finally all rights of the plaintiff
in and to the land and/or buildings involved, in any case in which a
memorandum or notice of lis pendens has been registered as provided in the
preceding section, the notice of lis pendens shall be deemed canceled upon
the registration of a certificate of the clerk of court in which the action or
proceeding was pending stating the manner of disposal thereof.
Sec. 69. Attachments
Attachment is the legal process of seizing another’s property in accordance with
a writ or judicial order for the purpose of securing satisfaction of a judgment yet
to be rendered.
NATURE OF ATTACHMENT
● Legal process of seizing another’s property in accordance with a writ or
judicial order for the purpose of securing satisfaction of a judgment yet
to be rendered
● Writ of attachment is used primarily to seize the debtor’s property to
seize the debtor’s property in order to secure the debt or claim of the
creditor in the event that a judgment is rendered
● Jurisprudence: a party who delivers a notice of attachment to the RD
and pays the corresponding fees has a right to presume that the official
would perform his duty properly
● In involuntary registration, entry thereof in the day book is sufficient
notice to all persons of such adverse claim. The notice of course has to
be annotated at the back of the corresponding original certificate of
title, but this is an official duty of the RD which may be presumed to
have been regularly performed
● DBP v. Acting RD:
○ “Entry alone produces the effect of registration, whether the
transaction entered is a voluntary or involuntary one, so long
as the registrant has complied with all that is required of him
for purposes of entry and annotation, and nothing more
remains to be done but a duty incumbent solely on the RD”
● Section 69 states that an attachment or any writ, order or process
intended to create or preserve any lien upon registered land shall be
filed and registered in the RD and shall contain a reference to the
number of the certificate of title to be affected, the registered owner
thereof and a description of the land or interest therein
GROUNDS UPON WHICH ATTACHMENT MAY ISSUE
(Section 1, Rule 57 of the Rules of Court)
At the commencement of the action or at any time before entry of judgment, a
plaintiff or proper party may have the property of the adverse party attached as
security for the satisfaction of any judgment that may be recovered in, among
others, the following cases:
1. In an action to recover the possession of property unjustly or
fraudulently taken, detained or converted, when the property or any
part thereof, has been concealed, removed or disposed of, to prevent its
being found or taken by the applicant or an authorized person
2. In an action against a party who has been guilty of fraud in contracting
the debt or incurring an obligation upon which the action is brought, or
in the performance thereof
3. In an action against a party who has removed or disposed of his
property, or is about to do so, with intent to defraud his creditors A
PRELIMINARY ATTACHMENT may be validly applied for and granted
ex parte before a defendant is summoned since the phrase “at the
commencement of action” refers to the date of the filing of the
complaint and before the summons is served on the defendant.
REGISTRATION OF ATTACHMENT, WRITS, AND RELATED PROCESSES
● An attachment, or copy of writ, order or process issued by the court
intended to create or preserve any lien, status, right or attachment
upon registered land shall be filed and registered in the RD for the
province or city where the land lies, and in addition to the particulars
required in such papers for registration, shall contain a reference to the
number of the certificate of title affected and the registered owner or
owners thereof, and also, if the attachment, order, process or lien is not
claimed on all the land in any certificate of title, a description
sufficiently accurate for identification of the land or interest intended
to be affected
● A restraining order, injunction, or mandamus issued by the court shall
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 be entered or registered on the certificate of title affected, free of
charge
KNOWLEDGE OF A PRIOR UNREGISTERED INTEREST IS EQUIVALENT TO
REGISTRATION
● In case of conflict between a vendee and an attaching creditor, an
attaching creditor who registers the order of attachment and the sale
of property to him as the highest bidder acquires a valid title to the
property, as against a vendee who had previously bought the same
property from the registered owner but who failed to register his deed
of sale
● Registration is the operative act that binds or affects the land insofar as
third persons are concerned—notice to the whole world But where a
party has knowledge of a prior existing interest which is unregistered at
the time he acquired a right to the same land, his knowledge of that
prior unregistered interest has the effect of registration as to him.
