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UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS

COLLEGE OF LAW

INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS
Proceedings After Original Registration
GROUP 9
FIDER, Cyrus Dominic B.
MANENGYAO, Perla
MARZAN, Dina R.
Section 2-C

This is the report prepared by Group 9 regarding Involuntary Dealings involving

registered lands. This consists of a thorough discussion about Involuntary dealings
and all information relevant thereto.
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Table of Contents
I. PROCEEDINGS AFTER ORIGINAL REGISTRATION: INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS.......................................3
A. INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS/INVOLUNTARY TRANSACTIONS..............................................................3
a. Special Feature in Involuntary Instruments:................................................................................3
B. ATTACHMENT..................................................................................................................................5
a. Nature of Attachment..................................................................................................................5
b. Three (3) kinds of Attachment:....................................................................................................6
c. Grounds upon which attachment may be issued.........................................................................6
d. How attachment effected............................................................................................................7
e. Effects of Attachment..................................................................................................................9
C. ADVERSE CLAIM...............................................................................................................................9
a. Concept of Adverse Claim............................................................................................................9
b. Purpose of adverse claim...........................................................................................................10
c. Nature of an adverse claim........................................................................................................11
d. Formal Requisites of an adverse claim.......................................................................................12
e. Ministerial Duty of Register of Deeds to record adverse claim..................................................12
f. Sample of Registrable and non-registrable adverse claims........................................................12
g. Period of Effectivity of Adverse Claim........................................................................................14
h. When adverse claim cancelled..................................................................................................14
i. Adverse claim and lis pendens contrasted.................................................................................15
j. Effect of Adverse claim in case of double sale...........................................................................15
k. Adverse claim based on prescription or adverse possession inadmissible to registration.........15
l. Effect of adverse claim over foreclosure sale............................................................................15
D. NOTICE OF LIS PENDENS................................................................................................................16
a. Annotation of Lis Pendens.........................................................................................................16
b. Who may file a notice of lis pendens?........................................................................................16
d. Nature of notice of lis pendens..................................................................................................16
e. Purpose of notice of lis pendens................................................................................................16
f. Notice of lis pendens is not a lien or encumbrance on the property.........................................17
g. Notice of lis pendens is ordinarily recorded without the intervention of the court...................18
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h. The continuance or the removal of the notice of lis pendens is not contingent on the existence
of a final judgment and ordinarily has no effect on the merits thereof.............................................18
i. Lis pendens is appropriate in the following cases:.....................................................................18
E. REGISTRATION OF COURT ORDERS................................................................................................20
F. Registration of sale of land on execution, or for taxes or for any assessment; issuance of new
certificate of title...................................................................................................................................22
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UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS

COLLEGE OF LAW
Land Titles and Deeds
December 10, 2016

GROUP 9 REPORT

I. PROCEEDINGS AFTER ORIGINAL REGISTRATION:

INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS
A. INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS/INVOLUNTARY TRANSACTIONS
Involuntary dealings refer to certain kinds of transaction affecting such
lands in which the cooperation of the registered owner is NOT needed. It may
even be against his will. It is one that is made or executed without the
knowledge or consent, or even against the will of the registered owner. Most
common of these are:

a. Writs and notices of attachment

b. Notice of levy and execution
c. Notice of lis pendens
d. Notice of adverse claim seizure and forfeiture
e. Notice of bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings
f. Foreclosure of mortgage
g. Acquisition by power of eminent domain
h. Income tax liens.

Under the Uniform Land Registration Act, the term is defined as the
transmission of registered land or any interest therein by descent, the right of
curtesy and dower, all equitable rights and claims, judicial proceedings or
statutory liens or charges, the exercise of the right of eminent domain, the lien
of delinquent taxes and levies, affecting registered land or any interest
therein. (9 Uniform Laws Annotated 223)

a. Special Feature in Involuntary Instruments:

There are certain features in the registration of involuntary transactions
which are NOT applicable in case of voluntary transactions, such as the
following:

i. Non-surrrender of duplicate copy – The owner’s duplicate as

well as any existing additional copy thereof ordinarily need NOT be
surrendered when involuntary instruments are registered with
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certain exceptions. On the other hand, the register of deeds is duty

bound to require the registered owner or the holder thereof to
surrender the same. Should he refuse, he may be compelled by
judicial process to do so. (Section 72, Act 496; PNB vs.
Fernandez, 61 Phil. 448).

EXCEPTION: Foreclosure of mortgage and the release or

cancellation of liens arising from involuntary instruments, and
instruments involving descent. These transactions may NOT be
duly registered UNLESS the duplicate certificates are submitted.

ii. Ministerial duty of the Register of Deeds – With regards to

involuntary documents, the register of deeds act merely in
ministerial capacity (Chua vs. Pua Hermanos vs. Register of
Deeds of Batangas, 50 Phil. 670; Garcia Sanchez vs. Rosauro,
40 Phil 231; Smith Bell & Co. vs. Register of Deed of Leyte, 48
Phil. 656; William vs. Suñer, 49 Phil. 534). The register of deeds
is duty-bound to register an involuntary instrument as long as it
meets the formal requirements, such as identification of the
property, pertinent data supporting the right sought to be registered,
the payment of the registration fees, without determining the
extrinsic validity of the claim involved.

