WHEREAS,
there is a need to update the Land Registration Act and to codify the
various laws relative to registration of property, in order to
facilitate effective implementation of said laws;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, to strengthen the Torrens system, it is deemed necessary to
adopt safeguards to prevent anomalous titling of real property, and to
streamline and simplify registration proceedings and the issuance of
certificates of title;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the decrees promulgated relative to the registration of
certificates of land transfer and emancipation patents issued pursuant
to Presidential Decree No. 27 to hasten the implementation of the land
reform program of the country form an integral part of the property
registration laws;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of
the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the
Constitution, do hereby order and decree the following:cralaw:red
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1. Title of Decree. — This Decree shall be
known as the PROPERTY REGISTRATION DECREE.
Section 2. Nature of registration proceedings;
jurisdiction of courts. — Judicial proceedings for the registration of
lands throughout the Philippines shall be in rem and shall be based on
the generally accepted principles underlying the Torrens system.
Courts of First Instance shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all
applications for original registration of title to lands, including
improvements and interests therein, and over all petitions filed after
original registration of title, with power to hear and determine all
questions arising upon such applications or petitions. The court
through its clerk of court shall furnish the Land Registration
Commission with two certified copies of all pleadings, exhibits,
orders, and decisions filed or issued in applications or petitions for
land registration, with the exception of stenographic notes, within
five days from the filing or issuance thereof.
Section 3. Status of other pre-existing land
registration system. — The system of registration under the Spanish
Mortgage Law is hereby discontinued and all lands recorded under said
system which are not yet covered by Torrens title shall be considered
as unregistered lands.
Hereafter, all instruments affecting lands originally registered under
the Spanish Mortgage Law may be recorded under Section 113 of this
Decree, until the land shall have been brought under the operation of
the Torrens system.
The books of registration for unregistered lands provided under Section
194 of the Revised Administrative Code, as amended by Act No. 3344,
shall continue to remain in force; provided, that all instruments
dealing with unregistered lands shall henceforth be registered under
Section 113 of this Decree.
CHAPTER II
THE LAND REGISTRATION COMMISSION AND ITS REGISTRIES OF DEEDS
Section 4. Land Registration Commission. — In order
to have a more efficient execution of the laws relative to the
registration of lands, geared to the massive and accelerated land
reform and social justice program of the government, there is created a
commission to be known as the Land Registration Commission under the
executive supervision of the Department of Justice.
Section 5. Officials and employees of the
Commission. — The Land Registration Commission shall have a chief and
an assistant chief to be known, respectively, as the Commissioner and
the Deputy Commissioner of Land Registration who shall be appointed by
the President. The Commissioner shall be duly qualified member of the
Philippine Bar with at least ten years of practice in the legal
profession, and shall have the same rank, compensation and privileges
as those of a Judge of the Court of First Instance. The Deputy
Commissioner, who shall possess the same qualifications as those
required of the Commissioner, shall receive compensation which shall be
three thousand pesos per annum less than that of the Commissioner. He
shall act as Commissioner of Land Registration during the absence or
disability of the Commissioner and when there is a vacancy in the
position until another person shall have been designated or appointed
in accordance with law. The Deputy Commissioner shall also perform such
other functions as the Commissioner may assign to him.
They shall be assisted by such number of division chiefs as may be
necessary in the interest of the functioning of the Commission, by a
Special Assistant to the Commissioner, and by a Chief Geodetic Engineer
who shall each receive compensation at the rate of three thousand four
hundred pesos per annum less than that of the Deputy Commissioner.
All other officials and employees of the Land Registration Commission
including those of the Registries of Deeds whose salaries are not
herein provided, shall receive salaries corresponding to the minimum of
their respective upgraded ranges as provided under paragraph 3.1 of
Budget Circular No. 273, plus sixty per centum thereof across the
board, notwithstanding the maximum salary allowed for their respective
civil service eligibilities.
The salaries of officials and employees provided in this Decree shall
be without prejudice to such benefits and adjustments as may from time
to time be granted by the President or by the legislature to government
employees.
All officials and employees of the Commission except Registers of Deeds
shall be appointed by the Secretary of Justice upon recommendation of
the Commissioner of Land Registration.
Section 6. General Functions. —
(1) The Commissioner of Land Registration shall have
the following functions:cralaw:red
(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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) Exercise supervision and control over all
Registers of Deeds and other personnel of the Commission;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(c) Resolve cases elevated en consulta by, or on
appeal from decision of, Registers of Deeds; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(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:cralaw:red
(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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) Extend assistance to courts in ordinary and
cadastral land registration proceedings;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(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.
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. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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:cralaw:red
(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. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(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 cancelled. If the
instrument is not registrable, 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.
Section 11. Discharge of duties of Register of Deeds
in case of vacancy, etc. —
(1) Until a regular Register of Deeds shall have
been appointed for a province or city, or in case of vacancy in the
office, or upon the occasion of the absence, illness, suspension, or
inability of the Register of Deeds to discharge his duties, said duties
shall be performed by the following officials, in the order in which
they are mentioned below, unless the Secretary of Justice designates
another official to act temporarily in his place:cralaw:red
(a) For the province or city where there is a Deputy
Register of Deeds, by said Deputy Register of Deeds, or by the second
Deputy Register of Deeds, should there be one;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) For the province or city where there is no
Deputy or second Deputy Register of Deeds, by the Provincial or City
Fiscal, or any Assistant Fiscal designated by the Provincial or City
Fiscal;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(2) In case of absence, disability or suspension of
the Register of Deeds without pay, or in case of vacancy in the
position, the Secretary of Justice may, in his discretion, authorize
the payment of an additional compensation to the official acting as
Register of Deeds, such additional compensation together with his
actual salary not to exceed the salary authorized for the position thus
filled by him. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(3) In case of a newly-created province or city and
pending establishment of a Registry of Deeds and the appointment of a
regular Register of Deeds for the new province or city, the Register of
Deeds of the mother province or city shall be the ex-officio Register
of Deeds for said new province or city.
Section 12. Owner's Index; reports. — There shall be
prepared in every Registry an index system which shall contain the
names of all registered owners alphabetically arranged. For this
purpose, an index card which shall be prepared in the name of each
registered owner which shall contain a list of all lands registered in
his name.
The Register of Deeds shall submit to the Land Registration Commission
within ten days after the month to which they pertain his monthly
reports on collections and accomplishments. He shall also submit to the
Commission at the end of December of each year, an annual inventory of
all titles and instruments in his Registry.
Section 13. Chief Geodetic Engineer. — There shall
be a Chief Geodetic Engineer in the Land Registration Commission who
shall be the technical adviser of the Commission on all matters
involving surveys and shall be responsible to him for all plats, plans
and works requiring the services of a geodetic engineer in said office.
He shall perform such other functions as may, from time to time, be
assigned to him by the Commissioner.
CHAPTER III
ORIGINAL REGISTRATION
I. ORDINARY REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS
A. APPLICATIONS
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:cralaw:red
(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. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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.
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.
The application, shall, in form, be substantially as follows: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Republic of the Philippines
Court of First Instance of _________________
The undersigned, ____________________________________________________
hereby applies (or apply) to have the land hereinafter described
brought under the operation of the Property Registration Decree, and to
have the title thereto registered and confirmed:cralaw:red
AND DECLARE..
1. That the applicants/s is/are the owners of the
land (by virtue of inheritance or deed of sale or conveyance and/or
possession in accordance with Section 14 of said Decree), together with
the building and improvements thereon, with the exception of the
following: _______________________
which is/are the property of
_________________________________________________ residing at
____________________________________ The said land, consisting of
____________________ parcel/s is/are situated, bounded and described as
shown on the plan and technical descriptions attached hereto and made a
part hereof, with the following exception: __________________________________________________
2. That said land at the last assessment for
taxation was assessed at P ____, Philippine currency, and the buildings
and other improvements at P ___________, Philippine currency.
3. That to the best of my/our knowledge and belief,
there is no mortgage or encumbrance of any kind whatsoever affecting
said land, nor any other person having any interest therein, legal or
equitable, or in possession, other than as follows:
___________________________________________
4. That the applicant/s has/have acquired said land
in the following manner: ________________________________
(Note: Refer to Sec. 14 of said Decree. State also whether the property
is conjugal, paraphernal or exclusive property of the applicant/s)
5. That said land is occupied by the following
person:
_____________
6. That the names in full and addresses, as far as
known to the undersigned, of the owners of all adjoining properties, of
the persons mentioned in paragraphs 3 and 5, and of the persons shown
on the plan as claimants, are as follows:
__________________________________________________________________
7. That the applicant/s is/are single or married to
_____________________ (Note: if marriage has been legally dissolved,
state when and how the marriage relation terminated.)
_________________
8. That the applicant's/s' full name, age,
citizenship, residence, and postal address/es is/are as follows:
___________________
9. That (Note: — If the land included in the
application is bounded by a public or private way or road, there should
be stated in this paragraph whether or not the applicant claims any and
what land within the limits of the way or road and whether the
applicant desires to have the line of the way or road determined.)
___________________________
10. That the following documents are attached hereto
and made a part hereof:
____________________________________________
Signed at ___________________ this _____________________ day of
____________________, in the year nineteen hundred and
______________________.
_______________________
Applicant
_________________
(Post Office Address)
Republic of the Philippines
Province (or City) of _______________
On this _______________ day of _______________________, 19 ________
personally appeared before me the above-named
_______________________________ ___________________ known to me to be
the person/s who executed the foregoing application and made oath that
the statements therein are true of his/their knowledge, information and
belief.
The Residence Certificate/s ____________________________ of the
applicant/s ______________ was/were exhibited to me being No.
_________________ issued at ___________________ dated ___________,
19_____.
________________________
(Notary Public, or other Officer
authorized to administer oaths)
PTR NO. _________________
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.
Section 17. What and where to file. — The
application for land registration shall be filed with the Court of
First Instance 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.
The clerk of court shall not accept any application unless it is shown
that the applicant has furnished the Director of Lands with a copy of
the application and all annexes.
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. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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.
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.
B. PUBLICATION, OPPOSITION AND DEFAULT
Section 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. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(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. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The court may also cause notice to be served to such other persons and
in such manner as it may deem proper.
The notice of initial hearing shall, in form, be substantially as
follows:cralaw:red
(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): chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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:cralaw:red
(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 Registration
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.
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.
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. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Where an appearance has been entered and an answer filed, a default
order shall be entered against persons who did not appear and answer.
C. HEARING JUDGMENT AND DECREE OF REGISTRATION
Section 27. Speedy hearing; reference to a referee.
— The trial court shall see to it that all registration-proceedings are
disposed or within ninety days from the date the case is submitted for
decision,
The Court, if it deems necessary, may refer the case or any part
thereof to a referee who shall hear the parties and their evidence, and
the referee shall submit his report thereon to the Court within fifteen
days after the termination of such hearing. Hearing before a referee
may be held at any convenient place within the province or city as may
be fixed by him and after reasonable notice thereof shall have been
served the parties concerned. The court may render judgment in
accordance with the report as though the facts have been found by the
judge himself: Provided, however, that the court may in its discretion
accept the report, or set it aside in whole or in part, or order the
case to be recommitted for further proceedings:cralaw:red
Section 28. Partial judgment. — In a case where only
a portion of the land subject of registration is contested, the court
may render partial judgment provided that a subdivision plan showing
the contested and uncontested portions approved by the Director of
Lands is previously submitted to said court.
Section 29. Judgment confirming title. — All
conflicting claims of ownership and interest in the land subject of the
application shall be determined by the court. If the court, after
considering the evidence and the reports of the Commissioner of Land
Registration and the Director of Lands, finds that the applicant or the
oppositor has sufficient title proper for registration, judgment shall
be rendered confirming the title of the applicant, or the oppositor, to
the land or portions thereof.
Section 30. When judgment becomes final; duty to
cause issuance of decree. — The judgment rendered in a land
registration proceedings becomes final upon the expiration of thirty
days to be counted from the data of receipt of notice of the judgment.
An appeal may be taken from the judgment of the court as in ordinary
civil cases.
After judgment has become final and executory, it shall devolve upon
the court to forthwith issue an order in accordance with Section 39 of
this Decree to the Commissioner for the issuance of the decree of
registration and the corresponding certificate of title in favor of the
person adjudged entitled to registration.
