4.
The Spanish Mortgage Law of 1893 provided for the systematic registration of land titles
LAND TITLES AND DEEDS REVIEWER
AUSL 1st Sem., SY 2013-2014
Atty. Josephine R. Santiago Saturday 1-3 Set B
I.INTRODUCTION / OVERVIEW
LAND TITLE is the evidence of the owners right or extent of interest, by which he can maintain
control and as a rule assert right to exclusive possession and enjoyment of property.
DEED is the instrument in writing by which any real estate or interest therein is created, alienated,
mortgaged, or assigned, or by which title to any real estate may be affected in law or equity.
LAND REGISTRATION is a judicial or administrative proceeding whereby a persons claim over a
particular land is determined and confirmed or recognized so that such land and the ownership
thereof may be recorded in a public registry.
TORRENS SYSTEM is a system for registration of land under which, upon the landowners
application, the court may, after appropriate proceedings, direct the issuance of a certificate of title.
A.History of Land Laws
i. Lynch Article
Spanish Era
1. The indigenous concept of ownership by occupation and cultivation was recognized early
on by the Laws of the Indies which governed Spanish possessions in the Philippines and
elsewhere.
2. Royal Decree stated that justified long and continuous possession by the natives qualified
them for title to their cultivated land. Where such possessors shall not be able to produce
title deeds, it shall be sufficient if they shall show ancient possessions as a valid title.
3. Royal Cedula Circular declared: the will of the Crown as expressed in various
instructions, royal edicts, orders and decrees, that the distribution of lands to conquistadores
discoverers, and settlers should never prejudice the natives and their and-holdings.
1
and deeds as well as for possessory claims. Under its provisions owners who lack recorded
title of ownership could have their interests registered during possessory information
proceeding before informacion posesoria to qualified applicants. The titulo was merely a
record of possession. It could be converted into a record of ownership, however, twenty
years (later reduced to ten years) after its date of issue, if certain conditions were met.
5. The Maura Law of 1894 was partly an amendment of the Mortgage Law as well as the Laws
of the Indies, as already amended by previous orders and decrees. This was the last Spanish
land law promulgated in the Philippines. It required the adjustment or registration of all
agricultural lands, otherwise the lands shall revert to the state.
6. Under the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1998, Spain ceded to the government of the
United States all rights, interests and claims over the national territory of the Philippines
Islands. However, the Treaty was explicit that the relinquishment and cession cannot in any
respect impair the property rights which by law belong to peaceful possession.
Separate Opinion of J. PUNO in Cruz v. Secretary 347 SCRA 128
A. How did Spain acquire the Philippines?
The Philippines passed to Spain by virtue of discovery and conquest. Consequently, all lands
became the exclusive patrimony and dominion of the Spanish Crown. The Spanish Government took
charge of distributing the lands by issuing royal grants and concessions to Spaniards, both military
and civilian.
Private land titles could only be acquired from the government either by purchase or by the various
modes of land grants from the Crown.
Separate Opinion of J. KAPUNAN in Cruz v. Secretary 347 SCRA 128
A. How did Spain acquire the Philippines?
When Spain acquired sovereignty over the Philippines by virtue of its discovery and occupation
thereof in the 16th century and the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 which it entered into with Portugal,
the continents of Asia, the Americas and Africa were considered as terra nullius although already
populated by other people.
In the Treaty of Tordesillas, the world was divided between Spain and Portugal, with the former
having exclusive power to claim all lands and territories west of the Atlantic Ocean demarcation line.
The discovery and occupation by the European States, who were then considered as the only
members of the International Community of civilized nations, of lands in the said continents were
deemed sufficient to create title under International Law.
ii. Land Laws Reference: Atty. Agcaoili book
1) Public Land Act
1.Act No. 926 the first Public Land Act passed in pursuance of the provisions of the
Philippine Bill of 1902. The law governed the disposition of lands of the public domain. The
Public Land Act operated on the assumption that title to public lands in the Philippine Islands
remained in the government. And that the governments title to public land sprung from the
Treaty of Paris and other subsequent treaties between Spain and the United States. The
term public land referred to all lands of the public domain whose title still remained in the
government and are thrown open to private appropriation and settlement and excluded the
patrimonial property of the government and the friar lands.
2.Act No. 2874 the second Public Land Act passed under the Jones Law. It was more
comprehensive in scope but limited the exploitation of agricultural lands to Filipinos and
Americans and citizens of other countries which gave Filipinos the same privileges.
3.CA No. 141 amended the second Public Land Act after the passage of the 1935
Constitution. The present Public Land Act, which is essentially the same as Act No. 2874. The
main difference between the two relates to the transitory provision on the rights of American
citizens and corporations during the Commonwealth period at par with Filipino citizen and
corporations. CA No. 141, approved November 7, 1936, applies to lands of the public domain
which have been declared open to disposition or concession and officially delimited and
classified. It contains provisions on the different modes of government grant, e.g., homestead,
sale, free patent, and reservations for public and semi-public purpose.
2)Land Registration Act (Act No. 496)
1.The original Land Registration Act (Act No. 496) was approved on November 6, 1902, but
it became effective on January 1, 1903.
2.It established the Torrens system of registration in the country.
2
3.It created a court called the Court of Land Registration which had exclusive jurisdiction
over all applications for registration, with power to hear and determine all questions arising
upon such applications.
4.The sole purpose of the law was to bring land titles in the Philippines under one
comprehensive and harmonious system, the cardinal features of which are indefeasibility of
title and the intervention of the State as a prerequisite to the creation and transfer of titles
and interests, with the resultant increase in the use of land as a business asset by reason of
the greater certainty and security of title.
5.Registration under the system did not create a title. It simply confirmed a title already
created and vested.
3)Cadastral Act (Act No. 2259)
1.The cadastral system of registration took effect with the enactment on February 11, 1913
of Act No. 2259. When, in the opinion of the President, the public interest requires that title
to any lands be settled and adjudicated, he shall order the Director of Lands to make a survey
thereof, with notice to all persons claiming an interest therein.
2.Thereafter, the Director of Lands, represented by the Solicitor General, shall institute
registration proceedings by filing a petition in the proper court against the holders,
claimants, possessors or occupants of such lands, stating that the public interest requires that
the titles to such lands be settled and adjudicated.
3.Cadastral proceeding is a proceeding in rem, hence, generally binding upon the whole
world.
4) Property Registration Decree (PD No. 1529)
1. On June 11, 1978, PD No. 1529, otherwise known as the Property Registration Decree,
was approved. The Decree was issued to update the Land Registration Act and to codify the
various laws relative to registration of property and to facilitate effective implementation of
said laws. It codified and incorporated the following laws related to property registration:
a. Act 496, The Land Registration Act
b. CA No. 141, The Public Land Act
c. Act 2259, The Cadastral Act
 d. Act 3344, System of Registration for Unregistered Lands
e. Act No. 1508, as amended, The Chattel Mortgage Law
f. Republic Act No. 26, Reconstitution of Original Certificates of Title
g. PD 27, Emancipation Patents, Land Reform Law
2. It supersedes all other laws relative to registration of property.
3. Judicial proceedings under the Property Registration Decree, like the old Land
Registration Act, are in rem, and are based on the generally accepted principles underlying
the Torrens system.
4. Jurisdiction over the res is acquired by giving the public notice of initial hearing by means
of
(a) publication, (b) mailing and (c) notice.
5. The Decree created the Land Registration Commission, now renamed Land Registration
Authority, as the central repository of records relative to original registration, including
subdivision and consolidation plans of titled lands.
B. The Torrens System
i. Alba v. Dela Cruz, 17 Phil 49 (1910)
The application for the registration is to be in writing, signed and sworn to by the applicant, or by
some person duly authorized in his behalf. It is to contain, among other things, the names and
addresses of all occupants of land and of all adjoining owners, if known.
Indeed, the Land Registration Act requires that all occupants be named in the petition and given
notice by registered mail. However, notice by publication to all whom it may concern is considered
a sufficient notice.
Under the Land Registration Act, any petition to reopen a case after a land registration decree had
been rendered cannot lie on account of the absence, infancy, or other disability of any person affected
thereby. It is only when said decree was obtained by fraud that said petition will prosper.
ii. Separate Opinion of J. PUNO in Cruz v. Secretary, 347 SCRA 128
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Grants of public land were brought under the operation of the Torrens System under Act 496, or the
Land Registration Law of 1903. Enacted by the Philippine Commission, Act 496 placed all public and
private lands in the Philippines under the Torrens System.
The Torrens System requires that the Government issue an official certificate of title attesting to the
fact that the person named is the owner of the property described therein; subject to such liens and
encumbrances as thereon noted or the law warrants or reserves.
The certificate of title is indefeasible and imprescriptible and all claims to the parcel of land are
quieted upon issuance of said certificate. This system highly facilitates land conveyance and
negotiation. Its object is to do away with the delay, uncertainty, and expense of the old conveyancing
system.
Generally, by Torrens Systems are meant those systems of registration of transactions with interest
in land whose declared object is, under governmental authority, to establish and certify to the
ownership of an absolute and indefeasible title to realty, and to simplify its transfer.
iii. Legarda v. Saleeby, 31 Phil 590 (1915)
The real purpose of the Torrens System is to quiet title to land; to put a stop forever to any question
of the legality of the title, except claims which were noted at the time of registration, in the certificate,
or which may arise subsequent thereto.
That being the purpose of the law, it would seem that once a title is registered the owner may rest
secure, without the necessity of waiting in the portals of the court, or sitting in the mirador de su
casa, to avoid the possibility of losing his land.
The registration under the Torrens System, does not give the owner any better title than he had. The
registration of a particular parcel of land is a bar to future litigation over the same between the same
parties. It is a notice to the world and no one can plead ignorance of the registration.
Purposes:
1) To quiet title to the land and to stop forever any question as to the legality of said title.
2) To relieve the land of unknown claims.
3) To guarantee the integrity of land titles and to protect their indefeasibility once the claim
of ownership is established and recognized.
4) To give every registered owner complete peace of mind.
 5) To issue a certificate of title to the owner which shall be the best evidence of his ownership
of the land.
6) To avoid conflicts of title in and to real estate and to facilitate transactions.
iv. D.B.T. Mar-Bay Construction, Inc. v. Panes, 594 SCRA 578 (2009)
While the Torrens system is not a mode of acquiring title, but merely a system of registration of titles
to lands, justice and equity demand that the titleholder should not be made to bear the unfavorable
effect of the mistake or negligence of the State's agents, in the absence of proof of his complicity in a
fraud or of manifest damage to third persons.
The real purpose of the Torrens system is to quiet title to land and put a stop forever to any question
as to the legality of the title, except claims that were noted in the certificate at the time of the
registration or that may arise subsequent thereto. Otherwise, the integrity of the Torrens system
would forever be sullied by the ineptitude and inefficiency of land registration officials, who are
ordinarily presumed to have regularly performed their duties.
Thus, where innocent third persons, relying on the correctness of the certificate of title thus issued,
acquire rights over the property, the court cannot disregard those rights and order the cancellation
of the certificate. The effect of such outright cancellation will be to impair public confidence in the
certificate of title.
The sanctity of the Torrens system must be preserved; otherwise, everyone dealing with the property
registered under the system will have to inquire in every instance on whether the title had been
regularly or irregularly issued, contrary to the evident purpose of the law. Every person dealing with
the registered land may safely rely on the correctness of the certificate of title issued therefor, and
the law will in no way oblige him to go behind the certificate to determine the condition of the
property.
v. NOTES TORRENS SYSTEM:
1) Torrens system under Act No. 496, or the Land Registration Act of 1903 is said to be almost a
verbatim copy of the Massachusetts Land Registration Act of 1898, which, in turn, followed the
principles and procedure of the Torrens system of registration formulated by Sir Robert Torrens who
patterned it after the Merchant shipping Acts in South Australia.
2) Advantages of the Torrens System:
a) It has substituted security for insecurity.
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b ) It has reduced the costs of conveyances from pounds to shillings, and the time occupied
from months to days.
c) It has exchange brevity and clearness for obscurity and verbiage.
d) It has so simplified ordinary dealings that he who has mastered the three RS(which
means Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic) can transact his own conveyancing.
e) It affords protection against fraud.
f) It has restored to their just value many estates held under good holding titles, but
depreciated in consequence of some blur or technical defect, and has barred the
reoccurrence of any similar faults.
3) The main principle of registration is to make registered titles indefeasible.
4) The element of intention to deprive another of just rights constitutes the essential characteristics
of actual as distinguished from legal-fraud.
5) Proof of constructive fraud is not sufficient to authorize the Court of Land Registration to reopen
a case and modify its decree. Specific, intentional acts to deceive and deprive another of his right or
in some manner injure him, must be alleged and proved; that is there must be actual or positive fraud
as distinguished from constructive fraud.
II.CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
A. The Regalian Doctrine
i. Paragraph 1, Section 2, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution:
All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of
potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources
are owned by the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not
be alienated. The exploration, development and utilization of natural resources shall be under the
full control and supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities or it may
enter into co-production, joint venture orproduction-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or
corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens.
Such agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more
than twenty-five years, and under such terms and conditions as may be provided by law. In cases of
water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of
water power, beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the grant.
Under the Regalian doctrine, all lands of the public domain belong to the State and lands not
otherwise appearing to be clearly within. Private ownership is presumed to belong to the State.
Unless public land is shown to have been reclassified as alienable or disposable, and subsequently
alienated by the State, it remains part of the public domain. Occupation or possession thereof by a
person in the concept of owner, no matter how long cannot ripen in ownership.
ii. Cario v. Insular Government, 41 Phil 935 (1909)
The court thus laid down the presumption of a certain title held (1) as far back as testimony or
memory went, and (2) under a claim of private ownership. Land held by this title is presumed to
never have been public land.
The United States Supreme Court found no proof that the Spanish decrees did not honor native title.
On the contrary, the decrees discussed in Valenton v. Murciano case appeared to recognize that the
natives owned some land, irrespective of any royal grant. The Regalian doctrine declared in the
preamble of the Recopilacion was all theory and discourse and it was observed that titles were
admitted to exist beyond the powers of the Crown.
iii. Cruz v. Secretary of Environment, 347 SCRA 128 (2000)
The Regalian Doctrine does not negate native title.
1) Separate Opinion of J. PUNO
Cario case firmly established a concept of private land title that existed irrespective of any royal
grant from the State and was based on the strong mandate extended to the Islands via the Philippine
Bill of 1902. The IPRA recognizes the existence of ICCs /IPs as a distinct sector in the society. It grants
this people the ownership and possession of their ancestral domains and ancestral lands and defines
the extent of these lands and domains.
2) Separate Opinion of J. KAPUNAN
Regalian theory does not negate the native title to lands held in private ownership since time
immemorial, adverting to the landmark case of Cario v. Insular Government, where the US SC thru
Holmes held:
The land has been held by individuals under a claim of private ownership, it will be presumed to have
been held in the same way from before the Spanish conquest, and never to have been public land.
5
Existence of native title to land, or ownership of land by Filipinos by virtue of possession under a
claim of ownership since time immemorial and independent of any grant from the Spanish crown as
an exception to the theory of jure regalia.
iv. Chavez v. Public Estates, 384 SCRA 152
The Regalian Doctrine
The ownership of lands reclaimed from foreshore and submerged areas is rooted in the Regalian
doctrine which holds that the State owns all lands and waters of the public domain. Upon the Spanish
conquest of the Philippines, ownership of all lands, territories and possessions in the Philippines
passed to the Spanish Crown. The King, as the sovereign ruler and representative of the people,
acquired and owned all lands and territories in the Philippines except those he disposed of by grant
or sale to private individuals.
The 1935, 1973 and 1987 Constitutions adopted the Regalian doctrine substituting, however, the
State, in lieu of the King as the owner of all lands and waters of the public domain. The Regalian
doctrine is the foundation of the time honored principle of land ownership that all lands that were
not acquired from the Government, either by purchase of by grant, belong to the public domain.
The foreshore and submerged areas of Manila Bay are part of the lands of the public domain, waters
and other natural resources and consequently owned by the State. As such, foreshore and submerged
areas shall not be alienable unless they are classified as agricultural lands of the public domain.
The mere reclamation of these areas by the PEA does not convert these inalienable natural resources
of the State into alienable and disposable lands of the public domain. There must be a law or
presidential proclamation officially classifying these reclaimed lands as alienable and disposable if
the law has reserved them for some public or quasi- public use.
v. Buenaventura v. Republic, 517 SCRA 271 (2207)
It is true that under the Regalian Doctrine all lands of the public domain belong to the State and all
lands not otherwise appearing to be clearly within private ownership are presumed to belong to the
State. However, such presumption is not conclusive. It can be rebutted by the applicants presentation
of incontrovertible evidence showing that the land subject of the application for registration is
alienable and disposable.
vi.NOTES REGALIAN DOCTRINE:
 1) Generally, under the concept of jura regalia, private title to land must be traced to some
grant, express or implied, from the Spanish Crown or its successors, the American Colonial
government, and thereafter, the Philippine Republic.
2) In its broad sense, the term jura regalia refers to royal rights, or those rights which the
King has by virtue of his prerogatives. In Spanish Law, it refers to a right which the sovereign
has over anything in which a subject as a right of property or propriedad. These were rights
enjoyed during feudal times by the King as the sovereign.
3)Jura regalia was therefore nothing more than a natural fruit of conquest.
4)Regalian Doctrine or Jura Regalia is a Western legal concept that was first introduced by
the Spaniards into the country through the Laws of the Indies and the Royal Cedulas.
B. Citizenship Requirement
i. Paragraph 1, Section 2, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution:
All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of
potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources
are owned by the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not
be alienated. The exploration, development and utilization of natural resources shall be under the
full control and supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities or it may
enter into co-production, joint venture or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or
corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens.
Such agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more
than twenty-five years, and under such terms and conditions as may be provided by law. In cases of
water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of
water power, beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the grant.
ii. Section 7, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution:
Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be transferred or conveyed except to
individuals, corporations, or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain.
iii. Section 8, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution:
6
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 7 of this Article, a natural-born citizen of the Philippines
who has lost his Philippine citizenship may be a transferee of private lands, subject to limitations
provided by law.
iv. Krivenko v. Register of Deeds, 79 Phil 461
Public agricultural lands mentioned in Section 1, Article XIII of the 1935 Constitution, include
residential, commercial and industrial lands, the Court stated:
Natural resources, with the exception of public agricultural land, shall not be alienated, and with
respect to public agricultural lands, their alienation is limited to Filipino Citizens. But this
Constitutional purpose conserving agricultural resources in the hands of Filipino citizens may easily
be defeated by the Filipino citizens themselves who may alienate their agricultural lands in favor of
aliens.
Thus Section 5, Article XIII of the 1935 Constitution provides:
Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private agricultural lands will be transferred or assigned
except to individuals corporations or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public
domain in the Philippines.
NOTES:
1)In determining whether a parcel of land is agricultural, the test is not only whether it is
actually agricultural, but also its susceptibility to cultivation for agricultural purposes.
2)Public Agricultural Lands under Section 1 of Article XIII (now Section 2, Article XII of
the 1987 Constitution) of the 1935 Constitution classifies lands of public domain in the
Philippines into agricultural, timber and mineral.
3)Private Agricultural Lands Section 5, Article XIII of the 1935 Constitution
v. Halili v. CA, 287 SCRA 465 (1998)
The landmark case of Krivenko v. Register of Deeds settled the issue as to who are qualified (and
disqualified) to own public as well as private lands in the Philippines.
In fine, non-Filipinos cannot acquire or hold title to private lands or to lands of the public domain,
except only by way of legal succession.
But what is the effect of a subsequent sale by the disqualified alien vendee to a qualified Filipino
citizen? This is not a novel question. Jurisprudence is consistent that if land is invalidly transferred
to an alien who subsequently becomes a citizen or transfers it to a citizen, the flaw in the original
transaction is considered cured and the title of the transferee is rendered valid.
vi. Muller v. Muller, 500 SCRA 65 (2006)
Mr. Muller was aware of the Constitutional prohibition when he purchased the property. He declared
the property in the name of Mrs. Muller because of said prohibition. His attempt at subsequently
asserting or claiming a right on the said property cannot be sustained.
There was no implied trust created. Save for hereditary succession, an aliens disqualification is
absolute. Not even an ownership in trust is allowed. Besides, no trust can result in favor of the party
who is guilty of the fraud. To hold otherwise would allow a circumvention of the constitutional
prohibition.
He who seeks equity must do equity, and he who comes into equity must come with clean hands. Mr.
Muller cannot seek reimbursement of the funds he used to purchase the property on the ground of
equity where it is clear that he willingly and knowingly bought the property despite the constitutional
prohibition.
vii. Republic v. CA and Lapia, 235 SCRA 567
The Court explained that even if the spouses were already Canadian citizens at the time they applied
for registration, the lots were already private lands, and no longer formed part of the public domain.
They were already private in character at the time of the purchase since respondents predecessors-
in-interest had been in open, continuous and exclusive possession and occupation thereof under
claim of ownership prior to June 12, 1945 or since 1937. Moreover, the law provides that a natural-
born citizen of the Philippines who has lost his Philippine citizenship may be a transferee of a private
land under the terms prescribed by law.
viii. Amendments to the IRR of RA No. 7042 (FIA of 1991), as amended by RA No. 8179
LIST A:
FOREIGN OWNERSHIP IS LIMITED BY MANDATE OF THE CONSTITUTION
AND SPECIFIC LAWS
No Foreign Equity
1) Mass Media except recording (Article XVI, Section 11 of the Constitution; Presidential
Memorandum dated 04 May 1994)
7
2) Services involving the practice of licensed professions save in cases prescribed by
law;(Article XIV, Section 14 of the Constitution; Section 1 of RA No. 5181)
3) Retail Trade (Section 1 of RA No. 1180)
4) Cooperatives (Chapter III, Article 26 of RA No. 6938)
5) Private Security Agencies (Section 4 of RA No. 5487)
6) Small-scale Mining (Section 3 of RA No. 7076)
7) Utilization of Marine Resources in archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive
economic zone (Article XII, Section 2 of the Constitution)
8) Ownership, operation and management of cockpits (Section 5 of Presidential Decree No.
449)
9) Manufacture, repair, stockpiling and/or distribution of nuclear weapons (Article II,
Section 8 of the Constitution)
10) Manufacture, repair, stockpiling and/or distribution of biological, chemical and
radiological weapons (Various treaties to which the Philippines is a signatory and
conventions supported by the Philippines)
Up to Twenty-Five Percent (25%) Foreign Equity
11) Private recruitment, whether for local or overseas employment (Article 27 of
Presidential Decree No. 442)
12) Contracts for the construction and repair of locally-funded public works except:
a. infrastructure/development projects covered in RA No. 7718; and
b. projects which are foreign funded or assisted and required to undergo
international competitive bidding
Up to Thirty Percent (30%) Foreign Equity
13) Advertising (Article XVI, Section 11 of the Constitution)
Up to Forty Percent (40%) Foreign Equity
 14) Exploration, development and utilization of natural resources (Article XII, Section 2 of
the Constitution)
15) Ownership of private lands (Article XII, Section 7 of the Constitution; Chapter 5, Section
22 of Commonwealth Act No. 141)
16) Operation and management of public utilities (Article XII, Section 11 of the Constitution;
Section 16 of Commonwealth Act No. 146)
17) Ownership/establishment and administration of educational institutions (Article XIV,
Section 2 of the Constitution)
18) Engaging in the rice and corn industry (Presidential Decree No. 194)
19) Financing companies regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Section 6 of RA No. 5980)
20) Contracts for the supply of materials, goods and commodities to government-owned or
controlled corporation, company, agency or municipal corporation (Section 1 of RA No.
5183)
21) Contracts for the construction of defense-related structures (e.g., land, air, sea and
coastal defenses, arsenals, barracks, depots, hangars, landing fields, quarters and hospitals)
(Commonwealth Act No. 541)
22) Project proponent and facility operator of a BOT project requiring a public utilities
franchise (Article XII, Section 11 of the Constitution; Section 2a of RA No. 7718)
23) Private domestic construction contracts (Republic Act 4566; Article XIV, Section 14 of
the Constitution)
LIST B: FOREIGN OWNERSHIP IS LIMITED FOR REASONS OF SECURITY, DEFENSE, RISK TO HEALTH
AND MORALS AND PROTECTION OF SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SCALE ENTERPRISES
Up to Forty Percent (40 %) Foreign Equity
1) Manufacture, repair, storage, and/or distribution used in the manufacture thereof
requiring Philippine National Police (PNP) clearance
2) Manufacture, repair, storage and/or distribution of products requiring Department of
National Defense (DND) clearance
8
3) Manufacture and distribution of dangerous drugs (RA No. 7042 as amended by RA No.
8179)
NOTES:
1) Domestic investments are also prohibited (Article II, Section 8 of the Constitution;
Conventions/Treaties to which the Philippines is a signatory)
2) Full foreign participation is allowed through financial or technical assistance agreement
with the President (Article XII, Section 11 of the Constitution)
ix. Citizenship Requirement - Individuals
1 )Filipino Citizens
Citizens of the Philippines may lease not more than five hundred hectares, or acquire not more than
twelve hectares of the alienable lands of the public domain, by purchase, homestead, or grant. (Sec.
3, Article XII, Constitution)
Citizens may acquire private lands.
2) Former Natural-Born Citizens
A natural-born citizen of the Philippines who has lost his Philippine citizenship may be a transferee
of private lands, subject to limitations provided by law. (Sec. 8, Article XII, Constitution)
Any natural born citizen who has lost his Philippine citizenship and who has the legal capacity to
enter into a contract under Philippine laws may be a transferee of a private land up to a maximum
area of five thousand (5,000) square meters in the case of urban land or three (3) hectares in the case
of rural land to be used by him for business or other purposes. In the case of married couples, one of
them may avail of the privilege herein granted: Provided, That if both shall avail of the same, the total
area acquired shall not exceed the maximum herein fixed.
In case the transferee already owns urban or rural land for business or other purposes, he shall still
be entitled to be a transferee of additional urban or rural land for business or other purposes which
when added to those already owned by him shall not exceed the maximum areas herein authorized.
A transferee under this Act may acquire not more than two (2) lots which should be situated in
different municipalities or cities anywhere in the Philippines: Provided, that the total land area
thereof shall not exceed five thousand (5,000) hectares in the case of rural land for use by him for
business or other purposes. A transferee who has already acquired urban land shall be disqualified
from acquiring rural land area and vice versa. (Section 10 of RA No. 7042, as amended by RA No.
8179, dated March 28, 1996, Foreign Investment Act of 1991, implementing Section 8, Article XII of
the Constitution)
3) Aliens
Alien Individuals may be transferees of private lands only in cases of hereditary succession. (Sec. 7,
Article XII, Constitution)
C. Corporations
i. Section 3, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution:
Lands of the public domain are classified into agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands and
national parks. Agricultural lands of the public domain may be further classified by law according to
the uses to which they may be devoted. Alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to
agricultural lands. Private corporations or associations may not hold such alienable lands of the
public domain except by lease, for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more
than twenty-five years, and not to exceed one thousand hectares in area. Citizens of the Philippines
may lease not more than five hundred hectares, or acquire not more than twelve hectares thereof, by
purchase, homestead, or grant.
Taking into account the requirements of conservation, ecology, and development, and subject to the
requirements of agrarian reform, the Congress shall determine, by law, the size of lands of the public
domain which may be acquired, developed, held, or leased and the conditions therefor.
ii. Chavez v. Public Estates, 384 SCRA 152 (2002)
The Constitutional intent, both under the 1973 and 1987 Constitutions, is to transfer ownership of
only a limited area of alienable land of the public domain to a qualified individual. This constitutional
intent is safeguarded by the provision prohibiting corporations from acquiring alienable lands of the
public domain, since the vehicle to circumvent the constitutional intent is removed. The available
alienable public lands are gradually decreasing in the face of an ever-growing population. The most
effective way to insure faithful adherence to this constitutional intent is to grant or sell alienable
lands of the public domain only to individuals. This, it would seem, is the practical benefit arising
from the constitutional ban.
If the constitutional intent is to encourage economic family-size farms, placing the land in the name
of a corporation would be more effective in preventing the break-up of farmlands. If the farmland is
registered in the name of a corporation, upon the death of the owner, his heirs would inherit shares
9
in the corporation instead of subdivide parcels of the farmland. This would prevent the
continuing break-up of farmlands into smaller and smaller plots from one generation to the next.
The constitutional ban strengthens the constitutional limitation on individuals from acquiring more
than the allowed area of alienable lands of the public domain. Without the constitutional ban,
individuals who already acquired the maximum area of alienable lands of the public domain could
easily set up corporations to acquire more alienable public lands. The corporation is a convenient
vehicle to circumvent the constitutional limitation on acquisition by individual of alienable lands of
the public domain.
iii. Director v. IAC and ACME, 146 SCRA 509 (1986)
When natural persons have fulfilled the required statutory period of possession, the Public Land Act
confers on them a legally sufficient and transferable title to the land, which are already private lands
because of acquisitive prescription, and which could be validly transferred or sold to private
corporations.
The doctrine of vested rights was articulated by the Supreme Court in this ruling.
The Supreme Court declared that the purely accidental circumstance that confirmation proceedings
