LAND REGISTRATION AND

TITLE RECONSTITUTIONPREPARED BY:

ATTY. ARLYN JOY C. ALLOSA-ALABA, REA, REB

Land registration authority Government agency mandated to

protect the Torrens System of land title registration Central repository of all land records It keeps the title history or records of transaction

involving titled or registered lands It issues decrees of registration proceedings

and causes the issuance by the register of deeds the corresponding certificate of title

Register of deeds Field officers of Land Registration

Authority that serves the registration and issuance of titles and any other form of registration such as mortgage, liens and adverse claims to the title. It is an agency under the Department of Justice.

Torrens System System of defining ownership of land

through registration and issuance of Title with the following purposes: To quiet title to the land Evidence of ownership Identify boundaries of land

Certificate of title A document /instrument evidencing

ownership over a parcel of land which is issued only by the Register of Deeds where the land is located. It is issued in duplicate, the original being retained under custodial by the Register of Deeds and the duplicate being issued to the owner.

Original Certificate of Title First title issued to a parcel of land which

is acquired through judicial and administrative procedures

Transfer Certificate of Title Subsequent issuance of title from the

original title

Steps in land registration1. Land survey2. Approval of plan by the director of regional technical

director who has jurisdiction in the place where the property is located

3. Filing of application and filed at the regional trial court of the province where the property is located

Original plan in the tracing cloth or Diaze polyester film of the director of lands/regional lands director or the authorized person plus 2 extra print copies of the plan

Three copies of technical description verified and certified by the Regional Technical Director or his authorized official representative which conforms with LRC circular no. 365

Three copies of certificates coming from surveyor or Geodetic Engineer or certificate of non-availability from Regional Technical Director

Four copies of latest tax declaration or assessment certificate from assessor’s office where the property is located

Steps in land registration The application should contain the following

A. Lot descriptionB. Civil status of applicant, if married, name of spouse, if

separated, where, when, what court gave the separation decision

C. Legal guardian if the applicant is minor including name and address

D. Applicant’s citizenshipE. If minor, statement of parentsF. Full name and address of the applicant, name of present

occupants and name of adjoining lot owners if known, if not known, statement of how to find the owners of adjoin properties

Steps in land registration4. Clerk of Court will give Land Registration Case. No. Upon

acceptance of application5. The court will schedule the date and time of hearing of

application in compliance with sec 23 PD 1529 and LRC circular nol 353. The court order of first hearing will be sent to LRA including the duplicate copy of application, original or certified copy of plan in tracing cloth, duplicate original copy of technical description, surveyor’s certificate, latest tax declaration, proof of payment of publication fee in an Official Gazette

6. The notice of initial hearing proposed by LRA should be published once in an Official Gazette and once in the newspaper of general publication or circulation in the Philippines . The amount of publication is P1,012.50 if the application is for one (1) lot with the additional of P322.50 for and in excess of the first lot to be paid to the Clerk of Court upon filing of application. The amount will be given to the Director of the National Printing Office,

Steps in land registration7. All persons who claim ownership or interest in the land should file

an opposition to the court so he will be heard.8. The applicants and oppositions must show proofs of ownership in

time of hearing.9. After hearing, the court will render decision in favor of the person

who can prove his ownership. If the decision is final, the Court will give order to the Administrator of the LRS to give Decree of Registration to said claimant.

10. After receiving the Court order, the administrator of LRA will give Decree of Registration and this will be numbered typewritten in the Original Certificates of Title and this will be delivered together with the Owner’s Duplicate Copy to the Register of Deeds, where the property is located.

11. The Register of Deeds after receiving the original and duplicate copies of the Original Certificate of Title or Decree of Registration will put OCT number and will be kept at the vault of the Registry. After payment of legal fees, the duplicate Owner’s Copy of OCT will be given to the owner.

REGISTRATION(ROD)

An entry in the book of registry including cancellation, annotation, and even marginal notes

An entry made in the registry which records solemnly and permanently the rights of ownership and other real rights.

Governed by ACT 496 “The Land Registration Act” (Feb 1, 1903), later replaced by PD 1529 “Property Registration Decree” (June 11, 1978) which amended and codified the laws related to registration of property.

Major Functions of registration Publicity Priority Security

Methods of RegistrationTranscriptionInscription

Kinds of Registration Registration of Title or Original

Registration Judicial, which may either be:

Voluntary Compulsory

Administrative acquisition

Registration of Deeds and other Instruments or subsequent documents

May either be: Voluntary – sale, exchange of property, lease,

mortgage, donations Involuntary – attachments ( preliminary

attachements, garnishment, levy of execution) - adverse claims - notice of lis pendens

Administrative – registration of patents

Title Reconstitution Undertaken when title is lost or burned.

