2/13/19

 What is a certificate of title?

 Transcription of decree
o Transcription is the very issuance of the title upon recording the same in the book of registry of
deeds
 What is a transfer certificate of title?
o Subsequent certificate of title upon cancellation of the original
o Meaning there was conveyance affecting the property
o From the original certificate of title to the 1st transfer certificate of title
o If it’s a 1st transfer there is that indication at the lower portion that it comes from the original
certificate of title
 What is a Cadastral Title?
 Original certificate of title
o Will indicate the origin
o If it is a patent there is that indication that it comes from patent issued by DENR
o As we know, in disposal of public lands or distribution, clearly the agency very much involved is
DENR, specially the LMB
o Survey is a very important requirement
o And the only office that can approve a survey is the LMB
 Important note:
o LMB is the old Bureau of Lands
 Survey, if it is upon the initiative of private individual can be accomplished by either a duly licensed
geodetic engineer or the geodetic engineers of DENR
 But because of volume of work there are also private geodetic engineers licensed by the DENR
o But no employment relationship, only contractual
 Patents
o What is the original law for this?
o Public Land Act
 CA 141
o Public land act
o The original law
 PRD
o Incorporated here
 Section 39
o Procedural aspect
 Under what office do we have that decree of registration? Who is responsible for the decree?
o LRA
 Issuance of decree of registration emanates from the decision of the court
 What is the duty of the LRA?
o Out of the final order of the court, you have the decree of registration
 What is the use of the decree of registration?
o It is actually the one that you can see the certificate of title
 Which portion of title comes from decree of registration?
o It begins with the description of the property
o It begins with the location of the property
o Properly delineated, surveyed, and covered by the decree
o Down the line you have the portion concerning the boundaries
o As to the technical description of the property, it must be an accurate one, duly approved by the
LMB
 o Purpose is to prevent any double titling
o There can be no other OCT
o If there is overlapping, the same must be corrected
o Embodiment of CT is that it pertains to a specific property
o No other property is covered under the same CT

2/27/19
 Section 44
o Any interest affecting a particular registered property, under what portion of the title can you
find it?
o The 2nd page when you have the portion concerning encumbrances
 But there can be claims that need not to be annotated
o These are the statutory claims
 List of statutory liens are as follows:
 First: Lien, claims, rights provided under the Constitution
o It could be other laws
o A parcel of land can be covered under the enabling of law on the Agrarian Reform program
o Any particular lien in favor of the government by reason of public policy can be subject of lien
 Second: real estate taxes
o There is limiting period of 2 years
o However, this is enforced not by a lien, but because of BIR regulation
o Because before you can transfer property, an important requirement is payment of all
outstanding taxes, even those beyond 2 years before there can be transfer
o Thus, a certification from the local treasurer’s office that all taxes before conveyance are paid
o Thus, no problem with this lien
 Third:
o If initial registration, if there is road or highway, the same must be duly indicated in the survey
plan, partly this is not a problem
o In the event that there is no delineation, there is a lien on the property
 Fourth:
o With regard to agrarian reform
 If statutory lien, what is the significance?
o What is the essence of a statutory lien?
o Even if the encumbrance does not appear, all must recognize its existence
o This is a lien by law
 Section 45
o Description of the owner
o It must include personal circumstances
 Section 47
o Registered land is not subject to prescription for purposes of acquisition
o However, what is the limiting effect of laches
o If there is unreasonably length of time and there are 3rd parties might be prejudiced by inaction,
laches might apply
o Although imprescriptible, laches may prejudice the owner
 What is the basis of laches?
o Based on equity
o You do not anchor it on any provision by law
 We do not allow collateral attack on TCT
 2 important incidents
o Splitting or
o Consolidation of titles
 1 registered property covered by one title covered by 1 survey plan
o In event of subdivision, it would result to splitting
o Normally we subdivide for purposes of succession
o When you talk about distribution of properties to co-heirs
 Consolidation
o 2 or more parcels of land covered by separate title
o It is possible that that registered owner, which is adjoining may petition for consolidation
o To have 1 survey, and 1 COT for the land
 Subdivision plan
o Realty development programs
o It would illustrate this in here
 Certificate of title
o Simply evidence or proof of ownership
o It is separate of the registered owner
o Title emanates from any of the circumstances found in section 14
o That is the source of the title of the individual
o The resulting title is merely the proof of title or ownership
 After original registration, there is the so-called subsequent registration
 What are covered?
