ADMINISTRATIVE
CIRCULAR NO. 7-96
TO:
ALL
JUDGES AND CLERKS OF COURT OF REGIONAL TRIAL COURTS, METROPOLITAN TRIAL
COURTS, MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS IN CITIES, MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS AND
MUNICIPAL
CIRCUIT TRIAL COURTS
SUBJECT:
STRICT OBSERVANCE OF LAND REGISTRATION AUTHORITY [LRA] CIRCULARS ON
RECONSTITUTION
AND LAND REGISTRATION CASES.
The attention
of
the Court has been called to the fact that Judges and Clerks of Court,
in the exercise of their functions, fail to observe pertinent LRA
circulars
relative, among others, to ordinary and cadastral land registration
cases
which are prescribed in the Manual of Instructions [Annex "A"] dated
February
20, 1991 for the purpose of ensuring uniform and expeditious procedure
in the adjudication of land titles under the provisions of Presidential
Decree No. 1529 and Act 2259, as amended, otherwise known as the
Property
Registration Decree and the Cadastral Act, respectively; LRC Circular
No.
364 [Annex "B"] dated December 5, 1979 prescribing supplemental rules
and
regulations relative to inscription of technical description under
Section
21 of R.A. No. 26; and plotting of the technical descriptions of lots
subject
of petitions for reconstitution of lost or destroyed certificate of
title;
LRC Circular No. 35 [Annex "C"] dated June 3, 1983 prescribing
supplemental
rules and regulations governing the reconstitution of lost or destroyed
Land Certificates of Title; LRC Circular No. 53 [Annex "D"] dated
August
15, 1984, reiterating LRC Circular No. 176 on precautionary measures to
prevent falsification of decisions and orders for the issuance of
decrees;
and NALTDRA Circular No. 91 [Annex "E"] dated November 27, 1986,
reiterating
clearance required in Land Registration Cases [Re: LRC Circular No. 381
of 22 August 1980].
The
above-mentioned
Circulars were issued to fast track the settlement, adjudication and
registration
of private claims to land, prevent duplication of titles, issuance of
decrees
based on falsified court decisions and orders for the issuance of
decrees
and irregular reconstitution of lost or destroyed land certificates of
title based on unauthorized sources.
Attention
is invited
to the following:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
The
provisions of
the Manual of Instruction to be observed by the Clerk of Court in
Ordinary
Cadastral Land Registration Cases, and specifically to the following
paragraphs
thereof:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
I.
Part I. In
Ordinary
Land Registration Cases
"28. Preparation
of Order for the Issuance of Decree as Soon as a Decision Becomes
Final. – To prepare and submit to the Judge for his signature, as
soon as
a Decision has become final, the corresponding order for the issuance
of
decree for all lots covered by such decision from which no appeal has
been
interposed or on which no motion for a new trial or reconsideration has
been filed using for this purpose Judicial Form No. 91 [Revised]; and
to
transmit immediately two certified copies thereof to the Authority thru
registered mail with covering letter. The Clerk of Court shall not
require
the adjudicates to file a petition for the purpose before preparing the
said order.
"29. Certification
at the Foot of the Order for the Issuance of Decree. – If the
Decision
of the Court has not been amended, the Clerk of Court shall make a
certification,
signed by him, at the foot of the order substantially as follows:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
‘I
hereby certify
that the decision referred to above has not been amended, supplemented
or otherwise modified by any subsequent decision, order or another
process
of the Court prior to the date of the Order for the Issuance of Decree.’
'Clerk
of Court'
Where the
order for
the issuance of decree refers to an amending decision or order, a
footnote,
in addition to the aforementioned certification, shall be made
substantially
as follows:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
‘Note:
the decision
[or order as the case may be] referred to above amends the decision of
this Court dated ____, 19____.'
"33. Copies
of Decisions,
Orders, Petition, etc., to be Forwarded to the Land Registration
Authority.
– To forward immediately and without fail, to the Authority two legible
copies of all decisions, orders, resolution, minutes, writs,
notifications,
and other processes after their issuance by the Court, on all answers
and
petitions and their enclosures as soon as they are filed by registered
mail with covering letter.
"34. Papers
to
be Sent to the Land Registration Authority to be Certified, Signed and
Sealed. – All papers and documents called for in the preceding
paragraphs
shall be certified true copies of their originals, duly signed on every
page thereof by the Clerk of Court or his deputy authorized to do so,
and
sealed with the seal of the court. In this connection, Clerks of Court
are required to submit to the Authority a list, in triplicate, of their
deputies authorized to certify and sign true copies, together with the
specimen of their signatures." Part II. In
Cadastral
Land Registration Cases
"44. Preparation
of the Order for the Issuance of Decrees Immediately After the Decision
Becomes Final. – After the decision has been rendered in a case,
the
Clerk of Court shall, without waiting for the interested parties to
file
a petition for that purpose, and if no motion for a new trial or
reconsideration
has been filed, or no appeal has been interposed, prepare the order for
the issuance of decrees [Judicial Form No. 115] for the signature of
Judge
immediately after the lapse of the fifteen-day period prescribed by law
by which a decision becomes final.