were brought under the aegis of a subsequent law which forbids corporations from owning lands of
the public domain cannot defeat a right already vested before that law came into effect, or invalidate
transactions then perfectly valid and proper. The Court emphatically stated that even the
Constitution or subsequent law cannot impair vested rights.
iv. NOTES - CORPORATIONS:
1) Private corporations or associations may not hold such alienable lands of the public
domain except by lease, for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not
more than twenty-five years, and not to exceed one thousand hectares in area.
(Sec. 3, Article XII, Constitution)
2) Corporations or associations whether citizens or of citizens and aliens may not
own, but may only hold by lease lands of the public domain. (DOJ Opinion, 1973)
3) However, only corporations or associations at least 60% of the capital stock of which is
owned by Filipinos, and the remainder by foreigners, may own private lands.
4) Condominium Corporation Owns the Land
 Transfers to aliens of a condominium unit may be made only up to the point where the
concomitant transfer of membership or stockholding in the condominium corporation would
not cause the alien interest in such corporation to exceed 40% of its entire capital stock. (Sec
5, Condominium Act)
5) Corporation Leases the Land
Any corporation which is owned 100% by a foreign firm may establish a "condominium
corporation" under R.A. No. 4726 and set up a condominium project on land leased for a
period not to exceed (50) years. (DOJ Opinion 1973)
Foreign Investors may lease private lands for a period not exceeding fifty (50) years,
renewable once for a period of not more than twenty- five (25) years, provided that the
leased area shall be used solely for the purpose of the investment, and provided further that
the leased premises shall comprise such area as may reasonably be required for the purpose
of the investment subject however to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law and the Local
Government Code. (Sec. 4, Investors Lease Act)
6) Land is Co-owned by the Unit Owners
Where the common areas in the condominium project are owned by the owners of separate
units as co-owners thereof, no condominium unit therein shall be conveyed or transferred to
persons other than Filipino citizens, or corporations at least 60% of the capital stock of which
belong to Filipino citizens, except in cases of hereditary succession. (Sec. 5, Condominium
Act)
Only citizens of the Philippines, as individuals, may acquire both private lands and lands of
the public domain. Therefore, there can be no joint ownership of such lands between
Filipinos and foreign investors as individuals.
D. CHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS
i. SECTION 2. Nature of registration proceedings; jurisdiction of courts.
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.
Courts of First Instance (now Regional Trial Courts) 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. The court through the clerk of court shall
10
furnish the Land Registration Commission with two certified copies of all pleadings, exhibits, orders,
and decisions filed or issued in applications or petitions for land registration, with the exception of
stenographic notes, within five days from the filing or issuance thereof.
NOTES SECTION 2 of PRD:
1) Registration is not a mode of acquiring ownership but is merely a procedure to establish
evidence of tile over realty.
2) A certificate of title is not a source of right. It merely confirms or records a title already
existing and vested. The mere possession thereof does not make one the true owner of the
property.
3) Title is generally defined as the lawful cause or ground of possessing that which is
ours. Title, therefore, may be defined briefly as that which constitutes a just cause of
exclusive possession, or which is the foundation of ownership of property, real or
personal. Certificate of title, on the other hand, is a mere evidence of ownership; it is not the
title to the land itself.
4) Under the Torrens system, a certificate of title may be:
a.Original Certificate of Title: the first title issued in the name of the registered owner
by the Register of Deeds covering a parcel of land which had been registered by
virtue of a judicial or administrative proceeding.
b. Transfer Certificate of Title the title issued by the ROD in favor of the
transferee to whom the ownership of the already registered land had been
transferred by virtue of a sale or other modes of conveyance.
5) Torrens Title is a certificate of ownership issued under the Torres System, through the
Register of Deeds, naming and declaring the owner of the real property described therein,
free from all liens and encumbrances except such as may be expressly noted there or
otherwise reserved by law.
6) General Rule: A title once registered cannot be impugned, altered, changed, modified,
enlarged, or diminished. It shall not be subject to collateral attack. Exception: Direct
proceeding permitted by law, usually for the protection of innocent third persons.
7) Collateral Attack
A certificate of title shall not be subject to collateral attack. It cannot be altered, modified, or
cancelled except in a direct proceeding in accordance with law. (Sec. 48, P.D. 1529)
a. Accion Publiciana, also known as accion plenaria de posesion, is an ordinary civil
proceeding to determine the better right of possession of realty independent of title. It refers
to an ejectment suit filed after the expiry of one year from the accrual of the cause of action
or from the unlawful withholding of possession of the realty. The objective of the plaintiffs
in an accion publiciana is to recover possession only, and not ownership. However, where
the question of ownership is raised, the courts may pass upon the issue to determine who
has the better right of possession. Such determination is merely provisional and not
conclusive on the question of ownership.
b. If the petitioner-defendants attack on the validity of respondent-plaintiffs title, by
claiming that fraud attended its acquisition, is a [prohibited] collateral attack on the title. It
is an attack incidental to the quest to defend their possession of the properties in an accion
publiciana not in a direct action whose main objective is to impugn the validity of the
judgment granting the title.
8) Nature of Torrens System:
a. Judicial in character and not merely administrative.
b. Proceeding is in rem (binding upon the whole world). A proceeding is in rem
when the object of the action is to bar indifferently all who might be minded to make
an objection of any sort against the right sought to be established, and if anyone in
the world has a right to be heard on the strength of alleging facts which, if true, show
an inconsistent interest.
c. Distinguished from proceedings in personam and quasi in rem:
i. It is a proceeding in personam when the technical object of the suit is to establish a claim
against some particular person, with a judgment which generally in theory at least, binds his
body, o to bar some individual claim or objection, so that only certain persons are entitled to
be heard in defense.
ii. On the other hand, actions quasi in rem deal with the status, ownership or liability of a
particular property but which are intended to operate on these questions only as between
the particular parties to the proceedings and not to ascertain or cut off the rights or interests
of all possible claimants. The judgments therein are binding only upon the parties who joined
in the action.
11
9) RTC have plenary jurisdiction over land registration cases as provided in Section 2 of PD
1529. Exception Inferior Courts delegated jurisdiction to hear and determine cadastral
or land registration cases in the following instances:
a. Where the lot sought to be registered is not the subject of controversy or
opposition; or
b. Where the lot is contested but the value thereof does not exceed P100,000.00,
such value to be ascertained by the affidavit of the claimant or by the agreement of
the respective claimants, if there be more than one, or from the corresponding tax
declaration of the real property.
10)Actions for forcible entry into and unlawful detainer of lands or buildings, original
jurisdiction over which is conferred upon the metropolitan trial courts, municipal trial
courts, and municipal circuit trial courts.
11) The Decree has eliminated the distinction between the general jurisdiction vested in the
RTC and the limited jurisdiction conferred upon it by the former law when acting merely as
a cadastral court. The amendment was aimed at avoiding multiplicity of suits and the change
has simplified registration proceedings.
12) Venue:
a. Real Actions affecting title to or possession of real property, or an interest therein
shall be commenced and tried in the proper court which has territorial jurisdiction
over the area where the real property involved, or a portion thereof, is situated.
b. Personal Actions shall be commenced and tried in the proper court where the
plaintiff or any of the principal defendants resides or in the case of anon-
resident defendant where he may be found, at the election of the plaintiff.
ii. 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.
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 or 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.
E. CHAPTER 2 THE LAND REGISTRATION COMMISSION AND ITS REGISTRIES OF DEEDS
i. Section 4. Land Registration Commission.
In order to have a more efficient execution of the laws relative to the registration of lands, geared to
the massive and accelerated land reform and social justice program of the government, there is
created a commission to be known as the Land Registration Commission under the executive
supervision of the Department of Justice.
ii. Section 5. Officials and employees of the Commission.
The Land Registration Commission shall have a chief and an assistant chief to be known, respectively,
as the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of Land Registration who shall be appointed by
the President. The Commissioner shall be duly qualified member of the Philippine Bar with at least
ten years of practice in the legal profession, and shall have the same rank, compensation and
privileges as those of a Judge of the Court of First Instance. The Deputy Commissioner, who shall
possess the same qualifications as those required of the Commissioner, shall receive compensation
which shall be three thousand pesos per annum less than that of the Commissioner. He shall act as
Commissioner of Land Registration during the absence or disability of the Commissioner and when
there is a vacancy in the position until another person shall have been designated or appointed in
accordance with law. The Deputy Commissioner shall also perform such other functions as the
Commissioner may assign to him.
They shall be assisted by such number of division chiefs as may be necessary in the interest of the
functioning of the Commission, by a Special Assistant to the Commissioner, and by a Chief Geodetic
Engineer who shall each receive compensation at the rate of three thousand four hundred pesos per
annum less than that of the Deputy Commissioner.
All other officials and employees of the Land Registration Commission including those of the
Registries of Deeds whose salaries are not herein provided, shall receive salaries corresponding to
the minimum of their respective upgraded ranges as provided under paragraph 3.1 of Budget
Circular No. 273, plus sixty per centum thereof across the board, notwithstanding the maximum
salary allowed for their respective civil service eligibilities.
12
The salaries of officials and employees provided in this Decree shall be without prejudice to such
benefits and adjustments as may from time to time be granted by the President or by the legislature
to government employees.
All officials and employees of the Commission except Registers of Deeds shall be appointed by the
Secretary of Justice upon recommendation of the Commissioner of Land Registration.
NOTES SECTION 5 of PRD:
1) On June 17, 1954, RA No. 1151 created the Land Registration Commission (LRC) to
provide a more efficient execution of the existing laws relative to the registration of lands.
2) LRC exercise supervision and control over all Registers of Deeds, as well as the clerical
and archival system of the courts of first instance throughout the Philippines with the
reference to the registration of lands.
3) It was headed by a Commissioner and an Assistant Commissioner, both appointed by the
President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.
4) The LRC has been renamed Land Registration Authority (LRA). It is headed by an
Administrator who is assisted by two (2) Deputy Administrators, all of whom are appointed
by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Justice. All other officials of
the LRA, except Register of Deeds, are appointed by the Secretary of Justice upon
recommendation of the Administrator.
5) The LRA is the central repository of records relative to original registration of lands titled
under the Torrens system, including subdivision and consolidation plans of titled
lands. Specifically, it is responsible for the issuance of decrees of registration and certificates
of title (original and duplicate) where land is brought for the first time under the Torrens
system.
iii. Section 6. General Functions.
1. The Commissioner of Land Registration shall have the following functions:
a) Issue decrees of registration pursuant to final judgments of the courts in land
registration proceedings and cause the issuance by the Registers of Deeds of the
corresponding certificates of title;
b) Exercise supervision and control over all Registers of Deeds and other personnel
of the Commission;
 c) Resolve cases elevated en consulta by, or on appeal from decision of, Registers of
Deeds;
d) Exercise executive supervision over all clerks of court and personnel of the Courts
of First Instance throughout the Philippines with respect to the discharge of their
duties and functions in relation to the registration of lands;
e) Implement all orders, decisions, and decrees promulgated relative to the
registration of lands and issue, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Justice, all
needful rules and regulations therefor;
f)Verify and approve subdivision, consolidation, and consolidation- subdivision
survey plans of properties titled under Act No. 496 except those covered by P.D. No.
957.
2. The Land Registration Commission shall have the following functions:
a) Extend speedy and effective assistance to the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Land
Bank, and other agencies in the implementation of the land reform program of the
government;
b) Extend assistance to courts in ordinary and cadastral land registration proceedings;
c) Be the central repository of records relative to original registration of lands titled under
the Torrens system, including subdivision and consolidation plans of titled lands.
NOTES SECTION 6 of PRD:
1) LRA Administrator, an executive officer with judicial rank.
a. Shall have the same rank, compensation, and privileges as those of a Judge of the
Court of First Instance (RTC).
b. His functions are plainly executive and subject to the Presidents power of
supervision and control.
c. He can be investigated and removed only by the President and not by the Supreme
Court.
2) Duty of LRA to issue decree ministerial.
13
a. While the duty of the LRA officials to issue a decree of registration is purely
ministerial, 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 the court and with
the data found in the record, as to which they have no discretion on the matter.
b. But the issuance by LRA officials of a decree of registration is not a purely
ministerial duty in cases where they find that such would result to the double titling
of the same parcel of land.
c. The issuance of a decree of registration is part of the judicial function of courts and
is not compellable by mandamus because it involves the exercise of discretion.
d. The duty of land registration officials to render reports is not limited to the period
before the courts decision becomes final, but may extend even after its finality but
not beyond the lapse of one (1) year from the entry of the decree.
iv. Section 7. Office of the Register of Deeds.
There shall be at least one Register of Deeds for each province and one for each city. Every Registry
with a yearly average collection of more than sixty thousand pesos during the last three years shall
have one Deputy Register of Deeds, and every Registry with a yearly average collection of more than
three hundred thousand pesos during the last three years, shall have one Deputy Register of Deeds
and one second Deputy Register of Deeds.
The Secretary of Justice shall define the official station and territorial jurisdiction of each Registry
upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Land Registration, with the end in view of making
every registry easily accessible to the people of the neighboring municipalities.
The province or city shall furnish a suitable space or building for the office of the Register of Deeds
until such time as the same could be furnished out of national funds.
NOTES SECTION 7 of PRD:
1) Registry of Property:
a. The registration of instruments affecting registered land must be done in the proper
registry, in order to affect and bind the land and, thus, operate as constructive notice to the
world.
b. If the sale is not registered, it is binding only between the seller and the buyer but it does
not affect innocent third persons.
 c. The Civil Code, in Article 708, provides for the establishment of a Registry of Property
which has for its object the inscription or annotation of acts and contracts relating to the
ownership and other rights over immovable property.
d. The original copy of the original certificate of title shall be filed in the Registry of Deeds.
e. Each Register of Deeds shall keep a primary entry book where all instruments including
copies of writs and processes relating to registered land shall be entered in the order of their
filing. They shall be regarded as registered from the time so noted.
2) Registration in general, as the law uses the word, means any entry made in the books of the
Registry, including both registration in its ordinary and strict sense, and cancellation, annotation, and
even the marginal notes. In its strict acceptation, it is the entry made in the Registry which records
solemnly and permanently the right of ownership and other real rights.
3) When a conveyance has been properly recorded, such record is constructive notice of its contents
and all interests, legal and equitable, included therein.
4) Effect of Registration:
a. The act of registration shall be the operative act to convey or affect the land insofar as
third persons are concerned, and in all cases under this Decree.
b. Registration in the public registry is notice to the whole world.
c. Thus, between two buyers of the same immovable property registered under the Torrens
system, the law gives ownership priority to:
i. The first registrant in good faith;
ii. Then, the first possessor in good faith; and
iii. Finally, the buyer who in good faith presents the oldest title.
This rule, however, does not apply if the property is not registered under the Torrens
system.
d. In a case, two certificates of title were issued covering the very same property derived
from two different land patents, the Court ruled in favor of the owner who registered his land
patent first regardless of the date of issuance of the said land patent.
14
v. Section 8. Appointment of Registers of Deeds and their Deputies and other subordinate personnel;
salaries.
Registers of Deeds shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of
the Secretary of Justice. Deputy Registers of Deeds and all other subordinate personnel of the
Registries of Deeds shall be appointed by the Secretary of Justice upon the recommendation of the
Commissioner of Land Registration.
The salaries of Registers of Deeds and their Deputies shall be at the following rates:
1. First Class Registries - The salaries of Registers of Deeds in first class Registries shall be
three thousand four hundred pesos per annum less than that of the Deputy Commissioner.
2. Second Class Registries - The salaries of Registers of Deeds in second class Registries shall
be three thousand four hundred pesos per annum less than those of Registers of Deeds in
first class Registries.
3. Third Class Registries - The salaries of Registers of Deeds in third class Registries shall be
three thousand four hundred pesos per annum less than those of Registers of Deeds in second
class Registries.
4. The salaries of Deputy Registers of Deeds and Second Deputy Registers of Deeds - shall be
three thousand four hundred pesos per annum less than those of their corresponding
Registers of Deeds and Deputy Registers of Deeds, respectively.
The Secretary of Justice, upon recommendation of the Commissioner of Land Registration, shall cause
the reclassification of Registries based either on work load or the class of province/city, whichever
will result in a higher classification, for purposes of salary adjustments in accordance with the rates
hereinabove provided.
vi. Section 9. Qualifications of Registers of Deeds and Deputy Registers of Deeds.
No person shall be appointed Register of Deeds unless he has been admitted to the practice of law in
the Philippines and shall have been actually engaged in such practice for at least three years or has
been employed for a like period in any branch of government the functions of which include the
registration of property.
The Deputy Register of Deeds shall be a member of the Philippine Bar. Provided, however, that no
Register of Deeds or Deputy Register of Deeds holding office as such upon the passage of this Decree
shall by reason hereof, be removed from office or be demoted to a lower category or scale of salary
except for cause and upon compliance with due process as provided for by law.
vii. Section 10. General functions of Registers 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.
It shall be the duty of the Register of Deeds to immediately register an instrument presented for
registration dealing with real or personal property which complies with all the requisites for
registration. He shall see to it that said instrument bears the proper documentary and science stamps
and that the same are properly canceled. If the instrument is not registerable, he shall forthwith deny
registration thereof and inform the presentor of such denial in writing, stating the ground or reason
therefor, and advising him of his right to appeal by consultation in accordance with Section 117 of
this Decree.
NOTES SECTIONS 8, 9, & 10 of PRD:
1) Office of the Register of Deed:
a. There shall be at least one Register of Deeds for each province and one for each city.
b. The Secretary of Justice shall define the official station and territorial jurisdiction of each
Registry upon the recommendation of the LRA Administrator.
c. Registers of Deeds shall be appointed by the President upon recommendation of the
Secretary of Justice.
d. Deputy Registers of Deeds and all other subordinate personnel of the Registries of Deeds
shall be appointed by the Secretary of Justice upon the recommendation of the LRA
Administrator.
e. Both the Register of Deeds and Deputy Register of Deeds must be members of the Bar.
2) Duty of Register of Deeds to register, ministerial.
a. Register of Deeds perform both functions of an administrative character and functions
which are at least of a quasi-judicial nature.
b. However, the function of a Register of Deeds with reference to the registration of deeds,
encumbrances, instruments and the like is ministerial in nature.
c. Registration is a mere ministerial act by which a deed, contract or instrument is sought to
be inscribed in the records of the office of the Register of Deeds and annotated at the back of
15
the certificate of the title covering the land subject of the deed, contract or
instrument. Whether the document is invalid, frivolous or intended to harass, is not the duty
of a Register of Deeds to decide, but is for a court of competent jurisdiction to determine.
3) Instances where Register of Deeds may deny registration:
a. Where there are several copies of the title (co-owners duplicate) but only one is presented
with the instrument to be registered.
b. Where the property is presumed to be conjugal but the instrument of conveyance bears
the signature of only one spouse.
c. Where there is a pending case in court where the character of the land and validity of the
conveyance are in issue.
d. Where required certificates or documents are not submitted.
The refusal by the Register of Deeds to register an instrument affecting registered land by
reason of non-compliance with certain requirements does not bar registration if thereafter
the defects are cured.
4) Doubtful questions shall be submitted to LRA Administrator for resolution:
a. A Register of Deeds is precluded from exercising his personal judgment and discretion
when confronted with the problem of whether to register a deed or instrument on the ground
that it is invalid.
b. When the Register of Deeds is in doubt with regard to the proper step to be taken or
memorandum to be made in pursuance of any deed, mortgage or other instrument presented
to him for registration, or where any party in interest does not agree with the action taken
by him with reference to any such deed or instrument, he shall certify the question to the
LRA Administrator who shall, after notice and hearing, enter an order prescribing the step to
be taken on the doubtful question.
c. But mandamus does not lie to compel the Register of Deeds to make registration.
d. The administrative remedy must be resorted to by the interested party before he can have
recourse to the courts.
5) The act of registration does not validate an otherwise void contract. While registration operates
as a notice of the deed, contract, or instrument to others, it does not add to its validity nor converts
an invalid instrument into a valid one as between the parties, not amounts to a declaration that the
instrument recognizes a valid and subsisting interest in the land.
6) Notice to the Register of Deeds or adverse party.
a) When a writ of preliminary injunction in a cadastral proceeding is dissolved, the obstacle
to the registration of a deed of sale is removed, but it is no authority for the court to issue an
order for registration of said deed without notice to the Register of Deeds or to the adverse
party, where the dismissal of the cadastral case is not yet final.
b) It is one thing for the Register of Deeds, in the exercise of his ministerial duties under the
law, to register an instrument which in his opinion is registrable, and quite another thing for
the court itself to order the registration. The former does not contemplate notice to and
hearing of interested parties such as are required in a judicial proceeding nor carries with it
the solemnity and legal consequences of a court judgment.
viii. Section 11. Discharge of duties of Register of Deeds in case of vacancy, etc.
1. Until a regular Register of Deeds shall have been appointed for a province or city, or in case of
vacancy in the office, or upon the occasion of the absence, illness, suspension, or inability of the
Register of Deeds to discharge his duties, said duties shall be performed by the following officials, in
the order in which they are mentioned below, unless the Secretary of Justice designates another
official to act temporarily in his place:
a) For the province or city where there is a Deputy Register of Deeds, by said Deputy Register
of Deeds, or by the second Deputy Register of Deeds, should there be one;
b) For the province or city where there is no Deputy or second Deputy Register of Deeds, by
the Provincial or City Fiscal, or any Assistant Fiscal designated by the Provincial or City Fiscal;
2. In case of absence, disability or suspension of the Register of Deeds without pay, or in case of
vacancy in the position, the Secretary of Justice may, in his discretion, authorize the payment of an
additional compensation to the official acting as Register of Deeds, such additional compensation
together with his actual salary not to exceed the salary authorized for the position thus filled by him.
3. In case of a newly-created province or city and pending establishment of a Registry of Deeds and
the appointment of a regular Register of Deeds for the new province or city, the Register of Deeds of
the mother province or city shall be the ex-officio Register of Deeds for said new province or city.
16
ix. Section 12. Owner's Index; reports.
There shall be prepared in every Registry an index system which shall contain the names of all
registered owners alphabetically arranged. For this purpose, an index card which shall be prepared
in the name of each registered owner which shall contain a list of all lands registered in his name.
The Register of Deeds shall submit to the Land Registration Commission within ten days after the
month to which they pertain his monthly reports on collections and accomplishments. He shall also
submit to the Commission at the end of December of each year, an annual inventory of all titles and
instruments in his Registry.
x. Section 13. Chief Geodetic Engineer.
There shall be a Chief Geodetic Engineer in the Land Registration Commission who shall be the
technical adviser of the Commission on all matters involving surveys and shall be responsible to him
for all plats, plans and works requiring the services of a geodetic engineer in said office. He shall
perform such other functions as may, from time to time, be assigned to him by the Commissioner.
NOTES SECTION 13 of PRD:
1) A survey plan serves to establish the true identity of the land to ensure that it does not
overlap a parcel of land or a portion thereof 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.
2) Only the Lands Management Bureau has authority to approve original survey plans for
registration purposes. There was a need to centralize in one agency, the function of verifying
and approving original survey plans for all purposes in order to assure compliance with
established standards and minimize irregularities in the execution of land surveys.
III.CHAPTER 3 - ORIGINAL REGISTRATION
ORDINARY REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS
A. Who may apply
Registration under the Property Registration Decree i. 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.
NOTES SECTION 14(1) of PRD:
1) Requisites for registration under Section 14(1)
a. That the land applied for is an agricultural public land classified as alienable and
disposable land at the time;
b. The application for registration is filed with the proper court;
c. That the applicant, by himself or through his predecessors-in-interest, has been in open,
continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation thereof, under a bona
fide claim of ownership; and
d. That such possession and occupation has been effected since June 12, 1945 or earlier.
2) Land must already be (a) classified as alienable and disposable land; and (b)possessed and
occupied since June 12, 1945 or earlier at the time of filing of the application for registration.
a. It need not be classified as alienable and disposable land of public domain since June 12,
1945. It is sufficient that the land is already declared as alienable and disposable land at the
time of the application for registration is filed so as to entitle the possessor to registration.
3) Steps in Alienation of Public Agricultural Land:
a. It must be shown to have been reclassified as alienable and disposable land of the public
domain;
b. It must establish the existence of a positive act of the government such as a presidential
proclamation or an executive order; an administrative action; investigation reports of
Bureau of Lands investigators; and a legislative act or a statute. (Republic v. CA)
4) With respect to non-agricultural lands like forest lands, the rules on the confirmation of imperfect
title do not apply unless and until the land classified as forest land is released in an official
proclamation to that effect so that it may form part of the disposable agricultural lands of the public
domain.
17
5) Nature of possession must be:
a. Open- It must be known to all. It must not be a secret or clandestine.
b. Continuous- There must not be any interruption.
c. Exclusive- Land must be possessed by himself or by his predecessors- in-interest to the
exclusion of all others.
d. Notorious - Use or inhabitance of real property that is open and obvious to neighbors,
leading to a presumption that the owner has notice of it.
2. Those who have acquired ownership of private lands by prescription under the provision of
existing laws.
NOTES SECTION 14(2) of PRD:
1) Properties of public dominion cannot be acquired by prescription. No matter how long the
possession of the properties has been, there can be no prescription against the State regarding
property of public domain. Even a city or municipality cannot acquire them by prescription as against
the State. The exception is where the law itself so provides. Thus, patrimonial property of the State
may be the subject of acquisition through prescription.
2) While as a rule, prescription does not run against the State, the exception is where the law itself
expressly provides.
3) Article 1113 of the Civil Code provides the legal foundation for the application Section 14(2). It
reads:
Art. 1113. All things which are within the commerce of men are susceptible of prescription,
unless otherwise provide. Property of the State or any of its subdivisions not patrimonial in
character shall not be the object of prescription.
4) Under the Civil Code, it is clear that where lands of the public domain are patrimonial and, hence,
private in character, they are susceptible to acquisitive prescription.
5) Lands of public dominion shall form part of the patrimonial property of the State when there is a
declaration by the government that these are alienable or disposable and are no longer intended for
public use or public service. Only when such lands have become patrimonial can the prescriptive
period for the acquisition of property of the public dominion begin to run.
6) Thus, where the land is already a private land, the applicant has the right to register the same 10) Concept of possession for purposes of prescription:
under Section 14(2) even if the possession thereof for the required prescriptive period commenced
on a date later than June 12, 1945. a. Possession in the eyes of the law does not mean that a man has to have his feet on every
square meter of ground before it can be said that he is in possession.
7) 2 Kinds of Prescription:
b. Actual possession of land consists in the manifestation of acts of dominion over it of such
a. Ordinary Acquisitive Prescription- a person acquires ownership of a patrimonial property a nature as a party would naturally exercise over his own property.
through possession for at least ten (10) years, in good faith and with just title.
c. To consolidate prescription, the possession must be that of owner, and it must be public,
b. Extraordinary acquisitive prescription - a persons uninterrupted adverse possession of peaceful and uninterrupted.
patrimonial property for at least thirty (30) years, regardless of good faith or just title, ripens
into ownership pursuant to Article 1137 of the Civil Code. d. Acts of a possessory character done by virtue of a license or mere tolerance on the part of
the real owner are not sufficient.
8) In sum, for Section 14(2) of the Property Registration Decree to apply
11) Computation of prescription:
a) There must be an express declaration by the State that the public dominion property is no
longer intended for public service or the development of the national wealth or that the a. The present possessor may complete the period necessary for prescription by tacking his
property has been converted into patrimonial. Without such express declaration, the possession to that of his grantor or predecessor-in-interest.
property, even if classified as alienable or disposable, remains property of the public
12) Prescription distinguished from laches:
dominion, pursuant to Article 420 (2) of the Civil Code, and thus incapable of acquisition by
prescription. a. Prescription is concerned with the fact of delay; Laches is concerned with the effect of
delay.
b) Such declaration shall be in the form of a law duly enacted by Congress or a Presidential
Proclamation in cases where the President is duly authorized by law. b. Prescription is a matter of time; Laches is principally a question of inequity of permitting
a claim to be enforced, this inequity being founded on some change in the condition of the
9) Prescription Generally:
property or the relation of the parties.
a. By prescription, one acquires ownership and other real rights through the lapse of time in
c. Prescription is statutory; Laches is not.
the manner and under the action lay down by law.
d. Prescription applies at law; Laches applies in equity.
b. All things which are within the commerce of men are susceptible of prescription, unless
otherwise provided. e. Prescription is based on a fixed time; Laches is not.

