Week 9- Reconstitution of Certificate of Title; Recording of
dealings relating to registered lands
1. Judicial Reconstitution of Certificate of Title
a. Purpose
 The reconstitution of a certificate of title denotes the
restoration in its original form and condition of a lost or
destroyed original or transfer certificate of title on file in
the office of the Register of Deeds. The purpose of
reconstitution of title is to have the title reproduced in
exactly the same way it was at the time of its loss or
destruction.
b. R.A. No. 26
 Reconstitution of title under R.A. No. 26 is an action in rem.
A judicially reconstituted title has the same validity and
legal effect as the original thereof, and is not subject to the
reservation that it shall be without prejudice to any party
whose right or interest in the property was duly noted in
the original at the time of loss or destruction but which
entry or notation has not been made in the reconstituted
title.
c. Where to file the petition
 The petition for reconstitution shall be filed by the
registered owner, his assigns, or any person having an
interest in the property with the Regional Trial Court of the
province or city where the land lies based on sources
enumerated in Sections 2(c), 2(d), 2(e), 2(f), 3(c), 3(d), 3(e)
and/or 3(f) of the Act.
2. Sources of reconstitution of title
a. Exclusive enumeration
 For original certificate of title
(a) The owner’s duplicate of the certificate of
title;
(b) The co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, or lessee’s
duplicate of the certificate of title;
(c) A certified copy of the certificate of title,
previously issued by the register of deeds or
by a legal custodian thereof;
(d) An authenticated copy of the decree of
registration or patent, as the case may be,
pursuant to which the original certificate of
title was issued;
(e) A document on file in the registry of deeds,
by which the property, the description of
which is given in said document, is
mortgaged, leased or encumbered, or an
authenticated copy of the said document
showing that its original had been registered;
and
(f) Any other document, which in the judgment
of the court is sufficient and proper basis for
reconstituting the lost or destroyed
certificate of title. (Survey plan and technical
description of the land are mere additional
requirements and are not by themselves
sources for reconstitution.)
 For transfer certificates of title
(a) The owner’s duplicate of the certificate of
title;
(b) The co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, or lessee’s
duplicate of the certificate of title;
(c) A certified copy of the certificate of title,
previously issued by the register of deeds or
by a legal custodian thereof;
(d) A deed of transferor other document, on file
in the register of deeds, containing the
description of the property, or an
authenticated copy thereof, showing that its
original had been registered, and pursuant to
which the lost or destroyed transfer
certificate of title was issued;
(e) A document on file in the registry of deeds,
by which the property, the description of
 which is given in said document, is
mortgaged, leased or encumbered, or an
authenticated copy of the said document
showing that its original had been registered;
and
(f) Any other document, which in the judgment
of the court, is sufficient and proper basis for
reconstituting the lost or destroyed
certificate of title.
b. Presentation of other proofs of existence of title
 The court enumerated what should be shown before an
order for reconstitution can validly issued, namely:
(1) That the certificate of title had been lost or
destroyed;
(2) That the documents presented by petitioner are
sufficient and proper to warrant reconstitution
of the lost or destroyed certificate to title;
(3) That the petitioner is the registered owner of
the property or had an interest therein;
(4) That the certificate of title was in force at the
time it was lost or destroyed; and
(5) That the description, area and boundaries of the
property are substantially the same and those
contained in the lost or destroyed certificate of
title.
3. Jurisdictional requirements for judicial reconstitution
a. Effect of non-compliance
 The failure or omission to notify the person as owner,
possessor or occupant of property adjacent to the land
subject to reconstitution or as claimant or person having an
interest, title or claim to said land, as well as the failure or
omission to post copies of the notice of hearing on the main
entrance of the municipality on which the land is situated,
at the provincial building and at the municipal building
thereat, are fatal to the acquisition and exercise of
jurisdiction by the trial court.
b. Service of notice to adjacent owners
 Section 10 of R.A. No. 26 requires publication and posting
of the notice of the petition for reconstitution if based on
sources enumerated in Sections 2(a), 2(b), 3(a), 3(b)
and/or 4(a) of the Act; it does not require that notice be
specifically sent to adjoining property owners.
 On the other hand, sections 12 and 13 of R.A. No. 26, which
refer to petitions for reconstitution based on sources
enumerated in Sections 2(c), 2(d), 2(e), 3(c), 3(d), 3(e)
and/or 3(f), require that the notice be published, posted
and copies sent to adjoining owners.
4. Effect of a void reconstitution of title
a. Writ of possession in a reconstitution case
 If a certificate of title has not been lost but is in fact in the
possession of another person, the reconstituted title is void
and the court rendering the decision has not acquired
jurisdiction over the petition for the issuance of a new title.
 Reconstitution does not confirm or adjudicate ownership
over the property covered by the reconstituted title as in
original land registration where, in the latter, a writ of
possession may be issued to place the applicant-owner in
possession.