EXCEPTION: The register of deeds may lawfully refuse to

register an attachment levied on property given as security to
the Agricultural and Industrial Bank (defuct) which was taken
over by the Rehabilitation and Finance Corporation (now
Development Bank of the Philippines). But the prohibition
applies to property mortgaged to the former which was taken
over by DBP, not to properties mortgaged directly with the latter
entities. (Register of Deeds of Ilo-ilo vs. C.N. Hodges, 7
SCRA 149)

The Register of Deeds may also refuse to inscribe an

attachment when the judgment-debtor is NOT the registered
owner, UNLESS evidence is submitted to show that he has any
right thereto. (Gotauco & Co. vs. Register of Deeds of
Tayabas, 59 Phil. 756)

iii. Annotation on the owner’s duplicate immaterial – While

inscription on the owner’s duplicate is indispensible in case of
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voluntary instrument, such inscription is NOT necessary in case

of involuntary instruments to affect third persons. The notation
on the back of the original certificate of title constitutes constructive
notice. (Jamora vs. Duran, 69 Phil. 3)

iv. Special record books – these are provided to facilitate the

discovery or disclosure of notices of attachment or of lis pendens in
addition to the regular primary entry and registration books and in
case of attachments NOT only registered and unregistered are
embraced.

v. Valid liens though NOT registered – Income tax lien and war-
profit taxes attached to the property without actual registration, In
case of income tax delinquency, the tax becomes a valid lien upon
the property of the taxpayer upon receipt by the register of deeds of
a notice of such tax liabilities. (National Internal Revenue Code).

vi. Consolidation of Title

B. ATTACHMENT

a. Nature of Attachment
1. Attachment – the legal process of seizing another’s
property in accordance with a writ or judicial order for the
purpose of securing satisfaction of a judgment yet to be
rendered (Black’s Law Dictionary, 6th Ed. 126).

An attachment is a writ issued at the institution or during

the progress of an action, commanding the sheriff or other
public officer to attach the property, rights, credit, or effects of
the defendant to satisfy the demand of plaintiff (Cyclopedic
Law Dictionary).

2. Writ of Attachment – used primarily to seize the debtor’s

property in order to secure the debt or claim of the creditor in
the event that a judgment is rendered. (Black’s Law
Dictionary, 6th Ed. 126)

b. Three (3) kinds of Attachment:

1. Preliminary Attachment – issued at the institution or during
the progress of an action. It is a mesne process, liable to be
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dissolved at any time and the judgment upon which may or may
not affect the property seized.
2. Garnishment – is an attachment by means of which plaintiff
seeks to subject to his claim property of the defendant in the
hands of a third person called the garnishee, as well as the
money owed by such third person to defendant. It is usually
directed to personal property.
3. Levy or execution – is the attachment issued after the final
judgment in satisfaction thereof.

c. Grounds upon which attachment may be issued

Section 1, Rule 57 of the Rules of Court provides that at the
commencement of the action or at any time before entry of judgment, a
plaintiff or any proper party may have the property of the adverse party
attached as a security for the satisfaction of any judgment that may be
recovered in, among others, the following cases:

1. In an action to recover the possession of property unjustly or

fraudulently taken detained or converted when the property or
any part thereof, has been concealed, removed, or disposed of
to prevent its being found or taken by the applicant or an
authorized persons;
2. In action against a party who has been guilty of fraud in
contracting the debt or incurring the obligation upon which the
action is brought, or in the performance thereof; and
3. In an action against party who has removed or disposed of
his property, or is about to do so, with intent to defraud his
creditors.

A preliminary attachment may be validly applied for and

granted ex parte before the defendant is summoned since the
phrase “at the commencement of the action” refers to the date of
the filing of the complaint and before summons is served on the
defendant. (Agcaoili, Property Registration Decree and Related
Laws, 2011 Ed., 573, citing Feria and Noche, Civil Procedure
Annotated, 2001 Ed., 264)

d. How attachment effected.

Formal Requisite for Registration: Section 7, Rule 57 of the Rules of
Court provides that the sheriff files with the Register of Deeds “a copy of
the order together with description of the property, and a notice that such
real property, and any interest of the defendant therein is attached,” as
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well as reference to the number of the certificate of title and the volume
and page of the registration book. Practically identical requirement are
found in Section 71 of Act 496 as to the identity of the property.

Need of registration:

The registration of the writ and notice of attachment is an

imperative requirement not only by Section 71 of Act No. 496 but also by
Section 7, Rule 57 of the Rules of Court. Unregistered attachment is
incomplete or ineffective (Valenzuela vs. De Aguilar, 8 SCRA 212). The
former requires that the writ and notice of attachment or levy be filed with
register of deeds acknowledged receipt of the writ and notice of
attachment as shown by the phrase “Register of Deeds, Received Dec.
15, 1923” was held by the Supreme Court as insufficient compliance with
the law because acknowledgment of receipt is NOT equivalent to
recording in a public registry (Po Sun Tun vs. Price & Provincial
Government of Leyte, 54 Phil. 192).

The non-registration of the notice of levy was cured upon the

registration of the final sale and the purchaser’s taking possession of the
premises without objection on the part of defendant; his inaction for five
years amounting to laches (Valezuela vs. Aguilar, ibid).

