INTRO (CLM1) – MODULE 7: Registration of Land, Titles & Deeds, Prescription & Estoppel

MODULE 7
REGISTRATION OF LAND, TITLES AND DEEDS,
PRESCRIPTION AND ESTOPPEL
WEEK 6 – 3 September 2018

LAND REGISTRATION

❶ Definition. – Land registration is a judicial or administrative proceeding

whereby a person’s claim of ownership over a particular land is determined and
confirmed or recognized so that such land and the ownership thereof may be recorded
in a public registry.

❷ Purposes. –

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

❸ Torrens System. – The Torrens system of land registration was introduced in

the Philippines by Act No. 496, which took effect on February 1, 1903. This law was
amended and superseded by Presidential Decree No. 1529, which took effect on June
11, 1978, otherwise known as the “Property Registration Decree.” This is the principal
law now governing land registration in the Philippines.
 The originator of the system was Sir Richard Torrens, reformer of
Australian Land Laws.
 Under the Torrens system of registration, the government is required to
issue an official certificate of title attesting to the fact that the person named in the
certificate of title is the owner of the described property, subject to the liens and
encumbrances noted therein or reserved by law, like in the case of statutory liens. The
certificate of title is indefeasible and imprescriptible and all claims to the parcel of land
are quieted upon the issuance of the certificate of title.

❹ Judicial Land Registration. – It is a proceeding where the application for land

registration is filed in the proper court. (P.D. 1529, Sec. 14.)

 Kinds. – There are two kinds of judicial land registration:

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(a) Ordinary land registration proceeding. – where the application for land
registration is initiated and filed in court by the owner or person claiming ownership
of the land; (P.D. 1529, Sec. 14) and

(b) Cadastral land registration proceeding. – where it is the government that

undertakes the survey of the land and files the petition in court for the registration of
the whole or part of the lands in a municipality, city or province, and where all
persons are given notice by publication and required to make known and prove
their claims of ownership or interest over the same; otherwise, the lots will be
declared public land. In this sense, a cadastral proceeding is in the nature of a
large scale compulsory proceeding. (Act 2259, as amended by P.D. 1529, Secs.
35-37.)
The court, after hearing the application for land registration and as warranted by
the evidence, shall render judgment confirming the title of the applicant and ordering:
(1) the Land Registration Authority to issue the decree of registration; and (2) for the
Register of Deeds to issue the corresponding Original Certificate of Title to the
applicant or adjudged owner.
❺ Administrative Land Registration. – is a proceeding where the application for
a Free Patent, Homestead Patent, Sales Patent, or other grant of public land is filed in,
and determined by, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
If the application is granted, the DENR issues a patent for the land applied for. Such
patent shall be registered in the office of the Register of Deeds who shall then issue
the corresponding certificate of title in the name of the registered owner. (P.D. 1529,
Sec. 103.)

☝ In both judicial and administrative land registration, the Register of Deeds

makes the proper entries in his Record Book and issues the corresponding owner’s
duplicate certificate of the “ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF TITLE” to the registered
owner.

❻ Torrens Certificate of Title. – It is the evidence of ownership issued by the

Register of Deeds to the owner of a particular land which is registered under the
Torrens system of registration.

 Torrens title as conclusive evidence of ownership – A Torrens title is

generally a conclusive evidence of the ownership of the land referred to therein. A
strong presumption exists that Torrens titles are regularly issued and that they are
valid. A Torrens title is incontrovertible against any title existing prior to the issuance
thereof not annotated on the title.

 Indefeasibility of the Torrens title – A Torrens title becomes indefeasible

and can be attacked only for fraud within one (1) year after the date of the issuance of
the decree of registration. Such attack must be direct and not by collateral proceeding.
In other words, the issue on the validity of the title can only be raised in an action
expressly instituted for that purpose.
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 Registration is not a mode of acquiring ownership. – Registration is not a