o Voluntary and involuntary transactions
 In event of conveyance, you have subsequent transaction
o Result to cancellation of original
o New title will now be called transfer certificate of title
 TCT
o It still has the same features
o You have the original being kept with the RD
o And owners duplicate copy of the TCT in the hands of the transferee
o Original is kept with the RD, original’s owner duplicate copy with the owner
 Section 52
o Constructive notice
 Constructive notice
o Who is affected by constructive notice?
o The whole world
 Upon registration, the whole world is deemed bound
o There is no need for actual knowledge of the registration
o The mere fact that it is registered under the torrens system, the whole world is bound
 What is the advantage of the principle of constructive notice?
o What is the essence of torrens title?
o Any interested party can just go to the record of deeds
o If a transaction is there, he can rely that no adverse claim can affect that particular transaction
that is duly annotated
o Any conveyance or mortgage or order duly registered is constructive notice
 Voluntary transaction, what are covered?
o Deed of sale
o Mortgage
o Lease
 Why is it considered voluntary or involuntary?
o The fact there is court action, it would indicate the there is no voluntariness
o Ex. the court processes
o Writ of attachment
o It arises out of a court action
 Presentation of owners duplicate upon entry
 In voluntary txns that usual requirement is the surrender of owner’s copy
 What if the seller does not surrender his owner’s copy?
o If voluntary txn, if you were the buyer, would you like to be inconvenienced
o You pay, but all the requirements must be complied
 How about in involuntary registration
o Can you expect the registered owner to surrender his copy?
o Normally NO, therefore, is it possible to register a writ of attachment even without owners copy?
o YES
o But RD is duty bound to notify the registered owner that there is this attachment, and they
require owner to submit owners copy for registration
o Winning party need not be prejudiced from the refusal of the owner to submit it
 Section 56
o What is the primary entry book of the registry of deeds?
o If all certificates of title are duly kept, you also have the entry of all txns of registered property
kept chronologically
 What is the significance or effect of noting in the primary entry book?
o Why is it that the RD keeps this primary entry book?
o What can be found in the primary entry book?
o Date, hour, the minute
o It is the fact of noting in the primary entry book that results to registration
o It does not require the registration on the 2nd page of tittle one encumbrances
o It is enough that the txn is duly noted in the RDs primary entry book
o The operative act of registration is the noting in the primary entry book
 Conveyances and transfers
 What is the procedure in section 57?
o Thus, at the back you have the entry number, down the line the chronology presentation of the
document
 If deed of sale, you will have a new certificate of title
o Transfer certificate of title from the original
 If there is no encumbrance from 1st certificate of title, then transfer will also have no encumbrance
 If there is encumbrance
o it will be carried over
o it must appear in the TCT
o this is the rule of carry over
o you carry over any encumbrance from the previous title
 if it is only a portion on the registered land
o the same must be indicated also
 mortgages and leases
o entering into a lease contract is an exercise of ownership
o and to protect the interest of the lessee, there is registration
 mortgage
o any similar txn must be duly registered for purposes of protecting the interest of the mortgagee
o if lease, the lessee
 o if trust, then trustee (beneficiary)
 Section 61
o Remember this
 Upon registration, there is constructive notice
 Section 62
o a duly registered mortgage or lease upon the expiration or discharge can be cancelled
o there is proper document for discharge of mortgage
 in the event of default of mortgagor or debtor
 section 63
o In the event of default
o Foreclosure is either judicial or extrajudicial
o In the event of judicial, there is court order indicating there is collateral covered was judicially
foreclosed
o If extrajudicial, there is certificate of sale
o If by sheriff, sheriff’s certificate of sale
o Can also be a notary public
o This would be presented to RD for registration
 If extrajudicial foreclosure
 Section 47
o Banking law
o We have the new central bank law of 2019
o To strengthen the prerogatives of the BSP to regulate inflation
o Under GBL, CB can now issue debt instruments
 Incorporation law
o One man corporation is not applicable in bank
 Trust and power of attorney
o If registered property, it requires special power of attorney
o If trust, an express one, creating the document or relationship, you have trustor transferring to
trustee for the benefit of beneficiary
 What is the concept of naked title?