An attachment levied on real estate NOT duly recorded in the

Registry of Property is NOT an encumbrance on the attached property,
nor can such attachment serve as a ground for decreeing the annulment
of the sale of the property, at the request of another creditor (Diez vs.
Delgado, GR No. L-11732, January 12, 1918, 37 Phil. 389).

Registration of attachment, writs and related processes:

An attachment, or copy of any writ, order, or process issued by the

court intended to create or preserve any lien, status, right, or attachment
upon registered land shall be filed and registered in the Registry of Deeds
for the province or city where the land lies, and in addition to the
particulars required in such papers for registration, shall contain a
reference to the number of the certificate of title affected and the
registered owner or owners thereof, and also, if the attachment, order,
process or lien is not claimed on all the land in any certificate of title, a
description sufficiently accurate for identification of the land or
interest intended to be affected. A restraining order injunction,
mandamus issued by the court shall be entered and registered on the
certificate of title affected, free of charge.
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When property is in the name of another person other than

defendant; how attached:

Paragraph (b) of Section 7 Rule 57 of the Rules of Court

provides that property “belonging to the defendant, and held by any other
person, or standing on the record of the registers of deeds in the name of
any other persons,” may also be attached. The important thing is that the
property belongs to the defendant. The sheriff is, therefore, not authorized
to attach any property other than that if the defendant or judgment debtor
(Codesal and Ocampo vs. Ascue, 38 Phil. 902), and the register of
deeds may lawfully refuse registration unless evidenced of right of the
defendant is submitted (Gotauco & Co. vs. Register of Deeds of
Tayabas, 59 Phil. 756).

In case of inherited property

The attachment of an inherited property is allowed and may be duly

registered without the necessity of judicial declaration of heirs. This is
possible only if there is some evidence or proper showing that such
inheritance subsists (Gotauco vs. Register of Deeds of Tayabas, supra;
Pacifico Commercial Co. vs. Geaga, 69 Phil. 64). The Sheriff may proceed
despite third party claims of administrator without the necessity of filing a
bond therefor if there is no conflict of his interest and the heirs. (De Borja,
et al. vs. De Borja, et al. 2 SCRA 1131.)

Knowledge of a prior unregistered interest is equivalent of

registration:

Where a party has knowledge of a prior existing interest which is

unregistered at that time he acquired a right to the same land, his
knowledge of that prior unregistered interest has the effect of registration
as to him. (Ruiz vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 121298, July 31, 2001,
362 SCRA 40)

Surrender of certificate in involuntary dealings

The Register of Deeds has the authority to require the registered

owner to produce the owner’s duplicate certificate in order that an
attachment or other lien in the nature of involuntary dealing, like an
adverse claim, may be annotated thereon. (Section 71, P.D. No 1529)
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e. Effects of Attachment
There is no rule allowing substitution of attached property although
an attachment may be discharged wholly or in part upon the security of a
counterbond offered by the defendant upon application to the court, with
notice to, and after hearing, the attaching creditor, or upon application of
the defendant, with notice to the applicant and after hearing, if it appears
that the attachment was improperly or irregularly issued. If an attachment
is excessive, the remedy of the defendant is to apply to the court for a
reduction or partial discharge of the attachment, not the total discharge
and substitution of the attached properties. The reason for this is that the
lien acquired by the plaintiff-creditor as of the date of the original levy
would be lost. It would in effect constitute a deprivation without due
process of law of the attaching creditors’ interest in the attached property
as security for the satisfaction of the judgment which he may obtain in the
action.

The grounds for the dissolution of an attachment are fixed in the

Rules of Court and the power of the court to dissolve an attachment is
limited to the grounds specified therein. Before an attachment lien will be
deemed abandoned, there must be an affirmative act or conduct of the
creditor inconsistent with the continuance of the lien. The fact that more
property has been attached than an amount sufficient to satisfy the
recovery of an action is NOT a ground for dissolution. (Santos vs.
Aquino, Jr., GR No. 86181-82, January 13, 1992, 205 SCRA 127)

C. ADVERSE CLAIM

a. Concept of Adverse Claim

A notice of adverse claim under Section 70 of PD 1529 is filed
whenever a person claims any right or interest in registered land adverse
to the registered owner, arising subsequently to the date of the original
registration. It is a measure designed to protect the interested part, and is
a warning to third person dealing with the said property that someone is
claiming an interest in the property adverse to the registered owner. The
primary purpose of the notice of adverse claim is to forestall any defense
of good faith on the part of a third person who purchased the property. But
a notice of adverse claim is merely a preliminary step towards the
vindication of the rights of the adverse claimant. The right must be
vindicated in an action against the registered owner and against any
person who may have acquired the property subsequent to the registration
of the adverse claim. Should the property be transferred by the registered
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owner to a third person, the property will be registered in the name of the
purchaser but still subject to the adverse claimant must, therefore, be
brought against the possessor of the property and in whose name it is
registered at the time the action is instituted, because every action must
be brought in the name of, and against, the real party in interest.