mode of acquiring ownership. It does not vest or create ownership. The person who
has not previously acquired a title over the land under the law, but was able to register
the title to said land, does not make him an owner because registration is not a mode
of acquiring ownership.
➢ Title, not land, is registered. – What is being registered is the title to
the land and not the land itself. It presupposes then that the title to the land must come
first before registration; otherwise there is nothing to register. The applicant must
prove first his title or ownership before registration will be approved.
➢ If the applicant does not have valid existing right or ownership over the
land, but was able to successfully register or secure a title in his name through fraud,
he has the obligation to reconvey the title to the land to the rightful owner. The
certificate of title is merely an evidence of ownership over the particular property
described therein. It does not make the person the owner of the land by virtue of
registration, unless it is based on valid title. The certificate of title is evidence or a
certification of the government of the existence of ownership prior to registration. The
registration or the issuance of the certificate of title merely confirms the existing title or
ownership.
➢ Illustrative Example: Melchor has been in open, continuous, exclusive
and notorious possession and occupation of a piece of land for 31 years. Ronaldo
began to assert a claim over the property by securing a tax declaration and an original
certificate of title covering the land. Melchor then filed an action for reconveyance of
the land based on fraud on the part of Ronaldo in obtaining the title.
Question: Who has rightful ownership over the property?
Answer: Melchor, having possessed and occupied said land for 31 years as of the
filing of the action for reconveyance, has already acquired ownership of the land by
acquisitive prescription. This could not be defeated by Ronaldo’s acts of securing a tax
declaration and obtaining a Torrens title, because registration is not a mode of
acquiring ownership.

 Rights of the registered owner – Every registered owner receiving a

certificate of title in pursuance of a decree of registration, and every subsequent
purchaser of registered land taking a certificate of title for value and in good faith, shall
hold the same free from all encumbrances except those noted on the certificate and
any of the encumbrances which may be subsisting and enumerated in the law.

 Illustrative examples of the operation of the Torren system–

(a) Certificate of title is the best evidence of ownership. – Juan claims that he is the
absolute owner of a parcel of land because he is in possession of a certificate of
title covering the said land under his name. Maria, on the other hand, claims that
she is the absolute owner of the same parcel of land because she is in possession
of a tax declaration covering the same property under her name. Maria further
claims that she has been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession
thereof for a period of more than 30 years.
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Question: Who is considered the true owner of the land in question?

Answer: Juan is the absolute owner of the said parcel of land because he has the
certificate of title thereof under his name. While the tax declaration is under the name
of Maria, it cannot defeat Juan’s claim and ownership of the subject property. While a
tax declaration is evidence of ownership, it is not the best evidence of ownership but
only proof of payment of real property taxes. Moreover, Maria’s possession of the
property for more than 30 years may ripen into ownership under the law of acquisitive
prescription. But prescription cannot take place if the land is already covered by a
certificate of title.

(b) All transactions affecting real property must be registered to affect third persons.
– Pedro, a mortgagor, mortgaged his property to Conchita, mortgagee.
Subsequently, Pedro mortgaged the same property to Severina, another
mortgagee. Severina has no knowledge of the first mortgage.
Question: Can the rights of Severina as mortgagee be protected if Conchita registered
her mortgage by annotating the same in Pedro’s certificate of title?
Answer: Conchita’s right as mortgagee would be superior as against Severina
because the registration of Conchita’s mortgage operates as notice to the whole world.
Severina cannot claim good faith because she is presumed to have known about the
prior mortgage. It was, thus, incumbent upon Severina to inquire with the Register of
Deeds regarding previous transactions affecting the said property. In this instance,
Conchita can claim on the mortgage ahead of Severina.

 Kinds – A certificate of title may be an Original Certificate of Title (P.D.

1529, Sec. 40) or a Transfer Certificate of Title. (P.D. 1529, Sec. 43.)

① Original Certificate of Title – An original certificate of title is the first title issued in the
name of a registered owner by the Register of Deeds covering a parcel of land which
had been registered under the Torrens System, by virtue of judicial or administrative
proceeding.
➢ A parcel of land is registered under the Torrens system by the Register of Deeds
in his Record Book of an Original Certificate of Title in the name of the person who has
been declared to be the owner of the land pursuant to judicial or administrative
proceeding. (P.D. 1529, Sec. 40.)
➢ As a rule, the Original Certificate of title consists of one original copy and one
owner’s copy (also denominated “owner’s duplicate” certificate of title). However, if two
or more persons are the registered owners, one owner’s duplicate may be issued for
the whole land, or if the co-owners so desire, a separate duplicate may be issued to
each of them in like form. The Register of Deeds shall note on each certificate of title a
statement as to whom a copy thereof was issued. (P.D. 1529, Sec. 41.)
➢ Under the law, the Register of Deeds shall in each case make an exact duplicate
of the Original Certificate of Title but putting on it the words “Owner’s Duplicate
Certificate.” The original of said Original Certificate of Title is filed in the Office of the
Register of Deeds, whereas the “owner’s duplicate certificate” thereof is delivered to
the owner. (P.D. 1529, Secs. 40 & 41.)
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② Transfer Certificate of Title – It is the title issued by the Register of Deeds in favor of
a transferee to whom the ownership of the registered land has been transferred by
virtue of a sale or other modes of conveyance. The original of the Transfer Certificate
of Title is filed in the Registry of Deeds, whereas the duplicate thereof (which shall be
called “owner’s duplicate”) shall be delivered to the transferee or new owner. (P.D.
1529, Secs. 41 & 43.)
➢ The Transfer Certificate of Title is issued in lieu of the certificate of title
of the transferor which is cancelled by virtue of the transfer of ownership.