c. Property of the State or any of its subdivisions not patrimonial in character shall not be 3. Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned river beds by right of accession
the object of prescription. or accretion under the existing laws.

d. For purposes of prescription, there is just title when the adverse claimant came into NOTES SECTION 14(3) of PRD:
possession of the property through one of the modes recognized by law for the acquisition
of ownership or other real rights, but the grantor was not the owner or could not transmit 1) Accession defined
any right.

18
 a. Accession is the right of the owner of a thing, real or personal, to become the owner of
everything which is:
produced thereby, incorporated attached thereto, Either naturally or artificially.
b.Includes: fruits of, additions to, improvements upon a thing; building, planting and sowing;
alluvion, avulsion, change of course of rivers, formation of islands.
2) Ownership of abandoned river beds by right of accession:
a. Under Article 461 of the Civil Code, river beds which are abandoned through the natural
change in the course of the waters ipso facto belong to the owners whose lands are occupied
by the new course in proportion to the area lost.
b. However, the owners of the lands adjoining the old bed shall have the right to acquire the
same by paying the value thereof, which value shall not exceed the value of the area occupied
by the new bed.
c.To illustrate: A and B each owns land on opposite sides of a river. The river changed its
course, passing through the land of C. Who owns the abandoned river bed? C, to compensate
him for his loss. Now, suppose that two owners, C and D, lost portions of their lands. Who
owns the river bed? C and D, in proportion to the area lost.
d.Law speaks of change of river course. If a river simply dries up or disappears, the bed left
dry will belong to public dominion (Art 502 of the Civil Code).
3) The requisites for the application of Article 461 of the Civil Code:
a. The change must be sudden in order that the old river may be identified;
b. The changing of the course must be more or less permanent, and not temporary over
flooding of anothers land;
c. The change of the river must be a natural one, i.e., caused by natural forces (and not by
artificial means);
d. There must be definite abandonment by the government. (If the government shortly after
the change decides and actually takes steps to bring the river to its old bed, Article 461 will
not apply for, here, it cannot be said that there was abandonment); and
e. The river must continue to exist, that is, it must not completely dry up or disappear.
19
4) Ownership by right of accretion along river banks:
a. Article 457 of the Civil Code provides that to the owners of lands adjoining the banks of
rivers belong the accretion which they gradually receive from the effects of the current of the
waters.
b. In the absence of evidence that the change in the course of the river was sudden or that it
occurred through avulsion, the presumption is that the change was gradual and caused by
accretion and erosion.
5) 3 Requisites before an accretion is said to have taken place:
a. That the deposit be gradual and imperceptible;
b. That it be made through the effects of the current of the water; and
c. That the land where accretion takes place is adjacent to the banks of rivers.
6) Accretions affecting lands registered under the Torrens system:
a. In case of diminution of area
Registration does not protect the riparian owner against diminution of the area of his land
through gradual changes in the course of the adjoining stream;
Accretions which the banks of rivers may gradually receive from the effect of the current
become the property of the owners of the banks.
b. In case of increase of area
Although alluvion is automatically owned by the riparian owner, it does not automatically
become registered land, just because the lot which receives such accretion is covered by a
Torrens title;
So, alluvial deposit acquired by a riparian owner of registered land by accretion may be
subjected to acquisition through prescription by a third person, by failure of such owner to
register such accretion within the prescribed period.
7) Accretion along the banks of creeks, streams and lakes:
a.Article 84 of the Spanish Law of Waters of 1866, which remains in effect, reads:
 Art. 84. Accretions deposited gradually upon lands contiguous to creeks, streams, rivers, and
lakes, by accessions or sediments from the waters thereof, belong to the owners of such
lands.
b. From the foregoing provisions, alluvial deposits along the banks of creeks, streams and
lakes do not form part of the public domain as the alluvial property automatically belongs to
the owner of the estate to which it may have been added.
c. The only restriction is that the owner of the adjoining property must register the same
under the Torrens system; otherwise, the alluvial property may be subject to acquisition
through prescription by third persons. (City Mayor of Paranaque City v. Ebio)
8) Alluvion must be the exclusive work of nature:
a. The requirement that the deposit should be due to the effects of the current of the river is
indispensable.
b. Alluvion must be the exclusive work of nature.
c. There must be evidence to prove that the addition to the property was made gradually
through the effects of the current of the river.
9) Reason for the law on accretion:
a . Compensate the riparian owner for the danger of loss that he suffers because of the
location of his land;
b. Compensate him for the encumbrances and various kinds of easements to which his
property is subject; and
c. Promote the interests of agriculture for the riparian owner it in the best position to utilize
the accretion.
10) Accretion does not automatically become registered land:
a. Under Article 457 of the Civil Code, the registered owner of property is considered the
lawful owner of the accretion to his property. But the accretion does not become
automatically registered land just because the lot which receives it is covered by a Torrens
title thereby making the alluvial property imprescriptible.
b. Ownership of a piece of land is one thing, and registration under the Torrens system of
that ownership is quite another.
20
c. Ownership over the accretion received by the land adjoining a river is governed by the
Civil Code.
d. Imprescriptibility of registered land is provided in the registration law.
11) Where alluvial increment is not registered, it may be acquired by third persons through
prescription:
a. In order that the accretion may be protected by the rule on imprescriptibility, it is
necessary that the same be brought under the operation of the Torrens system.
b. Where the adjoining land owner does not cause the registration of the increment to his
property, the same may be acquired by third persons.
12) Alluvial formation along the seashore forms part of the public domain:
a. In contrast to the rule on accretion, alluvial formation along the seashore is part of the
public domain and, therefore, not open to acquisition by adverse possession by private
persons.
b. It is outside the commerce of man, unless otherwise declared by either the executive or
legislative branch of the government.
c. All lands thrown up by the sea and formed upon the shore by the action of the water,
together with the adjacent sore, belong to the national domain and are for public uses. The
State shall grant these lands to the adjoining owners only when they are no longer needed
for the purposes mentioned therein.
4. Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other manner provided for by law.
NOTES SECTION 14(4) of PRD:
1) Land Grant by Presidential Proclamation
a. The clear implication is that a land grant having been made by a Presidential proclamation
and by legislative act, the grantee may apply for the registration of the land and bring it under
the operation of the Torrens system.
b. Reservation for a specific public purpose by Presidential proclamation Lands covered
by reservation are not subject to entry, and no lawful settlement on them can be acquired.
2) Public Grant - a conveyance of public land by government to a private individual.
 b. Purpose of the prohibition(see Chavez v. PEA)

3) Reclamation c. Limitation to ownership of land by corporations:

a. Filling of submerged land by deliberate act and reclaiming title thereto i. Private Lands

b. Must be initially owned by government 1. At least 60% Filipino (Sec. 7, Article XII, 1987 Constitution);

c. May be subsequently transferred to private owners 2. Restricted as to extent reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out purpose for which it
was created; and
4) Voluntary Transfer
3. If engaged in agriculture, it is restricted to 1,024 hectares.
a. Private grant
ii. Patrimonial property of the State (Sec. 3, Article XII, 1987 Constitution)
b. Voluntary execution of deed of conveyance
1. Lease (CANNOT own land of the public domain) for 25 years renewable;
c. Contractual relationship between the parties
2. Limited to 1,000 hectares; and
d. Consensual
3. Apply to both Filipinos and foreign corporations.
5) Involuntary Alienation
9) A corporation sole is qualified to apply for registration
a. No consent from the owner of land
A. A corporation sole is a special form of corporation usually associated with the clergy.
b. Forcible acquisition by the State
b. A corporation sole was designed to facilitate the exercise of the functions of ownership
6) Descent or Devise - Hereditary succession to the estate of deceased owner. carried on by the clerics for and on behalf of the church which was regarded as the property
owner.
7) Emancipation Patent / Grant(Certificate of Land Ownership Award)
c. A corporation sole consist of one person only, and his successors (who will always be one
a. To ameliorate the sad plight of tenant-farmers
at a time), in some particular station, who are incorporated by law in order to give them some
b. Such grant is not transferable except by hereditary succession legal capacities and advantages, particularly that of perpetuity, which in their natural
persons they could not have had.
8) Land acquisition by private corporations:
d. A corporation sole is qualified to own and register private agricultural land.
a. By way of exception, juridical persons may apply for registration of leased agricultural and
disposable lands not exceeding 1,000 hectares in area for a period of 25 years and renewable e. A corporation sole by the nature of its incorporation is vested with the right to purchase
for not more than 25 years (Section 3, Article XII, 1987 Constitution), and except when the and hold real estate and personal property.
land has been previously acquired by prescription by a natural person and subsequently
f. Bishops or archbishops, as the case may be, as corporations sole are merely administrators
transferred to a juridical entity (in this case, a corporation may apply for judicial
of the church properties that come to their possession, and which they hold in trust for the
confirmation of title).

