INTRODUCTION 2.

But a possessory information alone, without showing of actual, public and

adverse possession of the land under claim of ownership, for a sufficient
period of time in accordance with the law, is ineffective as a mode of
Before treaty of Paris in 1898, private ownership of land could only be
acquiring title.
acquired through royal concessions which were documented in various
forms, such as:
Ernesto Balbin, et.al. v. Pedro Medalla, et. al. v. Pedro Medalla, et. al. GR No.
(1) Titulo Real or Royal This is granted to the Spanish subjects to L-46410, October 30, 1981 (108 SCRA 666)
Grant encourage them to settle in the new
territory. ISSUE: WON the possessory information title of Juan Ladao which was
registered on May 25, 1986 is valid.
Lands are distributed according to rank
discoverer and settlers. They are required to HELD: The Court did not grant ownership to the Medalla spouses because
construct their houses on the lot otherwise from the viewpoint of acquisitive prescription, petitioners (Balbin) have
they will lose it. acquired the title to the 9 lots in question by virtue of possession in concept
of an owner. Petitioners were given either free patent or homestead patent
(2) Concesion Especial or This is granted by the Governor-General of and OCT in their names, the latest on October 14, 1959. They were issued
Special Grant the Philippines in the exercise of his special patent because the land authorities must have found out after proper
power. investigation that petitioners were in actual possession of the 9 lots in
question. If the petitioners were in actual possession of the 9 lots, it means
(3) Titulo de Compra or This refers to the title over the land by virtue that the heirs of Juan Ladao and Medalla spouses were never in actual
Title by Purchase of purchase. The application to purchase the possession of the said lots.
public land together with its description must
be published in the Gazetta de Manila, giving A possessory information has to be confirmed in a land registration
60 days for anyone to object. proceeding, as required in Section 19 of Act No, 496. A possessory
information alone, without showing of actual, public and adverse possession of the
(4) Composicion con el This refers to the reasonable adjustment in land under claim of ownership, for a sufficient period of time in accordance with
estado or Adjustment area caused by possession of land beyond the law, is ineffective as a mode of acquiring title under Act No. 496.
Title the limits originally granted. A title may be
issued for the excess or to include the Hence, the petitioners (Balbin) have a better right to the land than the Medalla
excess. spouses.

(5) Informacion Posesoria This refers to the title of the land by virtue of
or Possessory uninterrupted actual, adverse, public
Information possession for 20 years.

1. What is required to be done is to institute the possessory information

proceeding to perfect ones title within the 1 year period from April 17, 1894
under Maura Law. The actual registration need not ne within said period.
NGEstores Introduction Land Titles Page 1 of 2
 LAWS AFFECTING REGISTRATION OF TITLES TO LAND Republic v. Ludolfo V. Muoz, GR No. 151910, October 15, 2007
As already well-settled in jurisprudence, no public land can be acquired
by private persons without any grant, express or implied from the
The Land
Land Registration government; and it is indispensable that the person claiming title to
Cadastral Act Registration
Act
(Act No. 2259) Decree public land should show that his title was acquired from the State or any
(Act No. 496 )
Feb. 11, 1913 (P.D. No. 1529) other mode of acquisition recognized by law.
Jan. 1, 1903
June 11, 1978
To prove that the land subject of an application for registration is
alienable, the applicant must establish:
It provides that when in This decree states a) The existence of a positive act of the government such as a
Established
the opinion of the that (Sec. 2) the presidential proclamation; or an executive order; an
the Torrens
President, the public judicial administrative action; investigation reports of Bureau of Lands
system of
interest requires that title proceedings for investigators; and a legislative act or a statute.
registration in to any lands be settled registration of b) The applicant must also secure a certification from the
the country and adjudicated; he shall titles to lands government that the land applied for is alienable and disposable.
order the Director of shall be based on
Created the Lands to make a survey the generally
Court of thereof with notice to all Exceptions to the Regalian Doctrine
accepted principles
Land persons claiming as 1) Properties of the church or ecclesiastical properties
underlying the
Registration interest thereon. Properties that are being used for the service of God are
Torrens System.
incapable of private ownership
The clergy who are holders of these properties are just
The Regalian Doctrine considered trustees.
The Regalian Doctrine means that all lands belong to the State. 2) Lands that had been in the possession of the claimants or his
predecessors-in-interest since time immemorial or
The Regalian Doctrine is the foundation of the time-honored principle of 3) Lands covered by the Indigenous Peoples Right Act of 1997
land ownership that all lands that were not acquired from the (IPRA) or RA 8371
government, either by purchase or by grant, belong to the public
domain. Kinds of Court/ Document Torrens Certificate
Registration Agency Issued of Title
The Regalian Doctrine is enshrined in Sec 2 of Art XII of the 1987 Judicial Court Decree of Original Certificate of
Constitution that provides: registration Registration Title (LRA/ROD)
All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other Administrative DENR Patent Original Certificate of
mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, Title (LRA/ROD)
flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State. With the
exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be
alienated.

NGEstores Introduction Land Titles Page 2 of 2