Property Registration Decree

Batas / Civil Law

Updated 2nd February 2026

P.D. 1529, as amended by R.A. No. 11057

PROPERTY REGISTRATION DECREE
(As amended by Republic Act No. 11057)

Amending and codifying the laws relative to registration
of property and for other purposes

CHAPTER I — GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 1. Title of Decree. — This Decree shall be known as the "Property Registration Decree."

SEC. 2. Nature of registration proceedings; jurisdiction of courts. — Judicial proceedings for the registration of lands throughout the Philippines shall be in rem and shall be based on the generally accepted principles underlying the Torrens system.

Courts of First Instance shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all applications for original registration of title to lands, including improvements and interests therein, and over all petitions filed after original registration of title, with power to hear and determine all questions arising upon such applications or petitions. The court through its clerk of court shall furnish the Land Registration Commission with two certified copies of all pleadings, exhibits, orders, and decisions filed or issued in applications or petitions for land registration, with the exception of stenographic notes, within five days from the filing or issuance thereof.

SEC. 3. Status of other preexisting land registration system. — The system of registration under the Spanish Mortgage Law is hereby discontinued and all lands recorded under said system which are not yet covered by Torrens title shall be considered as unregistered lands.

Hereafter, all instruments affecting lands originally registered under the Spanish Mortgage Law may be recorded under Section 113 of this Decree, until the land shall have been brought under the operation of the Torrens system.

The books of registration for unregistered lands provided under Section 194 of the Revised Administrative Code, as amended by Act No. 3344, shall continue to remain in force; provided, that all instruments dealing with unregistered lands shall henceforth be registered under Section 113 of this Decree.

CHAPTER II — THE LAND REGISTRATION COMMISSION AND ITS REGISTRIES OF DEEDS

SEC. 4. Land Registration Commission. — In order to have a more efficient execution of the laws relative to the registration of lands, geared to the massive and accelerated land reform and social justice program of the government, there is created a commission to be known as the Land Registration Commission under the executive supervision of the Department of Justice.

SEC. 5. Officials and employees of the Commission. — The Land Registration Commission shall have a chief and an assistant chief to be known, respectively, as the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of Land Registration who shall be appointed by the President. The Commissioner shall be duly qualified member of the Philippine Bar with at least ten years of practice in the legal profession, and shall have the same rank, compensation and privileges as those of a Judge of the Court of First Instance. The Deputy Commissioner, who shall possess the same qualifications as those required of the Commissioner, shall receive compensation which shall be three thousand pesos per annum less than that of the Commissioner. He shall act as Commissioner of Land Registration during the absence or disability of the Commissioner and when there is a vacancy in the position until another person shall have been designated or appointed in accordance with law. The Deputy Commissioner shall also perform such other functions as the Commissioner may assign to him.

They shall be assisted by such number of division chiefs as may be necessary in the interest of the functioning of the Commission, by a Special Assistant to the Commissioner, and by a Chief Geodetic Engineer who shall each receive compensation at the rate of three thousand four hundred pesos per annum less than that of the Deputy Commissioner.

All other officials and employees of the Land Registration Commission including those of the Registries of Deeds whose salaries are not herein provided, shall receive salaries corresponding to the minimum of their respective upgraded ranges as provided under paragraph 3.1 of Budget Circular No. 273, plus sixty per centum thereof across the board, notwithstanding the maximum salary allowed for their respective civil service eligibilities.

The salaries of officials and employees provided in this Decree shall be without prejudice to such benefits and adjustments as may from time to time be granted by the President or by the legislature to government employees.

All officials and employees of the Commission except Registers of Deeds shall be appointed by the Secretary of Justice upon recommendation of the Commissioner of Land Registration.