Section 31. Decree of registration. — Every decree
of registration issued by the Commissioner shall bear the date, hour
and minute of its entry, and shall be signed by him. It shall state
whether the owner is married or unmarried, and if married, the name of
the husband or wife: Provided, however, that if the land adjudicated by
the court is conjugal property, the decree shall be issued in the name
of both spouses. If the owner is under disability, it shall state the
nature of disability, and if a minor, his age. It shall contain a
description of the land as finally determined by the court, and shall
set forth the estate of the owner, and also, in such manner as to show
their relative priorities, all particular estates, mortgages,
easements, liens, attachments, and other encumbrances, including rights
of tenant-farmers, if any, to which the land or owner's estate is
subject, as well as any other matters properly to be determined in
pursuance of this Decree.
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".
Section 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.
Section 33. Appeal from judgment, etc. — The
judgment and orders of the court hearing the land registration case are
appealable to the Court of Appeals or to the Supreme Court in the same
manner as in ordinary actions:cralaw:red
Section 34. Rules of procedure. — The Rules of Court
shall, insofar as not inconsistent with the provision of this Decree,
be applicable to land registration and cadastral cases by analogy or in
a suppletory character and whenever practicable and convenient. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
II. CADASTRAL REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS
A. ORDER FOR SPEEDY SETTLEMENT AND ADJUDICATION;
SURVEY; NOTICES
Section 35. Cadastral Survey preparatory to filing
of petition. —
(a) When in the opinion of the President of the
Philippines public interest so requires that title to any unregistered
lands be settled and adjudicated, he may to this end direct and order
the Director of Lands to cause to be made a cadastral survey of the
lands involved and the plans and technical description thereof prepared
in due form.
(b) Thereupon, the Director of Lands shall give
notice to persons claiming any interest in the lands as well as to the
general public, of the day on which such survey will begin, giving as
fully and accurately as possible the description of the lands to be
surveyed. Such notice shall be punished once in the Official Gazette,
and a copy of the notice in English or the national language shall be
posted in a conspicuous place on the bulletin board of the municipal
building of the municipality in which the lands or any portion thereof
is situated. A copy of the notice shall also be sent to the mayor of
such municipality as well as to the barangay captain and likewise to
the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and the Sangguniang Bayan concerned.
(c) The Geodetic Engineers or other employees of the
Bureau of Lands in charge of the survey shall give notice reasonably in
advance of the date on which the survey of any portion of such lands is
to begin, which notice shall be posted in the bulletin board of the
municipal building of the municipality or barrio in which the lands are
situated, and shall mark the boundaries of the lands by monuments set
up in proper places thereon. It shall be lawful for such Geodetic
Engineers and other employees to enter upon the lands whenever
necessary for the purposes of such survey or the placing of monuments.
(d) It shall be the duty of every person claiming an
interest in the lands to be surveyed, or in any parcel thereof, to
communicate with the Geodetic Engineer upon his request therefor all
information possessed by such person concerning the boundary lines of
any lands to which he claims title or in which he claims any interest.
(e) Any person who shall willfully obstruct the
making of any survey undertaken by the Bureau of Lands or by a licensed
Geodetic Engineer duly authorized to conduct the survey under this
Section, or shall maliciously interfere with the placing of any
monument or remove such monument, or shall destroy or remove any notice
of survey posted on the land pursuant to law, shall be punished by a
fine of not more than one thousand pesos or by imprisonment for not
more than one year, or both. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
B. PETITION; LOT NUMBERS
Section 36. Petition for registration. — When the
lands have been surveyed or plotted, the Director of Lands, represented
by the Solicitor General, shall institute original registration
proceedings by filing the necessary petition in the Court of First
Instance of the place where the land is situated against the holders,
claimants, possessors, or occupants of such lands or any part thereof,
stating in substance that public interest requires that the title to
such lands be settled and adjudicated and praying that such titles be
so settled and adjudicated:cralaw:red
The petition shall contain a description of the lands and shall be
accompanied by a plan thereof, and may contain such other data as may
serve to furnish full notice to the occupants of the lands and to all
persons who may claim any right or interest therein.
Where the land consists of two or more parcels held or occupied by
different persons, the plan shall indicate the boundaries or limits of
the various parcels as accurately as possible. The parcels shall be
known as "lots" and shall on the plan filed in the case be given
separate numbers by the Director of Lands, which numbers shall be known
as "cadastral lot numbers". The lots situated within each municipality
shall, as far as practicable, be numbered consecutively beginning with
number "one", and only one series of numbers shall be used for that
purpose in each municipality. However in cities or townsites, a
designation of the landholdings by blocks and lot numbers may be
employed instead of the designation by cadastral lot numbers.
The cadastral number of a lot shall not be changed after final decision
has been entered decreasing the registration thereof, except by order
of court. Future subdivisions of any lot shall be designated by a
letter or letters of the alphabet added to the cadastral number of the
lot to which the respective subdivisions pertain. The letter with which
a subdivision is designated shall be known as its "cadastral letter":
Provided, however, that the subdivisions of cities or townsites may be
designated by blocks and lot numbers.
C. ANSWER
Section 37. Answer to petition in cadastral
proceedings. — Any claimant in cadastral proceedings, whether named in
the notice or not, shall appear before the court by himself or by some
other authorized person in his behalf, and shall file an answer on or
before the date of initial hearing or within such further time as may
be allowed by the court. The answer shall be signed and sworn to by the
claimant or by some other authorized person in his behalf, and shall
state whether the claimant is married or unmarried, and if married, the
name of the spouse and the date of marriage, his nationality, residence
and postal address, and shall also contain: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(a) The age of the claimant;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) The cadastral number of the lot or lots claimed,
as appearing on the plan filed in the case by the Director of Lands, or
the block and lot numbers, as the case may be;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(c) The name of the barrio and municipality in which
the lots are situated;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(d) The names and addresses of the owners of the
adjoining lots so far as known to the claimant;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(e) If the claimant is in possession of the lots
claimed and can show no express grant of the land by the government to
him or to his predecessors-in-interest, the answer shall state the
length of time he has held such possession and the manner in which it
has been acquired, and shall also state the length of time, as far as
known, during which the predecessors, if any, held possession;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(f) If the claimant is not in possession or
occupation of the land, the answer shall fully set forth the interest
claimed by him and the time and manner of his acquisition;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(g) if the lots have been assessed for taxation,
their last assessed value; and
(h) The encumbrances, if any, affecting the lots and
the names of adverse claimants, as far as known.
D. HEARING; JUDGMENT; DECREE
Section 38. Hearing, Judgment, Decree. — The trial
of the case may occur at any convenient place within the province in
which the lands are situated and shall be conducted, and orders for
default and confessions entered, in the same manner as in ordinary land
registration proceedings and shall be governed by the same rules. All
conflicting interests shall be adjudicated by the court and decrees
awarded in favor of the persons entitled to the lands or to parts
thereof and such decrees shall be the basis for issuance of original
certificates of title in favor of said persons and shall have the same
effect as certificates of title granted on application for registration
of land under ordinary land registration proceedings. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
CHAPTER IV
CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
Section 39. Preparation of decree and Certificate of
Title. — After the judgment directing the registration of title to land
has become final, the court shall, within fifteen days from entry of
judgment, issue an order directing the Commissioner to issue the
corresponding decree of registration and certificate of title. The
clerk of court shall send, within fifteen days from entry of judgment,
certified copies of the judgment and of the order of the court
directing the Commissioner to issue the corresponding decree of
registration and certificate of title, and a certificate stating that
the decision has not been amended, reconsidered, nor appealed, and has
become final. Thereupon, the Commissioner shall cause to be prepared
the decree of registration as well as the original and duplicate of the
corresponding original certificate of title. The original certificate
of title shall be a true copy of the decree of registration. The decree
of registration shall be signed by the Commissioner, entered and filed
in the Land Registration Commission. The original of the original
certificate of title shall also be signed by the Commissioner and shall
be sent, together with the owner's duplicate certificate, to the
Register of Deeds of the city or province where the property is
situated for entry in his registration book.
Section 40. Entry of Original Certificate of Title.
— Upon receipt by the Register of Deeds of the original and duplicate
copies of the original certificate of title the same shall be entered
in his record book and shall be numbered, dated, signed and sealed by
the Register of Deeds with the seal of his office. Said certificate of
title shall take effect upon the date of entry thereof. The Register of
Deeds shall forthwith send notice by mail to the registered owner that
his owner's duplicate is ready for delivery to him upon payment of
legal fees.
Section 41. Owner's duplicate certificate of title.
— The owner's duplicate certificate of title shall be delivered to the
registered owner or to his duly authorized representative. If two or
more persons are registered owners, one owner's duplicate certificate
may be issued for the whole land, or if the co-owners so desire, a
separate duplicate may be issued to each of them in like form, but all
outstanding certificates of title so issued shall be surrendered
whenever the Register of Deeds shall register any subsequent voluntary
transaction affecting the whole land or part thereof or any interest
therein. The Register of Deeds shall note on each certificate of title
a statement as to whom a copy thereof was issued. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 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.
Section 43. Transfer Certificate of Title. — The
subsequent certificate of title that may be issued by the Register of
Deeds pursuant to any voluntary or involuntary instrument relating to
the same land shall be in like form, entitled "Transfer Certificate of
Title", and likewise issued in duplicate. The certificate shall show
the number of the next previous certificate covering the same land and
also the fact that it was originally registered, giving the record
number, the number of the original certificate of title, and the volume
and page of the registration book in which the latter is found.
Section 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 except those noted in said
certificate and any of the following encumbrances which may be
subsisting, namely:cralaw:red
First. Liens, claims or rights arising or existing
under the laws and Constitution of the Philippines which are not by law
required to appear of record in the Registry of Deeds in order to be
valid against subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers of record.
Second. Unpaid real estate taxes levied and assessed
within two years immediately preceding the acquisition of any right
over the land by an innocent purchaser for value, without prejudice to
the right of the government to collect taxes payable before that period
from the delinquent taxpayer alone. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Third. Any public highway or private way established
or recognized by law, or any government irrigation canal or lateral
thereof, if the certificate of title does not state that the boundaries
of such highway or irrigation canal or lateral thereof have been
determined.
Fourth. Any disposition of the property or limitation
on the use thereof by virtue of, or pursuant to, Presidential Decree
No. 27 or any other law or regulations on agrarian reform.
Section 45. Statement of personal circumstances in
the certificate. — Every certificate of title shall set forth the full
names of all persons whose interests make up the full ownership in the
whole land, including their civil status, and the names of their
respective spouses, if married, as well as their citizenship, residence
and postal address. If the property covered belongs to the conjugal
partnership, it shall be issued in the names of both spouses.
Section 46. General incidents of registered land. —
Registered land shall be subject to such burdens and incidents as may
arise by operation of law. Nothing contained in this decree shall in
any way be construed to relieve registered land or the owners thereof
from any rights incident to the relation of husband and wife, landlord
and tenant, or from liability to attachment or levy on execution, or
from liability to any lien of any description established by law on the
land and the buildings thereon, or on the interest of the owner in such
land or buildings, or to change the laws of descent, or the rights of
partition between co-owners, or the right to take the same by eminent
domain, or to relieve such land from liability to be recovered by an
assignee in insolvency or trustee in bankruptcy under the laws relative
to preferences, or to change or affect in any way other rights or
liabilities created by law and applicable to unregistered land, except
as otherwise provided in this Decree.
Section 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.
Section 48. Certificate not subject to collateral
attack. — A certificate of title shall not be subject to collateral
attack. It cannot be altered, modified, or cancelled except in a direct
proceeding in accordance with law.
Section 49. Splitting, or consolidation of titles. —
A registered owner of several distinct parcels of land embraced in and
covered by a certificate of title desiring in lieu thereof separate
certificates, each containing one or more parcels, may file a written
request for that purpose with the Register of Deeds concerned, and the
latter, upon the surrender of the owner's duplicate, shall cancel it
together with its original and issue in lieu thereof separate
certificates as desired. A registered owner of several distinct parcels
of land covered by separate certificates of title desiring to have in
lieu thereof a single certificate for the whole land, or several
certificates for the different parcels thereof, may also file a written
request with the Register of Deeds concerned, and the latter, upon the
surrender of the owner's duplicates, shall cancel them together with
their originals, and issue in lieu thereof one or separate certificates
as desired.
