3rd Assignment:
Section 32. Review of decree of registration; Innocent purchaser
LAWS:
1. P.D. 1529; Sections;
Section 30. When judgment becomes final; duty to cause
issuance of decree. The judgment rendered in a land registration
proceedings becomes final upon the expiration of thirty days to be
counted from the data of receipt of notice of the judgment. An
appeal may be taken from the judgment of the court as in ordinary
civil cases.
After judgment has become final and executory, it shall devolve
upon the court to forthwith issue an order in accordance with
Section 39 of this Decree to the Commissioner for the issuance of
the decree of registration and the corresponding certificate of title
in favor of the person adjudged entitled to registration.
Section 31. Decree of registration. Every decree of registration
issued by the Commissioner shall bear the date, hour and minute
of its entry, and shall be signed by him. It shall state whether the
owner is married or unmarried, and if married, the name of the
husband or wife: Provided, however, that if the land adjudicated
by the court is conjugal property, the decree shall be issued in the
name of both spouses. If the owner is under disability, it shall
state the nature of disability, and if a minor, his age. It shall
contain a description of the land as finally determined by the court,
and shall set forth the estate of the owner, and also, in such
manner as to show their relative priorities, all particular estates,
mortgages, easements, liens, attachments, and other
encumbrances, including rights of tenant-farmers, if any, to which
the land or owners estate is subject, as well as any other matters
properly to be determined in pursuance of this Decree.
The decree of registration shall bind the land and quiet title
thereto, subject only to such exceptions or liens as may be
provided by law. It shall be conclusive upon and against all
persons, including the National Government and all branches
thereof, whether mentioned by name in the application or notice,
the same being included in the general description To all whom it
may concern.
for value. The decree of registration shall not be reopened or
revised by reason of absence, minority, or other disability of any
person adversely affected thereby, nor by any proceeding in any
court for reversing judgments, subject, however, to the right of
any person, including the government and the branches thereof,
deprived of land or of any estate or interest therein by such
adjudication or confirmation of title obtained by actual fraud, to file
in the proper Court of First Instance a petition for reopening and
review of the decree of registration not later than one year from
and after the date of the entry of such decree of registration, but
in no case shall such petition be entertained by the court where an
innocent purchaser for value has acquired the land or an interest
therein, whose rights may be prejudiced. Whenever the phrase
innocent purchaser for value or an equivalent phrase occurs in
this Decree, it shall be deemed to include an innocent lessee,
mortgagee, or other encumbrancer for value.
Upon the expiration of said period of one year, the decree of
registration and the certificate of title issued shall become
incontrovertible. Any person aggrieved by such decree of
registration in any case may pursue his remedy by action for
damages against the applicant or any other persons responsible
for the fraud.
D. HEARING; JUDGMENT; DECREE
Section 38. Hearing, Judgment, Decree. The trial of the case may
occur at any convenient place within the province in which the
lands are situated and shall be conducted, and orders for default
and confessions entered, in the same manner as in ordinary land
registration proceedings and shall be governed by the same rules.
All conflicting interests shall be adjudicated by the court and
decrees awarded in favor of the persons entitled to the lands or to
parts thereof and such decrees shall be the basis for issuance of
original certificates of title in favor of said persons and shall have
the same effect as certificates of title granted on application for
registration of land under ordinary land registration proceedings.
CHAPTER IV
CERTIFICATE OF TITLE

Section 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 owners duplicate certificate, to the Register of Deeds of the
city or province where the property is situated for entry in his
registration book.
Section 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 owners duplicate is ready for delivery to him upon
payment of legal fees.
Section 41. Owners duplicate certificate of title. The owners
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 owners 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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 in 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.
Section 45. Statement of personal circumstances in the
certificate. Every certificate of title shall set forth the full names of
all persons whose interests make up the full ownership in the
whole land, including their civil status, and the names of their
respective spouses, if married, as well as their citizenship,
residence and postal address. If the property covered belongs to
the conjugal partnership, it shall be issued in the names of both
spouses.
