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SEC 3. Status of other pre-existing land registration system. Where property registered under the Torrens system is sold but the
sale is registered not under the Property Registration Decree but
1. Registration under the Spanish Mortgage Law discontinued under Act No. 3344, the sale is considered not registered and
effective for purposes of Article 1544 of the Civil Code on double
sales.
On February 16, 1976, PD 892 was issued decreeing the
discontinuance of the system of registration under the Spanish
In Naawan Community Rural Bank v. Court of Appeals,81 the Court
Mortgage Law and the use of Spanish titles as evidence in land
upheld the right of a party who had registered the sale of land under
registration proceedings. It was needed to do so since recording
the Property Registration Decree, as opposed to another who had
under this system was practically nil and has become obsolete
registered a deed of final conveyance under Act No. 3344. In that
case, the “priority in time” principle was not applied, because the
Sec 3 of PD 1529 reiterates the discontinuance of the system of
land was already covered by the Torrens system at the time the
registration under the Spanish Mortgage Law—provides also that
conveyance was registered under said Act.
the books of registration for unregistered lands under Section 194 of
Administrative Code, as amended by Act 3344, shall continue to be
Under Act No. 3344, registration of instruments affecting
in force, but all instruments dealing with unregistered lands shall
unregistered lands is “without prejudice to a third party with a
henceforth be registered under Section 113 of the Decree. Any
better right.” The phrase has been held to mean that the mere
recording under Section 113 shall be without prejudice to a third
registration of a sale in one’s favor does not give him any right over
person with a better right
the land if the vendor was not anymore the owner of the land
having previously sold the same to somebody else even if the earlier
2. Spanish Title no longer used as evidence of land ownership sale was unrecorded.
Titulo de Propriedad No. 4136; the “fantastic” claim of the Sec. 4 – Land Registration Commission; Sec. 5 – Officials and
Mariano San Pedro Heirs employees of the Commission; Sec. 6 – General Functions
Intestate Estate of Don Mariano San Pedro v CA – case is 1. The Land Registration Commission has been renamed the Land
about a claim of the said heirs of a vast tract of land. The Registration Authority.
case started as a petition for letters of administration over
the intestate estate of the late Mariano San Pedro y Purpose: to provide a more efficient execution of existing laws
Esteban. The estate is supposedly covered by the Titulo, a relative to the registration of lands. The Commission exercised
Spanish adjustment title (composicion con el estado). On supervision and control over all Register of Deeds, as well as the
August 30, 1976, a motion for intervention and opposition clerical and archival system of the courts of first instance throughout
to the petition was filed by the Republic of the Philippines the Philippines with reference to the registration of lands.
Lower court – held the titulo valid and declared the heirs Headed by an Administrator with two Deputy Administrators, all
as entitled to inherit the intestate estate left by the appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the SoJ. All
deceased. other officials of LRA, except Register of Deeds, are appointed by the
SoJ upon recommendation of the Administrator
On MR – The court declared titulo de propriedad no. 4136
null and void. LRA – it is primarily the CENTRAL REPOSITORY OF RECORDS relative
to original registration of lands titled under the Torrens System.
On Court of Appeals – the petitioners’ appeal was
dismissed. Titulo de Propriedad No. 4136 is invalid on the Functions of the Authority
following grounds: (a) non-production of the original of The Land Registration Authority shall have the following
the subject title; (b) inadmissibility of the photostat copies functions:
of the title; and (c) non-registration of the subject Spanish
Title under Act No. 496 or the Land Registration Act. (a) Extend speedy and effective assistance to the
Department of Agrarian Reform, the Land Bank, and other
SC – “… by virtue of PD No. 892 the system of registration agencies in the implementation of the land reform
under the Spanish Mortgage Law was abolished and all program of the government;
holders of Spanish titles or grants should cause their lands
covered thereby to be registered under the Land (b) Extend assistance to courts in ordinary and cadastral
Registration Act within (6) months from the date of land registration proceedings;
(c) Be the central repository of records relative to original It is the ministerial act by which a deed, contract, or instrument is
registration of lands titled under the Torrens system, inscribed in the records of the Office of the Register of Deeds and
including subdivision and consolidation plans of titled annotated on the back of the TCT covering the land subject of the
lands. deed, contract, or instrument.
