MANILA, Philippines - With its agency-wide computerization

program now in place, the Land Registration Authority (LRA) has

significantly shortened its land titling process to five easy steps
which can be taken in a single visit to any register of deeds (RD)
office anywhere in the country.
As a result of the LRAs computerization program, the agency has
streamlined the processing and issuance of land titles, LRA
Administrator Eulalio Diaz said.
Essentially, there are only five easy steps to take for a landowner in
applying for a title to the property.
Step 1. Submit the conveyance instrument and all supporting
documents to the entry clerk at the RD. The applicant will receive an
electronic primary entry book (EPEB) number to confirm receipt of
the conveyance instrument and supporting documents.
Step 2. Pay the corresponding fees.
Step 3. The documents will be turned over to the examiner who will
check if all the requirements have been met, after which the
information would be encoded.

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Step 4. If the requirements are complete, the RD approves the
applicant.
Step 5. A new land title will finally be printed and issued to the
applicant.

The LRA stresses, however, that application for land titles is strictly
conducted on a first in registration, first in right basis.
This simply means that the person or entity who registered the land
first gets the legal preferential right to own it first, according to Diaz.
To ward off conflicts in land ownership, other claimants to the same
property cannot stop the registration process provided the first
applicant has been able to successfully enter the instrument in the
register of deeds, and has been issued an EPEB number confirming
receipt of submitted documentary requirements, and payment of the
proper fees.
An exemption to the rule is through a temporary restraining order
issued by the court, or when the applicant failed to meet the
requirements, in which case the application could be denied and the
submitted instruments deemed not registrable, Diaz said.
However, any registrant whose application for registration was
denied by an RD can still file an appeal called consulta with the
LRA head office. Consulta refers to the quasi-judicial power of the
LRA to reverse or affirm the RDs decision, as the case may be.
For this purpose, it is imperative that the chiefs of the offices of
register of deeds should be lawyers because the position requires
good knowledge of the law, Diaz said.
There are three basic reasons why the LRA issue land titles: sale of
the property, consolidation resulting from mortgage foreclosure, and
involuntary transactions such as court orders.

Titling for unregistered lands follows either of two different routes:

the judicial way and the administrative way.
The judicial way involves filing a petition in court for original
registration of title for a property with no existing title. The claimant
must be able to present proof of land possession, along with all
other requirements by the court.
After resolving the petition, the court will issue an order directing the
LRA to issue a decree of registration, and the corresponding original
certificate of title (OCT) that will be registered with the RD.
On the other hand, the administrative way is coursed through the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and
other agencies that have authority to issue public land title. The
claimant can go to the DENR and apply for a patent.
The application is thoroughly screened, and if found meritorious, a
patent title which has the same function as a Torrens title, is issued
and registered with the registry offices.

How Are Land Titles Transferred

in the Philippines?
BY Lamudi 11 March 2015 Tips and advice

Remember, ownership is not complete until the buyer registers

the title under his name.
Most people know that buying a property is not a simple task,
but very few appreciate how much more complicated the
process of transferring land titles from the sellers name to the
buyers name is. The importance of land title transfer should not

be underestimated. Remember, this is where you, as a buyer,

will start claiming the property as your own. The issuance of a
new land title under your name will be your proof of ownership;
otherwise, you might be facing technical, legal, and financial
problems later on, because of an improper land title transfer or
the absence of it.

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Where Does It Start?

The process of buying a property does not end with paying the
seller and executing a Deed of Sale. What is important for you
to remember is that once the Deed of Sale has been signed and

notarized, deadlines for tax payments are already in effect.

Should you fail to meet these deadlines, the penalties and
surcharges will certainly make a dent on your pocket.
Sometimes, if payment has been delayed for several years, this
might be even bigger than the value of the property at the time it
was bought.
Ideally, even before the property is purchased, you should
already plan on land title transfer just to make sure that even if
you will not be able to do it yourself, you have someone doing it
for you, you can trust. Remember, ownership is not complete
until you register the title under your name.

These are the steps for

transferring a land title:
1. File and secure the documentary requirements at the
Registry of Deeds and Municipal or Provincial Assessors
Office.

2. Secure assessment of transfer taxes at the Bureau of

Internal Revenue (BIR) and Municipal or City Treasurers
Office.
3. File documents at the BIR for the issuance of Certificate
Authorizing Registration (CAR) or BIR Clearance.
4. Pay the Transfer Taxes and secure the Tax Clearance.
5. File documents at the Registry of Deeds for the issuance
of new land title.
6. File documents at the Municipal or Provincial Assessors
Office for the issuance of new Tax Declaration.

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It is important to note that this step is often missed out.

Transferring ownership of a Tax Declarationshould always be
done after Land Title Transfer as the name on the Land
Title should coincide with the name indicated on the Tax
Declaration.
These steps will require you to go back and forth between
multiple government agencies. In addition, the whole procedure
could take several months to complete, more so if there are
problems with the propertys existing documents or records. The
process might also require constant follow-ups with the
government agencies, and sometimes it is necessary to
personally visit the respective agencies to follow up and speed
up the process.
If accomplishing these tasks personally is not possible for you,
then it would be wise to look for someone, a duly registered
company preferably, who has expertise in this matter.
Remember, you must transfer ownership immediately after

buying a property to avoid encountering problems later on and

paying a huge penalty for late transfer.