Section 46. General incidents of registered land. Registered land
shall be subject to such burdens and incidents as may arise by
operation of law. Nothing contained in this decree shall in any way
be construed to relieve registered land or the owners thereof from
any rights incident to the relation of husband and wife, landlord
and tenant, or from liability to attachment or levy on execution, or
from liability to any lien of any description established by law on
the land and the buildings thereon, or on the interest of the owner
in such land or buildings, or to change the laws of descent, or the
rights of partition between co-owners, or the right to take the
same by eminent domain, or to relieve such land from liability to
be recovered by an assignee in insolvency or trustee in
bankcruptcy under the laws relative to preferences, or to change
or affect in any way other rights or liabilities created by law and
applicable to unregistered land, except as otherwise provided in
this Decree.
Section 47. Registered land not subject to prescriptions. No title
to registered land in derogation of the title of the registered owner
shall be acquired by prescription or adverse possession.
Section 48. Certificate not subject to collateral attack. A
certificate of title shall not be subject to collateral attack. It cannot
be altered, modified, or canceled except in a direct proceeding in
accordance with law.
Section 49. Splitting, or consolidation of titles. A registered owner
of several distinct parcels of land embraced in and covered by a
certificate of title desiring in lieu thereof separate certificates, each
containing one or more parcels, may file a written request for that
purpose with the Register of Deeds concerned, and the latter, upon
the surrender of the owners duplicate, shall cancel it together with
its original and issue in lieu thereof separate certificates as
desired. A registered owner of several distinct parcels of land
covered by separate certificates of title desiring to have in lieu
thereof a single certificate for the whole land, or several
certificates for the different parcels thereof, may also file a written
request with the Register of Deeds concerned, and the latter, upon
the surrender of the owners duplicates, shall cancel them together
with their originals, and issue in lieu thereof one or separate
certificates as desired.
Section 50. Subdivision and consolidation plans. Any owner
subdividing a tract of registered land into lots which do not
constitute a subdivision project has defined and provided for under
P.D. No. 957, shall file with the Commissioner of Land Registration
or with the Bureau of Lands a subdivision plan of such land on
which all boundaries, streets, passageways and waterways, if any,
shall be distinctly and accurately delineated.
If a subdivision plan, be it simple or complex, duly approved by
the Commissioner of Land Registration or the Bureau of Lands
together with the approved technical descriptions and the
corresponding owners duplicate certificate of title is presented for
registration, the Register of Deeds shall, without requiring further
court approval of said plan, register the same in accordance with
the provisions of the Land Registration Act, as amended: Provided,
however, that the Register of Deeds shall annotate on the new
certificate of title covering the street, passageway or open space, a
memorandum to the effect that except by way of donation in favor
of the national government, province, city or municipality, no
portion of any street, passageway, waterway or open space so
delineated on the plan shall be closed or otherwise disposed of by
the registered owner without the approval of the Court of First
Instance of the province or city in which the land is situated.
A registered owner desiring to consolidate several lots into one or
more, requiring new technical descriptions, shall file with the Land
Registration Commission, a consolidation plan on which shall be
shown the lots to be affected, as they were before, and as they will
appear after the consolidation. Upon the surrender of the owners
duplicate certificates and the receipt of consolidation plan duty
approved by the Commission, the Register of Deeds concerned
shall cancel the corresponding certificates of title and issue a new
one for the consolidated lots.
The Commission may not order or cause any change, modification,
or amendment in the contents of any certificate of title, or of any
decree or plan, including the technical description therein, covering
any real property registered under the Torrens system, nor order
the cancellation of the said certificate of title and the issuance of a
new one which would result in the enlargement of the area
covered by the certificate of title.