❼ Laws Affecting Registration of Titles to Land. –

(a) Land Registration Act (Act. No. 496). – On February 1, 1903, Act No. 496 took
effect.
(a.1) It established the Torrens system of registration in the country.
(a.2) It created the “Court of Land Registration” which had exclusive jurisdiction
over all applications for registration.
(a.3) It provides for an Assurance Fund. (Where a person sustains loss or
damage or is deprived of any estate or interest in land in consequence of
the operations of the Torrens system of registration, without negligence on
his part, he may bring an action for the recovery of damages to be paid out
of the Assurance Fund.)

(b) Cadastral Act (Act 2259, as amended). – On February 11, 1913, Act No. 2259,
known as the Cadastral Act, took effect. It provides that when in the opinion of the
President, the public interest requires that title to any lands be settled and
adjudicated; he shall order the Director of Lands to make a survey thereof with
notice to all persons claiming an interest thereon. The Director of Lands
represented by the Solicitor General, shall institute registration proceedings by filing
a petition in the proper court against the holders, claimants, possessors or
occupants stating that the public interest requires that titles to such lands be settled
and adjudicated. The initiative to settle and adjudicate the land comes from the
government.

(c) Land Registration Decree (P.D. No. 1529) – Presidential Decree No. 1529,
known as the Property Registration Decree, was issued on June 11, 1978. It
supersedes all other laws relative to registration of title to property.

❽ Agencies Implementing Land Registration and Land Reform. – Government

agencies implementing land registration proceedings under the Torrens system are
the:

(a) Courts;
(b) Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR);
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(c) Department of Justice (DOJ):

(c.1) Land Registration Authority (LRA);
(c.2) Registries of deeds.

(d) Department of Land Reform (DLR);

(e) Department of Agriculture.

❾ The Regalian Doctrine. – The Regalian doctrine (or jura regalia) is a time-
honored Constitutional precept that all lands of the public domain belong to the State,
and that the State is the source of any asserted right to ownership in land and charged
with the conservation of such patrimony.

 Doctrine reflected in the fundamental law – The 1987 Constitution, like the
1935 and 1973 Constitutions, embodies the principle of State ownership of lands and
all other natural resources in Section 2 of Article XII on “National Economy and
Patrimony,” to wit:

“SEC. 2. 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, 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.”

Hence, the present Constitution provides that, except for agricultural lands of
the public domain which alone may be alienated, forest or timber, and mineral lands,
as well as all other natural resources must remain with the State, the exploration,
development and utilization of which shall be subject to its full control and supervision,
albeit allowing it to enter into co-production, joint venture or production-sharing
agreements, or into agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving technical or
financial assistance for large-scale exploration, development, and utilization.

❿ Seven Steps in Judicial Land Registration. –

① Application for land registration shall be filed in court by the applicant;

② Publication of the notice of the initial hearing of said application;

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③ Opposition to said application shall be filed by any person who claims the land or
interest therein;

④ Hearing of said application and presentation of evidence in court;

⑤ Judgement shall be rendered by the court;

⑥ Decree of Registration for the land shall be issued by the LRA Administrator; and

⑦ Original Certificate of Title for the land shall be issued by the LRA Administrator
which shall then be entered by the Register of Deeds in his record book. The owner’s
duplicate of said certificate of title shall be given to the registered owner thereof.

PRESCRIPTION

❶ Concept of Prescription. – Prescription is the loss or acquisition of a right

through lapse of time. (Art. 1106, NCC.)