21
 church. Thus, church properties acquired by the incumbent of a corporation sole pass, by
operation of law, upon his death not to his personal heirs but to his successor in office
Where the land is owned in common, all the co-owners shall file the application jointly.
NOTES par. 2, SECTION 14 of PRD:
1) Co-owners shall file application jointly:
a. Under Article 493 of the Civil Code, each co-owner shall have the full ownership of his part
and of the fruits and benefits pertaining thereto, and he may therefore alienate, assign or
mortgage it, and even substitute another person in its enjoyment, except when personal
rights are involved.
b. But the effect of the alienation or the mortgage, with respect to the co-owners,shall be
limited to the portion which may be allotted to him in the division upon the termination of
the co-ownership.
c. Since a co-owner cannot be considered a true owner of a specific portion until division or
partition is effected, he cannot file an application for registration for the whole area without
joining the co-owners as applicants.
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.
NOTES par. 3, SECTION 14 of PRD:
1) Vendee a retro may file application in his name
a. A sale with pacto de retro transfers the legal title to the vendee and the vendee is
subrogated to all the rights and actions of the vendor, subject to the latters right of
redemption.
b. Having the legal title to the land, the vendee a retro has therefore a registerable
title thereto which may be the subject of initial registration.
c. The right to redeem the property retained by the vendor a retro should only be noted in
the decree and certificate of title that may be issued.
22
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.
NOTES par. 4, SECTION 14 of PRD:
1) Trustee may apply for registration on behalf of his principal:
a. A trustee on behalf of his principal may apply for original registration of any land held in
trust by him.
b. A person who establishes a trust is called the trustor; one in whom confidence is reposed
as regards property for the benefit of another known as the trustee; and the person for whose
benefit the trust has been created is referred to as the beneficiary or cestui que trust.
c. Whoever claims an interest in registered land by reason of any implied or constructive
trust shall file with the Register of Deeds for registration a sworn statement containing:
i. a description of the land;
ii. the name of the registered owner; and
iii. a reference to the number of the certificate of title.
d. Such claim shall not affect the title of a purchaser for value and in good faith before its
registration.
ii. Tan v. Republic, G.R. No. 193443, April 16, 2012
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 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.
 2) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands by prescription under the provision
of existing laws.
3) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned river beds by right of
accession or accretion under the existing laws.
4) Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other manner provided for by law.
In other words, for one to invoke the provisions of Section 14(2) and set up acquisitive
prescription against the State, it is primordial that the status of the property as patrimonial
be first established. Furthermore, the period of possession preceding the classification of the
property as patrimonial cannot be considered in determining the completion of the
prescriptive period.
iii. Republic v. East Silverlane Realty Development Corp., 666 SCRA 401
Accordingly, there must be an express declaration by the State that the public dominion property is
no longer intended for public service or the development of the national wealth or that the property
has been converted into patrimonial. Without such express declaration, the property, even if
classified as alienable or disposable, remains property of the public dominion, pursuant to Article
420(2), and thus incapable of acquisition by prescription. It is only when such alienable and
disposable lands are expressly declared by the State to be no longer intended for public service or for
the development of the national wealth that the period of acquisitive prescription can begin to run.
Such declaration shall be in the form of a law duly enacted by Congress or a Presidential Proclamation
in cases where the President is duly authorized by law.
iv. Republic v. Candymaker, 492 SCRA 272 (2006)
Applicants for confirmation of imperfect title must, therefore, prove the following: (a)that the land
forms part of the disposable and alienable agricultural lands of the public domain; and (b) that they
have been in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of the same under
a bona fide claim of ownership either since time immemorial or since June 12, 1945.
v. Republic v. CA and Naguit, 448 SCRA 442 (2005)
There are three obvious requisites for the filing of an application for registration of title under Section
14(1)- that the property in question is alienable and disposable land of the public domain; that the
applicants by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous,
exclusive and notorious possession and occupation, and; that such possession is under a bona fide
claim of ownership since June 12, 1945 or earlier.
23
Although tax declarations and realty tax payment of property are not conclusive evidence of
ownership, nevertheless, they are good indicia of the possession in the concept of owner for no one
in his right mind would be paying taxes for a property that is not in his actual or at least constructive
possession. They constitute at least proof that the holder has a claim of title over the property. The
voluntary declaration of a piece of property for taxation purposes manifests not only ones sincere
and honest desire to obtain title to the property and announces his adverse claim against the State
and all other interested parties, but also the intention to contribute needed revenues to the
Government. Such an act strengthens ones bona fide claim of acquisition of ownership.
vi. Domingo v. Landicho, 531 SCRA 606 (2007)
Section 14 of P.D. No. 1529 provides that to be entitled of a land, the applicant must prove that: (a) the
land applied for forms part of the disposable and alienable agricultural lands of the public domain
and (b) he has been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of the
same under a bona fide claim of ownership either since time immemorial or since June 12, 1945.
All lands not otherwise appearing to be clearly within private ownership are presumed to belong to
the State, and unless it has been shown that they have been reclassified by the State as alienable or
disposable to a private person, they remain part of the inalienable public domain. To prove that a
land is alienable, an applicant must conclusively establish the existence of a positive act of
government, such as presidential proclamation or an executive order, or administrative action,
investigation reports of the Bureau of Lands investigator or a legislative act or statute.
vii. Republic v. CA and Tancinco, 132 SCRA 514 (1984) Article 457 of the New Civil Code provides:
To the owners of lands adjoining the banks of rivers belongs the accretion which they gradually
receive from the effects of the current of the waters.
The above-quoted article requires the concurrence of three requisites before an accretion covered
by this particular provision is said to have taken place. They are (1) that the deposit be gradual and
imperceptible; (2) that it be made through the effects of the current of the water; and (3) that the
land where accretion takes place is adjacent to the banks of rivers.
The requirement that the deposit should be due to the effect of the current of the river is
indispensable. This excludes from Art. 457 of the New Civil Code all deposits caused by human
intervention. Alluvion must be the exclusive work of nature.
The reason behind the law giving the riparian owner the right to any land or alluvion deposited by a
river is to compensate him for the danger of loss that he suffers because of the location of his land. If
estates bordering on rivers are exposed to floods and other evils produced by the destructive force
of the waters and if by virtue of lawful provisions, said estates are subject to encumbrances and
various kinds of easements, it is proper that the risk or danger which may prejudice the owners
thereof should be compensated by the right of accretion. (Cortes v. City of Manila, 10 Phil. 567)
A riparian owner then does not acquire the additions to his land caused by special works expressly
intended or designed to bring about accretion. Indeed, private persons cannot, by themselves,
reclaim land from water bodies belonging to the public domain without proper permission from
government authorities. And even if such reclamation had been authorized, the reclaimed land does
not automatically belong to the party reclaiming the same as they may still be subject to the terms of
the authority earlier granted.
viii. Buenaventura v. Republic, 517 SCRA 271 (2207)
In the case of Republic v. CA, it becomes crystal clear from the ruling of the Court that even if the
possession of alienable lands of the public domain commenced only after June 12, 1945, application
for registration of the said property is still possible by virtue of
Section 14(2) of the Property Registration Decree which speaks of prescription.
The records, indeed, reveal that petitioners were in possession of the subject property for more than
30 years, 32 years to be exact, reckoned from the year 1968, when the subject property was finally
declared alienable and disposable by the DENR to the time they file an application for registration of
title over the subject property on June 5, 2000.
Petitioners possession of the subject property since 1968 has been characterized as open,
continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation in the concept of an owner.
By this, the subject alienable and disposable public land had been effectively converted into private
property over which petitioners have acquired ownership thru prescription to which they are
entitled to have title thru registration proceedings.
ix. Heirs of Malabanan v. Republic, 587 SCRA 172 (2009)
Applicants under 14(1) of PD 1529 in relation to sec 48(b) of CA 141 acquire ownership of, and
registrable title to, such lands based on the length and quality of their possession. It is sufficient that
the land be declared alienable and disposable at the time of the filing for the application for judicial
confirmation of imperfect title and the land need not be alienable and disposable during the entire
period of possession.
Prescription
24
Applicants who have acquired ownership of private lands by prescription under the provisions of the
Civil Code. (Sec. 14(2), P.D. 1529) Possession has to be in the concept of an owner, public, peaceful
and uninterrupted. (Article 1118, NCC). Ownership is acquired through uninterrupted adverse
possession for thirty years, without need of title or of good faith. (Article 1137, NCC)
Lands of the Public Domain are outside the commerce of man and consequently cannot be acquired
through prescription.
Under 14(2) of PD 1529, applicants acquire ownership of the lands through prescription in the Civil
Code. However, the applicants may only acquire patrimonial lands of the public domain, which only
become such after they have been declared alienable and disposable and there must also be an
express government manifestation that the property is already patrimonial or no longer retained for
public service or the development of national wealth under Article 422 of the Civil Code. Only when
the land has become patrimonial property can the prescriptive period for the acquisition of property
of the public dominion begin to run.
NOTES:
1) Where the land is owned in common, all the co-owners shall file the application jointly.
2) If the applicant is not a resident of the Philippines, he shall file with his application an instrument
in due form appointing an agent upon whom service shall be made.
3) Applications for judicial confirmation of imperfect through possession shall not extend beyond
December 31, 2020.
x. SECTIONS 47, 48, CA 141, as amended
Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect or Incomplete Titles
SECTION 47.
The persons specified in the next following section are hereby granted time, not to extend beyond
December 31, 1987 within which to take advantage of the benefit of this chapter: Provided, That this
extension shall apply only where the area applied for does not exceed 144 hectares. Provided, further,
That the several periods of time designated by the President in accordance with section forty-five of
this Act shall apply also to the lands comprised in the provisions of this chapter, but this section shall
not be construed as prohibiting any of said persons from acting under this chapter at any time prior
to the period fixed by the President.
SECTION 48.
The following-described citizens of the Philippines, occupying lands of the public domain or claiming
to own any such lands or an interest therein, but whose titles have not been perfected or completed,
may apply to the Court of First Instance of the province where the land is located for confirmation of
their claims and the issuance of a certificate of title therefor, under the Land Registration Act, to wit:
a) Those who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the prior United States have
applied for the purchase, composition or other form of grant of lands of the public domain
under the laws and royal decrees then in force and have instituted and prosecuted the
proceedings in connection therewith, but have with or without default upon their part, or for
any other cause, not received title therefor, if such applicants or grantees and their heirs have
occupied and cultivated said lands continuously since the filing of their applications.
b) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors in interest have been in open,
continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the
public domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisition or ownership, for at least thirty years
immediately preceding the filing of the application for confirmation of title except when
prevented by war or force majeure. These shall be conclusively presumed to have performed
all the conditions essential to a Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title
under the provisions of this chapter.
c) Members of the national cultural minorities who by themselves or through their
predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession
and occupation of lands of the public domain suitable to agriculture, whether disposable or
not, under a bona fide claim of ownership for at least 30 years shall be entitled to the rights
granted in sub-section (b) hereof.
NOTES Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect or Incomplete Titles:
1) Governing Provision: Section 48(b), CA No. 141 (Public Land Act)
a. 2 Significant amendments have been introduce by PD No. 1073:
i.First, agricultural lands was changed to alienable and disposable lands of the public
domain; and
ii.Second, possession must be since June 12, 1945.
b. As thus amended, Section 48 (b) and (c) of CA No. 141, as amended, reads:
Sec. 48. The following described citizens of the Philippines, occupying lands of the
public domain or claiming to own any such lands or an interest therein, but whose titles have
25
not been perfected or completed, may apply to the Regional Trial Court of the province or
city where the land is located for confirmation of their claims and the issuance of a certificate
of title therefor, under the Property Registration Decree to wit:
Xxx xxx xxx
(b) 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 acquisition of ownership, since June
12, 1945, except when prevented by war or force majeure. These shall be conclusively
presumed to have performed all the conditions essential to a Government grant and shall be
entitled to a certificate of title under the provisions of this chapter.
(c) Members of the national cultural minorities 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, shall be entitled to the rights granted
in sub-section (b) hereof.
c. Period of possession: Historical Background
i. The significance of the date June 12, 1945 appears to have been lost to history. A major concern
raised against this date is that the country was at this time under Japanese occupation, and for some
years after, was suffering from the uncertainties and instabilities that World War II brought.
Questions were raised on how one could possibly comply with the June 12, 1945 or earlier
occupation/possession requirement of PD 1073 when the then prevailing situation did not legally or
physically permit it. Without the benefit of congressional records, as the enactment of the law (a
Presidential Decree) was solely through the Presidents lawmaking powers under a regime that
permitted it, the most logical reason or explanation for the date is the possible impact of the interplay
between the old law and the amendatory law. When PD 1073 was enacted, the utmost concern, in all
probability, was how the law would affect the application of the old law which provided for a thirty-
year possession period. Counting 30 years backwards from the enactment of PD 1073 on January 25,
1977, PD 1073 should have provided for a January 24, 1947cut-off date, but it did not. Instead, it
provided, for unknown reasons, the date June 12, 1945.
ii. The June 12, 1945 cut-off date raised legal concerns; vested rights acquired under the old law (CA
141, as amended by RA 1942) providing for a 30-year possession period could not be impaired by
the PD 1073 amendment.
iii. From this perspective, PD 1073 should have thus provided January 24, 1947 and not June 12,
1945 as its cut-off date, yet the latter date is the express legal reality. The reconciliation, as properly
defined by jurisprudence, is that where an applicant has satisfied the requirements of Section 48 (b)
of CA 141, as amended by RA 1942, prior to the effectivity of PD 1073, the applicant is entitled to
perfect his or her title, even if possession and occupation does not date back to June 12,
1945.(Concurring and Dissenting Opinion of J. BRION, Heirs of Mario Malabanan v. Republic, 587
SCRA 172)
d. Section 48 (b) of the Public Land Act on judicial confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles has
a counterpart provision in Section 14(1) of the Property Registration Decree.
e. There are no material differences between Section 14(1) of the Property Registration Decree and
Section 48(b) of the Public Land Act, as amended.
i. True, the Public Land Act does refer to agricultural lands of the public domain, while the
Property Registration Decree uses the term alienable and disposable lands of the public
domain.
ii. It must be noted though that the Constitution declares that alienable lands of the public
domain shall be limited to agricultural lands.
f. RA No. 9176 extended the period to file application to December 31, 2020
On November 13, 2002, RA No. 9176 was enacted:
i. Extending the period to file an application for judicial confirmation of imperfect or
incomplete titles to December 31, 2020;
ii. Further limiting the area applied for to 12 hectares; and
iii. Providing that all pending applications filed before the effectivity of the amendatory Act
shall be treated as having been filed in accordance with the provisions thereof.
iv. The extension of the period fixed by law for the filing of the application for registration is
not jurisdictional but is more of a time limitation.
2)Registration proceeding presupposes that the land is a public agricultural land
a. Public Land Act, as amended, is a special law specifically applying to agricultural lands of
the public domain.
26
b. As a rule, no title or right to, or equity in, any lands of the public domain may be acquired
by prescription or by adverse possession or occupancy except as expressly provided by law.
c. Registration under Section 48(b) of the PLA (No. 141) presumes that the land was
originally public agricultural land but because of adverse possession since June 12, 1945,the
land has become private.
d. To entitle him to registration under Section 48(b) of the PLA, the applicant must prove
that:
i. The land is alienable public land; and
ii. His possession and occupation has been open, continuous, exclusive, notorious
and in the concept of owner;
iii. Since June 12, 1945.
e. Title is void where land is inalienable and may be cancelled even in the hands of an
innocent purchaser for value:
i. A certificate of title is void when it covers property of public domain classified as
forest or timber and mineral lands.
ii. Any title issued on non-disposable lots even in the hands of an alleged innocent
purchaser for value, shall be cancelled.
3) Requisites for availment of Chapter VIII only when the following conditions are met that the
possessor of the land may acquire, by operation of law, a right to a grant, a government grant, without
the necessity of a certificate of title being issued:
a. That the land forms part of the disposable and alienable agricultural lands of the public
domain; and
b. That he has been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession thereof, under a
bona fide claim of ownership, since June 12, 1945.
4) Land must be A and D land at the time the application for confirmation is filed:
a. Section 48(b) of the PLA (Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect or Incomplete Title) applies
exclusively to alienable and disposable agricultural lands of the public domain.
i. Forest or timber lands, mineral lands and lands within national parks are excluded
 b. The right to file the application for registration derives from a bona fide claim of ownership
going back to June 12, 1945 or earlier, by reason of the claimants open, continuous, exclusive
and notorious possession of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain.
c. Section 48(b) of the PLA does not require that the land applied for should have been
alienable and disposable during the entire period of possession. It is sufficient that the land
is already classified as alienable and disposable portion of the public domain at the time the
application is filed.
5) Rule different where land is not registrable as when it forms part of the public forest:
a. A different rule obtains for lands which are incapable of registration as when they belong
to the category of forest or timber, mineral lands, and national parks.
b. The reason for this is that, under Section 2, Article XII of the Constitution, only agricultural
lands may be the subject of alienation.
6) Only A and D(alienable & disposable) lands may be the subject of confirmation of title:
a. There can be no imperfect title to be confirmed over lands not yet classified as disposable
or alienable.
b. In the absence of such classification, the land remains unclassified public land until
released therefrom and open to disposition.
c. Indeed, it has been held that the rules on the confirmation of imperfect title do not apply
unless and until the land classified as, say, forest land is released in an official proclamation
to that effect so that it may form part of the disposable agricultural lands of the public
domain.
7) Where applicant has acquired a right to a government grant, application is a mere formality:
a. When the conditions specified in Section 48(b) of the PLA are complied with, the possessor
is deemed to have acquired, by operation of law, a right to a grant, without the necessity of a
certificate of title being issued.
b. The application for confirmation is a mere formality, the lack of which does not affect the
legal sufficiency of the tile as would be evidenced by the patent and the Torrens title to be
issued upon the strength of said patent.
27
c. For all legal intents and purposes, the land is segregated from the public domain, because
the beneficiary is conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions essential to a
Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title under the provisions of this
chapter.
8) Compliance with all requirements for a government grant ipso jure converts land to private
property:
a. Where all the requirements for a government grant are complied with, i.e.,possession in
the manner and for the period required by law, the land ipso jure ceases to be public land
and becomes private property.
9) Application must conform to the requirements of the Property Registration Decree:
a. Section 50 of the PLA requires that every person claiming any lands or interest in lands
under Chapter VIII must in every case present an application to the RTC, praying that the
validity of the alleged title or claim be inquired into and that a certificate of title be issued to
him under the provisions of PD No. 1529.
b. The application shall conform as nearly as may be in its material allegations to the
requirements of an application for registration under Section 15 of the Decree.
10)Hearing:
a. Applications for registration shall be heard in the RTC or, in proper cases, in a First Level
Court, in the same manner and shall be subject to the same procedure as established in the
Property Registration Decree.
b. Notice of all such applications, together with a plan of the lands claimed, shall be
immediately forwarded to the Director of Lands, who may appear as a party in such cases.
c . Prior to the publication for hearing, all of the papers in said case shall be transmitted by
the clerk to the Solicitor General or officer acting in his stead, in order that he may, if he
deems it advisable for the interests of the government, investigate all of the facts alleged in
the application or otherwise brought to his attention.
i. The burden is on applicant to prove his positive averments and not for the
government or the private oppositors to establish a negative proposition
insofar as the applicants specific lots are concerned.
 ii. He must submit convincing proof of his and his predecessor-in- interests actual,
peaceful and adverse possession in the concept of owner of the lots during the period
required by law.
11) Order for the issuance of a decree:
a. Whenever any judgment of confirmation or other decree of the court under Chapter VIII
of the PLA shall become final, the clerk of court shall certify that fact to the Director of Lands,
with a certified copy of the decree of confirmation or judgment of the court and the plan and
technical description of the land.
b. The final decree of the court shall in every case be the basis for the original certificate of
title in favor of the persons entitled to the property under the procedure prescribed in the
Property Registration Decree.
12) Land declared public land in a previous registration case may be the subject of judicial
confirmation:
a. In Zara v. Director of Lands, a parcel of land which had been declared public land in a
previous registration proceeding was again the subject of application by persons claiming an
imperfect title thereto on the basis of their continuous and adverse possession for more than
thirty years. The trial court dismissed the application on the ground of res judicata. However,
the Supreme Court reversed the order of dismissal, holding, that by reason of the claimants
possession for thirty years he is conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions
essential to a Government grant.
b. Note, however, that in Diaz v. Republic, the Court ruled that in registration cases filed
under the provisions of the PLA for the judicial confirmation of an incomplete and imperfect
title, an order dismissing an application for registration and declaring the land as part of the
public domain constitutes res judicata, not only against the adverse claimant, but also against
all persons.
xi. Republic v. Muoz, 536 SCRA 108 (2007)
Commonwealth Act No. 141, also known as the Public Land Act, remains to this day the existing
general law governing the classification and disposition of lands of the public domain, other than
timber and mineral lands. Section 6 of CA No. 141 empowers the President to classify lands of the
public domain into alienable and disposable lands of the public domain, which prior to such
classification are inalienable and outside the commerce of man. Section 7 of CA No. 141 authorizes
the President to declare what lands are open to disposition or concession. Section 8 of CA No. 141
28
states that the government can declare open for disposition or concession only lands that are
officially delimited and classified.
To prove that the land subject of an application for registration is alienable, the applicant must
establish the existence of a positive act of the government such as a presidential proclamation or an
executive order; an administrative action; investigation reports of Bureau of Lands investigators; and
a legislative act or a statute. The applicant may also secure a certification from the Government that
the land applied for is alienable and disposable.
xii. Republic v. Herbieto, 459 SCRA 183 (2005)
In Relation to the Public Land Act Under CA 141
The CA overlooked the difference between the Property Registration Decree and the Public Land Act.
Under the PRD, there already exists a title which is confirmed by the Court; while under the PLA, the
presumption always is that the land applied for pertains to the State, and that the occupants and
possessors only a claim an interest in the same by virtue of their imperfect title or continuous, open
and notorious possession [since June 12, 1945 or earlier].
Since the subject lands are alienable and disposable lands of the public domain, the applicants may
acquire title thereto only under the PLA.
Applicants could not acquire land through adverse possession since the land was only classified as
alienable in 1963 AND their possession only started in 1950.
(Note: Substantial requirements for public lands are in the PLA but the procedural requirements are
in the PRD.)
Civil Code provisions on prescription, which is subject to confirmation under the PRD, in general
applies to all types of land. However, excluded therefrom are lands of the public domain which are
covered by the PLA [special law v. general law]
xiii. Republic v. Manna Properties, 450 SCRA 247 (2005)
A party to an action has no control over the Administrator or the Clerk of Court acting as a land court;
he has no right to meddle unduly with the business of such official in the performance of his duties.
A party cannot intervene in matters within the exclusive power of the trial court. No fault is
attributable to such party if the trial court errs on matters within its sole power. It is unfair to punish
an applicant for an act or omission over which the applicant has neither responsibility nor control,
especially if the applicant has complied with all the requirements of the law.
NB: Land registration; when periods are merely directory; applicants not bound by mistakes of
courts.
xiv. Republic v. San Lorenzo, 513 SCRA 294 (2007)
The reckoning date under the Public Land Act for the acquisition of ownership of public lands is June
12, 1945 or earlier, and that evidence of possession from that date or earlier is essential for a grant
of an application for judicial confirmation of imperfect title.
The law requires that the possession of lands of the public domain must be from at least June 12,
1945 for the same to be acquired through judicial confirmation of imperfect title.
A mere showing of possession for thirty years or more is not sufficient. It must be shown too, that
possession and occupation had started on June 12, 1945 or earlier.
xv. Republic v. Alconaba, 427 SCRA 611 (2004)
Applicants for confirmation of imperfect title must, prove the following:
(a) that the land forms part of the disposable and alienable agricultural lands of the public
domain; and
(b) that they have been in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and
occupation of the same under a bona fide claim of ownership either since time immemorial
or since 12 June 1945.
Section 48(b) of C.A. No. 141, as amended provides that persons may file in the proper Court of First
Instance [now Regional Trial Court] an application for registration of title to land 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.
The law speaks of possession and occupation. Since these words are separated by the conjunction
and, the clear intention of the law is not to make one synonymous with the other. Possession is
broader than occupation because it includes constructive possession. When, therefore, the law adds
the word occupation, it seeks to delimit the all-encompassing effect of constructive possession.
Taken together with the words open, continuous, exclusive and notorious, the word occupation
serves to highlight the fact that for an applicant to qualify, his possession must not be a mere
fiction.22 Actual possession of a land consists in the manifestation of acts of dominion over it of such
a nature as a party would naturally exercise over his own property.
29
xvi. Director of Lands v. Dao, 96 SCRA 161 (1980)
Section 47 of Commonwealth Act No. 141, as amended by republic Act No. 2061, approved on June
13,1958, provides:
SEC. 47. The persons specified in the next following section are hereby granted time not to extend
beyond December thirty-one, nineteen hundred and sixty-eight within which to take advantage of
the benefit of this chapter: Provided, That the several periods of time designated by the President in
accordance with section forty-five of this Act shall apply also to the lands comprised in the provisions
of this chapter, but this section shall not be construed as prohibiting an of said persons from acting
under this chapter at any time prior to the period fixed by the President.
The "next following section" referred to is section 48 of Commonwealth Act No. 141, as amended by
Republic Act No. 1942, which reads as follows:
Sec. 48. The following described citizens of the Philippines, occupying lands of the public domain or
claiming to own any such land or an interest therein, But those titles have not been perfected or
completed, may apply to the Court of First Instance of the province where the land is located for
confirmation of their claims and the issuance of a certificate of title therefor, under the Land
Registration Act, to wit:
xxxxxx xxx
(b)Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in- interest have been in open,
continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the public
domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisitionof ownership, for at least thirty (30) years immediately
preceding the filing of the application for confirmation of title except when prevented by was or force
majeure, there shall be conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions essential to a
government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title under the provisions of this Chapter.
The Court agrees with respondent Court that the period fixed by Section 47 of the Public Land Act CA
141), as amended, is not jurisdictional but is more of a time limitation. As such, it is a defense or
objection which should have been set up either in a Motion to Dismiss or in an Answer. Inasmuch as
petitioner had never pleaded the statute of limitations, he is deemed to have waived the same.
The rule is that where the defendants never pleaded the statute of limitations that are deemed to
have waived it and it is error for the lower court to dismiss the proceeding on that ground.
xvii. Director v. Buyco, 216 SCRA 78 (1992)
As to the matter to be proved, the applicant must present evidence of an imperfect title such as those
derived from the old Spanish grants. He may also show that he has been in continuous, open and
notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain under a bona fide
claim of acquisition of ownership and for the period prescribed under Section 48(b) of the Public
Land Act. Simply put, a person who seeks the registration of title to a piece of land on the basis of
possession by himself and his predecessors-in-interest must prove his claim by clear and convincing
evidence; he should not rely on the weakness of the evidence of the oppositors.
As defined, immemorial simply means beyond the reach of memory, beyond human memory, or time
out of mind. When referring to possession, specifically "immemorial possession," it means possession
of which no man living has seen the beginning and the existence of which he has learned from his
elders. Such possession was never present in the case of the private respondents.
Also, the Court has repeatedly held that the declaration of ownership for purposes of assessment on
the payment of the tax is not sufficient to prove ownership.
Considering that the private respondents became American citizens before such filing, it goes without
saying that they had acquired no vested right, consisting of an imperfect title over to property before
they lost their Philippine citizenship.
xviii. Republic v. CA, 148 SCRA 480 (1987)
A parcel of forest land is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Bureau of Forestry and beyond the
power and jurisdiction of the cadastral court to register under the Torrens System. Moreover, it
is well-settled that a certificate of title is void, when it covers property of public domain classified as
forest or timber and mineral lands. Any title issued on non- disposable lots even in the hands of an
alleged innocent purchaser for value, shall be cancelled. Note that in granting titles to the land in
dispute, the lower court counted the period of possession of private respondents before the same
were released as forest lands for disposition, which release is tantamount to qualifying the latter to
a grant on said lands while they were still non-disposable.
Thus, under the foregoing rulings, even assuming that the transferees are innocent purchasers for
value, their titles to said lands derived from the titles of private respondents which were not validly
issued as they cover lands still a part of the public domain, may be cancelled.
xix. SECTION 12, RA 8371
Registration Under The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act
30
Section 12. Option to Secure Certificate of Title under Commonwealth Act 141, as amended, or the
Land Registration Act 496.
Individual members of cultural communities, with respect to individually-owned ancestral lands
who, by themselves or through their predecessors-in -interest, have been in continuous possession
and occupation of the same in the concept of owner since the immemorial or for a period of not less
than thirty (30) years immediately preceding the approval of this Act and uncontested by the
members of the same ICCs/IPs shall have the option to secure title to their ancestral lands under the
provisions of Commonwealth Act 141, as amended, or the Land Registration Act 496.
For this purpose, said individually-owned ancestral lands, which are agricultural in character and
actually used for agricultural, residential, pasture, and tree farming purposes, including those with a
slope of eighteen percent (18%) or more, are hereby classified as alienable and disposable
agricultural lands.
The option granted under this Section shall be exercised within twenty (20) years from the approval
of this Act.
NOTES REGISTRATION UNDER IPRA:
1) Indigenous Peoples Rights Act:
a. Constitutional Provisions 1987 Constitution:
i. Section 2, Article II
The State recognizes and promotes the rights of indigenous cultural communities within the
framework of national unity and development.
ii. Section 5, Article XII
The State, subject to the provisions of this Constitution and national development policies
and programs, shall protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to their ancestral
lands to ensure their economic, social, and cultural well-being.
The Congress may provide for the applicability of customary law governing property rights
or relations in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral domain.
iii. Section 6, Article XIII
The State shall establish a special agency for disabled persons for their rehabilitation, self-
development and self-reliance, and their integration into the mainstream of society.
iv. Section 17, Article XIV
The State shall recognize, respect, and protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to
preserve and develop their cultures, traditions, and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the
formulation of national plans and policies.
v. The foregoing provisions are the cornerstone of the IPRA which was enacted to recognize and
promote all the rights of the indigenous cultural communities in the country.
b. Constitutionality of IPRA
i. As the votes were equally divided (7 to 7) and the necessary majority was not obtained,
the case was redeliberated upon. However, after redeliberation, the voting remained the
same. Accordingly, pursuant to Rule 56, Section 7 of the Rules of Court, the petition was
dismissed, and the questioned law was deemed upheld as valid. (Cruz v. Secretary, 347 SCRA
128)
ii. In his separate opinion, Justice Puno said that the IPRA is a novel piece of legislation. It
grants the ICCs/IPs a distinct kind of ownership over ancestral domains and ancestral lands.
He noted that land titles do not exist in the indigenous peoples economic and social system.
The concept of individual land ownership under the civil law is alien to them. The IPRA
categorically declares ancestral lands and domains held by native title as never to have been
public land. Domains and lands held under native title are, therefore, indisputably presumed
to have never been public lands and are private.(Cruz v. Secretary, 347 SCRA 128)
2) Definition of Terms:
a. Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples It refers to a group of people or
homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, who have
continuously lived as organized community on communally bounded and defined territory,
and who have, under claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed and
utilized such territories, sharing common bonds of language, customs, traditions and other
distinctive cultural traits, or who have, through resistance to political, social and cultural
inroads of colonization, non-indigenous religions and cultures, became historically
differentiated from the majority of Filipinos.
b. Ancestral Domains It refers to all areas generally belonging to ICCs/IPs comprising
lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and natural resources therein, held under a claim of
ownership, occupied or possessed by ICCs/IPs, by themselves or through their ancestors,
communally or individually since time immemorial, continuously to the present except when
31
interrupted by war, force majeure or displacement by force, deceit, stealth or as a
consequence of government projects or any other voluntary dealings entered into by
government and private individuals/corporations, and which are necessary to ensure their
economic, social and cultural welfare. It shall include ancestral lands, forests, pasture,
residential, agricultural, and other lands individually owned whether alienable and
disposable or otherwise, hunting grounds, burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water,
mineral and other natural resources.
c. Ancestral Lands It refers to land occupied, possessed and utilized by individuals,
families and clans who are members of the ICCs/IPs since time immemorial, by themselves
or through their predecessors-in-interest, under claims of individual or traditional group
ownership, continuously, to the present except when interrupted by war, force majeure or
displacement by force, deceit, stealth, or as a consequence of government projects and other
voluntary dealings entered into by government and private individuals/corporations,
including, but not limited to, residential lots, rice terraces or paddies, private forests,
swidden farms and tree lots.
d. Native Title It refers to pre-conquest rights to lands and domains which, as far back as
memory reaches, have been held under a claim of private ownership by ICCs/IPs, have never
been public lands and are thus indisputably presumed to have been held that way since
before the Spanish Conquest.
e. Time Immemorial It refers to a period of time when as far back as memory can go,
certain ICCs/IPs are known to have occupied, possessed in the concept of owner, and utilized
a defined territory devolved to them, by operation of customary law or inherited from their
ancestors, in accordance with their customs and traditions.
3) Indigenous Concept of Ownership:
a. The IPRA recognizes the existence of the indigenous cultural communities or indigenous
peoples (ICCs/IPs) as a distinct sector in Philippine society. It grants these people the
ownership and possession of their ancestral domains and ancestral lands, and defines the
extent of these lands and domains.
b. The ownership given is the indigenous concept of ownership under customary law which
traces its origin to native title.
c. Ancestral lands/domains include such concepts of territories which cover not only the
physical environment but the total environment including the spiritual and cultural bonds to
 the areas which the ICCs/IPs possess, occupy and use and to which they have claims of
ownership.
d. Ancestral lands and ancestral domains are not deemed part of the lands of the public
domain but are private lands belonging to indigenous cultural communities or indigenous
peoples (ICCs/IPs) who have actually occupied, possessed and utilized their territories under
claim of ownership since time immemorial.
4) The IPRA connotes group or communal ownership:
a. By virtue of the communal character of ownership, the property held in common is meant
to benefit the whole indigenous community and not merely the individual member.
b. This concept maintains the view that ancestral domains are the ICCs/IPs private but
community property. It is private simply because it is not part of the public domain. But its
private character ends there.
c. The ancestral domain is owned in common by the ICCs/IPs and not by one particular
person.
d. The domain cannot be transferred, sold or conveyed to other persons by any one person
and belongs to the ICCs/IPs as a community.
5) Ownership over the natural resources belong to the State:
a. While ancestral domains and ancestral lands are considered private in character, it does
not necessarily mean that natural resources found therein belong to the ICCs/IPs as private
property.
b. Justice Kapunan, in Cruz v. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, opines that
the mere fact that Section 3(a) defines ancestral domains to include the natural resources
found therein does not ipso facto convert the character of such natural resources as private
property of the indigenous people.
c. Justice Puno states that the ICCs/IPs rights over the natural resources the form of
management or stewardship.
d. ICCs/IPs have priority rights in the exploitation of natural resources within ancestral
domains:
32
i. ICCs/IPs have priority rights in the harvesting, extraction, development or
exploitation of any natural resources within ancestral domains.
ii. A non-member of the ICCs/IPs may be allowed to take part in the development
and utilization of the natural resources for a period not exceeding 25 years
renewable for not more than 25 years.
iii. It is important, however, that a formal written agreement is entered into with the
ICCs/IPs concerned, or that the community, pursuant to its own decision making
process, has agreed to allow such operation.
iv. Meanwhile, the NCCIP (National Commission on Indigenous Peoples) may
exercise visitorial powers and take appropriate action to safeguard the rights of the
ICCs/IPs under the same contract.
e . ICCs/IPs do not lose possession over area covered by a TLA (Timber License Agreement):
i. Ancestral domains remain as such even when possession or occupation of the area
has been interrupted by causes provided under the law such as voluntary dealings
entered into by the government and private individuals/corporation.
6) Delineation and recognition of ancestral domains:
a. Under RA No. 8371, self-delineation is the guiding principle in the identification and
delineation of ancestral domains. The sworn statement of the elders as to the scope of the
territories and agreements/pacts made with neighboring ICCs/IPs, if any, will be essential to
the determination of these traditional territories. The government shall take the necessary
steps to identify lands which the ICCs/IPs concerned traditionally occupy and guarantee
effective protection of their rights of ownership and possession thereto.
b. Procedures:
i. Ancestral Domains Delineated Prior to this Act - The provisions hereunder shall
not apply to ancestral domains/lands already delineated according to DENR
Administrative Order No. 2, series of 1993, nor to ancestral lands and domains
delineated under any other community/ancestral domain program prior to the
enactment of his law.
ii. Petition for Delineation - The process of delineating a specific perimeter may be
initiated by the NCIP with the consent of the ICC/IP concerned, or through a Petition
for Delineation filed with the NCIP, by a majority of the members of the ICCs/IPs;
 iii. Delineation Paper - The official delineation of ancestral domain boundaries
including census of all community members therein, shall be immediately
undertaken by the Ancestral Domains Office upon filing of the application by the
ICCs/IPs concerned;
iv. Proof required - Proof of Ancestral Domain Claims shall include the testimony of
elders or community under oath, and other documents directly or indirectly
attesting to the possession or occupation of the area since time immemorial by such
ICCs/IPs in the concept of owners which shall be any one (1) of the following
authentic documents:
1) Written accounts of the ICCs/IPs customs and traditions;
2) Written accounts of the ICCs/IPs political structure and institution;
3) Pictures showing long term occupation such as those of old
improvements, burial grounds, sacred places and old villages;
4) Historical accounts, including pacts and agreements concerning
boundaries entered into by the ICCs/IPs concerned with other ICCs/IPs;
5) Survey plans and sketch maps;
6) Anthropological data;
7) Genealogical surveys;
8) Pictures and descriptive histories of traditional communal forests and
hunting grounds;
9) Pictures and descriptive histories of traditional landmarks such as
mountains, rivers, creeks, ridges, hills, terraces and the like; and
10) Write-ups of names and places derived from the native dialect of the
community.
v. Preparation of Maps - On the basis of such investigation and the findings of fact based thereon, the
Ancestral Domains Office of the NCIP shall prepare a perimeter map, complete with technical
descriptions, and a description of the natural features and landmarks embraced therein;
vi. Report of Investigation and Other Documents - A complete copy of the preliminary census and a
report of investigation, shall be prepared by the Ancestral Domains Office of the NCIP;
33
vii. Notice and Publication - A copy of each document, including a translation in the native language
of the ICCs/IPs concerned shall be posted in a prominent place therein for at least fifteen (15) days.
A copy of the document shall also be posted at the local, provincial and regional offices of the NCIP,
and shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for two (2) consecutive
weeks to allow other claimants to file opposition thereto within fifteen (15) days from the date of
such publication: Provided, That in areas where no such newspaper exists, broadcasting in a radio
station will be a valid substitute: Provided, further, That mere posting shall be deemed sufficient if
both newspaper and radio station are not available;
viii. Endorsement to NCIP - Within fifteen (15) days from publication, and of the inspection process,
the Ancestral Domains Office shall prepare a report to the NCIP endorsing a favorable action upon a
claim that is deemed to have sufficient proof. However, if the proof is deemed insufficient, the
Ancestral Domains Office shall require thesubmission of additional evidence: Provided, That
the Ancestral
Domains Office shall reject any claim that is deemed patently false or fraudulent after inspection and
verification: Provided, further, That in case of rejection, the Ancestral Domains Office shall give the
applicant due notice, copy furnished all concerned, containing the grounds for denial. The denial shall
be appealable to the NCIP: Provided, furthermore, That in cases where there are conflicting claims,
the Ancestral Domains Office shall cause the contending parties to meet and assist them in coming
up with a preliminary resolution of the conflict, without prejudice to its full adjudication according
to the selection below.
ix. Turnover of Areas Within Ancestral Domains Managed by Other Government Agencies - The
Chairperson of the NCIP shall certify that the area covered is an ancestral domain. The secretaries of
the DAR, DENR, DILG, and DOJ, the Commissioner of NDC, and any other government agency claiming
jurisdiction over the area shall be notified thereof. Such notification shall terminate any legal basis
for the jurisdiction previously claimed;
x. Issuance of CADT - ICCs/IPs whose ancestral domains have been officially delineated and
determined by the NCIP shall be issued a CADT in the name of the community concerned, containing
a list of all those identified in the census; and
xi. Registration of CADTs - The NCIP shall register issued certificates of ancestral domain titles and
certificates of ancestral lands titles before the Register of Deeds in the place where the property is
situated.
c. The NCIP is the agency authorized to issue a certification precondition in favor of any entity which
desires to undertake operations within the ancestral domains of the indigenous peoples or whose
proposed projects will affect the ancestral domains.
d. The law does not grant the executive department the power to delineate and recognize an
ancestral domain claim by mere agreement or compromise.
7) Identification, delineation and certification of ancestral lands:
a. The allocation of lands within any ancestral domain to individual or indigenous corporate
(family or clan) claimants shall be left to the ICCs/IPs concerned to decide in accordance
with customs and traditions;
b. Individual and indigenous corporate claimants of ancestral lands which are not within
ancestral domains may have their claims officially established byfiling applications for the
identification and delineation of their claims with the Ancestral Domains Office. An
individual or recognized head of a family or clan may file such application in his behalf or in
behalf of his family or clan, respectively;
c. Proofs of such claims shall accompany the application form which shall include the
testimony under oath of elders of the community and other documents directly or indirectly
attesting to the possession or occupation of the areas since time immemorial by the
individual or corporate claimants in the concept of owners which shall be any of the authentic
documents enumerated under Sec. 52 (d) of this act, including tax declarations and proofs of
payment of taxes;
d. The Ancestral Domains Office may require from each ancestral claimant the submission
of such other documents, Sworn Statements and the like, which in its opinion, may shed light
on the veracity of the contents of the application/claim;
e. Upon receipt of the applications for delineation and recognition of ancestral land claims,
the Ancestral Domains Office shall cause the publication of the application and a copy of each
document submitted including a translation in the native language of the ICCs/IPs concerned
in a prominent place therein for at least fifteen (15) days. A copy of the document shall also
be posted at the local, provincial, and regional offices of the NCIP and shall be published in a
newspaper of general circulation once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks to allow other
claimants to file opposition thereto within fifteen (15) days from the date of such publication:
Provided, That in areas where no such newspaper exists, broadcasting in a radio station will
be a valid substitute: Provided, further, That mere posting shall be deemed sufficient if both
newspapers and radio station are not available
f. Fifteen (15) days after such publication, the Ancestral Domains Office shall investigate and
inspect each application, and if found to be meritorious, shall cause a parcellary survey of the
area being claimed. The Ancestral Domains office shall reject any claim that is deemed
34
patently false or fraudulent after inspection and verification. In case of rejection, the
Ancestral Domains office shallgive the applicant due notice, copy furnished all concerned,
containing the grounds for denial. The denial shall be appealable to the NCIP. In case of
conflicting claims among individual or indigenous corporate claimants, the Ancestral
domains Office shall cause the contending parties to meet and assist them in coming up with
a preliminary resolution of the conflict, without prejudice to its full adjudication according
to Sec. 62 of this Act; and
g. The Ancestral Domains Office shall prepare and submit a report on each and every
application surveyed and delineated to the NCIP, which shall, in turn, evaluate or corporate
(family or clan) claimant over ancestral lands.
8) Registration of CADTs and CALTs:
a. The NCIP, through the ADO, shall register all CADTs and CALTs with the Register of Deeds
of the place where the properties are located.
b. The recordings of the CADT and CALT does not result in the issuance of a
Torrens certificate of title, like a Torrens title issued through regular registration
proceedings.
c. The purpose of registration is simply to apprise the public of the fact of recognition by the
NCIP of specific claims to portions of ancestral domains or ancestral lands.
d. It is to be noted that no part of the ancestral domains may be the subject of alienation or
disposition because these are communally owned although private in nature.
e. On the other hand, ancestral lands may be the subject of registration under the Public Land
Act or Property Registration Decree.
f. In the event any part of the ancestral land is the subject of a subsequent dealing,
like sale, mortgage, or lease, the instrument embodying the transaction, together with the
owners duplicate certificate shall be presented to the Register of Deeds for him to
annotate the encumbrance created by the instrument on said title or to issue a new title to
the person to whom the land has been conveyed.
9) Modes of Acquisition:
a. 2 Modes of Acquisition:
 i. By Native Title over both ancestral lands and domains:
1.Native title refers to pre-conquest rights to lands and domains which, as
far back as memory reaches, have been held under a claim of ownership by
indigenous cultural communities. Native title presumes that the land is
private and was never public.
ii. By Torrens Title under the Public Land Act (CA No. 141, as amended) or
the Property Registration Decree (PD No. 1529) with respect to ancestral lands only:
1. A Torrens certificate of title accumulates in one document a precise and correct
statement of the exact status of the fee simple title which an owner possesses. The
certificate, once issued, is the evidence of the title which the owner has. What
appears on the title is controlling on questions of ownership since the certificate of
title is an absolute and indefeasible evidence of ownership of the property in favor
of the person whose name appears therein.
b. The IPRA converts ancestral land as public agricultural land for registration purposes:
i. There is no need to secure a separate certification that the ancestral land is A and
D in character, it being sufficient to show that the land is duly identified, delineated
and certified as such.
ii. Unlike regular registration proceedings where the applicant must prove
possession of public agricultural land since June 12, 1945 as well as the classification
of the land as A and D land at least at the time the application for registration is filed,
the registration of ancestral lands is different in the sense that:
1. The applicant is a member of an indigenous cultural group;
2. He must have been in possession of an individually-owned ancestral land
for not less than thirty (30) years; and
3. By operation of law (IPRA), the land is already classified as alienable and
disposable (A and D) land, even if it has a slope of 18% or over, hence, there
is no need to submit a separate certification that the land has been classified
as A and D land.
c. Effect of Registration:
35
i. A duly issued Torrens certificate of title covering ancestral lands has the same
efficacy, validity and indefeasibility as any title issued through regular registration
proceedings.
ii. It is generally conclusive evidence of ownership.
iii. The title shall not be subject to collateral attach nor can it be impugned, altered,
changed, modified, enlarged or diminished except in a direct proceeding permitted
by law.
iv. It is moreover subject to the rule on imprescriptibility.
v. The land shall not be subject to any burden except those noted on the certificate.
d. Transfer of Land or Property Rights:
i. The right of ownership and possession of the ICCs/IPs to their ancestral lands shall
be recognized and protected. These lands may be transferred subject to the following
limitations:
1. Only to the members of the same ICCs/IPs;
2. In accord with customary laws and traditions; and
3. Subject to the right of redemption of the ICCs/IPs for a period of fifteen
(15) years if the land was transferred to a non- member of the ICCs/IPs.
ii. Unlike the ICCs/IPs private but communal ownership over ancestral domains
which belong to all generations and therefore cannot be sold, disposed or destroyed,
ownership over the ancestral domains allows the transfer of ancestral land or
property rights thereto to members of the same group. This is in keeping with the
option given to ICCs/IPs to secure a Torrens title over the ancestral lands, but not to
domains.
e. Generally, no ancestral land shall be opened for mining operations:
i. No ancestral land shall be opened for mining operations without the prior consent
of the indigenous cultural community concerned. (Sec. 16 of RA No. 7942, Philippine
Mining Act of 1995)
 ii. In the event of an agreement for mining operations, the royalty payment, upon
utilization of the minerals, shall be agreed upon by the parties, and shall form part of
a trust fund for the socio-economic well- being of the indigenous cultural
community.(Sec. 17 of RA No. 7942, Philippine Mining Act of 1995)
iii. No ancestral land may be declared as a peoples small-scale mining area without
the prior consent of the cultural communities concerned. If ancestral lands are
declared as peoples small-scale mining areas, the members of the cultural
communities therein shall be given priority in the awarding of small-scale mining
contracts. (Section 7 of RA No. 7076, Peoples Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991)
f. Authority of PEZA to issue building permits:
i. By specific provision of law, it is the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) which has
authority to issue building permits for the construction of structures within the areas owned
or administered by it, whether on public or private lands.
ii. PEZA may require owners of structures built without said permit to remove such
structures.
iii. A certificate of ancestral land claim (CALC) is merely a registered claim and not a
proof of ownership.
10) National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP):
a. Specific powers and functions:
i. Formulation of policies, issuance of rules and regulations:
1.The NCIP has been granted administrative, quasi-legislativeand quasi-
judicial powers to carry out its mandate.
2.It is the primary agency charged with the formulation and implementation of
policies, plans, programs and projects for the economic, social and cultural
development of the ICCs/IPs and to monitor the implementation thereof.
3.It is mandated to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the
implementation of the Act.
ii. Resolution of conflicts:
36
1.The NCIP is vested with jurisdiction over all claims and disputes involving the
rights of ICCs/IPs.
2.The only condition precedent to the NCIPs assumption of jurisdiction over such
disputes is that the parties thereto shall have exhausted all remedies provided under
their customary laws and have obtained a certification from the Council of
Elders/Leaders who participated in the attempt to settle the dispute that the same
has not been resolved.
3. The NCIP has the authority to decide all appeals from the decisions and acts of all
the various offices within the Commission.
4. Any decision, order, award or ruling of the NCIP on any ancestral domain dispute
or on any matter pertaining to the application, implementation, enforcement and
interpretation of the Act may be brought by a petition for review to the Court of
Appeals within fifteen (15) days from receipt of a copy thereof.
iii. Issuance of CADT/CALT:
1.The NCIP has the authority to issue certificates of ancestral domain title (CADT) or certificates of
ancestral land title (CALT).
iv. Cancellation of ancestral domain and ancestral land titles:
1. The NCIP has exclusive and original jurisdiction over petitions for the cancellation of
Certificate of Ancestral Domain Titles/Certificate of Ancestral Land Titles (CADTs/CALTs)
alleged to have been fraudulently acquired by, and issued to, any person or community as
provided for under Section 54 of RA No. 8371, provided that such action is filed within one
(1) year from the date of registration.
2. It should be noted however that jurisdiction over actions or incidents affecting a certificate
of title issued through registration proceedings is vested in the courts of justice.
v. Issuance of certification as a precondition to the grant of permit:
1.The NCIP has the authority to issue the appropriate certification as a pre-condition to the
grant of permit, lease, grant, or any other similar authority for the disposition, utilization and
management of portions of the ancestral domain with the consensus approval of the ICCs/IPs
concerned.
vi. Power to cite for contempt, issue restraining order; Among the other powers of the NCIP are the d. and settlement of land disputes between and among ICCs/IPs that have not been
following: settled under customary laws