SEC. 6. General Functions. —

The Commissioner of Land Registration shall have the following functions:
1. Issue decrees of registration pursuant to final judgments of the courts in land registration proceedings and cause the issuance by the Registers of Deeds of the corresponding certificates of title;
2. Exercise supervision and control over all Registers of Deeds and other personnel of the Commission;
3. Resolve cases elevated en consulta by, or on appeal from decision of, Registers of Deeds;
4. Exercise executive supervision over all clerks of court and personnel of the Courts of First Instance throughout the Philippines with respect to the discharge of their duties and functions in relation to the registration of lands;
5. Implement all orders, decisions, and decrees promulgated relative to the registration of lands and issue, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Justice, all needful rules and regulations therefor;
6. Verify and approve subdivision, consolidation, and consolidation-subdivision survey plans of properties titled under Act No. 496 except those covered by P.D. No. 957.
The Land Registration Commission shall have the following functions:
1. Extend speedy and effective assistance to the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Land Bank, and other agencies in the implementation of the land reform program of the government;
2. Extend assistance to courts in ordinary and cadastral land registration proceedings;
3. Be the central repository of records relative to original registration of lands titled under the Torrens system, including subdivision and consolidation plans of titled lands.

SEC. 7. Office of the Register of Deeds. — There shall be at least one Register of Deeds for each province and one for each city. Every Registry with a yearly average collection of more than sixty thousand pesos during the last three years shall have one Deputy Register of Deeds, and every Registry with a yearly average collection of more than three hundred thousand pesos during the last three years, shall have one Deputy Register of Deeds and one second Deputy Register of Deeds.

The Secretary of Justice shall define the official station and territorial jurisdiction of each Registry upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Land Registration, with the end in view of making every registry easily accessible to the people of the neighboring municipalities.

The province or city shall furnish a suitable space or building for the office of the Register of Deeds until such time as the same could be furnished out of national funds.

SEC. 8. Appointment of Registers of Deeds and their Deputies and other subordinate personnel; salaries. — Registers of Deeds shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Secretary of Justice. Deputy Registers of Deeds and all other subordinate personnel of the Registries of Deeds shall be appointed by the Secretary of Justice upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Land Registration.

The salaries of Registers of Deeds and their Deputies shall be at the following rates:

First Class Registries — The salaries of Registers of Deeds in first class Registries shall be three thousand four hundred pesos per annum less than that of the Deputy Commissioner.
Second Class Registries — The salaries of Registers of Deeds in second class Registries shall be three thousand four hundred pesos per annum less than those of Registers of Deeds in first class Registries.
Third Class Registries — The salaries of Registers of Deeds in third class Registries shall be three thousand four hundred pesos per annum less than those of Registers of Deeds in second class Registries.
The salaries of Deputy Registers of Deeds and Second Deputy Registers of Deeds shall be three thousand four hundred pesos per annum less than those of their corresponding Registers of Deeds and Deputy Registers of Deeds, respectively.

The Secretary of Justice, upon recommendation of the Commissioner of Land Registration, shall cause the reclassification of Registries based either on work load or the class of province/city, whichever will result in a higher classification, for purposes of salary adjustments in accordance with the rates hereinabove provided.

SEC. 9. Qualifications of Registers of Deeds and Deputy Registers of Deeds. — No person shall be appointed Register of Deeds unless he has been admitted to the practice of law in the Philippines and shall have been actually engaged in such practice for at least three years or has been employed for a like period in any branch of government the functions of which include the registration of property.

The Deputy Register of Deeds shall be a member of the Philippine Bar. Provided, however, that no Register of Deeds or Deputy Register of Deeds holding office as such upon the passage of this Decree shall by reason hereof, be removed from office or be demoted to a lower category or scale of salary except for cause and upon compliance with due process as provided for by law.

SEC. 10. General functions of Registers of Deeds. — The office of the Register of Deeds constitutes a public repository of records of instruments affecting registered or unregistered lands and chattel mortgages in the province or city wherein such office is situated.

It shall be the duty of the Register of Deeds to immediately register an instrument presented for registration dealing with real or personal property which complies with all the requisites for registration. He shall see to it that said instrument bears the proper documentary and science stamps and that the same are properly canceled. If the instrument is not registerable, he shall forthwith deny registration thereof and inform the presentor of such denial in writing, stating the ground or reason therefor, and advising him of his right to appeal by consulta in accordance with Section 117 of this Decree.