"50. Land
Registration
Authority to be Furnished with Copies of All Document and Processes
Filed
or Issued Duly Certified. – To forward immediately and without
fail
to the Authority two legible copies of all decisions, orders,
resolutions,
minutes, notifications, and other processes after their issuance by the
Court, and of all petitions and their enclosures as soon as they are
filed,
which shall be duly certified, signed by the certifying officer on all
pages thereof, and sealed with the seal of the Court, by registered
mail
with covering letter.
"The Clerk
of Court
shall also stamp on the front pages of all papers and documents
forwarded
to the Authority a rubber stamp bearing the inscriptions : ‘DUPLICATE
FOR LRA RECORD’." II.
The
provisions of
LRA Circular No. 35 dated June 13, 1983, particularly the following
paragraphs
thereof:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
"5. In
case the
reconstitution is to be made exclusively from sources enumerated in
Sections
2 (f) and 3 (f) of Republic Act No. 26 in relation to Section 12
thereof,
the signed duplicate copy of the petition to be forwarded to this
Commission
shall be accompanied by the following:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
"(a) A
duly prepared
plan of said parcel of land in tracing cloth, with two [2] printed
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.
"(b) The
original
two [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
Land Registration Commission who issued the technical description.
"(c) A signed
copy
of the certification of the Registry was either lost or destroyed,
indicating
the name of the registered owner, if known from the other records on
file
in the said office.
"6. The Notice
shall
state, among other things:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
"(a) the
number
of the lost or destroyed certificate of title, if known;
"(b) the
name of
the registered owner;
"(c) the
location
and area of the property;
"(d) the
names of
the occupants or persons in possession of the property;
"(e) the
owners of
the adjoining properties;
"(f) all
other interested
parties; and
(g) the
date on which
all persons having any interest therein must appear and file their
claim
or objection to the petition.
"7. The Clerk
of Court
must comply strictly with the requirements of publication, posting and
mailing as required under Section 13 of Republic Act No. 26.
"Notices of
hearing
shall also be given to the Register of Deeds of the place where the
property
is located, the Land Registration Commissioner and the provincial or
city
fiscal of the province or city where the land is located who shall
appear
for and protect the interest of the government in court on the basis of
the report and recommendations of the Land Registration Commissioner
and
the Register of Deeds concerned which are required to be submitted to
the
Court.
"13. The
Court, after
considering the report of the Land Registration Commission and comments
and findings of the Register of Deeds concerned as well as the
documentary
and parole evidence presented by the petitioner, may take such action
on
the petition as it may deem proper.
"14. The
Clerk of
Court shall furnish by registered mail the Land Registration
Commission,
the Register of Deeds concerned, the Solicitor General and the
Provincial
or City Fiscal each with a copy of the Order or judgment." III.
NSLTRDA
Circular
No. 91 dated November 27, 1986, which partly reads:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
"In order
to forestall,
if not to entirely eliminate, duplication of land titles, Judges of the
Court of First Instance and Municipal judges who have been delegated to
hear cadastral and ordinary land registration cases pursuant to Section
88 of Republic Act No. 296; as amended, are hereby directed:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
‘[1] to
furnish
the Bureau of Lands and the Land Registration Commission with a list of
the lots being applied for in ordinary or cadastral cases;
‘[2] to
require the
Bureau of Lands to submit a report, on or before the date of hearing,
indicating
which of the lots listed have already been issued patent by the Bureau
or is the object of a pending application for the issuance of a patent;
‘[3] to
enjoin the
Bureau of Lands from issuing patents to lots subject of pending land
registration
or cadastral proceedings until the question as to actual ownership is
threshed
out by the proper court, and
‘[4] to
require the
Land Registration Commission (now, National Land Title and Deeds
Registration
Administration, Banawe, St., Quezon City) to submit a report on or
before
the date of hearing, indicating which of the lots listed have already
been
issued titles by the Commission or are the subject of pending decrees." IV.
The
pertinent provisions
of LRC Circular No. 364 dated December 5, 1979, to wit:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
"1.
SECTION 108,
P.D. 1529:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
1.
Petitions for
inscription of technical descriptions on certificates of title under
the
provisions of Section 108 o f Presidential Decree No. 1529 shall be
directly
filed with the Clerk of Court of the Court of First Instance of the
province
or city where the property is located, accompanied by the following
requirements:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(a) The
original
and two [2] duplicate copies of the technical description of the lot
sought
to be inscribed duly certified by the Bureau of Lands, or any other
government
entity which might be in official custody of said technical
descriptions;
(b) A
certified and
legible xerox copy of the certificate of title on which the technical
description
is sought to be inscribed." All Judges and
Clerks
of Court of Regional Trail courts Metropolitan Trail court, Municipal
Trial
Courts in Cities, Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial
Courts
are hereby reminded, under pain of disciplinary sanctions, henceforth
to
comply strictly with the aforementioned circulars.
July 15,
1996.
[Sgd.]
ANDRES
R. NARVASAChief
Justice |