LTD-Reviewer-Midterm.doc

LTD LECTURE NOTES & REVIEWER

Judge Serrano - Midterm 2010

San Beda College of Law

by: Cancino, Krisyl & Veloso, Pinky

LAND TITLES AND DEEDS

MIDTERM REVIEWERLECTURE NOTES #1June 19, 2010

HOUSE RULES

-no excused absences

-duty: to learn, to study, to pray, to pass!

-no going out from class

-no talking

-mentally honest (no cheating/ no coaching)

First 3 Chapters- Lecture

Starting Section 14 of P.D. #1529( recitation

Next meeting: quiz

Coverage: what has been taken up

INTRODUCTION The subject is about the control over land

For a person to have exclusive enjoyment of property.

However, a person cannot absolutely control a certain piece of land

Persons go to other places

Thus, there is only temporary control because it is impossible to physically possess or control large tracts of land.

If a person will not go away or will not go to some other places, no one will take his property (land).

QUESTION: HOW CAN WE HE CONTROL HIS LAND?

This question is answered by the development of land laws; private land owners can assert rights because of REGISTRATION (land titles or documents)

HISTORY/ DEVELOPMENT

Act # 496

Land Registration Act lasted for 75/77 years until repealed by P.D. No. 1529 which is the law now in force and in effect.

Because we live in a society with divergent interests, there arise disputes

QUESTIONS:

Who is the owner of the land?

Who has better right?

How can third persons be affected?

What kinds of evidences are required to enforce ownership?

These questions are answered in this class.

Critical developments through the advancement of civilization developed consciousness of land ownership ( arise the necessity of protecting the rights of owner

TORRENS SYSTEM OF LAND REGISTRATION

Richard Robert Torrens

Current system of land registrationPrivate land ownership did not come from nowhere. There could be a source: who>/ from whom did you acquire your land?

SOURCE: private land ownership must emanate from the STATE.

The State is the source of land to the REGALIAN DOCTRINE. (All lands of the public domain belong to the State, which is the source of any asserted right to ownership of land. All lands not otherwise appearing to be clearly within private ownership are presumed to belong to the State. All lands not otherwise clearly appearing to be privately-owned are presumed to belong to the State)Secretary of DENR v. Mayor Jose Yap (2008)

G.R. No. 167707 Oct. 8, 2008

Explained Regalian doctrine.

This is about Boracay Island.

Group of persons build houses/ buildings (of agricultural lands)

The Government said that the Boracay Island is a forest and timberland and remained to be forest and timberland, so not agricultural land.

SC: the lands are inalienable public land; until the government reclassified Boracay Island, it is still forest and timberland; thus, it cant be acquired by private persons.

Basis: Regalian doctrine (all of public domains belong to the State; State reserves such right over such lands.

The 1935, 1973 & 1987 Constitution applies this doctrine.

All lands not acquired from the government belong to the State.

The state can consider what is alienable or not.

DEVELOPMENT OF LAND LAWS

Laws of Indies

Ley Hepo.(Mortgage Law of 1893)

(until)

P.D. No. 1529

Domination of Spain:

Private land ownership through GRANTS

All lands belong to Spain

Exception:

1) Possession of person of land from time immemorial (predecessors-in-interest); presumption that land is private land.

2) Church/ educational properties (the King decided that he was not the owner of these lands).

When Spain entered the Treaty of Paris, Spain did not cede the lands of the churches; they continued to be property of the RC Church.

Ohcho v. Director of Lands (75 Phils. 89) . . . All lands that were not acquired from the Government, either by purchase or by grant, belong to the public domain. An exception to the rule would be any land that should have been in the possession of an occupant and of his predecessors in interest since time immemorial, for such possession would justify the presumption that the land had never been part of the public domain even before the Spanish conquest. (Cario vs. Insular Government, 212 U.S., 449; 53 Law. ed., 594.)20The applicant does not come under the exception, for the earliest possession of the lot by his first predecessor in interest began in 1880.

DEFINITIONS

Land- is the solid part of the surface of the Earth.

Land Title- is an evidence of right of owner or extent of his interest by which he can maintain, control and, as a rule, assert right to exclusive possession and enjoyment of property.

E.g. Transfer Certificate of Title/ Certificate of Title)

Deed- is a written instrument executed in accordance with the form prescribed by law where a person grants or conveys land.

Examples:

transfer of title; or

encumbrance of land; or

mortgage; or

lien

Possession is different from Ownership.

PossessionOwnership

Ex. Lease:

Lessor= Owner

Leasee= Possessor

Possession is the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of a right (Article 523 Civil Code)

In order for a DEED TO BE EFFECTIVE

REQUISITES:

There must be a grantor

There must be a grantee

There must be words of grant (i.e. transfers, assigns, leases)

Description of property

Signature of grantor (important: intention to convey or transfer)

Attested by at least 2 witnesses

Acknowledged by a notary public

Sec. 112, PD 1529:

Important to render it a public document

Registrable Document

Cheng v. Genato

Registration- is the entry made in the Registrar which records solemnly and permanently the right of ownership and all the real rights.

CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY

Article 414:

1. Personal or movable

2. Real or immovable

Lands:

Private:

i. consists of all property by private person either individual or collectively (Art. 425: Property of private ownership, besides the patrimonial property of the State, provinces, cities, and municipalities, consists of all property belonging to private persons, either individually or collectively)

ii. segregation from public lands

iii. Article 141: Govt. grants public agricultural lands through various kinds of patents

Already becomes private land

(Judicial confirmation of title [Sec. 48 (b), C.A. 141)

Public- not segregated from mass of lands.i. The Constitution classifies 4 classes:

1. Forest and timberlands2. Mineral3. Agricultural4. Reservation1935 and 1973 Constitution (only 3 classification)

Agricultural lands- inalienable/not disposable

Homestead, sale, donation

Once acquired, can be acquired through registration under the Torrens Law.

MODES

Ordinary Registration

Judicial Confirmation of Title

Cadastral

Administrative form of registration

Example of public lands not subject to private ownership; not registrable under Torrens:

Devoted for public use: roads, street

Devoted for public service

Forest and timberlands

Mineral resources

Lakes

Watershed, etc.

Navigable sea

INALIENABLE= NON-REGISTRABLE

We are concerned with transaction involving lands;

Ownership: how transferred? How lost? Who has better right?