CHAPTER VIII
REGISTRATION OF PATENTS
Section 103. Certificates of title pursuant to patents. Whenever
public land is by the Government alienated, granted or conveyed
to any person, the same shall be brought forthwith under the
operation of this Decree. It shall be the duty of the official issuing
the instrument of alienation, grant, patent or conveyance in behalf
of the Government to cause such instrument to be filed with the
Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies, and
to be there registered like other deeds and conveyance,
whereupon a certificate of title shall be entered as in other cases of
registered land, and an owners duplicate issued to the grantee.
The deed, grant, patent or instrument of conveyance from the
Government to the grantee shall not take effect as a conveyance
or bind the land but shall operate only as a contract between the
Government and the grantee and as evidence of authority to the
Register of Deeds to make registration. It is the act of registration
that shall be the operative act to affect and convey the land, and
in all cases under this Decree, registration shall be made in the
office of the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the
land lies. The fees for registration shall be paid by the grantee.
After due registration and issuance of the certificate of title, such
land shall be deemed to be registered land to all intents and
purposes under this Decree.
CHAPTER IX
CERTIFICATE OF LAND TRANSFER, EMANCIPATION PATENT,
AFFIDAVIT OF NON-TENANCY
Section 104. Provisional Register of Documents. The Department
of Agrarian Reform shall prepare by automate data processing a
special registry book to be known as the Provisional Register of
Documents issued under PD-27 which shall be kept and
maintained in every Registry of Deeds throughout the country.
Said Registry Book shall be a register of:
a. All Certificates of Land Transfer (CLT) issued pursuant to P.D.
No. 27; and
b. All subsequent transactions affecting Certificates of Land
Transfer such as adjustments, transfer, duplication and
cancellations of erroneous Certificates of Land Transfer.
2. P.D. 957; Sections;
REGISTRATION AND LICENSE TO SELL
Section 4. Registration of Projects The registered owner of a parcel
of land who wishes to convert the same into a subdivision project
shall submit his subdivision plan to the Authority which shall act
upon and approve the same, upon a finding that the plan complies
with the Subdivision Standards' and Regulations enforceable at the
time the plan is submitted. The same procedure shall be followed
in the case of a plan for a condominium project except that, in
addition, said Authority shall act upon and approve the plan with
respect to the building or buildings included in the condominium
project in accordance with the National Building Code (R.A. No.
6541).
The subdivision plan, as so approved, shall then be submitted to
the Director of Lands for approval in accordance with the
procedure prescribed in Section 44 of the Land Registration Act
(Act No. 496, as amended by R.A. No. 440): Provided, that it case
of complex subdivision plans, court approval shall no longer be
required. The condominium plan as likewise so approved, shall be
submitted to the Register of Deeds of the province or city in which
the property lies and the same shall be acted upon subject to the
conditions and in accordance with the procedure prescribed in
Section 4 of the Condominium Act (R.A. No. 4726).
The owner or the real estate dealer interested in the sale of lots or
units, respectively, in such subdivision project or condominium
project shall register the project with the Authority by filing
therewith a sworn registration statement containing the following
information:
(a) Name of the owner;
(b) The location of the owner's principal business office, and if the
owner is a non-resident Filipino, the name and address of his
agent or representative in the Philippines is authorized to receive
notice;
(c) The names and addresses of all the directors and officers of the
business firm, if the owner be a corporation, association, trust, or
other entity, and of all the partners, if it be a partnership;
(d) The general character of the business actually transacted or to
be transacted by the owner; and
(e) A statement of the capitalization of the owner, including the
authorized and outstanding amounts of its capital stock and the
proportion thereof which is paid-up.
The following documents shall be attached to the registration
statement:
(a) A copy of the subdivision plan or condominium plan as
approved in accordance with the first and second paragraphs of
this section.
(b) A copy of any circular, prospectus, brochure, advertisement,
letter, or communication to be used for the public offering of the
subdivision lots or condominium units;
(c) In case of a business firm, a balance sheet showing the amount
and general character of its assets and liabilities and a copy of its
articles of incorporation or articles of partnership or association, as
the case may be, with all the amendments thereof and existing by-
laws or instruments corresponding thereto.
