THE LAND REGISTRATION

LAWS WITH UPDATES

By: Atty. Gener C. Endona
For Pre-Bar Review
 Presidential Decree No. 1529
PROPERTY REGISTRATION
DECREE
AMENDING AND CODIFYING THE LAWS RELATIVE TO REGISTRATION OF
PROPERTY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
June 11, 1978
Republic Act No. 26            
September 25, 1946

AN ACT PROVIDING A SPECIAL PROCEDURE

FOR THE RECONSTITUTION OF TORRENS
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE LOST OR DESTROYED
 Administratively under RA 6732 -
AN ACT ALLOWING ADMINISTRATIVE RECONSTITUTION OF
ORIGINAL COPIES OF CERTIFICATES OF TITLES LOST OR
DESTROYED DUE TO FIRE, FLOOD AND OTHER FORCE
MAJEURE (at least 10% was lost or destroyed)
 Offices of Interest

Land Registration Authority (LRA) - plans and decrees, consulta

Register of Deeds - titles and deeds, chattel mortgages
Assessor’s Office - tax declaration, Certificate of No Improvement, municipal
map
Treasurer’s Office - RPT, Tax Clearance, Transfer Tax
Mayor’s Office, Sanggunian - reclassification, Zoning, Building Permits
BIR - Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR), national taxes - CGT, DST,
ET, DT, CWT, VAT
DAR - EP and CLOAs, Retention, Conversion
PARAB & DARAB - quasi-judicial agency; adjudicates agrarian
reform conflicts and issues
DA - clearances
NIA - clearances
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development
(formerly HLURB) - clearances, zoning, homeowners’ issues,
developer-buyer issues
DENR - environmental clearance certificate, plans and surveys
Philippine Coconut Authority - clearance
Philippine Sugar Commission - clearance
Office of Registry of Deeds

Appointed by the President

There must be one registry for every Province and
every City
Deputy Register of Deeds
Must be a lawyer engaged in the practice of law
for at least 3 years
Functions of Register of Deeds

The office of the Register of Deeds constitutes a

public repository of records of instruments
affecting registered or unregistered lands and
chattel mortgages in the province or city wherein
such office is situated.
Ministerial Function of RD

Not a lawyer for any party

Not exercising quasi-judicial or judicial functions
As long as document is complete in form and
substance and all supporting documents are
submitted - duty to register is ministerial
Ministerial Function of RD

Cannot check on authenticity of signatures on a

notarized document or if parties are still alive
Cannot correct errors on title (only Court can do)
Making sure that owner’s copy of title is genuine
and existing in the registry
 Acknowledgment

Two witnesses on documents needed to be Acknowledged

Two Witnesses and separate acknowledgment on Thumbmark
(Section 1 (b), 2004 Notarial Law; Sec. 112 PD 1529
Where the instrument acknowledged relates to a sale, transfer,
mortgage or encumbrance of two or more parcels of land, the
number thereof shall likewise be set forth in said
acknowledgment. (Sec. 112, PD 1529)
 Can titles with Adverse Claims and
Notice or Lis Pendens be transferred?

YES, even without Court Order. The encumbrance shall be

carried over to the new title and shall bind the transferee.
To prevent transfer, get a TRO from Court. But this is not
necessary as any transferee shall be bound by the
annotations of encumbrances on the title.
No need to implead transferee as decision shall bind him if
there is a Notice of Lis Pendens
 Different Kinds of Titles
Original Certificate of Title
Transfer Certificate of Title
OCT issued pursuant to a Decree of Registration
Patent Titles issued by DENR
Emancipation Patents issued by DAR
Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) issued by DAR
Domain Titles issued by NCIP
Can RD Confiscate Fake Titles?