A notice of adverse claim does NOT have the same effect as a

notice of lis pendens. A notice of lis pendens serves as a warning to a
prospective purchaser of an encumbrance that the particular property is in
litigation and should he purchase the property or accept it as an
encumbrance, he gambles on the result of the litigation. He is bound by
the result of the litigation although he is NOT a party, for he takes the
property subject to the result of the litigation. (Atkins vs. Domingo, 46
Phil. 362; Jose vs. Blue, 42 SCRA 351)

b. Purpose of adverse claim

Its main purpose is the registration of any right or interest adverse
to the registered owner arising after the original registration, not otherwise
registrable under any other provision of the Land Registration Act (now PD
1529) and serves a warning to third parties dealing with the said property
that someone is claiming an interest on the same or a better right than that
of the registered owner thereof (Sajonas vs. Court of Appeals, GR No.
102377, July 5, 1996, 258 SCRA 79). A perfected by unconsummated
contract over registered property may very well come under this category.
A consummated contract, even if unregistrable because of certain defects,
comes within the purview of other provisions of the law. (Register of
Deeds of Quezon City vs. Nicandro, 1 SCRA 1334)

In Arrazola vs. Bernas (GR No. L-29740, November 10, 1978, 86

SCRA 279, 175 Phil. 452, 456-457), the Supreme Court held that the
purpose of annotating the adverse claim on the title of the disputed land is
(a) to apprise third persons that there is a controversy over the ownership
of the land and (b) to preserve and protect the right of the adverse
claimant during the pendency of the controversy. It is a notice to third
persons that any transaction regarding the disputed land is subject to the
outcome of the dispute.

c. Nature of an adverse claim

Section 110 of the Land Registration Act (Act 496) manifestly
provides that a person or entity who wishes to register an adverse claim in
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registered land must claim a “part or interest in (the) registered land

adverse to the registered owner.” The claim asserted must affect the title
or be adverse to the title of the registered owner in order to be duly
annotated as an adverse claim to the land against the registered owner.

A registrable adverse claim should have the following

characteristics:

1. That it is adverse to the registered owner;

2. That it arises after original registration;
3. That it cannot be registered under any other provision of the
Land Registration Act (Section 110, Act 496 [same as
Section 70, PD 1529])

The claim adverse to the right or interest of the registered owner,

however, is NOT limited to the land only because the improvements
thereon is also understood as included in the term “land” (Manila Trading
and Supply Co. vs. Register of Deeds of Manila, 94 Phil. 290). Still, a
claim may be on any interest or lien or right in registered land. Adverse
claim, therefore, may very well be filed against any lienholder.

The adverse claim must have arisen AFTER and NOT BEFORE
the original registration, because pre-existing claims NOT presented
during the registration proceedings were foreclosed by the decree of
registration (De Los Reyes vs. De Los Reyes, 91 Phil. 528).

In Sanchez vs. Court of Appeals (No. L-40177, 12 February

1976, 69 SCRA 327), the Supreme Court held that “a mere money claim
may NOT be registered as an adverse claim on a Torrens certificate of
title and a judge who orders the annotation on the certificate of title of such
money claim as an adverse claim acts without any authority in law and
commits a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of jurisdiction that
calls for the issuance of the corrective writ of certiorari.

d. Formal Requisites of an adverse claim

In the case of Lozano vs. Ballesteros (GR No. 49470, 8 April
1991, 195 SCRA 681), the Supreme Court enumerated the FORMAL
REQUISITES of an ADVERSE CLAIM, to wit:

1. The adverse claimant must state the following in writing:

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a) his alleged right or interest

b) how and under whom such right or interest is acquired;
c) the description of the land in which the right or interest is
claimed; and
d) the certificate of title number
2. The statement must be signed and sworn to before a notary
public or other officer authorized to administer oath; and
3. The claimant should state his residence or the place to
which all notices may be served upon him.

e. Ministerial Duty of Register of Deeds to record adverse claim

As stated earlier, the Register of Deeds is duty-bound to register an
involuntary instrument as long as it meets the formal requirements, such
as identification of the property, pertinent data supporting the right sought
to be registered, the payment of the registration fees, without determining
the extrinsic validity of the claim involved. This includes an adverse claim
on the certificate of title of the registered owner.

Validity not element of registrability

The validity of the claim is NOT the concern of the register of deeds
for that is left to the courts. The register of deeds may look only into the
formal and legal requirements (Gabriel vs. Register of Deeds of Rizal, 9
SCRA 136).

f. Sample of Registrable and non-registrable adverse claims

REGISTRABLE NON-REGISTRABLE
After the will of a dead testator is already Expected Hereditary Rights do NOT
pending probate, those named as heirs constitute adverse claim. (Diaz vs.
therein may validly register their adverse Santos-Diaz, CA 54 OG 8082)
claim on the certificate of title of the
registered owner. The completion of the
probate proceedings should NOT be
awaited. (Arrazola vs. Bernas, 86 SCRA
279)