3 DIFFERENT SYSTEMS

OF TRANSFERRING LAND TITLE

1. Production and delivery of conveyance and order of grantor to grantee (complete in itself)2. Registration or Recording of Deed of Conveyance (is a public record kept by a public official)3. System of Judicial Registration which provides title of ownership itself (not only registration)CLASSIFICATION OF LAND IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. Registered Land- covered by the Torrens Title

2. Unregistered Land- not covered by the Torrens Title

-The need for classification is to determine the mode of transferring title.

Unregistered Land:

Sec.4 Administrative Code (before PD 1529)

Sec. 113, P.D. 1529( recording of instrument of unregistered land.

SYSTEMS OF REGISTRATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

(Mortgage Law Abolished)

1. For Registered Lands: PD 1529 (Codified Act; Cadastral Act)2. For Unregistered Lands:

Sec. 113

PURPOSES OF LAND REGISTRATION

1. To quite title to land

Sec. 31, par. 2: 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".

Legarda & Prieto v.

30 Phil. 390

SC:

-primary purpose of land registration is to settle title to land.

-title is already unimpeachable

-not subject to another registration

-to put a stop forever to any question to the legality of the title except claims which are duly noticed at the time of the registration (that claims should be duly recorded in the title)

Corollary to this is the next:

2. To relieve the land of unknown liens, claims, or burdens, whether just or unjust

Sec. 44:Statutory liens affecting title.Every registered owner receiving a certificate of title in pursuance of a decree of registration, and every subsequent purchaser of registered land taking a certificate of title for value and in good faith, shall hold the same free from all encumbrances

-Since it is already quite, the land is relived of unknown liens

-third persons who did not appear are already barred [except] those provided by law (Sec. 44)

3. To prevent fraudulent claims

Sec. 53: Presentation of owner's duplicate upon entry of new certificate.No voluntary instrument shall be registered by the Register of Deeds, unless the owner's duplicate certificate is presented with such instrument, except in cases expressly provided for in this Decree or upon order of the court, for cause shown.

The production of the owner's duplicate certificate, whenever any voluntary instrument is presented for registration, shall be conclusive authority from the registered owner to the Register of Deeds to enter a new certificate or to make a memorandum of registration in accordance with such instrument, and the new certificate or memorandum shall be binding upon the registered owner and upon all persons claiming under him, in favor of every purchaser for value and in good faith.

In all cases of registration procured by fraud, the owner may pursue all his legal and equitable remedies against the parties to such fraud without prejudice, however, to the rights of any innocent holder for value of a certificate of title. After the entry of the decree of registration on the original petition or application, any subsequent registration procured by the presentation of a forged duplicate certificate of title, or a forged deed or other instrument, shall be null and void.

-should be read in relation to 6th-Registration is a species of notice because theres a permanen public record in the Office of Register of Deeds.

-Section 31/32: Once land is already registered under the Torrens System; All transactions in order to bind third persons must be REGISTERED.

-WHY? REGISTRATION- is the operative act that binds or affects registered land insofar as third person are concerned.

Transaction of land cannot be concealed because it is registered( prevent fraudulent claims.

Ex. Act 1544 first registrant in good faith( registration binds.

4. To establish priority in rights

Sec. 56: Primary Entry Book; fees; certified copies.Each Register of Deeds shall keep a primary entry book in which, upon payment of the entry fee, he shall enter, in the order of their reception, all instruments including copies of writs and processes filed with him relating to registered land. He shall, as a preliminary process in registration, note in such book the date, hour and minute of reception of all instruments, in the order in which they were received. They shall be regarded as registered from the time so noted, and the memorandum of each instrument, when made on the certificate of title to which it refers, shall bear the same date: Provided, that the national government as well as the provincial and city governments shall be exempt from the payment of such fees in advance in order to be entitled to entry and registration.

Every deed or other instrument, whether voluntary or involuntary, so filed with the Register of Deeds shall be numbered and indexed and endorsed with a reference to the proper certificate of title. All records and papers relative to registered land in the office of the Register of Deeds shall be open to the public in the same manner as court records, subject to such reasonable regulations as the Register of Deeds, under the direction of the Commissioner of Land Registration, may prescribe.

All deeds and voluntary instruments shall be presented with their respective copies and shall be attested and sealed by the Register of Deeds, endorsed with the file number, and copies may be delivered to the person presenting them.

Certified copies of all instruments filed and registered may also be obtained from the Register of Deeds upon payment of the prescribed fees.

5. To create indefeasible (indivisible?) and imprescriptible title binding on the whole world

Sec. 42: Registration Books.The original copy of the original certificate of title shall be filed in the Registry of Deeds. The same shall be bound in consecutive order together with similar certificates of title and shall constitute the registration book for titled properties.Sec. 47: Registered land not subject to prescriptions.No title to registered land in derogation of the title of the registered owner shall be acquired by prescription or adverse possession.

-Sec. 42: after 1 year of entry of (issuance) of registry, title becomes conclusive and incontrovertible( title can no longer be defeated by any other person.-Sec. 47: imprescriptible (title)( land registered cant be acquired by prescription.6. To provide a means of publication or notice to third persons

-species of notice= permanent public records

Once transaction is REGISTERED, that serves as a CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE to the whole world.

LAW ON CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE

-permanent public records provide source and information for the status of land

-there is a presumption that any buyer has already examined the records

-presumed to know facts

-good faith is not a valid defense

SEC. 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 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 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 this Decree, it shall be deemed to include an innocent lessee, mortgagee, or other encumbrancer for value.

Upon the expiration of said period of one year, the decree of registration and the certificate of title 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 for the fraud.

Corollary to this is the MIRROR DOCTRINE (all you have to do is to rely on the title; It was envisaged that a person who was considering purchasing an interest in land could find all the information necessary to make a decision by inspection of the register. That is, the register would be a `mirror' of the actual state of the proprietor's title, and disclose any benefits or encumbrances associated with the title

Mirror principle - the register (Certificate of Title) reflects (mirrors) accurately and completely the current facts about a person's title. This means that, if a person sells an estate, the new title has to be identical to the old one in terms of description of lands, except for the owner's name.Supposing, a registered land subject of sale; the sale is not registered, who are bound?

Only the parties (estoppels by deed)

Heirs, assigns, successors-in-interest (based on Relativity)Are third persons bound?

It depends

If with actual knowledge of the conracts(he is bound

K v. Veluz (41 Phil. 604) & Consolidated Rural Bank v. CA (448 SCRA 34)

Third persons are bound because actual knowledge of the transaction is equivalent to registration.

Are there secret girlfriends?

How? To let her know( to notify( actual knowledge=registration

7. To provide stability to land titles

REGISTRATION DOES NOT VEST TITLE TO REGISTRANT

Ex. OFW went abroad; he left documents to friend; then the friend registered.