❷ Types of prescription. –

(a) Acquisitive prescription. – By acquisitive prescription, one acquires ownership

and other real rights through the lapse of time in the manner and under the
conditions laid down by law. (Arts. 1117, 1118, 1134 & 1137, NCC.) It is also
known as adverse possession, which has two kinds:

(a.1) Ordinary acquisitive prescription, which requires possession of things in

good faith and with just title for 10 years.

(a.2) Extraordinary acquisitive prescription, which is the acquisition of

ownership and other real rights without the need of title or of good faith or any other
condition, and would prescribe in 30 years.

(b) Extinctive prescription. – By extinctive prescription, rights and actions are lost
through the lapse of time in the manner and under the conditions laid down by law.
(Art. 1139, NCC.) A person’s uninterrupted adverse possession of patrimonial
property for at least 30 years, regardless of good faith or just title, ripens into
ownership pursuant to Art. 1137 of the Civil Code.

❸ Prescription of actions. – Actions prescribe by the mere lapse of time fixed by

law. (Art. 1139, NCC.) THUS,

(a) Actions to recover movables shall prescribe eight years from the time the
possession thereof is lost. (Art. 1140, NCC.)
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(b) Real actions over immovables prescribe after thirty years. (Art. 1141,
NCC.)

(c) A mortgage action prescribes after ten years. (Art. 1142, NCC.)

(d) The following actions must be brought within ten years from the time the right of
action accrues: (Art. 1144, NCC.)

(d.1) Upon a written contract.

(d.2) Upon an obligation created by law.
(d.3) Upon a judgment.

(e) The following actions must be commenced within six years: (Art. 1145, NCC.)

(e.1) Upon an oral contract.

(e.1) Upon a quasi-contract.

(f) The following actions must be instituted within four years: (Art. 1146,
NCC.)

(f.1) Upon an injury to the rights of the plaintiff.

(f.2) Upon a quasi-delict.

(g) All other actions whose periods are not fixed in this Code or in other laws must
be brought within five years from the time the right of action accrues. (Art. 1149,
NCC.)

❹ When prescription of actions interrupted. – The prescription of actions is

interrupted:

(a) When they are filed before the court.

(b) When there is a written extrajudicial demand by the creditors; and,
(c) When there is any written acknowledgement of the debt by the debtor.

ESTOPPEL

❶ Concept of Estoppel – Generally speaking, estoppel is a bar which precludes

a person from denying or asserting anything to the contrary of that which has, in
contemplation of law, been established as the truth, either by the acts of judicial or
legislative officers or by his own deed or representation, either expressed or implied.

 It concludes the truth in order to prevent fraud and falsehood, and

imposes silence on a party only when in conscience and honesty he should not be
allowed to speak.
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 Thus, whenever a party has, by his own declaration, act, or omission,

intentionally and deliberately led another to believe a particular thing to be true, and to
act upon such belief, he cannot, in any litigation arising out of such declaration, act, or
omission, be permitted to falsify it. The principle of estoppel would step in to prevent
one party from going back upon his own acts and representations to the prejudice of
the other party who relied upon them.

❷ Kinds of Estoppel. –

(a) Estoppel in pais (equitable estoppel) – It arises when one, by his acts,
representations or admissions, or by his silence when he ought to speak out,
intentionally or through culpable negligence, induces another to believe certain
facts to exist, and such other rightfully relies and acts on such belief, so that he will
be prejudiced if the former is permitted to deny the existence of such facts.
 Illustrative examples:

(a.1) A divorce decree was obtained from a U.S. Court by Henry,

American husband of Fe, a Filipina. While Philippine nationals are covered by the
policy against absolute divorces, aliens may obtain divorces abroad, which may be
recognized in the Philippines, provided they are valid according to their national law.
Before the U.S. Court, Henry represented that they had no community of property. He
contends that divorce is not valid in the Philippines, the same being contrary to local
law and public policy.
Question: Does Henry have the standing to sue as Fe’s husband, entitled to exercise
control over the conjugal assets?
Answer: No. He is estopped by his own representations before said court from
asserting his right over the alleged conjugal property. To maintain that under our laws,
Fe has to be considered still married to Henry, and still subject to a wife’s obligations
cannot be just. Fe should not be discriminated in her own country if the ends of justice
are to be served.

(a.2) Although the lack of jurisdiction of a court may be raised at any

stage of the action, a party may be estopped from raising such questions if he has
actively taken part in the very proceedings which he questions, belatedly objecting to
the court’s jurisdiction in the event that the judgment or order subsequently rendered is
adverse to him.

