Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

CHAPTER 01: GENERAL PROVISIONS - Coggle Diagram

- - - - RTC HAS EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER:
        
        ORIGINAL REGISTRATION OF LANDS
        
        INCLUDES
        -IMPROVEMENTS
        -INTERESTS
        
        PETITIONS FILED AFTER
        ORIGINAL REGISTRATION OF TITLE
        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.
        
        CLERK OF COURT SHALL FURNISH LRC WITH:
        
        2 CERTIFIED COPIES OF ALL
        -PLEADINGS, EXHIBITS, ORDERS, AND DECISIONS FILED OR ISSUED IN APPLICATIONS/PETITIONS FOR LR
        
        WITHIN 5 DAYS FROM FILING/ISSUANCE
        
        -EXCEPT STENOGRAPHIC NOTES
        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.
        
        POWER TO HEAR AND DETERMINE
        
        ALL! QUESTIONS ARISING UPON SUCH APPLICATIONS OR PETITIONS
        
        ASSIGNMENT OF CASES GOVERNED BY:
        SC ADMIN CIRCULAR No. 6-93
        The assignment of cases is governed by SC Administrative Circular No. 6-93-A, dated November 15, 1995. Appeals from decisions of inferior courts in land registration cases are taken to the Court of Appeals
      - What are those principles underlying the Torrens System?
      - IN REM: REGISTRATION
        Registration is in rem and binds the whole world.
        IN PERSONAM: RECOVERY OF REAL PROP
        Actions for recovery of real property are in personam and binds only the parties.
        (P. 62 of Book)
        
        By actions for "recovery," does sir mean "ownership" or "possession"
        
        JD VESTED WITH COURT
        WHERE LAND IS SITUATED
        Jurisdiction over an application for land registration is vested on the regional trial court of the province or city where the land is situated, except when such jurisdiction is delegated by the Supreme Court to first level courts under certain circumstances.
        (City of Dumaguete v. Philippines Ports Authority)
        
        JD
        
        ACQUIRED UPON FILING IN COURT
        
        RETAINED UP TO END OF LITIGATION
        Jurisdiction, as in ordinary actions, is acquired upon the filing in court of the application for registration, and is retained up to the end of the litigation. 162
        (City of Dumaguete v. Philippines Ports Authority)
        
        LR-COURT HAS JD TO DETERMINE:
        IF NOT REGISTRABLE,
        MUST DISMISS FOR LACK OF JD
        The land registration court initially has jurisdiction over the land applied for at the time of the filing of the application. At that stage, the court can, in the exercise of its jurisdiction, determine whether or not the land applied for is registrable. If the land turns out to be inalienable public land, then it must dismiss the application for lack of jurisdiction to order its registration. 163
        (Yujuico v. Republic)
  - - - 3. DOCTRINE REFLECTED IN THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW
        
        4. THE REGALIAN DOCTRINE MUST BE APPLIED TOGETHER WITH THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE AND LAND REFORM
        
        5. THE REGALIAN DOCTRINE DOES NOT NEGATE NATIVE TITLE
        
        NATIVE TITLE:
        
        POSSESSION
        
        CLAIM OF OWNERSHIP
        
        SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL
        
        INDEPENDENT OF ANY GRANT FROM SPANISH CROWN
        Native title to land: Ownership of land by Filipinos by virtue of possession under a claim of ownership since. time immemorial and independent of any grant from the Spanish Crown, as an exception to the theory of jura regalia.
        (Cruz v. Secretary of DENR)
        
        STRICT! APPLICATION OF PRESUMPTION OF PUBLIC DOMAIN APPLIES IF:
        
        RUTHLESS EXPLOITATION
        
        FRAUDULENT TITLING
        
        OTHER QUESTIONABLE PRACTICES
        Thus, in Director of Lands v. Funtilar, 14 the Court, through Justice Gutierrez, declared that a strict application of the rule in Amunategui v. Director of Forestry 15 that the applicant shoulders the burden of overcoming the presumption that the land sought to be registered forms part of the public domain is warranted whenever a portion of the public domain is in danger of ruthless exploitation, fraudulent titling, or other questionable practices.
        