Registration does not vest title, OFW can ask for reconveyance

REGISTRATION MERELY CONFIRMS TITLE

If you apply for registration, you proved you are the owner

-registration is not a mode of acquiring ownership

-it does not cure defect in the contract

-it does not validate an illegal contract

REGISTRATION SHOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE CORRECT SYSTEM OF REGISTRATION

Ex. Land already registered; Tax Declaration is unregistered land; land sold to A; A registered it to registration of unregistered land by attachment creditor; 2nd buyer bought the land from registered owner.

2nd buyer has better right because it was wrong system of registration: invalid/legally ineffective registration

ORIGINAL REGISTRATION- if first time to be registered in public record, it is original registration (Original Certificate Of Title)

2 Copies:

-Original sa Registry

-To registrant

TRANSFER- is the subsequent registration (Transfer Certificate)

OBJECT OF REGISTRATION: real rights and real property and interests in the land (e.g. mortgage, attachment, etc.)

LECTURE NOTES #2June 26, 2010

Article 172, Civil Code:

5 MODES OF ACQUIRING LAND TITLES:

1. Occupation

2. Intellectual creation( the only one not applicable to real property

3. Donation/succession

4. In consequence of contract by tradition/delivery

5. Prescription

RECOGNIZED MODES

1. Government grant

2. Adverse possession

3. Prescription

4. Reclamation

5. Voluntary transfer

6. Involuntary alienation

7. Succession

1. GOVERNMENT GRANT

Whenever public land is conveyed to some private individual

Regalian doctrine: public grant is granted by the State

There must be a law justifying express or implied grant.

Example:

C.A. 141 Public Land Act

Lands of public domain maybe granted to private individual based on different land patents and qualified beneficiaries.

Homestead patent to titles may be issued

Sales patent

Free patent

Does not include judicial registration proceedings; such patents can be presented to the Register of Deeds

Administrative proceedings

Section 103.Certificates of title pursuant to patents.Whenever public land is by the Government alienated, granted or conveyed to any person, the same shall be brought forthwith under the operation of this Decree. It shall be the duty of the official issuing the instrument of alienation, grant, patent or conveyance in behalf of the Government to cause such instrument to be filed with the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies, and to be there registered like other deeds and conveyance, whereupon a certificate of title shall be entered as in other cases of registered land, and an owner's duplicate issued to the grantee. The deed, grant, patent or instrument of conveyance from the Government to the grantee shall not take effect as a conveyance or bind the land but shall operate only as a contract between the Government and the grantee and as evidence of authority to the Register of Deeds to make registration. It is the act of registration that shall be the operative act to affect and convey the land, and in all cases under this Decree, registration shall be made in the office of the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies. The fees for registration shall be paid by the grantee. After due registration and issuance of the certificate of title, such land shall be deemed to be registered land to all intents and purposes under this Decree.

PD # 27 (During Martial Law)

Tenants are deemed as owner of land the till.

Emancipated from bondage of land

Emancipation patent:

serves as authority of the Register of Deeds to register the land

may be distinguished by the Title No. (if EP preceding the number( registered for the first time; but subsequent transactions no longer carry EP)

RA 6657 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law)

Certificate of land transfer( basis of registration of lands.

2. ACQUISITIVE PRESCRIPTION

When a person is in possession of land in an open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession over a period of time prescribed by law.

Acquisitive prescription/ Adverse Possession

Adverse possession= claiming ownership to land

Acquisition depends:

If the possessor is in good faith( acquires land after 10 years

If the possessor is in bad faith ( acquires land after 30 years

But registered land cant be acquired through prescription.

3. ACCRETION

Article 440, Civil Code: The ownership of property gives the right by accession to everything which is produced thereby, or which is incorporated or attached thereto, either naturally or artificially.

Act of principal producing of thing is attached to the principal

Gives right to accessory

Accretion- anything produced, incorporated, attached to the land.

Alluvium

Avulsion

Formation of island

Change of river

Alluvium: Art. 457, CC: 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.

Soil is attached to other persons land because of the current of water.

Result: area of land increases; owner of the land bordering the river which deposit is attached owns the additional area.

The owner of the principal is the owner of the accessory

Supposing land is already registered, is the additional area also registered? No, technical description of the property does not include the additional area. Therefore, the additional area is unregistered.

The remedy is to apply for registration under P.D. No. 1529

Does not apply to FORESHORE LAND

Foreshore land- land that is bordering or part of the land during low tide, submerged during high tide.

If you put materials in said area, there is reclamation

4. RECLAMATION

Reclamation- method of filling, dredging, or other means.

That portion of foreshore land is no longer covered by water( gives rise to land( only the government can claim ownership of reclaimed areas.

Article 5, R.A. 1866:

R.A. 1899

Allows filling, dredging, docking

Who owns? They become the property of the city or municipality who made the reclamation.

While it remains with the government, the government can exercise positive act and declare it as alienable and disposable.

Chavez v. Public Estates Authority

PD 1084 gave PEA authority to reclaim land; to develop, improve, acquire or sell land. PEA started to dispose property. This was questioned.

Issues:

1. That submerged area of Manila Bay remains inalienable natural resources of public domain( it cant be transferred to other party( beyond the commerce of men

2. When can it be subject to transfer? The filling of the submerged areas through the reclamation project, in order to be alienable, the government should issue a proclamation that the land is now alienable.

Foreshore lands inalienable lands of public domain

cant be reclassified

cant be subject of private ownership

Regalian doctrine: sea and foreshore areas are part of public domains;

Existence of Regalian doctrine from Spanish Law of Waters.

Conversion of Military Reservation

(At the time of Ramos) No longer needed for public service and converted to patrimonial property or lands which may be alienable.

Example: Fort Bonifacio; Clark Airbase; Subic Naval Base

Classified as alienable and disposable.

Private Corporations not legally qualified to own land of public domains

1973, 1987 Constitution

Commonly, only lease for 25 years renewable for another 25 years; 1000 hectares

1935 Constitution: private corporations can own public domains( they remain owners of land; they have vested rights of property; if we apply the current Constitution retroactively, it will be a deprivation of property without due process of law.

5. VOLUNTARY TRANSFER

Common mode

Can be made by the owner or his agent

Consent and voluntary intention of the owner is necessary.

Examples:

conveyance in a deed of sale,

deed of donation,

deed of assignment

Must be in from sufficient in law

If it involves land, it should be registered.

6. INVOLUNTARY ALIENATION

Does not require consent/participation of the owner.