The claim of a person that she has
hereditary rights in the land fraudulently
registered in her sister’s name, because
the land belonged to their mother, whose
estate is pending settlement in a special
proceeding is registerable as an adverse
claim. (Arrazola vs. Bernas, supra citing
Gabriel vs. Register of Deeds of Rizal,
118 Phil. 980)
In case of sale or lease when the owner
refuses to surrender owner’s copy for
annotation may be registered as adverse
claim. [Junio vs. De los Santos, 132
SCRA 209 (1984]). In the Junio vs. De los
Santos case, since petitioner had refused
to surrender the title, private respondent
could NOT avail of Section57. Hence, the
latter correctly resorted to the annotation
of an adverse claim. Where the vendor
fails to deliver to the vendee the duplicate
certificate of title, the vendee should file
immediately with the Register of Deeds an
adverse claim under Section 110 of Act
496, as amended.
Interest on the land based on the lawyer’s
contingent fee that arose after the original
registration may be registered as an
adverse claim after the termination of the
litigation involving the land. [Director of
Lands vs. Ababa, 88 SCRA 513 (1979)]
In case of sale of a property which is also
the same property subject of a levy or
attachment upon final execution. The
Court has invariably ruled that in case of
conflict between a vendee and an
attaching creditor, an attaching creditor
who registers the order of attachment and
sale of the property to him as the highest
bidder acquires a valid title to the property
from the same owner but who failed to
register his deed of sale. This is because
registration is the operative act that binds
or affects the land insofar as third persons
are concerned. It is upon registration that
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When the possessor of land already
registered in the name of another person
claims the land on the basis of prescription
and adverse possession. That claim is not
registerable as an adverse claim.
(Arrazola vs. Bernas, supra. citing
Estella vs. Register of Deeds of Rizal,
106 Phil. 911)
A waiver of hereditary rights
(Comandante’s invalid waiver in this case)
in favour of another executed by a future
heir while the parents are still living is NOT
valid. An adverse claim annotated on the
title of a property on the basis of such
waiver is likewise invalid and ineffective. It
does NOT bind subsequent owners and
does NOT hold them liable to the claimant.
It is because Section 70 of PD 1529
express that it is necessary that the
claimant has a right or interest in the
registered land adverse to the registered
owner and that it must arise subsequently
to registration. [Ferrer vs. Diaz, 619
SCRA 226 (2010)].
An annotation at the back of the Transfer
Certificate of Title, recognizing the
existence of the legal easement of the
property of petitioner is ordered cancelled.
It is NOT valid as an adverse claim.
(Castro vs. Monsod, GR No. 183719,
February 2, 2011)
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there is notice to the whole world. But

where a party has knowledge of a prior
existing interest, as here, which is
unregistered at the time he acquired a
right to the same land, his knowledge of
that prior unregistered interest has the
effect of registration as to him. Knowledge
of an unregistered sale is equivalent to
registration. [Ching vs. Enrile, 565 SCRA
402 (2008)].

g. Period of Effectivity of Adverse Claim

Section 70 of PD 1529 provides that “…The adverse claim shall be
effective for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of registration.
After the lapse of said period, the annotation of adverse claim may be
cancelled upon filing of a verified petition therefor by the party in
interest…”

But in Sajonas vs. Court of Appeals (GR No. 102337, July 5,

1996, 258 SCRA 79), an adverse claim remains valid and effective unless
the claim is already declared invalid by competent court. Hence, its period
of effectivity may be extended so long as there is no verified petition by
the party in interest is filed. The Supreme Court has clarified that “the law,
taken together, simply means that the cancellation of the adverse claim is
still necessary to render it ineffective, otherwise, the inscription will remain
annotated and shall continue as a lien upon the property. For if the
adverse claim has already ceased to be effective upon the lapse of said
period, its cancellation is no longer necessary and the process of
cancellation would be a useless ceremony.”

h. When adverse claim cancelled

Cancelation of adverse claim

“The validity or efficaciousness of the claim, however, may only be

determined by the Court upon petition by an interested party, in which
event, the Court shall order the immediate hearing thereof and make the
proper adjudication as justice and equity may warrant. When such claim is
found unmeritorious the registration thereof may be cancelled.” (Paz Ty
Sin Tei vs. Jose Lee Dy Piao, 103 Phil. 858)
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i. Adverse claim and lis pendens contrasted.

The registration of lis pendens does NOT automatically nullify the
registration or make the continued existence of the annotation of an
adverse claim untenable. While both registration have their own
characteristics and requisites, it cannot be denied that they are both
intended to protect the interest of the claimant by posing as notices and
caution to those dealing with the property that the same is subject to
claim. While lis pendens, under certain circumstances, may be cancelled
during the pendency of the action (Victoriano vs. Rovera 55 Phil. 1000;
The Municipal Council of Parañaque vs. CFI of Rizal, 70 Phil. 363), such
cannot be in the case of an adverse claim because, “if any of the
registration should be considered superfluous, it would be notice of lis
pendens and not the annotation of the adverse claim which is more
permanent and cannot be cancelled without adequate hearing and proper
disposition of the claim.” (Paz Ty Sin Tei vs. Jose Lee Dy Piao, 103 Phil.
858)

j. Effect of Adverse claim in case of double sale

The filing of an adverse claim is sufficient recording for purposes of
conferring priority to the purchaser who first record his sale pursuant to the
provision of Article 1544 of the New Civil Code, on the ground that an
adverse claim is VALID and EFFECTIVE to bind registered land UNTIL
the claim is declared INVALID by a competent court and its cancellation
ordered. (Jovellanos vs. Dimalanta, 105 Phil. 1250, unreported.)