3. Effect of Registration
It becomes constructive notice to all persons. If registration was
done in bad faith, it is as if no registration was made at all. Note:
Actual knowledge amounts to registration.
Functions of the Administrator Note: If a sale is not registered, it is binding only between the seller
The LRA Administrator shall have the following functions: and the buyer, but it does not affect innocent third persons.
(a) Issue decrees of registration pursuant to final judgments of the Thus, between two buyers of the same immovable property
courts in land registration proceedings and cause the issuance by the registered under the Torrens system, the law gives ownership
Registers of Deeds of the corresponding certificates of title; priority to: (1) first registrant in good faith; (2) then, the first
possessor in good faith; and (3) finally, the buyer who in good faith
(b) Exercise supervision and control over all Registers of Deeds and presents the oldest title.
other personnel of the Commission;
(c) Resolve cases elevated en consulta by, or on appeal from Sec. 8. Appointment of Register of Deeds and their Deputies and
decision of Registers of Deeds; other subordinate personnel; salaries.
(d) Exercise executive supervision over all clerks of court and Office of the Register of Deeds
personnel of the Courts of First Instance throughout the Philippines There shall be at least one RoD for each province and one for each
with respect to the discharge of their duties and functions in relation city. SoJ defines the official station and territorial jurisdiction of each
to the registration of lands; Registry upon the recommendation of the LRA Administrator. Note:
RoD and deputy RoD must be members of the Bar.
(e) Implement all orders, decisions, and decrees promulgated
relative to the registration of lands and issue, subject to the approval The duty of RoD to register is ministerial with reference to
of the Secretary of Justice, all needful rules and regulations therefor; registration of deeds, encumbrances and instruments. (He may not
validly refuse to register a deed of sale presented to him for
(f) Verify and approve subdivision, consolidation, and consolidation- registration)
subdivision survey plans of properties titled under Act No. 496
except those covered by PD No. 957. The law on registration does no require that only valid instruments
shall be registered. The invalidity of the document is not the concern
of a RoD to decide, but it is for a court of competent jurisdiction to
2. LRA Administrator, an executive officer with judicial rank determine.
His functions are plainly executive subject to the President’s power
of supervision and control. He can be investigated and removed only It is the duty of a RoD to see to it that a document presented for
by the President. registration is regular and in due form. But he has no authority to
inquire into the intrinsic validity of a document based upon proofs
3. The Duty of the LRA to issue decree is ministerial aliunde.
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 Instances where RoD may DENY registration:
the court and with the data found in the record, as to which they 1. Where there are several copies of the title (co-owner’s duplicate)
have no discretion on the matter. (Refer to Admin Notes for but only one is presented with the instrument to be registered.
‘ministerial’)
2. Where the property is presumed to be conjugal but the instrument
of conveyance bears the signature of only one spouse.
Sec. 7. Office of the Register of Deeds
Note: in case the CoT shows that the property is registered
1. The Registry of Property in the name of the husband only and there is no evidence
Has for its object the inscription or annotation of acts and contracts that would show that said property was acquired during
relating to the ownership and other rights over immovable property. the marriage with his wife, the contention that the same
property is conjugal cannot be sustained.
Why is it needed? The registration of instruments affecting
registered lands must be done in the proper registry, in order to 3. Where there is a pending case in court where the character of the
affect and bind the land and, thus, operate as a constructive notice land and validity of the conveyance are in issue.
to the world.
4. Where required certificates or documents are not submitted.
2. Registration
Note: Example of documents required (DAR clearance, Survey is the process by which a parcel of land is measure and its
copy of latest tax declaration, certificate of payment of boundaries and contents ascertained.
documentary stamp tax and capital gains tax, BIR
certificate authorizing registration, tax clearance A survey plan serves to establish the true identity of the land to
certificate of real estate taxes, certificate of payment of ensure that it does not overlap a parcel of land or a portion thereof
transfer tax…) 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.
Doubtful questions shall be submitted to LRA Administrator for Land Management Bureau – has the authority to approve original
resolution via consulta survey plans
But mandamus does not lie to compel the RoD to make registration. (4) Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other
The administrative remedy must be resorted to by the interested manner provided for by law.
party before he can have recourse to the courts.