Knowledge of an unregistered sale is equivalent to registration
DISCHARGE OF ATTACHMENT
● An attachment may be discharged upon giving a counterclaim or on the
ground that the same was improperly or irregularly issued or enforced,
or that the bond is insufficient
● By the dissolution of an attachment levied on the defendant’s property,
through the filing of the bond, the released property becomes free and
no longer liable to the results of the proceeding in which it was
attached. Consequently, the act of the defendant, whose property has
been attached, in mortgaging the released property to a third person, is
not a conveyance in fraud of creditors, since the transaction is legal and
valid, and since the presumption of fraud doesn’t arise when there is
security in favor of the creditor
Sec. 70. Adverse Claim
PURPOSE
● Purpose of annotating the adverse claim on the title of the disputed
land is to apprise third persons that there is a controversy over the
ownership of the land and to preserve and protect the right of the
adverse claimant during the pendency of the controversy
● Notice to third persons that any transaction regarding the disputed
land is subject to the outcome of the dispute
● Such is registered by filing a sworn statement with the RD of the
province where the property is located, setting forth the basis of the
claimed right together with other data pertinent thereto. The
registration of an adverse claim is expressly recognized under Section
70. Where the notice of adverse claim is sufficient in law and drawn up
in accordance with existing requirements, it becomes the ministerial
duty of the RD to register the instrument without unnecessary delay
● While the act of registration is the operative act which conveys or
affects the land insofar as third persons are concerned, the subsequent
sale of property covered by a certificate of title CANNOT PREVAIL
OVER AN ADVERSE CLAIM, duly sworn to and annotated on the
certificate of title previous the sale
● Section 70 is divided into two parts—first refers to the petition of the
party who claims any part or interest in the registered land, arising
subsequent to the date of the original registration, for the registration
of his adverse claim, which is a ministerial function of the RD absent any
defect on the face of the instrument. The second refers to the petition
filed in court by a party in interest for the cancellation of the adverse
claim upon showing the same is invalid.
REGISTRATION OF ADVERSE CLAIM
● A lease over a parcel of land for a 10-year period, which could not be
registered because the owner’s duplicate of title wasn’t surrendered,
could be registered as an adverse claim and the owner couldn’t be
compelled to surrender the owner’s duplicate of the title to that
adverse claim could be annotated thereon
● If the adverse claim turns out to be invalid, the owner could ask for its
cancellation and, if found to be frivolous or vexatious, then costs may be
adjudged against the adverse claimant.
● The claim of a person that she has hereditary rights in the land
fraudulently registered in his sister’s name, because the land belonged
to their mother whose estate is pending settlement in a special
proceeding, is registrable as an adverse claim
● Where a guardianship proceeding is pending in court, it is proper to
annotate on the title of the land in question the pendency of such a
proceeding by means of a notice of lis pendens for the purpose of
alerting anyone who might wish to buy the land that his purchase may
LTD | Dec 4 | 24
 be questioned later on. Since an adverse claim and a notice of lis
pendens have the same purpose, there would be no need of maintaining
the adverse claim. But a notice of levy cannot prevail over an existing
adverse claim inscribed in the certificate of title
● The annotation of an adverse claim is a measure designed to protect the
interest of a person over a piece of real property where the registration
of such interest or right isn’t otherwise provided for by PD1529, and
serves as a notice and warning to third persons dealing with said
property that someone is claiming an interest on the same or a better
right than the registered owner thereof
● FOR THE SPECIAL REMEDY OF ADVERSE CLAIM TO BE AVAILED
OF, IT MUST BE SHOWN THAT THERE IS NO OTHER PROVISION IN
THE LAW FOR REGISTRATION OF THE CLAIMANT’S ALLEGED
RIGHT IN THE PROPERTY.
● An adverse claim of ownership over a parcel of land registered under
the Torrens system based on prescription and adverse possession
cannot be registered as an adverse claim—no title to registered land in
derogation of the title of the registered owner shall be acquired by
prescription or adverse possession. Hence, the registration of such
adverse claim will serve no useful purpose and cannot validly and
legally affect the parcel of land in question.
REQUISITES OF AN ADVERSE CLAIM
1. The adverse claimant must state the following in writing:
a. His alleged right or interest
b. How and under whom such alleged right or interest is acquired
c. The description of the land in which the right or interest is
claimed
d. The number of the certificate of title
2. The statement must be signed and sworn to before a notary public or
other officer authorized to administer oath
3. The claimant should state his residence or the place to which all notices
may be served upon him
REGISTRATION COURT MAY DETERMINE THE VALIDITY OF ADVERSE
CLAIM
● An adverse claim may be cancelled only after the claim is adjudged
invalid and unmeritorious by the court while passing upon a case where
the land involved is subject of the interest or right being secured by the
adverse claim.
ADVERSE CLAIM NOT IPSO JURE CANCELLED AFTER 30 DAYS; HEARING
NECESSARY.
● Sajonas v. CA
○ RD cannot unilaterally cancel the adverse claim. There must be
a court hearing for the purpose. The reason for this is to afford
the adverse claimant an opportunity to be heard, providing a
venue where the propriety of his claimed interest can be
established or revoked, all for the purpose of determining at
least the existence of any encumbrance on the title arising from
such adverse claim.