Section 50. Subdivision and consolidation plans. —
Any owner subdividing a tract of registered land into lots which do not
constitute a subdivision project has defined and provided for under
P.D. No. 957, shall file with the Commissioner of Land Registration or
with the Bureau of Lands a subdivision plan of such land on which all
boundaries, streets, passageways and waterways, if any, shall be
distinctly and accurately delineated. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
If a subdivision plan, be it simple or complex, duly approved by the
Commissioner of Land Registration or the Bureau of Lands together with
the approved technical descriptions and the corresponding owner's
duplicate certificate of title is presented for registration, the
Register of Deeds shall, without requiring further court approval of
said plan, register the same in accordance with the provisions of the
Land Registration Act, as amended: Provided, however, that the Register
of Deeds shall annotate on the new certificate of title covering the
street, passageway or open space, a memorandum to the effect that
except by way of donation in favor of the national government,
province, city or municipality, no portion of any street, passageway,
waterway or open space so delineated on the plan shall be closed or
otherwise disposed of by the registered owner without the approval of
the Court of First Instance of the province or city in which the land
is situated.
A registered owner desiring to consolidate several lots into one or
more, requiring new technical descriptions, shall file with the Land
Registration Commission, a consolidation plan on which shall be shown
the lots to be affected, as they were before, and as they will appear
after the consolidation. Upon the surrender of the owner's duplicate
certificates and the receipt of consolidation plan duty approved by the
Commission, the Register of Deeds concerned shall cancel the
corresponding certificates of title and issue a new one for the
consolidated lots.
The Commission may not order or cause any change, modification, or
amendment in the contents of any certificate of title, or of any decree
or plan, including the technical description therein, covering any real
property registered under the Torrens system, nor order the
cancellation of the said certificate of title and the issuance of a new
one which would result in the enlargement of the area covered by the
certificate of title.
CHAPTER V
SUBSEQUENT REGISTRATION
I. VOLUNTARY DEALINGS WITH REGISTERED LANDS
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 51. Conveyance and other dealings by
registered owner. — An owner of registered land may convey, mortgage,
lease, charge or otherwise deal with the same in accordance with
existing laws. He may use such forms of deeds, mortgages, leases or
other voluntary instruments as are sufficient in law. But no deed,
mortgage, lease, or other voluntary instrument, except a will
purporting to convey or affect registered land shall take effect as a
conveyance or bind the land, but shall operate only as a contract
between the parties and as evidence of authority to the Register of
Deeds to make registration. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The act of registration shall be the operative act to convey or affect
the land insofar as third persons are concerned, and in all cases under
this Decree, the registration shall be made in the office of the
Register of Deeds for the province or city where the land lies.
Section 52. Constructive notice upon registration. —
Every conveyance, mortgage, lease, lien, attachment, order, judgment,
instrument or entry affecting registered land shall, if registered,
filed or entered in the office of the Register of Deeds for the
province or city where the land to which it relates lies, be
constructive notice to all persons from the time of such registering,
filing or entering.
Section 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.
Section 54. Dealings less than ownership, how
registered. — No new certificate shall be entered or issued pursuant to
any instrument which does not divest the ownership or title from the
owner or from the transferee of the registered owners. All interests in
registered land less than ownership shall be registered by filing with
the Register of Deeds the instrument which creates or transfers or
claims such interests and by a brief memorandum thereof made by the
Register of Deeds upon the certificate of title, and signed by him. A
similar memorandum shall also be made on the owner's duplicate. The
cancellation or extinguishment of such interests shall be registered in
the same manner.
Section 55. Grantee's name, nationality, etc., to be
stated. — Every deed or other voluntary instrument presented for
registration shall contain or have endorsed upon it the full name,
nationality, residence and postal address of the grantee or other
person acquiring or claiming an interest under such instrument, and
every deed shall also state whether the grantee is married or
unmarried, and if married, the name in full of the husband or wife. If
the grantee is a corporation or association, the instrument must
contain a recital to show that such corporation or association is
legally qualified to acquire private lands. Any change in the residence
or postal address of such person shall be endorsed by the Register of
Deeds on the original copy of the corresponding certificate of title,
upon receiving a sworn statement of such change. All names and
addresses shall also be entered on all certificates.
Notices and processed issued in relation to registered land in
pursuance of this Decree may be served upon any person in interest by
mailing the same to the addresses given, and shall be binding, whether
such person resides within or without the Philippines, but the court
may, in its discretion, require further or other notice to be given in
any case, if in its opinion the interest of justice so requires.
Section 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. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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.
(A) CONVEYANCES AND TRANSFERS
Section 57. Procedure in registration of
conveyances. — An owner desiring to convey his registered land in fee
simple shall execute and register a deed of conveyance in a form
sufficient in law. The Register of Deeds shall thereafter make out in
the registration book a new certificate of title to the grantee and
shall prepare and deliver to him an owner's duplicate certificate. The
Register of Deeds shall note upon the original and duplicate
certificate the date of transfer, the volume and page of the
registration book in which the new certificate is registered and a
reference by number to the last preceding certificate. The original and
the owner's duplicate of the grantor's certificate shall be stamped
"cancelled". The deed of conveyance shall be filled and indorsed with
the number and the place of registration of the certificate of title of
the land conveyed.
Section 58. Procedure where conveyance involves
portion of land. — If a deed or conveyance is for a part only of the
land described in a certificate of title, the Register of Deeds shall
not enter any transfer certificate to the grantee until a plan of such
land showing all the portions or lots into which it has been subdivided
and the corresponding technical descriptions shall have been verified
and approved pursuant to Section 50 of this Decree. Meanwhile, such
deed may only be annotated by way of memorandum upon the grantor's
certificate of title, original and duplicate, said memorandum to serve
as a notice to third persons of the fact that certain unsegregated
portion of the land described therein has been conveyed, and every
certificate with such memorandum shall be effectual for the purpose of
showing the grantee's title to the portion conveyed to him, pending the
actual issuance of the corresponding certificate in his name. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Upon the approval of the plan and technical descriptions, the original
of the plan, together with a certified copy of the technical
descriptions shall be filed with the Register of Deeds for annotation
in the corresponding certificate of title and thereupon said officer
shall issue a new certificate of title to the grantee for the portion
conveyed, and at the same time cancel the grantor's certificate
partially with respect only to said portion conveyed, or, if the
grantor so desires, his certificate may be cancelled totally and a new
one issued to him describing therein the remaining portion: Provided,
however, that pending approval of said plan, no further registration or
annotation of any subsequent deed or other voluntary instrument
involving the unsegregated portion conveyed shall be effected by the
Register of Deeds, except where such unsegregated portion was purchased
from the Government or any of its instrumentalities. If the land has
been subdivided into several lots, designated by numbers or letters,
the Register of Deeds may, if desired by the grantor, instead of
cancelling the latter's certificate and issuing a new one to the same
for the remaining unconveyed lots, enter on said certificate and on its
owner's duplicate a memorandum of such deed of conveyance and of the
issuance of the transfer certificate to the grantee for the lot or lots
thus conveyed, and that the grantor's certificate is cancelled as to
such lot or lots.
Section 59. Carry over of encumbrances. — If, at the
time of any transfer, subsisting encumbrances or annotations appear in
the registration book, they shall be carried over and stated in the new
certificate or certificates; except so far as they may be
simultaneously released or discharged.
(B) MORTGAGES AND LEASES chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 60. Mortgage or lease of registered land. —
Mortgage and leases shall be registered in the manner provided in
Section 54 of this Decree. The owner of registered land may mortgage or
lease it by executing the deed in a form sufficient in law. Such deed
of mortgage or lease and all instruments which assign, extend,
discharge or otherwise deal with the mortgage or lease shall be
registered, and shall take effect upon the title only from time of
registration.
No mortgagee's or lessee's duplicate certificate of title shall
hereafter be issued by the Registers of Deeds, and those issued prior
to the effectivity of this Decree are hereby deemed cancelled and the
holders thereof shall immediately surrender the same to the Register of
Deeds concerned.
Section 61. Registration. — Upon presentation for
registration of the deed of mortgage or lease together with the owner's
duplicate, the Register of Deeds shall enter upon the original of the
certificate of title and also upon the owner's duplicate certificate a
memorandum thereof, the date and time of filing and the file number
assigned to the deed, and shall sign the said memorandum. He shall also
note on the deed the date and time of filing and a reference to the
volume and page of the registration book in which it is registered.
Section 62. Discharge or cancellation. — A mortgage
or lease on registered land may be discharge or cancelled by means of
an instrument executed by the mortgage or lessee in a form sufficient
in law, which shall be filed with the Register of Deeds who shall make
the appropriate memorandum upon the certificate of title.
Section 63. Foreclosure of Mortgage. — (a) If the
mortgage was foreclosed judicially, a certified copy of the final order
of the court confirming the sale shall be registered with the Register
of Deeds. If no right of redemption exists, the certificate of title of
the mortgagor shall be cancelled, and a new certificate issued in the
name of the purchaser. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Where the right of redemption exists, the certificate of title of the
mortgagor shall not be cancelled, but the certificate of sale and the
order confirming the sale shall be registered by a brief memorandum
thereof made by the Register of Deeds upon the certificate of title. In
the event the property is redeemed, the certificate or deed of
redemption shall be filed with the Register of Deeds, and a brief
memorandum thereof shall be made by the Register of Deeds on the
certificate of title of the mortgagor.
If the property is not redeemed, the final deed of sale executed by the
sheriff in favor of the purchaser at a foreclosure sale shall be
registered with the Register of Deeds; whereupon the title of the
mortgagor shall be cancelled, and a new certificate issued in the name
of the purchaser.
(b) If the mortgage was foreclosed extrajudicially, a
certificate of sale executed by the officer who conducted the sale
shall be filed with the Register of Deeds who shall make a brief
memorandum thereof on the certificate of title.
In the event of redemption by the mortgagor, the same rule provided for
in the second paragraph of this section shall apply.
In case of non-redemption, the purchaser at foreclosure sale shall file
with the Register of Deeds, either a final deed of sale executed by the
person authorized by virtue of the power of attorney embodied in the
deed of mortgage, or his sworn statement attesting to the fact of
non-redemption; whereupon, the Register of Deeds shall issue a new
certificate in favor of the purchaser after the owner's duplicate of
the certificate has been previously delivered and cancelled.
(C) POWERS OF ATTORNEY; TRUSTS
Section 64. Power of attorney. — Any person may, by
power of attorney, convey or otherwise deal with registered land and
the same shall be registered with the Register of Deeds of the province
or city where the land lies. Any instrument revoking such power of
attorney shall be registered in like manner.
Section 65. Trusts in registered land. — If a deed
or other instrument is filed in order to transfer registered land in
trust, or upon any equitable condition or limitation expressed therein,
or to create or declare a trust or other equitable interests in such
land without transfer, the particulars of the trust, condition,
limitation or other equitable interest shall not be entered on the
certificate; but only a memorandum thereof shall be entered by the
words "in trust", or "upon condition", or other apt words, and by a
reference by number to the instrument authorizing or creating the same.
A similar memorandum shall be made upon the original instrument
creating or declaring the trust or other equitable interest with a
reference by number to the certificate of title to which it relates and
to the volume and page in the registration book in which it is
registered.
Section 66. Trust with power of sale, etc., how
expressed. — If the instrument creating or declaring a trust or other
equitable interest contains an express power to sell, mortgage or deal
with the land in any manner, such power shall be stated in the
certificate of title by the words "with power to sell", or "power to
mortgage", or by apt words of description in case of other powers. No
instrument which transfers, mortgages or in any way deals with
registered land in trust shall be registered, unless the enabling power
thereto is expressly conferred in the trust instrument, or unless a
final judgment or order of a court of competent jurisdiction has
construed the instrument in favor of the power, in which case a
certified copy of such judgment or order may be registered.
Section 67. Judicial appointment of new trustee. —
If a new trustee of registered land is appointed by a court of
competent jurisdiction, a new certificate may be issued to him upon
presentation to the Register of Deeds of a certified copy of the order
or judicial appointment and the surrender for cancellation of the
duplicate certificate.
Section 68. Implied, trusts, how established. —
Whoever claims an interest in registered land by reason of any implied
or constructive trust shall file for registration with the Register of
Deeds a sworn statement thereof containing a description of the land,
the name of the registered owner and a reference to the number of the
certificate of title. Such claim shall not affect the title of a
purchaser for value and in good faith before its registration.
II. INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS
Section 69. Attachments. — An attachment, or a copy
of any writ, order or process issued by a court of record, intended to
create or preserve any lien, status, right, or attachment upon
registered land, shall be filed and registered in the Registry of Deeds
for the province or city in which the land lies, and, in addition to
the particulars required in such papers for registration, shall contain
a reference to the number of the certificate of title to be affected
and the registered owner or owners thereof, and also if the attachment,
order, process or lien is not claimed on all the land in any
certificate of title a description sufficiently accurate for
identification of the land or interest intended to be affected. A
restraining order, injunction or mandamus issued by the court shall be
entered and registered on the certificate of title affected, free of
charge.