Where the land is owned in common, all the co-owners shall file
Registration does not validate an otherwise invalid instrument the application jointly.
The act of registration does not validate an otherwise void contract.
The registration of a void deed is not an impediment to a declaration Where the land has been sold under pacto de retro, the vendor a
by the courts of its invalidity. retro may file an application for the original registration of the
land, provided, however, that should the period for redemption
Notice to the RoD or adverse party expire during the pendency of the registration proceedings and
It is one thing for the Register of Deeds, in the exercise of his ownership to the property consolidated in the vendee a retro, the
ministerial duties under the law, to register an instrument which in latter shall be substituted for the applicant and may continue the
his opinion is registrable, and quite another thing for the court itself proceedings.
to order the registration. The former does not contemplate no- tice
to and hearing of interested parties such as are required in a judicial
proceeding nor carry with it the solemnity and legal consequences “Registration” means any entry made in the books of the registry,
of a court judgment. including both registration in its ordinary and strict sense, and
cancellation, annotation, and even marginal notes. In its strict
Sec. 11. Discharge of duties of Register of Deeds in case of vacancy, acceptation, it is the entry made in the registry which records
etc.; Sec. 12. Owner’s Index; reports; Sec. 13. Chief Geodetic solemnly and permanently the right of ownership and other real
Engineer rights.
(1) Public Land Act (CA No. 141) Here, the right to file the application for registration derives from a
The Public Land Act governs the judicial confirmation of imperfect or bona fide claim of ownership going back to June 12, 1945 or earlier,
incomplete titles on the basis of possession and occupation of by reason of claimants OCEN PO AD lands of public domain in the
alienable portions of the public domain in the manner and for the concept of owner… without regard to whether the land was
length of time required by law. The relevant provisions are Sections susceptible to private ownership at that time.
47 to 57, Chapter VIII of the Act.
14(1) requires:
(2) Property Registration Decree (PD No. 1529) the land applied for is an agricultural public land already
The Property Registration Decree is a codification of all laws relative classified as AD at the time of the filing of the application
to registration of property, and “supersedes all other laws relative to for registration.
registration of property.”10 It has substantially incorporated the the applicant, by himself or through his predecessors-in-
provisions of Act No. 496, or the Land Registration Act. Section 14, interest, has been in OCENPO under a bona fide claim of
paragraphs (1) to (4), enumerates the persons who may apply for ownership.
registration and the conditions therefor. such PO must have commenced since June 12, 1945, or
earlier
(3) Cadastral Act (Act No. 2259)
The Cadastral Act is an offspring of the system of registration under NOTE (Exam Area): The law imposes no requirement that land
the Land Registration Act. It aims to serve public interests by should have been declared A and D agricultural land as early as June
requiring that “the title to any lands be titled and adjudicated.” It 12, 1945. What is important in computing the period of possession is
may be noted, however, that salient provisions in the Cadastral Act that the land has already been declared alienable and disposable AT
have now been carried over in the present Property Registration THE TIME of the application for registration. Upon satisfaction of
Decree, particularly in Sections 35 to 38 of the Decree. this requirement, the computation of the period may include the
period of adverse possession prior to the declaration that land is AD.
(4) Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (RA No. 8371)
The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), approved October 29, Remember This: Republic v CA and Naguit 448 SCRA 442, the issue
1997, recognizes the rights of ownership and possession of here was whether it is necessary under 14(1) that the subject be first
indigenous cultural communities or indigenous peoples (ICCs/IPs) to classified as AD before the applicant’s possession under a bona fide
their ancestral domains and ancestral lands on the basis of native claim of ownership. SC said NO. 14(1) merely requires the property
title, and defines the extent of these lands and domains. For sought to be registered as already AD “at the time of the
purposes of registration, the IPRA expressly converts ancestral lands application for registration of title is filed.”
into public agricultural lands, and individual members of cultural
communities, with respect to their individually-owned ancestral Note: “… to prove a land subject of an application for registration is
lands, shall have the option to secure title to their ancestral lands alienable, an applicant must establish the existence of a positive act
under the provisions of the Public Land Act or the Property of the government such as presidential proclamation or an executive
Registration Decree. This option is limited to ancestral lands only, order…”
not domains, and such lands must be individually, not communally,
owned. Note: “A mere surveyor has no authority to reclassify lands of the
public domain. The declaration must come from the Pres. Or the
Secretary of the DENR.
