THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF UTOPIA

LAND TITLES ATTY. LORENZO PADILLA

PD 1529 Property Registration Decree (superseded the old Land Registration Act). NOTE: Before PD 1529, numerous systems that have been used in the process of land title registration. PNB v. International Corporate Bank under PD 1529, Sec. 2, Land Registration Courts now exercise broader jurisdiction.
Courts of First Instance 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 xxx

MODULE 1
xxx WHEREAS, there is a need to update the Land Registration Act and to codify the various laws relative to registration of property, in order to facilitate effective implementation of said laws; WHEREAS, to strengthen the Torrens system, it is deemed necessary to adopt safeguards to prevent anomalous titling of real property, and to streamline and simplify registration proceedings and the issuance of certificates of title; WHEREAS, the decrees promulgated relative to the registration of certificates of land transfer and emancipation patents issued pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 27 to hasten the implementation of the land reform program of the country form an integral part of the property registration laws xxx

Coverage of Par. 2, Sec. 2 of PD 1529

1. 2. Petitions and actions before and on original registration. Petitions and actions filed after original registration.

xxx 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. xxx

Legal concepts pertaining to land titles absorbed by PD 1529: 1. Cadastral Act 2. Limitation of Affidavit of Adverse Claim to Thirty (30) days Extent or scope or jurisdiction of land registration courts: 1. Registrability of a particular land under the Torrens system 2. whether the applicant is a holder of the proper registration proceeding NOTE: Cadastral proceeding, similar to an ordinary court action, is a proceeding where the court adjudicates. In an ordinary proceeding, courts identify the registrability of the land On account of absence of objection, the adjudication of the issue will not be declared as void but valid. It cannot be held void for lack of jurisdiction per se, but rather determined by the procedure. Land Registration Court is similar to a Court of First Instance/Regional Trial Court sitting as such. Interestingly, should the case be dismissed, CFI/RTC will once again assume jurisdiction for appeals (Vda. de Arceo v. CA, Averia v. Cagioa).

Coverage of Par. 1, Sec. 2 of PD 1529 1. Deals with registrations and titles of land. 2. Jurisdiction over registrations and titles proceedings in rem. Administrative In personam - effective only between the parties involved Judicial In rem enforced against the whole world; even including the government

Bornales v. CA the process of registration under Torrens system merely confirms a pre-existing title or right of ownership (even before beginning application, one already possesses the right or title). Registration therefore is NOT a mode of acquiring a title. NOTE: Title pertains to the paper/document that evidences the right. Limitations of registration under Torrens system: 1. Protection is not absolute e.g., registration does not warrant the integrity of the title against erosion. Law on Property, however, provides compensation (i.e., alluvial property will belong to the owner of the eroded land) Coronel v. IAC wrongful titling of the land belonging to another will not be make the holder the rightful owner. System of registration will not make the registered owner the owner of the lands that are illegally included in the title.

LAND TITLES | ATTY. LORENZO PADILLA ARIK ABU & GEOF REYES | 2A - 2014

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Galloy v. CA certificate of title will not be regarded as a conclusive evidence of ownership as far illegally acquired lands are concerned. NON-REGISTRABLE LANDS NOTE: Land Registration Title; government is empowered to dedicating/assigning of lands through legislation Land may be either: 1. Public a. Mineral b. Forest c. Agricultural lands i. Specific purpose 1. Watershed 2. Naval/Military 3. Foreshore lands ii. Alienable/disposable NOTE: Republic Land Act (Sec. 48) public land possessed and occupied in the concept of an owner since June 12, 1945 or earlier can be the subject of judicial confirmation of title. (In essence, private rights may be acquired over alienable lands of public domain.) This is currently being mandated by Sec. 14 of PD 1529. Heirs of Malabanan v. Republic proper interpretation of the provision of Sec. 14(a) of PD 1529, for purposes of commencing judicial confirmation of titles, the land need not be alienable and disposable since June 12, 1945 or earlier. Even if the land is alienable or disposable is insufficient to make it registrable. The applicant must prove possession since June 12, 1945 or earlier. NOTE: So long as land is possessed and occupied for thirty (30) years, then the holder acquires a veritable title that is good even against the government. However, the Court held in Republic v. Munoz that the reliance on the 30-year rule would be tantamount to relying on an outdated provision. 2. Private a. (From public lands) acquired through possession and alienable lands b. Prescription c. Abandoned riverbeds, accresions, and lands acquired through accessions d. Lands acquired under any other provisions of the law (ex. Reclaimed lands) NOTE: These can even refer to NON-REGISTRABLE lands by