(d) A title to the property which is free from all liens and
encumbrances: Provided, however, that in case any subdivision lot
or condominium unit is mortgaged, it is sufficient if the instrument
of mortgage contains a stipulation that the mortgagee shall release
the mortgage on any subdivision lot or condominium unit as soon
as the full purchase price for the same is paid by the buyer.
The person filing the registration statement shall pay the
registration fees prescribed therefor by the Authority.
Thereupon, the Authority shall immediately cause to be published
a notice of the filing of the registration statement at the expense
of the applicant-owner or dealer, in two newspapers general
circulation, one published in English and another in Pilipino, once a
week for two consecutive weeks, reciting that a registration
statement for the sale of subdivision lots or condominium units has
been filed in the National Housing Authority; that the aforesaid
registration statement, as well as the papers attached thereto, are
open to inspection during business hours by interested parties,
under such regulations as the Authority may impose; and that
copies thereof shall be furnished to any party upon payment of the
proper fees.
The subdivision project of the condominium project shall be
deemed registered upon completion of the above publication
requirement. The fact of such registration shall be evidenced by a
registration certificate to be issued to the applicant-owner or
dealer.
Section 7. Exempt transactions. A license to sell and performance
bond shall not be required in any of the following transactions:
(a) Sale of a subdivision lot resulting from the partition of land
among co-owners and co-heirs.
(b) Sale or transfer of a subdivision lot by the original purchaser
thereof and any subsequent sale of the same lot.
(c) Sale of a subdivision lot or a condominium unit by or for the
account of a mortgagee in the ordinary course of business when
necessary to liquidate a bona fide debt.
CASES:
1. FULE vs. DE LEGARE, 7 SCRA 351, 1936
2. BALBIN vs. REGISTER OF DEEDS OF ILOCOS SUR, 28
SCRA 12, 1969
Where several co-owners duplicate of certificates of titles are
issued, a voluntary instrument cannot be registered without
surrendering all the copies to the Register of Deeds so that every
copy of thereof would contain identical entries of the transactions
affecting the land covered.
FACTS: Petitioners Aurelio and Francis Balbin presented to the
Ilocos Sur register of deeds a duplicate copy of the registered
owners certificate of title and a deed of donation inter-vivos,
requesting that the latter be annotated on the title. The registered
owner Cornelio Balbin appears to have donated inter-vivos 2/3
portion of the land.
The REGISTER OF DEEDS denied the requested annotation
for being legally defective or otherwise not sufficient in
law. It appears that previously annotated in the memorandum of
encumbrances on the OCT are three separate sales earlier
executed by Cornelio Balbin in favor of Florentino Gabayan,
Roberto Bravo and Juana Gabayan, who each received their co-
owners duplicate CTs.
Mainly because these 3 co-owners copies of CTs had not been
presented by petitioners, the register of deeds refused to make the
requested annotation.
Petitioners referred the matter to the COMMISSIONER OF LAND
REGISTRATION, who upheld the action of the Register of
Deeds in a resolution.
ISSUE: W/N the refusal of the Register of Deeds to make the
annotation is proper?
HELD: Yes, There being several copies of the same title in
existence, their integrity may be affected if an encumbrance, or an
outright conveyance, is annotated on one copy and not on the
others. If different copies were permitted to carry different
annotations, the whole system of Torrens registration would cease
to be available.
Since the property subject of donation is also presumed conjugal,
that is, property of donor Cornelio and his deceased wife Nemesia
Mina, there should first be a liquidation of the partnership before
the surviving spouse may make such a conveyance. Assuming the
conjugal nature of the property, the donation bears on its face an
infirmity which justified the denial of registration, namely, the fact
that 2/3 portion of the property which Cornelio donated was more
than his share, not to say more than what remained of such
share after he had sold portions of the same land to 3 other
parties.