(A) Registration Under the Property Registration Decree Note: “It is an elementary rule that forest lands cannot be owned by
private persons, possession of it now matter how long cannot ripen
Co-owners shall file application jointly into ownership.
“… since under the Civil Code, a co-owner cannot be considered a
true owner of a specific portion until division or partition is effected, In the case of Malabanan v Republic: “reiterated that the law does
he cannot file an application for registration for the whole area not require that the land subject of registration should have been A
without joining the co-owners as applicants. and D during the entire period of possession, or since June 12, 1945.
It is sufficient that the land is already declared as A and D at the time
of the application for registration is filed so as to entitle the Art. 1113. All things which are within the commerce of men are
possessor to registration. But in this case the application for susceptible of prescription, unless otherwise provided. Property of
registration was dismissed. Why? the State or any of its subdivisions not patrimonial in character shall
not be the object of prescription.
There is no substantive evidence to establish that Malabanan or
petitioners as his PII have been in possession of the prop since June In prescription, one acquires ownership and other real rights
12, 1945. The earliest trace of possession they presented wa a Tax through the lapse of time in the manner and under the action laid
Declaration in 1948. Therefore, they cannot avail of registration down by law.
under 14(1).
In Malabanan, the Court ruled that the declaration of AD
-The land needs only to be classified as AD as of the time of the was not enough, there must be an express declaration that
application, provided that the applicants possession and occupation the public dominion property was no longer intended for
dates back to June 12, 1945 or earlier. public service or the development of national wealth…
that the property had been converted into patrimonial.
Possession and Occupation When can you say that there is just title? When the adverse
… the intent behind the use of “possession” in conjunction with claimant came into possession of the property through one of the
“occupation” is to emphasize the need for actual possession and not modes recognized by law for the acquisition of ownership or other
just constructive or fictional possession” real rights, but the grantor was not or could not really transmit the
right.
Possession is broader than occupation. Possession must not be a
mere fiction. Actual possession of a land consists in manifestation of Acquisitive Prescription requisites:
acts of dominion over it. In order to ripen into ownership, the possession must be in the
concept of an owner, public, peaceful, and uninterrupted (OPPU).
Summary of requirements under 14(1):
Malabanan V. Republic Open – patent, visible, apparent, notorious, and not clandestine
The applicant by himself or through his p-i-i, has been in Continuous – uninterrupted, unbroken, and not intermittent
possession and occupation of the property subject of the Exclusive – can show exclusive dominion
application; Notorious – when it is so conspicuous that it is generally known by
The PO must be OCEN the public or the people in the neighborhood.
The PO must be under a bona fide claim of acquisition of
ownership Note: Possession in the contemplation of the law does not mean
The PO must have taken place since “the day” or earlier; that a man has to have his feet on every square meter of the ground
and in order to be considered in possession. Acts of dominion suffices.
The prop subject of the application must be an agricultural
land (meaning AD) of the public domain. General rule: the possession and cultivation of a portion of tract of
land under claim of ownership is a constructive possession of all, if
Registration under Section 14(2) the remainder is not in adverse possession of another.
Rule: Properties of public domain cannot be acquired by prescription.
No matter how long the possession, there can be no prescription Note: acts of mere tolerance on the part of the real owner are not
against the State regarding the property of public domain. The sufficient.
exception is when the law itself so provides. But patrimonial
property of the State, can be. Note: as learned in property class, the computation of the period of
prescription includes the possession of his grantor or p-i-i. also,
Section 14(1) and 14(2) are clearly different animals. 14(1) covers recall presumption of continued possession.
“AD land” while 14(2) covers “private property”. The distinction
between the two provi lies with the inapplicability of prescription to In 14(2), it is primordial that the status of the property as
alienable and disposable lands. patrimonial be first established.
Only cases filed before the courts may judicial summons be issued,
and thus, interrupt possession.