        INAPPLICABLE IF
        ADVANCES THE REASONS BEHIND LRA/PRD
        But when an application appears to enhance the very reasons behind the enactment of the Land Registration Act (Property Registration Decree), or the Public Land Act, then their provisions should not be made to stand in the way of their own implementation. "The attempts of humble people to have disposable lands they have been tilling for generations titled in their names should not only be viewed with an understanding attitude but should, as a matter of policy, be encouraged. We see no strong reason to reverse the findings of the trial court and the appellate court."
        (Director of Lands v. Funtilar)
        
        ALL LANDS OF PUBLIC DOMAIN =
        OWNED BY THE STATE
        Art. XII. SECTION 2 (1).
        All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State.
        
        NATURAL RESOURCES:
        ALL OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES SHALL NOT BE ALIENATED
        With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated.
        [Art. XII. Section 2(1)]
        
        NATURAL RESOURCES:
        UNDER FULL CONTROL & SUPERVISION OF THE STATE:
        
        EXPLORATION
        
        DEVELOPMENT
        
        UTILIZATION
        The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State.
        [Art. XII. Section 2(1)]
        
        STATE MAY DIRECT UNDERTAKE SUCH ACTIVITIES WITH PH CITIZENS or 60% OWNED BY FILIPINOS
        The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens.
        
        MAY NOT EXCEED 25 YRS;
        RENEWABLE FOR NOT MORE THAN 25 YRS
        Such agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and under such terms and conditions as may be provided by law.
        
        1 more item...
        
        EXCEPT AGRICULTURAL LANDS
      - PRIVATE TITLE
        TRACED TO SOME GRANT,
        EXPRESS or IMPLIED
        Generally, under the concept of jura regalia, private title to land must be traced to some grant, express or implied, from the Spanish Crown or its successors, the American Colonial government, and thereafter, the Philippine Republic.
        
        EXCEPTION:
        NATIVE TITLE
        Thus, pursuant to this principle, all claims of private title to land, save those acquired from native title must be traced from some grant, whether express or implied, from the State
    - - OVERTURNED BY:
        
        TITLE FROM THE STATE
        
        ANY OTHER MODE OF ACQUISITION RECOGNIZED BY LAW
        To overcome the presumption, it is indispensable that there be a showing of a title from the State or any other mode of acquisition recognized by law
        
        TO PROVE LAND IS A:
        
        POSITIVE ACT OF GOV'T; or
        
        CERTIFICATION OF A & D
        To prove that the land subject of an application for registration is alienable, the applicant must establish the existence of a positive act of the government such as a presidential proclamation or an executive order; an administrative action; investigation reports of Bureau of Lands investigators; and a legislative act or a statute. 32 The applicant may also secure a certification from the Government that the land applied for is alienable and disposable.||| (Republic v. Muñoz, G.R. No. 151910, [October 15, 2007], 562 PHIL 103-116)
      - ALIENABLE PUBLIC DOMAIN IF:
        
        NOT RECLASSIFIED/RELEASED AS ALIENABLE AGRI LAND; or
        
        ALIENATED TO PRIVATE PERSON
        Accordingly, public lands not shown to have been reclassified or released as alienable agricultural land or alienated to a private person by the State remain part of the alienable public domain.||| (Republic v. Muñoz, G.R. No. 151910, [October 15, 2007], 562 PHIL 103-116)
  - - - 8 .REGISTRATION IS NOT A MODE OF ACQUIRING OWNERSHIP
        
        9. RULE ON DOUBLE REGISTRATION
        
        EARLIEST CERTIFICATE = OWNER OF LAND
        In case of double registration where land has been registered in the name of two persons, priority of registration is the settled rule. In the 1915 en bane case of Legarda v. Saleeby, 42 the Court stated: "We have decided, in case of double registration under the Land Registration Act, that the owner of the earliest certificate is the owner of the land.
        
        "INNOCENT PURCHASER" RULE DOES NOT APPLY TO SUBSEQUENT VENDEE
        That is the rule between original parties. May this rule be applied to successive vendees of the owners of such certificates? Suppose that one or the other of the parties, before the error is discovered, transfers his original certificate to an 'innocent purchaser.' The general rule is that the vendee of land has no greater right, title, or interest than his vendor, that he acquires the right which his vendor had, only.· Under that .rule the vendee of the earlier certificate would be the owner as against the vendee of the owner of the later certificate."
        
