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Republic of the Philippines

Twelfth Judicial Region
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
Branch 1
Iligan City

IN THE MATTER OF SPEC. PROC. NO. 12345

RECONSTITUTION OF
ORIGINAL COPY OF
-for-
TRANSFER CERTIFICATE
OF TITLE NO. T-12345
RECONSTITUTION OF TRANSFER
CERTIFICATE OF TITLE

JON SNOW,
Petitioner.
X----------------------------------------X

OPPOSITION TO THE PETITIONER’S PETITION

COMES NOW, the Register of Deeds of Iligan City through undersigned
counsel and unto this Honorable Court, most respectfully submits this Opposition
to the Petitioner’s Petition and states that:

1. Last 19 March 2019, the Register of Deeds of Iligan City received a

copy of the Petition filed by herein Petitioner seeking for the reconstitution
of the transfer certificate of title;
2. The Register of Deeds of Iligan City respectfully opposes the
Petitioner’s Petition which anchored on the premise that the office of the
Register of Deeds of Iligan City was burned and all the Torrens Titles in
said office including Petitioner’s T.C.T. No. T-12345 was burned;
3. Reconstitution is the restoration of the instrument or title allegedly lost
or destroyed in its original form and condition. Its only purpose is to have
the title reproduced, after observing the procedure prescribed by law, in
the same form they were when the loss or destruction occurred. The
process involves diligent circumspect evaluation of the authenticity and
relevance of all the evidence presented for fear of the chilling
consequences of mistakenly issuing a reconstituted title when in fact the
original is not truly lost or destroyed;
4. Henceforth, it is imperative that a proper standard be set in evaluating
the probative value of the documentary evidence. Clear and convincing
evidence proving the jurisdictional requirements must exist before a court
may order the reconstitution of a destroyed or lost title. An order
reconstituting a title would produce two (2) effects: the cancellation of the
alleged lost or destroyed title and the reissuance of a 1 new duplicate title
in its original form and condition. In addition, a reconstitution proceeding is
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an in rem proceeding; and when an order in such a proceeding becomes

final, the findings therein can no longer be opened for review. With these
in mind, evidence proving the petitioner's allegations in a petition for
reconstitution is needed because, without proof that a certificate of title
existed and was eventually lost or destroyed, this alleged lost or
destroyed title is still presumed to exist;

5. The Petitioner’s petition lacks competent

evidentiary basis to reconstitute T.C.T. No. T-12345. Section 3 of R.A. No.
26 enumerates the sources for reconstitution of TCTs, in the following
order: (a) The owner's duplicate of the certificate of title; (b) The co-
owner's, mortgagee's, or lessee's duplicate of the certificate of title; (c) A
certified copy of the certificate of title, previously issued by the register of
deeds or by a legal custodian thereof; (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; (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 (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. Not
one of the documentary evidence the Petitioner had presented falls under
this enumeration;

6. Hence, in view of the foregoing, the Register of Deeds of Iligan City

most respectfully prays of this Honorable Court to deny the Petitioner’s
Petition;

PRAYER
WHEREFORE, it is most respectfully prayed of this Honorable Court to
deny the Petitioner’s Petition.
The Register of Deeds of Iligan City prays for such other reliefs as may be
just and equitable in the premises.
Iligan City, Philippines, 27 March 2019.

BONG G. BUDOTZ
Counsel for Respondent
BONG BUDOTZ AND DUTERTE GO LAW OFFICES
2nd Floor, LDM Bldg., Aguinaldo St., Iligan City
PTR No. 1168594-01/04/2016
IBP No. 897135-01/04/2016
at Iligan City
Roll No. 49871-05/02/05
MCLE Compliance No. III- 0012187-04/13/10
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MCLE Compliance No. IV- 0000617-05/11/10

MCLE Compliance No. V- 0002658- 06/19/14
Emailaddress:bongbudotzanddutertelaw@yahoo.com
Telephone Number: (062) 123-456

Copy furnished:

ATTY. MOHAMAD KALID M. HAMED

Counsel for Petitioner
RLM Building, Hannah Extension
Iligan City

NOTICE OF HEARING

The Clerk of Court

RTC, Branch 1
Iligan City, Lanao del Norte

ATTY. MOHAMAD KALID M. HAMED

Counsel for Petitioner
RLM Building, Hannah Extension
Iligan City

G R E E T I N G S:

Please be informed that the undersigned shall submit the foregoing

Opposition to the Honorable Court for its consideration and approval without
need of oral argument.

BONG G. BUDOTZ

EXPLANATION

It is respectfully manifested that the foregoing Opposition is being filed via

registered mail with return card due to distance.

BONG G. BUDOTZ