virtue of the law which authorizes the conversion of such as registrable land. Notable jurisprudence: 1. Chavez v. Public Estates Authority and Amari titling of reclaimed lands; indicate the requirement to hold the land for 30 years since June 12, 1945 or earlier (hybrid construction of the two rules on acquiring title of alienable land, in consideration of the amendment made in Sec. 48(b) of the old Land Registration Act). This is rendered moot by Sec. 14 or PD 1529, which upheld the June 12, 1945 or earlier rule. 2. Munoz v. Director of Forestry motivations which led the government to create the watershed area responsible for the water resources of MM. 3. Republic v. Delos Angeles foreshore area in Paranaque held as unregistrable 4. Republic v. Lat differentiate lakeshore from foreshore lands: Foreshore Continuous accumulation of sand near the sea; non-registrable Lakeshore Accumulation of alluvial deposits; registrable (susceptible to being titles; provided that they are produced by natural action or the ebb and flow of the water)

4.

Thompson v. Director of Industry type of mangrove lands involved in this case are, historically private lands, thus are NOT forests lands; but certain mangrove lands may be non-registrable. (Q: Naturally occurring or planted over provate lands?)

The Republic of the Philippines may hold lands that are patrimonial in character, hence non-registrable. But government may lose the same as with any other private land. 1. 2. Alienable or disposable lands under public domain. Possessed and owned on June 12, 1945 or earlier

MODULE 2
Section 3. Status of other pre-existing land registration system. The system of registration under the Spanish Mortgage Law is hereby discontinued and all lands recorded under said system which are not yet covered by Torrens title shall be considered as unregistered lands.

LAND TITLES | ATTY. LORENZO PADILLA ARIK ABU & GEOF REYES | 2A - 2014

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Hereafter, all instruments affecting lands originally registered under the Spanish Mortgage Law may be recorded under Section 113 of this Decree, until the land shall have been brought under the operation of the Torrens system. The books of registration for unregistered lands provided under Section 194 of the Revised Administrative Code, as amended by Act No. 3344, shall continue to remain in force; provided, that all instruments dealing with unregistered lands shall henceforth be registered under Section 113 of this Decree.

Registration under Sec. 113 pertains to recording of instruments relating to unregistered lands. NOTE: PD 1529 deals with judicial registration proceedings. Two types of judicial proceedings: 1. Ordinary Q: Who may apply? A: Sec. 114 application must be filed to the director of the Lands Management Bureau. Five (5) days from the filing of the application, the court will issue an order setting the date of initial hearing. Said order is then forwarded to the Land Registration Authority (Land Registration Commission in P.D. 1529) Initial hearing to be held not within 45 days, but before 90 days o Compliance with the jurisdictional requirements: Necessity of publication (once in Official Gazette, and once in a newspaper in general circulation) Failure to comply with the publication requirement will render any judgement void Not only applicable for original registrations; but also includes those which add to the subject matter of the registration. o Filing of opposition (of adverse or interested party); must be on or before date of initial hearing o Mailing of notices (provided that addressees are known, ex. Occupants or adjacent land owners; if unknown, there must be a statement in the application as to the extent of the search made to find them) Government agencies:

DPWH and/or provincial governor, municipal/cit y mayor if the land borders a public land Where the land is adjacent to a body of water, to the OSG; to Bureaus of Fisheries Development , and Mines; if tenanted, to the Department of Land Reform Posting in: (1) bulletin, and (2) land itself

Rule 108 approximates the publication requirement. Certification of the Land Reform Authority is made after having complied with the publication requirements. Francisco v. CA absence of statement regarding the extent of search made to find unknown parties to the application; a sale in line with irregularities will weaken such application for registration. During the initial hearing: 1. Proof of jurisdictional requirements 2. Opposition 3. In case of an order of general default, parties who failed to file an opposition on or before the date of initial hearing can no longer participate in the hearing until the lifting of general default is made. Objective of the trial - to find sufficient title proper for confirmation Following judgment of a court, any aggrieved party can appeal. If there is no such appeal or it has been disposed with, the judgment shall reach its finality. Court shall issue order to LRA to issue a decree of registration NOTE: Judgement land registration court; decree of registration LRA; certificate of title register of deeds

LAND TITLES | ATTY. LORENZO PADILLA ARIK ABU & GEOF REYES | 2A - 2014

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NOTE: PD 1529 is categorical, i.e., without properly following procedural requirements, the application for registration will not be sustained There has to be a survey or plan of the land Muniments of titles (proof of ownership) 2. Cadastral tail-end of cadastral proceeding is to adjudicate the title (either the land will be awarded to any or either of the claimants, otherwise to the government)

MODULE 4 Roxas v. Dinglasan when it comes to registration of land, the mode of acquiring is registration which binds and the operative act of registering the land. Sec. 32 where ground is fatal infirmity. CFI/RTC has exclusive and original jurisdiction over judicial registration of lands. However by virtue of Sec. 34, there are instances when it may be delegated (can only try case within the delegated authority, i.e. value of land is below P20,000) to a MeTC or MTC.