        RECORD = CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE
        When a conveyance has been properly recorded such record is constructive notice of its contents and all interests, legal and equitable, included therein.||| (Legarda v. Saleeby, G.R. No. 8936, [October 2, 1915], 31 PHIL 590-614)
        
        CHARGEABLE WITH NOTICE OF RECORD = CHARGEABLE WITH NOTICE OF THE LAW
        Under the rule of notice, it is presumed that the purchaser has examined every instrument of record affecting the title. Such presumption is irrebutable. He is charged with notice of every fact shown by the record and is presumed to know every fact which an examination of the record would have disclosed. This presumption cannot be overcome by proof of innocence or good faith. Otherwise the very purpose and object of the law requiring a record would be destroyed. Such presumption cannot be defeated by proof of want of knowledge of what the record contains anymore than one may be permitted to show that he was ignorant of the provisions of the law. The rule that all persons must take notice of the facts which the public record contains is a rule of law. The rule must be absolute. Any variation would lead to endless confusion and useless litigation.||| (Legarda v. Saleeby, G.R. No. 8936, [October 2, 1915], 31 PHIL 590-614)
        
        TWO INNOCENT PERSONS:
        ONE WHO MADE WRONG POSSIBLE =
        BEARS LOSS
        Third, between two innocent persons, the one who made it possible for the wrong to be done should be the one to bear the resulting loss.||| (Traders Royal Bank v. Court of Appeals, G.R. Nos. 114299 & 118862, [September 24, 1999], 373 PHIL 817-845)
        
        DISTINCTION BETWEEN "TITLE" AND "CERTIFICATE OF TITLE"
        
        TITLE = FOUNDATION! OF OWNERSHIP
        A title is different from a certificate of title. Title is generally defined as the lawful cause or ground of possessing that which is ours. It is that which is the foundation of ownership of property, real or personal. Title, therefore, may be defined briefly as that which constitutes a just cause of exclusive possession, or which is the foundation of ownership of property.
        
        CERTIFICATE OF TITLE = EVIDENCE! OF OWNERSHIP
        a. OCT
        b. TCT
        Certificate of title, on the other hand, is a mere evidence of ownership; it is not the title to the land itself. 43 Under the Torrens system, a certificate of title may be an Original Certificate of Title, which constitutes a true copy of the decree of registration, or a Transfer Certificate of Title, which is issued subsequent to the original registration.
        
        10. ADVANTAGES OF THE TORRENS SYSTEM
        
        PEOPLE MAY RELY ON THE FACE OF THE TORRENS CERTIFICATE
        The Torrens system aims to avoid possible conflicts of title to real estate and to facilitate transactions relative thereto by giving the public the right to rely upon the face of a Torrens certificate of title and to dispense with the need of inquiring further,
        
        EXCEPTION: ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE OR IMPELS INQUIRY
        except when the party concerned has actual knowledge of facts and circumstances that should impel a reasonably cautious man to make further inquiry.
        
        11. A VIEW OF PAST AND PRESENT LEGISLATION ON LAND REGISTRATION
        
        PRESENT LAW
        PD 1529
        
        JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION [14(1)]
        -IMPERFECT/INCOMPLETE TITLES
        
        CADASTRAL REGISTRATION [35-38]
        
        VOLUNTARY PROCEEDINGS [51-68]
        
        INVOLUNTARY PROCEEDINGS [69-77]
        
        CERTIFICATES OF LAND TRANSFER & EMANCIPATION PATENTS [104-106]
        
        RECONSTITUTION OF LOST/DESTROYED ORIGINAL TORRENS TITLES [110]
        
        12. REGISTRATION UNDER THE TORRENS SYSTEM IS A PROCEEDING IN REM
        
        IN REM! = BARS ALL WHO MAY OBJECT
        A proceeding is in rem when the object of the action is to bar indifferently all who might be minded to make an objection of any sort against the right sought to be established, and if anyone in the world has a right to be heard on the strength of alleging facts which, if true show an inconsistent interest.
        
        1 more item...
        
        REQUIREMENTS:
        
        PUBLICATION
        
        SERVICE OF NOTICE
        A land registration is a proceeding in rem and jurisdiction in rem cannot be acquired unless there be constructive seizure of the land through publication and service of notice.
        [9Republic v. Court of Appeals and Ribaya, GR No. 113549, July 5, 1996, 258 SCRA223.]
        