SEC. 11. Discharge of duties of Register of Deeds in case of vacancy, etc. —

Until a regular Register of Deeds shall have been appointed for a province or city, or in case of vacancy in the office, or upon the occasion of the absence, illness, suspension, or inability of the Register of Deeds to discharge his duties, said duties shall be performed by the following officials, in the order in which they are mentioned below, unless the Secretary of Justice designates another official to act temporarily in his place:
1. For the province or city where there is a Deputy Register of Deeds, by said Deputy Register of Deeds, or by the second Deputy Register of Deeds, should there be one;
2. For the province or city where there is no Deputy or second Deputy Register of Deeds, by the Provincial or City Fiscal, or any Assistant Fiscal designated by the Provincial or City Fiscal;
In case of absence, disability or suspension of the Register of Deeds without pay, or in case of vacancy in the position, the Secretary of Justice may, in his discretion, authorize the payment of an additional compensation to the official acting as Register of Deeds, such additional compensation together with his actual salary not to exceed the salary authorized for the position thus filled by him.
In case of a newly-created province or city and pending establishment of a Registry of Deeds and the appointment of a regular Register of Deeds for the new province or city, the Register of Deeds of the mother province or city shall be the ex-officio Register of Deeds for said new province or city.

SEC. 12. Owner's Index; reports. — There shall be prepared in every Registry an index system which shall contain the names of all registered owners alphabetically arranged. For this purpose, an index card which shall be prepared in the name of each registered owner which shall contain a list of all lands registered in his name.

The Register of Deeds shall submit to the Land Registration Commission within ten days after the month to which they pertain his monthly reports on collections and accomplishments. He shall also submit to the Commission at the end of December of each year, an annual inventory of all titles and instruments in his Registry.

SEC. 13. Chief Geodetic Engineer. — There shall be a Chief Geodetic Engineer in the Land Registration Commission who shall be the technical adviser of the Commission on all matters involving surveys and shall be responsible to him for all plats, plans and works requiring the services of a geodetic engineer in said office. He shall perform such other functions as may, from time to time, be assigned to him by the Commissioner.

CHAPTER III — ORIGINAL REGISTRATION

I. ORDINARY REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS

A. APPLICATIONS

SEC. 14. Who may apply. — The following persons may file in the proper Court of First Instance an application for registration of title to land, whether personally or through their duly authorized representatives:

Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, or earlier.
Those who have acquired ownership of private lands by prescription under the provision of existing laws.
Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned river beds by right of accession or accretion under the existing laws.
Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other manner provided for by law.

Where the land is owned in common, all the co-owners shall file the application jointly.

Where the land has been sold under pacto de retro, the vendor a retro may file an application for the original registration of the land, provided, however, that should the period for redemption expire during the pendency of the registration proceedings and ownership to the property consolidated in the vendee a retro, the latter shall be substituted for the applicant and may continue the proceedings.

A trustee on behalf of his principal may apply for original registration of any land held in trust by him, unless prohibited by the instrument creating the trust.

SEC. 15. Form and contents. — The application for land registration shall be in writing, signed by the application or the person duly authorized in his behalf, and sworn to before any officer authorized to administer oaths for the province or city where the application was actually signed. If there is more than one applicant, the application shall be signed and sworn to by and in behalf of each. The application shall contain a description of the land and shall state the citizenship and civil status of the applicant, whether single or married, and, if married, the name of the wife or husband, and, if the marriage has been legally dissolved, when and how the marriage relation terminated. It shall also state the full names and addresses of all occupants of the land and those of the adjoining owners, if known, and, if not known, it shall state the extent of the search made to find them.

SEC. 16. Non-resident applicant. — If the applicant is not a resident of the Philippines, he shall file with his application an instrument in due form appointing an agent or representative residing in the Philippines, giving his full name and postal address, and shall therein agree that the service of any legal process in the proceedings under or growing out of the application made upon his agent or representative shall be of the same legal effect as if made upon the applicant within the Philippines. If the agent or representative dies, or leaves the Philippines, the applicant shall forthwith make another appointment for the substitute, and, if he fails to do so the court may dismiss the application.