o Naked because it is the beneficiary who benefits
o It is simply ownership by name, but enjoyment belongs to the beneficiary
 Trust with power of sale
 Involuntary dealings
 Attachment
o Preliminary attachment
o To satisfy the favorable judgment
o This is the essence of attachment
 Section 70
o Favorite
 What is the nature of an adverse claim?
o Or what is an adverse claim?
o Claim against the property
o You have an individual claiming interest over a registered property
o Unfortunately, in original registration his claim was not duly heard
o Therefore, only remedy, is to annotate the same and file the corresponding instrument
indicating the adverse claim
 How do you register an adverse claim?
o it is a simple document by way of affidavit informing RD that you have claim against the property
 o purpose is to have that document embodied or annotated in the certificate of title
 how long is the effectivity of adverse claim?
o Good for 30 days
 Why the need to go to court?
o Why a court hearing?
o Due process requirement of the constitution
 If you were the person filing an adverse claim, what is the next step?
o File a case in court
o This time, what is the document that will be annotated on the affected property
o From adverse claim, it becomes a notice of lis pendens
o It completes the process
o Your ultimate goal is for the court to determine your claim
o You file an action to prove in court that indeed you have a superior claim
o To protect your interest form adverse claim, you have to file a notice of lis pendens
o By mere affidavit that indeed there is now a pending case affecting this registered property
 What is the overall effect of adverse claim with notice of lis pendens?
o What is the beneficial claim?
o Whole world will now be bound
o Any buyer cannot simply rely on the tile of registered owner
o It might be defeated in the decision arising from the case
o So buyer beware
o this is the significance of having adverse claim culminating in lis pendens
 Surrender of certificate in involuntary dealings
o Section 71
 If you are registered owner, no need to wait for 4th order
 Expiration of redemption period
o If there is no redemption within allowable period, it would result to consolidation of title in favor
of buyer
o By filing the affidavit of consolidation with RD, the certificate of title in the name of registered
owner
 Notice of lis pendens
o Section 76
 Similarly just like any annotation, notice of lis pendens may be cancelled
o If the result is in favor of registered owner, he can petition for cancellation
o What is the embodiment of petition for cancellation?
o That you have final order from the court in your favor as against the claimant who filed the notice
of lis pendens
 What are the important things to remember?
o Adverse claim
o Notice of lis pendens
o These are the familiar incidents affecting registered property
o Splitting or subdividing property
o Consolidation
o It is easier to dispose property if subdivided
o Realty taxes
 Registration of judgment, court order or partition
 Judgment
o Final order of the court finally disposing an action
o This can be registered
 Court order
o Writ of attachment could be an order
o It does not dispose the case
o But to protect interest of plaintiff
 Partition
o Distribution of properties among co-owners, co-heirs
 Extrajudicial partition
o Co-owners agree to execute the corresponding document, deed of partition, without going to
court
 Judgment for plaintiff
o If against the registered owner, in favor of claimant
o It would result to cancellation of title
o Otherwise, it would result to quieting of title
 If issue is ownership
o If in favor of registered owner, title remains
o If not, it will be cancelled
 Judgment of partition
o Denotes judicial partition
 If it is juridical partition, co-owners fail to agree,
 You cannot prevent co-owner from demanding his share
o This is a protected right
 Section 85
o Inherent powers of the state
o Power of eminent domain
o Common term is expropriation
 What happens in expropriation proceeding
o Executive
o Local GU – emanates from the national government
 Extrajudicial settlement of estate
o Section 86
o What is the annotation on the certificate of title
o There is formality requirement – publication
o Idea is to have that notice in a newspaper of general circulation
o Once a week for 3 consecutive weeks
o Upon compliance, it is effective against the whole world if coupled with appropriate registration
 Section 74
o Any distribution of land by extrajudicial settlement
o Effect of extrajudicial settlement is annotated on the certificate of title good for 2 years
o Aside from publication, any interested party has 2 years to file his claim against property being
subdivided or partitioned
o Upon lapse , registered owner can petition for cancellation of that lien
o That lien is duly annotated on the COT, property is subject to extrajudicial partition
 Normally if it is an estate
o For purposes of managing the estate, it is possible that title is transferred to executor
 Chapter 7
 Any court order or decision can be annotated
o Writ of preliminary attachment
 Assurance fund
o Remedies
 Chapter 7 – assurance fund
 Chapter 8 – patents
 Chapter 9 – 3 articles – land reform program, focus on registration
 Chapter 10 – only 4 articles – focus on these 4 articles, usual area of practice later on
 Chapter 11 – only 1 article –
 Chapter 12 – only 1 article – significant in relation to legal forms
 Chapter 13 – only 1 article – documents affectivne unregistered land
 Chapter 14 – 3 articles – chattel mortgage
 Chapter 15 – consulta
 What is the purpose of the assurance fund?
