F. Certificate of Title

D. Torrens System; Certificate of Title (P.D. No. 1529, secs. 39 and 44)

P.D. No. 1529, secs. 39–44

CHAPTER IV

CERTIFICATE OF TITLE

SEC. 39. Preparation of Decree and Certificate of Title.—After the judgment directing the registration of title to land has become final, the court shall, within fifteen days from entry of judgment, issue an order directing the Commissioner to issue the corresponding decree of registration and certificate of title. The clerk of court shall send, within fifteen days from entry of judgment, certified copies of the judgment and of the order of the court directing the Commissioner to issue the corresponding decree of registration and certificate of title, and a certificate stating that the decision has not been amended, reconsidered, nor appealed, and has become final. Thereupon, the Commissioner shall cause to be prepared the decree of registration as well as the original and duplicate of the corresponding original certificate of title. The original certificate of title shall be a true copy of the decree of registration. The decree of registration shall be signed by the Commissioner, entered and filed in the Land Registration Commission. The original of the original certificate of title shall also be signed by the Commissioner and shall be sent, together with the owner's duplicate certificate, to the Register of Deeds of the city or province where the property is situated for entry in his registration book.

SEC. 40. Entry of Original Certificate of Title.—Upon receipt by the Register of Deeds of the original and duplicate copies of the original certificate of title the same shall be entered in his record book and shall be numbered, dated, signed and sealed by the Register of Deeds with the seal of his office. Said certificate of title shall take effect upon the date of entry thereof. The Register of Deeds shall forthwith send notice by mail to the registered owner that his owner's duplicate is ready for delivery to him upon payment of legal fees.

SEC. 41. Owner's duplicate certificate of title.—The owner's duplicate certificate of title shall be delivered to the registered owner or to his duly authorized representative. If two or more persons are registered owners, one owner's duplicate certificate may be issued for the whole land, or, if the co-owners so desire, a separate duplicate may be issued to each of them in like form, but all outstanding certificates of title so issued shall be surrendered whenever the Register of Deeds shall register any subsequent voluntary transaction affecting the whole land or part thereof or any interest therein. The Register of Deeds shall note on each certificate of title a statement as to whom a copy thereof was issued.

SEC. 42. Registration Books.—The original copy of the original certificate of title shall be filed in the Registry of Deeds. The same shall be bound in consecutive order together with similar certificates of title and shall constitute the registration book for titled properties.

SEC. 43. Transfer Certificate of Title.—The subsequent certificate of title that may be issued by the Register of Deeds pursuant to any voluntary or involuntary instrument relating to the same land shall be in like form, entitled "Transfer Certificate of Title", and likewise issued in duplicate. The certificate shall show the number of the next previous certificate covering the same land and also the fact that it was originally registered, giving the record number, the number of the original certificate of title, and the volume and page of the registration book in which the latter is found.

SEC. 44. Statutory liens affecting title.—Every registered owner receiving a certificate of title in pursuance of a decree of registration, and every subsequent purchaser of registered land taking a certificate of title for value and in good faith, shall hold the same free from all encumbrances except those noted on said certificate and any of the following encumbrances which may be subsisting, namely:

First. Liens, claims or rights arising or existing under the laws and Constitution of the Philippines which are not by law required to appear of record in the Registry of Deeds in order to be valid against subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers of record.

Second. Unpaid real estate taxes levied and assessed within two years immediately preceding the acquisition of any right over the land by an innocent purchaser for value, without prejudice to the right of the government to collect taxes payable before that period from the delinquent taxpayer alone.

Third. Any public highway or private way established or recognized by law, or any government irrigation canal or lateral thereof, if the certificate of title does not state that the boundaries of such highway or irrigation canal or lateral thereof have been determined.

Fourth. Any disposition of the property or limitation on the use thereof by virtue of, or pursuant to, Presidential Decree No. 27 or any other law or regulations on agrarian reform.

What is TITLE?

That which constitutes a just cause of exclusive possession or which is the foundation of ownership of property. In the Philippines, the word “title” is also used in common or colloquial language to refer to a piece of paper such as an OCT or TCT.

What is TITLE?