The title lost can be the original title under the custody of the Register of Deeds or the Owner’s duplicate copy which is under the custody of the owner. The reconstitution can either be by administrative or judicial procedures.

Administrative Reconstitution of Title

It is the re-establishing of a Transfer Certificate of Title without the necessity of court proceedings (RA 6732 – Mass Reconstitution of Title)

At which ROD can Administrative Reconstitution be availed of?Batangas City Camarines SurMalolos, Bulacan Ilagan, IsabelaCalapan, Oriental Mindoro Quezon CityBorongon, Samar

When and Where to File?Anytime at the Office of the ROD (only

in the 7 RODs)

Outside the 7 RODs- reconstitution must be filed in court

(judicial reconstitution)

Judicial Reconstitution Through court proceedings Needs service of a lawyer Need publication in the official gazette Reconstituted title is not subject to the

two (2) year period within which one (who might have superior right) can file a claim against it.

The 2-year period which is subject to claims of third parties, is not annotated on the title. In administrative reconstitution , it is annotated.

Requirement for Administrative Reconstitution

An application/petition Owner’s duplicate copy or photocopy or

whichever document that will evidence ownership.

Real estate tax receipts, representing full payment of at least two (2) years prior to filing of the petition.

Certified true copy of the tax declaration.

Pointers on how to detect fake and/or

spurious title: 1.) Check the original and owner’s duplicate to find out if the latter is an exact copy of the former.

A genuine owner’s duplicate of transfer certificate of title should be carbon original of the original copy of the title. If both are carbon originals, as in the case of Original Certificate of Title, they should have been typed together, hence, coincide in every way.

2.) Check out the initials and signature appearing on the two titles as well as the manner in which the entries and the technical description were typewritten. All the foregoing details must be the same on both certificates of title. Any variance thereof is a ground of suspicion.

Pointers on how to detect fake and/or spurious title:

3.) Find out if the serial number of the judicial form used in accomplishing the titles conforms with the serial number of the judicial forms forwarded by the LRC Central office to the particular Registry of Deeds that appears to have issued the title.

4.) Check if the Registry of Deeds of the province or city who purportedly signed the title is the real Registry of Deeds of the province or city where the land is located.

5.) Verify if the date appearing on the title conforms with the records in the LRC central office.

Pointers on how to detect fake and/or

spurious title: 6.) See if the date when the OCT was signed by the LRC Commissioner corresponds to his term of office.

7.) Try to find out whether or not the document that supports the transfer or conveyance of the property is authentic; or whether the title is supported with a Deed.

8.) Check the date of revision of the judicial from used and see whether the certificate of title was issued after the revision.

Pointers on how to detect fake and/or

spurious title: 9.) Trace if the title purposely transferred from one Registry to another actually came from and was actually issued by the mother registry of origin.

10.) To test by wetting whether or not the red seal on the owner’s duplicate and the red printed words “OWNER’S DUPLICATE” blot and stain. A genuine judicial from does not blot or stain when wet (old forms).

11.) Be extra cautious when the area of the land is so vast that is disproportionate to the population and land area of the locality where it is supposed to be situated.

Pointers on how to detect fake and/or

spurious title: 12.) A tracking-back of the title in the Office of Registry of Deeds is the best recourse.

13.) Be extra careful if it is a reconstituted (indicated with a prefix “RT”, or with a set of figures enclosed in parentheses and a set outside thereof);

14.) Be extra careful if there are blanks not filled-up or are with the initials N.A. meaning NOT AVAILABLE on the historical data of the title.

15.) Check if the last two or three digits of the TCT number should be identical to the page number. 

Pointers on how to detect fake and/or

spurious title: 16.) The year when the judicial form was used or revised should be before the date when the title was issued, except in cases of reconstituted titles.

17.) The form show obvious watermarks that cannot be duplicated by any means.

18.) The TCT also sports a decorative border called the Intaglio which is a design, figure or ornamentation carved, engraved or etched into the surface of the material used.

Pointers on how to detect fake and/or

spurious title: 19.) Upon closer inspection of the TCT, fibers of the paper material used in the forms are observable. Different colored circular patterns are also seen on a legitimate TCT. These are called planchettes and they serve a special purpose.

20.) For e-titles, a computerized judicial form contains a judicial form number, control number, a barcode, as well as a watermark security feature.

Note: In negotiations, do not rely on a photocopy of the purported certificate of title. Asked for a certified electronic copy thereof from the Registry of Deeds.

Thank you for listening and have a nice day!