(a.3) If a vendee a retro agrees to accept a check in payment of the

repurchase price, he cannot afterwards allege that the check is not legal tender. He is
bound by his own act.

(b) Estoppel by deed (technical estoppel) – It is a bar which precludes a party to a

deed and his privies from asserting as against the other and his privies any right or
title in derogation of the deed, or from denying the truth of any material fact
asserted in it.
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 Estoppel by deed may be subclassified into estoppel by deed proper and

estoppel by record. Their common characteristic is that both are in writing.

(b.1) Estoppel by deed. – This is the kind of technical estoppel which is

in writing signed by a party, which bars him from denying the truth of any material facts
asserted in it. It may be invoked only in a suit on the deed itself, or concerning a right
arising from it.
➢ Example: If a shipper has his goods valued at only P100,000.00, he cannot
later on recover damages for its value more than what he has declared in the bill
of lading, even if the value of the goods be worth much more, for he is in estoppel.

(b.2) Estoppel by record. – This is the kind of technical estoppel where

the truth set forth in a record, whether judicial or legislative, cannot be denied.
➢ Example: Agnes obtains a judgment of paternity in court showing that
Diego is the father of her daughter Allyanna. Later, Agnes seeks an order for
Diego to pay child support. Because the issue of paternity has already been
established by the court, Diego is collaterally estopped (or “estopped by record”)
from claiming he is not the father, in an attempt to avoid his child support
obligations.

(c) Estoppel by laches. – Laches is failure or neglect, for an unreasonable and

unexplained length of time, to do that which, by exercising due diligence, could or
should have been done earlier; it is negligence or omission to assert a right within a
reasonable time, warranting a presumption that the party entitled to assert it either
has abandoned or declined to assert it.

 The doctrine of laches or of “stale demands” presumes that the party

guilty of negligence, silence or inaction had the right and opportunity to speak or do
what should have been done, and, in addition, the obligation and duty to do so, but
failed to do so.

 Example: The prescriptive period in an action for recovery of a sum of

money based on a promissory note is 10 years counted from the time of the maturity
date of the obligation. Let us assume that the debt covered by the promissory note is
due for collection on January 15, 2009. Under the statute of limitations, the creditor
has until January 15, 2019 within which to collect the indebtedness. Supposing that
the creditor files his claim for collection against the debtor on November 15, 2018,
although the action is filed within the prescriptive period of 10 years, the court can
dismiss the case on the ground of laches.

❸ Estoppel cannot be invoked against the government. – The government is

not estopped by reason of the errors or mistakes of its officials or agents.
 Thus, estoppel cannot be applied to validate a contract entered into by a
Municipality over which it has no power to make. To apply estoppel in such a case
would enable the Municipality to do indirectly what it cannot do directly. Also, where
the contract is violative of public policy, the Municipality executing it cannot be
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estopped to assert the invalidity of the contract. Neither can it be estopped from
asserting the invalidity of a contract which has ceded away, controlled or embarrassed
its legislative or governmental powers.

* * * END * * *

HAPPY READING & LEARNING! 

SOURCES of NOTES:

The discussions outlined in this module have been collectively lifted

from the cases cited and commentaries made by the authors in the
references cited below:

1. Oswaldo D. Agcaoili. Property Registration Decree and Related Laws (Manila:

Rex Book Store, 2015).

2. Gregorio G. Bilog, Jr. Land Titles and Deeds (Manila: Rex Book Store, 2005).

3. Hector S. De Leon. Obligations and Contracts (Manila: Rex Book Store, 2014).

4. Marcelino T. Lizaso. Introduction to Law (Quezon City: Central Lawbook

Publishing Co., Inc., 1991).

5. Emmanuel B. Palabrica. Land Titles and Deeds: Cases and Commentaries

(Manila: Rex Book Store, 2017).

6. Paras, Edgardo. (Manila: Rex Book Store, 2016).

7. Ernesto L. Pineda. Obligations and Contracts (Quezon City: Central Book

Supply Inc., 2009).

8. Arturo M. Tolentino. Commentaries and Jurisprudence on the Civil Code of the

Philippines, Volume IV (Quezon City: Central Lawbook Publishing Co., Inc., 1991).

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

“By three methods we may learn wisdom:

First, by reflection, which is noblest;
Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and
Third, by experience, which is the bitterest.”
Confucius