Section 70. Adverse claim. — Whoever claims any part
or interest in registered land adverse to the registered owner, arising
subsequent to the date of the original registration, may, if no other
provision is made in this Decree for registering the same, make a
statement in writing setting forth fully his alleged right or interest,
and how or under whom acquired, a reference to the number of the
certificate of title of the registered owner, the name of the
registered owner, and a description of the land in which the right or
interest is claimed.
The statement shall be signed and sworn to, and shall state the adverse
claimant's residence, and a place at which all notices may be served
upon him. This statement shall be entitled to registration as an
adverse claim on the certificate of title. The adverse claim shall be
effective for a period of thirty days from the date of registration.
After the lapse of said period, the annotation of adverse claim may be
cancelled upon filing of a verified petition therefor by the party in
interest: Provided, however, that after cancellation, no second adverse
claim based on the same ground shall be registered by the same claimant.
Before the lapse of thirty days aforesaid, any party in interest may
file a petition in the Court of First Instance where the land is
situated for the cancellation of the adverse claim, and the court shall
grant a speedy hearing upon the question of the validity of such
adverse claim, and shall render judgment as may be just and equitable.
If the adverse claim is adjudged to be invalid, the registration
thereof shall be ordered cancelled. If, in any case, the court, after
notice and hearing, shall find that the adverse claim thus registered
was frivolous, it may fine the claimant in an amount not less than one
thousand pesos nor more than five thousand pesos, in its discretion.
Before the lapse of thirty days, the claimant may withdraw his adverse
claim by filing with the Register of Deeds a sworn petition to that
effect.
Section 71. Surrender of certificate in involuntary
dealings. — If an attachment or other lien in the nature of involuntary
dealing in registered land is registered, and the duplicate certificate
is not presented at the time of registration, the Register of Deeds
shall, within thirty-six hours thereafter, send notice by mail to the
registered owner, stating that such paper has been registered, and
requesting him to send or produce his duplicate certificate so that a
memorandum of the attachment or other lien may be made thereon. If the
owner neglects or refuses to comply within a reasonable time, the
Register of Deeds shall report the matter to the court, and it shall,
after notice, enter an order to the owner, to produce his certificate
at a time and place named therein, and may enforce the order by
suitable process.
Section 72. Dissolution, etc. of attachments, etc. —
Attachments and liens of every description upon registered land shall
be continued, reduced, discharged and dissolved by any method
sufficient in law, and to give effect to the continuance, reduction,
discharge or dissolution thereof the certificate or other instrument
for that purpose shall be registered with the Register of Deeds.
Section 73. Registration of orders of court, etc. —
If an attachment is continued, reduced, dissolved, or otherwise
affected by an order, decision or judgment of the court where the
action or proceedings in which said attachment was made is pending or
by an order of a court having jurisdiction thereof, a certificate of
the entry of such order, decision or judgment from the clerk of court
or the judge by which such decision, order or judgment has been
rendered and under the seal of the court, shall be entitled to be
registered upon presentation to the Register of Deeds. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 74. Enforcement of liens on registered land.
— Whenever registered land is solved on execution, or taken or sold for
taxes or for any assessment or to enforce a lien of any character, or
for any costs and charges incident to such liens, any execution or copy
of execution, any officer's return, or any deed, demand, certificate,
or affidavit, or other instrument made in the course of the proceedings
to enforce such liens and required by law to be recorded, shall be
filed with the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land
lies and registered in the registration book, and a memorandum made
upon the proper certificate of title in each case as lien or
encumbrance.
Section 75. Application for new certificate upon
expiration of redemption period. — Upon the expiration of the time, if
any, allowed by law for redemption after registered land has been sold
on execution taken or sold for the enforcement of a lien of any
description, except a mortgage lien, the purchaser at such sale or
anyone claiming under him may petition the court for the entry of a new
certificate of title to him.
Before the entry of a new certificate of title, the registered owner
may pursue all legal and equitable remedies to impeach or annul such
proceedings.
Section 76. Notice of lis pendens. — No action to
recover possession of real estate, or to quiet title thereto, or to
remove clouds upon the title thereof, or for partition, or other
proceedings of any kind in court directly affecting the title to land
or the use or occupation thereof or the buildings thereon, and no
judgment, and no proceeding to vacate or reverse any judgment, shall
have any effect upon registered land as against persons other than the
parties thereto, unless a memorandum or notice stating the institution
of such action or proceeding and the court wherein the same is pending,
as well as the date of the institution thereof, together with a
reference to the number of the certificate of title, and an adequate
description of the land affected and the registered owner thereof,
shall have been filed and registered. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 77. Cancellation of lis pendens. — Before
final judgment, a notice of lis pendens may be cancelled upon order of
the court, after proper showing that the notice is for the purpose of
molesting the adverse party, or that it is not necessary to protect the
rights of the party who caused it to be registered. It may also be
cancelled by the Register of Deeds upon verified petition of the party
who caused the registration thereof.
At any time after final judgment in favor of the defendant, or other
disposition of the action such as to terminate finally all rights of
the plaintiff in and to the land and/or buildings involved, in any case
in which a memorandum or notice of lis pendens has been registered as
provided in the preceding section, the notice of lis pendens shall be
deemed cancelled upon the registration of a certificate of the clerk of
court in which the action or proceeding was pending stating the manner
of disposal thereof.
CHAPTER VI
REGISTRATION OF JUDGMENTS; ORDERS; PARTITIONS
Section 78. Judgment for Plaintiff. — Whenever in
any action to recover possession or ownership of real estate or any
interest therein affecting registered land judgment is entered for the
plaintiff, such judgment shall be entitled to registration on
presentation of a certificate of the entry thereof from the clerk of
court where the action is pending to the Register of Deeds for the
province or city where the land lies, who shall enter a memorandum upon
the certificate of title of the land to which such judgment relates. If
the judgment does not apply to all the land described in the
certificate of title, the certificate of the clerk of the court where
the action is pending and the memorandum entered by the Register of
Deeds shall contain a description of the land affected by the
judgment. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 79. Judgment adjudicating ownership. — When
in any action to recover the ownership of real estate or an interest
therein execution has been issued in favor of the plaintiff, the latter
shall be entitled to the entry of a new certificate of title and to the
cancellation of the original certificate and owner's duplicate of the
former registered owner. If the registered owner neglects or refuses
within a reasonable time after request of the plaintiff to produce his
duplicate certificate in order that the same may be cancelled, the
court shall, on application and after notice, enter an order to the
owner to produce his certificate at the time and place designated, and
may enforce the order by suitable process.
Section 80. Execution of deed by virtue of judgment.
— Every court rendering judgment in favor of the plaintiff affecting
registered land shall, upon petition of said plaintiff, order and
parties before it to execute for registration any deed or instrument
necessary to give effect to the judgment, and shall require the
registered owner to deliver his duplicate certificate to the plaintiff
or to the Register of Deeds to be cancelled or to have a memorandum
annotated upon it. In case the person required to execute any deed or
other instrument necessary to give effect to the judgment is absent
from the Philippines, or is a minor, or insane, or for any reason not
amenable to the process of the court rendering the judgment, said court
may appoint a suitable person as trustee to execute such instrument
which, when executed, shall be entitled to registration.
Section 81. Judgment of partition. — In proceedings
for partition of registered land, after the entry of the final judgment
of partition, a copy of such final judgment, certified by the clerk of
the court rendering the same, shall be filed and registered; thereupon,
if the land is set of to the owners in severalty, each owner shall be
entitled to have his certificate entered showing the share set off to
him in severalty, and to receive an owner's duplicate thereof. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
If the land is ordered by the court to be sold, the purchaser or his
assigns shall be entitled to certificate of title entered in his or
their favor upon presenting a certified copy of the judgment confirming
the sale.
In case the land is ordered by the court to be assigned to one of the
parties upon payment to the others of the sum ordered by the court, the
party to whom the land is thus assigned shall be entitled to have a
certificate of title entered in his favor upon presenting a certified
copy of the judgment: Provided, however, that any new certificate
entered in pursuance of partition proceedings, whether by way of
set-off or of assignment or of sale, shall contain a reference
memorandum to the final judgment of partition, and shall be conclusive
as to the title to the same extent and against the same persons as such
judgment is made conclusive by the laws applicable thereto: and
provided, further, that any person holding such certificate of title or
a transfer thereof shall have the right to petition the court at any
time to cancel the memorandum relating to such judgment or order and
the court, after notice and hearing, may grant the petition. Such
certificate shall thereafter be conclusive in the same manner and to
the same extent as other certificates of title.
Section 82. Registration of prior registered
mortgaged or lease on partitioned property. — If a certified copy of a
final judgment or decree of partition is presented and it appears that
a mortgage or lease affecting a specific portion or an undivided share
of the premises had previously been registered, the Register of Deeds
shall carry over such encumbrance on the certificate of title that may
be issued.
Section 83. Notice of insolvency. — Whenever
proceeding in bankruptcy or insolvency, or analogous proceedings, are
instituted against a debtor who owns registered land, it shall be the
duty of the officer serving the notice of the institution of such
proceedings on the debtor to file a copy thereof with the office of the
Register of Deeds for the province or city where the land of the debtor
lies. The assignee or trustee appointed by the court in such
proceedings shall be entitled to the entry of a new certificate of the
registered land of the debtor or bankrupt, upon presenting and filing a
certified copy of the assignment in insolvency or order or adjudication
in bankruptcy with the insolvent's or bankrupt's duplicate certificate
of title; but the new certificate shall state that it is entered to him
as assignee in insolvency or trustee in bankruptcy or other
proceedings, as the case may be. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 84. Judgment or order vacating insolvency
proceedings. — Whenever any of the proceedings of the character named
in the preceding section against a registered owner, of which notice
has been registered, is vacated by judgment, a certified copy of the
judgment or order may be registered. Where a new certificate has been
entered in the name of the assignee or trustee, such certificate shall
be surrendered for cancellation and forthwith the debtor shall be
entitled to the entry of a new certificate to him.
Section 85. Land taken by eminent domain. — Whenever
any registered land, or interest therein, is expropriated or taken by
eminent domain, the National Government, province, city, municipality,
or any other agency or instrumentality exercising such right shall file
for registration in the proper Registry a certified copy of the
judgment which shall state definitely, by an adequate description, the
particular property or interest expropriated, the number of the
certificate of title, and the nature of the public use. A memorandum of
the right or interest taken shall be made on each certificate of title
by the Register of Deeds, and where the fee simple title is taken, a
new certificate shall be issued in favor of the National Government,
province, city, municipality, or any other agency or instrumentality
exercising such right for the land so taken. The legal expenses
incident to the memorandum of registration or issuances incident to the
memorandum of registration or issuance of a new certificate shall be
for the account of the authority taking the land or interest therein.
Section 86. Extrajudicial settlement of estate. —
When a deed of extrajudicial settlement has been duly registered, the
Register of Deeds shall annotate on the proper title the two-year lien
mentioned in Section 4 of Rule 74 of the Rules of Court. Upon the
expiration of the two-year period and presentation of a verified
petition by the registered heirs, devisees or legatees or any other
party in interest that no claim or claims of any creditor, heir or
other person exist, the Register of Deeds shall cancel the two-year
lien noted on the title without the necessity of a court order. The
verified petition shall be entered in the Primary Entry Book and a
memorandum thereof made on the title.
No deed of extrajudicial settlement or affidavit of adjudication shall
be registered unless the fact of extrajudicial settlement or
adjudication is published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation in the province and proof thereof is
filed with the Register of Deeds. The proof may consist of the
certification of the publisher, printer, his foreman or principal
clerk, or of the editor, business or advertising manager of the
newspaper concerned, or a copy of each week's issue of the newspaper
wherein the publication appeared.
Section 87. Filing of letters of administration and
will. — Before the executor or administrator of the estate of a
deceased owner of registered land may deal with the same, he shall file
with the office of the Register of Deeds a certified copy of his
letters of administration or if there is a will, a certified copy
thereof and the order allowing the same, together with the letters
testamentary or of administration with the will annexed, as the case
may be, and shall produce the duplicate certificate of title, and
thereupon the Register of Deeds shall enter upon the certificate a
memorandum thereof, making reference to the letters and/or will by
their file number, and the date of filing the same.
Section 88. Dealings by administering subject to
court approval. — After a memorandum of the will, if any, and order
allowing the same, and letters testamentary or letters of
administration have been entered upon the certificate of title as
hereinabove provided, the executor or administrator may alienate or
encumber registered land belonging to the estate, or any interest
therein, upon approval of the court obtained as provided by the Rules
of Court. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 89. Land devised to executor. — When it
appears by will, a certified copy of which with letters testamentary
had already been filed as provided in this Decree, that registered land
is devised to the executor to his own use, or upon some trust, the
executor may have the land transferred to himself upon the register in
like manner and subject to like terms and conditions and to like rights
as in the case of a transfer pursuant to a deed filed in the office of
the Register of Deeds.
