Augustine Ignatius V.

Ong Vao
2-C
Land Titles LRA Paper

August 30, 2016

THE LAND REGISTRATION AUTHORITY

The Land Registration Authority (LRA) is the government agency responsible for the
issuance of decrees of registration and certificates of title and register documents, patents and
other land transactions.1 The LRA is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice and
basically provides the country with a centralized and reliable record of land ownership. The LRA
did undergo various changes in its system throughout its long history.
The LRA can be traced all the way back to 1902, where the then Philippine Commission enacted
Act 496 or the Land Registration Law. Under the said law, the Court of Land Registration and
the Office of the Registers of Deeds were created, while the use of the Torrens System of land
registration was provided for, although the actual use of the system started in 1903. 2 This paved
the way for the registration and recording of real estate ownership by the government. Later on,
Act No. 2374 was enacted, which dissolved the Court of Land Registration and gave its
jurisdiction over land registration cases to the Court of First Instance. This also created a new
office named the General Land Registration Office. However, the GLRO was short-lived. In
1954, the enactment of Republic Act No. 1151 scrapped the GLRO and instead created the Land
Registration Commission. It was at this time when the agency was put in direct control over the
Registers of Deeds as well as the Clerks of Court of First Instance in land registration cases. A
registry of deeds was also put up in numerous cities and province all across the country. In 1981,
the LRC underwent another change as then-President Marcos issued Executive Order No. 649
which reconstructed the LRC into the National Land Titles and Deeds of Registration
Administration. Although it operated under a different name, its functions were relatively the
same. The agency now worked under the Ministry of Justice and assisted the Ministry of
1 Land Registration Authority (LRA). About Us, available at http://lra.gov.ph/about/
(last accessed August 29, 2016).
2 Land Registration Authority (LRA). History, available at http://lra.gov.ph/about/history/ (last
accessed August 29, 2016).

Agrarian Reform, the Land Bank of the Philippine and helped with the Land Reform Program, in
general. It was on September 30, 1988, a few years after the EDSA Revolution, that the agency
underwent its final transformation into the present Land Registration Authority.3
The LRA is a growing government agency with around 2,500 employees nationwide. 4 Through
its official mandate, the LRA exists for the sole purpose of implementing and protecting the
Torrens system of land titling and registration, as well as registration of transactions involving
personal properties.5 This is done mainly through the 168 Registry of Deeds Offices nationwide.
The LRA also provides the courts with legal and technical assistance in cases involving land
registration, as well as continuing to support the Department of Agrarian Reform in its
implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.6
At present, the Land Registration Authority is headed by Hon. Eulalio C. Diaz III, as its
Administrator. Hon. Ronald A. Ortile serves as Deputy Administrator for Operations, while Hon.
Robert Nomar V. Leyretana serves as Deputy Administrator for Administration. The Head of
Financial Service is Dir. Armando M. De Leon. The Head of Administrative Service is Dir. Ma.
Rosenne M. Flores-Avila. The Land Registration Operations Service is headed by Dir. Porfirio R.
Encisa and lastly, Dir. Rhandolfo B. Amansec is in-charge of Legal Service.7
The main office of the Land Registration Authority can be found along East Avenue cor. Nia
Road, Quezon City, Metro Manila.

3 Id.
4 Id.
5 Land Registration Authority (LRA). Mandate, available at
http://lra.gov.ph/about/mandate/ (last accessed August 29, 2016).
6 Id.
7 Land Registration Authority (LRA). Leadership, available at
http://lra.gov.ph/about/leadership/ (last accessed August 29, 2016).