 Certain requisites to recover
o Without fault on his part
o But there are other requisites
 First recourse to be against the guilty party
 If guilty power is insolvent, then ultimate resort to assurance fund
 If against the assurance fund, it must include the ff parties;
o RD
o National treasurer
o Guilty party
 Patent
o When we talk about issuance of patents vis a vis registration
o If it is judicial in character in registration
o How do you call the process involved in the issuance of a patent?
o If it is registration thru a patent, it is administrative legalization
o There is the corresponding registration of land in the public domain outside of the court
o It becomes clearly administrative
o What makes it administrative?
o Section 103
o Certificate of title pursuant to patents
 Who has the duty to report the granting of the patent?
o The issuing agency
o What is the agency involved as to the issuance of patent?
o DENR
o Down the line, at the NCR, the LMB, the regional executive director
o And provinces, and LGUs, provincial environment officer, community environment office
o It emanates from the secretary down the line, then CENRO or PENRO who gives patent to RD
where the property is located
 The grant is between grantee and government initially
o Once a patent is brought to RD for purposes of issuing the certificate of tile
o The act of registration shall be the operative act to bring the property of land registration system
o It is equivalent to section 14
 Thus, there lies a distinction between judicial and administrative legalizations
o You do away with the formalities
o In the trial
 What is the risk if any?
o In the process of administrative legalization
o How do you characterize judicial proceedings?
o What happens with applicant and oppositor?
o In a judicial proceeding you have usually the screening of evidence being presented
 o But in an administrative, there is none
o The evils in administrative proceedings
o No actual survey of the land, then suddenly a certificate of title is issued, and someone claims
portion of property
o Presumption of regularity in functions of pubic employees and officers
o But there are those that do not conform to that regularity when they perform their functions
 Certificate of tile arising from registration of patent is just like a corticate of tile arising from a decree of
registration arising from the LRA
o It is as good as that
o Thus you have the application of all the principles
 Homestead patent
o Is what kind of patent?
o You have that eager cultivator which his normally the grantee
o We call him the homesteader
o That is why it is called by homestead
o Appropriately it is the homestead patent
o To allow the eager cultivator to own the land
 Sales patent
o Land awarded to highest bidder
o Open biding for interested parties
o Winning bidder is buyer
o Out of txn, it would result to a contract of sale
o Resulting patent is a sales patent
 Free patent
o It is by the usual mode recognized in section 14
o Instead of application for petition
o Thru the DENR u have that possibility of having title emanating from a free patent
o As the term suggests, it is free, no consideration
o It is a smaller area
o Homestead is larger area
o Issuance of free patent for residential land, RA 123
o Smaller areas for
o There is that table
o 200 sqm – it is a social legislation to enable ownership, this is for highly urbanized
o 500 sqm
o 1st and 2nd municipalities – 750 sqm
o 1000 sqm – 3rd class and up to last class
o As small as 200 – 1000
o Social legislation to enable land ownership for purposes of residential use
o Thus, that is still free patent
 Special patent
o Normally who are the recipients?