5. Administrative Reconstitution of Certificate of Title
a. Grounds
 The petition shall be accompanied with the necessary
sources for reconstitution and with an affidavit of the
registered owner stating, among other things:
(1) That no deed or other instrument affecting the
property had been presented for registration, or,
if there be any, the nature thereof, the date of its
presentation, as well as the names of the parties,
and whether the registration of such deed or
instrument is still pending accomplishment;
(2) That the owner’s duplicate certificate of title or
co-owner’s duplicate is in due form without any
apparent intentional alterations or erasures;
 (3) That the certificate of title is not the subject of
litigation or investigation, administrative or
judicial, regarding its genuineness or due
execution or issuance;
(4) That he certificate of title was in full force and
effect at the time was lost or destroyed;
(5) That the certificate of title is covered by a tax
declaration regularly issued by the Assessor’s
Office; and
(6) That real estate taxes have been fully paid up to
at least 2 years prior to the filing of the petition
for reconstitution.
 If the reconstitution is to be made from any of the sources
enumerated in Section 2(b) or 3(b), the affidavit should
further state that the owner’s duplicate has been lost or
destroyed and the circumstances under which it was lost or
destroyed.
b. Section 110 of P.D. No. 1529 as amended R.A. No. 6732
 Administrative reconstitution of lost or destroyed
certificate of titles may be availed of only in case of
substantial loss or destruction of land titles due to fire,
flood, or other force majeure, as determined by the
Administrator of the Land Registration Authority, and on
the further condition that:
(1) The number of certificates of title lost or
damaged should be at least 10% of the total
number in possession of the office of the
Register of Deeds; nut
(2) In no case shall the number of certificates be
less than 500.
6. Replacement of lost, destroyed or stolen Owner's Duplicate
Certificate of Title
a. Section 109 of R.A. No. 1529
 Section 109 of P.D. No. 1529 is the law applicable in
petitions for the replacement of lost or destroyed owner’s
duplicate certificate of title.
b. Venue
 Regional Trial Courts 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.
c. Procedure to replace lost, destroyed of stolen Owner's
Duplicate Certificate of Title
 The procedural requirements for the replacement of a lost
duplicate certificate:
(1) The registered owner or other person in
interest shall send notice, under oath, of
the loss or destruction of the owner’s
duplicate certificate of title to the
Register of Deeds of the province or city
where the land lies as soon as the loss or
destruction is discovered;
(2) The corresponding petition for the
replacement of the loss or destroyed
owner’s duplicate certificate shall then be
filed in court and entitled in the original
case in which the decree of registration
was entered;
(3) The petition shall state under oath the
facts and circumstances surrounding
such loss or destruction;
(4) The court shall set the petition for
hearing, after due notice to the Register of
Deeds and all other interested parties as
shown in the memorandum of
encumbrances noted in the original or
transfer certificate of title on file in the
office of the Register of Deeds; and
(5) After due notice and hearing, the court
may direct the issuance of a new
duplicate certificate which shall contain a
memorandum of the fact that it is issued
in place of the lost or destroyed
 certificate and shall in all respects be  Article 1608 of the Civil Code provides that “ the vendor
entitled to the same faith and credit as may bring his action against every possessor whose right is
the original duplicate. derived from the vendee even if in the second contract no
mention should have been made of the right of repurchase,
7. Recording of instruments related to unregistered lands without prejudice to the provisions of the Mortgage Law
a. Section 113 of P.D. No. 1529 and the Land Registration Law with respect to third
 The system of registration under the Spanish Mortgage persons.
Law, by express provision of Sec. 2 of the Property  A person who has acquired ownership of unregistered land
Registration Decree, has been discontinued and all lands by prescription under the Civil Code may be considered as
registered under the said system, which are not yet covered having acquired a right unaffected by a subsequent
by the Torrens titles shall be considered unregistered transaction over the land even if recorded under said
lands. All instruments affecting lands originally registered section.
under the Spanish Mortgage Law may be recorded under
Sec. 113 of the decree until the land shall have been
brought under the operation of the Torrens system.
b. Purpose
 The principal purpose of registration is merely to notify
other persons not parties to a contract that a transaction
involving the property has been entered.
 The conveyance of unregistered land shall not be valid
against any person unless registered, except:
(1) The grantor;
(2) His heirs and devisees; and
(3) Third persons having actual notice or knowledge
thereof.
c. Recording without prejudice to a third party with better
right
 The mere registration of a sale in one’s favor does not give
him any right over the land having previously sold the same
to somebody else even if the earlier sale was unrecorded.
d. Ministerial recording
 The duty of the ROD with respect to the notation or
recording of these instruments, so far at least as relates to
unregistered property is ministerial only and the
registration of such instruments adds nothing to their
intrinsic effect.
e. Applicability of the Civil Code