Pending the resolution of a separate case, wherein Cornelios civil
status, character of land and validity of conveyances are in issue,
the registration may await the outcome of said case and parties
may protect their rights by filing the proper notices of lis pendens.
2. DEVELOPMENT BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES vs.
MANGAWANG, 11 SCRA 405, 1964
FACTS: Gavino Amposta applied with the Director of Lands for the
issuance of a homestead patent over a parcel of land
Pending action on his application, cadastral proceedings were
instituted by the government in said municipality wherein
Amposta filed an answer praying for the adjudication of the same
land in his favor
On March 08,1920, the cadastral court rendered decision awarding
the land to Amposta.
Governor General
November 2, 1920, issued in favor of Amposta Homestead Patent
No. 2388 covering the same land.
1922, the cadastral court issued a decree of registration of the
land in favor of Amposta pursuant to the decision rendered in the
cadastral case, and
Original Certificate of Title No. 2668 was issued to him covering
the same property.
1941, Amposta sold the land to Santos Camacho... urrending to
him Original Certificate of Title... and
Transfer Certificate of Title... was issued in the name of Camacho.
1946, Santos Camacho sold the land to Bonifacio Camacho
Bonifacio Camacho mortgaged the land to the Rehabilitation
Finance Corporation (now Development Hank of the Philippines),
and... having failed to pay the loan as agreed upon the land was
sold at public auction to said bank as the highest bidder.
a final deed of sale was executed in favor of the bank, and
Transfer
Certificate of Title No. 6961 was issued in its name on
Meanwhile
1947, Gavino Amposta again sold the same property to Lazaro and
Arsenio Mangawang for the sum of P2,500.00, the vendees
executing a mortgage on the land to secure the payment of the
balance.
1948, the vendees paid the balance of the... purchase price, and
an absolute deed of sale was executed in their favor.
As a consequence of their purchase of the land, the Mangawang
brothers took possession thereof, and upon learning of this
transfer, the Development Bank of the Philippines, which as
already stated became the owner of the property, commenced the
present action against them in... the Court of First Instance of
Bataan to recover its possession and damages.
Appellees contend that their right over the property in litigation
should be respected because the certificate of title they are holding
is derived from that issued pursuant to a decision rendered by a
cadastral court, while the title being held by appellant was merely
based... on the title issued in an administrative proceeding, upon
the theory that a judicial title is deemed preferred to one issued
administratively.
Here two certificates of title were issued to Gavino Amposta over
the same parcel of land, one under the Homestead Law and
another under the Cadastral Act. Said titles were regularly issued
and on their face both appear to be valid, and under such...
predicament it behooves Amposta to choose which of them hu
would prefer, as he could not validly make use of both of them.
But this Amposta did not do. On the contrary, he took advantage
of the situation by selling the land to two different persons
surrendering to each purchaser... the pertinent certificate of title.
ISSUE: Who of the two buyers should be considered as the rightful
owner of the land?
HELD: Amposta first sold the land to Santos Camacho on the same
date. And seven years thereafter, or on March 17, 1018, Amposta
again sold the land to the
Mangawang brothers, who also registered it in their name on the
same date. Since both purchasers apparently have acted in good
faith, as there is nothing in the evidence to show that they did
otherwise, We cannot hut conclude that the sale made by Amposta
to Santos Camacho is... the valid one considering that when
Amposta sold the same land to the Mangawang brothers he had
nothing more to sell even if the title he surrendered to them is one
issued covering the same property.
In legal contemplation, therefore, Amposta sold a property he no
longer owned,... and hence the transaction is legally ineffective.
the case under consideration
And applying this principle, we cannot but conclude that the title
should likewise be adjudicated to appellant whose... predecessor-
in-interest acquired and registered the property much ahead in
point of time than the appellees. Verily, the title acquired by the
latter is invalid and ineffective, contrary to the finding of the court
a quo.