Land Titles and Deeds

MODULE II

1.) What is a Torrens Title?

2.) May a Torrens title be collaterally attacked?

3.) What are the purposes of the Torrens System?

4.) Bayani was able to obtain a title over a property of public domain classified as
timberland.

a. Is the title valid? Why?

b. Supposed he has already sold it to Arcan, a buyer in good faith and for value,
can the State still recover it? Is the defense of prescription available? Why?

5.) May a forest land be acquired? Why?

6.) Outline the procedure in Land Registration.

7.) Who may apply for Land Registration?

8.) Where should the application for registration be filed?

9.) What are the purposes of publishing the notice of hearing?

10.)What are the requirements of the answer/opposition to the land registration?

Land Titles and Deeds Fiscal Roma Ortiz
Ma. Susana Isla-Arcan Module 2

1. Torrens Title – is a certificate of title issued to a person, who claims to be the

fee simple owner, after passing all tests relative to the registration of land under
the Torrens system, describing the nature of his estate and said certificate vests
in him an indefeasible title. This becomes the basis of future transactions
affecting the property described therein, such as sale, mortgage, lease and other
forms of deeds and conveyances.

2. No, the Torrens title may not be collaterally attacked. As provided in Section 48
of PD#1529, “a certificate of title shall not be subject to collateral attack. It
cannot be altered, modified or cancelled except in direct proceeding in
accordance with law.” The issue on a validity of a title, i.e. whether it was
fraudulently issued, can only be raised in an action expressly instituted for the
purpose.

3. Purposes of Torrens System:

a. to quiet title to land; to put a stop forever to any question of the legality of
the registration, in the certificate, or which may arise subsequent thereto;
b. to relieve the land of unknown liens or claims, just or unjust, against it; It is
intended only that the title, which the petitioner has, shall be registered
and thereby cleared of all liens and burdens of whatsoever character,
except those which shall be noted in the order of registration and in the
certificate issued.

4. a. No, the title of Bayani is invalid. Under the Public Land Act, “timberland” is
considered as “forest” in the Constitution. Forest lands and forest reserves are
not capable of private appropriation an possession, it being of public domain.
 b. The State may recover the land through exercise of the power of eminent
domain. Forest lands may not be appropriated privately, therefore, the defense
of prescription is not available to Arcan.

5. No, forest lands may not be acquired. Even if this be subsequently stripped
of trees and its forests cover by loggers and settlers, and may actually be
planted to crops or covered with grass, are not susceptible of private ownership,
much less object of application for registration by private persons, until and after
such lands have been reclassified or otherwise released from forest to alienable
and disposable land of the public domain by official proclamation.

6. General Procedure in Land Registration:

a. Survey of land by the Bureau of Lands or a duly licensed private surveyor;

b. Filing of application for registration by the applicant;
c. Setting the date for the initial hearing of the application by the Court;
d. Transmittal of the application and the date of initial hearing together with
all the documents or other evidences attached thereto by the Clerk of
Court to the National Land Titles and Deeds Registration Administration;
e. Publication of a notice of the filing of the application and date and place of
hearing once in the Official Gazette and once in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Philippines;
f. Service of notice upon contiguous owners, occupants and those known to
have interest in the property by the Sheriff;
g. Filing of answer or opposition to the application by any person whether
named in the notice or not;
h. Hearing of the case by the Court;
i. Promulgation of judgment by the Court;
j. Issuance of the decree by the Court declaring the decision final and
instructing the National Land Titles and Deeds Registration Administrator
to issue a decree of confirmation and registration;
k. Entry of the decree of registration in the National Land Titles and Deeds
Registration Administration;
l. Sending of copy of the decree of registration to the corresponding
Register of Deeds (Registrar of Land Titles and Deeds); and
m. Transcription of the decree of registration in the registration book and the
issuance of the owner’s duplicate original certificate of title of the applicant
by the Registrar of Land Titles and Deeds, upon payment of the
prescribed fees.]

7. The following may apply for land registration:

a. 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 land of the public domain under a
bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945 or earlier;
 b. Those who have acquired ownership of private lands by prescription under
the provisions of existing laws;
c. Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned river
beds by right or accession or accretion under the existing laws;
d. Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other manner provided
for by law.

8. The application for registration may be filed with the clerk of the Regional
Trial Court of the province or city where the land in situated. In the City
of Manila, the application should be filed with the Land Registration
Authority.

9. Purposes of Publishing the Notice of Hearing:

a. to invite all persons concerned who may have any rights or interests in the
property applied for to come to the court and show cause why the
application should not be granted;
b. to confer jurisdiction upon the court;
c. to bind the whole world, inclusive of those who may be adversely affected
and those who factually have been innocent of such publication.

10. Requirements of the answer/opposition to the land registration:

a. It shall set forth “all the objections to the application.” – to require the
answer to disclose the objection to the application, the requirement that
the opponent show his interest being merely for purpose of making plain,
full and clear the objections to the application;
b. It shall state the “interest claimed by the party filing the same.” –
where the opposition or adverse claim covers only a portion of the lot
applied for 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, overlapping of boundaries, the court may
require the parties to submit a subdivision plan duly approved by the
Director of Lands.