Fake title versus Spurious Title

Endorsement to Task Force Titulong Malinis of
LRA for Investigation
Finding of fake title is a requisite to filing an
annulment of title based on this ground.
 Different Petitions in Court
for Issuance of Decree and OCT

Original Registration Proceedings (Chapter III,

Sections 14-34) Amended by RA 11573
Cadastral Registration Proceedings (Chapter IV,
Sections 35-38
Petition for Cancellation and Re-issuance of Decree
(Consulta, May 5, 2004, LRA; Teofilo Cacho vs CA,
et al, GR No. 123361, March 3, 1997)
 Original Application
Section 14. Who may apply. The following persons may file in the proper Court of First Instance an
application for registration of title to land, whether personally or through their duly authorized
representatives:
(1) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open,
continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of alienable and disposable lands of
the public domain under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, or earlier.(AMENDED
BY RA 11573, JULY 16, 2021 to 20 years)
(2) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands by prescription under the provision of
existing laws (30 years)
(3) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned river beds by right of
accession or accretion under the existing laws. (Law on Property, Accession, Avulsion)
(4) Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other manner provided for by law. (Sale,
contracts)
Where the land is owned in common, all the co-owners shall file the application jointly.
Where the land has been sold under pacto de retro, the vendor a retro may file an application for the
original registration of the land, provided, however, that should the period for redemption expire
during the pendency of the registration proceedings and ownership to the property consolidated in
the vendee a retro, the latter shall be substituted for the applicant and may continue the
proceedings.
A trustee on behalf of his principal may apply for original registration of any land held in trust by him,
unless prohibited by the instrument creating the trust.
 Where to File?
Republic Act No. 7691             March 25, 1994
Section 4. Section 34 of the same law is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 34. Delegated Jurisdiction in Cadastral and Land Registration Cases. –
Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts may
be assigned by the Supreme Court to hear and determine cadastral or land registration
cases covering lots where there is no controversy or opposition, or contested lots where
the value of which does not exceed One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00), such
value to be ascertained by the affidavit of the claimant or by agreement of the
respective claimants if there are more than one, or from the corresponding tax
declaration of the real property. Their decisions in these cases shall be appealable in
the same manner as decisions of the Regional Trial Courts."
Section 5. After five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act, the jurisdictional amounts
mentioned in Sec. 19(3), (4), and (8); and Sec. 33(1) of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 as
amended by this Act, shall be adjusted to Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00).
Five (5) years thereafter, such jurisdictional amounts shall be adjusted further to Three
hundred thousand pesos (P300,000.00): Provided, however, That in the case of Metro
Manila, the abovementioned jurisdictional amounts shall be adjusted after five (5) years
from the effectivity of this Act to Four hundred thousand pesos (P400,000.00).
 Documentary Requirements

Evidence of ownership or possession (tax declaration, deeds of transfer, affidavits,

payment of real property taxes, etc.)
If inherited, proof of death of previous owners, birth certificates of applicants
Approved technical description;
Approved plan/survey;
Lot Data Computation;
*Certification that Land is Alienable and Disposable
*Certification from LRA that land has not been issued any decree of registration
*Certification from DENR that land has not been issued any patent title
PUBLICATION REQUIREMENTS

ORIGINAL REGISTRATION - Publication once in the

Official Gazette and once in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Philippines
RECONSTITUTION OF RD COPY OF TITLE - two
successive issues of the Official Gazette
Replacement of Lost Owner’s Duplicate - no publication
required
 Decree of Registration

Sec. 30 - After judgment has become final and

executory, it shall devolve upon the court to forthwith
issue an order in accordance with Section 39 of this
Decree to the Commissioner for the issuance of the
decree of registration and the corresponding
certificate of title in favor of the person adjudged
entitled to registration.
Can a corporation apply for Judicial
Confirmation of Title?

Case: Republic vs. T.A.N Properties, Inc., GR No.