1. To promulgate rules and regulations governing the hearing and disposition of cases filed 2. Actions for damages arising out of any violation of Republic Act No. 8371.
before it as well as those pertaining to its internal functions and such rules and regulations
as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act; c. Ancestral Domains Office:

2. To administer oaths, summon the parties to a controversy, issue subpoenas requiring the i. One of the offices under the NCIP;
attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of such books, papers, contracts,
ii. The ADO shall be responsible for the identification, delineation and recognition of
records, agreements, and other document of similar nature as may be material to a just
ancestral lands/domains.
determination of the matter under investigation or hearing conducted in pursuance of this
Act; iii. ADO shall also be responsible for the management of ancestral lands/domains in
accordance with a master plan as well as the implementation of the ancestral domain rights
3. To hold any person in contempt, directly or indirectly, and impose appropriate penalties
of the ICCs/IPs as provided in Chapter III of the IPRA.
therefor; and
iv. ADO shall also issue, upon the free and prior informed consent of the ICCs/IPs
4. To enjoin any or all acts involving or arising from any case pending before it which, if not
concerned, certification prior to the grant of any license, lease or permit for the exploitation
restrained forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable damage to any of the parties to the case
of natural resources affecting the interests of ICCs/IPs or their ancestral domains and to
or seriously affect social or economic activity.
assist the ICCs/IPs in protecting the territorial integrity of all ancestral domains.
b. Regional Hearing Offices:
v.ADO shall likewise perform such other functions as the NCIP may deem appropriate and
i. Original and Exclusive Jurisdiction: necessary.

1. All disputes and controversies involving ancestral lands /domains; ADDITIONAL NOTES SEC. 14 of the PRD:

2. Violations of the requirement of free and prior and informed consent of ICCs/IPs; 1) System of Registration:

3. Actions for the enforcement of decisions of ICCs/IPs involving violations of
customary laws or desecration of ceremonial sites, sacred places, or rituals;
4. Actions for redemption/reconveyance under Section 8(b) of RA No. 8371;
5. And cases analogous to the foregoing.
a. There are two systems of registration: one for registered lands under PD No.
1529 (Property Registration Decree) and the other for unregistered lands under Act No.
3344.
b. If a parcel of land covered by a Torrens title is sold, but the sale is registered under Act No.
3344 and not under the Property Registration Decree, the sale is not considered registered.

ii. Original Jurisdiction: c. There can be no constructive notice through registration under Act No. 3344 if the
property is registered under the Torrens system, nor can the registration be effective for
1. Cases affecting purposes of Article 1544 of the Civil Code on double sale.
a. property rights
b. claims of ownership d. The recording of instruments relating to unregistered lands is governed by Section 113 of
c. hereditary succession
PD No. 1529 which provides that no deed, conveyance, mortgage, lease or other voluntary
instrument affecting land not registered under the Torrens system shall be valid, except as
37
 between the parties thereto, unless such instrument shall have been recorded in the office of
the Register of Deeds.
e. The recording, however, shall be without prejudice to a third party with a better right.
d. Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (RA No. 8371)
2) Laws governing land registration:
a. Public Land Act (CA No. 141)
i. Approved on November 7, 1936, but which became effective on December 1, 1936;
ii. Voluntary;
iii. The Public Land Act governs the judicial confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles on
the basis of possession and occupation o alienable portions of the public domain in the
manner and for the length of time required by law;
iv.The relevant provisions are Sections 47 to 57, Chapter VIII of the Act.
b. Property Registration Decree (PD No. 1529)
v. It may be noted, however, that salient provisions in the Cadastral Act have now been
carried over in the present Property Registration Decree, particularly in Sections 35 to 38 of
the Decree.
i. Approved on October 29, 1997;
ii. Voluntary;
iii. IPRA recognizes the rights of ownership and possession of indigenous cultural
communities or indigenous peoples (ICCs/IPs) to their ancestral domains and ancestral
land on the basis of native title, and defines the extent of these lands and domains.
iv. For purposes of registration, the IPRA expressly converts ancestral lands into public
agricultural lands, and individual members of cultural communities, with respect to
their individually-ownedancestral lands, shall have the option to secure title to their
ancestral lands under the provisions of the Public Land Act of the Property Registration
Decree.

i. Issued on June 11, 1978; v. This option is limited to ancestral lands only, not domains, and such lands must be
individually, not communally, owned.
ii. Voluntary;
3) Vested rights cannot be impaired by subsequent law:
iii. The Property Registration Decree is a codification of all laws relative to registration of
property, and supersedes all other laws relative to registration of property; a. Vested rights may not be impaired without violating ones right to due process;

iv. It has substantially incorporated the provisions of Act No. 496, or the Land Registration b. A right is vested when the right to enjoyment, present or prospective, has become the
Act. property of some particular person or persons as a present interest.

c. Cadastral Act (Act No. 2259)
i. Enacted on February 11, 1913;
ii. Compulsory as it is the government itself which initiates the petition;
iii. Cadastral Act is an offspring of the system of registration under the Land Registration Act.
iv. It aims to serve public interests by requiring that the title to any lands be titled and
adjudicated;
c. It is some right or interest in property which has become fixed and established and is no
longer open to doubt or controversy.
d. A State may not impair vested rights by legislative enactment by the enactment or by the
subsequent repeal of a municipal ordinance, or by a change in the constitution of the
State, except in a legitimate exercise of the police power.
B. Forms and Contents Dealing With Land
i. Section 15. Form and Contents.

38
The application for land registration shall be in writing, signed by the application or the person duly (Note: Refer to Sec. 14 of said Decree. State also whether the property is conjugal, paraphernal or
authorized in his behalf, and sworn to before any officer authorized to administer oaths for the exclusive property of the applicant/s)
province or city where the application was actually signed. If there is more than one applicant, the
application shall be signed and sworn to by and in behalf of each. The application shall contain a 5.That said land is occupied by the following person: _________________.
description of the land and shall state the citizenship and civil status of the applicant, whether single
6.That the names in full and addresses, as far as known to the undersigned, of the owners of all
or married, and, if married, the name of the wife or husband, and, if the marriage has been legally
adjoining properties, of the persons mentioned in paragraphs 3 and 5, and of the persons shown on
dissolved, when and how the marriage relation terminated. It shall also state the full names and
the plan as claimants, are as follows:
addresses of all occupants of the land and those of the adjoining owners, if known, and, if not known,
it shall state the extent of the search made to find them. _________________________________________.

The application, shall, in form, be substantially as follows:
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT of _________________
The undersigned,____________________hereby applies (or apply) to have the land hereinafter described
brought under the operation of the Property Registration Decree, and to have the title thereto
registered and confirmed:
AND DECLARE . . . . .
1.That the applicants/s is/are the owners of the land (by virtue of inheritance or deed of sale or
conveyance and/or possession in accordance with Section 14 of said Decree), together with the
building and improvements thereon, with the exception of the following:_____________________ which
is/are the property of __________________
7.That the applicant/s is/are single or married to____________________ (Note: if marriage has been legally
dissolved, state when and how the marriage relation terminated.)_______________________.
8.That the applicant's/s' full name, age, citizenship, residence, and postal address/es is/are as
follows:
_______________________________.
9.That (Note: If the land included in the application is bounded by a public or private way or road,
there should be stated in this paragraph whether or not the applicant claims any and what land
within the limits of the way or road and whether the applicant desires to have the line of the way or
road determined.)
______________________________.
10.That the following documents are attached hereto and made a part hereof:

residing at __________________ The said land, consisting of __________________ parcel/s is/are situated, ___________________________________.
bounded and described as shown on the plan and technical descriptions attached hereto and made a
part hereof, with the following exception:_________________________. Signed at ___________________ this _____________________ day of ____________________, in the year twenty
hundred and ______________________.
2.That said land at the last assessment for taxation was assessed at P ____, Philippine currency, and
the buildings and other improvements at P ___________, Philippine currency. __________________________

3.That to the best of my/our knowledge and belief, there is no mortgage or encumbrance of any kind Applicant
whatsoever affecting said land, nor any other person having any interest therein, legal or equitable,
_________________________
or in possession, other than as follows:__________________________________.
(Post Office Address)
4.That the applicant/s has/have acquired said land in the following manner:
________________________________. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

39
PROVINCE (OR CITY) OF _______________
On this ___ day of _________,20 ___ personally appeared before me the above- named ____________________
known to me to be the person/s who executed the foregoing application and made oath that the
statements therein are true of his/their knowledge, information and belief.
The Residence Certificate/s __________ of the applicant/s __________ was/were exhibited to me being No.
_______
issued at _________ dated _______, 20___.
________________________
(Notary Public, or other Officer authorized to administer oaths)
PTR NO. _________________
NOTES SECTION 15 of PRD:
1) Requisite steps in bringing land under the Torrens System. Subject to the conditions provided for
in Section 15 of the PRD, application for land registration shall provide information on the following:
a. Survey of land by the Lands Management Bureau or a duly licensed private surveyor;
b. Filing of application for registration by the applicant;
c. Setting of the date for the initial hearing of the application by the court;
d. Transmittal of the application and the date of initial hearing together with all the
documents or other evidences attached thereto by the Clerk of Court to the Land Registration
Authority;
e. Publication of the notice of the filing of the application and date and place of the hearing in
the Official Gazette and in a newspaper of general circulation;
f. Service by mailing of notice upon contiguous owners, occupants and those known to have
interests in the property;
g. Posting by the sheriff of the notice in a conspicuous place on the land and in the bulletin
board of the municipal building or city where the land is situated;
h. Filing of answer to the application by any person whether named in the notice or not;
i. Hearing of the case by the court;
j. Promulgation of judgment by the court;
k. Issuance of an order for the issuance of a decree declaring the decision final and
instructing the Land Registration Authority to issue the decree of confirmation and
registration;
l. Entry of the decree of registration in the Land Registration Authority;
40
m. Sending of copy of the decree of registration to the corresponding Register of Deeds; and
n. Transcription of the decree of registration in the registration book and the issuance of the
owners duplicate original certificate of title to the applicant by the Register of Deeds, upon
payment of the prescribed fees.
2)Form and contents of the application for registration:
a. Full description of the land as evidenced by a survey plan duly approved by the Director
of Lands, surveyors certificate, and technical description;
b. Citizenship and civil status of the applicant, whether single or married, and, if married, the
name of the wife or husband, and, if the marriage has been legally dissolved, when and how
the marriage relation terminated;
c. Full names and addresses of all occupants of the land and those of the adjoining owners, if
known, and, if not known, it shall state the extent of the search made to find them;
d. Assessed value of the land and the buildings and improvements thereon;
e. Whether or not there are mortgages or encumbrances of any kind whatsoever affecting
the land, or any other person having any interest therein, legal or equitable, or in possession,
thereof;
f. The manner by which the applicant has acquired the land (refer to Section14, PD No.
1529);
g. Whether or not the property is conjugal, paraphernal or exclusive property of the
applicant;
h. Names of all occupants of the land, if any;
i. Original muniments of title and other related documents supporting applicants claim of
ownership; and
i. Muniments of Title- are instruments or written evidence which applicant holds or
possesses to enable him to substantiate and prove title to his estate.
j. If the land is bounded by a public or private way or road, whether or not the applicant
claims any and what portion of the land within the limits of the way or road, and whether the
applicant desires to have the line of the way or road determined.
Section 16. Non-resident applicant.
If the applicant is not a resident of the Philippines, he shall file with his application an instrument in Section 19. Amendments.
due form appointing an agent or representative residing in the Philippines, giving his full name and
postal address, and shall therein agree that the service of any legal process in the proceedings under Amendments to the application including joinder, substitution, or discontinuance as to parties may
or growing out of the application made upon his agent or representative shall be of the same legal be allowed by the court at any stage of the proceedings upon just and reasonable terms.
effect as if made upon the applicant within the Philippines. If the agent or representative dies, or
Amendments which shall consist in a substantial change in the boundaries or an increase in area of
leaves the Philippines, the applicant shall forthwith make another appointment for the substitute,
the land applied for or which involve the inclusion of an additional land shall be subject to the same
and, if he fails to do so the court may dismiss the application.
requirements of publication and notice as in an original application.
NOTES SECTION 16 of PRD:
NOTES SECTIONS 18 & 19 of PRD:
1) Non-resident applicant may be represented by an attorney-in-fact:
1) A single application may be filed for two or more parcels:
a. A special power of attorney executed before a notary public or other competent official in
a. Where during the pendency of an application for registration, the applicant sold the
a foreign country cannot be admitted in evidence unless it is duly certified in accordance
property to another under pacto de retro, but owing to the lapse of the redemption
with Section 24, Rule 132 of the Rules of Court, i.e., by the secretary of embassy or
period, ownership became consolidated in the vendee, the latter as the new and lawful owner
legation, consul general, consul, vice consul or consular agent or by any officer in the foreign
is entitled to be subrogated in place of the applicant and may continue the proceedings in the
service of the Philippines stationed in the foreign country in which the record is kept, and
case and finally obtain title as owner.
authenticated by the seal of his office.
2) Substantial amendment of boundaries or area requires publication and notice:
Section 17. What and where to file.
a. It is not permissible to make amendments or alterations in the description of the land after
The application for land registration shall be filed with the Court of First Instance of the province or
its publication in the newspapers and after the registration of the property has been decreed,
city where the land is situated. The applicant shall file together with the application all original
without the publication of new notifications and advertisements making known to everyone
muniments of titles or copies thereof and a survey plan of the land approved by the Bureau of Lands.
the said alterations and amendments.
The clerk of court shall not accept any application unless it is shown that the applicant has furnished
i. Otherwise, the law would be infringed with respect to the publicity which
the Director of Lands with a copy of the application and all annexes.
characterizes the procedure, and third parties who have not had an opportunity to
NOTES SECTION 17 of PRD: present their claims, might be seriously affected in their rights, through failure of
opportune notice.
1)The application for registration must be accompanied by a survey plan of the land duly approved
by the Director of Lands, together with the claimants muniments of title to prove ownership. b. Publication is one of the essential bases of the jurisdiction of the court in land registration
and cadastral cases, and additional territory cannot be included by amendment of the plan
2)No plan or survey may be admitted in land registration proceedings until approved by the Director without new publication.
of Lands.
c. If new survey plans do not conform to the plans earlier presented and affect the rights of
Section 18. Application covering two or more parcels. third persons, notice shall be given them and an opportunity to present whatever opposition
they may have to the registration of the land included in the new plans.
An application may include two or more parcels of land belonging to the applicant/s provided they
are situated within the same province or city. The court may at any time order an application to be d. If the amendment does not involve an addition, but on the contrary, a reduction of the
amended by striking out one or more of the parcels or by a severance of the application. original area that was published, no new publication is required.
41

