LAND REGISTRATION

AND
TITLE RECONSTITUTION
PREPARED BY:
ATTY. ARLYN JOY C. ALLOSA-ALABA, REA, REB

Land registration authority

Government agency mandated to

protect the Torrens System of land
title registration
Central repository of all land records
It keeps the title history or records of transaction

involving titled or registered lands

It issues decrees of registration proceedings

and causes the issuance by the register of
deeds the corresponding certificate of title

Register of deeds

Field officers of Land Registration

Authority that serves the registration and
issuance of titles and any other form of
registration such as mortgage, liens and
adverse claims to the title. It is an agency
under the Department of Justice.

Torrens System

System of defining ownership of land

through registration and issuance of Title
with the following purposes:
To quiet title to the land
Evidence of ownership
Identify boundaries of land

Certificate of title

A document /instrument evidencing

ownership over a parcel of land which is
issued only by the Register of Deeds
where the land is located. It is issued in
duplicate, the original being retained
under custodial by the Register of Deeds
and the duplicate being issued to the
owner.

Original Certificate of Title

First title issued to a parcel of land which

is acquired through judicial and
administrative procedures

Transfer Certificate of Title

Subsequent issuance of title from the

original title

Steps in land registration

Land survey
Approval of plan by the director of regional technical
director who has jurisdiction in the place where the
property is located
Filing of application and filed at the regional trial court of
the province where the property is located

1.
2.

3.

Original plan in the tracing cloth or Diaze polyester film of the director
of lands/regional lands director or the authorized person plus 2 extra
print copies of the plan
Three copies of technical description verified and certified by the
Regional Technical Director or his authorized official representative
which conforms with LRC circular no. 365
Three copies of certificates coming from surveyor or Geodetic Engineer
or certificate of non-availability from Regional Technical Director
Four copies of latest tax declaration or assessment certificate from
assessors office where the property is located

Steps in land registration

The application should contain the following

A.
B.

C.
D.
E.
F.

Lot description
Civil status of applicant, if married, name of spouse, if
separated, where, when, what court gave the separation
decision
Legal guardian if the applicant is minor including name and
address
Applicants citizenship
If minor, statement of parents
Full name and address of the applicant, name of present
occupants and name of adjoining lot owners if known, if not
known, statement of how to find the owners of adjoin
properties

Steps in land registration

4.

5.

6.

Clerk of Court will give Land Registration Case. No. Upon

acceptance of application
The court will schedule the date and time of hearing of
application in compliance with sec 23 PD 1529 and LRC circular
nol 353. The court order of first hearing will be sent to LRA
including the duplicate copy of application, original or certified
copy of plan in tracing cloth, duplicate original copy of technical
description, surveyors certificate, latest tax declaration, proof
of payment of publication fee in an Official Gazette
The notice of initial hearing proposed by LRA should be
published once in an Official Gazette and once in the newspaper
of general publication or circulation in the Philippines . The
amount of publication is P1,012.50 if the application is for one
(1) lot with the additional of P322.50 for and in excess of the
first lot to be paid to the Clerk of Court upon filing of
application. The amount will be given to the Director of the
National Printing Office,

Steps in land registration

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

All persons who claim ownership or interest in the land should file an
opposition to the court so he will be heard.
The applicants and oppositions must show proofs of ownership in
time of hearing.
After hearing, the court will render decision in favor of the person
who can prove his ownership. If the decision is final, the Court will
give order to the Administrator of the LRS to give Decree of
Registration to said claimant.
After receiving the Court order, the administrator of LRA will give
Decree of Registration and this will be numbered typewritten in the
Original Certificates of Title and this will be delivered together with
the Owners Duplicate Copy to the Register of Deeds, where the
property is located.
The Register of Deeds after receiving the original and duplicate
copies of the Original Certificate of Title or Decree of Registration will
put OCT number and will be kept at the vault of the Registry. After
payment of legal fees, the duplicate Owners Copy of OCT will be
given to the owner.

REGISTRATION
(ROD)

An entry in the book of registry including

cancellation, annotation, and even marginal notes

An entry made in the registry which records

solemnly and permanently the rights of
ownership and other real rights.

Governed by ACT 496 The Land Registration Act

(Feb 1, 1903), later replaced by PD 1529
Property Registration Decree (June 11, 1978)
which amended and codified the laws related to
registration of property.

Major Functions of registration

Publicity
Priority
Security

Methods of Registration
Transcription
Inscription

Kinds of Registration

Registration of Title or Original

Registration

Judicial, which may either be:

Voluntary
Compulsory

Administrative acquisition

Registration of Deeds and other

Instruments or subsequent documents

May either be:

Voluntary sale, exchange of property, lease,
mortgage, donations
Involuntary attachments ( preliminary
attachements, garnishment, levy of execution)
- adverse claims
- notice of lis pendens
Administrative registration of patents

Title Reconstitution

Undertaken when title is lost or burned.