154953, June 26, 2008
Yes, provided that the corporation acquired the
land from individuals who have possessed the
same for the required prescriptive period.
 Tax Declaration Not Sufficient
Republic vs. Lualhati, G.R. No. 183511, March 25, 2015

Payment of realty taxes for a brief and fleeting period simply cannot
be considered sufficient proof of ownership. It is clear, therefore,
that respondent’s assertion of possession before 1945 will not
suffice for applicants for registration must present proof of specific
acts of possession and ownership and cannot just offer general
statements which are mere conclusions of law rather than factual
evidence of possession.
Furthermore, it bears stressing that tax declarations and receipts
are not conclusive evidence of ownership or of the right to possess
land when not supported by any other evidence. The disputed
property may have been declared for taxation purposes in the
names of the applicants for registration, or of their predecessors-in-
interest, but it does not necessarily prove ownership. They are
merely indicia of a claim of ownership.
 However…
Nabo vs. Buenviaje, G.R. No. 224906,
October 07, 2020

Time and again, the Court ratiocinated that although tax

declarations or realty tax payments of property are not
conclusive evidence of ownership, they are, however,
good indicia of possession in the concept of an owner, for
no one in his right mind would be paying taxes for a
property that is not in his actual or constructive possession.
They constitute at least proof that the holder has a claim of
title over the property. (Long Period of time in payment of
RPT)
 Procedure

Notice of Hearing - Section 23. Notice of initial hearing, publication, etc.

The court shall, within five days from filing of the application, issue an
order setting the date and hour of the initial hearing which shall not be
earlier than forty-five days nor later than ninety days from the date of the
order.
Publication- once in OG and once in newspaper of general circulation
Posting - conspicuous place on each parcel;bulletin board of the
municipal building of the municipality or city (at least 14 days prior to
date of initial hearing)
 Procedure

Mailing - to all persons named in the application;

adjacent owners; DPWH, Governor and Mayor if
affecting a road or Highway; OSG, DA, BFAR,
DAR, Mines Bureau
 Order of Default

Section 26. Order of default; effect. If no person appears and answers

within the time allowed, the court shall, upon motion of the applicant,
no reason to the contrary appearing, order a default to be recorded and
require the applicant to present evidence. By the description in the
notice "To all Whom It May Concern", all the world are made parties
defendant and shall be concluded by the default order.
Where an appearance has been entered and an answer filed, a default
order shall be entered against persons who did not appear and answer.
 Hearing and Judgment

Reception of Evidence for applicant and Oppositors

Section 30. When judgment becomes final; duty to cause
issuance of decree. The judgment rendered in a land
registration proceedings becomes final upon the
expiration of thirty days to be counted from the data of
receipt of notice of the judgment. An appeal may be taken
from the judgment of the court as in ordinary civil cases.
 Decree and OCT

Once a Decree of Registration is issued by LRA, a

corresponding OCT shall be issued pursuant to said Decree;
The Decree and OCT shall be transmitted to the Registry of
Deeds concerned for registration and issuance to the
applicant
All succeeding titles issued after the OCT shall be called
Transfer Certificates of Title (TCT)
Petition for Review or Re-Opening of
Decree

Sole ground is FRAUD

Must be filed within one year from entry of decree

Upon the expiration of said period of one year, the decree of

registration and the certificate of title issued shall become
incontrovertible. Any person aggrieved by such decree of
registration in any case may pursue his remedy by action for
damages against the applicant or any other persons responsible
for the fraud.
Innocent Purchaser for Value

Sec. 32 - in no case shall such petition (for review or re-

opening of decree) be entertained by the court where an
innocent purchaser for value has acquired the land or an
interest therein, whose rights may be prejudiced.
Whenever the phrase "innocent purchaser for value" or an
equivalent phrase occurs in this Decree, it shall be deemed
to include an innocent lessee, mortgagee, or other
encumbrancer for value.
 Cadastral Proceedings

Initiated by the State through the Director of Lands

Survey of the lands shall be made and all claimants must

inform the Geodetic Engineer of their claims on the land

The State shall file the Petition for Original Registration of the
lands surveyed claiming ownership thereof as against all the
holders, claimants, possessors, or occupants of such lands or
any part thereof
Filing of Claims/Answer

holders, claimants, possessors, or occupants of

such lands or any part thereof must file an Answer
and prove their claims in the Cadastral
Proceedings, otherwise, the lands shall be
adjudicated in favour of the State.
 Petition for Cancellation and Re-
Issuance of Decree

Applies only if a Decree has been issued to a

particular property but there is no evidence that an
OCT has been issued pursuant thereto.

