Basic Laws under the Torrens System Registration

I. Introduction

In layperson's terms, the Torrens system is a systemic archetype of land registration

in the country for the structural order of lands. Through various application procedures, a
person can legally own a parcel of land and can transfer land. At the end of the proceeding,
the applicant might be issued a Torrens Title, where the issuance will establish the owner's
right against the whole world.

However, the Torrens system is much more complex. It is a lengthy and thorough
process for those who know the details of the proceedings, the requirements, prerequisites,
the person who applied for land registration, and whether the land is subject to the purpose
of the application. These registrations may be ordinary, cadastral, or free patents. There are
procedures by which an applicant might proceed to the regional trial court or the
administrative offices of the DENR. Application proceedings are chaotic, time-consuming,
and sometimes confusing for those unaware of the fundamental law of land registration
under the Torrens system, leading to the jeopardy of those involved in the process, such as
threats and fraudulent cases. Knowing laws under the Torrens system and its essential
details might save applicants or people planning to acquire land to save time, prevent fraud,
and spend less money. Below are the laws under the Torrens system, the details for the
application, and what it is to consider.

II. Discussion
1. Fundamental Laws
A. Act No. 496

Act No. 496 was approved on November 6, 1902, and took effect on February 1,
1903. This act provides for the adjudication and Registration of Titles to Lands in the
Philippine Islands. The short title of this act is "The Land Registration Act." In addition, this
law institutionalizes the Torrens registration system, where real state ownership may be
acquired through judicial confirmation and recorded in government archives. Under this act,
the Court of Land Registration shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all the registration
applications. They can question, hear and determine arising upon applications, with the right
of appeal. The proceedings shall be in rem against the land and its improvements and vest
title to the applicant.

There shall be a Register of Deeds in Manila and one for every province to execute
the provisions of this Act. To enter and issue new certificates of title and affix the court's seal
to new certificates and duplicate certificates of title. Application for the registration of title
under this Act may be made by the following persons, in the following. The person/s
claiming, singly or collectively, to own the legal estate in fee simple, to have the power of
appointing or disposing of the legal estate in fee simple, infants or other person disability
may make application bu their legally appointed guardians but the person in whose behalf
the application is made shall be named as an applicant by the guardian. Lastly, Corporations
may apply by any officer duly authorized by the vote of the directors.
 These applications may be filed with the clerk of the Court of Land Registration or
with the Register of Deeds of the province whose jurisdiction of the land applied for is
located, stating that the application for registration has been filed, along with the date and
place of the filing. A copy of the description of the land must contain in the application. The
application may include two or more contiguous parcels of land, or two or more parcels
constituting one holding under the same title, if within the same province or city. However,
two or more persons cannot claim in the same parcels with different interests, therefore,
shall only join in one application if their interests are alike. The applicant shall file with the
application a plan of the land and all original monuments of the title within his control
mentioned in the schedule of the documents. When an application is dismissed or
discontinued, the applicant may withdraw such original muniments of title with the court's
consent. Upon applying, as one of the requirements of this Act, stating that he/she shall
prepare a copy of the description of the land, the Geodetic engineer will be duly authorized
to conduct the survey.

The application process starts at the Court entering an order for the application
examination; after applying, one of the examiners of titles will search records and
investigate whether the application is facts. The examiner will file a report with a certificate
of the findings. If his opinions are adverse to the applicant, the applicant is allowed to
proceed or withdraw. If the application passes the evaluation, the assigned clerk of the
Court will give notice through publication. Two newspapers publication will be conducted
with a general circulation in the province or city where the land resides. The notice is "To all
whom it may concern," Any person claiming an interest in the said land may file an appeal
within the time as may be allowed by the Court. The person shall state all the objections by
filing the same and signing and sworn to by him or someone legally represented. Suppose no
person is interested in responding to the notice within the allowed time. In that case, the
Court shall order a general default and enter a decree confirming the applicant's title
ordering the registration.

B. Act No. 2259

Act No. 2259 in 1913, or the Cadastral Act, enacted on February 11, 1913, provides a judicial
adjudication procedure for public lands. Director of Lands Chas H. Sleeper introduced
cadastral surveying in the Philippines to execute public land distribution. This public land
survey will cover an extensive area, usually a municipality, subdividing the lands into parcels
for public land distribution.