Examples:

Seizure

Levy on attachment

Levy on execution

7. SUCCESSION

Acquisition of property rights and obligations of decedent upon the latters death.

Heirs, legatees, devisees( successors

Voluntary heir-

Devise- if real property is given as a gift in the will

Devisee- given the gift

Legatee-

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MODES OF ACQUIRING LAND TITLES

Any one of the modes is basis of ownership( basis of registration

Provides what we need to establish for voluntary land registration

But registration is only to confirm ownership

Without these, you cant have your title confirmed; court wont grant. Sec. 14 (1529)BASIC LAWS

P.D. No. 1529- judicial and in rem

1. Voluntary Registration (Ordinary) - it is the owner of the land who applies for registration

2. Compulsory proceeding (Sec. 35, 36, 37, 38)

Cadastral:

judicial but compulsory

the State will file

cadastral survey

you should file your answer/claim otherwise, youll lose your land

3. Judicial Confirmation of Title

CA 141, as amended:

judicial and voluntary

Section 48 (d), CA 141

4. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS

Section 103.Certificates of title pursuant to patents.Whenever public land is by the Government alienated, granted or conveyed to any person, the same shall be brought forthwith under the operation of this Decree. It shall be the duty of the official issuing the instrument of alienation, grant, patent or conveyance in behalf of the Government to cause such instrument to be filed with the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies, and to be there registered like other deeds and conveyance, whereupon a certificate of title shall be entered as in other cases of registered land, and an owner's duplicate issued to the grantee. The deed, grant, patent or instrument of conveyance from the Government to the grantee shall not take effect as a conveyance or bind the land but shall operate only as a contract between the Government and the grantee and as evidence of authority to the Register of Deeds to make registration. It is the act of registration that shall be the operative act to affect and convey the land, and in all cases under this Decree, registration shall be made in the office of the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies. The fees for registration shall be paid by the grantee. After due registration and issuance of the certificate of title, such land shall be deemed to be registered land to all intents and purposes under this Decree.

Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) Involves ancestral domain Indigenous people covered by IPRA may apply for registration of land. Judicial and voluntaryCHAPTER 2 TORRENS SYSTEM

Devised by Sir Robert Richard Torrens English Merchant Shipping Act( involved registration of ships; he made/applied it to land registration

Real Property Act of 1857/1858 (?)

Advantages of Torrens System

Refer to book/s; read and learn

Comparative benefitsRefer to book; read and learn

Which government agency implements?

LAND REGISTRATION AUTHORITY (EO 292)

Headed by: Administrator assisted by 2 deputy administrator

Under DOJ

Its arms (under it) are: various Register of Deeds in provinces and cities

Headed by: Register of Deeds assisted by Deputy Register of Deeds

Must be members of the Philippine Bar

Important functions of the LRA

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.

Report involving lands subject to land registration proceedings

Importance of functions:

To verify if the decree of the Commissioner/ Administrator (decree of registration) is genuine or not, go to LRA

For records that are almost destroyed, you can get it from LRA

Administrator, functions:

Power/ duty to issue decree of registration

Issuance in Registry of Deeds of Certificates of Titles

May resolve cases elevated to him in consulta:

Is the document registrable or not?

Appealable to the Court of Appeals

Duty to implement order, issue decrees of registration of lands, provide rules and regulations

Register of Deeds- repository of records in provinces or cities

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.

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.

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.

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 consulta in accordance with Section 117 of this Decree.

Sec. 10- Function( duty to immediately register application presented for registration of real property provided it complies with all requisites.

(If not registrable, write it and the reason of denial

Power to determine registrability( comply with Section 112 (PD 1529) Requisites of Deed such as the acknowledgment by notary public because only public documents may be registered in Register of Deeds.

Nature and Character of Functions

Maranga v. Bustillo

Ministerial duty provided that the document is registrable, payment is made, etc. RoD no discretion to deny RoD precluded from exercising personal judgment or discretion The supposed invalidity of contract is not a valid excuse for denying registration. In determining what is valid: this involves discretion( judicial and not ministerial Questions involving the validity be decided after registration (Sec. 52)Supposing, document provides that Yao Ming, Chinese (buyer) of land situated in Forbes Park, if your RoD, will you register?

-NO, Sec.55/56: citizenship is required( determines registrability first (private corporations also qualified to own land in the Philippines)

SECTION 2, PD NO. 1529

Types of Land Registration

1. General

2. Judicial

3. Administrative

a. Voluntary

b. Compulsory

c. Judicial confirmation

Nature of Land Registration Proceedings

Judicial

Based on generally accepted principles of Torrens System

In rem (binding on all persons, on the whole world)

How? How do court acquire jurisdiction of defendant?

-summons (impractical)

-publication (Sec. 23)

-Section 26( consequences of publication: To All Whom it May Concern( all persons are made party defendants to the case.

Which court has jurisdiction?

(BP 129 renamed CFI to) RTC

Does RTC have exclusive jurisdiction? No, (Sec. 34), amendment RA 7691( SC given authority to assign cases to inferior courts (Sec. 34)

A.O. 6-96-A (Nov. 15, 1995): MTC, etc. delegated jurisdiction

What cases may be filed before inferior courts?

Section 34:

cases of land with no controversy

case of controversy of land value does not exceed 100,000 pesos

Where to appeal?

Court of Appeals( Land Registration & Cadastral Cases

Judicial Confirmation of Incomplete Title

Section 48 (d) of CA 141

Judicial & in rem

Registration proceeding is conclusive and final

1. What kinds of lands are covered?

Alienable and disposable land of public domain

2. Period of possession and occupation of land

Since June 12, 1945 or earlier

3. When should application be filed? Deadline: within or up to December 21, 2020

4. Maximum area

Should not exceed 12 hectares

Next week:

Chapter 3, 4, 5

Quiz and recitation

JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF INCOMPLETE OR IMPERFECT TITLE

NATURE OF PROCEEDINGS

Judicial

In rem- against the whole worldLAWS GOVERNING JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF TITLE

Public Land Act (C.A. 141), as amended, governs lands of the public domain, except timber and mineral lands, friar lands, and privately-owned lands which reverted to the State.

Sec. 48 (b), Chapter VIII, of CA 141, as amended (Public Land Act), provides:

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 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:

xxxxxxxxxxxx

(b) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors in interest have been in the open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of alienable and disposable agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisition or 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 agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, shall be entitled to the rights in subsection (b) hereof.