k. Adverse claim based on prescription or adverse possession

inadmissible to registration
Where the land is registered, the registration of any adverse claim
based on prescription or adverse possession would serve no useful
purpose because it cannot validly and legally affect said land. [Estrella, et
al. vs. Register of Deeds of Rizal, 106 Phil. 911; Section 46 of Act 496
(now Section 47 of PD 1529)]

l. Effect of adverse claim over foreclosure sale

Where the adverse claim is solely against the mortgagor, the notice
of adverse claim may be dropped upon the issuance of the transfer
certificate of title to the purchaser pursuant to a foreclosure sale. (BPI vs.
Noblejas, 105 Phil. 418)
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D. NOTICE OF LIS PENDENS

a. Annotation of Lis Pendens

The following elements must be present to annotate a notice of lis

pendens:

1. The property must be of such character as to be subject to

the rule;
2. The court must have jurisdiction both over the person and
the res;
3. The property or res involved must be sufficiently described in
the pleadings.

b. Who may file a notice of lis pendens?

1. The plaintiff, at the time of the filing of the complaint;

2. The defendant, at the time of the filing of his answer or at
any time afterwards.
c. Contents of notice of lis pendens
1. A statement of the institution of an action or proceeding;
2. The court where the same is pending;
3. The date of its institution;
4. A reference to the number of the certificate of title of the
land; and
5. An adequate description of the land affected and its
registered owner. (Section 14, Rule 13 of the Rules of Court;
Section 76 of P.D. No. 129)

d. Nature of notice of lis pendens

Lis Pendens, which literally means pending suit, refers to the
jurisdiction, power or control which a court acquires over property involved
in a suit, pending the continuance of the action, and until final judgment.

e. Purpose of notice of lis pendens

Founded upon public policy and necessity, lis pendens is intended:

1. to keep the properties in litigation within the power of the

court until the litigation is terminated and to prevent the defeat of
the judgment or decree by subsequent alienation;
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2. to announce to the whole world that a particular property is

in litigation and serves as a warning that one who acquires an
interest over said property does so at his own risk, or that he
gambles on the result of the litigation over said property. (St.
Mary of the woods school, inc. vs. Office of the registry of
Makati city, GR No. 165114, August 4, 2008)

f. Notice of lis pendens is not a lien or encumbrance on the

property

Lis pendens literally means “a pending suit,” while a notice of lis

pendens, inscribed in the certificate of title, is an announcement to the
whole world that the covered property is in litigation, serving as a warning
that one who acquires interest in the property does so at his own risk and
subject to the results of litigation. This embodied in Section 76 of
Presidential Decree No. 1529 which provides no action to recover
possession of real estate, or to quiet title thereto, or to remove clouds
upon the title thereof, or for partition, or other proceedings of any kind in
court directly affecting the title to land or the use or occupation thereof or
the buildings thereon, and no judgment, and no proceeding to vacate or
reverse any judgment, shall have any effect upon registered land as
against persons other than the parties thereto, unless a memorandum or
notice stating the institution of such action or proceeding and the court
wherein the same is pending, as well as the date of the institution thereof,
together with a reference to the number of the certificate of title, and an
adequate description of the land affected and the registered owner
thereof, shall have been filed and registered. The notice that this provision
speaks of—notice of lis pendens—is not a lien or encumbrance on the
property, but simply a notice to prospective buyers or to those dealing with
the property under litigation. (Republic vs. Revelo, G.R. No. 165114,
August 4, 2008)

It is a mere cautionary notice to prospective buyers of certain

property that said property is under litigation, and that any sale made
thereof shall be subject to the result of such litigation. It imposes no
obligation on the owner, but on the prospective buyer. Thus, where
petitioners bought the land in question with the knowledge of the existing
encumbrances thereon, they cannot invoke the right of purchasers in good
faith, and they cannot likewise have acquired better rights than those of
their predecessors-in-interest. (Tanchoco vs. Aquino, G.R. No. 30670,
September 15, 1987, 154 SCRA 1)
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g. Notice of lis pendens is ordinarily recorded without the

intervention of the court.

Moreover, there is no question that when late Maria Marasigan was

issued her transfer certificate of title to the subject property, the Registrar
of Deeds of Manila then carried over to the new title the notice of lis
pendens which the private respondent had caused to be annotated at the
back of the Bazar’s title. In case of subsequent sales or transfers, the
Registrars of Deeds is duty bound to carry over the notice of lis pendens
on all titles to be issued. Otherwise, if he cancels any notice of lis pendens
in violation of his duty, he may be held civilly liable and even criminally
liable for any prejudice caused to innocent third persons. (Heirs of Maria
Marasigan vs. The Intermediate Appellate Court, GR No. L-69303,
July 23, 1987)

h. The continuance or the removal of the notice of lis pendens is not

contingent on the existence of a final judgment and ordinarily has
no effect on the merits thereof.
The notice of lis pendens — i.e., that real property is involved in an
action — is ordinarily recorded without the intervention of the court where
the action is pending. The notice is but an incident in an action, an extra
judicial one, to be sure. It does not affect the merits thereof. It is intended
merely to constructively advise, or warn, all people who deal with the
property that they so deal with it at their own risk, and whatever rights they
may acquire in the property in any voluntary transaction are subject to the
results of the action, and may well be inferior and subordinate to those
which may be finally determined and laid down therein. The cancellation of
such a precautionary notice is therefore also a mere incident in the action,
and may be ordered by the Court having jurisdiction of it at any given time.
And its continuance or removal — like the continuance or removal of a
preliminary attachment or injunction — is not contingent on the existence
of a final judgment in the action, and ordinarily has no effect on the merits
thereof. (Magdalena Homeowner’s Association vs. Court of Appeals,
G.R. No. 60323, April 17, 1990)

i. Lis pendens is appropriate in the following cases:

