(a) Cadastral (PD 1529, Sec. 37)

Cadastral Proceedings: Appearance and Answer under PD 1529, Section 37

Concept

Section 37 of PD 1529 governs a claimant’s appearance and answer to a petition in cadastral proceedings. It applies to any claimant, whether or not the claimant is named in the notice. The provision permits the claimant to appear before the court personally or through another authorized person acting on the claimant’s behalf. (Sec. 37, Pres. Decree No. 1529)¹

Governing provisions

The claimant must file an answer on or before the date of the initial hearing, unless the court allows further time. The answer must be signed and sworn to by the claimant or by another authorized person on the claimant’s behalf. Thus, Section 37 addresses both how the claimant may participate before the court and what the claimant must file. (Sec. 37, Pres. Decree No. 1529)¹

Requisites / Rules

• The answer must state whether the claimant is married or unmarried. If married, it must give the spouse’s name and the date of marriage. It must also state the claimant’s nationality, residence, postal address, and age. (Sec. 37, Pres. Decree No. 1529)¹
• The land must be identified by the cadastral number of the lot or lots claimed, as shown on the plan filed by the Director of Lands, or by the applicable block and lot numbers. The answer must also name the barrio and municipality where the lots are situated. (Sec. 37, Pres. Decree No. 1529)¹
• The answer must give the names and addresses of the owners of adjoining lots, so far as these are known to the claimant. The qualification concerns what the claimant knows about those adjoining owners. (Sec. 37, Pres. Decree No. 1529)¹
• If the claimant possesses the lots but can show no express government grant to the claimant or the claimant’s predecessors-in-interest, the answer must state how long the claimant has possessed them and how possession was acquired. It must also state, as far as known, how long any predecessors possessed them. (Sec. 37, Pres. Decree No. 1529)¹
• If the claimant does not possess or occupy the land, the answer must fully set out the interest claimed and the time and manner in which the claimant acquired it. (Sec. 37, Pres. Decree No. 1529)¹

Distinctions

Appearance and the filing of an answer are separate requirements: authorization permits another person to act for the claimant, while the answer remains subject to the filing, signature, oath, and content requirements. The facts required about the claimed interest also differ according to whether the claimant possesses the land. (Sec. 37, Pres. Decree No. 1529)¹

Exceptions

The court may allow the answer to be filed after the initial-hearing date. Being unnamed in the notice, however, does not remove a claimant from Section 37’s appearance and answer requirements. (Sec. 37, Pres. Decree No. 1529)¹

Bar tip

For a Section 37 question, check who appeared and signed, when the answer was filed, and whether its particulars match the claimant’s possession or non-possession of the land. (Sec. 37, Pres. Decree No. 1529)¹