TORRENS SYSTEM

1) Torrens system under Act No. 496, or the Land Registration Act of 1903 is said to be almost a verbatim copy of
the Massachusetts Land Registration Act of 1898, which, in turn, followed the principles and procedure of the
Torrens system of registration formulated by Sir Robert Torrens who patterned it after the Merchant shipping
Acts in South Australia.

2) The main principle of registration is to make registered titles indefeasible.

3) The element of intention to deprive another of just rights constitutes the essential characteristics of actual as
distinguished from legal-fraud.

4) Proof of constructive fraud is not sufficient to authorize the Court of Land Registration to reopen a case and
modify its decree. Specific, intentional acts to deceive and deprive another of his right or in some manner injure
him, must be alleged and proved; that is there must be actual or positive fraud as distinguished from
constructive fraud.

Purposes:

1) To quiet title to the land and to stop forever any question as to the legality of said title.

2) To relieve the land of unknown claims.

3) To guarantee the integrity of land titles and to protect their indefeasibility once the claim of
ownership is established and recognized.

4) To give every registered owner complete peace of mind.

5) To issue a certificate of title to the owner which shall be the best evidence of his ownership of
the land.

6) To avoid conflicts of title in and to real estate and to facilitate transactions.

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

The Regalian Doctrine

All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of
potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by
the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated. The
exploration, development and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the
State. The State may directly undertake such activities or it may enter into co-production, joint venture or
production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of
whose capital is owned by such citizens. Such agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years,
renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and under such terms and conditions as may be provided by law.
In cases of water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of
water power, beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the grant.

Under the Regalian doctrine, all lands of the public domain belong to the State and lands not otherwise
appearing to be clearly within. Private ownership is presumed to belong to the State. Unless public land is shown
to have been reclassified as alienable or disposable, and subsequently alienated by the State, it remains part of the
public domain. Occupation or possession thereof by a person in the concept of owner, no matter how long cannot
ripen in ownership.

The Regalian Doctrine does not negate native title.

Cariño case firmly established a concept of private land title that existed irrespective of any royal grant
from the State and was based on the strong mandate extended to the Islands via the Philippine Bill of 1902. The
IPRA recognizes the existence of ICCs /IPs as a distinct sector in the society. It grants this people the ownership and
possession of their ancestral domains and ancestral lands and defines the extent of these lands and domains.

The land has been held by individuals under a claim of private ownership, it will be presumed to have
been held in the same way from before the Spanish conquest, and never to have been public land.

Citizenship Requirement

Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be transferred or conveyed except to
individuals, corporations, or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain.

Natural-born citizen of the Philippines who has lost his Philippine citizenship may be a transferee of
private lands, subject to limitations provided by law.

The landmark case of Krivenko v. Register of Deeds settled the issue as to who are qualified (and
disqualified) to own public as well as private lands in the Philippines.

In fine, non-Filipinos cannot acquire or hold title to private lands or to lands of the public domain, except
only by way of legal succession.

But what is the effect of a subsequent sale by the disqualified alien vendee to a qualified Filipino citizen?
This is not a novel question. Jurisprudence is consistent that “if land is invalidly transferred to an alien who
subsequently becomes a citizen or transfers it to a citizen, the flaw in the original transaction is considered cured
and the title of the transferee is rendered valid.”

CORPORATIONS

1) Private corporations or associations may not hold such alienable lands of the public domain except by
lease, for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years,
and not to exceed one thousand hectares in area.

2) Corporations or associations — whether citizens or of citizens and aliens — may not own, but may only
hold by lease lands of the public domain.

3) However, only corporations or associations at least 60% of the capital stock of which is owned by
Filipinos, and the remainder by foreigners, may own private lands.
 GENERAL PROVISIONS

Nature of registration proceedings; jurisdiction of courts.

Judicial proceedings for the registration of lands throughout the Philippines shall be in rem and shall be
based on the generally accepted principles underlying the Torrens system. Courts of First Instance (now Regional
Trial Courts) shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all applications for original registration of title to lands, including
improvements and interests therein, and over all petitions filed after original registration of title, with power to
hear and determine all questions arising upon such applications or petitions. The court through the clerk of court
shall furnish the Land Registration Commission with two certified copies of all pleadings, exhibits, orders, and
decisions filed or issued in applications or petitions for land registration, with the exception of stenographic notes,
within five days form the filing or issuance thereof.

1) Registration is not a mode of acquiring ownership but is merely a procedure to establish evidence of
tile over realty.

2) A certificate of title is not a source of right. It merely confirms or records a title already existing and
vested. The mere possession thereof does not make one the true owner of the property.