Section 20. When land applied for borders on road.
If the application describes the land as bounded by a public or private way or road, it shall state
whether or not the applicant claims any and what portion of the land within the limits of the way or
road, and whether the applicant desires to have the line of the way or road determined.
Section 21. Requirement of additional facts and papers; ocular inspection.
The court may require facts to be stated in the application in addition to those prescribed by this
Decree not inconsistent therewith and may require the filing of any additional paper. It may also
conduct an ocular inspection, if necessary.
Section 22. Dealings with land pending original registration.
After the filing of the application and before the issuance of the decree of registration, the land therein
described may still be the subject of dealings in whole or in part, in which case the interested party
shall present to the court the pertinent instruments together with a subdivision plan approved by
the Director of Lands in case of transfer of portions thereof and the court, after notice to the parties,
shall order such land registered subject to the conveyance or encumbrance created by said
instruments, or order that the decree of registration be issued in the name of the person to whom the
property has been conveyed by said instruments.
NOTES SECTION 22 of PRD:
1) Dealings with the land while its registration is pending:
a. Whatever may be the nature of the transaction, the interested party should submit to the
court the pertinent instruments evidencing the transaction to be considered in the final
adjudication of the case.
b. The applicant or the parties to the transaction ay file the corresponding motion or
manifestation, indicating the relief desired.
c. In case of transfer of a portion of the land, the corresponding subdivision plan should also
be presented.
d. Upon notice to the parties, the court shall:
i. Order the land registered subject to the conveyance or encumbrance created by
such instruments, or
42
ii. Order that the decree of registration be issued in the name of the person to whom
the property has been conveyed.
e. It should be noted that the adjudication of land in a land registration or cadastral
proceeding does not become final, in the sense of incontrovertibility, until after one year
from the entry of the final decree prepared by the LRA.
f. As long as the final decree has not been entered, and the one-year period has not elapsed
from such entry, the title is not deemed finally adjudicated and the decision in the
registration proceeding continues to be under the control of the court.
g. Hence, transactions affecting the property pending registration should be made known to
the court for appropriate consideration.
2) Dealings or transactions entered into pending registration do not require amendment of
application:
a. Section 22 should be differentiated from Section 19 which refers to amendments to the
application by joinder, substitution or discontinuance of the parties.
b. On the other hand, Section 108 involves amendments after entry of the certificate of title.
c. Section 22 does not require amendment of the application, it being sufficient that the court,
by motion or other appropriate pleading, be presented with the instruments evidencing the
transaction, and the approved subdivision plan where a portion of the land is conveyed to
another.
d. The law does not require that the application for registration be amended by substituting
the buyer or the person to whom the property has been conveyed for the applicant.
i. Neither does it require that the buyer or the person to whom the property has
been conveyed be a party to the case.
ii. He may thus be a total stranger to the land registration proceedings.
iii. The only requirements of the law are:
1.That the instrument be presented to the court by the interested party
together with a motion that the same be considered in relation with the
application; and
2.That prior notice be given to the parties to the case.
 e. A motion to lift order of general default and motion under Section 22 may not be filed after
the finality of the judgment in the registration case.
ii. Divina v. CA, 352 SCRA 527 (2001)
Section 15 of P.D. 1529 is explicit in requiring that in the application for registration of land titles, the
application "shall also state the full names and addresses of all occupants of the land and those of the
adjoining owners if known, and if not known, it shall state the extent of the search made to find them.
As early as Francisco vs. Court of Appeals, 97 SCRA 22 [1980], we emphasized that a mere statement
of the lack of knowledge of the names of the occupants and adjoining owners is not sufficient but
"what search has been made to find them is necessary."
The trial court was correct when it took notice that respondent's sister Lydia Gajo- Anonuevo
admitted that she had a conversation with petitioner's cousin elena Dumalaon about the latter's
apprehension that their land may have been included in respondent's application for registration of
the disputed land. Respondent's omission of this material information prevented petitioner from
having his day in court.
The trial court in its decision more than amply supported its conclusion with jurisprudence to the
effect that it is fraud to knowingly omit or conceal a fact upon which benefit is obtained to the
prejudice of a third person. Such omission cannot but be deliberate misrepresentation constituting
fraud, a basis for allowing a petition for review of judgment under Section 38 of Act No. 496, The Land
Registration Act.
iii. Republic v. Vda. De Neri, 424 SCRA 676 (2004)
Applicants for land registration are required to append a survey plan to their application, duly
approved by the Bureau of Lands which is mentioned in Sec. 17. Of the PD 1529stating that the
application for land registration shall be filed with the Court of First Instance of the province or city
where the land is situated. The applicant shall file together with the application all original
muniments of titles or copies thereof and a survey plan approved by the Bureau of Lands.
The submission of the plan approved by the Director of the Bureau of Lands is a statutory
requirement which is mandatory in nature. The plan approved by the Land Registration Commission
is of no value. It behooved the trial court not to take cognizance of any application for land
registration in the absence of a survey plan duly approved by the Director of the Bureau of Lands
appended thereto.
43
No plan or survey may be admitted in land registration proceedings until approved by the Director
of Lands. The submission of the plan is a statutory requirement of mandatory character. Unless a plan
and its technical description are duly approved by the Director of
Lands, the same are of no value. It is a rule that "void ab initio land titles issued cannot ripen into
private ownership therefore, said lands cannot be registered under the respondents name.
iv. Caoibes, Jr. v. Caoibes-Pantoja, 496 SCRA 273 (2006)
The law does not require that the application for registration be amended by substituting the "buyer"
or the "person to whom the property has been conveyed" for the applicant. Neither does it require
that the "buyer" or the "person to whom the property has been conveyed" be a party to the case.
He may thus be a total stranger to the land registration proceedings. The only requirements of the
law are: (1) that the instrument be presented to the court by the interested party together with a
motion that the same be considered in relation with the application; and (2) that prior notice be given
to the parties to the case.
Sec. 22 of P.D. 1529 (Property Registration Decree which became effective on June 11, 1978),
provides:
SEC. 22. Dealings with land pending original registration. After the filing of the application and before
the issuance of the decree of registration, the land therein described may still be the subject of
dealings in whole or in part, in which case the interested party shall present to the court the pertinent
instruments together with the subdivision plan approved by the Director of Lands in case of transfer
of portions thereof, and the court, after notice to the parties, shall order such land registered subject
to the conveyance or encumbrance created by said instruments, or order that the decree of
registration be issued in the name of the person to whom the property has been conveyed by said
instruments.
v. Republic v. Muoz, 536 SCRA 108 (2007)
It bears stressing that the constructive seizure of land accomplished by posting of notices and
processes upon all persons mentioned in notices by means of publication and sending copies to said
persons by registered mail in effect gives the court jurisdiction over the lands sought to be registered.
It is true that the best evidence to identify a piece of land for registration purposes is the original
tracing cloth plan from the Bureau of Lands, but blueprint copies and other evidence could also
provide sufficient identification.
The Court held in Recto v. Republic that the blueprint copy of the cloth plan together with the lots
technical description duly certified as to their correctness by the Bureau of Lands are adequate to
identify the land applied for registration.
C. Publication, Opposition and Default
i. 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.
The public shall be given notice of the initial hearing of the application for land registration by means
of (1) publication; (2) mailing; and (3) posting.
1. By publication.
Upon receipt of the order of the court setting the time for initial hearing, the Commissioner
of Land Registration shall cause notice of initial hearing to be published once in the Official
Gazette and once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines: Provided, however,
that the publication in the Official Gazette shall be sufficient to confer jurisdiction upon the
court. Said notice shall be addressed to all persons appearing to have an interest in the land
involved including the adjoining owners so far as known, and "to all whom it may concern".
Said notice shall also require all persons concerned to appear in court at a certain date and
time to show cause why the prayer of said application shall not be granted.
2.By mailing.
a) Mailing of notice to persons named in the application. The Commissioner of Land
Registration shall also, within seven days after publication of said notice in the Official
Gazette, as hereinbefore provided, cause a copy of the notice of initial hearing to be mailed
to every person named in the notice whose address is known.
b) Mailing of notice to the Secretary of Public Highways, the Provincial Governor and the
Mayor. If the applicant requests to have the line of a public way or road determined, the
Commissioner of Land Registration shall cause a copy of said notice of initial hearing to be
mailed to the Secretary of Public Highways, to the Provincial Governor, and to the Mayor of
the municipality or city, as the case may be, in which the land lies.
c) Mailing of notice to the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, the Solicitor General, the Director
of Lands, the Director of Public Works, the Director of Forest Development, the Director of
44
Mines and the Director of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. If the land borders on a river,
navigable stream or shore, or on an arm of the sea where a river or harbor line has been
established, or on a lake, or if it otherwise appears from the application or the proceedings
that a tenant-farmer or the national government may have a claim adverse to that of the
applicant, notice of the initial hearing shall be given in the same manner to the Secretary of
Agrarian Reform, the Solicitor General, the Director of Lands, the Director of Mines and/or
the Director of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, as may be appropriate.
3.By posting.
The Commissioner of Land Registration shall also cause a duly attested copy of the notice of
initial hearing to be posted by the sheriff of the province or city, as the case may be, or by his
deputy, in a conspicuous place on each parcel of land included in the application and also in
a conspicuous place on the bulletin board of the municipal building of the municipality or city
in which the land or portion thereof is situated, fourteen days at least before the date of initial
hearing.
The court may also cause notice to be served to such other persons and in such manner as it may
deem proper.
The notice of initial hearing shall, in form, be substantially as follows:
(Caption and Title)
NOTICE OF INITIAL HEARING
To (here insert the names of all persons appearing to have an interest and the adjoining owners so
far as known, and to all whom it may concern):
An application (or petition) having been filed in the above-entitled case by (full name and address)
praying for the registration and confirmation (or for the settlement and adjudication, in case of
petition in cadastral proceedings) of title to the following described lands:
(Insert description)
You are hereby served this notice to appear before this Court at its session to be held at ____________
on the____ day of_________, 20 ___, at_______ o'clock in the _________ then and there to present such claims
as you may have to said lands or any portion thereof, and to submit evidence in support of such claim;
and unless you appear at said Court at the time and place aforesaid, your default will be recorded and
the title to the lands will be adjudicated and determined in accordance with law and the evidence
before the Court, and thereafter you will forever be barred from contesting said application (or
petition) or any decree entered thereon.
Witness, the Hon. ________________ Judge of the Regional Trial Court of _______ this ____ day of_____________,
in the year 20____.
Attest:
Administrator, Land Registration Authority
NOTES SECTION 23 of PRD:
1)Notice of Initial Hearing
a.The duty and the power to set the hearing date lie with the land registration court. After an
applicant has filed his application, the law requires the issuance of a court order setting the
initial hearing date. The notice of initial hearing is signed by the judge and copy of the notice
is mailed by the clerk of court to the LRA. This involves a process to which the party applicant
absolutely has no participation.(see Republic v. Manna Properties, Inc.,)
b.Publication
i. Purpose of publication Two-Fold:
1. To confer jurisdiction upon the court over the res, and
2. To apprise the whole world of the pending registration case so that they
may assert their rights or interests in the land, if any, and oppose the
application, if so minded.
a. Constructive seizure of the land for registration is effected through publication of
the application for registration and posting and service of notice to affected parties.
ii.Publication of notice of initial hearing(see Section 23 [1] of the PRD)
iii.Publication in a newspaper is necessary to accord with due process requirement:
1.While publication of the notice in the Official Gazette is sufficient to confer
jurisdiction upon the court, publication in a newspaper of general circulation
remains an indispensable procedural requirement. Couched in mandatory
terms, it is a component of procedural due process and aimed at giving as
45
wide publicity as possible so that all persons having an adverse interest in
the land subject of the registration proceedings may be notified thereof.
Although jurisdiction of the court is not affected, the fact that publication was
not made in a newspaper of general circulation is material and relevant in
assessing the applicants right or title to the land. (Roxas v. Court of Appeals)
(see also Director or Lands v. CA and Abistado)
iv.Publication in the Official Gazette does not dispense with the requirement of notice
by mailing and posting
1.This is obvious from Section 23 itself which stresses in detail the
requirements of mailing of notices to all persons named in the petition who,
per Section 15, include owners of adjoining properties, and occupants of the
land.
v. Lack of personal notice does not vitiate the proceedings
1.A proceeding in rem, dealing with a tangible res, may be instituted and
carried to judgment, without personal service upon the claimants, for
jurisdiction is secured by the power of the court over the res.
2.Personal notice is not necessary unless required by the court.
3.see Adez Realty, Inc. v. CA
Vi .Purpose of notice by all three modes
1.The purpose of the law in requiring the giving of notice by all three modes
is to strengthen the Torrens system through safeguards to prevent
anomalous titling of real property.
vii. New publication necessary to include additional area
1. The purpose of the new publication is to give notice to all persons
concerned regarding the amended application.
Without a new publication the registration court cannot acquire jurisdiction
over the area or parcel of land that is added to the area covered by the
original application, and the decision of the registration court would be a
nullity insofar as the decision concerns the newly included land.
 2. But if the amendment consists in the exclusion of a portion of the area
covered by the original application and the original plan as previously
published, a new publication is not necessary. In this case, the jurisdiction of
the court over the remaining area is not affected by the failure of a new
publication.
3. Where the identity and area of the claimed property are not the subject of
amendment but merely other collateral matters, a new publication is not
needed.
4. The right of the land registration court to correct an error of closure is
authorized by law, provided such correction does not include land not
included in the original petition.
viii. Effect of non- or defective publication
1.Where there is no publication of the notice of initial hearing, the decision
of the land registration court is void.
The requirement of publication is one of the essential bases of the
jurisdiction of the registration court; it is a jurisdictional requisite.
2.A mere defect of publication deprives the court of jurisdiction. And when
the court a quo lacks jurisdiction to take cognizance of a case, the same lacks
authority over the whole case and all its aspects.
c.Mailing
i.Mailing to persons named in the application
1.This requirement is mandatory.
ii.Mailing to the Secretary of Public (Works) and Highways, Governor and Mayor
1.If the applicant requests to have the line of a public way or road determined.
iii.Mailing to the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, Solicitor General, Director of Lands, Etc.
1.If the land borders on a river, navigable stream or shore, or an arm of the sea; or
2.If it otherwise appears that a tenant-farmer, or the national government, may have a claim
adverse to the applicant.
46
iv.Role of the Solicitor General
1.In practice, the Solicitor General is invariably furnished with a copy of the notice of initial
hearing. The reason for this is that under the Administrative Code of 1987, the Solicitor
General is bound to represent the Government in all land registration and related
proceedings.
2.As a rule, only notices of court proceedings and related processes actually served upon the
Solicitor General are binding on his office.
3.The Solicitor General, therefore, has control and supervision over the special attorney or
prosecutor who has been deputized to appear for him.
4.Service of orders and decision on the OSG, and not merely on its deputized special
attorneys, in court cases involving land registration and naturalization proceedings, is
mandatory.
5.The Solicitor General is the only legal counsel of the government in land registration cases
and as such, he alone may withdraw the governments appeal with binding effect on the
latter.
d.Posting
i. This requirement is also mandatory.
Section 24. Proof of publication and notice.
The certification of the Commissioner of Land Registration and of the sheriff concerned to the effect
that the notice of initial hearing, as required by law, has been complied with shall be filed in the case
before the date of initial hearing, and shall be conclusive proof of such fact.
NOTES SECTION 24 of PRD:
1)The certification by the LRA Administrator as to the fact of publication and mailing, and that of the
sheriff as to posting, as required by law, are conclusive.
Section 25. Opposition to application in ordinary proceedings.
Any person claiming an interest, whether named in the notice or not, may appear and file an
opposition on or before the date of initial hearing, or within such further time as may be allowed by
the court. The opposition shall state all the objections to the application and shall set forth the interest
claimed by the party filing the same and apply for the remedy desired, and shall be signed and sworn
to by him or by some other duly authorized person.
If the opposition or the adverse claim of any person covers only a portion of the lot and said portion
is not properly delimited on the plan attached to the application, or in case of undivided co-
ownership, conflicting claims of ownership or possession, or overlapping of boundaries, the court
may require the parties to submit a subdivision plan duly approved by the Director of Lands.
NOTES SECTION 25 of PRD:
1) Requisites for opposing application:
a. For an opposition then to be considered, the following requisites must concur:
i.The oppositor must have an interest in the land applied for;
ii.He should state the grounds for his objection as well as the nature of his claimed
interest;
iii.He should indicate the desired relief; and
iv.The opposition should be signed and sworn to by him or by his duly authorized
representative.
b. It has been held, however, that unverified oppositions in land registration proceedings are
nevertheless sufficient to confer standing in court to oppositors who may be allowed to verify
their oppositions later on, especially where said defect is deemed waived by the applicants
failure to invoke said requirement seasonably.
c. It was a substantial compliance with the law that required a formal answer.
2) Nature of interest to support opposition:
a. Opposition to an application for registration of the title must be based on the right of
dominion or some other real right opposed to the adjudication or recognition of the
ownership of the applicant, whether it be limited or absolute.
47
b. To give a person a legal standing to object to the application for registration, he must make
some claim to the property.
c. All that is necessary to enable one to exert the faculty of opposition is that he should appear
to have an interest in the property. It is immaterial whether this interest is in the character
of legal owner or is of a purely equitable nature as where he is the beneficiary in a trust.
d. A claim merely noted on the survey plan cannot prevail over the actual decree of
registration as reproduced in the certificate.
e. The phrase claim of ownership means the possession of a piece of property with the
intention of claiming it in hostility to the true owner.It is also defined as a partys manifest
intention to take over land, regardless of title or right.
3) Failure to file opposition, effect of:
a. Where no answer in writing or any opposition is made to an application for registration
of property, all the allegations contained in the application shall be held as confessed by
reason of the absence of denial on the part of the opponent.
b. It has been held that a claimant having failed to present his answer or objection to the
registration of a parcel of land under the Torrens system or to question the validity of such
registration within a period of one (1) year after the certificate of title had been issued, is
deemed to have forever lost his right in said land even granting that he had any right therein.
c. Persons deemed to have legal standing to file opposition:
i. A homesteader who has not yet been issued his title but has fulfilled all the
conditions required by law for the issuance of patent;
ii. A purchaser of friar land who is deemed to have an equitable title to the land even
before the issuance of the patent;
iii. An awardee in a sales application who, by virtue of the award, is authorized to
take possession of the land to enable him to comply with the requirements for the
issuance of patent;
iv. A person claiming to be in possession of the land and has applied with the Lands
Management Bureau for its purchase.
d. Private persons may not file opposition for the Government:
 i. A private person may not oppose an application for registration on behalf of the
government on the ground that the land belongs to the government.
4) Opposition by the Government:
a. Absence of opposition by the government does not justify outright registration
i. Notwithstanding the absence of opposition from the government, the applicant in
land registration cases is not relieved of the burden of proving the imperfect right or
title sought to be confirmed.
ii. He must show, even though there is no opposition, to the satisfaction of the court,
that he is the absolute owner, in fee simple.
iii. It is precisely the character of the land as private which the applicant has the
obligation of establishing.
b. Hearing necessary to determine validity of ownership claim
i.Under Section 1, Rule 131 of the Rules of Court, each party, whether applicant or
oppositor, must prove his own affirmative allegations by the amount of evidence
required by law to obtain a favorable judgment.
c. Failure to appear on the day of initial hearing is not a ground for default where opposition
or answer had been filed
i. Where an opposition or answer, which is based on substantial grounds, has been
formally filed, it is improper for the court to declare the oppositor in default simply
because he failed to appear on the day set for the initial hearing.
d. Government may appeal despite failure of agency to file opposition
i. The failure of the government agency concerned to file an opposition to the
application for registration or to appeal from the adverse decision of the registration
court is not fatal.
ii. The reason for this is that the government is usually not estopped by the mistake
or error of its officials or agents.
iii.It is hornbook law that the principle of estoppel does not operate against the
government for the act of its agents.
48
5) Motion to dismiss based on res judicata proper in a registration proceeding
a. The Property Registration Decree does not provide for a pleading similar or corresponding
to a motion to dismiss.
b. Two distinct concepts of res judicata:
i.Bar by former judgment; and
1.Res judicata absolutely bars any subsequent action when the following
requisites concur:
a. The former judgment or order was final;
b. It adjudged the pertinent issue or issues on their merits;
c. It was rendered by a court that had jurisdiction over the subject
matter and the parties; and
d. Between the first and the second actions, there was identity of
parties, of subject matter, and of causes of action.
Ii .Conclusiveness of judgment
1.Where no identity of causes of action but only identity of issues exists
2.The rule bars the re-litigation of particular facts or issues involving the
same parties even if raised under different claims or causes of action.
c. The opposition in a registration case partakes of the nature of an answer with a
counterclaim.
d.Defense of res judicata may be waived if not set up in a motion to dismiss
i.In a registration case, it was held that the defense of res judicata when not set up
either in a motion to dismiss or in answer is deemed waived.
ii.It cannot be pleaded for the first time on appeal.
6) Submission of subdivision plan- The registration court may require the submission by the parties
of a subdivision plan, duly approved by the Director of Lands, in the following instances:
 a. If the opposition or adverse claim covers only a portion of the lot applied for which is not
delimited on the plan accompanying the application;
b.In case of undivided co-ownership, conflicting claims of ownership or possession, or
overlapping of boundaries.
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.
NOTES SECTION 26 of PRD:
1) Order of default, when entered
a. Order of General Default addressed to the whole world:
i. If no person appears and answers within the time allowed, the court shall, upon motion of
the applicant, order a default to be entered and require the applicant to present evidence. By
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.
b. Order of Special Default directed only against those who did not enter their appearance and file
answer:
i.When an appearance has been entered and answer filed, a default order shall be
entered against persons who did not appear and answer.
c. When the court issues an order of default, it is presumed to have regularly performed its task in
accordance with law especially with regard to notice requirements.
d. When no answer in writing or any opposition is made to an application for the registration of a
property, all the allegations contained in the application shall be held as confessed by reason of the
absence thereof.
e. A person who has not challenged an application for registration cannot allege damage or error
against the judgment ordering registration.
49
f. But a declaration of default is not a guarantee that the application for registration will be granted.
g. It is still the burden of the applicant to prove that he is entitled to registration by well-
nigh incontrovertible proof.
2) Motion to lift order of general default
a. An order of general default is interlocutory in character, subject to the control of the court,
and may be modified or amended as the court may deem proper at any time prior to the
rendition of judgment.
b. The interests of substantial justice and the speedy determination of the controversy
should be the guiding principle of the trial court in lifting an order of general default to allow
a party to file an opposition to the application
c. But the motion to lift the order of general default should be filed before entry of final
judgment.
d. A motion to set aside the order of default filed prior to the rendition of the judgment on
the merits should be considered with liberality.
3) Party in default can appeal judgment
a. A defendant party declared in default retains the right to appeal from the judgment by
default on the ground that the plaintiff failed to prove the material allegations of the
complaint, or that the decision is contrary to law, even without need of the prior filing of a
motion to set aside the order of default.
4)Government not estopped by the mistake or error of its agents
a. Order of default issued by the court should not prejudice the Government under the well-
known and settled rule that the Republic, or its Government, is usually not estopped by the
mistake or error on the part of its officials or agents.
ii. Republic v. San Lorenzo, 513 SCRA 294 (2007)
The duty and the power to set the hearing date lie with the land registration court. After an applicant
has filed his application, the law requires the issuance of a court order setting the initial hearing date.
The notice of initial hearing is a court document. The notice of initial hearing is signed by the judge
and copy of the notice is mailed by the clerk of court to the LRA [Land Registration Authority]. This
involves a process to which the party applicant absolutely has no participation.
In land registration cases, the applicant must strictly comply with the jurisdictional requirements.
The Court held that a party to an action has no control over the Administrator or the Clerk of Court
acting as a land court; he has no right to meddle unduly with the business of such official in the
performance of his duties. A party cannot intervene in matters within the exclusive power of the
trial court. No fault is attributable to such party if the trial court errs on matters within its sole power.
It is unfair to punish an applicant for an act or omission over which the applicant has neither
responsibility nor control, especially if the applicant has complied with all the requirements of the
law.
It is evident in land registration proceedings that what is more important than the date on which the
initial hearing is set is the giving of sufficient notice of the registration proceedings via publication.
iii. Republic v. Herbieto, 459 SCRA 183 (2005)
Publication, Mailing, Posting
The misjoinder of causes of action and parties does not affect the jurisdiction of the courts to hear
and proceed with the application for registration of the two respondents who applied for registration
on two separate lands.
The late publication of the Notice of Initial Hearing in the newspaper of general circulation is
tantamount to no publication at all, having the same ultimate result. Owing to such defect, the MTC
failed to constructively seize the lands and acquire jurisdiction over the applications for registration.
Therefore, the orders of the court were void for having been issued by the MTC without jurisdiction.
NOTE:
The notice of initial hearing shall be published once in the Official Gazette and once in a newspaper
of general circulation in the Philippines: Provided, however, that the publication in the Official
Gazette shall be sufficient to confer jurisdiction upon the court.
The notice of initial hearing shall also be posted in a conspicuous place on each parcel of land included
in the application and also in a conspicuous place on the bulletin board of the municipal building of
the municipality or city. (Sec. 24)
iv. Director v. CA and Abistado, 276 SCRA 276 (1997)
It should be noted further that land registration is a proceeding in rem. Being in rem, such proceeding
requires constructive seizure of the land as against all persons, including the state, who have rights
to or interests in the property. An in rem proceeding is validated essentially through publication. This
50
being so, the process must strictly be complied with. Otherwise, persons who may be interested or
whose rights may be adversely affected would be barred from contesting an application which they
had no knowledge of.
The Court ruled that Section 23 of PD No. 1529 indeed clearly provides that publication in the Official
Gazette suffices to confer jurisdiction upon the land registration court. However, absent any
publication of the notice of initial hearing in a newspaper of general circulation, the land registration
court cannot validly confirm and register the title of the applicants.
It may be asked why publication in a newspaper of general circulation should be deemed mandatory
when the law already requires notice by publication in the Official Gazette as well as by mailing and
posting, all of which have already been complied with in the case at hand. The reason is due process
and the reality that the Official Gazette is not as widely read and circulated as newspapers and is
oftentimes delayed in its circulation, such that the notices published therein may not reach the
interested parties on time, if at all.
v. Adez Realty v. CA, 212 SCRA 623 (1992)
A land registration proceeding is a proceeding in rem, not in personam, and therefore it is not
necessary to give personal notice to the owners or claimants of the land sought to be registered, in
order to vest the courts with power and authority over the res. The failure to give notice does not
amount to jurisdictional defect. It is the publication of such notice that brings in the whole word as a
party in the case and vests the court with jurisdiction to hear and decide it. Thus, notice of hearing
by proper publication in the Official Gazette is sufficient to clothe the court with jurisdiction, and the
mere fact that a person purporting to have a legitimate claim in the property did not receive personal
notice is not sufficient ground to invalidate the proceedings.
D. Hearing, Judgment and Decree of Registration
i. Section 27. Speedy hearing; reference to a referee.
The trial court shall see to it that all registration-proceedings are disposed or within ninety days from
the date the case is submitted for decision,
The Court, if it deems necessary, may refer the case or any part thereof to a referee who shall hear
the parties and their evidence, and the referee shall submit his report thereon to the Court within
fifteen days after the termination of such hearing. Hearing before a referee may be held at any
convenient place within the province or city as may be fixed by him and after reasonable notice
thereof shall have been served the parties concerned. The court may render judgment in accordance
with the report as though the facts have been found by the judge himself: Provided, however, that the
court may in its discretion accept the report, or set it aside in whole or in part, or order the case to be
recommitted for further proceedings.
NOTES SECTION 27 of PRD:
1) Hearing Section 27
2) Proof required in registration proceedings, generally The burden is on applicant to prove his
positive averments and not for the government or the private oppositors to establish a negative
proposition. He must submit convincing proof of his and his predecessors-in-interests actual,
peaceful and adverse possession in the concept of owner of the lots during the period required by
law. The applicant must show, even in the absence of opposition, that he is the absolute owner, fee
simple, of such land.
a. Citizenship Requirement
i. The Krivenko doctrine: aliens disqualified from acquiring public and private
lands. (see the case of Krivenko v. Register of Deeds)
ii. The prohibition is a declaration of imperative national policy
This fundamental policy of preserving the nations lands for Filipino
citizens. Thus, as the rule now stands, the fundamental law explicitly
prohibits non-Filipinos from acquiring or holding title to private
lands, except only by way of legal succession or if the acquisition was made
by a former natural-born citizen.
ii. A natural-born Filipino citizen who has lost his citizenship may be a
transferee of private land(see Citizenship Requirement Individual
under Roman Numeral II-B[ix],Section 10 of Foreign Investment Act)
registrable
iv. Capacity to own land is determined as of the time of its acquisition and
not registration(see Republic v. CA and Lapia and Director of Lands v.
Buyco)
v.Aliens may lease private lands
1. While aliens are disqualified from acquiring lands of the public domain,
they may however lease private lands.
51
2. A lease to an alien for reasonable period is valid. So is an option giving an
alien the right to buy real property on condition that he is granted Philippine
citizenship.
3. Aliens are not completely excluded by the Constitution from the use of
lands for residential purposes. They may be granted temporary rights such
as a Lease Contract.
vi. Foreigners allowed to purchase condominium units
1. Under RA No. 4726, foreign national can own Philippine real estate
through the purchase of condominium units or townhouses pursuant to
Section of this Act. (see Roman Numeral II-C [iv] [4])
2.It expressly allows foreigners to acquire condominium units and shares in
condominium corporations up to not more than 40% of the total and
outstanding capital stock of a Filipino- owned or controlled corporation.
3. Under this set up, the ownership of the land is legally separated from the
unit itself. The land is owned by the condominium corporation and the unit
owner is simply a member in this condominium corporation. As long as 60%
of the members of this condominium corporation are Filipinos, the
remaining members can be foreigners.
4. Considering that the rights and liabilities of the parties under the contract
to sell is covered by the Condominium Act wherein petitioner as unit owner
is simply a member of the condominium corporation, then the constitutional
proscription against aliens owning real property does not apply.
vii. Donation in favor of a religious corporation controlled by non- Filipinos not
1.Section 8, Article XII, 1987 Constitution provides that Save in cases of
hereditary succession, no private agricultural land shall be transferred or
assigned except to individuals, corporations or associations qualified to
acquire or hold lands of the public domain in the Philippines.
2.The Constitution makes no exception in favor of religious associations.
 3.Such prohibition is not violative of the freedom of religion guaranteed by
the Constitution as the land ownership is not indispensable to the free
exercise and enjoyment of religious profession or worship.
viii. Land acquired by an American citizen in 1945 can be registered under the
Ordinance appended to the 1935 Constitution
1.While aliens are disqualified to acquire lands under the 1935 Constitution,
the Ordinance appended thereto provided that until the final withdrawal of
the United States sovereignty over the Philippines, citizens and corporations
of the United States could enjoy all the same civil rights as Philippine citizens.
2.The 1935 Constitution provides that upon the proclamation of Philippine
Independence (July 4, 1946) all existing property rights of citizens or
corporations of the United States shall be acknowledged, respected, and
safeguarded to the same extent as property rights of citizens of the
Philippines.
ix. A corporation sole may acquire and register private agricultural land
1. A corporation sole, which consists of one person only, is vested with the
right to purchase and hold real estate and to register the same in trust for
the faithful or members of the religious society or church for which the
corporation was organized.
domain, the following ay acquire private lands:
2. It is not treated as an ordinary private corporation because whether or
not it be so treated, the constitutional proscription against private
corporations acquiring public agricultural lands will not apply.
3.The reason for this is that a corporation sole has no nationality and the
framers of the Constitution did not have in mind the religious corporation
sole when they provided that 60 per centum of the capital thereof be owned
by Filipino citizens.
x. Can a Filipino vendor recover land sold to an alien?
1. The question was answered in the negative in the early case of Rellosa v.
Gaw Chee Hun because the Filipino vendor was in pari delicto with the alien
vendee
52
2. However, Rellosa was reversed by Philippine Banking Corporation v. Lui
She where the Court declared that the pari delicto rule may not be applied in
said case since:
a. The original parties who were guilty of a violation of the
fundamental charter have died and have since been substituted by
their administrators to whom it would be unjust to impute their
guilt; and
b. As an exception to the rule on pari delicto, when the agreement is
not illegal per se but is merely prohibited and the prohibition by law
is designed for the protection of the plaintiff, he may, if public policy
is thereby enhanced, recover what he has paid or delivered. Public
policy referred here is of preserving lands for Filipinos.
3. If land is invalidly transferred to an alien who subsequently becomes a
Filipino citizen or transfers it to a Filipino, the flaw in the original transaction
is considered cured and the title of the transferee is rendered valid. As the
property in dispute is already in the hands of a qualified person, a Filipino
citizen, there would be no more public policy to be protected. The objective
of the constitutional provision to keep our lands in Filipino hands has been
achieved.
xi. Rule restated -- On the basis of their capacity to acquire or hold lands of the public
1.Filipino citizens
2.Filipino corporations and association as defined in Section 2, Article XII of
the Constitution; and, by exception;
3.Aliens, but only byhereditary succession; and
4.A natural-born citizen of the Philippines who has lost his citizenship under
the terms of Section 8, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution.
a. Filipino citizens can both acquire or otherwise hold lands of the
public domain.
 b. Filipino corporations cannot acquire lands of the public domain
but they can hold such lands by modes other than acquisition, such
as lease.
5. NB: A foreign corporation is disqualified to own lands in the Philippines.
It is also disqualified to own rights to ownership to such lands.
b.Classification of Public Lands
i. Classification of public land is an executive prerogative CA No. 141 (Public Land Act), as amended,
remains to this day the existing general law governing the classification and disposition of lands of
the public domain, other than timber and mineral lands. The classification of public lands is an
exclusive prerogative of the executive department of the government and not of the courts.
1. System of classification
a. The President is authorized, from time to time, to classify the lands of the public domain
into alienable and disposable, timber, or mineral lands.
b. Alienable and disposable lands of the public domain are further classified according to
their uses into:
i. Agricultural
ii. Residential, commercial, industrial, or for similar productive purposes;
iii. Educational, charitable, or other similar purposes; or
iv. Reservations for town sites and for public and quasi-public uses.
c. The Secretary, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), is the only
other public official empowered by law to approve a land classification and declare such land
as alienable and disposable.
2. Requirements to establish classification
a.Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) or Community
Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) to certify that land is alienable and
disposable (A and D);
b.Applicant must prove that the DENR Secretary had approved the land classification and
released the land of the public domain as A and D land;
53
c.That the land falls within the land classification map as verified through survey by the
PENRO or CENRO;
d.The applicant must present a certified copy of the DENR Secretarys declaration or the
Presidents proclamation classifying the land as alienable and disposable.
3. Only A and D lands may be the subject of disposition
a. Before the government could alienate or dispose of lands of the public domain, the
President must first officially classify these lands as alienable and disposable, and then
declare them open to disposition or cession.
4.Classification of Boracay Island
a. President Arroyo issued Proclamation No. 1064 classifying Boracay Island into 400
hectares of reserved forest land (protection purposes) and 628.96 hectares of agricultural
land (alienable and disposable).
b. Except for lands already covered by existing titles, Boracay was an unclassified land of the
public domain prior to Proclamation No. 1064. Under PD No. 705, or Revised Forestry Code,
all unclassified lands are considered public forest.
5. Public Lands and Governmental Land distinguished
a. A public land is equivalent to public domain. It does not by any means include all lands of
government ownership, but only so much of said lands as are thrown open to private
appropriation and settlement by homestead and other like general laws.
b. Government land includes not only public lands but also other lands of the government
already reserved or devoted to public use or subject to private right.
6. Cadastral survey of a municipality does not automatically classify lands within the cadastre as A
and D lands
a. A survey made in a cadastral proceeding merely identifies each lot preparatory to a judicial
proceeding for adjudication of title to any of the land upon claim of interested parties.
b. Where the subject property is still unclassified, whatever possession applicants may have
had, and, however long, cannot ripen into private ownership.
ii. Under the Spanish regime, all Crown lands were per se alienable and subject to adjudication by the 2) Continuous or intermittent
courts unless falling under timber or mineral zones, or otherwise reserved for some public purpose
in accordance with law. waters of springs and brooks

iii.Burden of proof rests with applicant to overcome presumption of State ownership running in their natural beds

