REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

THIRD JUDICIAL REGION
BRANCH ___
GAPAN CITY

IN RE: ISSUANCE OF NEW OR

SECOND OWNER’S
DUPLICATE COPY OF TCT NO.
NT284653 OF THE REGISTRY
OF DEEDS OF NUEVA ECIJA,

LRC CASE NO. ______

EDGAR ESTEBAN y LEABRES,
Petitioner,

-versus-

THE REGISTRY OF DEEDS OF NUEVA

ECIJA,
Respondent.
x-------------------- ------x

PETITION

COMES NOW, petitioner, through the undersigned counsel, unto this

Honorable Court, most respectfully alleges that:

1. He is of legal age, married, Filipino, with residence and postal address at

Brgy. San Josef, Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija where he may be served with all judicial
processes of this Honorable Court;

2. Public respondent Registry of Deeds of the province of Nueva Ecija is a

government agency mandated by law to facilitate the registration of property and
recording of transactions and alike. It holds office at the LRA Building, Cabanatuan
City, Nueva Ecija where it may be served with summons and other court
processes;

3. The subject of this petition is a parcel of land covered by and embraced

in Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. NT-284653 of the Register of Deeds of
Nueva Ecija. It contains an area of 309 square meters, more or less, and is
situated at Barangay San Josef, Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija. The land is registered
under the name of the petitioner—Edgardo Esteban. Certified True Copy of TCT
No. NT-284653 is hereto attached and marked as Exhibit “A” to prove the
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existence of the title in the office of the public respondent and the identity of the
land covered by it;

4. Petitioner and his half-brother, Bienvenido A. Esteban (Bien), grew up in

the same household which deepened their brotherly bond. Edgar would consult
Bien whenever he would make a pivotal decision in his life. Being his big brother
whom he could rely on, he also entrusted to Bien all of his important documents
particularly the subject TCT of this petition for safekeeping;

5. Bien placed the said TCT together with his own Title to his property in
San Josef, Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija in his attaché case. He kept the same case in
one of his houses in Bicutan, Parañaque. The same house used to be occupied by
Bien’s colleagues, other than the room where he placed his attaché case;

6. In September 2016, Bien’s wife visited their house in Parañaque, and to

her utter surprise, she found the attaché case lying on the floor, opened and
emptied. There was no evidence of forced entry since the door locks remained
untouched and intact;

7. Bien’s wife immediately informed Bien and Edgar who rushed to the
scene, and searched for the documents particularly their title to their properties.
The search however, proved futile for they did not find the said documents which
were supposed to be kept in that room. They also inquired from the occupants of
the house but the same was for naught;

6. Consequently, on 29 November 2021, petitioner executed an affidavit of

loss concerning the loss of the said certificate of title. Thereafter, petitioner
caused the affidavit to be annotated on the Memorandum of Encumbrance of TCT
No. NT-284653. Said annotation as Entry No. 2021008140 can be found on page 5
of TCT No. NT-284653 and will be marked at the trial as Exhibit A-1 while the
affidavit of loss will be marked as Exhibit “B”;

7. The subject parcel of land is currently in actual physical possession of the

petitioner herein where his house is erected, and has also been declared for
taxation purposes under his name as Tax Declaration 17-17007-00909. It has an
assessed value of P 30,900.00. Taxes on the said Real Property are already paid in
advance until the 4th quarter of 2022 as evidenced by its TAX CLEARANCE which is
marked herein as Exhibit “C” to prove its existence, authenticity, due execution
and the truth of its contents

8. The owner’s duplicate copy of TCT No NT-284653, or the land covered by

it, has never been sold, conveyed, pledged, mortgaged or encumbered by the
petitioners to any person or entity to satisfy any obligation but has in fact been
missing;

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 9. This petition is filed pursuant to Section 109 of Presidential Decree (PD)
No. 1529 (Property Registration Act), which states:

SEC 109. Notice and replacement of lost duplicate certificate. –In

case of loss or theft of an owner’s duplicate certificate of title due notice
under oath shall be sent by the owner of by someone in his behalf to the
Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies as soon as
the loss or theft is discovered. If a duplicate certificate is lost or
destroyed, or cannot be produced by a person applying for the entry of
a new certificate to him or for the registration of any instrument, a
sworn statement of the fact of such loss or destruction may be filed by
the registered owner or other person in interest and registered.

Upon the petition of the registered owner or other person in

interest, the court may, after notice and due hearing, direct the issuance
of a new duplicate certificate, which shall contain a memorandum of the
fact that it is issued in place of the lost duplicate certificate, but shall in
all respect be entitled to like faith and credits as the original duplicate as
the original duplicate, and shall thereafter be regarded as such for all
purposes of this decree.

10. The petitioner himself will be presented as witness during the trial of
this case to prove the truth of the material facts narrated in this petition and to
identify and authenticate the above-stated documentary exhibits. Copy of Edgar
Esteban’s Judicial Affidavit is hereto attached and will be marked as Exhibit “D”

11. After the testimony of Edgar Esteban, the above-stated exhibits will
be marked as Exhibits “A” to “D” and shall be formally offered in support of this
petition and for the purposes as above-stated.

WHEREFORE, all the foregoing premises considered, petitioner most

respectfully prays for this Honorable Court that after due notice, posting and
hearing, judgment be rendered:

1. DECLARING the second owner’s duplicate copy of TCT No. NT-284653

registered in the name of the petitioner Edgar L. Esteban as lost and
beyond recovery; and

2. ORDERING the respondent Register of Deeds of Nueva Ecija to issue a

Second Owner’s Duplicate of TCT No. NT-284653 in accordance with the
above stated provision of PD 1529;

Petitioner further prays for other reliefs consistent with justice and equity.

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 10 January 2022; General Tinio, Nueva Ecija.

By:
ELIJAH B. BACTOL
23 Bonifacio Street, Poblacion Central,
General Tinio, Nueva Ecija
Mobile Number: 0917-8005494
Email Address: elijah77.law@gmail.com
IBP Membership No. 157636; 2/16/21;
Roll of Attorneys No. 74375
MCLE Compliance: 2019 Bar Exams passer
PTR No. 6855529; General Tinio, Nueva
Ecija;
29 January 2021

VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION

AGAINST FORUM-SHOPPING

I, EDGAR L. ESTEBAN, Filipino, of legal age, resident of Barangay San Josef,

Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija, after being sworn to in accordance with law, hereby
depose and state:

1. That I am the petitioner in the above-entitled petition;

2. That I caused the preparation and filing of the petition and I have read
and understood the allegations therein;

3. That I attest that all the allegations are true and correct of my own
personal knowledge and based on authentic documents;

4. The petition is not filed to harass, cause unnecessary delay or needlessly

increase the cost of litigation; and

5. The factual allegations therein have evidentiary support or, if specifically

identified, will likewise have evidentiary support after a reasonable
opportunity for discovery;

6. I certify that (a) I have not commenced any action or filed any claim
involving the same issues in any court, tribunal or quasi-judicial agency
and to the best of my knowledge, no such other action or claim is
pending therein; (b) if I should thereafter learn that the same or similar

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 action or claim has been filed or is pending, I shall report that fact within
five (5) calendar days therefrom to this Honorable Court.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of January
2022 at General Tinio, Nueva Ecija.

EDGAR L. LEABRES
Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me this 10 th day of January 2022 at

General Tinio, Nueva Ecija after the above-named affiant exhibited to me her
personal identification card.

Doc. No. _____

Page No. _____
Book No. III
Series of 2022