3) Title is generally defined as the lawful cause or ground of possessing that which is ours. Title, therefore,
may be defined briefly as that which constitutes a just cause of exclusive possession, or which is the
foundation of ownership of property, real or personal. Certificate of title, on the other hand, is a mere
evidence of ownership; it is not the title to the land itself.

4) Under the Torrens system, a certificate of title may be:

a. Original Certificate of Title – the first title issued in the name of the registered owner by the
Register of Deeds covering a parcel of land which had been registered by virtue of a judicial or
administrative proceeding.

b. Transfer Certificate of Title – the title issued by the ROD in favor of the transferee to whom the
ownership of the already registered land had been transferred by virtue of a sale or other
modes of conveyance.

5) Torrens Title is a certificate of ownership issued under the Torres System, through the Register of
Deeds, naming and declaring the owner of the real property described therein, free from all liens and
encumbrances except such as may be expressly noted there or otherwise reserved by law.

6) General Rule – A title once registered cannot be impugned, altered, changed, modified, enlarged, or
diminished. It shall not be subject to collateral attack. Exception – Direct proceeding permitted by law,
usually for the protection of innocent third persons.

7) Nature of Torrens System:

a. Judicial in character and not merely administrative.

b. Proceeding is in rem (binding upon the whole world). A proceeding is in rem when the object
of the action is to bar indifferently all who might be minded to make an objection of any sort
against the right sought to be established, and if anyone in the world has a right to be heard on
the strength of alleging facts which, if true, show an inconsistent interest.
 8) RTC have plenary jurisdiction over land registration cases as provided in Section 2 of PD 1529.
Exception – Inferior Courts delegated jurisdiction to hear and determine cadastral or land registration
cases in the following instances:

a. Where the lot sought to be registered is not the subject of controversy or opposition; or

b. Where the lot is contested but the value thereof does not exceed P100,000.00, such value to
be ascertained by the affidavit of the claimant or by the agreement of the respective
claimants, if there be more than one, or from the corresponding tax declaration of the real
property.

9) Actions for forcible entry into and unlawful detainer of lands or buildings, original jurisdiction over
which is conferred upon the metropolitan trial courts, municipal trial courts, and municipal circuit trial
courts.

10) Venue

a. Real Actions affecting title to or possession of real property, or an interest therein shall be
commenced and tried in the proper court which has territorial jurisdiction over the area
where the real property involved, or a portion thereof, is situated.

b. Personal Actions shall be commenced and tried in the proper court where the plaintiff or any
of the principal defendants resides or in the case of a non-resident defendant where he may
be found, at the election of the plaintiff.

THE LAND REGISTRATION COMMISSION AND ITS REGISTRIES OF DEEDS

Land Registration Commission.

In order to have a more efficient execution of the laws relative to the registration of lands, geared to the
massive and accelerated land reform and social justice program of the government, there is created a commission
to be known as the Land Registration Commission under the executive supervision of the Department of Justice.

Officials and employees of the Commission.

The Land Registration Commission shall have a chief and an assistant chief to be known, respectively, as
the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of Land Registration who shall be appointed by the President.
The Commissioner shall be duly qualified member of the Philippine Bar with at least ten years of practice in the
legal profession, and shall have the same rank, compensation and privileges as those of a Judge of the Court of
First Instance. The Deputy Commissioner, who shall possess the same qualifications as those required of the
Commissioner, shall receive compensation which shall be three thousand pesos per annum less than that of the
Commissioner. He shall act as Commissioner of Land Registration during the absence or disability of the
Commissioner and when there is a vacancy in the position until another person shall have been designated or
appointed in accordance with law. The Deputy Commissioner shall also perform such other functions as the
Commissioner may assign to him.

They shall be assisted by such number of division chiefs as may be necessary in the interest of the
functioning of the Commission, by a Special Assistant to the Commissioner, and by a Chief Geodetic Engineer who
shall each receive compensation at the rate of three thousand four hundred pesos per annum less than that of the
Deputy Commissioner.

All other officials and employees of the Land Registration Commission including those of the Registries of
Deeds whose salaries are not herein provided, shall receive salaries corresponding to the minimum of their
respective upgraded ranges as provided under paragraph 3.1 of Budget Circular No. 273, plus sixty per centum
thereof across the board, notwithstanding the maximum salary allowed for their respective civil service eligibilities.

The salaries of officials and employees provided in this Decree shall be without prejudice to such benefits
and adjustments as may from time to time be granted by the President or by the legislature to government
employees. All officials and employees of the Commission except Registers of Deeds shall be appointed by the
Secretary of Justice upon recommendation of the Commissioner of Land Registration.