That which constitutes a just cause of exclusive possession or which is the foundation of ownership of property. In the Philippines, the word “title” is also used in common or colloquial language to refer to a piece of paper such as an OCT or TCT.

Caveat emptor NOT applicable in sales of registered land

The purchaser of a registered land under the Torrens system may generally rely on the certificate of title, subject to statutory encumbrances that need not be annotated and to actual knowledge or circumstances calling for inquiry that defeat good faith.

Registration under the Torrens System does not create or vest title

Registration under the Torrens system, not being a mode of acquiring ownership, does not create or vest title. The Torrens certificate of title is merely an evidence of ownership or title in the particular property described therein. (Casimiro Development Corporation vs. Mateo, G.R. No. 175485, July 27, 2011)

Securing a title in one’s own name does not operate to vest ownership upon him of the subject land. A certificate of title is merely an evidence of ownership or title over the particular property described therein. It cannot be used to protect a usurper from the true owner; nor can it be used as a shield for the commission of fraud; neither does it permit one to enrich himself at the expense of others. Its issuance in favor of a particular person does not foreclose the possibility that the real property may be co-owned with persons not named in the certificate, or that it may be held in trust for another person by the registered owner. (Ulay v. Bustamante, GR 231721 & 231722, March 18, 2021)

The inclusion of areas in excess of the original area as reflected in TCT No. 722 and in subsequent certificates of title did not vest any right of private ownership because, as mentioned in the CA Decision and confirmed by jurisprudence that it cited, registration of lands under the Torrens system is not a mode of acquiring ownership. (Belizario v. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, G.R. No. 231001 (Resolution), March 24, 2021)

What is the definition of Title?

It is the juridical act, right or condition which gives the juridical justification for a mode or means to their acquisition, but which in itself is insufficient to produce them. (De Leon, supra, p. 578-579). In the Philippines the word “title” is also used in common or colloquial language to refer to a piece of paper or land title such as an OCT or TCT.

What is the definition of Title?

It is the juridical act, right or condition which gives the juridical justification for a mode or means to their acquisition, but which in itself is insufficient to produce them. (De Leon, supra, p. 578-579). In the Philippines the word “title” is also used in common or colloquial language to refer to a piece of paper or land title such as an OCT or TCT.

Sources (R.A. 6732, § 2.)

• Owner’s duplicate of the certificate of title
• Co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, or lessee’s duplicate of said certificate

General principles underlying the Torrens System

• The Torrens Certificate of Title is the best evidence of ownership of the land.
• The Torrens Certificate of Title is a constructive notice to the whole world, and thus, binds the whole world.
• A registered owner or subsequent purchaser for value and in good faith generally takes the land free of unannotated encumbrances, subject to the exceptions in PD 1529, Sec. 44.
• The Torrens Certificate of Title covering alienable land is indefeasible or incontrovertible after one year from the entry of the decree of registration.
• The Torrens certificate of Title is imprescriptible.
• A purchaser for value may generally rely on the Torrens Certificate of Title without looking beyond it, unless the purchaser has notice of another’s right or circumstances that call for further inquiry.
• The person who fraudulently registered the land in his name holds it as a mere trustee with the obligation to reconvey the property and the title to the true owner.
• As between two innocent persons, the one who made it possible for the wrong to be done will bear the resulting loss.
• He who registers first is preferred in right insofar as the third persons are concerned.
• Where two certificates of title include the same land, the certificate that is earlier in date prevail. In case land has been registered under the Land Registration Act in the name of two different persons, the earlier in date shall prevail. (Macutay v. Samoy, G.R. No. 205559, December 2, 2020.)
• A forged document of sale may become the root of a valid title if the certificate of title has already been transferred from the name of the true owner to the name of the forger or the name indicated by the forger before the Torrens Certificate of Title is issued to the purchaser in good faith and for value.
• A void title generally conveys no title, subject to the recognized protection of an innocent purchaser for value who relies on a certificate already issued in the name of the transferor.
• A certificate of title cannot be altered, modified, or canceled through a collateral attack under PD 1529, Sec. 48. A provisional determination of ownership solely to resolve possession in ejectment or accion publiciana is not such an attack. (Macutay v. Samoy, G.R. No. 205559, December 2, 2020.)