Leyva v. Jandoc who may file a petition: right of a lessee is subordinate to that of the lessor. Standards of dominical claim is reiterated in this case. (Applicants lessees cannot file such claim for they have no locus standing) Pons Realty Corp. V. CA applicant may not be the owner himself; he may be representative of the owner. But documents designating such representation must be presented. Larangan v. CA court is not necessarily bound to award title where there are no oppositions; duty of the court is to find title proper to registration Guitierrez Hermanos v. CA quantum of proof: clear and convincing evidence. Burden of proof lies on the applicant, failure to prove his claim, under the Regalian Doctrine, shall make the property as public property Republic v. Association Benevola de Cebu when appeal of judgment shall be made; 30-day period for appeal (Sec. 30 of PD 1529). The new period of appeal shall be 15 days, in accordance with the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980. Benin v. Tuazon deals with the effect of amendments on the jurisdiction of the court. Reduction of area of land applied for, no need for republication. If increase is minimal, republication is not necessary (title will be avoided only to the extent of the excess); however if increase is substantial, republication is deemed necessary.

Effects of a Decree of Registration Sec. 31 its the decree of registration that binds the land and quiets the title thereto; to whom it may concern, issued by the Land Registration Authority (administrative agency) Sec. 44 Statutory Liens 1. Opening clause says, every registered owner receiving a certificate of title, in pursuance of a degree of registration; every innocent purchaser taking a certificate of title for value and in good faith, shall hold the same free from all encumbrances except those noted in said certificate and any of the following encumbrances which may be subsisting, namely: a. Liens, claims or rights arising or existing under the laws and Constitution of the Philippines. b. Unpaid real estate taxes levied and assessed within two years immediately preceding the acquisition. c. Any public highway or private way established or recognized by law, or any government irrigational canal or lateral d. Any disposition of the property or limitation on the use thereof.

National Grains Authority v. IAC Sec. 22 of 1529 land that is subject to pending land registration proceedings may be subject to dealings (i.e., pacto de retro sale) in whole or in part; it is not sufficient to have it registered under Sec. 113 of PD 1529, but the transaction must be brought to the attention of the court, with notice of such sale, court may substitute them as applicant; otherwise the transfer of ownership will not occur. Moral of the case: OBSERVE SEC. 22.

MODULE 5 DBP v. Acting Register of Deeds of Nueva Ecjia 1. Entry alone [in the primary entry books] produces the effect of registration. 2. Whether the transaction entered is a voluntary or involuntary one, so long as the registrant has complied with all that is required of him for purposes of

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entry and annotation, and nothing more remains to be done but a duty incumbent solely on the register of deeds. 3. No legal inter regnum between the entry in the primary entry book and that in the registration book. Q: What is the date of inscription? A: Q: What are the duties of the registrant? A: (1) present the document representing the voluntary dealings (ex. deed of sale), (2) present the owners duplicate, (3) pay the Register of Deeds (RoD) to pay for the necessary fees. Following the above mentioned requirements, the RoD shall be obliged to make an entry in the primary entry book. Mingoa v. Land Registration Administrator 1. The date of mailing of an instrument to the RoD for purposes of registration should be considered the date of filing and receipt by RoD. 2. It is the date that should be entered in the primary entry book of the RoD which shall be regarded as the date of its registration (NOT the date of actual receipt). Roxas v. Dinglasan with delivery or tradition, the ownership over the property is transferred. But this rule has no application to registered lands. Since the spinsters never registered the lands, ownership was never transferred to them. It is the act of registration that conveys and binds the land. (All the world is entitled to rely on the title.) Fule v. Vda. De Lagare Spouses Fule were innocent purchasers for value. (Padilla: in reconciling it with Sec. 44, every subsequent purchasers... even if the certificate of title is in the name of Vda. De Lagare?) They relied on registrability of the document presented by John De Lagare. Duran v. IAC 1. Chain of title doctrine acknowledges the rights of innocent purchasers for value. (Read with Sec. 53) 2. A fraudulent or forged document of sale may become the ROOT of a valid title if the certificate of title has already been