PERIOD OF FILING OF APPLICATION FOR JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF TITLE

The latest extension of the period is until December 31, 2020, within which to file said applications.

LIMITATION OF AREA APPLIED FOR: shall apply only where the area applied for does not exceed 12 hectares.

APPLICANTS

By law and jurisprudence, the following may therefore apply for judicial confirmation of their imperfect or incomplete title:

1. Filipino citizens 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 since June 12, 1945 or prior thereto, or even since time immemorial.

2. Filipino citizen who by themselves or their predecessors-in-interest have been prior to the effectivity of P.D. 1073 on January 25, 1977, in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisition of ownership, for at least 30 years, or at least since January 24, 1947.

3. Private corporations or associations which had acquired lands, formerly part of the alienable and disposable lands of the public domain, from Filipino citizens who had possessed the same in the manner and for the length of time indicated in subparagraphs 1 and 2 above.

4. Natural-born citizens of the Philippines who have lost their Philippine citizenship, who have acquired disposable and alienable lands of the public domain from Filipino citizens who had possessed the same in the same manner and for the length of time indicated in subparagraphs 1 and 2.

WHAT APPLICANT MUST PROVE

1. The land is alienable and disposable land of the public domain, and

2. His possession must be for the length of time and in the manner and concept stated in Section 48(b) of the Public Land Act, as amended.

The burden of proof lies with the applicant to prove his positive averments.

Sec. of DENR, et al. v. Jose M. Yap

2 Requirements

1. open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of

2. alienable and disposable lands of the public domain

Possession

Broader than occupation because it includes constructive possession

When 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 one to qualify under paragraph (b) of the aforesaid section (48), his possession of the land must not be mere fiction.

Possession is:

Open- when it is patent, visible, apparent, notorious and not clandestine;

Continuous- when uninterrupted, unbroken and not intermittent or occasional;

Exclusive- when the adverse possessor can show exclusive dominion over the land and an appropriation of it to his own use and benefit; and

Notorious- when it is so conspicuous that it is generally known and talked of by the public or the people in the neighborhood.

Use of land is adverse when it is open and notorious.

Effect of compliance with requirement

Director of Lands v. IAC:

When the conditions as specified in Sec.48 (b) of the Public Land Act, as amended, are complied with, the possessor is deemed to have acquired, by operation of law (automatic), a right to a grant, government grant, without the necessity of a certificate of title being issued.The land perforce ceases to be of the public domain, and beyond the authority of the Director of Land Management to dispose of. The application for confirmation is then a mere formality, the lack of which does not affect the sufficiency of the title as would be evidenced by the patent and the corresponding Torrens title issued pursuant to such patent.

The above provision applies exclusively to public agricultural land, which are alienable and disposable.

PRIVATE CORPORATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS AS APPLICANTS

Corporations may file for judicial confirmation of title (jcot).

The 1987 Philippine Constitution, Chapter XII, Sec. 3: Private corporations or associations may not hold such alienable lands of the public domain except by lease, for a period not exceeding twenty-five (25) years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and not to exceed one thousand hectares in area.

If the land is still part of the alienable and disposable lands of the public domain at the time a corporation or association files and application for confirmation of imperfect incomplete title thereto or at the time such applicant acquired the land from a Filipino citizen, then the aforequoted constitutional bar lies.

On the other hand, where at the time such corporation acquired land, its predecessors-in-interest by exclusive, continuous and adverse possession of the same in the manner and for the period prescribed by law as to entitle him to registration in his name, then the prohibition does not apply for the land was no longer public land but private property.

The main point to consider is: w/n the land at the time of the filing is already private/public

If public: it cannot apply for jcot

If private: it may validly apply for jcot.

Director of Lands v. IAC and Acme Plywood and Veneer Co., Inc.

1. Still, a private corporation may institute confirmation proceedings under Sec. 48 (b) of the Public Land Act if, at the time of institution of the registration proceedings, the land was already private land.

2. The correct rule is that alienable public land held by a possessor, personally or through his predecessors-in-interest, openly continuously and exclusively for the prescribed period is converted to private property by the mere lapse or completion of said period, ipso jure.3. Since Sec. 48 (b) itself considers possession of public land which is of the character and duration prescribed by statute as the equivalent of an express grant from the State, then confirmation proceedings would in truth be little more than a formality, at the most limited to ascertaining whether the possession claimed is of the required character and length of time; and registration thereunder would not confer title, but simply recognize a title already veste (vested right).

4. 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 Constitution cannot impair vested rights.

5. The objection that ACME is not qualified to apply for judicial confirmation is technical, rather than substantial.

PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENT

Form and contents of application

Sec. 50 of the Public Land Act provides that the application for judicial confirmation of imperfect or incomplete title shall conform as nearly as may be in its material allegations to the requirements of an application under the Land Registration Act, now the Property Registration Decree.

Accordingly, the applicant should state in his application the material facts and information required under Section 15 of said Decree.

Section 15.Form and contents.The application for land registration shall be in writing, signed by the application or the person duly authorized in his behalf, and sworn to before any officer authorized to administer oaths for the 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 description of the land and shall state the 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. It 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.CONFIRMATION OF TITLE OVER LAND PREVIOUSLY DECLARED PUBLIC LAND

A judicial declaration (either ordinary or cadatral) that a parcel of land is public does not preclude even the same applicant from subsequently seeking a judicial confirmation of his title to the same land, provided he thereafter complies with the provisions of Sec. 48 (b), as amended, and as long as said public land remains alienable and disposable.

DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN OLR AND JCT

(by Judge Serrano)

ORDINARY LAND REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGSJUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF TITLE

Title to land exist subject to confirmationPresumption 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

May be dismissed with or without prejudice (Applicant may re-file case)Dismissal is always with prejudice (res judicata)

If without prejudice, applicant will not lose ownership to the propertyIf applicant fails to prove the grant as basis of confirmation, property is declared land of public domain and loses property

ORDINARY REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGSSTEPS IN REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS (SFS-TPS-FHP-IEST)

(applicable to original registration and confirmation of imperfect or incomplete title)

1. Survey of land by Land Management Bureau or a duly licensed private surveyor;

(According to sir) Before filing would be preparation.2. Filing of application for registration by the applicant;

3. Setting of the date for the initial hearing of the application by the Court;

4. Transmittal of the publication and the date of initial hearing with all the documents or other evidences attached thereto by the Clerk of Court to the Land Registration Authority (LRA);

5. Publication of a notice of the filing of the application and date and place of the hearing in the Official Gazette;

6. Service of notice upon contiguous owners, occupants and those known to have interests in the property by the sheriff;

7. Filing of answer to the application by any person whether named in the court or not;

8. Hearing of the case by the Court;

9. Promulgation of judgment by the Court;

10. Issuance of the decree by the Court declaring the decision final and instructing the LRA to issue a decree of confirmation and registration;

11. Entry of the decree of registration in the LRA;

12. Sending of copy of the decree of registration to the corresponding Register of Deeds; and

13. Transcription of the decree of registration in the registration book and issuance of the owners duplicate original certificate to the applicant by the Register of Deeds, upon payment of the prescribed fees.