Section 90. When executor empowered by will to sell,
etc. — When the will of a deceased owner of registered lands, or an
interest therein, empowers the executor to sell, convey, encumber,
charge or otherwise deal with the land, a certified copy of the will
and letters testamentary being filed as provided in this Decree, such
executor may sell, convey, encumber, charge or otherwise deal with the
land pursuant to the power in like manner as if he were registered
owner, subject to the terms and conditions and limitations expressed in
the will.
Section 91. Transfer in anticipation of final
distribution. — Whenever the court having jurisdiction of the testate
or intestate proceedings directs the executor or administrator to take
over and transfer to the devisees or heirs, or any of them, in
anticipation of final distribution a portion or the whole of the
registered land to which they might be entitled on final distribution,
upon the filing of a certified copy of such order in the office of the
Register of Deeds, the executor or administrator may cause such
transfer to be made upon the register in like manner as in case of a
sale, and upon the presentation of the owner's duplicate certificate to
the Register of Deeds, the devisees or heirs concerned shall be
entitled to the issuance of the corresponding certificates of title.
Section 92. Registration of final distribution of
estate. — A certified copy of the partition and distribution, together
with the final judgment or order of the court approving the same or
otherwise making final distribution, supported by evidence of payment
of estate tax or exemption therefrom, as the case may be, shall be
filed with the Register of Deeds, and upon the presentation of the
owner's duplicate certificate of title, new certificates of title shall
be issued to the parties severally entitled thereto in accordance with
the approved partition and distribution.
CHAPTER VII
ASSURANCE FUND
Section 93. Contribution to Assurance Fund. — Upon
the entry of a certificate of title in the name of the registered
owner, and also upon the original registration on the certificate of
title of a building or other improvements on the land covered by said
certificate, as well as upon the entry of a certificate pursuant to any
subsequent transfer of registered land, there shall be paid to the
Register of Deeds one-fourth of one per cent of the assessed value of
the real estate on the basis of the last assessment for taxation
purposes, as contribution to the Assurance Fund. Where the land
involved has not yet been assessed for taxation, its value for purposes
of this decree shall be determined by the sworn declaration of two
disinterested persons to the effect that the value fixed by them is to
their knowledge, a fair valuation.
Nothing in this section shall in any way preclude the court from
increasing the valuation of the property should it appear during the
hearing that the value stated is too small.
Section 94. Custody and investment of fund. — All
money received by the Register of Deeds under the preceding section
shall be paid to the National Treasurer. He shall keep this money in an
Assurance Fund which may be invested in the manner and form authorized
by law, and shall report annually to the Commissioner of the Budget the
condition and income thereof. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The income of the Assurance Fund shall be added to the principal until
said fund amounts to five hundred thousand pesos, in which event the
excess income from investments as well as from the collections of such
fund shall be paid into the National Treasury to the account of the
Assurance Fund.
Section 95. Action for compensation from funds. — A
person who, without negligence on his part, sustains loss or damage, or
is deprived of land or any estate or interest therein in consequence of
the bringing of the land under the operation of the Torrens system of
arising after original registration of land, through fraud or in
consequence of any error, omission, mistake or misdescription in any
certificate of title or in any entry or memorandum in the registration
book, and who by the provisions of this Decree is barred or otherwise
precluded under the provision of any law from bringing an action for
the recovery of such land or the estate or interest therein, may bring
an action in any court of competent jurisdiction for the recovery of
damages to be paid out of the Assurance Fund.
Section 96. Against whom action filed. — If such
action is brought to recover for loss or damage or for deprivation of
land or of any estate or interest therein arising wholly through fraud,
negligence, omission, mistake or misfeasance of the court personnel,
Register of Deeds, his deputy, or other employees of the Registry in
the performance of their respective duties, the action shall be brought
against the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land is
situated and the National Treasurer as defendants. But if such action
is brought to recover for loss or damage or for deprivation of land or
of any interest therein arising through fraud, negligence, omission,
mistake or misfeasance of person other than court personnel, the
Register of Deeds, his deputy or other employees of the Registry, such
action shall be brought against the Register of Deeds, the National
Treasurer and other person or persons, as co-defendants. It shall be
the duty of the Solicitor General in person or by representative to
appear and to defend all such suits with thed of the fiscal of the
province or city where the land lies: Provided, however, that nothing
in this Decree shall be construed to deprive the plaintiff of any right
of action which he may have against any person for such loss or damage
or deprivation without joining the National Treasurer as party
defendant. In every action filed against the Assurance Fund, the court
shall consider the report of the Commissioner of Land Registration.
Section 97. Judgment, how satisfied. — If there are
defendants other than the National Treasurer and the Register of Deeds
and judgment is entered for the plaintiff and against the National
Treasury, the Register of Deeds and any of the other defendants,
execution shall first issue against such defendants other than the
National and the Register of Deeds. If the execution is returned
unsatisfied in whole or in part, and the officer returning the same
certificates that the amount due cannot be collected from the land or
personal property of such other defendants, only then shall the court,
upon proper showing, order the amount of the execution and costs, or so
much thereof as remains unpaid, to be paid by the National treasurer
out of the Assurance Fund. In an action under this Decree, the
plaintiff cannot recover as compensation more than the fair market
value of the land at the time he suffered the loss, damage, or
deprivation thereof.
Section 98. General Fund when liable. — If at any
time the Assurance Fund is not sufficient to satisfy such judgment, the
National Treasurer shall make up for the deficiency from any funds
available in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
Section 99. Subrogation of government to plaintiff's
rights. — In every case where payment has been made by the National
Treasurer in accordance with the provisions of this Decree, the
Government of the Republic of the Philippines shall be subrogated to
the rights of the plaintiff against any other parties or securities.
The National Treasurer shall enforce said rights and the amount
recovered shall be paid to the account of the Assurance Fund.
Section 100. Register of Deeds as party in interest.
— When it appears that the Assurance Fund may be liable for damages
that may be incurred due to the unlawful or erroneous issuance of a
certificate of title, the Register of Deeds concerned shall be deemed a
proper party in interest who shall, upon authority of the Commissioner
of Land Registration, file the necessary action in court to annul or
amend the title.
The court may order the Register of Deeds to amend or cancel a
certificate of title or to do any other act as may be just and
equitable.
Section 101. Losses not recoverable. — The Assurance
Fund shall not be liable for any loss, damage or deprivation caused or
occasioned by a breach of trust, whether express, implied or
constructive or by any mistake in the resurvey or subdivision of
registered land resulting in the expansion of area in the certificate
of title.
Section 102. Limitation of Action. — Any action for
compensation against the Assurance Fund by reason of any loss, damage
or deprivation of land or any interest therein shall be instituted
within a period of six years from the time the right to bring such
action first occurred: Provided, That the right of action herein
provided shall survive to the legal representative of the person
sustaining loss or damage, unless barred in his lifetime; and Provided,
further, That if at the time such right of action first accrued the
person entitled to bring such action was a minor or insane or
imprisoned, or otherwise under legal disability, such person or anyone
claiming from, by or under him may bring the proper action at any time
within two years after such disability has been removed,
notwithstanding the expiration of the original period of six years
first above provided.
CHAPTER VIII
REGISTRATION OF PATENTS
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.
CHAPTER IX
CERTIFICATE OF LAND TRANSFER, EMANCIPATION PATENT, AFFIDAVIT OF
NON-TENANCY
Section 104. Provisional Register of Documents. —
The Department of Agrarian Reform shall prepare by automate data
processing a special registry book to be known as the "Provisional
Register of Documents issued under PD-27" which shall be kept and
maintained in every Registry of Deeds throughout the country. Said
Registry Book shall be a register of:cralaw:red
a. All Certificates of Land Transfer (CLT) issued
pursuant to P.D. No. 27; and chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
b. All subsequent transactions affecting
Certificates of Land Transfer such as adjustments, transfer,
duplication and cancellations of erroneous Certificates of Land
Transfer.
Section 105. Certificates of Land Transfer
Emancipation Patents. — The Department of Agrarian reform shall
pursuant to P.D. No. 27 issue in duplicate, a Certificate of Land
Transfer for every land brought under "Operation Land Transfer", the
original of which shall be kept by the tenant-farmer and the duplicate,
in the Registry of Deeds.
After the tenant-farmer shall have fully complied with the requirements
for a grant of title under P.D. No. 27, an Emancipation Patent which
may cover previously titled or untitled property shall be issued by the
Department of Agrarian Reform.
The Register of Deeds shall complete the entries on the aforementioned
Emancipation Patent and shall assign an original certificate of title
number in case of unregistered land, and in case of registered
property, shall issue the corresponding transfer certificate of title
without requiring the surrender of the owner's duplicate of the title
to be cancelled.
In case of death of the grantee, the Department of Agrarian Reform
shall determine his heirs or successors-in-interest and shall notify
the Register of Deeds accordingly.
In case of subsequent transfer of property covered by an Emancipation
Patent or a Certificate of Title emanating from an Emancipation Patent,
the Register of Deeds shall affect the transfer only upon receipt of
the supporting papers from the Department of Agrarian Reform. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
No fee, premium, of tax of any kind shall be charged or imposed in
connection with the issuance of an original Emancipation Patent and for
the registration or related documents.
Section 106. Sale of agricultural land; affidavit. —
No voluntary deed or instrument purporting to be a subdivision,
mortgage, lease, sale or any other mode of encumbrance or conveyance of
private agricultural land principally devoted to rice or corn or any
portion thereof shall be registered unless accompanied by an affidavit
of the vendor or executor stating that the land involved is not
tenanted, or if tenanted, the same is not primarily devoted to the
production of rice and/or corn.
If only a portion of the land is primarily devoted to the production of
rice and/or corn, and such area so devoted is tenanted, no such deed or
instrument shall be registered unless accompanied by an affidavit
stating the area (size) of the portion which is tenanted and primarily
devoted to rice and/or corn, and stating further that the deed or
instrument covers only the untenanted portion or that which is not
primarily devoted to the production of rice and/or corn. A memorandum
of said affidavit shall be annotated on the certificate of title. The
Register of Deeds shall cause a copy of the registered deed or
instrument, together with the affidavit, to be furnished the Department
of Agrarian Reform Regional Office where the land is located. The
affidavit provided in this section shall not be required in the case of
a tenant-farmer who deals with his Certificate of Land Transfer or
Emancipation Patent in accordance with law.
CHAPTER X
PETITIONS AND ACTIONS AFTER ORIGINAL REGISTRATION
Section 107. Surrender of withhold duplicate
certificates. — Where it is necessary to issue a new certificate of
title pursuant to any involuntary instrument which divests the title of
the registered owner against his consent or where a voluntary
instrument cannot be registered by reason of the refusal or failure of
the holder to surrender the owner's duplicate certificate of title, the
party in interest may file a petition in court to compel surrender of
the same to the Register of Deeds. The court, after hearing, may order
the registered owner or any person withholding the duplicate
certificate to surrender the same, and direct the entry of a new
certificate or memorandum upon such surrender. If the person
withholding the duplicate certificate is not amenable to the process of
the court, or if not any reason the outstanding owner's duplicate
certificate cannot be delivered, the court may order the annulment of
the same as well as the issuance of a new certificate of title in lieu
thereof. Such new certificate and all duplicates thereof shall contain
a memorandum of the annulment of the outstanding duplicate.
Section 108. Amendment and alteration of
certificates. — No erasure, alteration, or amendment shall be made upon
the registration book after the entry of a certificate of title or of a
memorandum thereon and the attestation of the same be Register of
Deeds, except by order of the proper Court of First Instance. A
registered owner of other person having an interest in registered
property, or, in proper cases, the Register of Deeds with the approval
of the Commissioner of Land Registration, may apply by petition to the
court upon the ground that the registered interests of any description,
whether vested, contingent, expectant or inchoate appearing on the
certificate, have terminated and ceased; or that new interest not
appearing upon the certificate have arisen or been created; or that an
omission or error was made in entering a certificate or any memorandum
thereon, or, on any duplicate certificate; or that the same or any
person on the certificate has been changed; or that the registered
owner has married, or, if registered as married, that the marriage has
been terminated and no right or interests of heirs or creditors will
thereby be affected; or that a corporation which owned registered land
and has been dissolved has not convened the same within three years
after its dissolution; or upon any other reasonable ground; and the
court may hear and determine the petition after notice to all parties
in interest, and may order the entry or cancellation of a new
certificate, the entry or cancellation of a memorandum upon a
certificate, or grant any other relief upon such terms and conditions,
requiring security or bond if necessary, as it may consider proper;
Provided, however, That this section shall not be construed to give the
court authority to reopen the judgment or decree of registration, and
that nothing shall be done or ordered by the court which shall impair
the title or other interest of a purchaser holding a certificate for
value and in good faith, or his heirs and assigns, without his or their
written consent. Where the owner's duplicate certificate is not
presented, a similar petition may be filed as provided in the preceding
section.