The title lost can be the original title
under the custody of the Register of
Deeds or the Owners duplicate copy
which is under the custody of the owner.
The reconstitution can either be by
administrative or judicial procedures.

Administrative Reconstitution of
Title

It is the re-establishing of a Transfer

Certificate of Title without the necessity of
court proceedings (RA 6732 Mass
Reconstitution of Title)

At which ROD can Administrative

Reconstitution be availed of?
Batangas City Camarines Sur
Malolos, Bulacan Ilagan, Isabela
Calapan, Oriental Mindoro Quezon City
Borongon, Samar

When and Where to File?

Anytime at the Office of the ROD (only in
the 7 RODs)
Outside the 7 RODs
- reconstitution must be filed in court
(judicial reconstitution)

Judicial Reconstitution

Through court proceedings

Needs service of a lawyer
Need publication in the official gazette
Reconstituted title is not subject to the
two (2) year period within which one
(who might have superior right) can file a
claim against it.
The 2-year period which is subject to
claims of third parties, is not annotated
on the title. In administrative
reconstitution , it is annotated.

Requirement for Administrative

Reconstitution

An application/petition
Owners duplicate copy or photocopy or
whichever document that will evidence
ownership.
Real estate tax receipts, representing full
payment of at least two (2) years prior to
filing of the petition.
Certified true copy of the tax declaration.

Pointers on how to detect fake

and/or
spurious title:
1.) Check the original and owners duplicate to find out if
the latter is an exact copy of the former.
A genuine owners duplicate of transfer certificate of title
should be carbon original of the original copy of the title. If
both are carbon originals, as in the case of Original
Certificate of Title, they should have been typed together,
hence, coincide in every way.
2.) Check out the initials and signature appearing on the two
titles as well as the manner in which the entries and the
technical description were typewritten. All the foregoing
details must be the same on both certificates of title. Any
variance thereof is a ground of suspicion.

Pointers on how to detect fake and/or

spurious title:
3.) Find out if the serial number of the judicial form
used in accomplishing the titles conforms with the
serial number of the judicial forms forwarded by
the LRC Central office to the particular Registry of
Deeds that appears to have issued the title.
4.) Check if the Registry of Deeds of the province
or city who purportedly signed the title is the real
Registry of Deeds of the province or city where the
land is located.
5.) Verify if the date appearing on the title

Pointers on how to detect fake

and/or
spurious title:
6.) See if the date when the OCT was signed by the
LRC Commissioner corresponds to his term of
office.
7.) Try to find out whether or not the document that
supports the transfer or conveyance of the property
is authentic; or whether the title is supported with a
Deed.
8.) Check the date of revision of the judicial from
used and see whether the certificate of title was
issued after the revision.

Pointers on how to detect fake

and/or
spurious title:
9.) Trace if the title purposely transferred from one
Registry to another actually came from and was actually
issued by the mother registry of origin.

10.) To test by wetting whether or not the red seal on

the owners duplicate and the red printed words
OWNERS DUPLICATE blot and stain. A genuine judicial
from does not blot or stain when wet (old forms).
11.) Be extra cautious when the area of the land is so
vast that is disproportionate to the population and land
area of the locality where it is supposed to be situated.

Pointers on how to detect fake

and/or
spurious title:
12.) A tracking-back of the title in the Office of Registry
of Deeds is the best recourse.
13.) Be extra careful if it is a reconstituted (indicated
with a prefix RT, or with a set of figures enclosed in
parentheses and a set outside thereof);
14.) Be extra careful if there are blanks not filled-up or
are with the initials N.A. meaning NOT AVAILABLE on the
historical data of the title.
15.) Check if the last two or three digits of the TCT
number should be identical to the page number.

Pointers on how to detect fake

and/or
spurious title:
16.) The year when the judicial form was used or
revised should be before the date when the title
was issued, except in cases of reconstituted titles.
17.) The form show obvious watermarks that
cannot be duplicated by any means.
18.) The TCT also sports a decorative border
called the Intaglio which is a design, figure or
ornamentation carved, engraved or etched into
the surface of the material used.

Pointers on how to detect fake

and/or
spurious title:
19.) Upon closer inspection of the TCT, fibers of the
paper material used in the forms are observable.
Different colored circular patterns are also seen on a
legitimate TCT. These are called planchettes and they
serve a special purpose.
20.) For e-titles, a computerized judicial form contains a
judicial form number, control number, a barcode, as well
as a watermark security feature.
Note: In negotiations, do not rely on a photocopy of the
purported certificate of title. Asked for a certified
electronic copy thereof from the Registry of Deeds.

Thank you for listening

and have a nice day!