The government will initiate the cadastral survey and then the proceedings in the Court for
the settlement and adjudication of the property. The Governor-General ( now the President)
will order the Director of Lands to survey and plan for public interests or public land use that
the title to the lands or any lands be settled and adjudicated. Thereupon, unregistered land
may be subject to survey, and the Director of Lands shall give notice to the persons claiming
an interest in the land and to the general public before the day the survey will begin. The
survey will accurately describe the land. Such notice will be published in two consecutive
issues of the Official Gazette (in English and Spanish), posted in respected municipal
buildings and settlements of which the land resides.
 The surveyor (Geodetic Engineer) or other employees of the Bureau of Lands assigned to the
survey will adequately notify the lands or any portion included in the survey before the
survey. They shall mark the boundaries of the surveyed lands with monuments. It shall be
the duty of any person claiming an interest in the lands to communicate to the surveyor
assigned so that all information may communicate about the boundaries of any lands he/she
claims title or interest. However, no interference with surveys and monuments, as any
person shall interfere, shall be punished by a fine and imprisonment.

After the lands have been surveyed and platted, the Director of Lands, represented by the
Attorney-General (now Solicitor General), shall initiate registration proceedings by petition
against occupants, possessor, claimants, and holders of such lands, stating in substance that
the public interest requires the title to the lands be settle, and adjudicated, and praying that
such titles be so settled and adjudicated. The said petition shall require and contain a
description of the lands with an approved plan and data that may serve to deliver full notice
to all persons who may plead any rights or interests therein.

Suppose the lands contain two or more parcels occupied by various persons. In that case,
the land plan shall indicate the parcels' boundaries as accurately as possible, and the parcel
will be known as "lots." Associated with separate numbers given by the Director of Lands,
known as cadastral numbers. After the final decree is entered for the registration, these
numbers shall not be changed, excluding the Court of First Instance (now the Regional Trial
Court).

The Court shall order a receipt setting the time for the initial hearing of the petition. The
Chief of the General Land Registration Office shall notify through publication, in the
consecutive issue of the Official Gazette, in the English Language. The return of the notice
shall be at least thirty days or more than one year from the date of the issue. Any person
claiming an interest shall appear and file an answer within the time the Court allows. The
trial and hearing may occur within the province or any convenient place, and all conflicting
interests shall be adjudicated by the Court and awarded to the persons entitled to the lands,
following the issuance of the original certificates in favor of the said persons granted under
the Land Registration Act as amended.

C. CA 141

Commonwealth Act No. 141 of 1936, or The Public Land Act, took effect on December 1,
1936. This provision shall apply to the lands of the public domain except timber and mineral
land governed by special laws, friar lands, and privately owned land which has been reverted
or become the property by the Commonwealth of the Philippines. The Secretary of the
DENR shall be the chief executive officer charged with carrying out the provisions of this
provision. At the same time, the Director of Lands shall have control of all the survey,
classification, lease, sale, or any form of concession or disposition and management of the
public domain lands, which the Secretary of DENR further approves.

The public lands suitable for agricultural purposes can be disposed of only for homestead
settlement, by sale, by lease, or by confirmation of imperfect and incomplete titles either by
judicial legalization and administrative legalization or free patent; otherwise, the land is not
subject to alienation or disposition.
1. Application for Homestead Patent

The person who may apply for homestead should be any citizen of the Philippines
over the age of eighteen years or the head of the family who does not own more
than twenty-four hectares of land in the Philippines or has not had the benefit of
any gratuitous allotment of the same land, may enter a homestead. After applying,
the Director of Lands shall decide whether the application should be approved and
authorize the applicant to take land occupation with a payment of five pesos as an
entry fee. The applicant shall commence working the homestead within six months;
otherwise, he shall lose his prior rights to the land. No certificate or patent shall be
issued for the land until at least one-fifth has been improved and cultivated. The
applicant must submit the certification from MARO, including the requirements, to
CENRO, whose jurisdiction of the land applied for is located. The CENRO will
investigate the approval of the application and endorses the proposed homestead
patent to PENRO. The PENRO approves the patent of five hectares and below;
otherwise, it recommends to Regional Executive Director for the approval of five
hectares to ten hectares; else recommends to the Secretary of DENR for approval of
a Homestead Patent of more than ten hectares. Then transmit the approval to
Register of Deeds to register the patent and issue the Original Certificate of Title to
the applicant, and shall pay the corresponding fee, five pesos as a final fee. A
Geodetic Engineer will be needed for the survey upon the preparation of the patent,
a technical description duly inscribed at the back.