1) On June 17, 1954, RA No. 1151 created the Land Registration Commission (LRC) to provide a more
efficient execution of the existing laws relative to the registration of lands.

2) LRC exercise supervision and control over all Registers of Deeds, as well as the clerical and archival
system of the courts of first instance throughout the Philippines with the reference to the registration
of lands.

3) It was headed by a Commissioner and an Assistant Commissioner, both appointed by the President
with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.

4) The LRC has been renamed Land Registration Authority (LRA). It is headed by an Administrator who is
assisted by two (2) Deputy Administrators, all of whom are appointed by the President upon the
recommendation of the Secretary of Justice. All other officials of the LRA, except Register of Deeds, are
appointed by the Secretary of Justice upon recommendation of the Administrator.

5) The LRA is the central repository of records relative to original registration of lands titled under the
Torrens system, including subdivision and consolidation plans of titled lands. Specifically, it is
responsible for the issuance of decrees of registration and certificates of title (original and duplicate)
where land is brought for the first time under the Torrens system.

General Functions.

1. The Commissioner of Land Registration shall have the following functions:

a) Issue decrees of registration pursuant to final judgments of the courts in land registration
proceedings and cause the issuance by the Registers of Deeds of the corresponding
certificates of title;

b) Exercise supervision and control over all Registers of Deeds and other personnel of the
Commission;

c) Resolve cases elevated en consulta by, or on appeal from decision of, Registers of Deeds;

d) Exercise executive supervision over all clerks of court and personnel of the Courts of First
Instance throughout the Philippines with respect tothe discharge of their duties and functions
in relation to the registration of lands;

e) Implement all orders, decisions, and decrees promulgated relative to the registration of lands
and issue, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Justice, all needful rules and regulations
therefor;
 f) Verify and approve subdivision, consolidation, and consolidation subdivision survey plans of
properties titled under Act No. 496 except those covered by P.D. No. 957.

2. The Land Registration Commission shall have the following functions:

a) Extend speedy and effective assistance to the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Land Bank,
and other agencies in the implementation of the land reform program of the government;

b) Extend assistance to courts in ordinary and cadastral land registration proceedings;

c) Be the central repository of records relative to original registration of lands titled under the
Torrens system, including subdivision and consolidation plans of titled lands.

LRA Administrator, an executive officer with judicial rank.

a. Shall have the same rank, compensation, and privileges as those of a Judge of the Court of First
Instance (RTC).

b. His functions are plainly executive and subject to the President’s power of supervision and control.

c. He can be investigated and removed only by the President and not by the Supreme Court.

Duty of LRA to issue decree ministerial.

a. While the duty of the LRA officials to issue a decree of registration is purely ministerial, it is ministerial
only in the sense that they act under the orders of the court and the decree must be in conformity
with the decision of the court and with the data found in the record, as to which they have no
discretion on the matter.

b. But the issuance by LRA officials of a decree of registration is not a purely ministerial duty in cases
where they find that such would result to the double titling of the same parcel of land.

c. The issuance of a decree of registration is part of the judicial function of courts and is not compellable
by mandamus because it involves the exercise of discretion.

d. The duty of land registration officials to render reports is not limited to the period before the court’s
decision becomes final, but may extend even after its finality but not beyond the lapse of one (1) year
from the entry of the decree.

Registry of Property:

a. The registration of instruments affecting registered land must be done in the proper registry, in order
to affect and bind the land and, thus, operate as constructive notice to the world.

b. If the sale is not registered, it is binding only between the seller and the buyer but it does not affect
innocent third persons.

c. The Civil Code, in Article 708, provides for the establishment of a Registry of Property which has for its
object the inscription or annotation of acts and contracts relating to the ownership and other rights
over immovable property.

d. The original copy of the original certificate of title shall be filed in the Registry of Deeds.
 e. Each Register of Deeds shall keep a primary entry book where all instruments including copies of writs
and processes relating to registered land shall be entered in the order of their filing. They shall be
regarded as registered from the time so noted.

Registration in general, as the law uses the word, means any entry made in the books of the Registry, including
both registration in its ordinary and strict sense, and cancellation, annotation, and even the marginal notes. In its
strict acceptation, it is the entry made in the Registry which records solemnly and permanently the right of
ownership and other real rights.

When a conveyance has been properly recorded, such record is constructive notice of its contents and all interests,
legal and equitable, included therein.