transferred from the name of the true owner to the name of the forger or the name indicated by the forger. 3. Applying rules of equity, when one of two persons may or must suffer a loss, it should be the one who was negligent in protecting his or her interest. 4. The moment a third person intervenes, an invalid transaction may nevertheless be a source of a valid rights (i.e., in this case, the mortgagee satisfies the status of an innocent purchaser for value). Spring to rise higher than its source. NOTE: Under Sec. 32, the term innocent purchaser for value shall extend to lessees, mortgagees. Traders Royal Bank v. CA two different parties who are purchasers for value and in good faith. Pabalan v. Santarin a forged deed is null and void and conveys no title, all the transactions subsequent to the consequent sale shall likewise be void. Medina v. Chanco fraud was alleged, buyer in the fraudulent sale was made to believe that the sale was indeed a real transaction. The transferee transferred the ownership to the present owners. There is room to apply the chain of title doctrine. Spouses Opson v. Treasurer of the Philippines when an impostor applies for an owners duplicate. Gatiaoan v. Gaffud transactions involving void titles shall produce no legal effect. On account of absolute nullity of titles covering unregistrable land, all the titles are considered null and void. GR: Chain of title doctrine a title that is null and void can be the source of a valid title.
Sec. 53 xxx After the entry of decree of registration, any subsequent title obtained by virtue of a forged owners duplicate or forged deed (ex. of sale) would be null and void.

EX: 1. When title is an absolute nullity (ex. title covering unregistrable land).

LAND TITLES | ATTY. LORENZO PADILLA ARIK ABU & GEOF REYES | 2A - 2014

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2. Transactions impostor.

entered

into

by

an

BAVA v. Dionisio liens; buyer for value and in good faith has a right to rely on the certificate of title; Sec. 44 provides that purchaser is bound only by what appears in the certificate of title, unless such facts supposedly to be annotated was actually known. MODULE 6 Life of a notice of adverse claim has been limited to thirty (30) days. (PD1529) But jurisprudence has provided that so long as there is no judicial cancellation, the notice shall subsist. Notice of adverse claim is a remedy of last resort, when no provisions in PD1529 shall apply. Sps. Licantro case when notice was deemed ineffective, there is no longer a need to address the issue of the expiration of the notice. Attachment is a provisional remedy. When writ of attachment is served to the property (i.e., in custodia legis), this would serve as a security. Any subsequent distribution/attachment recorded will be considered inferior to the prior registered attachment. If not properly issued, Court may dissolve such attachment subject to recording in the Register of Deeds. Provisions for lis pendens similar to their counterparts in the RoC. File a notice of lis pendens usually in the form of action to recover title, remove cloud in title, partition, or any petition involving land. On cancellation of lis pendens: 1. May be cancelled by the RoD upon the petition of the person who calls it to be registered. 2. Otherwise, it can only be cancelled by order of the Court, a petition may be filed by any person. a. If notice of lis pendens is intended to molest the other party b. If notice of lis pendens does not mean to protect the other person. MODULE 7 Registration of titles to agricultural lands: 1. Complicated by agrarian reform laws:

a. Transactions/documents must be accompanied by a clearance from the Department of Agrarian Reform, which requires an inspection by DAR whether the transactions comply with the requirements of the Agrarian Reform Law. b. Non-compliance will not entitle an applicant to registration. 2. Sec. 103: a. Patent or grant by the government shall be considered as a contract between the government and the grantee, BUT once registered in the RoD shall be binding to third persons, and a certificate of title shall issue. b. In the same manner, for agricultural lands, DAR can issue a CLOA, but may also be registered to the RoD so that a certificate of title shall issue (effect similar to a cancellation of an old title and an issuance of a new one). MODULE 8 Sec. 107: Transactions are not exclusive, they are susceptible of being classified into (1) voluntary and (2) involuntary. Sec. 108: The RoD has no authority to make any amendments on the certificate of title. Any amendments/alterations shall in a summary proceeding. Unless there is an opposition, in which case a full blown trial shall proceed. Sec. 109: Notice must be given to the RoD. This will also be a summary proceeding, unless there is otherwise an opposition and the case became controversial in nature. NOTE: Mere notice of loss of certificate to the RoD does not immediately warrant an issuance of a replacement. There must be a hearing first. Sec. 110: Original design of PD 1529 is to make judicial reconstitution the SOLE process for such reconstitution. 1. Administrative reconstitution initially abolished by PD 1529; NOTE: RA 6732 entails the proceedings to followed in case of administrative reconstitution. A circular was issued for mass issuance of reconstitution/en