1.Must prove that the land subject of the application for registration is alienable and and the beds themselves;
disposable;
3) Natural lakes and lagoons;
2.Applicant must establish the existence of a positive act of the government such as a
4) All other categories of surface
presidential proclamation or an executive order; an administrative action; investigation
reports of Bureau of Lands investigators; and a legislative act or a statute; and waters such as water flowing

3.Applicant must also secure a certification from the government that the land claimed to over lands, water from
have been possessed for the required number of years is alienable and disposable. rainfall

c.Non-Registrable Properties whether natural or artificial,

1)Those intended for public use, such as roads, rivers, torrents, ports and bridges constructed by the and water fromagriculture
State, banks, shores, roadsteads, and others of
runoff, seepage and drainage;
similar character;
Articles 5 & 6, PD No. 1067,
Article 420 of the Civil Code Water 5) Atmospheric water;

2) Those which belong to the Code

Subterranean or ground
State, without being for public 6) water;

use, and are intended for some 7) Seawater.

public service or for the Found in Private Land:

development of the national 8) Continuous or intermittent

wealth. waters rising on such lands;

Page 90 of 121 9) Lakes and lagoons naturally

Marvyn Rose Arbes waters rising on such lands;

1) Rivers and their natural beds; 10) Rain water and falling on such

54
 lands; 3.Executive Order

Subterranean or ground 4.Bureau of Forest Development (BFD) Land Classification Map

11) waters;
5.Certification by the Director of Forestry, and reports of District Forester
and
6.Investigation reports of Bureau of Lands Investigator
Water in swamps and
12) marshes 7.Legislative Act, or by Statute

Forest or Evidence of Identity of Land

Regalian Doctrine under the
1935, 2) forest;
1973 and 1987 Constitution
1) timberland;
iii.What may be presented as proof of the identity of the land sought to be registered? STTT
Public
1.Survey plan in general
2.Tracing cloth plan and blue print copies of plan
3.Technical description of the land
Forest reserves
3) lands; 4.Tax Declarations

4) Mineral lands. iv.In an application for judicial confirmation of imperfect title, is submission of the original tracing
cloth plan mandatory?
d.Specific Evidence of Ownership
1.Yes. The Supreme Court declared that the submission of the tracing cloth plan is a statutory
i. What must the applicant for land registration prove? DIP requirement of mandatory
1. Declassification That the land applied for has been declassified and is a public character. The plan of the land must be duly approved by the Director of Lands, otherwise the same
agricultural land, alienable and disposable or otherwise capable of registration; have no probative value.
2. Identity of the land; and Note: However, under LRA Circular 05-2000, only a certified copy of the original tracing cloth plan
3. Possession and occupation of the land for the length of time and in the manner required need be forwarded to the LRA. (Agcaoili, Reviewer)
by law. Although mere blue print copies were presented in court as evidence, the original tracing cloth plan
was attached to the application for registration and was available to the court for comparison. Hence,
Evidence of Declassification
the approval of registration was proper.
ii. What may constitute sufficient proof to establish declassification of land from forest to alienable
or disposable, or agricultural? PAEB- CIL (Republic v. IAC)

1.Presidential proclamation v. In case of conflict between areas and boundaries, which prevails?

2.Administrative Order issued by the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources 1.General Rule: Boundaries prevail over area.
55
 a.Exception: Boundaries relied upon do not identify land beyond doubt.
Boundaries given in the registration plan do not coincide with outer boundaries of the land
covered and described in the muniments of title.
Evidence of Possession and Occupation
vi.What may constitute proof of possession?
1.To prove possession, it is not enough to simply declare ones possession and that of the
applicants predecessors-in-interest to have been adverse, continuous, open, public, peaceful and in
concept of owner for the required number of years. The applicant should present specific facts to
show such nature of possession because bare allegations, without more, do not amount to
preponderant evidence that would shift the burden to the oppositor.(Diaz v. Republic)
vii. What are some specific overt acts of possession which may substantiate a claim of ownership?
1.Introducing valuable improvements on the property like fruit- bearing trees;
2.Fencing the area;
3.Constructing a residential house thereon; or
4.Declaring the same for taxation purposes.
Note: Evidence to be admissible must, however, be credible, substantial and satisfactory (Agcaoili
Reviewer)
viii. What are insufficient proofs of possession?
1. Mere Casual cultivation of portions of the land by claimant
Reason:Possession is not exclusive and notorious so as to give rise to a presumptive grant from
the State.
2. Possession of other persons in the land applied for impugns the exclusive quality of the
applicants possession.
3.Mere failure of Fiscal representing the State tocross-examine the applicant on the claimed
possession.
56
4.Tax declaration of land sought to be registered which is not in the name of applicant but in the
name of the deceased parents of an oppositor.
Reason: Possession of applicant is not completely adverse or open, nor is it truly in the concept
of an owner.
5. Holding of property by mere tolerance of the owner
Reason: Holder is not in the concept of owner and possessory acts no matter how long do not
start the running of the period of prescription.
6. Where applicants tacked their possession to that of their predecessor-in-interest but they did
not present him as witness or when no proofs of what acts of ownership and cultivation were
performed by the predecessor.
Reason
Evidence of Private Ownership
ix. What are the proofs of private ownership of land?
1.S panish title, impending cases.
Note: However, Spanish titles are now inadmissible and ineffective as proof of ownership in land
registration proceedings filed after Aug. 16, 1976. It is mere indicia of a claim of ownership that the
holder has a claim of title over the property.
2.T ax declaration and tax payments.
Note: While tax declarations and real estate tax receipts are not conclusive evidence of ownership, if
presented as documentary evidence coupled with proof of actual possession for the period required
by law of the land, they are good evidence of ownership.
Even if belatedly declared for taxation purposes, it does not negate possession especially if there is
no other claimant of the land.
Mere failure of the owner of the land to pay the realty tax does not warrant a conclusion that there
was abandonment of his right to the property.
3. Other kinds of proof.
E.g. Testimonial evidence (i.e. accretion is on a land adjacent to a river).
Note: Any evidence that accretion was formed through human intervention negates the claim.
4.Presidential issuances and legislative acts.
Note: It is constitutive of a fee simple title or absolute title in favor of the grantee.
x. Are tax declarations or payment of realty tax conclusive evidence of ownership?
1. No. Tax declarations or realty tax payment of property are not conclusive evidence of ownership.
However, they are 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 at least constructive possession. They
constitute at least proof that the holder has a claim of title over the property.
Note: The voluntary declaration of a piece of property for taxation purposes manifests not only
ones sincere and honest desire to obtain title to the property and announces his adverse claim
against the State and all other interested parties, but also the intention to contribute needed revenues
to the Government. Such an act strengthens ones bona fide claim of acquisition of
ownership. (Agcaoili Reviewer; Aquino, p.75-76)
xi. What proofs are insufficient to establish private ownership or right over land?
1. Compromise agreement among parties to a land registration case where they have rights and
interest over the land and allocated portions thereof to each of them.
Note: Assent of Director of Lands and Director of Forest Management to compromise agreement did
not and could not supply the absence of evidence of title required of the applicant.
2. Decision in an estate proceeding of a predecessor-in-interestof an applicant that involves a
property over which the decedent has no transmissible rights, and in other cases where issue of
ownership was not definitely passed upon.
3. Survey plan of an inalienable land.
Note: Such plan does not convert such land into alienable land, much less private property.
Section 28. Partial judgment.
In a case where only a portion of the land subject of registration is contested, the court may render
partial judgment provided that a subdivision plan showing the contested and uncontested portions
approved by the Director of Lands is previously submitted to said court.
Section 29. Judgment confirming title.
57
All conflicting claims of ownership and interest in the land subject of the application shall be
determined by the court. If the court, after considering the evidence and the reports of the
Commissioner of Land Registration and the Director of Lands, finds that the applicant or the
oppositor has sufficient title proper for registration, judgment shall be rendered confirming the title
of the applicant, or the oppositor, to the land or portions thereof.
NOTES SECTION 28 & 29 of PRD:
1)After due hearing for registration, what will the court do?
a. IF the court, after considering the evidence and report of the LRA, finds that the applicant or the
oppositor has sufficient title proper for registration, it shall render judgment confirming the title of
the applicant, or the oppositor, to the land or portions thereof, as the case may be.
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(now fifteen 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.
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.
Section 31. Decree of registration.
Every decree of registration issued by the Commissioner shall bear the date, hour and minute of its
entry, and shall be signed by him. It shall state whether the owner is married or unmarried, and if
married, the name of the husband or wife: Provided, however, that if the land adjudicated by the court
is conjugal property, the decree shall be issued in the name of both spouses. If the owner is under
disability, it shall state the nature of disability, and if a minor, his age. It shall contain a description of
the land as finally determined by the court, and shall set forth the estate of the owner, and also, in
such manner as to show their relative priorities, all particular estates, mortgages, easements, liens,
attachments, and other encumbrances, including rights of tenant-farmers, if any, to which the land or
owner's estate is subject, as well as any other matters properly to be determined in pursuance of this
Decree.
The decree of registration shall bind the land and quiet title thereto, subject only to such exceptions
or liens as may be provided by law. It shall be conclusive upon and against all persons, including the
National Government and all branches thereof, whether mentioned by name in the application or
notice, the same being included in the general description "To all whom it may concern".
NOTES SECTIONS 30 & 31 of PRD:
1)J udgment --It is a decision of court constituting its opinion after taking into consideration the
evidence submitted.
a.What must a judgment in land registration proceeding contain?
i.When judgment is rendered in favor of the plaintiff, the court shall order the entry of a new
certificate of title and the cancellation of the original certificate and owners duplicate of the
former registered owner.
b. It becomes final upon the lapse of 15 days counted from the receipt of notice of the judgment.
c. However, notwithstanding the lapse of the 15-day period from receipt of judgment by the parties,
the court continues to retain control over the case until the expiration of one (1) year after the entry
of decree of registration by the LRA.
2)Post-Judgment Incidents
a. Writ of Possession is a writ employed to enforce a judgment to recover the possession of
land, commanding the sheriff to enter into the land and give the possession thereof to the
person entitled under the judgment.
Note: It may be issued only pursuant to a decree of registration in an original land
registration proceeding.
b. Writ of Possession order to sheriff to deliver the land to the successful party litigant;
no prescription against: (1) the loser and (2) anyone unlawfully and adversely occupying.
i.When writ may not issue: When a party entered into property after issuance of final decree, is not
an oppositor in registration proceeding, and is in possession of land for at least 10 years.
c. Writ of Demolition the complement of writ of possession; to demolish improvements
introduced by oppositor or his successor in interest.
d. How may possession of property be obtained?
i. Possession of the property may be obtained by filing an ex parte motion with the
RTC of the province or place where the property is situated. Upon filing of the motion
58
and the required bond, it becomes a ministerial duty of the court to order the
issuance of a writ of possession in favor of the purchaser. After the expiration of
the 1-year period without redemption being effected by the property owner, the
right of the purchaser to the possession of the foreclosed property becomes absolute.
e. Against whom may a writ of possession be issued?
i.In a registration case, a writ of possession may be issued against:
1.The person who has been defeated in a registration case; and
2.Any person adversely occupying the land or any portion thereof during the
land registration proceedings up to the issuance of the final decree.
f. If the court granted the registration, must the applicant move for the issuance of a writ of
possession in case he is deprived of possession over the land subject of the registration
proceedings?
i. Yes, if it is against:
1. The person who has been defeated in a registration case; and
2. Any person adversely occupying the land or any portion thereof during the land
registration proceedings up to the issuance of the final decree.
ii.No, if it is against person who took possession of the land after final adjudication of the
same in a registration proceeding. In which case, the remedy is file a separate action for:
1.Unlawful entry;
2.Unlawful detainer;
3.Reinvindicatory action, as the case may be, and only after a favorable judgment can
the prevailing party secures a writ of possession.
g.Does petition for the issuance of a writ of possession prescribe?
i.General Rule: No
Exception: If a party has once made use of the benefit of a writ of possession, he cannot again
ask for it, if afterwards he loses possession of the property obtained by virtue of the original
writ.
3)Means to Recover Possession:
a.Forcible entry
b.Unlawful Detainer
c.Accion Publiciana
d.Accion Reivindicatoria
4)What must a judgment in land registration proceedings contain?
a. When judgment is rendered in favor of the plaintiff, the court shall order the entry of a new
certificate of title and the cancellation of the original certificate and owners duplicate of the
former registered owner.
5)Decree of Registration It is a document prepared in the prescribed form by the LRA
Administrator, signed by him in the name of the court, embodying the final disposition of the land by
the court and such other data found in the record, including the name and other personal
circumstances of the adjudicate, the technical description of the property, liens and encumbrances
affecting it, and such other matters as determined by the court in its judgment.
a.The decree issued by the LRA pursuant to the order of the court;
b.Binds the land, quiets title thereto, subject only to such exceptions or liens as may be
provided by law;
c.Conclusive upon all persons including the government.
6)What does a decree of registration cover?
a.Only claimed property or a portion thereof can be adjudicated. A land registration court has
no jurisdiction to adjudge a land to a person who has never asserted any right of ownership
thereof.
7) What is the effect of a decree of registration?
a.The decree of registration binds the land, quiets title, subject only to such exceptions or
liens as may be provided by law.
59
b.It is conclusive upon all persons including the national government and all branches
thereof. And such conclusiveness does not cease to exist when the title is transferred to a
successor.
c.Note: Title once registered cannot be impugned, altered, changed, modified, enlarged or
diminished, except in a direct proceeding permitted by law.
8) What are the effects of the entry of the decree of registration in the National Land Titles and Deeds
Registration Authority?
a.This serves as the reckoning date to determine the 1-year period from which one can
impugn the validity of the registration.
b.1 year after the date of entry, it becomes incontrovertible, and amendments will not be
allowed except clerical errors. It is deemed conclusive as to the whole world.
c.Puts an end to litigation.
9 )What is decree of confirmation and registration?
a.It is issued by LRA after finality of judgment, and contains technical description of land. It
is subject only to an appeal.
b.It is conclusive evidence of the ownership of the land referred to therein and becomes
indefeasible and incontrovertible after one year from the issuance of the decree.
10) Differentiate decree of confirmation and registration from decree of registration?
a.Decree of registration is issued pursuant to the Property Registration Decree, where there
already exists a title which is confirmed by the court.
b.Decree of confirmation and registration of title is issued pursuant to the Public Land Act,
where the presumption always is that the land applied for pertains to the State, and that the
occupants and possessors only claim an interest in the same by virtue of their imperfect title
or continuous, open and notorious possession.
11) What is the doctrine of non-collateral attack of a decree or title?
a.A decree of registration and registered title cannot be impugned, enlarged, altered,
modified, or diminished either in collateral or direct proceeding, after the lapse of one year
from the date of its entry.
12)Differentiate direct from collateral attack. title obtained by actual fraud, to file in the proper Court of First Instance a petition for reopening and
review of the decree of registration not later than one year from and after the date of the entry of
Direct Attack Collateral Attack such decree of registration, but in no case shall such petition 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
It is made when, in another action this Decree, it shall be deemed to include an innocent lessee, mortgagee, or other encumbrancer for
The issues are raised in a direct to value.

proceeding in an action instituted for obtain a different relief, an attack Upon the expiration of said period of one year, the decree of registration and the certificate of title
that on 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
the judgment is mad as an incident for the fraud.
purpose. in
NOTES:
said action.
1) Indefeasibility
e.g. Torrens title is questioned in
the After the lapse of one year from the entry of the decree of registration, said the decree of registration
and the certificate of title issued shall become incontrovertible.(Sec 32, P.D. 1529)
ordinary civil action for recovery of
2) Purchaser in good faith
possession.
a. An innocent purchaser for value is one who buys the property of another without notice
a.In a case for recovery of possession based on ownership, is a third-party complaint to nullify the that some other person has a right to or interest in it, and who pays a full and fair price at the
title of the third-party defendant considered a direct attack on the title? time of the purchase or before receiving any notice of another persons claims.

i.If the object of the third-party complaint is to nullify the title of the third-party defendant, b.When the buyer enters into a contract of sale, he assumes 2 obligations
the third-party complaint constitutes a direct- attack on the title because the same is in the
nature of an original complaint for cancellation of title. i.First, the payment of the consideration; and

b.If an attack is made thru a counterclaim, should it be disregarded for being a collateral attack?
i.No. A counterclaim is also considered an original complaint, and as such, the attack on the
title is direct and not collateral.
Section 32. Review of decree of registration; Innocent purchaser for value.
The decree of registration shall not be reopened or revised by reason of absence, minority, or other
disability of any person adversely affected thereby, nor by any proceeding in any court for reversing
judgments, subject, however, to the right of any person, including the government and the branches
thereof, deprived of land or of any estate or interest therein by such adjudication or confirmation of
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ii.Second, the performance of such first obligation in good faith, and implied
obligation but just as binding and as important as the first.
c.While good faith is presumed, conversely, bad faith must be established by competent proof
by the party alleging the same.
d.Property Registration Decree guarantees to every purchaser of registered land in good
faith that they can take and hold the same free from any and all prior claims, liens and
encumbrances except those set forth on the certificate of title and those expressly mentioned
in the decree as having been preserved against it.
e.Purchaser is not required to explore further than what title indicates for hidden defects
i.Every person dealing with registered land may safely rely on the correctness of the
certificate of title and is no longer required to look behind the certificate in order to
determine the actual owner.
ii.But one who buys from one who is not the registered owner is expected to examine
not only the certificate of title but all factual circumstances necessary for him to
determine if there are any flaws in the title of the transferor, or in his capacity to
transfer the land.
iii.A purchaser of a property cannot be in good faith where the title thereof shows
that it was reconstituted.
iv.In a series of transfers, in order that a purchaser may be considered in good faith,
it is enough that he examines the latest certificate of title.
f. A purchaser who has knowledge of defect of his vendors title cannot claim good faith.
g. As between two persons in good faith, the lawful holder of a title is preferred.
i. As between two persons both of whom are in good faith and both innocent of any
negligence, the law must protect and prefer the lawful holder of registered title over the
transferee of a vendor bereft of any transmissible rights.
h. Purchaser charged only with notice of liens noted on the title
i.A person dealing with registered land is only charged with notice of the burdens on
the property which are noted on the face of the register or the certificate of title.
ii.This rule however refers only to properties registered under the Torrens system,
not to those under Act No. 3344.
iii.A person dealing with registered land has a right to rely on the Torrens certificate
of title and to dispense with the need of inquiring further except when the party has
actual knowledge of facts and circumstances that would impel a reasonably cautious
man to make such inquiry or when the purchaser has knowledge of a defect or the
lack of title in his vendor or of sufficient facts to induce a reasonably prudent man to
inquire into the status of the title of the property in litigation.
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iv.Article 526 of the Civil Code says that one who is unaware of any flaw in his title,
or mode of acquisition, by which it is invalidated, shall be deemed a possessor in
good faith. But one who is aware of such flaw is deemed a possessor in bad faith.
i.Rule of caveat emptor (buyer beware)
i.The rule of caveat emptor requires the purchaser to be aware of the supposed title of the
vendor and one who buys without checking the vendors title takes all the risks and losses
consequent to such failure.
j.Sale of property pending litigation
i.The annotation of an adverse claim is a measure designed to protect the interest of a person
over a piece of real property, and serves as a notice and warning to third parties dealing with
said property that someone is claiming an interest on the same or may have a better right
than the registered owner thereof.
ii.A bona fide purchaser for value of property at an auction sale acquires good title as against
a prior transferee of the same property if such transfer was unrecorded at the time of the
auction sale.
iii.The rule of caveat emptor applies to execution sale.
k. Prior registration of a lien
i.Registration is not the operative act for a mortgage to be binding between the parties. But
to third persons, it is indispensable.
l. Rule of good faith equally applies to mortgagees of real property
i.The phrase innocent purchaser for value in Section 32 of the PRD includes an innocent
lessee, mortgagee, or other encumbrancer for value.
ii.The right or lien of an innocent mortgagee for value upon the land mortgaged must be
respected and protected, even if the mortgagor obtained his title thereto thru fraud.
iii.Where the bank had exercised the due care demanded of it relative to real estate loans, it
will be considered an innocent mortgagee for value. Unlike private individuals, banks are
expected to exercise greater care and prudence in their dealings, including those involving
registered lands.
m. Good faith is a question of fact
i. There is a question of fact when the doubt or difference arises as to the truth of the falsity of the
statement of facts while a question of law exists when there is doubt or controversy as to what the
law is on a certain state of facts.
iv.Knowledge gained by the first buyer of the second sale cannot defeat the first buyers right
except only as provided by the Civil Code and that is where the second buyer first registers
in good faith the second sale ahead of the first.

n. Burden of proof Section 33. Appeal from judgment, etc.

i. The burden of proving the status of a purchaser in good faith lies upon one who asserts that status
and this onus probandi cannot be discharged by mere invocation of the legal presumption of good
faith.
o.Rule on double sale of property
i.Between two buyers of the same immovable property registered under the Torrens system,
the law gives ownership priority to:
The judgment and orders of the court hearing the land registration case are appealable to the Court
of Appeals or to the Supreme Court in the same manner as in ordinary actions.
Section 34. Rules of procedure.
The Rules of Court shall, insofar as not inconsistent with the provision of this Decree, be applicable
to land registration and cadastral cases by analogy or in a suppletory character and whenever
practicable and convenient.

1.The first registrant in good faith; NOTES SECTIONS 32, 33 & 34 of PRD:

2.Then, the first possessor in good faith; and 1)What are the remedies of an aggrieved party in registration proceedings:

3.Finally, the buyer who in good faith presents the oldest title. a.Relief from judgment

ii.This provision, however, does not apply if the property is not registered under the Torrens b.Appeal
system.
c.Action for Damages
p.Principle of prior est temporae, prior est in jura
d.Action for Compensation from the Assurance Fund
i.In a situation where not all the requisites are present which would warrant the application
of Article 1544, the principle of prior tempore, potior jure or he who is first in time is e.Action for Reconveyance
preferred in right, should apply.
f.Cancellation of suits
ii.The only essential requisite of this rule is priority in time; in other words, the only one who
g.Annulment of judgment
can invoke this is the first vendee.
h.New Trial
iii.The principle of first in time, stronger in right gains greater significance in case of double
sale of immovable property. When the thing sold twice is an immovable, the one who i.Quieting of Title
acquires it and first records it in the Registry of Property, both made in good faith, shall be
deemed the owner. Verily, the act of registration must be coupled with good faith. j.Petition for Review (of a Decree)

2)Relief from judgment; relief from denial of appeal

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 a.When a judgment or final order is entered, or any proceedings is thereafter taken against a
party in any court through, accident, mistake, or excusable negligence, he may file a petition
in such court and in the same case praying that the judgment, order or proceeding be set
aside.
b.When a judgment or final order is rendered by any court in a case, and a party thereto, by
fraud, accident, mistake, or excusable negligence, has been prevented from taking an appeal,
he may file a petition in such court and in the same case praying that the appeal be given due
course.
c.Time for filing petition
i.A petition for relief from judgment or from denial of appeal under Sections 1 and 2,
Rule 38, must be verified, filed within sixty (60) days after the petitioner learns of
the judgment, final order, or other proceeding to be set aside, and not more than six
(6) months after such judgment or final order was entered, or such proceeding was
taken.
ii.The date of finality of the judgment or final order shall be deemed to be the date of
its entry.
d.Petition for relief and motion for new trial/reconsideration are exclusive of each other
i.A party who has filed a timely motion for new trial cannot file a petition for relief
after his motion has been denied. These two remedies are exclusive of each other. He
should appeal from the judgment and question such denial.
ii.Relief will not be granted to a party who seeks to be relieved from the effects of a
judgment when the loss of the remedy at law was due to his own negligence, or a
mistaken mode of procedure.
3)Appeal
a.It must be filed within 15 days from receipt of the judgment or final order appealed from
b.Under PD 1529, judgments and orders in land registration cases are appealable to the CA
or to the SC in the same manner as ordinary actions.
c.Who may file an appeal in land registration cases?
i.Only those who participated in the proceedings can interpose an appeal.
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d.In land registration cases, may a party validly move for execution pending appeal?
i.No. A motion for execution pending appeal is not applicable to land registration
proceedings. The reason is to protect innocent purchasers.
4)Petition for Review:
a.Requisites:
i.Petitioner has a real right;
ii.He has been deprived thereof;
iii.The deprivation is through fraud (actual/extrinsic);
iv.Petition is filed within 1 year from issuance of the decree; and
v.The property has not yet passed to an innocent purchaser for value.
b.In land registration cases, when may a petition for review may be filed? Any person may
file a petition for review to set aside the decree of registration on the ground that he was
deprived of their opportunity to be heard in the original registration case not later than 1
year after the entry of the decree.
c. Grounds for filing a petition for review:
i.That a land belonging to a person has been registered in the name of another or that
an interest has been omitted in the application;
ii.Registration has been procured thru actual fraud;
iii.Petitioner is the owner of the said property or interest therein;
iv.Property has not been transferred to an innocent purchaser for value;
v.Action is filed within one year from the issuance ad entry of the decree of
registration; or
vi.Actual fraud must be utilized in the procurement of the decree and not thereafter.
Note: What is contemplated by law is extrinsic fraud.
5) Reconveyance:
a.Reconveyance is an action seeking to transfer or reconvey the land from the registered 10 years from the date of the
owner to the rightful owner. issuance

b.Purpose: An action for reconveyance does not aim or purport to re-open the registration of the OCT or TCT. It does not apply
proceedings and set aside the decree of registration but only to show that the person who
secured the registration of the questioned property is not the real owner thereof. The action, where the person enforcing the
while respecting the decree as incontrovertible, seeks to transfer or reconvey the land from trust is
the registered owner to the rightful owner.
Implied or Constructive Trust in actual possession of the property
Note: This action may be filed even after the lapse of 1 year from entry of the decree
because he is in effect seeking to
of registration as long as the property has not been transferred or conveyed to an
quiet
innocent purchaser for value.
title to the same which is
c.What are the grounds and their corresponding period for filing an action for reconveyance?
imprescriptible.
GROUNDS PRESCRIPTIVE PERIOD
Express Trust Not barred by prescription
4 years from the discovery of the
Void Contract Imprescriptible
fraud (deemed to have taken place
d.If the ground relied upon for an action for reconveyance is fraud, what is the period for
from the issuance of the original
filing the same?
certificate of title)
i.If ground relied upon is fraud, action may be filed within 4 years from discovery
Fraud thereof. Discovery is deemed to have taken place when said instrument was
registered. It is because registration constitutes constructive notice to the whole
Note: world.