        1 more item...
        
        13. RTC HAVE PLENARY JURISDICTION OVER LAND REGISTRATION CASES
        
        3 more items...
        
        REGISTRATION = NOT A MODE OF ACCQUIRING OWNERSHIP
        Registration of a piece of land under the Torrens System does not create or vest title. 37 It is not a mode of acquiring ownership but is merely a procedure to establish evidence of title over realty. 38 It is a means of confirming the fact of its existence with notice to the world at· large. A certificate of title is not a source of right. It merely confirms or records a title already existing and vested.39 The mere possession thereof does not make one the true owner of the property. 40
        
        REGISTRATION DOES NOT FORECLOSE QUESTIONS ON:
        
        CO-OWNERS NOT NAMED
        
        TRUSTEE AS REGISTRANT
        
        SUBSEQUENT INTEREST
        Registration does not give the registrant a better right than what he had prior to the registration. Mere issuance of the certificate of title in the name of any person does not foreclose the possibility that the real propertv may be under co-ownership with persons not named in the certificate or that the registrant may only be a trustee or that other parties may have acquired interest subsequent to the issuance of the certificate of title. 4
      - REAL PURPOSE OF TORRENS SYSTEM:
        QUIET TITLE TO LAND
        The real purpose of the Torrens system, as expressed in Legarda v. Saleeby, 23 a 1915 decision, is to quiet title to land; to put a stop forever to any question of the legality of the title,
        
        EXCEPT CLAIMS:
        
        NOTED UPON :alarm_clock: REGISTRATION
        -IN CERTIFICATE
        
        AROSE AFTER :alarm_clock: REGISTRATION
        except claims which were noted at the time of registration, in the certificate, or which may arise subsequent thereto.
        
        IN REM = ALL THE WORLD ARE PARTIES
        ALL the world are parties, including . the government.
        
        NO INNOCENT PARTIES
        MAY CLAIM AN INTEREST IF:
        
        REGISTRATION IS COMPLETE & FINAL
        
        NO FRAUD
        After the registration is complete and final and there exists no fraud, there are no innocent third parties who may claim an interest. The rights of all the world are foreclosed by the decree of registration. The title once registered, with very few exceptions, should not thereafter be impugned, altered, changed, modified, enlarged, or diminished, except in some direct proceeding permitted by law.
        
        CERTIFICATE OF TITLE > TAX DEC/RECEIPT
        Tax declarations and tax receipts cannot prevail over a certificate of title which is an incontrovertible proof of ownership. 30
        
        EXCEPTIONS TO INDEFEASIBILITY
        
        FRAUD
        
        UNJUST ENRICHMENT
        However, the Torrens system does not furnish a shield for fraud, 31 nor permit one to enrich himself at the expense of others,32 otherwise its acceptability is impaired. 33 The indefeasibility of a title does not attach to titles secured by fraud and misrepresentation. 34 The registration is not an impediment to a declaration by the courts of its invalidity. 3
      - MIRROR DOCTRINE:
        PERSONS DEALING WITH REGISTERED LAND MAY SAFELY RELY ON CORRECTNESS of CTC
        
        WITHOUT BEING OBLIGED TO GO BEYOND CERTIFICATE
        Complementing the purpose of the Torrens system is the mirror doctrine which provides that every person dealing with registered land may safely rely on the correctness of the certificate of title issued therefor and is in no way obliged to go beyond the certificate to determine the condition of the property.
        
        DEFECTIVE TITLE < INNOCENT 3RD PARTY PURCHASER FOR VALUE
        A defective title, or one the procurement of which is tainted with fraud and misrepresentation - may be the source of a completely legal and valid title, provided that the buyer is an innocent third person who, in good faith, relied on the correctness of the certificate of title, or an innocent purchaser for value.
    - - BOTH PUBLIC & PRIVATE LANDS
        COVERED BY LRA
        Grants of public land were brought under the operation of the Torrens system under Act No. 496, or the Land Registration Act of 1903. · Enacted by the Philippine Commission, said Act placed all public and private lands in the Philippines under the Torrens system.
      - PROPERTY REGISTRATION DECREE:
        CODIFICATION OF ALL LAWS RELATIVE TO REGISTRATION OF LANDS
        This principle is recognized to the fullest extent in our registration laws, e.g., the Land Registration Act, and now the 1978 Property Registration Decree, which has codified all laws relative to registration of lands.
  - - - UNREGISTERED LANDS:
        THOSE REGISTERED THEREUNDER +
        NOT COVERED BY TORRENS TITLE
        ...and all lands recorded under said system which are not yet covered by Torrens title shall be considered as unregistered lands.
        