Effect of Registration:

a. 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.

b. Registration in the public registry is notice to the whole world.

c. Thus, between two buyers of the same immovable property registered under the Torrens system, the
law gives ownership priority to:
i. The first registrant in good faith;
ii. Then, the first possessor in good faith; and
iii. Finally, the buyer who in good faith presents the oldest title.

This rule, however, does not apply if the property is not registered under the Torrens system.

d. In a case, two certificates of title were issued covering the very same property derived from two
different land patents, the Court ruled in favor of the owner who registered his land patent first
regardless of the date of issuance of the said land patent.

Office of the Register of Deed:

a. There shall be at least one Register of Deeds for each province and one for each city.

b. The Secretary of Justice shall define the official station and territorial jurisdiction of each Registry upon
the recommendation of the LRA Administrator.

c. Registers of Deeds shall be appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Secretary of
Justice.

d. Deputy Registers of Deeds and all other subordinate personnel of the Registries of Deeds shall be
appointed by the Secretary of Justice upon the recommendation of the LRA Administrator.

e. Both the Register of Deeds and Deputy Register of Deeds must be members of the Bar.

Duty of Register of Deeds to register, ministerial.

a. Register of Deeds perform both functions of an administrative character and functions which are at
least of a quasi-judicial nature.
 b. However, the function of a Register of Deeds with reference to the registration of deeds,
encumbrances, instruments and the like is ministerial in nature.

c. Registration is a mere ministerial act by which a deed, contract or instrument is sought to be inscribed
in the records of the office of the Register of Deeds and annotated at the back of the certificate of the
title covering the land subject of the deed, contract or instrument. Whether the document is invalid,
frivolous or intended to harass, is not the duty of a Register of Deeds to decide, but is for a court of
competent jurisdiction to determine.

Instances where Register of Deeds may deny registration:

a. Where there are several copies of the title (co-owner’s duplicate) but only one is presented with the
instrument to be registered.

b. Where the property is presumed to be conjugal but the instrument of conveyance bears the signature
of only one spouse.

c. Where there is a pending case in court where the character of the land and validity of the conveyance
are in issue.

d. Where required certificates or documents are not submitted. The refusal by the Register of Deeds to
register an instrument affecting registered land by reason of non-compliance with certain
requirements does not bar registration if thereafter the defects are cured.

Doubtful questions shall be submitted to LRA Administrator for resolution:

a. A Register of Deeds is precluded from exercising his personal judgment and discretion when confronted
with the problem of whether to register a deed or instrument on the ground that it is invalid.

b. When the Register of Deeds is in doubt with regard to the proper step to be taken or memorandum to
be made in pursuance of any deed, mortgage or other instrument presented to him for registration, or
where any party in interest does not agree with the action taken by him with reference to any such
deed or instrument, he shall certify the question to the LRA Administrator who shall, after notice and
hearing, enter an order prescribing the step to be taken on the doubtful question.

c. The administrative remedy must be resorted to by the interested party before he can have recourse to
the courts.

The act of registration does not validate an otherwise void contract. While registration operates as a
notice of the deed, contract, or instrument to others, it does not add to its validity nor converts an invalid
instrument into a valid one as between the parties, not amounts to a declaration that the instrument recognizes a
valid and subsisting interest in the land.

Notice to the Register of Deeds or adverse party.

a) When a writ of preliminary injunction in a cadastral proceeding is dissolved, the obstacle to the
registration of a deed of sale is removed, but it is no authority for the court to issue an order for
registration of said deed without notice to the Register of Deeds or to the adverse party, where the
dismissal of the cadastral case is not yet final.

b) It is one thing for the Register of Deeds, in the exercise of his ministerial duties under the law, to
register an instrument which in his opinion is registrable, and quite another thing for the court itself to
order the registration. The former does not contemplate notice to and hearing of interested parties
 such as are required in a judicial proceeding nor carries with it the solemnity and legal consequences
of a court judgment.

Chief Geodetic Engineer.

There shall be a Chief Geodetic Engineer in the Land Registration Commission who shall be the technical
adviser of the Commission on all matters involving surveys and shall be responsible to him for all plats,
plans and works requiring the services of a geodetic engineer in said office. He shall perform such other
functions as may, from time to time, be assigned to him by the Commissioner.

1) A survey plan serves to establish the true identity of the land to ensure that it does not overlap a parcel
of land or a portion thereof already covered by a previous land registration, and to forestall the
possibility that it will be overlapped by a subsequent registration of any adjoining land.

2) Only the Lands Management Bureau has authority to approve original survey plans for registration
purposes. There was a need to centralize in one agency, the function of verifying and approving
original survey plans for all purposes in order to assure compliance with established standards and
minimize irregularities in the execution of land surveys.