All petitions or motions filed under this Section as well as under any
other provision of this Decree after original registration shall be
filed and entitled in the original case in which the decree or
registration was entered.
Section 109. Notice and replacement of lost
duplicate certificate. — In case of loss or theft of an owner's
duplicate certificate of title, due notice under oath shall be sent by
the owner or by someone in his behalf to the Register of Deeds of the
province or city where the land lies as soon as the loss or theft is
discovered. If a duplicate certificate is lost or destroyed, or cannot
be produced by a person applying for the entry of a new certificate to
him or for the registration of any instrument, a sworn statement of the
fact of such loss or destruction may be filed by the registered owner
or other person in interest and registered.
Upon the petition of the registered owner or other person in interest,
the court may, after notice and due hearing, direct the issuance of a
new duplicate certificate, which shall contain a memorandum of the fact
that it is issued in place of the lost duplicate certificate, but shall
in all respects be entitled to like faith and credit as the original
duplicate, and shall thereafter be regarded as such for all purposes of
this decree.
Section 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 abrogated.
Notice of all hearings of the petition for judicial reconstitution
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.
CHAPTER XI
SCHEDULE OF FEES: SPECIAL FUND
Section 111. Fees payable. — The fees payable to the
Clerk of Court, the Sheriff, the Register of Deeds and the Land
Registration Commission shall be as follows:cralaw:red
A. Fees payable to the Clerk of Court. — The fees
payable to the clerk of court or his deputies shall be as follows:cralaw:red
1. For filing an application for the registration of
land, the fees shall be based on the assessed value of the property for
the current year, in accordance with the following schedule —chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(a) When the value of the property does not exceed
two thousand pesos, fifteen pesos for the first five hundred pesos, or
fractional part thereof, and five pesos for each additional five
hundred pesos, or fractional part thereof.
(b) When the value of the property does not exceed
two thousand pesos but does not exceed ten thousand pesos, thirty five
pesos for the first three thousand pesos, or fractional part thereof,
and five pesos for each additional one thousand pesos, or fractional
part thereof.
(c) When the value of the property is more than ten
thousand pesos but does not exceed one hundred thousand pesos, eighty
pesos for the first twenty thousand pesos, or fractional part thereof,
and ten pesos for each additional ten thousand pesos, or fractional
part thereof. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(d) When the value of the property is more than one
hundred thousand pesos but does not exceed five hundred thousand pesos,
one hundred eighty pesos for the first one hundred twenty-five thousand
pesos, or fractional part thereof, and twenty pesos for each additional
twenty-five thousand pesos, or fractional part thereof.
(e) When the value of the property is more than five
hundred thousand pesos, five hundred twenty pesos for the first five
hundred fifty thousand pesos, or fractional part thereof, and forty
pesos for each additional fifty thousand pesos, or fractional part
thereof.
If the property has not been assessed for taxation, the fees above
prescribed shall be based on the current market value; and the
applicant shall file with his application a sworn declaration of three
disinterested persons that the value fixed by him is to their knowledge
a fair valuation.
2. For filing a petition for review of judgment and
decree, or other claim adverse to the registered owner, for each
petition, twenty pesos.
3. For filing a petition after the decision has
become final, twenty pesos. If it affects land decrees in more than one
case, for each additional case, one peso. If it affects several lots or
parcels of land in which the petitioners have no common interest, each
of such petitioners shall pay the corresponding fees as if separate
petitions had been filed by him.
B. Fees payable to the Sheriff— The sheriff shall
collect fees for his services rendered in connection with land
registration and cadastral proceedings as follows:cralaw:red
1. For posting notices of initial hearing of land
registration cases in conspicuous places on the lands described in the
notice, for each parcel of land on which a copy of such notice is
posted, besides travel fees, three pesos. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
2. For posting notices of initial hearing of
cadastral cases in conspicuous places on the lands included in the
survey, for each group of one hundred lots on which a copy of the
notice is posted, besides travel fees, three pesos.
3. For posting one copy of a notice of initial
hearing in a conspicuous place upon the municipal building of the city,
municipality, or municipal district in which the land or portion
thereof lies, besides travel fees, three pesos.
4. For serving notices upon cadastral claimants to
appear before the court, travel fees only as provided in the Rules of
Court.
5. For all other services not mentioned above, the
same fees including travel fees as provided in the Rules of Court for
similar services.
C. Fees payable to the Register of Deeds. — The
Register of Deeds shall collect fees for all services rendered by him
under this Decree in accordance with the following schedule:cralaw:red
1. Original certificate of title. — For the entry of
one original certificate of title and issuance of one owner's duplicate
certificate, ten pesos for the first parcel of land described thereon
and five pesos for each additional parcel.
2. Entry fee. — For each entry fee in the primary
entry book, five pesos.
3. Attachment, levy, etc. — For the annotation of an
attachment, levy, writ of execution, adverse claim, five pesos for each
parcel of land affected thereby.
4. Lis Pendens, etc. — For the annotation of a
notice of lis pendens, or of any document or order in connection
therewith, for each of land affected thereby, five pesos. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
5. Release of encumbrance. — For the annotation of a
release of any encumbrance, except mortgage, lease, or other lien for
the cancellation of which a specific fee is prescribed herein, for each
parcel of land so released, five pesos; but the total amount of fees to
be collected shall not exceed the amount of fees paid for the
registration of such encumbrance.
6. Court Order. — For the annotation of an order of
the court for the amendment of, or the making of a memorandum on, a
certificate of title, except inclusion of buildings or improvements, or
any order directing the registration of a document, or of any right or
interest referred to in said order, or the cancellation of a
certificate of title and/or the issuance of a new one, ten pesos for
each certificate of title on which the annotation is made, in addition
to the fees prescribed under paragraphs sixteen or seventeen, as the
case may be, of this subsection, in the same are also due for the
registration of such document, right or interest.
7. Building. — For the annotation of an order of the
court for the inclusion of building and/or improvement in a certificate
of title, ten pesos for each certificate of title.
8. Powers of attorney, letters of administration,
appointment of guardian, resolution or revocation thereof. — For
registering and filing a power of attorney, letters of administration
or letters testamentary whether or not accompanied by a copy of the
testament, certificate of allowance of a will with attested copy of the
will annexed, appointment of guardian for a minor or incompetent
person, appointment of receiver, trustee, or administrator, articles of
incorporation of any corporation, association or partnership, or
resolution of its board of directors empowering an officer or member
thereof to act in behalf of the same, twenty pesos; and for the
annotation of such papers on certificates of title when required by
existing laws or regulations, five pesos for each certificate of title
so annotated: Provided, however, that when the certificate of allowance
of a will and the letters testamentary or letters of administration are
filed together, only one fee shall be collected. For registering an
instrument of revocation of any of the paper mentioned above, five
pesos, and if annotated on the corresponding certificate of title,
three pesos for each certificate of title. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
9. Notice of tax lien, loss, etc. — For the
annotation of a notice of tax lien of any description notice of lost
duplicate or copy of a certificate of title, order of the court
declaring such duplicate or copy null and void, notice of change of
address, or the cancellation of any such annotation, for each
certificate of title, five pesos.
10. Carry over of annotation. — For transferring the
memorandum of an encumbrance of any kind from one certificate of title
which is cancelled to a new one in lieu thereof, for each memorandum
thus transferred, five pesos.
11. Annotation on additional copy of title. — For
any memorandum made in a standing co-owner's copy of a certificate of
title after a similar memorandum has been made in the original thereof,
of each certificate of title, five pesos.
12. No specific fee. — For any memorandum made in a
certificate of title for which no specific fee is prescribe above, for
each certificate of title, five pesos.
13. Transfer to trustee, executor, administrator
receiver. — For the issuance of a transfer certificate of title,
including its duplicate, to a trustee, executor, administrator, or
receiver, or for the cancellation of such certificate of title and
issuance of a new one, including its duplicate, to the cestui que trust
in case of trusteeship, ten pesos. If the certificate covers more than
one parcel or lot, an additional fee of five pesos shall be collected
for each additional parcel or lot. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
14. Transfer certificate of title. — For the
issuance of a transfer certificate of title, including its duplicate,
to a person other than those named in the next preceding paragraph, ten
pesos, in addition to the fees hereinafter prescribed in paragraph
sixteen or seventeen, as the case may be, of this subsection, if the
same are also due. If the certificate covers more than one parcel or
lot, an additional fee of five pesos shall be collected for each
additional parcel or lot.
15. Additional copy of title. — For the issuance of
a new owner's duplicate or a co-owner's copy of a certificate of title,
or any additional duplicate or copy thereof, ten pesos for the first
page and five pesos for each subsequent page, or fraction thereof.
16. Registration fee. — For the registration of a
deed of sale, conveyance, transfer, exchange, partition, or donation; a
deed of sale with pacto de retro, conditional sale, sheriff's sale at
public auction, sale for non-payment of taxes, or any sale subject to
redemption, or the repurchase or redemption of the property so sold;
any instrument, order, judgment or decree divesting the title of the
registered owner, except in favor of a trustee, executor, administrator
or receiver; option to purchase or promise to sell; any mortgage,
surety, bond, lease, easement, right-of-way, or other real right or
lien created or constituted by virtue of a distinct contract or
agreement, and not as an incidental condition of sale, transfer or
conveyance; the assignment, enlargement, extension or novation of a
mortgage or of any other real right, or a release of mortgage,
termination of lease, or consolidation of ownership over a property
sold with pacto de retro; where no specific fee is prescribed therefor
in the preceding paragraphs, the fees shall be based on the value of
the consideration in accordance with the following schedule:cralaw:red
(a) Six thousand pesos maximum. — When the value of
the consideration does not exceed six thousand pesos, seven pesos for
the first five hundred pesos, or fractional part thereof, and three
pesos for each additional five hundred pesos, or fractional part
thereof.
(b) Thirty thousand pesos maximum. — When the value
of the consideration is more than six thousand pesos but does not
exceed thirty thousand pesos, or fractional part thereof, and eight
pesos for each additional two thousand pesos, or fractional part
thereof.
(c) One hundred thousand pesos maximum. — When the
value of the consideration is more than thirty thousand pesos but does
not exceed one hundred thousand pesos, one hundred fifty pesos for the
first thirty-five thousand pesos, or fractional part thereof, and
fourteen pesos or each additional five thousand pesos, or fractional
part thereof.
(d) Five hundred thousand pesos maximum. — When the
value of the consideration is more than one hundred thousand pesos but
does not exceed five hundred thousand pesos, three hundred fifty-two
pesos for the first one hundred ten thousand pesos, or fractional part
thereof, and twenty pesos for each additional ten thousand pesos, or
fractional part thereof.
(e) More than five hundred thousand pesos. — When
the value of the consideration is more than five hundred thousand
pesos, one thousand one hundred sixty-two pesos for the first five
hundred twenty thousand pesos, or fractional part thereof, and thirty
pesos for each additional twenty thousand pesos, or fractional part
thereof.
17. Fees for specific transactions. — In the
following transactions, however, the basis of the fees collectible
under paragraph sixteen of this subsection, whether or not the value of
the consideration is stated in the instrument, shall be as hereunder
set forth:cralaw:red
(a) Exchange. — In the exchange of real property the
basis of the fees to be paid by each party shall be the current
assessed value of the properties acquired by one party from the other,
in addition to the value of any other consideration, if any, stated in
the contract.
(b) Hereditary transfer. — In the transmission of an
hereditary estate without partition or subdivision of the property
among the heirs, devisees or legatees, although with specification of
the share of each in the value of the estate, the basis shall be the
total current assessed value of the property thus transmitted.
(c) Partition of hereditary estate; Conjugal
property. — In the partition of an hereditary estate which is still in
the name of the deceased, in which determinate properties are
adjudicated to each heir devisee or legatee, or to each group of heirs,
devisees or legatees, the basis of the fees to be paid by each person
or group, as the case may be, shall be the total current assessed value
of the properties thus adjudicated to each person or group. In the
case, however, of conjugal property, the basis of the fees for the
registration of one-half thereof in the name of the surviving spouse
shall be the total current assessed value of the properties adjudicated
to said spouse.