        UNREGISTERED LANDS:
        MAY BE REGISTERED UNDER SEC. 113
        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.
        
        RECORDING OF INSTRUMENTS RELATING TO 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.
        (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.
        
        DOES NOT PREJUDICE BETTER RIGHT
        Significantly, any recording under Section 113 of PD No. 1529 "shall be without prejudice to a third party with a better right." 101
        
        RECORDING OF UNREGSITERED LAND = DOES NOT PREJUDICE THIRD PARTIES WITH A BETTER RIGHT
        Act No. 3344, as amended, provided for the system ofrecording of transactions over unregistered real estate without prejudice to a third party with a better right. 16
        
        Recording, not registration
        Hypothesis: The reason why the recording hereunder does not prejudice third parties' with a better right is because RECORDING hereunder is NOT REGISTRATION.
        The LAND remains unregistered, BUT
        INSTRUMENTS relating to said land are merely RECORDED
        
        UNREGISTERED LANDS:
        BOOKS OF REGISTRATION UNDER RAC
        REMAIN IN FORCE
        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;
        
        UNREGISTERED LANDS:
        INSTRUMENTS HANDLING UR LANDS MUST STILL REGISTER UNDER SEC. 113
        provided, that all instruments dealing with unregistered lands shall henceforth be registered under Section 113 of this Decree.
        
        REGISTRATION OF INSTRUMENTS AFFECTING UNREGISTERED LANDS PREVIOUSLY GOVERNED BY SEC. 194 OF AC
        The registration of instruments affecting unregistered land was previously governed by Section 194 of the Administrative Code. Section 194 was amended by Act No. 2837 and later by Act No. 3344. Rights acquired under the system were not absolute as they must yield to better rights, which relates to other titles which a party might have acquired independently of the unregistered deed such as, for instance, title by prescription. 100
    - - 2. SPANISH TITLES NO LONGER USED AS EVIDENCE OF LAND OWNERSHIP
        
        (1) THE TITULO DE PROPRIEDAD NO. 4136 AND THE "FANTASTIC" CLAIM OF THE MARIANO SAN PEDRO HEIRS
        
        3. REGISTRATION OF INSTRUMENTS AFFECTING TITLED LANDS UNDER ACT NO. 3344 INEFFECTIVE AGAINST THIRD PERSONS
        
        REGISTRATION MUST BE DONE IN THE PROPER REGISTRY TO BIND LAND
        The Court, in Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority v. Tirol, 108 reiterated that registration of instruments must be done in the proper registry in order to bind the land.
        
        PRIOR FORMS OF REGISTRATION
        
        Act No. 496 LRA (FOR SALE COVERED BY TORRENS TITLE)
        
        ACT 3344 (FOR SALE OF UNREGISTERED REAL ESTATE)
        
        NOT CONSIDERED REGISTERED:
        
        SALE OF LAND COVERED BY TORRENS TITLE, BUT SALE IS REGISTERED UNDER ACT 3344
        
        EFFECT: NOT CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE TO WHOLE WORLD
        Accordingly, if a parcel of land covered by a Torrens title is sold, but the sale is registered under Act No. 3344 and not under the Land Registration Act, the sale is not considered registered108 and the registration of the deed does not operate as constructive notice to the whole world. 109 In Naawan Community Rural Bank v. Court of Appeals,110 the Court upheld the better right of a party who had registered the sale of land under the Property Registration Decree, as opposed to another who had registered a deed of final conveyance under Act No. 3344
        
        NOT CONSIDERED REGISTERED:
        THUS, NO DOUBLE REGISTRATION UNDER RULES ON DOUBLE SALE
        The inscription under Act No. 3344 of a transaction relating to unregistered land was held not effective for purposes of Article 1544 of the Civil Code, the law on double sale of the same property. The registration should be made in the property registry111 to be binding upon third persons. 1