1. Action to recover possession of real estate;
2. Action to quiet title thereto;
3. Action to remove clouds thereon;
4. Action for partition; and
 Page 19 of 25

5. Any other proceedings of any kind in court directly affecting

the title to the land or the use or occupation thereof or the
buildings thereon.

Upon consideration of the petition filed by Lucina Biglangawa and

Lucia Espiritu dated June 11, 1955 and the answer thereto, and it
appearing from the amended complaint of Pastor B. Constantino, plaintiff
in Civil Case No. 2138 of the Court of First Instance of Rizal (respondent
herein) that said action is purely and clearly a claim for money judgment
which does not affect the title or the right of possession of real property
covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-5459 and it being a settled
rule in this jurisdiction that a notice of lis pendens may be invoked as a
remedy in cases where the very lis mota of the pending litigation concerns
directly the possession of, or title to a specific real property. (Biglang-awa
vs. Constantino, G.R. No. L-9965, August 29, 1960, 109 Phil 168)

j. Form of notice and when it takes effect

At any rate, it is well-settled that entry of the notice of lis pendens in

the day book (primary entry book) is sufficient to constitute registration
and such entry is notice to all persons of such adverse claim. (Director of
Lands vs. Reyes, G.R. Nos. L-27595 and L-28144, November 28,
1975)

k. Cancellation of lis pendens

Grounds for cancellation:

As provided for by Sec. 14, Rule 13 of the 1997 Rules of Civil

Procedure, a notice of lis pendens may be cancelled on two grounds:

1. If the annotation was for the purpose of molesting the title of

the adverse party;
2. When the annotation is not necessary to protect the title of
the party who caused it to be recorded. (St. Mary of the Woods
School, Inc. vs. Office of the Registry of Deeds of Makati
City, G.R. No. 174290, January 20, 2009)

“The purpose of filing notice of lis pendens is to charge strangers

with notice of the particular litigation referred to in the notice; and if the
notice is effective, a third person who acquires the property affected by
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the lis pendens takes same subject to the eventuality of the litigation.”
(Tirador vs. Sevilla, G.R. No. 84201, August 3, 1990)

But while a notice of lis pendens remains during the pendency of

the action, although same may be cancelled under certain circumstances
as where the case is prolonged unnecessary or for failure of the plaintiff to
introduce evidence bearing out the allegations of the complaint
(Victoriano v. Rovira, 55 Phil. 1000; Municipal Council of Parañaque
v. Court of First Instance of Rizal, 40 Off. Gaz., 8th Supp., 196); and it
has even been held that a court, in the absence of a statute, has the
inherent power to cancel a lis pendens notice in a proper case
(Victoriano v. Rovira, supra), the same is not true in a registered
adverse claim, for it may be cancelled only in one instance, i.e., after the
claim is adjudged invalid or unmeritorious by the Court, acting either as a
land registration court or one of general jurisdiction while passing upon a
case before it where the subject of the litigation is the same interest or
right which is being secured by the adverse claim. The possibility
therefore, that parties claiming an interest in a registered property desire,
for any other purpose, to have their cause ventilated in a court of general
jurisdiction, may result in giving them two ways of making the registration
of their claimed rights. In such instances, it would not only be
unreasonable but also oppressive to hold that the subsequent institution
of an ordinary civil action would work to divest the adverse claim of its
validity, for as We have pointed out, a notice of lis pendens may be
cancelled even before the action is finally terminated for causes which
may not be attributable to the claimant. And it would similarly be beyond
reason to confine a claimant to the remedy afforded by Section 110 of Act
496 if there are other recourses in law which such claimant may avail of.
But, if any of the registrations should be considered unnecessary or
superfluous, it would be the notice of lis pendens and not the annotation
of the adverse claim which is more permanent and cannot be cancelled
without adequate hearing and proper disposition of the claim. (Doronila
vs. CA, G.R. No. L-42956-7, January 13, 1988)

E. REGISTRATION OF COURT ORDERS

Section 73 of PD 1529 provides that certificate of entry of any order,

decision or judgment of the court where the action is pending which continues,
reduces, dissolves or discharges the writ of attachment or other liens upon
registered land shall also be registered in the proper Registry of Deeds. These
are involuntary dealings which need to be registered in order to be effective.
 Page 21 of 25

Involuntary dealings refer to such writ, order or process issued by a court of

record affecting registered land which by law should be registered to be effective,
and also to such instruments which are not the wilful acts of the registered owner
and which may have been executed even without his knowledge or against his
consent. Among such dealings are writs of attachment, injunction, or mandamus,
sale on execution of judgment or sale for taxes, adverse claims, and notice of lis
pendens.