(d) Subdivision or partition. — In the partition of
real property held in common by several registered co-owner's the basis
of the fees to be paid by each co-owner or group of co-owners shall be
the total assessed value of the property taken by each co-owner or
group.
(e) Conveyance: several lots and parties. — In the
sale, conveyance or transfer of two or more parcels of land in favor of
two or more separate parties but executed in one single instrument, the
basis shall be the total selling price paid by each party-buyer, or, in
the case of lump sum consideration, such portion thereof as apportioned
in accordance with the assessed value of the respective land acquired
by each party-buyer.
(f) Conveyance of properties in different places. —
In the sale, conveyance, or transfer of properties situated in
different cities or provinces, the basis of the fees in each Registry
of Deeds where the instrument is to be registered shall be the total
selling price of the properties situated in the respective city or
province, or, in the case of lump sum consideration, such portion
thereof as obtained for those properties lying within the jurisdiction
of the respective registry after apportioning the total consideration
of the sale, conveyance or transfer in accordance with the current
assessed value of such properties.
(g) Conveyance of mortgaged properties. — In the
sale, conveyance, or transfer of a mortgaged property, the basis shall
be the selling price of the property proper plus the full amount of the
mortgage, or the unpaid balance thereof if the latter is stated in the
instrument. If the properties are situated in different cities or
provinces, the basis of the fees in each Registry of Deeds where the
instrument is to be registered shall be such sum as obtained for the
properties situated in the respective city or province after
apportioning in accordance with the current assessed values of said
properties the total amount of consideration as above computed, unless
the selling price of the properties in each city or province and the
proportionate share thereof in the amount of unpaid balance of the
mortgage are stated in the instrument, in which case, the aggregate of
such selling price and share shall be the basis. In any case, however,
where the aggregate value of the consideration as above computed shall
be less than the current assessed value of the properties in the city
or province concerned, such assessed value shall be the basis of the
fees in the respective Registry.
(h) Mortgage of properties in different places. — In
a mortgage affecting properties situated in different cities or
provinces, the basis of the fees in each Registry of Deeds where the
document is to be registered shall be such amount as obtained for the
properties lying within the jurisdiction of said Registry after
apportioning the total amount of the mortgage in accordance with the
current assessed value of such properties. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(i) Release of mortgage. — In the release of a
mortgage the basis of the fees shall be an amount equal to ten per
centum of the total amount of obligation secured by the mortgage. If
the properties are situated in different cities or provinces, the basis
of the fees in each Registry shall be ten per centum of such sum as
obtained for the properties in the respective city or province after
apportioning the amount of the mortgage in accordance with the current
assessed values of such properties. In the case of a partial release,
the fees shall be based on ten per centum of the current assessed value
of the property so released in the respective city or province;
Provided, however, That where several partial releases had been
registered, the fees corresponding to the final release shall be
computed on the basis of ten per centum of the difference between the
amount of the mortgage and the aggregate of the consideration used as
basis for the collection of the fees paid for the registration of all
previous partial releases.
(j) Certificate of sale. — In a certificate of sale
at public auction by virtue of an order of execution or sale for
delinquency in the payment of taxes, or repurchase of the property so
sold, the basis of the fees in each Registry shall be ten per centum of
the selling or repurchase price of the property lying within the
jurisdiction of the Registry.
(k) Affidavit of consolidation of ownership. — In an
affidavit for the consolidation of ownership over a property sold with
pacto de retro or pursuant to an extra judicial foreclosure under the
provisions of Act Numbered Thirty-one hundred and thirty-five, as
amended, the basis of the fees in each Registry shall be an amount
equivalent to ten per centum of the consideration of the sale in the
respective city or province.
(l) Contract of lease. — In contracts of lease, the
basis of the fees in each Registry shall be the sum total to be paid by
the lessee for the properties situated in the respective city or
province during the entire period specified in the contract, including
the extension contemplated by the parties which may be given effect
without the necessity of further registration. If the period is from
year to year, or otherwise not fixed, the basis shall be the total
amount of rentals due for thirty months. If the rentals are not
distributed, the total amount thereof as above computed shall be
apportioned to said properties in accordance with their assessed
values, and the proportionate sum thus obtained for each city or
province shall be the basis of the fees to be collected in the Registry
concerned.
(m) Termination of lease. — In the termination of
lease, the basis of the fees in each registry shall be ten per centum
of the amount used as basis for the collection of the fees paid for the
registration of said lease.
(n) Option to purchase or promise to sell. — In
contracts of option to purchase or promise to sell, the basis of the
fees in each Registry shall be ten per centum of the current assessed
value of the property subject of such contract in the respective city
or province.
(o) Consideration not stated or fixed or less than
assessed value. — In other transactions where the actual value of the
consideration is not fixed in the contract or cannot be determined from
the terms thereof, or, in case of a sale, conveyance, or transfer, the
consideration stated is less than the current assessed value of the
property, the basis of the fees shall be the current assessed value of
the property involved in the transaction. If the properties are
situated in different cities or provinces, the basis of the fees in
each Registry shall be the current assessed value of the properties
lying within the jurisdiction of the Registry concerned.
18. Issuance of copy of document. — For furnishing
copies of any entry, decree, document, or other papers on file, fifty
centavos for each hundred words of fraction thereof contained in the
copies thus furnished.
19. Certified copy. — For certifying a copy
furnished under the next preceding paragraph, for each certification,
five pesos for one page and one peso for each additional page certified.
20. Certification. — For issuing a certificate
relative to, or showing the existence or non-existence of, an entry in
the registration books or a document on file, for each such certificate
containing not more than two hundred words, five pesos; if it exceeds
that number an additional fee of one peso shall be collected for every
hundred words, or fraction thereof, in excess of the first two hundred
words.
21. Research fee. — For services rendered in
attending to request for reference or researches on any records or
documents on file in the Registry, there shall be collected two pesos
per document or record.
D. Fees payable to the Commissioner of Land
Registration. — The fees payable to the Commissioner of Land
Registration shall be as follows: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(1) For verification and approval of subdivision
plans, the fee shall be:cralaw:red
(a) For each lot P2.00
(b) For each corner of a lot, irrespective of
whether such corner is common to two or
more lots 0.20
(c) For each traverse station 0.10
(d) For each observation 0.50
(e) In case the plan is a resurvey or relocation
plan, an additional 40 per cent of the
rates prescribed above shall be collected.
Provided, however, that the total fee as computed above, whether for
subdivision and/or consolidation-subdivision survey, resurvey or
relocation plan, shall in no case be less than P8.00 per plan.
(2) For changing or correcting the name of any
person appearing on the subdivision plan or other plan in order to have
it conform to that stated in the certificate of title covering the
land, and for the cancellation of an approved plan when so requested by
the interested party, there shall be a fee of P5.00 per plan.
(3) The rates of fees prescribed in paragraph 1 and
2, inclusive, shall apply to similar services rendered in connection
with the examination, verification, and approval of consolidation,
consolidation-subdivision, resubdivision, and reconsolidation plans,
special work order plans on the basis of certified copies of technical
descriptions of plans approved by the Land Registration Commission or
the Bureau of Lands, private surveys, and other plans of similar
nature. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In the computation of fees relative to lots subject of consolidation
and consolidation-subdivision plans, a fee of two pesos shall be
collected per lot as appearing in the old survey in addition to the fee
collectible in paragraph 1 hereof for the new lots.
(4) For the preparation of a plan in a tracing cloth
of any survey, the data of which are available in the Commission,
except when the same is merely traced from an existing plan, the fees
shall be computed as follows:cralaw:red
(a) When the plan to be so prepared contains only
one lot:cralaw:red
(1) For the first ten corners or fraction
thereof P40.00
(2) For the next ten corners or fraction
thereof 6.00
(3) For each corner in excess of the first
twenty corners 0.40
(b) When the plan to be so prepared contains two or
more lots:cralaw:red
(1) For the first lot, which must be the biggest
of the group, irrespective of the
number of its corner P40.00
(2) For each additional lot, irrespective of the
number of its corners, said lot being adjacent
to the first lot or any other lot P15.00
(3) For each non-adjacent lot (other than the
first charged lot), irrespective of the
number of its corners P20.00
(4) If any lot contains more than twenty corners
for each corner of such lot in the first
twenty corners P0.40
(5) For the preparation of a plan in tracing cloth,
to be traced from an existing plan, complete with bearings and
distances of corners and tie lines, the fee shall be 30 per centum of
the fees prescribed in paragraph 4 above.
(6) For the preparation of a plan in tracing cloth,
to be copied from an existing plan, complete with bearings and
distances of sides and tie-lines, but using a different scale, the fee
shall be 50 per centum of the fees prescribed under paragraph 4 above,
if made on a reduced scale; or 60 per centum of the same fees, if made
on an enlarged scale. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(7) For the preparation of a simple plan or sketch
of any available survey or plan on any paper other than a tracing
cloth, the fee on the basis of each lot, shall be as follows:cralaw:red
(a) For the first ten corners or fraction
thereof P20.00
(b) For the second ten corners or fraction
thereof 5.00
(c) For the third ten corners or fraction
thereof 2.00
(d) For each corner in excess of the first thirty
corners 0.20
(e) If the sketch is prepared in tracing cloth,
add to the total fees as above
computed 5.00
(f) If the plan or sketch so prepared contains
the bearing and distances of the sides and
tie-lines, add to the total fees as above
computed 10 per centum thereof.
(8) For furnishing a plan copy (blue-print, or white
print) of any plan on file in the Commission, the fee shall be as
follows:cralaw:red
(a) For the copy of any size not exceeding forty
square decimeters P3.00
(b) For one copy of more than forty square
decimeters but not exceeding eighty
square decimeters in size 6.00
(c) For one copy of more than eighty square
decimeters but not exceeding one hundred
twenty square decimeter in size
9.00
(d) For one copy in excess of one hundred
twenty square decimeters in size, the
basis rate of nine pesos plus for every
twenty square decimeters or fraction
thereof in excess 0.50
(9) For the preparation of technical descriptions,
other than mere copying from an existing copy, there shall be collected
the following fees:cralaw:red
(a) For technical descriptions of lots or
parcels, typewritten in triplicate and
double-spaced, including certification:cralaw:red
(1) For each lot P3.00
(2) For each corner of a lot 0.20
(3) For each extra carbon copy, extra
charge 0.20 chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(4) Minimum total charge 3.00
(b) For lot description prepared in tracing
cloth (on tabulated form) including certification:cralaw:red
(1) For each sheet P1.50
(2) For each lot 0.20
(3) For each corner in excess of ten for a
lot 0.10
(c) Any common corner shall be counted as
many items as there are lots to which it
pertains.
(10) For certification of plans or copies of plans
as to the correctness of the same, per plan or print copy — P3.00 and
for the issuance of all other certification — P5.00 plus one 30-centavo
documentary stamp to be affixed thereto.
(11) For inspection of land subject of private
surveys, simple or complex subdivision plans, or consolidation,
consolidation-subdivision, resubdivision, or reconsolidation plans,
special work orders, and other plans of similar nature for the purpose
of verification and/or approval:cralaw:red
(a) For each plan with an aggregate area of
1,000 sq. m. or less P100.00
(b) For each subdivision with an aggregate
area of more than 1,000 sq. m.:cralaw:red
1. For the first 1,000 s.m P100.00
2. For every succeeding 1,000 sq. m. or fraction
thereof 10.00
(12) For actual field work of subdivision survey,
relocation survey and resurvey of land, the fees shall be as follows:cralaw:red
(a) Subdivision survey:cralaw:red
1. Rural (Agricultural)
Area Survey Fee
For the first hectare P350.00
For the 2nd ha. to 10th ha. An additional
60.00 per ha.
For the 11th ha. to 20th ha. An additional
P30.00 per ha.
For the 21st ha. to 30th ha. An additional
P20.00 per ha.
For the 31st ha. to 200th ha. An additional
P10.00 per ha.
For the 201st ha. or over An additional
P8.00 per ha.
A fraction of a hectare shall be considered one hectare.
2. Urban (Solar):
First 200 sq. m. or less P350.00
Succeeding 201 sq. m. or more P20.00 - 100 sq. m.
(b) Relocation Survey or Resurvey:cralaw:red
The fee for relocation survey or resurvey shall be one hundred fifty
per cent (150%) of the amount of survey fee collectible on the basis of
the schedule of fees for subdivision survey as provided in the
preceding paragraph plus one per cent (1%) of the assessed value of the
land.