o Government agencies or LGUs
o To distinguish it from usual patents, it is special if the grantee is a government agency or LGU
 What is the important prohibition arising from a special patent?
o Grantee is not allowed to dispose the property
o What is the requirement before the LGU may dispose the same?
o It requires the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources
o The very intention of government entity is for public use if it is disposed then the very purpose
is deemed defeated
 These are the possible patents, the most common is free patent
o In agrarian law, there is homestead patent, there is that special consideration in agricultural
lands emanating from a homestead grant
o If still in possession of grantee or successor in interests such land is exempted from coverage of
CAR
o What is the use of sharing with others when the very purpose of law is to give land to landless
 Land Reform Certificate
o Any award from land reform statutes will come under this chapter
o Originally, it is PD 27, pertaining to corn and rice lands
o What is the coverage of this law initially?
o What are the covered lands?
 It simply talks about rice and corn lands
o Under CAR, it covers all agricultural lands, public or private, exception is homestead grant
o In reading this provision, it will include all other agricultural lands, not only rice and corn lands
 Thus, for purposes of keeping records of titles emanating from CAR
o What must the register of deeds maintain?
o What is required under the law that the RD must keep or maintain in relation with Certificates
of Titles emanating from the CAR?
o Section 104
o There is appropriate registry designed for purposes of keeping track of all titles emanating from
CAR
o Includes all certificates of titles from agrarian reform program
 There is that registry for all certificates from the land reform program
 What is that certificate being mentioned?
o Certificate of Land Transfers
o Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA)
 In that registry, you have all these documents
 Upon the final award of land to a beneficiary, an agrarian reform beneficiary, there is that corresponding
title, and the title is just same with the title form judicial or administrative legalization
o It is still the usual certificate of title only that the source is being traced to the grant of certificate
from the CAR
o Purpose of registry is to monitor
o What is that prohibition from the title from emanating program
 What is the prohibition?
o There is a need to trace the title because of certain restrictions
o Just like the land acquired form land prom public land act
o There is that prohibitory period where the is not disposal of property in the hands of the grantee
 Homestead
o 5 years before you can dispose
 CARL
o Its 10 years
o To keep cultivation in the hands of the grantee
o This is the purpose of this social legislation
o If you now allow this to dispose it defeats the purpose
o Thus, the prohibition
 Emancipation patent
 From the provision, what is the observable difference when you talk about the issuance of certificate of
title from the usual? Who keeps the original in the usual way?
o Usual way, RD, the owner simply has owner’ copy
o In titles from CAR, original is given to grantee, duplicate is being kept from RD
 o Same certificate of title arising from the CAR
 Section 106
o Sale of agricultural land
o In contract of sale in involving agricultural land, aside from the deed of sale there is additional
requirement
o The affidavit from owner that the land is not tenanted
o Because if tenanted, you have to consider the application of all relevant land reform statures
o As it stands today, land owner may only dispose of retained area, the maximum size of 5 hectare
o In effect he can only disposes this portion
o The excess would be covered by the CARP
 Important petitions in land registration
 Section 107
o Voluntary
o If you are counsel of buyer, do not pay until surrender of owner’s copy
o There is recourse under the law, owner may be compelled to surrender owner’s copy
o The court may also order the annulment of the same
o No reason to refuse the surrender of the certificate
 108
o Amendment and alteration of certificates
o What are the important things?
o Any change must be with a court order
o Meaning that the RD cannot simply make any correction
o It must be a petition to the court to indicate such change
o But remember, although the court has prerogative to change, it does not mean opening the case
o Because that has long terminated
o Meaning no reopening, only the purposes is for that change
o Ex. from married to single, or single to married because of applicable circumstances
o If there is dissolution of corp, ownership will now belong to stockholders
 109 – REPLACEMENT
o Owners copy is lost
o You have to notify the RD first as of lost or destruction of your copy
o But it is not the RD that can issue the replacement
o It will require a petition in court
o It is the court that will order the issuance of a copy of the duplicate certificate of title
o Any change must be with the court order – similarly to heirs
o Any replacement of certificate of title
o Copy being kept by registered owner
o REPLACEMENT
 110 – RECONSTITUTION
o The original title being kept by RD
o Reconstitution of lost or destroyed title
o What is the recognized mode of replacing lost title in RD?