2. Application for Sales Patent

Sales patents may acquire through sold at public auction through sealed bidding. For
the application of a Sales Patent, any citizen of lawful age of the Philippines, or head
of the family, and any corporation or association of which at least sixty per centum
of the capital stock or of any interest belongs wholly to citizens of the Philippines,
organized and constituted under the law of the Philippines may purchase
agricultural and disposal land under this Act. Land applied for shall not exceed one
hundred and forty-four hectares of land for the individual purchaser. One thousand
and twenty-hour hectares is the maximum limit for a corporation or association. In
the case of a partnership, an individual shall not exceed one hundred and forty-four
hectares and not exceed one thousand and twenty-hour hectares overall. Before the
patent issuance, the purchaser must occupy and cultivate the land of at least one-
fifth within five years from the date of the award and should only voluntarily
abandon the land for up to one year at any time.

3. Application for Lease

A lease is a privilege the State grants a person, corporation, association, or

partnership to possess and occupies the alienable and disposable land of the public
domain and patrimonial property of the government for agricultural purposes in
consideration of a rental/fee to undertake any authorized activities therein. A
person who may apply should be any citizen of lawful age of the Philippines and any
corporation or association of which at least sixty per centum of the capital stock or
of any interest belongs wholly to citizens of the Philippines and which is organized
and constituted under the law of the Philippines, may lease any tract of agricultural
land under the provisions of the Act, not exceeding one thousand and twenty-four
 hectares. If the land is for grazing purposes, land should be at most two thousand
hectares. The lease shall run not more than twenty-five years and be renewable for
twenty-five years, in case the lease has made significant improvements, at the
discretion of the Secretary of the DENR. The lease shall have at least three per
centum of the land broken and cultivated within five years after the lease's approval.
The lessee shall not assign and encumber his rights to any person or corporation
without the consent of the Secretary of DENR. Lastly, the lessee shall not remove
nor dispose of any valuable timber, stone, oil, or any minerals attached to the land.

The applicant for the lease must pay a filing fee of fifty pesos and an approved plan
and technical description of the land from a surveyor, and if the applicant is married,
there must be consent from his/her spouse; if the applicant is a
corporation/association/partnership and Article of Incorporation and Certificate of
Registration from Security and Exchange Commission must be submitted. In
addition, a feasibility study stating financial capability must also be submitted. The
applicant shall file at the CENRO for preliminary investigation and appraisal of the
land and the survey of the land, which will be in charge of Geodetic Engineering, and
Publication of the Notice of Right to Lease the land posted at where the land
resided. The Undersecretary of Field Operation-DENR shall be authorized to approve
the lease contracts.

4. Confirmation of the imperfect or incomplete titles: Judicial and Administrative

legalization

A mode for acquiring a parcel of alienable and disposable lands that is suitable for
agricultural purposes, and the person who may apply the patent is any natural-born
citizen of the Philipines who is not the owner of more than twenty-four hectares and
has occupied the land since or prior to July 4, nineteen hundred and twenty-six, has
continuously occupied and cultivated, either by himself or his predecessors-in-
interest, and who shall have paid the real estate tax and has not been occupied by
any person, such land not to exceed twenty-four hectares. A member of the national
cultural minorities may also apply for a free patent and have been cultivated by him
or his predecessors-in-interest since or before July 4, 1955, of any tracts of land,
whether disposable or not. The applicant must apply for the DENR-CENRO. An
approved plan and technical description of the land shall be submitted by a
surveyor, and an affidavit from two disinterested persons within the area,
documentary evidence of ownership, an application fee with documentary stamp,
and proof of payment of real estate tax. PENRO will be authorized to sign the free
patents for hectares not exceeding five hectares, RED for hectares above 5 hectares
but not exceeding 10, and the Secretary of DENR shall sign a free patent for hectares
exceeding 10. After applying, the Directors of Land shall issue the applicant the land
applied.

Whose titles have not perfect or completed titles, the applicant applies to the
Regional Trial Court of the province where the land resides for confirmation that the
land must not exceed 24 hectares. Any persons or person, or their legal
representatives or successors in the right, that the person who is by themselves or
through their predecessors-in-interests have been in open continuous, exclusive,
and notorious possession and occupation of alienable and disposable land, under a
 bonafide claim of ownership, for at least 30 years immediately preceding the filing of
the application.