SEC. 17. What and where to file. — The application for land registration shall be filed with the Court of First Instance of the province or city where the land is situated. The applicant shall file together with the application all original muniments of titles or copies thereof and a survey plan of the land approved by the Bureau of Lands.

The clerk of court shall not accept any application unless it is shown that the applicant has furnished the Director of Lands with a copy of the application and all annexes.

SEC. 18. Application covering two or more parcels. — An application may include two or more parcels of land belonging to the applicant/s provided they are situated within the same province or city. The court may at any time order an application to be amended by striking out one or more of the parcels or by a severance of the application.

SEC. 19. Amendments. — Amendments to the application including joinder, substitution, or discontinuance as to parties may be allowed by the court at any stage of the proceedings upon just and reasonable terms.

Amendments which shall consist in a substantial change in the boundaries or an increase in area of the land applied for or which involve the inclusion of an additional land shall be subject to the same requirements of publication and notice as in an original application.

SEC. 20. When land applied for borders on road. — If the application describes the land as bounded by a public or private way or road, it shall state whether or not the applicant claims any and what portion of the land within the limits of the way or road, and whether the applicant desires to have the line of the way or road determined.

SEC. 21. Requirement of additional facts and papers; ocular inspection. — The court may require facts to be stated in the application in addition to those prescribed by this Decree not inconsistent therewith and may require the filing of any additional paper. It may also conduct an ocular inspection, if necessary.

SEC. 22. Dealings with land pending original registration. — After the filing of the application and before the issuance of the decree of registration, the land therein described may still be the subject of dealings in whole or in part, in which case the interested party shall present to the court the pertinent instruments together with a subdivision plan approved by the Director of Lands in case of transfer of portions thereof and the court, after notice to the parties, shall order such land registered subject to the conveyance or encumbrance created by said instruments, or order that the decree of registration be issued in the name of the person to whom the property has been conveyed by said instruments.

B. PUBLICATION, OPPOSITION AND DEFAULT

SEC. 23. Notice of initial hearing, publication, etc. — The court shall, within five days from filing of the application, issue an order setting the date and hour of the initial hearing which shall not be earlier than forty-five days nor later than ninety days from the date of the order.

The public shall be given notice of the initial hearing of the application for land registration by means of (1) publication; (2) mailing; and (3) posting.

1. By publication.

Upon receipt of the order of the court setting the time for initial hearing, the Commissioner of Land Registration shall cause notice of initial hearing to be published once in the Official Gazette and once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines: Provided, however, that the publication in the Official Gazette shall be sufficient to confer jurisdiction upon the court. Said notice shall be addressed to all persons appearing to have an interest in the land involved including the adjoining owners so far as known, and "to all whom it may concern". Said notice shall also require all persons concerned to appear in court at a certain date and time to show cause why the prayer of said application shall not be granted.

2. By mailing.

Mailing of notice to persons named in the application. The Commissioner of Land Registration shall also, within seven days after publication of said notice in the Official Gazette, as hereinbefore provided, cause a copy of the notice of initial hearing to be mailed to every person named in the notice whose address is known.
Mailing of notice to the Secretary of Public Highways, the Provincial Governor and the Mayor. If the applicant requests to have the line of a public way or road determined, the Commissioner of Land Registration shall cause a copy of said notice of initial hearing to be mailed to the Secretary of Public Highways, to the Provincial Governor, and to the Mayor of the municipality or city, as the case may be, in which the land lies.
Mailing of notice to the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, the Solicitor General, the Director of Lands, the Director of Public Works, the Director of Forest Development, the Director of Mines and the Director of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. If the land borders on a river, navigable stream or shore, or on an arm of the sea where a river or harbor line has been established, or on a lake, or if it otherwise appears from the application or the proceedings that a tenant-farmer or the national government may have a claim adverse to that of the applicant, notice of the initial hearing shall be given in the same manner to the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, the Solicitor General, the Director of Lands, the Director of Mines and/or the Director of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, as may be appropriate.