A certificate of title issued without fully complying with the above requisites are thus illegal and invalid and may be cancelled by the courts.

SURVEY

(by Judge Serrano)

Prepares survey plan

Technical description (purpose: to identify and describe the landJ)

Submitted to the Land Management Bureau for approval by the Director

PREPARATION

APPLICANTS IN ORDINARY REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS

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.

(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.

Where the land is owned in common, all the co-owners shall file the application jointly.

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.

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.

Who can apply?

1. Natural persons

2. Juridical persons

3. Corporations (under the Constitution must be 60% owned by Filipinos)

Sec. 14 (1)

same as judicial confirmation of title under Public Land Act

Requisites under Sec. 14 (1)

1. That the property is an agricultural land of the public domain;

2. That it has been classified by a positive act of government as alienable and disposable;

3. That the applicant, by himself or through his predecessors-in-interest, has been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of the land in the concept of owner; and

4. That such possession and occupation is under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945 or earlier.

Alienable and disposable land

Requires that the property sought to be registered as already alienable and disposable at the time of the application for registration and not at the time/before applicants possession

To prove that the land is alienable: applicant must establish the existence of a positive act of the government such as presidential proclamation or an executive order.

Sec. 14 (2)

Article 1137 of the Civil Code provides that ownership and other real rights over immovables also prescribe through uninterrupted adverse possession thereof for thirty years, without need of title or of good faith.

Rules for 30-year period:

1. The present possessor may complete the period by tacking his possession to that of his grantor or predecessor-in-interest;

2. The present possessor who was also the possessor at a previous time, is presumed to have continued to be in possession during the intervening time in the absence of proof to the contrary;

3. The first day shall be excluded and the last day included.

Acquisition of ownership of private lands by prescription under existing law- It is not therefore, ownership of any kind of immovable acquired by prescription that may be registered under said Decree, but only the ownership of private lands.

Ex. Lands registered under the Spanish Mortgage Law which are not yet covered by a certificate of title by the time of the issuance of PD 1529 on June 11, 1978 and considered as unregistered land: these lands may be acquired by a person by prescription by adverse possession against the original grantee.

Sec. 14 (3)

Article 457, CC: 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.

For accretion and alluvion to be registrable, requisites must concur:

1. That the deposit be gradual and imperceptible;

2. That it be made through the effects of the current of the water;

3. That the land where the accretion takes place is adjacent to the banks of rivers.

4. That it must be exclusive work of nature and not caused by human intervention.

An accretion from river to registered land does not automatically become registered land. As such it must be placed under the operations of the Torrens title.

Article 461, CC: river beds which are abandoned through the natural change in the course of the waters ipso facto belong the owners whose lands are occupied by the new course in proportion to the area lost. However, the owners of 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.

Sec. 14 (4)

Persons or entities acquiring ownership of land by other modes may apply for registration of title thereto:

1. A land reserved, by presidential proclamation, for a certain purpose is not subject to entry by any other person or entity and no lawful settlement on them can be acquired. The proclamation legally effected a land grant, validly sufficient for initial registration by the grantee under the PD 1529. Such land grant is constitutive of a fee simple title or absolute title in favor of said grantee.

2. Persons or entities to whom a land has been ceded by the Republic of the Philippines by law may thus also properly apply for registration of title thereto.

Persons who cannot properly file an application for registration of land

1. A public land sales applicant

2. A mortgagee, or his successor-in-interest to the mortgage (a lien/encumbrance is not ownership)

3. An antichretic creditor cannot acquire by prescription the land surrendered to him by the debtor. His possession not in concept of owner but mere holder placed in possession of the land b its owners; such possession cannot serve as a title for acquiring dominion.

4. A person or entity whose claim of ownership to land had been previously denied in a reivindicatory action, and the right of ownership thereto of another upheld by the courts, cannot apply for the same land in a registration proceedings.

FILING

FORM AND CONTENTS OF APPLICATION

Section 15.Form and contents.The application for land registration shall be in writing, signed by the application or the person duly authorized in his behalf, and sworn to before any officer authorized to administer oaths for the 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 description of the land and shall state the 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. It 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.

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.

The application shall contain the following:

1. Description of the land applied for, together with the buildings and improvements thereon, if any. The plan duly approved by the Director of Land Management Bureau, and technical descriptions of the land applied for, must be attached to the application. (All these are produced in the 1st step: survey)

2. The 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.

3. The assessed value of the land and the buildings and other improvements thereon, based on the last assessment for taxation purposes.

4. Mortgage or encumbrance of any kind whatsoever affecting the land applied for, or names of other persons who may have an interest therein, legal or equitable. Otherwise, the applicant shall state that to the best of his knowledge and belief, there is no such encumbrance or interested persons.

5. The manner by which the applicant has acquired the land (Refer to Sec. 14)

6. The full names and addresses of all occupants of the land and those of the adjoining owners, if known, and if not known, the applicant shall state the extent of the search made to find them.

7. When land applied for borders on road: Sec. 20.

8. Sec. 21: the court may required facts to be stated in the application in addition to those prescribed by the Decree not inconsistent therewith and may required the filing of any additional papers. It may also conduct an ocular inspection, if necessary.

If the applicant is non-resident:

Section 16.Non-resident applicant.If the applicant is not a resident of the Philippines, he shall file with his application an instrument in 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 or growing out of the application made upon his agent or representative shall be of the same legal effect as if made upon the applicant within the Philippines. If the agent or representative dies, or leaves the Philippines, the applicant shall forthwith make another appointment for the substitute, and, if he fails to do so the court may dismiss the application.

WHERE TO FILE

Section 17.What and where to file.The application for land registration shall be filed with the Court of First Instance (now RTC) 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 of the land approved by the Bureau of Lands (now Bureau of Land Management).

The clerk of court shall not accept any application unless it is shown that the applicant has furnished the Director of Lands (now Director of Land Management) with a copy of the application and all annexes.