o Reconstitution – reconstitute the original copy
o Law concerning administrative reconstitution
o RA 6732
o What is administrative reconstitution?
o It will result to the same thing, reconstituting the original copy of the RD
o But what is the difference between judicial and administrative reconstitution?
o If it is other than judicial, it is not in court anymore
o We have certain requirements for administrative requirements:
 o It may be availed of substantial loss or destruction of land titles due to fire, force majeures, p.
635
o 10% but in no case shall less than 500, it can be done administratively
o Purposes is to minimize the cost
o If you have 10% it would result to court congestion
o This is the idea
o The alternative to administrative
o You have to present to RD for the reconstitution of the original
o When we talk about 110, the idea is judicial reconstitution
o In highly exceptional situation, there is that administrative reconstitution
o In AR, you have certain documents that must be presented, there is that enumeration
concerning the documents presented
o What are the documents?
 Owner’s Duplicate Certificate of tile – if interested has his own copy, he can present
which can be the basis of reconstitution of the original
 Certified copy of the Certificate of Title previously
 Authenticate copy (patents)
 What is the difference between section 2 and section 3?
 P. 637
o To prove copy of lost or destroyed being copy of the RD, you can show all those, then if RD is
convinced , there is hat possibility of reconstitution
 What is the idea behind all these requirements?
o Why the court all the time?
o Due process under the constitutional law
o You cannot simply allow the petitioner to prove his case without hearing other possible
stakeholders
o Thus, due process is behind all these
 Fees
 Chapter 12
o Important in legal forms
 112 – forms in conveyancing
o Affidavit writing
o Most important part when you talk about a deed of conveyance is that portion we call
acknowledgment
o Acknowledgment portion are the formalities to be observed
o What is the signature requirement?
o At the end of the document, you have the signature of buyer and seller, together with at least 2
witnesses
o How about the other pages of documents containing more than 1
o Signed at the left margin
o When you have formal document, you have signatures appearing on left margin of the page
o This is because of section 112
o In acknowledgment portion, you have to indicate how many pages
o If 2 or more, you have to indicate that indeed it has 2 pages, 3 pages, or more
o The idea is to keep the sanctity of the document, that there is no missing page
o Remember section 112
o Important requirement in legal forms
 Unregistered land – only 1 section, chapter 13
o 113
o Unregistered land
 o A separate registry for this
 What can you remember of registration?
o Once registered it binds the whole world
o If it is unregistered land?
o It binds only the parties
o How about 3rd parties?
o A 3rd party having a superior right cannot be bound by that registration
o What is that rule in relation with regard
o If it is double sale involving unregistered land?
 First to register, even if unregistered land
 Still there is a purpose for this registry for unregistered lands
o Rule is different if covered under torrens, the whole world is bound
o Purpose of having registry of unregistered land is because in case of double sale for unregistered
land
 Idea is anchored on this possibility
o There is separate registry for unregistered lands still being kept by the RD
 Chattel mortgage
 114
o There is another registry for chattel mortgage
 115
o Manner of recording chattel mortgages
o Special situation of chattel mortgage
o If motor vehicles, what is the additional requirement to bind 3rd parties aside from registering it
with RD?
o You have to present it to LTO
o To bind 3rd parties, additional registration with LTO
 Section 117
o Now the Administrator of the LRA
o Who may initiate the consulta?
o The Register of Deeds or any interested party
o If RD is in doubt as to what memorandum of entry to make, he can elevate motu proprio to the
LRA
o If in interested party, how can he do it? Other than the RD?
o If he is not satisfied or disagrees of position taken with the RA, he can elevate the issue to the
LRA
 Condominium Law
o The corp owns the land
o No connotational violation to allow foreigner
o Ownership of unit is different ownership of land