3. By posting.

The Commissioner of Land Registration shall also cause a duly attested copy of the notice of initial hearing to be posted by the sheriff of the province or city, as the case may be, or by his deputy, in a conspicuous place on each parcel of land included in the application and also in a conspicuous place on the bulletin board of the municipal building of the municipality or city in which the land or portion thereof is situated, fourteen days at least before the date of initial hearing.

The court may also cause notice to be served to such other persons and in such manner as it may deem proper.

SEC. 24. Proof of publication and notice. — The certification of the Commissioner of Land Registration and of the sheriff concerned to the effect that the notice of initial hearing, as required by law, has been complied with shall be filed in the case before the date of initial hearing, and shall be conclusive proof of such fact.

SEC. 25. Opposition to application in ordinary proceedings. — Any person claiming an interest, whether named in the notice or not, may appear and file an opposition on or before the date of initial hearing, or within such further time as may be allowed by the court. The opposition shall state all the objections to the application and shall set forth the interest claimed by the party filing the same and apply for the remedy desired, and shall be signed and sworn to by him or by some other duly authorized person.

If the opposition or the adverse claim of any person covers only a portion of the lot and said portion is not properly delimited on the plan attached to the application, or in case of undivided co-ownership, conflicting claims of ownership or possession, or overlapping of boundaries, the court may require the parties to submit a subdivision plan duly approved by the Director of Lands.

SEC. 26. Order of default; effect. — If no person appears and answers within the time allowed, the court shall, upon motion of the applicant, no reason to the contrary appearing, order a default to be recorded and require the applicant to present evidence. By the description in the notice "To all Whom It May Concern", all the world are made parties defendant and shall be concluded by the default order.

Where an appearance has been entered and an answer filed, a default order shall be entered against persons who did not appear and answer.

C. HEARING, JUDGMENT AND DECREE OF REGISTRATION

SEC. 27. Speedy hearing; reference to a referee. — The trial court shall see to it that all registration proceedings are disposed of within ninety days from the date the case is submitted for decision.

The Court, if it deems necessary, may refer the case or any part thereof to a referee who shall hear the parties and their evidence, and the referee shall submit his report thereon to the Court within fifteen days after the termination of such hearing. Hearing before a referee may be held at any convenient place within the province or city as may be fixed by him and after reasonable notice thereof shall have been served the parties concerned. The court may render judgment in accordance with the report as though the facts have been found by the judge himself: Provided, however, that the court may in its discretion accept the report, or set it aside in whole or in part, or order the case to be recommitted for further proceedings.

SEC. 28. Partial judgment. — In a case where only a portion of the land subject of registration is contested, the court may render partial judgment provided that a subdivision plan showing the contested and uncontested portions approved by the Director of Lands is previously submitted to said court.

SEC. 29. Judgment confirming title. — All conflicting claims of ownership and interest in the land subject of the application shall be determined by the court. If the court, after considering the evidence and the reports of the Commissioner of Land Registration and the Director of Lands, finds that the applicant or the oppositor has sufficient title proper for registration, judgment shall be rendered confirming the title of the applicant, or the oppositor, to the land or portions thereof.

SEC. 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 date 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.

SEC. 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 owner's 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".

SEC. 32. Review of decree of registration; Innocent purchaser 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.

SEC. 33. Appeal from judgment, etc. — The judgment and orders of the court hearing the land registration case are appealable to the Court of Appeals or to the Supreme Court in the same manner as in ordinary actions.

SEC. 34. Rules of procedure. — The Rules of Court shall, insofar as not inconsistent with the provision of this Decree, be applicable to land registration and cadastral cases by analogy or in a suppletory character and whenever practicable and convenient.