D. Fourth Law

PD No. 1529 or Property Registration Decree amending and codifying the laws relative to
property registration and other purposes. This provision supersedes all laws relative to the
registration of property. Offices in this law are the Land Registration Commission, Office of
the Register of Deeds, and Chief Geodetic Engineer, who shall control all surveys. Persons
who may file under this law shall file in the proper Regional Trial Court where they applied
for resides to those who, by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest, have been
in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of the land, not
covered by the existing certificate of title or patents under a bona fide claim of ownership
for at least 20 years, and those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned
riverbeds, and those who have acquired ownership of and in any other manner provided for
by law. The Court shall issue an order to issue the decree after the investigation,
proceedings, hearing, and judgment of registration and certificate of title to the Land
Registration Commission, who shall prepare the decree and the original and duplicate
certificate of title, entered and signed to be given to Registry of Deeds of the city or province
to enter in the record book which shall be numbered, dated, signed, and sealed by their
Office. Then ROD will send a notice to the applicant through mail to inform the duplicate is
ready for delivery.

2. Important Provisions

Under Section 26 of the Revised Public Land Act of the Philippines, the payment for the disposition
of agricultural land by sale through auction sale by means of sealed bidding shall be paid in cash or
through installment after deducting the value paid in deposits during the public bidding, upon the
award to the purchaser, or not more than five annual equal installments shall be made by the
awardee from the date of the award.

Under Section 33 of Chapter V of CA 141 or the Public Land Act, states who may apply to lease
agricultural lands and the following entities cannot apply to foreign individuals and corporations and
not citizens of the Philippines of legal age or corporations or associations of which there is less than
sixty per centum of capital stock or any interest therein. These corporations are private corporations
or public or quasi-public corporations; such government-owned corporations are not allowed under
CA 141. Individuals who cannot apply for a lease are convicted of certain crimes and are prohibited
from applying for those who violate the land laws in previous applications.

The public auction shall run through the opening of the bids, of which the land shall be awarded to
the highest bidder. The applicant shall have the option of raising his bid to equal that of the highest
bidder, and the land shall be awarded to him. No bid shall be accepted at public auction until at least
ten per centum shall be deposited, as required in Section 25 of Chapter IV. All tracts of land offered
for sale or have been applied for at most 24 hectares (amended 12 hectares under the 1987
Constitution). The Director of Lands may be assigned to the District Land Officer concerning the
power of receiving such bids from auction, per the provision of CA 141; hence the District Land
Office shall submit the recommendation to the Director of Lands for the final decision of the case. In
the case of a lease, all bids must be sealed and addressed to the Director of Lands. The auction of
the right to lease shall be applied the same procedure under this provision as that prescribed for the
auction sale of agricultural lands as described in Section 26 of Chapter IV. Each bid shall be received
and accepted at least the first three months lease deposited the rental by the bidder.
Muniments of title are essential documents such as evidence of property ownership. These are
written instruments to strengthen the evidence by which the owner can defend the applicant's
ownership rights. Deed of donations, sales, and any form of land concessions are examples of
muniments of title. Muniments of the title provide such property ownership; these instruments shall
be subject to litigation between two parties and adjudicated whether the applicant is stating facts.
However, the Certificate of Title differs from the latter, as it is the best evidence of land ownership,
whereas the Register of Deed issued the title under the Torrens system. They prevailed over other
evidence such as muniments of titles such as tax declarations and others mentioned above. Thus, if
two persons claim interest, one with a tax declaration and the other with a Certificate of Title
registered under a land registration system, the latter shall be given more weight.

Conveyance transfers property from one person to another concerning real estate transactions
where the buyer and seller transfer their rights using written instruments of conveyance such as a
deed of sale, deed of donation, successions, and other concessions. The document stipulates the
agreements between parties, the agreed price ( if two parties are engaged in the sale contract),
obligations, responsibilities, conditions, and the actual transfer date. Every land transaction shall be
registered under the Torrens system to record so the new owner can legally own a clean title and
advance of any restrictions on the property and be free from defaulting parties and issuance to
protect against double sales and fraud.

III. Conclusion

Torrens system has been discussed, and some laws and important provisions such persons need to
know are discussed above. Comprehending and knowing essential information about land
registration is necessary to protect ourselves from fraud or save time and money for future
transactions. Through this system, a land owner can rest assured through land registration as it quiet
title to the land and stop the question of its legality forever, as one of the purposes of the Torrens
system. The system benefited land owners in the Philippines and the State, as it provides an efficient
and reliable land title registration method to control and monitor public lands in the Philippines.

IV. References