The State has e.May the court cancel the notice of lis pendens even before final judgment is rendered?
an imprescriptible right
i.A notice of lis pendens may be cancelled even before final judgment upon proper
to cause the reversion of a piece of showing that the notice if for the purpose of molesting or harassing the adverse party
or that the notice of lis pendens is not necessary to protect the right of the party who
property belonging to the public cause it to be registered.

6)Damages
domain if title has been acquired a.When may an action for damages be resorted to in land registration cases?
through fraudulent means.

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 i.It may be resorted to when a petition for review and an action for reconveyance is no longer
possible because the property has passed to an innocent purchaser for value and in good
faith.
b.When will an action for damages in land registration cases prescribe?
i.An ordinary action for damages prescribes in ten (10) years after the issuance of the
Torrens title over the property.
7)Cancellation Suit
a.What is cancellation suit?
i.It is an action for cancellation of title brought by a private individual, alleging ownership as
well as the defendants fraud or mistake, as the case may be, in successfully obtaining title
over a disputed land claimed by the plaintiff.
b.When is resort to a cancellation suit proper?
i.When two certificates of title are issued to different persons covering the same parcel of
land in whole or in part;
ii.When certificate of title is issued covering a non-registrable property; or
iii.Other causes such as when the certificate of title is issued pursuant to a judgment that is
not final or when it is issued to a person who did not claim and applied for the registration
of the land covered.
c.What are the rules as regards cancellation of certificates of title belonging to different persons over
the same land?
i.Where two certificates are issued to different persons covering the same land, the title
earlier in date must prevail. The latter title should be declared null and void and ordered
cancelled.
d.What is meant by prior est temporae, prior est in jura?
i.It is a principle which means he who is first in time is preferred in right.
8)New trial or reconsideration
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a.Within the period for taking an appeal, the aggrieved party may move the trial court to set
aside the judgment or final order and grant a new trial for one or more of the causes
materially affecting the substantial rights of said party.
b.If the motion for new trial is granted, the judgment is set aside; if the motion for
reconsideration is granted, the judgment is merely amended.
c.The period for filing either motion is within the period for taking, not perfecting, an appeal.
d.Grounds:
i.Fraud, accident, mistake or excusable negligence;
ii.Newly discovered evidence, which he could not, with reasonable diligence, have
discovered, and produced at the trial, and which if presented would probably alter
the result;
1.Within the same period, the aggrieved party may also move for
reconsideration upon the grounds that the damages awarded are excessive,
that the evidence is insufficient to justify the decision or final order or that
decision or final order is contrary to law.
e.Contents:
1.The motion shall be made in writing stating the ground or grounds therefor, a
written notice of which shall be served by the movant on the adverse party.
2.A pro forma motion for new trial or reconsideration shall not toll the reglementary
period of appeal.
3.No motion for extension of time to file a motion for new trial or reconsideration
shall be allowed.
f.Affidavits of merit
i.A motion for new trial grounded on fraud, accident, mistake or excusable negligence
should ordinarily be accompanied by two affidavits;
1.One, setting forth the facts and circumstances alleged to constitute such
fraud, accident, mistake, or excusable negligence;
 a.Reason:It is to enable the court to determine if the movants claim
of fraud, etc. is not mere conclusion but is indeed borne out by the
relevant facts.
2.And the other, an affidavit setting forth the particular facts claimed to
constitute the movants meritorious cause of action or defense.
a.Reason: Equally evident as it would be useless, a waste of time, to
set aside the judgment and reopen the case to allow the movant to
adduce evidence when he has no valid causes of action or
meritorious defense.
g.Definition of Terms:
i.Fraud to be ground for nullity of a judgment must be extrinsic to the litigation.
1.Extrinsic fraud- refers to any fraudulent act of the successful party in a litigation
which is committed outside the trial of a case against the defeated party, or his
agents, attorneys or witnesses, whereby said defeated party is prevented from
presenting fully and fairly his side of the case.
2.Intrinsic fraud- refers to acts of a party in a litigation during the trial, such as the
use of forged instruments or perjured testimony, which did not affect the
presentation of the case, but did prevent a fair and just determination of the case.
ii.Accident or surprise- It must appear that there was accident or surprise
which ordinary prudence could not have guarded against and by reason of
which the party applying has probably been impaired in his rights.
iii.Mistake -- It is some unintentional act, omission, or error arising from
ignorance, surprise, imposition or misplaced confidence.
iv.Excusable neglect- It means a failure to take the proper steps at the proper time, not in
consequence of the partys own carelessness, inattention, or willful disregard of the process of the
court, but in consequence of some unexpected or unavoidable hindrance or accident, or reliance on
the care and vigilance of his counsel or on promises made by the adverse party.
9)Quieting of Title
a.What is action for quieting of title?
66
i.It is an action that is brought to remove clouds on the tile to real property or any interest
therein, by reason of any instrument, record, claim, encumbrance, or proceeding which is
apparently valid or effective but is in truth and in fact invalid, ineffective, voidable or
unenforceable, and may be prejudicial to said title.
b.Who may file an action to quiet title?
i.Registered owner;
ii.A person who has an equitable right or interest in the property; or
iii.The State.
c.Note:
i.Criminal action- State may criminally prosecute for perjury the party who obtains
registration through fraud, such as by stating false assertions in the sworn answer required
of applicants in cadastral proceedings.
ii.Action for damages-Filed in an ordinary action for damages if the property has passed unto
the hands of an innocent purchaser for value.
10)Remedy in Case of Loss or Destruction of Certificate of Title:
a.What is the remedy in case a person lost his certificate of title?
i.It depends.
1.If what is lost is the OCT or TCT Reconstitution of certificate of title;
2.If, however, it is the duplicate of the OCT or TCT Replacement of lost duplicate
certificate of title.
11)Reconstitution of Certificate of Title
a.What is the remedy in case a certificate of title is lost or destroyed?
i.Remedy is reconstitution of lost or destroyed certificate of title in the office of
Register of Deeds in accordance with R.A. 26
b.What is reconstitution of certificate of title?
 i.The restoration of the instrument which is supposed to have been lost or destroyed
in its original form and condition, under the custody of Register of Deeds.
c.What is the purpose of reconstitution of title?
i.To have the same reproduced, after proper proceedings, in the same form they were
when the loss or destruction occurred.
d.Does reconstitution determine ownership of land covered by a lost or destroyed certificate
of title?
i.A reconstituted title, by itself, does not determine or resolve the ownership of the
land covered by the lost or destroyed title. The reconstitution of a title is simply
the re-issuance of a lost duplicate certificate of title in its original form and condition.
It does not determine or resolve the ownership of the land covered by the lost or
destroyed title. A reconstituted title, like the original certificate of title, by itself does
not vest ownership of the land or estate covered thereby.
e.May a writ of possession be issued in a petition for reconstitution?
i.No, because, reconstitution does not adjudicate ownership over the property. A writ
of possession is issued to place the applicant-owner in possession.
f.What are the elements of reconstitution of certificates of title?
i.Certificate has been lost or destroyed;
ii.Petitioner is the registered owner or has an interest therein; and
iii.Certificate was in force at the time it was lost or destroyed.
g.What are the jurisdictional requirements in petitions for reconstitution of title?
i.Notice thereof shall be:
1.Published twice in successive issues of the Official Gazette;
2.Posted on the main entrance of the provincial building and of the municipal
building of the municipality or city, where the land is situated; and
3.Sent by registered mail to every person named in said notice.
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Note: The above requirements are mandatory and jurisdictional
h.What are the kinds of reconstitution of title?
i.Judicial - partakes the nature of a land registration proceeding in rem. The
registered owners, assigns, or any person having an interest in the property may file
a petition for that purpose with RTC where property is located. RD is not the proper
party to file the petition.
ii.Administrative may be availed of only in case of:
1.Substantial loss or destruction of the original land titles due to fire, flood,
or other force majeure as determined by the Administrator of the Land
Registration Authority
2.The number of certificates of title lost or damaged should be at least 10%
of the total number in the possession of the Office of the Register of Deeds
3.In no case shall the number of certificates of title lost or damaged be less
than P500
4.Petitioner must have the duplicate copy of the certificate of title (RA No.
6732)
12)Replacement of Lost Duplicate Certificate of Title
a.If what is lost or destroyed is the duplicate title, is reconstitution the proper remedy?
i.No. When the duplicate title of the landowner is lost, the proper petition is not
reconstitution of title, but one filed with the court for issuance of new title in lieu of the lost
copy.
b.Who are the persons entitled to a Duplicate Certificate of Title?
i.Registered owner
ii.Each co-owner
c.What are the requirements for the replacement of lost duplicate certificate of title?
 i.Due notice under oath shall be sent by the owner or by someone is his behalf to the Register v.There is unanimity among them; and
of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies as soon as the loss or theft is discovered.
vi.Original decree must not be opened.
ii.Petition for replacement should be filed with the RTC of the province or city where the land
lies. 14)Cancellation of Title

iii.Notice to Solicitor General by petitioner is not imposed by law but it is the Register of a.What are the grounds for cancellation of title?
Deeds who should request for representation by the Solicitor General.
i.When title is void;
iv.A proceeding where the certificate of title was not in fact lost or destroyed is null and void
ii.Title is replaced by one issued under a cadastral proceeding; or
for lack of jurisdiction and the newly issued duplicate is null and void.
iii.When condition for its issuance has been violated by the registered owner.
13)Amendment or Correction of Title
15)Surrender of Withheld Duplicate Certificate of Title
a.What are the grounds for amendment or correction of certificate of title?
a.What are the grounds for surrender of withheld duplicate certificate of title?
i.When registered interests of any description, whether vested, contingent or inchoate have
terminated and cease; i.When it is necessary to issue a new certificate of title pursuant to any involuntary
instrument which divests the title of the registered owner against his consent;
ii.When new interests have arisen or been created which do not appear upon the certificate;
ii.Where a voluntary instrument cannot be registered by reason of the refusal or failure of
iii.When any error, omission or mistake was made in entering a certificate or any
the holder to surrender the owners duplicate certificate of title; or
memorandum thereon or on any duplicate certificate;
iii.Where the owners duplicate certificate is not presented for amendment or alteration
iv.When the name of any person on the certificate has been changed;
pursuant to a court order.
v.When the registered owner has been married, or registered as married, the marriage has
16)Reversion
terminated and no right or interest of heirs or creditors will thereby be affected;
a.What is meant by reversion?
vi.When a corporation, which owned registered land and has been dissolved, has not
conveyed the same within 3 years after its dissolution; or i.It is an action instituted by the government, through the Solicitor General, for cancellation
of certificate of title and the consequential reversion of the land covered thereby to the State.
vii.When there is a reasonable ground for the amendment or alteration of title.
ii.Note: The difference between reversion suit and action for declaration of nullity of title is
b.What are the requisites for the amendment or correction of title?
that in the former, the allegations in the complaint would admit State ownership of the
i.It must be filed in the original case; disputed land. On the other hand, action for declaration of nullity of title requires allegation
of the plaintiffs ownership of the contested lot prior to the issuance of free patent and
ii.By the registered owner or a person in interest; certificate of title.

iii.On grounds enumerated b.When does reversion apply?

iv.All parties must be notified;

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 i.Generally, reversion applies in all cases where lands of public domain and the
improvements thereon and all lands are held in violation of the Constitution.
c.What are the grounds for reversion of lands covered by a patent?
i.Violation of Sections 118, 120, 121 and 122, Public Land Act (e.g. alienation or sale of
homestead executed within the 5 year prohibitory period)
ii.When land patented and titled is not capable of registration
iii.Failure of the grantee to comply with the conditions imposed by law to entitle him to a
patent grant
iv.When the area is an expanded area
v.When the land is acquired in violation of the Constitution (e.g. land acquired by an alien
may be reverted to the State)
ii.Ting v. Heirs of Diego Lirio, 518 scra 334 (2007)
Section 30 of Presidential Decree No. 1529 or the Property Registration Decree provides:
The judgment rendered in a land registration proceeding becomes final upon the expiration of thirty
days to be counted from the date of receipt of notice of the judgment.
In a registration proceeding instituted for the registration of a private land, with or without
opposition, the judgment of the court confirming the title of the applicant or oppositor, as the case
may be, and ordering its registration in his name constitutes, when final, res judicata against the
whole world. It becomes final when no appeal within the reglementary period is taken from a
judgment of confirmation and registration.
iii. Gomez v. CA, 168 SCRA 503 (1988)
Unlike ordinary civil actions, the adjudication of land in a cadastral or land registration proceeding
does not become final, in the sense of incontrovertibility until after the expiration of one (1) year
after the entry of the final decree of registration. The Court, in several decisions, has held that as long
as a final decree has not been entered by the Land Registration Commission (now NLTDRA) and the
period of one (1) year has not elapsed from date of entry of such decree, the title is not finally
adjudicated and the decision in the registration proceeding continues to be under the control and
sound discretion of the court rendering it.
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It is a settled rule that a homestead patent, once registered under the Land Registration Act, becomes
indefeasible and incontrovertible as a Torrens title, and may no longer be the subject of an
investigation for determination or judgment in cadastral proceeding.
E.CADASTRAL REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS
A. ORDER FOR SPEEDY SETTLEMENT AND ADJUDICATION; SURVEY; NOTICES
i. Section 35. Cadastral Survey Preparatory to filing of petition.
(a) When in the opinion of the President of the Philippines public interest so requires that title to any
unregistered lands be settled and adjudicated, he may to this end direct and order the Director of
Lands to cause to be made a cadastral survey of the lands involved and the plans and technical
description thereof prepared in due form.
(b) Thereupon, the Director of Lands shall give notice to persons claiming any interest in the lands
as well as to the general public, of the day on which such survey will begin, giving as fully and
accurately as possible the description of the lands to be surveyed. Such notice shall be punished once
in the Official Gazette, and a copy of the notice in English or the national language shall be posted in
a conspicuous place on the bulletin board of the municipal building of the municipality in which the
lands or any portion thereof is situated. A copy of the notice shall also be sent to the mayor of such
municipality as well as to the barangay captain and likewise to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and
the Sangguniang Bayan concerned.
(c)The Geodetic Engineers or other employees of the Bureau of Lands in charge of the survey shall
give notice reasonably in advance of the date on which the survey of any portion of such lands is to
begin, which notice shall be posted in the bulletin board of the municipal building of the municipality
or barrio in which the lands are situated, and shall mark the boundaries of the lands by monuments
set up in proper places thereon. It shall be lawful for such Geodetic Engineers and other employees
to enter upon the lands whenever necessary for the purposes of such survey or the placing of
monuments.
(d)It shall be the duty of every person claiming an interest in the lands to be surveyed, or in any parcel
thereof, to communicate with the Geodetic Engineer upon his request therefor all information
possessed by such person concerning the boundary lines of any lands to which he claims title or in
which he claims any interest.
(e)Any person who shall willfully obstruct the making of any survey undertaken by the Bureau of
Lands or by a licensed Geodetic Engineer duly authorized to conduct the survey under this Section,
or shall maliciously interfere with the placing of any monument or remove such monument, or shall
destroy or remove any notice of survey posted on the land pursuant to law, shall be punished by a
fine of not more than one thousand pesos or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
B.PETITION; LOT NUMBERS
ii. Section 36. Petition for registration.
When the lands have been surveyed or plotted, the Director of Lands, represented by the Solicitor
General, shall institute original registration proceedings by filing the necessary petition in the Court
of First Instance of the place where the land is situated against the holders, claimants, possessors, or
occupants of such lands or any part thereof, stating in substance that public interest requires that the
title to such lands be settled and adjudicated and praying that such titles be so settled and
adjudicated:
The petition shall contain a description of the lands and shall be accompanied by a plan thereof, and
may contain such other data as may serve to furnish full notice to the occupants of the lands and to
all persons who may claim any right or interest therein.
Where the land consists of two or more parcels held or occupied by different persons, the plan shall
indicate the boundaries or limits of the various parcels as accurately as possible. The parcels shall be
known as "lots" and shall on the plan filed in the case be given separate numbers by the Director of
Lands, which numbers shall be known as "cadastral lot numbers". The lots situated within each
municipality shall, as far as practicable, be numbered consecutively beginning with number "one",
and only one series of numbers shall be used for that purpose in each municipality. However in cities
or townsites, a designation of the landholdings by blocks and lot numbers may be employed instead
of the designation by cadastral lot numbers.
The cadastral number of a lot shall not be changed after final decision has been entered decreasing
the registration thereof, except by order of court. Future subdivisions of any lot shall be designated
by a letter or letters of the alphabet added to the cadastral number of the lot to which the respective
subdivisions pertain. The letter with which a subdivision is designated shall be known as its
"cadastral letter": Provided, however, that the subdivisions of cities or townsites may be designated
by blocks and lot numbers.
C.ANSWER
iii.Section 37. Answer to petition in cadastral proceedings.
Any claimant in cadastral proceedings, whether named in the notice or not, shall appear before the
court by himself or by some other authorized person in his behalf, and shall file an answer on or
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before the date of initial hearing or within such further time as may be allowed by the court. The
answer shall be signed and sworn to by the claimant or by some other authorized person in his behalf,
and shall state whether the claimant is married or unmarried, and if married, the name of the spouse
and the date of marriage, his nationality, residence and postal address, and shall also contain:
(a)The age of the claimant;
(b)The cadastral number of the lot or lots claimed, as appearing on the plan filed in the case by the
Director of Lands, or the block and lot numbers, as the case may be;
(c)The name of the barrio and municipality in which the lots are situated;
(d)The names and addresses of the owners of the adjoining lots so far as known to the claimant;
(e)If the claimant is in possession of the lots claimed and can show no express grant of the land by
the government to him or to his predecessors-in-interest, the answer shall state the length of time he
has held such possession and the manner in which it has been acquired, and shall also state the length
of time, as far as known, during which the predecessors, if any, held possession;
(f)If the claimant is not in possession or occupation of the land, the answer shall fully set forth the
interest claimed by him and the time and manner of his acquisition;
(g)If the lots have been assessed for taxation, their last assessed value; and
(h) The encumbrances, if any, affecting the lots and the names of adverse claimants, as far as known.
D. HEARING; JUDGMENT; DECREE
iv. Section 38. Hearing, Judgment, Decree.
The trial of the case may occur at any convenient place within the province in which the lands are
situated and shall be conducted, and orders for default and confessions entered, in the same manner
as in ordinary land registration proceedings and shall be governed by the same rules. All conflicting
interests shall be adjudicated by the court and decrees awarded in favor of the persons entitled to
the lands or to parts thereof and such decrees shall be the basis for issuance of original certificates of
title in favor of said persons and shall have the same effect as certificates of title granted on
application for registration of land under ordinary land registration proceedings.
v. Tan Sing Pan v. Republic, 496 SCRA 189 (2006)
Cadastral proceedings, like ordinary registration proceedings, are proceedings in rem, and are
governed by the usual rules of practice, procedure and evidence. A cadastral decree and a certificate
of title are issued only after the applicants prove all the requisite jurisdictional facts: that they are
entitled to the claimed lot; that all parties are heard; and that evidence is considered.
It is incumbent upon the petitioners to establish by positive proof that the publication requirement
has been complied with, what with the fact that they are the ones who stood to be benefited by the
adjudication of the subject lot. Regrettably, they failed to present proof of publication of the Notice of
Initial Hearing.
All told, there being no indication at all from the records of the case that notice of the Order for Initial
Hearing was published in the Official Gazette and in a newspaper of general circulation, without
which the trial court did not acquire jurisdiction over the case, the decision rendered by the 7th MCTC
of Atimonan-Plaridel, Quezon, confirming petitioners' title over the subject lot is void ab initio for
having been rendered without jurisdiction.
vi. Rodil v. Benedicto, 95 SCRA 137, (1980)
The Court is convinced that the respondent Judge committed an error in denying the petition for the
issuance of a writ of possession. The findings of the respondent Judge that a writ of possession cannot
be issued in the cadastral case because the respondents were not parties in said registration
proceedings, or that they were not occupants of the land during the registration proceedings prior to
the issuance of the final decree of registration is not supported by the evidence and law.
The respondent heirs of Alejandro Abes cannot be said to be strangers to the registration
proceedings. A cadastral proceeding is a proceeding in rem and against everybody, including the
respondents herein, who are deemed included in the general order of default entered in the
case. Besides, it appears that the said respondent heirs of
NOTES SECTIONS 35 38 of PRD:
1)What is cadastral registration?
a.It is a proceeding in rem, initiated by the filing of a petition for registration by the
government, not by the persons claiming ownership of the land subject thereof, and the latter
are, on the pain of losing their claim thereto, in effect compelled to go to court to make known
their claim or interest therein, and to substantiate such claim or interest.
2)Nature and purpose of cadastral proceedings
a.The purpose, as stated in Section 35(a), is to serve the public interest by requiring that the
titles to any unregistered lands be settled and adjudicated.
b.The piecemeal and isolated registration of lands, so inadequate in more ways than one, is
avoided. The principal aim is to settle as much as possible all disputes over land and to
remove all clouds over land titles, as far as practicable, in a community.
c.The object of a cadastral petition is to have the title to the various lots embraced in the
survey be settled and adjudicated.
d.It is in the nature of a proceeding in rem, promoted by the Director of Lands, somewhat
akin to a judicial inquiry and investigation leading to a judicial decree.
3)Procedure leading to the adjudication of property through cadastral proceedings
a.Cadastral survey preparatory to filing of petition

Alejandro Abes filed a petition for the review of the decree of registration, thereby becoming a direct b.Notice of survey and publication
party in the registration proceedings by their voluntary appearance.
c.Filing of petition for registration
The respondent heirs of Alejandro Abes, being in possession of the lots in questionunlawfully and
d.Publication
adversely, during the registration proceedings, may be judicially evicted by means of a writ of
possession and it is the duty of the registration court to issue said writ when asked for by the e.Filing of answer
successful claimant.
f.Hearing of the petition
The respondents claim that the petition for the issuance of a writ of possession was filed out of time,
the said petition having been filed more than five years after the issuance of the final decree of g.Judgment; when title deemed vested
registration.In the case of Manlapas and Tolentino vs. Lorente, which has not yet been abandoned,
the Court stated that the right of the applicant or a subsequent purchaser to ask for the issuance of a i.In the absence of fraud, title to land in a cadastral proceeding is vested on the owner upon
writ of possession of the land never prescribes. the expiration of the period to appeal from the decision or adjudication by the cadastral

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 court, without such appeal being perfected; and from that time the land becomes registered
property which cannot be lost by adverse possession. The certificate of tile would then be
necessary for purposes of effecting registration of subsequent disposition of the land where
court proceedings would no longer be necessary.
4)Actions taken in a cadastral proceeding
a.First - adjudicates ownership in favor of one of the claimants. This constitutes the decision
the judgment the decree of the court, and speaks in a judicial manner.
b.Second action is the declaration by the court that the decree is final and its order for the
issuance of the certificate of title by the Administrator of the Land Registration Authority.
c.Third and last action devolves upon the Land Registration Authority. This office has been
instituted in order to have a more efficient execution of the laws relative to the registration
of lands and to issue decrees of registration pursuant to final judgments of the courts in
land registration proceedings.
5)Only unregistered lands may be the subject of a cadastral survey
a.As provided for in Section 35, the law would limit the cadastral survey to any unregistered lands
such that private lands are excluded. This interpretation appears to be reasonable considering that
the object of cadastral proceedings is to settle and adjudicate to lands. Private lands are obviously
not contemplated since ownership thereof had already been finally determined and adjudicated.
6)Lands already titled cannot be the subject of cadastral proceedings
a.Lands already decreed and registered in an ordinary registration proceeding cannot again
be subject of adjudication or settlement in a subsequent cadastral proceeding.
b.A registration court has no jurisdiction to decree again the registration of land already
decreed in an earlier land registration case and a second decree for the same land is null and
void. This is so because when once decreed by a court of competent jurisdiction, the title to
land thus determined is already res judicata, and binding on the whole world, the proceeding
being in rem.
7)Jurisdiction of the cadastral court over previously titled lands limited to the correction of technical
errors in the description of the land
a.Provided that such corrections do not impair the substantial rights of the registered owner
of his title;
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b.The cadastral court has jurisdiction to determine the priority or relative weight of two or
more certificates of title for the same land.
8)New titles may be issued for private lands within the cadastral survey
a.No modification or alteration can be permitted to be made in the Torrens title for the sole
purpose of making the area of the and described therein agree with that given in the cadastral
survey plan
b.The new title issued under the cadastral system to a person who already holds a valid
Torrens title must include the whole land specified in the latter.
c.A decree entered by the court cannot be considered as permanent if the limits of the land
therein registered may be changed or the area thereof altered by a subsequent adjudication
by the court.
9)Cadastral answer may not be thrown out upon a mere motion of adverse claimants
a.Suppressing the presentation of evidence in support of claims would perpetuate conflicts
over lands.
10)Amendment of the plan to include additional territory
a.An order of a court in a cadastral case amending the official plan so as to make it include
land not previously included therein is a nullity unless new publication is made.
b.Publication is one of the essential bases of the jurisdiction of the court in land registration
and cadastral cases, and additional territory cannot be included by amendment of the plan
without new publication.
11)When title to land in a cadastral case is vested
a.In a cadastral case, title of ownership on the land is vested upon the owner upon the
expiration of the period to appeal from the decision or adjudication by the cadastral court,
without such an appeal having been perfected.
b.In other words, upon the promulgation of the order issuance of a decree, the land, for all
intents and purposes, had become, from that time, registered property which could not be
acquired by adverse possession.
c.The certificate of title would then be necessary for purposes of effecting registration of
subsequent disposition of the land where court proceedings would no longer be necessary.
 d.As a general rule, registration of title under the cadastral system is final, conclusive and
indisputable, after the lapse of the period allowed for an appeal.

12)Decision declaring land as public land not a bar to a subsequent action for confirmation of title
over the same land

13)Neither prescription nor laches may render inefficacious a decision in a land registration case

a.In line with the doctrine of the inapplicability of prescription and laches in registration
cases, it has been held that the failure on the part of the administrative authorities to do their
part in the issuance of the decree of registration cannot oust the prevailing party from
ownership of the land.

14)Cadastral court has no jurisdiction over a petition for reconstitution

a.A reconstituted title is ordered issued in an ordinary civil case, not in a cadastral proceeding
for judicial confirmation of imperfect title over unregistered property.

15)Neither prescription nor laches may render inefficacious a judgment in acadastral case

a.The mere fact that there has been a delay in the issuance of the corresponding certificate of
title pursuant to a decree of registration in a cadastral case will not render inefficacious the
decision rendered by the court on account of prescription or laches. The rule is that the
failure on the part of the administrative authorities to do their part in the issuance of the
decree of registration cannot oust the prevailing party from ownership of the land.

16)Issuance of writ of possession imprescriptible

a.It has been held that where respondent heirs were in possession of the lots in question, unlawfully
and adversely, during the cadastral proceedings, they may be judicially evicted by means of a writ of
possession, the issuance of which never prescribes. Respondent heirs cannot be said to be strangers
since a cadastral proceeding is a proceeding in rem and against everybody.

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