Attachment is governed by Rule 57 of the Rules of Court. The writ of

attachment, when issued by the court at the instance of the plaintiff or any proper
party, subjects the attached property of the adverse party as security for the
satisfaction of any judgment that may be recovered (Sec. 1 of the Rule). A copy
of said writ, as well as an order or process of the court intended to create or
preserve any lien, status, or right (such as a restraining order, injunction or
mandamus) shall be filed and registered in the Registry of Deeds of the province
or city in which the land lies. If the duplicate certificate of title of the land involved
is not presented at the time of said registration, the Register of Deeds shall,
within 36 hours thereafter, send notice by mail to the registered owner, informing
that such paper has been registered and requesting him to send or produce his
duplicate certificate so that a memorandum of the attachment or other lien may
be made thereon. If the owner neglects or refuses to comply therewith, the
Register of Deeds “shall report the matter to the court, and it shall, after notice,
enter an order to the owner to produce his certificate at a time and place named
therein, and may enforce the order by suitable process.”

In Santos vs. Aquino, Jr. [205 SCRA 127 (1992)], it was ruled that when
real property, or an interest therein, of the judgment debtor is attached, the levy
creates a lien which nothing can subsequently destroy except by the dissolution
of the attachment.

Attachment is a proceeding in rem against particular property or

properties, the attaching creditor acquires a specific lien upon the attached
properties which ripens into a judgment against the res when the order of sale is
made. Such a proceeding is in effect a finding that the properties attached are
indebted things considered as a virtual condemnation to pay the owners’ debt. It
places the attached properties in custodia legis, obtaining pendente lite a lien
until the judgment of the proper tribunal on the plaintiff’s claim is established,
when the lien becomes effective as of the date of the levy.

There is no rule allowing substitution of attached property although an

attachment may be discharged wholly or in part upon the security of a
counterbond offered by the defendantupon application to the court, with notice to,
 Page 22 of 25

and after hearing, the attaching creditor (Sec. 12, Rule 57, Rules of Court), or
upon application of the defendant, with notice to the applicant and after hearing,
if it appears that the attachment was improperly or irregularly issued (Sec. 13,
Rule 57, Rules of Court).

If an attachment is excessive, the remedy of the defendant is to apply to

the court for a reduction or partial discharge of the attachment, not the total
discharge and substitution of the attached properties. The reason for this is that
the lien acquired by the plaintiff-creditor as of the date of the original levy would
be lost. It would in effect constitute a deprivation without due process of law of
the attaching creditor’s interest in the attached property as security for the
satisfaction of the judgment which he may obtain in the action.”

F. Registration of sale of land on execution, or for taxes or for any

assessment; issuance of new certificate of title.

The provisions of Sections 74 and 75 of P.D. 1529 are as follows:

“SEC. 74. Enforcement of liens on registered land. — Whenever

registered land is sold on execution, or taken or sold for taxes or for any
assessment or to enforce a lien of any character, or for any costs and charges
incident to such liens, any execution or copy of the execution, any officer’s return,
or any deed, demand, certificate, or affidavit, or other instrument made in the
course of the proceedings to enforce such liens and required by law to be
recorded shall be filed with the Register of Deeds of the province or city where
the land lies and registered in the registration book, and a memorandum made
upon the proper certificate of title in each case as lien or encumbrance.”

“SEC. 75. Application for new certificate upon expiration of

redemption period. — Upon the expiration of the time, if any, allowed by law for
redemption after registered land has been sold on execution, or taken or sold for
the enforcement of a lien of any description, except a mortgage lien, the
purchaser at such sale or anyone claiming under him may petition the court for
the entry of a new certificate of title to him. Before the entry of a new certificate of
title, the registered owner may pursue all legal and equitable remedies to
impeach or annul such proceedings.” The right of the purchaser at such sale to
petition for the issuance of a new certificate of title to him is thus subject to the
condition that “before the entry of a new certificate of title, the registered owner
may pursue all legal and equitable remedies to impeach or annul such
proceedings.” Should the registered owner’s opposition raise substantial or
controversial matters such as impugning the validity of the proceedings on sale
or execution, or on sale for the enforcement of a lien of any character, then the
 Page 23 of 25

regional trial court sitting as a land registration or cadastral court loses

jurisdiction to resolve the issues. These controversial issues should be threshed
out in a separate appropriate action [Tagaytay-Taal Tourist Development
Corp. vs. Court of appeals, 83 SCAD 155; 273 SCRA 182 (1997)].

A tax delinquent land owner entitled to notice of sale - One such

controversial issue is where the registered owner was not notified of the alleged
tax delinquency and other proceedings relative to the tax sale. The collection of
delinquent taxes being in personam, not in rem, a notice by publication does not
suffice. It is “still incumbent upon the city (or municipal) treasurer to send notice
of the tax delinquency” as well as the notice by public auction, directly to the tax
payer in order to protect the interests of the latter. And “for purposes of the real
property tax, the registered owner of the property is deemed the tax payer”
(Talusan vs. Tayag, 356 SCRA 263, 276, 277, G.R. No. 133698, April 4, 2001).

In Sarmiento vs. Court of Appeals [470 SCRA 99, 116-119 (2005)], a

tax sale held despite the absence of actual notice to the delinquent land owner, is
null and void. And the title of the buyer therein is thus also null and void.