AMENDMENTS TO APPLICATION AND NEEDED PUBLICATION

Section 18.Application covering two or more parcels.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 amended by striking out one or more of the parcels or by a severance of the application.

Section 19.Amendments.Amendments to the application including joinder, substitution, or discontinuance as to parties may be allowed by the court at any stage of the proceedings upon just and reasonable terms.

Amendments which shall consist in a substantial change in the boundaries or an increase in area of the land applied for or which involve the inclusion of an additional land shall be subject to the same requirements of publication and notice as in an original application.

Under the above provision, there is need to comply with the required publication and notice if the amendment of the application consists in:

1. A substantial change in the boundaries;

2. An increase in the area of the land applied for; or

3. The inclusion of an additional land.

Reason for republication: to give notice to all persons concerned regarding the amended application. Without 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.

No republication required:

Amendment due to change of name of applicant

Amendment due to decrease in the area of the land

DEALINGS WITH LAND PENDING ORIGINAL REGISTRATION

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.AFTER FILING OF APPLICATION

NOTICE AND INITIAL HEARING

Includes (take note steps for registration):

3. Setting date for initial hearing and publication

4. Transmittal of the publication and the date of initial hearing with all the documents or other evidences attached thereto by the clerk of court to the land registration authority (lra)

5. Publication of a notice of the filing of the application and date and place of the hearing in the official gazette6. Service of notice upon contiguous owners, occupants and those known to have interests in the property by the sheriffSection 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 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.

(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 _______________, 19 ______, 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 Court of First Instance of _______ this _______ day of _________________, in the year 19______.

Attest:

Commissioner of Land RegistrationThe court order setting the date of initial hearing

Transmitted to the Administrator of the LRA

Administrator prepare/issue notice of initial hearing in the form prescribed in Sec. 23

Notice given to public by publishing, mailing and posting

Court order beyond 90 days

Republic v. San Lorenzo (?)

-does not affect the validity of application

-the duty to set it lies with the court

-it is beyond the power of the applicant

-it is unfair to punish the applicant because he has no control to set the date for initial hearing.

Contents of court order setting date of initial hearing: similar to summons in ordinary civil actions.

PUBLICATION

Purpose and effects of publication:1. To confer jurisdiction over the land applied for upon the court,

2. To charge the whole world with knowledge of the application of the land involved, and invite them to take part in the case and assert and prove their rights over the property subject thereof.

Publication satisfies the constitutional requirement of due process:

Procedural due process:

1. Notice (complied with)

2. Hearing

Publication why only in the Philippines? Courts only have jurisdiction in the Philippines and the purpose of publication is to confer jurisdiction.

Is publication in Official Gazette sufficient to confer jurisdiction?No. Director of Lands v. CA (276 SCRA 276)

-publication in the O.G. is not sufficient to confer jurisdiction

-O.G. is not as widely read

-O.G. often delayed, notice does not reach interested party on time

-Legal reasons: provision uses the word shall (rules on statutory construction: it is imperative act/ mandatory; and is also conjunctive.)

If the court does not acquire jurisdiction: all proceedings by the court are null and void.

Issue of O.G. released after initial hearing

Register of Deeds of Malabon v. RTC, Malabon, Metro Manila

-tardiness of publication: court did not acquire jurisdiction

Republic v. CA (236 SCRA 442, 449)

-the publication is also defective where the O.G. containing said notice, although for the month prior to the scheduled hearing, was released for publication only after said hearing.

-publication must precede the date of initial hearingMAILING

(Mandatory)

By registered mail

POSTING

By sheriff or his deputy

PROOF OF PUBLICATION, MAILING, POSTINGProof of publication:

Certification of Administrator (because he is the one who caused the publication)

Probative value/ conclusive proof;

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. Copy of the Official Gazette

Copy of the Newspaper

Affidavit of publication issued by the publisher or duly authorized person of the newspaper.

Proof of mailing

When registry return card is returned to the court (bought from the Post Office)

Proof of posting

Certificate of posting issued by sheriff

FILING OF ANSWER TO THE APPLICATION

WHO MAY OPPOSE TO THE APPLICATION?

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.

The oppositors: need not be named in the notice of initial hearing.

He must claim an interest to the property applied for, based on a right of dominion or some other real right independent of, and not at all subordinate to, the rights of the Government.

The oppositor does not have to show title in himself; he should however appear to have an interest in the property.

Interest may be in the character of:

Legal owner, or

Equitable interest, or

Beneficiary of a trust

The prayer (objection, interest, remedy) determines:

whether to deny or dismiss the application of claimant, and

for the court to order registration of land in the name of oppositor

The following may be proper oppositors:

1. a homesteader who had not yet been issued his title but who had fulfilled all the conditions required by law to entitle him to a patent;

2. a purchaser of friar land before the issuance of the patent to him;

3. Persons who claim to be in possession of a tract of public land and have applied with the Bureau of Land Management for its purchase

The following may not be proper oppositors:

1. A mere foreshore lessee of public land (he is not an equitable owner, his right is subordinate to that of the Government.

Solicitor general may file a motion to dismiss the application

When the land is inalienable (e.g. timberland, forest land)

Ground: the court has no jurisdiction over the case because the land is inalienable

DEFAULT

An interested party to a land subject of registration may file his opposition to the application on or before the date of initial hearing. Absent any oppositor, the court will then issue an order of default.

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. (general default)

Where an appearance has been entered and an answer filed, a default order shall be entered against persons who did not appear and answer. (special default)

General default- is addressed to the whole world

Special default- is directed only against those who did not enter their appearance and file answer.

Effects of default

A default order is entered against the whole world, so that all persons are bound by said order. A person who has not challenged the application for registration of land, even if the appeal he afterwards interposed is based on the right of dominion over the same land, cannot allege damage or error against the judgment granting the registration inasmuch as he did not allege to have any right to such land.

The applicant is allowed to present evidence ex parteIs the declaration of default a guarantee that the application will be granted?

No, it is still the burden of the applicant to prove that he is entitled to registration, incontrovertible proof.

When default order is improper; remedy: Petition for certiorari

Remedy from order of default

A defaulted interested person may however gain standing in court by filing a motion to set aside the order of default in accordance with Sec. 3, Rule 18 or Rules of Court.

Sec. 3. Relief from order of default: A party declared in default may at any time after discovery thereof and before judgment file a motion under oath to set aside the order of default upon proper showing that his failure to answer was due to fraud, accident, mistake or excusable negligence and that he has meritorious defense. In such case the order of default may be set aside on such terms and conditions as the judge may impose in the interest of justice.

