LAND TITLES NOTES Good, Doubtful and Bad Titles

NOTE: It is not the land which is registered under Good

any system of registration in the Philippines and
elsewhere, but it is the title to or any deed affecting
land which is actually registered.
TITLE
o may be defined briefly as that which
constitutes a just cause of exclusive
possession, or which is the foundation of
ownership of property.
o Houston vs. Farris, 71and commonly, the
word signifies or is taken to mean as:
(1) ownership or a claim of ownership; or
(2) the totality of evidence,
i.e., the operative facts which result in such
ownership or on which the claim of
ownership is based.
EQUITABLE OWNERSHIP
o a present title in land which will ripen into
legal ownership upon the performance of
conditions subsequent.
TITLE VS POSSESSION
o Title implies possession, either actual or
constructive or carries with it the right to
possession, but possession does not
necessarily imply title (Popovich vs. State,
177 N.E., 458, 462).
o Possession means actual control of property
by physical occupation, while title is the
means whereby one holds possession of his
land.
o good title is that which is enforceable
against the whole world including the
government or any of its branches, and in
this jurisdiction carries with it the character
of indefeasibility.
o Example: Torrens title + good faith
Doubtful
o title which exposes the party holding it to
hazardous litigation
o Example: sales of unregistered land which
are recorder under Act 3344
Bad
o When if conveyed to another, conveyed to
no property at all
o Example: title obtained thru fraud, bad faith
or without consideration
CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
o Mere evidence of ownership; it is not the
title to the land itself as the concept of title is
conceived under our civil Law
o Pertains to original certificate of title
TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
o transfer certificates of title are those issued
subsequent to original certificates and may
not necessarily constitute a transcript of the
decree of registration
o Issued by register of deeds
LAND TITLES GRANTED BY THE
SPANISH CROWN
o During the 16th century, the Philippines
passed to the Spanish Crown by discovery
and conquest

FEE SIMPLE TITLE

o A title in fee simple means a title to the
whole of the thing absolutely (Bailey vs.
Henry, 143 S.S. 1124,1127).
o Hence, when such a title exists, there cannot
be even a shadow of right beyond it because
it means complete and unconditional
ownership in fact.
o It involves the exercise of the maximum
rights of dominion over the property
without limitations except those which
may be established by law.
Methods of Acquiring Land Titles
Of the various methods or modes known for
acquiring titles to lands, mention may be made of the
following: (PPA-AID-RE)
(1) by public grant,
(2) by private grant,
(3) by adverse possession or prescription,
(4) by accretion,
(5) by involuntary alienation,
(6) by descent or devise,
(7) reclamation, i.e., filling of submerged
lands by deliberate act and reclaiming title
thereto, and
(8) by P.D. No. 27, The Emancipation
Patent or Grant, emancipating tenants from
their bondage to the soil.
1.) Public Grant; The Regalian
Doctrine (Jura Regalia)
Before the Treaty of Paris on April 11, 1899, our
lands, whether agricultural, mineral or forest were
under the exclusive patrimony and dominion of
Spanish Crown hence, private ownership of land
could only be acquired through royal concessions.
The Regalian Doctrine dictates that all lands
of the public domain belong to the State,
that the State is the source of any asserted
right to ownership of land and charged with
the conservation of such patrimony. The
doctrine has been consistently adopted under
the 1935, 1973, and 1987 Constitutions.
o The adverse possession which may be the
basis of a grant of title in confirmation of
imperfect title cases applies only to alienable
lands of the public domain.
o It is elementary in the law governing natural
resources that forest land can not be owned
by private persons.
o Tax declarations are not conclusive proof of
ownership in land registration cases
Principles:
o No public land can be acquired by private
persons without any grant, express or
implied, from the government, it is
indispensable that there be a showing of title
from the State.
o One claiming private rights must prove that
he has complied with C.A. No. 141, as
amended, otherwise known as the Public
Land Act, which prescribes the substantive
and procedural requirements for
acquisition of public land.
Land not susceptible for private
appropriation:
o It is an Iron doctrine that prescription cannot
lie against the government.
1. Public lands, whether or not under the
operation of the TS, EXCEPT:
o t the alienable lands of the public
domain
o Expressly provided by law
2. possession of public agricultural lands,
however, long the period may have
extended, never confers title upon the
possessor
3. Forest lands or forest reserves are not
capable of private appropriation and
possession thereof, however long, cannot
covert them into private property.
4. Prescription or adverse possession does not
run against private lands brought under the
operation of the Torrens System.
5. A property registered under the provisions
of P.D. 1529 is not subject to prescription.
o Also unavailing to his hereditary
successors
Are there instances when these lands may be
appropriated? YES when reclassified
o positive act of the government is needed to
declassify land which is classified as forest,
to convert it into alienable or disposable
land or for other purposes
note: still private interests regarding the same are not
prejudiced and the possessor in good faith is
respected in his right not to be disturbed.
(2) Private Grants of Land Titles
o Consent of the grantor is an essential
element, as for instance, the sale of land by
one person to another.
Example: conveyance, sale, donation
(3) By Adverse Possession or Prescription
- In Heirs of Maningding vs. CA, 276 SCRA 601, the
Supreme Court held that:
a.) Prescription, in general, is a mode of acquiring
(or losing) ownership and real rights through lapse of
time in the manner and under conditions laid down
by law, namely, that the possession be in the concept
of an owner, public, peaceful, uninterrupted, and
adverse. (OA-PP)

Acquisitive prescription:
- is either voluntary or extraordinary.
Ordinary prescription requires possession in good
faith and with
just title for ten (10) years. In extraordinary
prescription, ownership
and other real rights over immovable property are
acquired through
uninterrupted adverse possession thereof for 30 years
without need

of title or of good faith. (OA-PP)

Rules:
1. Good faith + just title +10yrs uninterrupted
possession
2. Wanting in good faith + without just title
+30 years of uninterrupted possession is
necessary (Art. 1137 of the CC)