Cadastral Sytem of Land Registration

atty. jahmes

Enabling Law
Act 2259, as amended.
PD 1529 Sec 35 - 38

Characteristics/Purpose
When in the opinion of the President of
the Philippines public interest so
requires that title to any unregistered
lands be settled and adjudicated, he
may to this end direct and order the
Director of Lands to cause to be made a
cadastral survey of the lands involved
and the plans and technical description
thereof prepared in due form. Sec 35
(a), PD1529

Characteristics/Purpose
When public interest so requires that
title to any unregistered lands be settled
and adjudicated
To expedite the settlement
adjudication of titles to properties.

and

Nature of Proceedings
A proceeding in rem, initiated by the
filing of a petition for registration by the
government, and the persons claiming
ownership of the land subject thereof
are compelled to go to court to make
known and substantitate their claim or
interest therein.

PROCEDURE-NNCPPAHDI
1. Notice of Cadastral Survey published
once in OG, posted, copy furnished the
mayor and barangay captain.
2. Notice of date of survey by BLM and
posting, marking of boundaries/setting
of monuments.

PROCEDURE-NNCPPAHDI

3. Cadastral Survey
4. Filing of Petition
5. Publication*, Mailing, Posting.
6. Filing of Answer
7. Hearing
8. Decision
9. Issuance of Decree and OCT
Publication twice in successive OG issues.

Filing of Petition
When the lands have been surveyed
or plotted, the Director of Lands,
represented by the Solicitor General,
shall institute original registration
proceedings by filing the necessary
petition in the Court of First Instance
of the place where the land
(Sec. 36 PD 1529)

Filing of Petition
is situated against the holders,
claimants, possessors, or occupants
of such lands or any part thereof,
stating in substance that public
interest requires that the title to such
lands be settled and adjudicated and
praying that such titles be so settled
and adjudicated.
(Sec. 36 PD 1529)

Contents of Petition
The
petition
shall
contain
a
description of the lands and shall be
accompanied by a plan thereof and
may contain such other data as may
serve to furnish full notice to the
occupants of the lands and to all
persons who may claim any right or
interest therein. (Sec. 37, PD 1529)

Contents of Petition
Where the land consists of two or more
parcels held or occupied by different
persons, the plan shall indicate the
boundaries or limits of the various
parcels as accurately as possible. The
parcels shall be known as "lots" and
shall on the plan filed in the case be
given separate numbers by the Director
of Lands, which numbers shall be
known as "cadastral lot numbers"

Filing of Answer
Any
claimant
in
cadastral
proceedings, whether named in the
notice or not, shall appear before the
court by himself or by some other
authorized person in his behalf, and
shall file an answer on or before the
date of initial hearing or within such
further time as may be allowed by the
court. (Sec. 37, PD 1529)

Contents of the Answer

Any
claimant
in
cadastral
proceedings, whether named in the
notice or not, shall appear before the
court by himself or by some other
authorized person in his behalf, and
shall file an answer on or before the
date of initial hearing or within such
further time as may be allowed by the
court. (Sec. 37, PD 1529)

Contents of the Answer

The answer shall be signed and
sworn to by the claimant or by some
other authorized person in his behalf,
and shall state whether the claimant
is married or unmarried, and if
married, the name of the spouse and
the date of marriage, his nationality,
residence and postal address

Contents of the Answer

Age
Cadastral number of the lot or lots
claimed
Name of the barrio and municipality
Names and addresses of the owners
of the adjoining lots

Contents of the Answer

If the claimant is in possession of the lots
claimed and can show no express grant of
the land by the government to him or to his
predecessors-in-interest, the answer shall
state the length of time he has held such
possession and the manner in which it has
been acquired, and shall also state the
length of time, as far as known, during
which the predecessors, if any, held
possession

Contents of the Answer

If the claimant is not in possession or
occupation of the land, the answer
shall fully set forth the interest
claimed by him and the time and
manner of his acquisition

Contents of the Answer

if the lots have been assessed for
taxation, their last assessed value.
he encumbrances, if any, affecting the
lots and the names of adverse
claimants, as far as known

Contents of the Answer

Each answer must cover one
cadastral lot only. If two cadastral lots
or more are claimed by one person
and the evidence to be submitted are
common to all the cadastral lots, the
respective answer must be related to
one another.

False Answer/Liability
Section 116. Whoever knowingly
swears falsely to any statement
required to be made under oath by
this Act shall be guilty of perjury and
liable to the penalties provided by law
for perjury. (Section 116, Act 496, )

Effect of False Claim

The prosecution for falsification or
perjury is a proceeding in
personam which inquires into the
liability of the accused, any
judgment will not affect the title of
the land.

Hearing/Judgment
Like an ordinary registration
proceedings, parties are heard and
evidences are considered in a
cadastral case. In due time a
cadastral decree and certificate of
title to the adjudicated owner is
issued.

Hearing/Judgment
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.

Hearing/Judgment
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. (Sec 38, PD
1529)

Actions during CC Trial

Decree The Judgment/Decision
adjudicating ownership of the land.
Declaration of Finality of Decree and
Order the LRA to issue the Certificate
of Title.
Registration of the decree by LRA
and issuance of the Certificate of
Title.

Notice of Decision to Parties

The duty of sending notice of decision
to interested parties devolves on the
Clerk of Court, and the period of appeal
is 15 days from the receipt of a copy
thereof.

Nature/Effect of Judgment
A final judgment in a cadastral
proceeding, which is in rem, is binding
and conclusive upon the whole world.

Powers of Cadastral Court

Cadastral Courts have jurisdiction to:
Adjudicate title to any claimant thereto:
Declare land a public land
Order the correction of a technical
description.
Order the issuance of a new title in place of
the title issued under voluntary registration
proceedings.
Resolve overlapping titles/Order partition.

Powers of Cadastral Court

Cadastral Courts have jurisdiction to:
Adjudicate title to any claimant thereto:
Declare land a public land
Order the correction of a technical
description.
Order the issuance of a new title in place of
the title issued under voluntary registration
proceedings.
Resolve overlapping titles/Order partition.

Powers of Cadastral Court

Cadastral Courts do not have the power
to determine and adjudicate title to a lot
already covered by a homestead patent
to a person other than a patentee.

Powers of Cadastral Court

No jurisdiction to decree again the
registration of land already decreed in
an earlier land registration case. The
jurisdiction
over
lands
already
registered is limited to the necessary
correction of technical errors in the
description of the lands.

Powers of Cadastral Court

Does not have the power to award
damages
but
confined
to
the
determination as to whether the
claimants are really entitled to the lots
and the confirmation of title in their
name.

Powers of Cadastral Court

Adjudication of land in cadastral cases
covered by the one year period in
Section 32 of PD 1529.

Judgment as Public Land

G.R. No. L-35778 January 27, 1983,
Republic vs. Vera.

Cost and Expenses

National government, provincial
government, and municipal
government pay each 1/10 of the cost
of registration proceedings, survey,
and monumenting,
remaining 7/10 taxed against the lots.

vs. PD 1529
Nature of Registration: Compulsory
Applicant: Director of Lands
All class of lands included (vs.
involves
private
land/public
agricultural lands if confirmation of
imperfect title.)
Landowners come as claimaint/Filing
of Answer

vs. PD 1529
Government asks the court to settle
and adjudicate title of the lands (vs.
Petitioner comes to court to confirm
his title and seeks the registration of
the land in his name.)

vs. PD 1529
Person who requests the survey is
the Government (Landowner)
If none of the applicants can prove
that he is entitled to the land, the
same shall be declared public.