Grounds: (FAME-M)

1. Fraud

2. Accident

3. Mistake

4. Excusable negligence

5. Meritorious defense

If there has already been judgment by default and applicant has already presented evidence: motion for new trial (ground: fame-m)

Appeal from judgment from court:

If from RTC- to Court of Appeals

If from MTC- still to Court of Appeals (delegated jurisdiction)

(Remedy discussed in its proper place)

EVIDENCE In land registration cases, the burden of proof is upon the applicant to show that he is the real and absolute owner in fee simple.

The applicant must overcome the presumption that the land sought to be registered forms part of the public domain (by virtue of the Regalian doctrine).

How? By presenting competent, clear and persuasive evidence of private ownership or of acquisition from the government.

Applicant must stand on the strength of his own evidence and not rely on the absence or weakness of the evidence of the oppositors.

What applicant must prove:

1. That the land applied for has been declassified and is a public agricultural land, is alienable and disposable.

There must be a positive act from the government that the land had been declassified from the forest groups and converted into alienable and disposable land for agricultural purposes.

Specific proofs that he may present:

a. Presidential proclamation

b. Executive order

c. Administrative order

d. BFD land classification map

e. Certification by the Director of Forestry and reports of District Forester

Mere recommendation of the District Forester for release of the land from its unclassified origin is not evidence of such release. (Director of Lands v. CA)

f. Investigation reports of Bureau of Lands investigator

g. Legislative act, or by statute

Not sufficient proofs to establish declassificationa. Survey plan even if approved by the Bureau of Lands

b. Conversion of land into fishpond and the titling of properties around it

c. The mere fact that the area in which the land involved is located has become highly developed residential or commercial land and actually no longer forest land2. Identity of the land. Proofs:a. Survey plan of the property approved by the Director of Landsb. Tracing cloth plan and blue print copies of the plan The submission of the original tracing cloth plan of the land applied for, duly approved by the Director of Lands, was held to be a statutory requirement of mandatory character which cannot be waived. (Director of Lands v. Reyes)( reason: 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. Blue print copy suffices for the purpose where the original tracing cloth plan was attached to the application for registration.c. Technical description of the land applied for, duly signed by a geodetic engineerd. Tax declarationse. Boundaries and area General Rule: In the identification of land, well-defined boundaries will prevail over area, and in case of conflict, former controls the latter. Exception: If there is substantial and unexplained discrepancies as to the area of the land stated in the muniments of title or in documents evidencing acquisition of the land by the applicant or his claim of ownership and the area as surveyed based on natural boundaries3. Applicants possession and occupation of the land for the length of time and in the manner required by law.

Effect of possession: Open, exclusive, and undisputed possession of alienable public land for the period prescribed by law creates the legal fiction whereby the land, upon completion of the requisite period ipso jure and without the need of judicial or other sanctions, ceases to be public land and becomes private property. Possessor is deemed to have acquired by operation of law a right to government grant without the necessity of certificate of title being issued.

The present possessor may complete the period necessary for prescription by tacking his possession to that of his grantor or predecessor-in-interest Tacking of possession is allowed only when there is privity of contract or relationship between the previous and present possessors Insufficient proofs of possessiona. Mere casual cultivation of portions of land by claimant( mere occupancy thereof by grazing livestock upon it, without substantial enclosures, or other permanent improvements, is not sufficient to support a claim of title through acquisitive prescription.b. Tax declaration of land sought to be registered, which is not in the name of the applicant but in the name of the deceased parents of an oppositorc. Holding of property by mere tolerance of the ownerd. Mere failure of fiscal representing the State to cross-examine the applicant on the claimed possession e. Possession of other persons in the land applied for impugns the exclusive quality of the applicants possession.f. Even if the petitioners can trace their deed of sale back to Adam and Eve, fill in every square inch of the land with agricultural tenants, have residential houses built every few meters here and there, pay the realty taxes religiously every year and have an approved Bureau of Lands Survey yearly, they will not become the owners if they will not follow the procedure to obtain public agricultural land mandated by the Public Land Act4. Basis of private ownership (if applicant claims private ownership not because of possession) Proofs:a. Documentary evidencei. Spanish titles in pending cases Under PD 892, holders of Spanish titles or grants can no longer invoke it as basis of ownership for the purposes of applying for registration six months after February 16, 1976. They are now merely indicia of claim of ownership, i.e. that the holder has a claim over the property. ii. Tax declarations and realty tax payments not conclusive evidence of ownership but are at least proof that the holder had a claim of title over the property best indicia of possession become strong evidence of ownership acquired by prescription when accompanied by proof of actual possession of the property by other effective proofiii. Presidential issuances and legislative actsb. Testimonial evidence

c. Deeds of sale( The execution of a deed of a notarial deed of sale is equivalent to the delivery of the realty sold and places the vendee in legal possession thereof, conformably to Art.1498 of the NCC. Not sufficient proofs:a. Compromise agreement between parties where they agreed that they have rights and interest over the land and assigned or allocated portions thereof to each of them b. Decision in an estate proceeding of a predecessor-in-interest of an applicant which involves a property over which the decedent has no transmissible right and decisions in any other cases where the issue of ownership was not definitely passed uponc. Survey plan of the land

SUMMARY TABLE OF PIECES OF EVIDENCE APPLICANT SHOULD PROVE IN LAND REGISTRATION CASES

What applicant must proveSufficient proofsInsufficient proofs

1. That the land applied for has been declassified, and is a public agricultural land, is alienable and disposablea. Presidential proclamation

b. Executive order

c. Administrative order

d. BFD Land Classification Map

e. Certification by the Director of Forestry and reports of District Forester

f. Investigation reports of Bureau of Lands

g. Legislative act, by statutea. Survey plan

b. Conversion of land into fishpond

c. mere fact that the area in which the land involved is located has become highly developed residential or commercial land and actually no longer forest land

2. Identity of the landa. Survey plan

b. Tracing cloth plan and blue print copies of the planc. Technical description of the land applied for, duly signed by a geodetic engineerd. Tax declarationse. Boundaries and area

3. Applicants possession and occupation of the land for the length of time and in the manner required by law.

a. Mere casual cultivation of portions of land by claimantb. Tax declaration of land sought to be registered, which is not in the name of the applicant but in the name of the deceased parents of an oppositorc. Holding of property by mere tolerance of the ownerd. Mere failure of fiscal representing the State to cross-examine the applicant on the claimed possession e. Possession of other persons in the land applied for impugns the exclusive quality of the applicants possession.f. When petitioners do not follow the procedure to obtain public agricultural land mandated by the Publ