Basis is Reply of LRA dated May 5, 2004 to query of

Atty. Marco T. Juni citing Teofilo Cacho vs. CA, et
al., GR No. 123361, March 3, 1997
Rationale of Cacho Ruling

We cannot file a Petition for Reconstitution of OCT since no

OCT was issued pursuant to said decree;
We need to cancel the Decree and Re-Issue the same with the
OCT because under Section 31. every decree of registration
issued by the Commissioner shall bear the date, hour and minute
of its entry, and shall be signed by him. And so is the OCT. If we
issue the OCT without re-issuing the Decree, there will be a
discrepancy on the date, hour, minute of its entry and signatory.
 Application

There must be evidence that a decree was indeed

issued in a land registration case, but there was no
proof, however, that an original certificate of title
was issued pursuant to the decree.
 Requirements

Get Certified copy of Decree from the Court or LRA;

Get Certification from Registry of Deeds that no OCT
was issued to said decree or that said decree was not
registered in its Decree Issuance Book;
Get Certification from DENR/PENRO that no patent
title was issued to the lot applied for.
Petition for Reconstitution

Applies if the one that was lost is the title in the possession of
the Register of Deeds
May be done Judicially under Act No. 26 or Administratively
under RA 6732 - AN ACT ALLOWING ADMINISTRATIVE
RECONSTITUTION OF ORIGINAL COPIES OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLES LOST OR DESTROYED DUE
TO FIRE, FLOOD AND OTHER FORCE MAJEURE (at
least 10% was lost or destroyed)
 Basis of Reconstitution
for Lost OCT

Section 2. Original certificates of title shall be reconstituted from such of the sources hereunder
enumerated as may be available, in the following order:

(a) The owner's duplicate of the certificate of title;

(b) The co-owner's, mortgagee's, or lessee's duplicate of the certificate of title;

(c) A certified copy of the certificate of title, previously issued by the register of deeds
or by a legal custodian thereof;
 Basis of Reconstitution
for Lost OCT

(d) An authenticated copy of the decree of registration or patent, as the case may be,
pursuant to which the original certificate of title was issued;

(e) A document, on file in the registry of deeds, by which the property, the description
of which is given in said document, is mortgaged, leased or encumbered, or an
authenticated copy of said document showing that its original had been registered;
and

(f) Any other document which, in the judgment of the court, is sufficient and proper
basis for reconstituting the lost or destroyed certificate of title.
 Basis for Reconstitution
of TCT

(a) The owner's duplicate of the certificate of title;

(b) The co-owner's, mortgagee's, or lessee's duplicate of the certificate of
title;
(c) A certified copy of the certificate of title, previously issued by the
register of deeds or by a legal custodian thereof;
(d) The deed of transfer or other document, on file in the registry of deeds,
containing the description of the property, or an authenticated copy thereof,
showing that its original had been registered, and pursuant to which the lost
or destroyed transfer certificate of title was issued;
 Basis of Reconstitution
of TCT

(e) A document, on file in the registry of deeds, by which the

property, the description of which is given in said document, is
mortgaged, leased or encumbered, or an authenticated copy of said
document showing that its original had been registered; and

(f) Any other document which, in the judgment of the court, is

sufficient and proper basis for reconstituting the lost or destroyed
certificate of title.
Administrative Reconstitution under
RA 6732

Pertains only to qualified Registries;

Title was issued prior to the event that caused the
massive lost and destruction of titles in the RD;
Must be in possession of the original Onwer’s
Duplicate of the Title.
 Procedure for Administrative
Reconstitution