LAND TITLES | ATTY. LORENZO PADILLA ARIK ABU & GEOF REYES | 2A - 2014

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masse reconstitution for loss of certificates due to force majeure. Government encourages that interested parties go to court, consolidate their petitions into a single case, but was ineffective. Thus, administrative reconstitution was reinstituted, SUBJECT to limitations. Such reservation/restriction is, any encumbrances, annotations, etc. which are not included in the administratively reconstituted title will remain in effect (making the innocent purchaser for value prone to unknown parties with a claim over the property covered by the lost title). 2. Judicial reconstitution Expanded by the safeguards installed by RA 26 to ensure the safety of the proceedings. In effect, the judicially reconstituted titles will be as good as the lost titles, i.e., when liens or encumbrances are not included in the judicially reconstituted title, anyone relying on such title will be safe without duty to go beyond what is indicated in the judicially indicated title. NOTE: Administrative reconstitution can only be effected upon the presentment of owners or coowners duplicate of title, granting all other requirements are present (10% of the titles have been lost or destroyed/no less than 500). Otherwise, one will not be qualified to avail of administrative reconstitution. RA 26 (Secs. 2 and 3) declare what documents can be sources for reconstitution; Sec. 2 reconstitution of titles Sec. 3 document requirements or other liens or encumbrances. NOTE: Not an arbitrary application, but a list of alternative sources of reconstitution. Q: If the requirements are present, is one obligated to apply for administrative reconstitution? A: Availability of administrative reconstitution DOES NOT preclude judicial reconstitution. Administrative reconstitution is subject to liens or encumbrances not reproduced in the reconstituted title continue to be binding.

Municipality of Legaspi v. AL Ammen Transportation A judicially reconstituted title has same virtuality as the original, not subject collateral attack, under the provisions of Sec. 44, one rely on the four corners of the certificate of title. But one cannot administratively reconstituted certificate of title. One becomes obligated to go back to inspect any encumbrances that might not be carried over. In essence, one who is dealing with administratively reconstituted cannot be considered an innocent purchaser for value. With regard to judicially reconstituted title, if encumbrances were not transferred in the reconstitution, then it is cut off, as if they never existed. One may not rely on the absence of any entry in the memorandum of encumbrances. NOTE: Transactions never brought to the attention of the reconstitution Court are deemed to have been cut off. (NHA v. IAC) Municipality of Legaspi v. AL Ammen Transportation case was for recovery of possession; defects in judicial reconstitution proceedings (ex. failure to notify the municipality); not merely infirmity but defects would render the reconstitution null and void. Judicially reconstituted certificate of title relied upon AL Ammen shall have the same virtuality as the original title; any collateral attack (ex. recovery of possession), will have no choice but to respect the title. Director of Lands v. CA (first case) in order to reconstitute title, notice must be given to concerned parties; late notice will allow such parties to assail the reconstitution. There should be NO EXCEPTION despite the circumstance of the case (where there are too many parties to be sent with such notice of reconstitution), public notice through signs all over the area would have sufficed. Director of Lands v. CA and Tahanan Development Corporation v. CA compliance with Secs. 12 and 13 should be made with exactness and precision (Justice Guerrero). The lightest deviation will affect the validity of the proceedings. Failure to do so would otherwise render the proceeding null and void for lack of

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notice to the parties and the title has suffered a fatal defect. You can only reconstitute a valid original title; where there is no original title in the first place, there is nothing to reconstitute. RECALL: Sec. 3 (and Sec. 113) of PD 1529 institute the Torrens system as the only means of registering titles of land. Lands registered in other systems are declared unregistered lands.

Inclusion within the same set of laws the relevant provisions pertaining to transactions involving unregistered lands. Registration under the Torrens system is subject to better rights. (NHA v. IAC). Registration of a pacto de retro sale did not establish a better right than the buyer a retro, upon reliance to the title which bore no indication of such pacto de retro sale. Salita v. Calleja involves a house constructed on a registered land; if transaction relates to registered land, apply Sec. 50 to 59; otherwise, if the land Sec. 113 or Act. 3344 Hanopol v. Pilapil better right; facts and circumstances which, taken together, would establish a better right.

LAND TITLES | ATTY. LORENZO PADILLA ARIK ABU & GEOF REYES | 2A - 2014

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