PURCHASER NOT BOUND BY ANY LIEN NOT ENTERED IN THE
CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
FORECLOSURE SALE RETROACTS TO REGISTRATION OF MORTGAGE
● The settled doctrine is that the effects of a foreclosure sale retroact to
the date of registration of the mortgage.
● Hence, if the adverse claim is registered only after the annotation of the
mortgage at the back of the certificate of title, the adverse claim could
not effect the rights of the mortgagee; and the fact that the foreclosure
of the mortgage and the consequent public auction sale have been
effected long after the annotation of the adverse claim is of no moment,
because the foreclosure sale retroacts to the date of registration of the
mortgage.
Sec. 71. Surrender of certificate in involuntary dealings
COURT MAY COMPEL SURRENDER OF CERTIFICATE OF TITLE AS AN
INCIDENT IN THE MAIN CASE
● RD is authorized to require the registered owner to produce the
owner’s duplicate certificate in order that an attachment or other lien in
the nature of involuntary dealing, may be annotated thereon
● If the owner refuses or neglects to comply within reasonable time, he
shall report such fact to the proper RTC which shall, after notice, direct
the owner to produce his certificate at a time and place specified in its
order
MORTGAGE LIEN FOLLOWS MORTGAGED PROPERTY
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 ● Any lien annotated on the previous certificates of title which subsists
should be incorporated in or carried over to the new transfer certificate
of title. This is true even in the case of a real estate mortgage because
pursuant to Article 2126 of the CC, the mortgage directly and
immediately subjects the property whoever the possessor may be, to
the fulfillment of the obligation for whose security it was constituted.
● It is inseparable from the property mortgaged as it is a right in rem—a
lien on the property whoever its owner may be.
Sec. 72. Dissolution
DISSOLUTION OF ATTACHMENTS OR LIENS AND REGISTRATION
THEREOF
● Where an attachment or lien is maintained, or discharged or dissolved
by any method provided by law, the certificate or instrument for the
purpose shall be registered to give effect thereof
● If the attachment or lien is maintained, discharged or dissolved by the
order of the court, a certificate of the Clerk of Court as to the entry of
such order shall also be registered
Sec. 73. Registration of orders of court
PURPOSE OF REGISTRATION
● Purpose is to notify third persons who may be affected in their dealings
with respect to such property
● The RD may properly deny the inscription of an order of attachment or
levy of execution where the title to the property is not in the name of
the judgment debtor but of another person, and no evidence has been
submitted that he has any interest in the property
Sec. 74. Enforcement of liens on registered land
REGISTRATION OF DEEDS RELATING TO EXECUTION AND TAX
DELIQUENCY SALES
● Whenever registered land is sold on execution, or taken or sold for
taxes or for assessment or to enforce a lien of any character, or for any
costs and charges incident to such liens, any execution or copy of
execution, any officer’s return, or any deed, demand, certificate, or
affidavit, or other instrument made in the course of such proceedings to
enforce such liens and required by law to be recorded, shall be filed
with the RD of the province or city where the land lies and registered in
the registration book, and a memorandum made upon the proper
certificate of title in case as lien or encumbrance
● The following incidents on registered land in the nature of involuntary
dealings shall be registered to be effective—
○ Continuance, dissolution or discharge of attachments
○ Orders and decisions of the court
○ Deed of sale, officer’s return, order of execution, and other
instruments
TAX DELIQUENCY SALE REQUIRES PERSONAL NOTICE TO TAXPAYER
● Notice of sale to the delinquent land owners and to the public in general
is essential and indispensable requirement of law, the non-fulfillment of
which, vitiates the sale
Sec. 75. Application for new certificate upon expiration of redemption period
ENTRY OF NEW CERTIFICATE
● In case registered land which has been sold on execution for the
enforcement of any lien, except a mortgage lien, has not been
redeemed for a period allowed by law, the purchaser at such sale or
anyone claiming under him may petition the court for the issuance of a
new certificate of title to him
● But before the entry of such new certificate, the registered owner may
pursue all legal and equitable remedies to impeach or annul the
proceedings
Sec. 76. Notice of Lis Pendens
NATURE AND PURPOSE OF LIS PENDENS
● Lis pendens literally means a pending suit
● Doctrine that refers to the jurisdiction, power or control which a court
acquires over a property involved in a suit, pending the continuance of
the action, until final judgment
● The purpose of lis pendens—
○ To protect the rights of the party causing the registration of the
lis pendens
○ To advise third persons who purchase or contract on the
subject property that they do so at their peril and subject to the
result of the pending litigation
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 ● May involve actions that deal not only with title or possession of a
property but also with the use and occupation of a property