Application is filed with the Registry of Deeds;

Must present the original Owner’s Duplicate of the title; RD
shall photocopy the same and certify that it is a faithful
reproduction of the original owner’s duplicate of the title;
Application shall be forwarded to LRA for processing;
Once approved with Finality, the RD shall issue the
reconstituted title.
 Computerization of the Registry

NOTE: Due to the recent computerization of the RD titles, there is

no need to file a Petition for Reconstitution of the hard copy of the
RD title because the title as encoded in the database of the
computerized system should be regarded as evidence on the
existence of the said title under the ECommerce Law. Hence, even
if hard copy of title was lost by fire, mishandling, or natural
calamities, the electronic copy of the title in the database shall be
regarded with same faith and credit as evidence of its existence.
Petition for Issuance of New Owner’s Duplicate of the title
(Replacement of New Owner’s Duplicate)

Section 109 of PD 1529

Execution and Registration of Affidavit of Loss (to
be executed by the one who has last custody of the
title)
 Hearing and Judgment

No publication is required
No notice and appearance of Solicitor General is required. ([G.R.
No. 128531. October 26, 1999] REPUBLIC OF THE
PHILIPPINES, petitioner, vs. COURT OF APPEALS and
VICENTE L. YUPANGCO, JR., respondents.)
Register of Deeds and LRA must be impleaded as necessary parties
Judgment becomes final after a period of 15 days from receipt
Section 108. Amendment and alteration
of certificates.

No erasure, alteration, or amendment shall be

made upon the registration book after the entry of
a certificate of title or of a memorandum thereon
and the attestation of the same by Register of
Deeds, except by order of the Court.
 Section 107. Surrender of withhold
duplicate certificates.

Owner’s copy is in possession of another person

Possession of the other person is without authority
or legal basis or that surrender is necessary to
register a document pertaining to the land
Lost Owner’s Copy vs. Surrender of
Owner’s Copy

Petition for Replacement if owner’s copy was lost

or cannot be located;
Petition to Surrender owner’s copy if the same is
in the hands of a third person who is not justified
to possess the same
 Request for Additional Owner’s
Duplicate of Title

Section 41. xxx

Each co-owner may request for his or her own owner’s duplicate of the
title
All owner’s duplicates so issued must be submitted to the Register of
Deeds should there be a transaction pertaining to the land
Remedy if co-owners do not agree on who shall keep custody of the
title.
 Petition for Issuance of Another Owner’s
Duplicate of Title under Section 41

May be requested from the Registry by a co-owner so he can have a separate owner’s copy
of the title.
The originally issued owner’s duplicate of the title has to be surrendered to the RD so that
proper annotation may be made on each owner’s duplicates as to the actual number of
duplicates issued so far.
If there is a transaction, all the issued owner’s duplicates have to be surrendered for proper
annotation or cancellation;
Petition to Surrender a Withheld owner’s duplicate may be filed by a co-owner in case he
cannot make a request in the Register of Deeds because the other co-owner who has
custody of the title does not want to surrender said title to the Register of Deeds for proper
annotation of issuance of another owner’s duplicate of the title.
 CONSULTA

When Register of Deeds denied the registration

5 days to file Consulta or Appeal to LRA
Register of Deeds may also elevate a matter en Consulta
to the LRA in case he/she is uncertain as to the
registrability of the document.
LRA finding is conclusive upon the Register of Deeds
What is an Adverse Claim?

An adverse claim is a type of involuntary dealing designed to

37

protect the interest of a person over a piece of real property

by apprising third persons that there is a controversy over the
ownership of the land. It seeks to preserve and protect the
38

right of the adverse claimant during the pendency of the

controversy, where registration of such interest or right is not
39

otherwise provided for by the Property Registration Decree.