Special Account. — Twenty per centum of all the collections of the
Registers of Deeds and of the Land Registration Commission under this
Section and Sections 118 and 116 of this Decree shall be appropriated
and upon approval of a budget for it by the Ministry of the Budget,
such amounts shall be disbursed and all offices under the Land
Registration Commission, for the purchase of necessary equipment, for
payment of allowances of officials and employees of the Commission,
including those of the Registries of Deeds, as authorized by the
Commissioner, for contracts regarding security printing of Land title
forms, for survey contracts, and for the maintenance and other
operating expenses of the Commission.
CHAPTER XII
FORMS USED IN LAND REGISTRATION AND CONVEYANCING
Section 112. Forms in conveyancing. — The
Commissioner of Land Registration shall prepare convenient blank forms
as may be necessary to help facilitate the proceedings in land
registration and shall take charge of the printing of land title
forms. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Deeds, conveyances, encumbrances, discharges, powers of attorney and
other voluntary instruments, whether affecting registered or
unregistered land, executed in accordance with law in the form of
public instruments shall be registrable: Provided, that, every such
instrument shall be signed by the person or persons executing the same
in the presence of at least two witnesses who shall likewise sign
thereon, and shall acknowledged to be the free act and deed of the
person or persons executing the same before a notary public or other
public officer authorized by law to take acknowledgment. Where the
instrument so acknowledged consists of two or more pages including the
page whereon acknowledgment is written, each page of the copy which is
to be registered in the office of the Register of Deeds, or if
registration is not contemplated, each page of the copy to be kept by
the notary public, except the page where the signatures already appear
at the foot of the instrument, shall be signed on the left margin
thereof by the person or persons executing the instrument and their
witnesses, and all the ages sealed with the notarial seal, and this
fact as well as the number of pages shall be stated in the
acknowledgment. Where the instrument acknowledged relates to a sale,
transfer, mortgage or encumbrance of two or more parcels of land, the
number thereof shall likewise be set forth in said acknowledgment.
CHAPTER XIII
DEALINGS WITH UNREGISTERED LANDS
Section 113. Recording of instruments relating to
unregistered lands. — No deed, conveyance, mortgage, lease, or other
voluntary instrument affecting land not registered under the Torrens
system shall be valid, except as between the parties thereto, unless
such instrument shall have been recorded in the manner herein
prescribed in the office of the Register of Deeds for the province or
city where the land lies.
(a) The Register of Deeds for each province or city
shall keep a Primary Entry Book and a Registration Book. The Primary
Entry Book shall contain, among other particulars, the entry number,
the names of the parties, the nature of the document, the date, hour
and minute it was presented and received. The recording of the deed and
other instruments relating to unregistered lands shall be effected by
any of annotation on the space provided therefor in the Registration
Book, after the same shall have been entered in the Primary Entry Book.
(b) If, on the face of the instrument, it appears
that it is sufficient in law, the Register of Deeds shall forthwith
record the instrument in the manner provided herein. In case the
Register of Deeds refuses its administration to record, said official
shall advise the party in interest in writing of the ground or grounds
for his refusal, and the latter may appeal the matter to the
Commissioner of Land Registration in accordance with the provisions of
Section 117 of this Decree. It shall be understood that any recording
made under this section shall be without prejudice to a third party
with a better right. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(c) After recording on the Record Book, the Register
of Deeds shall endorse among other things, upon the original of the
recorded instruments, the file number and the date as well as the hour
and minute when the document was received for recording as shown in the
Primary Entry Book, returning to the registrant or person in interest
the duplicate of the instrument, with appropriate annotation,
certifying that he has recorded the instrument after reserving one copy
thereof to be furnished the provincial or city assessor as required by
existing law.
(d) Tax sale, attachment and levy, notice of lis
pendens, adverse claim and other instruments in the nature of
involuntary dealings with respect to unregistered lands, if made in the
form sufficient in law, shall likewise be admissible to record under
this section.
(e) For the services to be rendered by the Register
of Deeds under this section, he shall collect the same amount of fees
prescribed for similar services for the registration of deeds or
instruments concerning registered lands.
CHAPTER XIV
REGISTRATION OF CHATTEL MORTGAGES
Section 114. Recording of chattel mortgages. — A
chattel mortgage shall be recorded in the office of the Register of
Deeds of the province or city where the mortgagor resides as well as
where the property is situated or ordinarily kept.
Section 115. Manner of recording chattel mortgages.
— Every Register of Deeds shall keep a Primary Entry Book and a
Registration Book for chattel mortgages; shall certify on each mortgage
filed for record, as well as on its duplicate, the date, hour, and
minute when the same was by him received; and shall record in such
books any chattel mortgage, assignment or discharge thereof, and any
other instrument relating to a recorded mortgage, and all such
instruments shall be presented to him in duplicate, the original to be
filed and the duplicate to be returned to the person concerned. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The recording of a mortgage shall be effected by making an entry, which
shall be given a correlative number, setting forth the names of the
mortgagee and the mortgagor, the sum or obligation guaranteed, date of
the instrument, name of the notary before whom it was sworn to or
acknowledged, and a note that the property mortgaged, as well as the
terms and conditions of the mortgage, is mentioned in detail in the
instrument filed, giving the proper file number thereof. The recording
of other instruments relating to a recorded mortgage shall be effected
by way of annotation on the space provided therefor in the Registration
Book, after the same shall have been entered in the primary Entry Book.
The Register of Deeds shall also certify the officer's return of sale
upon any mortgage, making reference upon the record of such officer's
return to the volume and page of the record of the mortgage, and a
reference of such return on the record of the mortgage itself, and give
a certified copy thereof, when requested, upon payment of the legal
fees for such copy thereof, when requested, upon payment of the legal
fees for such copy and certify upon each mortgage officer's return of
sale or discharge of mortgage, and upon any other instrument relating
to such a recorded mortgage, both on the original and in the duplicate,
the date, hour, and minute when the same is received for record and
record such certificate index of mortgagors and mortgagees, which
record and index shall be open to public inspection.
Duly certified copies of such records and of filed instruments shall be
receivable as evidence in any court.
Section 116. Fees for chattel mortgages, etc. — The
register of Deeds shall collect the following fees for services
rendered by him under this section: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
1. Entry fee. — For entry or presentation of any
document in the Primary Entry Book, five pesos. Supporting papers
presented together with the principal document need not be charged any
entry or presentation fee unless the party in interest desires that
they be likewise entered.
2. Chattel Mortgage. — For filing and recording each
chattel mortgage, including the necessary certificates and affidavits,
the fees established in the following schedule shall be collected:cralaw:red
(a) Six thousand pesos maximum. — When the amount of
the mortgage does not exceed six thousand pesos, seven pesos for the
first five hundred pesos, or fractional part thereof, and three pesos
for each additional five hundred pesos, or fractional part thereof.
(b) Thirty thousand pesos maximum. — When the amount
of the mortgage is more than six thousand pesos but does not exceed
thirty thousand pesos, forty-eight pesos for the initial amount not
exceeding eight thousand pesos, and eight pesos for each additional two
thousand pesos or fractional part thereof.
(c) One hundred thousand pesos maximum. — When the
amount of the mortgage is more than thirty thousand pesos but does not
exceed one hundred thousand pesos, one hundred fifty pesos for the
initial amount not exceeding thirty-five thousand pesos, and fourteen
pesos for each additional five thousand pesos of fractional part
thereof.
(d) Five hundred thousand pesos maximum. — When the
amount of the mortgage is more than one hundred thousand pesos but does
not exceed five hundred thousand pesos, three hundred fifty-two pesos
for the initial amount not exceeding one hundred ten thousand pesos and
twenty pesos for each additional ten thousand pesos or fractional part
thereof. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(e) More than five hundred thousand pesos. — When
the amount of the mortgage is more than five hundred thousand pesos,
one thousand one hundred sixty-two pesos for the initial amount not
exceeding five hundred twenty thousand pesos, and thirty pesos for each
additional twenty thousand pesos or fractional part thereof: Provided,
however, that registration of the mortgage in the province where the
property is situated shall be sufficient registration and provided,
further, that if the mortgage is to be registered in more than one city
or province, the Register of Deeds of the city or province where the
instrument is first presented for registration shall collect the full
amount of the fees due in accordance with the schedule prescribed
above, and the Register of Deeds of the other city of province where
the same instrument is also to be registered shall collect only a sum
equivalent to twenty per centum of the amount of fees due and paid in
the first city of province, but in no case shall the fees payable in
any Registry be less than the minimum fixed in this schedule.
3. Conveyance of mortgaged property, etc. — For
recording each instrument of sale, conveyance, or transfer of the
property which is subject of a recorded mortgage, or of the assignment
of mortgage credit, the fees established in the preceding schedule
shall be collected on the bases of ten per centum of the amount of the
mortgage or unpaid balance thereof, provided, that the latter is stated
in the instrument.
4. Notice of attachment. — For recording each notice
of attachment, including the necessary index and annotations, eight
pesos.
5. Release of mortgage. — For recording such release
of mortgage, including the necessary index and references, the fees
established in the schedule under paragraph (b) above shall be
collected on the basis of five per centum of the amount of the
mortgage. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
6. Release of attachment. — For recording each
release of attachment, including the proper annotations, five pesos.
7. Sheriff's return of sale. — For recording each
sheriff's return of sale, including the index and references, seven
pesos.
8. Power of attorney, appointment of guardian,
administrator or trustee. — For recording a power of attorney,
appointment of judicial guardian, administrator, or trustee, or any
other instrument in which a person is given power to act in behalf of
another in connection with a mortgage, ten pesos.
9. No specific fee. — For recording each instrument
or order relating to a recorded mortgage, including the necessary index
and references, for which no specific fee is provided above, five pesos.
10. Certified copy. — For certified copies of
records, such fees as are allowed by law for copies kept by the
Register of Deeds.
11. Certification. — For issuing a certificate
relative to, or showing the existence or non-existence of an entry in
the registration book, or a document on file, for each such certificate
containing not more than two hundred words, five pesos; if it exceeds
that number, an additional fee of one peso shall be collected for every
one hundred words or fractional part thereof, in excess of the first
two hundred words.
12. Research Fee. — For services rendered in
attending to requests for references to, or researches on any document
on file in the Registry, there shall be collected a fee of two pesos
per document. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
CHAPTER XV
CONSULTAS
Section 117. Procedure. — When the Register of Deeds
is in doubt with regard to the proper step to be taken or memorandum to
be made in pursuance of any deed, mortgage or other instrument
presented to him for registration, or where any party in interest does
not agree with the action taken by the Register of Deeds with reference
to any such instrument, the question shall be submitted to the
Commissioner of Land Registration by the Register of Deeds, or by the
party in interest thru the Register of Deeds.
Where the instrument is denied registration, the Register of Deeds
shall notify the interested party in writing, setting forth the defects
of the instrument or legal grounds relied upon, and advising him that
if he is not agreeable to such ruling, he may, without withdrawing the
documents from the Registry, elevate the matter by consulta within five
days from receipt of notice of the denial of registration to the
Commissioner of Land Registration.
The Register of Deeds shall make a memorandum of the pending consulta
on the certificate of title which shall be cancelled motu proprio by
the Register of Deeds after final resolution or decision thereof, or
before resolution, if withdrawn by petitioner.
The Commissioner of Land Registration, considering the consulta and the
records certified to him after notice to the parties and hearing, shall
enter an order prescribing the step to be taken or memorandum to be
made. His resolution or ruling in consultas shall be conclusive and
binding upon all Registers of Deeds, provided, that the party in
interest who disagrees with the final resolution, ruling or order of
the Commissioner relative to consultas may appeal to the Court of
Appeals within the period and in manner provided in Republic Act No.
5434. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
CHAPTER XVI
FINAL PROVISIONS
Section 118. Appropriation. — There is hereby
appropriated initially the sum of TWELVE MILLION THREE HUNDRED FORTY
THOUSAND PESOS (P12,340,000.00) from the National Treasury not
otherwise appropriated for the implementation of this decree;
thereafter, said sum shall be added to the regular appropriation act of
every year.
Section 119. Postage exemption. — No postage stamps
or mailing charges shall be required in all matters transmitted by the
Land Registration Commission or any of its Registry of Deeds in the
implementation of Sections 21, 40, 106, 118 and 117 of this Decree.
Section 120. Repealing clause. — All laws, decrees,
orders, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, in conflict or
inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Decree are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 121. Separability clause. — In the event
that any provision of this Decree is declared unconstitutional, the
validity of the remainder shall not be affected thereby.
Section 122. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take
effect upon its approval.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 11th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-eight.
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