● The litigation must directly involve a specific property which is
necessarily affected by the judgment
● The notice of lis pendens is a notice to the whole world that a particular
real property is in litigation. The inscription serves as a warning that
one who acquires interest over litigated property does so at his own
risk, or that he gambles on the result of the litigation over the property
● A purchaser who buys registered land with full notice of the fact that it
is in litigation between the vendor and third party stands in the shoes of
his vendor and his title is subject to the incidents and results of the
pending litigation
● The filing of lis pendens in effect—
○ Keeps the subject matter of litigation within the power of the
court until entry of final judgment so as to prevent the defeat
of the latter by successive alienations
○ Binds the purchaser of the land subject of the litigation to the
judgment or decree that will be promulgated thereon whether
such purchaser is a bona fide purchaser or not
○ Doesn’t create a non-existent right or lien
● Purpose of this rule is founded on public policy and necessity
EFFECT OF SUCH NOTICE
1. It keeps the subject matter of the litigation within the power of the
court until the entry of final judgment so as to prevent the defeat of the
latter by successive alienations
2. It binds the purchaser of the land subject of the litigation to the
judgment or decree that will be promulgated thereon whether such
purchaser is a bona fide purchaser or not
● It is not correct to speak of it as part of the doctrine of notice,
the purchaser pendente lite is affected not by notice but
because the law doesn’t allow litigating parties to give to
others, pending the litigation, rights to the property in dispute
so as to prejudice the other party
NOTICE IS ONLY AN INCIDENT IN THE MAIN CASE; MERITS THEREOF
UNAFFECTED
● A notice of lis pendens is ordinarily recorded without the intervention
of the court where the action is pending
● It is but an incident in an action, an extrajudicial one. It doesn’t affect
the merits thereof.
NOTICE NEED NOT BE ANNOTATED ON THE OWNER’S COPY
● Annotation at the back of the original copy of the certificate of title on
file with the RD is sufficient to constitute constructive notice to
purchasers or other persons subsequently dealing with the same
property
● One who deals with property subject of a notice of lis pendens cannot
invoke the right of a purchaser in good faith—neither can he acquire the
rights better than those of his predecessor-in interest
NOTICE OF LIS PENDENS—WHEN APPROPRIATE
1. Action to recover possession of real property
2. Action to quiet title thereto
3. Action to remove cloud thereon
4. Action for partition
5. Any other proceedings of any kind in court directly affecting the title to
the land or the use or occupation thereof or the buildings thereon
NOTICE NOT PROPER IN THE FOLLOWING
1. Preliminary attachments
2. Proceedings for the probates of wills
3. Levies on execution
4. Proceedings for the administration of estate of deceased persons
5. Proceedings in which the only subject is the recovery of a money
judgment
CONTENTS OF NOTICE OF LIS PENDENS
1. A statement of the institution of an action or proceedings
2. The court where the same is pending
3. The date of its institution
4. A reference to the number of certificate of title of the land
5. An adequate description of the land affected and its registered owner
PRINCIPLE OF PRIMUS TEMPORE, POTIOR JURE; EFFECT OF LIS PENDENS
● The principle of primus tempore, potior jure gains greater significance
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 in the law on double sale of immovable property
● Reliance on the principle of constructive notice operates only such
upon the registration of the notice of lis pendens
● More fundamentally, a notice of lis pendens is only a warning to the
prospective purchaser or incumbrancer that the particular property is
in litigation and that he should keep his hands off the same, unless he
intends to gamble on the results of the litigation

CARRY OVER OF NOTICE ON SUBSEQUENT TITLES

● In case of subsequent transfers or sales, the RD is duty bound to carry
over the notice of lis pendens on all titles to be issued
● Act of RD in erasing notice of lis pendens is in plain violation of his duty,
constitutes misfeasance in the performance of his duties for which he
may be held civilly and even criminally liable for any prejudice caused to
innocent third persons and cannot affect those who are protected by
the notice inscribed in the original title

Sec. 77. Cancellation of lis pendens

CANCELLATION OF LIS PENDENS
● Ordinarily a notice which has been filed in a proper case cannot be
cancelled while the action is pending and undetermined, except in cases
expressly provided for by statute
● It may be cancelled upon order by the court or upon action by the RD at
the instance of the party who caused the registration of the notice
● While the trial court has inherent power to cancel a notice of lis
pendens, such power is exercised under express provisions of law—
○ If the annotation was for the purpose of molesting the title of
the adverse party
○ When the annotation isn’t necessary to protect the title of the
party who caused it to be recorded

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