SEC. 110. Reconstitution of lost or destroyed original of Torrens title.

— Original copies of
certificates of title lost or destroyed in the offices of Register of Deeds as well as liens and
encumbrances affecting the lands covered by such titles shall be reconstituted judicially in
accordance with the procedure prescribed in Republic Act No. 26 insofar as not inconsistent
with this Decree. The procedure relative to administrative reconstitution of lost or
destroyed certificate prescribed in said Act is hereby abro- gated.

Notice of all hearings of the petition for judicial reconstitu- tion shall be given to the
Register of Deeds of the place where the land is situated and to the Commissioner of Land
Registration. No order or judgment ordering the reconstitution of a certificate of title shall
become final until the lapse of thirty days from receipt by the Register of Deeds and by the
Commissioner of Land Registration of a notice of such order or judgment without any
appeal having been filed by any of such officials.

01. Reconstitution denotes restoration of the lost title in its original form and condition.

 The reconstitution or reconstruction of a certificate of title literally and within the

meaning of RA No. 26 denotes restoration of the instrument which is supposed to have
been lost or destroyed in its original form and condition.
 The purpose of the reconstitution of any document, book or record is to have the same
reproduced, after observing the procedure prescribed by law, in the same form they were
when the loss or destruction occurred.
 Thus, if the certificate of title covering the lot was decreed in the form of “Antonio
Ompad and Dionisia Icong,” the reconstituted certificate of title should likewise be in the
name of the owners as they appeared in the lost or destroyed certificate of title sought to
be reconstituted, and not, for instance, in the name of “spouses Antonio Ompad and
Dionisia Icong” which involves a material change in the certificate of title, and which
cannot be authorized under the summary proceedings for recons- titution prescribed in
RA No. 26.

02. Proof Required for Reconstitution

1. Certificate title has been lost or destroyed

2. Documents are sufficient to warrant reconstitution
3. Petitioner is registered owner or property or had an interest therein
4. Certificate of title was in force at the time it was lost or destroyed
5. The description, area, boudnaries of the property are substantially the same as those
contained in the lost or destroyed certificate of title

03. Sources of reconstitution.

Section 2 of RA No. 26 governs reconstitution of original certificates of title while Section 3

governs petitions for reconstitution of transfer certificates of title.

(1) For original certificates of title

 Pursuant to Section 2 of RA No. 26, lost or destroyed original certificates of title shall be
reconstituted from the sources hereunder enumerated, in the following order:
 o (a) The owner’s duplicate of the certificate of title; 


o (b) The co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, or lessee’s duplicate of the certificate of title;

o (c) A certified copy of the certificate of title, previously issued by the register of
deeds or by a legal custodian thereof;
o (d) An authenticated copy of the decree of registration or patent, as the case may be,
pursuant to which the original certificate of title was issued;
o (e) A document, on file in the registry of deeds, by which the property, the
description of which is given in said document, is mort- gaged, leased or
encumbered, or an authenticated copy of said document showing that its original
had been registered; and
o (f) Any other document which, in the judgment of the court, is sufficient and
proper basis for reconstituting the lost or destroyed certificate of title.

(2) For transfer certificates of title

On the other hand, Section 3 states that lost or destroyed transfer certificates of title shall be
reconstituted from the sources hereunder enumerated, in the following order:

o (a) The owner’s duplicate of the certificate of title; 


o (b) The co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, or lessee’s duplicate of the certificate of title;

o (c) A certified copy of the certificate of title, previously issued by the register of
deeds or by a legal custodian thereof;
o (d) The deed of transfer or other document, on file in the registry of deeds,
containing the description of the property, or an authenticated copy thereof,
showing that its original had been registered, and pursuant to which the lost or
destroyed transfer certificate of title was issued;
o (e) A document, on file in the registry of deeds, by which the property, the
description of which is given in said document, is mortgaged, leased or
encumbered, or an authenticated copy of said document showing that its original
had been registered; and
o (f) Any other document which, in the judgment of the court, is sufficient and
proper basis for reconstituting the lost or destroyed certificate of title.

(3) For liens and encumbrances

 With respect to liens and encumbrances affecting lost or destroyed certificates of title,
Section 4 provides that they shall be reconstituted from the sources enumerated hereunder,
in the following order:
o (a) Annotations or memoranda appearing on the owner’s co- owner’s
mortgagee’s or lessee’s duplicate;
o (b) Registered documents on file in the registry of deeds, or authenticated copies
thereof showing that the originals thereof had been registered; and
o (c) Any other document which, in the judgment of the court, is sufficient and
proper basis for reconstituting the liens or encum- brances affecting the property
covered by the lost or destroyed certi- ficate of title.

(4) Meaning of “any other document”

  refers to documents similar to those previously enumerated therein

(5) LRC Circular No. 35, Series of 1983

 As per LRC circular #35, the signed duplicate copy of the petition to be forwarded to this
Commission shall be accompanied by the following:
 o A duly prepared plan of said parcel of land in tracing cloth, with 2 print copies thereof,
prepared by the government agency which issued the certified technical description, or by
a duly licensed Geodetic Engineer who shall certify thereon that he prepared the same on
the basis of a duly certified technical description. Where the plan as submitted is certified
by the government agency which issued the same, it is sufficient that the technical
description be prepared by a duly licensed Geodetic Engineer on the basis of said
certified plan.
o The original, 2 duplicate copies, and a Xerox copy of the original of the technical
description of the parcel of land covered by the certificate of title, duly certified
by the authorized officer of the Bureau of Lands or the LRC who issued the
technical description
o A signed copy of the certification of the RD concerned that the original of the
certificate on title on file with the RD was either lost or destroyed, indicating the
name of the registered owner, if known from the other records in file in said
office.