(Logarta vs. Mangahis, G.R. No. 213568, July 5, 2016)
 Basis of Adverse Claim
xxAn adverse claim serves as a notice to third persons that any transaction
regarding the disputed land is subject to the outcome of the dispute. Section
41

70 of PD 1529 states:
Section 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.
Effectivity of Adverse Claim

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 cancelled 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.
How to Cancel Adverse Claim?

Affidavit of Adverse Claimant

By Order of the Court even if the 30-day period
had already lapsed. (Sajonas Doctrine)
 Contracts proper subject of Adverse
Claim

Thus, the prevailing rule is that voluntary instruments such as contracts of sale,
contracts to sell, and conditional sales are registered by presenting the owner's
duplicate copy of the title for annotation, pursuant to Sections 51 to 53 of PD 1529.55

The reason for requiring the production of the owner's duplicate certificate in the
registration of a voluntary instrument is that, being a willful act of the registered
owner, it is to be presumed that he is interested in registering the instrument and
would willingly surrender, present or produce his duplicate certificate of title to the
Register of Deeds in order to accomplish such registration. The exception to this rule
56

is when the registered owner refuses or fails to surrender his duplicate copy of the
title, in which case the claimant may file with the Register of Deeds a statement
setting forth his adverse claim. (Logarta vs. Mangahis, G.R. No. 213568, July 5,
2016).
 Notice of Lis Pendens

A notice of lis pendens is an announcement to the whole world that a particular real
property is in litigation, serving as a warning that one who acquires an interest over said
property does so at his own risk, or that he gambles on the result of the litigation over the
said property (AFPMBAI v. CA, G.R. No. 104769, March 3, 2000). The filing of a notice
of lis pendens charges all strangers with a notice of the particular litigation referred to
therein and, therefore, any right they may thereafter acquire on the property is subject to the
eventuality to the suit (Laroza v. Gilta, 134 SCRA 341 [1985]). Notice of lis pendens has
been conceived and, more often than not, availed of, to protect the real rights of the
registrant while the case involving such rights is pending resolution or decision. With the
notice of lis pendens duly recorded, and while it remains unconcealed, the registrant could
rest secure that he would not lose the property or any part of it during the litigation (People
v. Regional Trial Court of Manila, 178 SCRA 299 [1989]).
 Notice of Lis Pendens

The filing of a notice of lis pendens in effect (1) keeps the

subject matter of the litigation within the power of the court until
the entry of the final judgement so as to prevent the defeat of the
latter by successive alienation’s; and (2) binds a purchaser of the
land subject of the litigation to the judgement or decree that will
be promulgated thereon whether such a purchaser is a bona fide
purchaser or not; but (3) does not create a non-existent or right or
lien (Somes v. Government, 62 Phil. 432 [1935]).
 Principle on Lis Pendens
Po Lam vs. Felix Lim, G.R. No. 116220, December 6, 2000

The doctrine rests upon public policy, not notice" (Tirado v. Sevilla, 188 SCRA 321 [1990]). "The
doctrine of lis pendens, as generally understood and applied by the courts of this country, is not
founded on any idea of constructive notice, since its true foundation rests, as has already been
stated, on principles of public policy and necessity. The lis pendens annotation, although
considered a general notice to all the world, … it is not correct to speak of it as part of the
doctrine of notice; the purchaser pendente lite is affected, not allow litigating parties to give to
others, pending the litigation, rights to the property in dispute as to prejudice the opposite party.
The doctrine rests upon public policy, not notice" (Tirado v. Sevilla, 188 SCRA 321 [1990]). "The
doctrine of lis pendens, as generally understood and applied by the courts of this country, is not
based upon presumption of notice, but upon a public policy, imperatively demanded by a
necessity which can be met and overcome in no other way. It is careless 'use of language which
has led judges to speak of it as notice, because it happens to have in some instance similar effect
with notice' (Smith v. Kimball, 13 P. 801, 36 Kan. 474)."
How to Cancel Lis Pendens?

Affidavit of person who filed the Notice

Order of the Court
Finality of the Decision dismissing the case
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