II. CADASTRAL REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS

A. ORDER FOR SPEEDY SETTLEMENT AND ADJUDICATION; SURVEY; NOTICES

SEC. 35. Cadastral Survey preparatory to filing of petition. —

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.
Thereupon, the Director of Lands shall give notice to persons claiming any interest in the lands as well as to the general public, of the day on which such survey will begin, giving as fully and accurately as possible the description of the lands to be surveyed. Such notice shall be published once in the Official Gazette, and a copy of the notice in English or the national language shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the bulletin board of the municipal building of the municipality in which the lands or any portion thereof is situated. A copy of the notice shall also be sent to the mayor of such municipality as well as to the barangay captain and likewise to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and the Sangguniang Bayan concerned.
The Geodetic Engineers or other employees of the Bureau of Lands in charge of the survey shall give notice reasonably in advance of the date on which the survey of any portion of such lands is to begin, which notice shall be posted in the bulletin board of the municipal building of the municipality or barrio in which the lands are situated, and shall mark the boundaries of the lands by monuments set up in proper places thereon. It shall be lawful for such Geodetic Engineers and other employees to enter upon the lands whenever necessary for the purposes of such survey or the placing of monuments.
It shall be the duty of every person claiming an interest in the lands to be surveyed, or in any parcel thereof, to communicate with the Geodetic Engineer upon his request therefor all information possessed by such person concerning the boundary lines of any lands to which he claims title or in which he claims any interest.
Any person who shall willfully obstruct the making of any survey undertaken by the Bureau of Lands or by a licensed Geodetic Engineer duly authorized to conduct the survey under this Section, or shall maliciously interfere with the placing of any monument or remove such monument, or shall destroy or remove any notice of survey posted on the land pursuant to law, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand pesos or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

B. PETITION; LOT NUMBERS

SEC. 36. Petition for registration. — 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 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.

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.

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". The lots situated within each municipality shall, as far as practicable, be numbered consecutively beginning with number "one", and only one series of numbers shall be used for that purpose in each municipality. However in cities or townsites, a designation of the landholdings by blocks and lot numbers may be employed instead of the designation by cadastral lot numbers.

The cadastral number of a lot shall not be changed after final decision has been entered decreeing the registration thereof, except by order of court. Future subdivisions of any lot shall be designated by a letter or letters of the alphabet added to the cadastral number of the lot to which the respective subdivisions pertain. The letter with which a subdivision is designated shall be known as its "cadastral letter": Provided, however, that the subdivisions of cities or townsites may be designated by blocks and lot numbers.

C. ANSWER

SEC. 37. Answer to petition in cadastral proceedings. — 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. 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, and shall also contain:

The age of the claimant;
The cadastral number of the lot or lots claimed, as appearing on the plan filed in the case by the Director of Lands, or the block and lot numbers, as the case may be;
The name of the barrio and municipality in which the lots are situated;
The names and addresses of the owners of the adjoining lots so far as known to the claimant;
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;
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;
If the lots have been assessed for taxation, their last assessed value; and
The encumbrances, if any, affecting the lots and the names of adverse claimants, as far as known.

D. HEARING; JUDGMENT; DECREE

SEC. 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 — ISSUANCE OF DECREES AND CERTIFICATES OF TITLES

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 of the original certificate of title by the Register of Deeds, he shall cause the same to be entered in the registration book at the first unoccupied page and any subsequent page of the same, numbering such entry and page so that no blank line or space is left between entries. The entry shall specify the date, hour and minute of the day when the certificate is entered. The owner's duplicate shall be sealed with the seal of the Register of Deeds and endorsed with proper memoranda; and when so sealed and endorsed, and the number and place of registry and the date of sealing and endorsing the same and the name and official title of the Register of Deeds are entered on the duplicate, said Register of Deeds shall forward the same to the Commissioner who shall verify the same against the record of such certificate in his office. When the verification has been accomplished the Commissioner shall forward the same to the registered owner.

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 duplicates must contain a memorandum of all liens, encumbrances and adverse claims affecting the land.

SEC. 42. Registration books. — There shall be kept in every Registry a book called the "Registration Book" in which shall be entered all certificates of title in the order of their registration. A separate volume of the registration book may be kept for originally registered lands and another for cadastrally registered lands.

SEC. 43. Transfer of title. — The act of registration shall be the operative act to convey and affect the registered land, except that a voluntary instrument shall not be registered unless accompanied by the owner's duplicate certificate. Any subsequent dealings with registered land shall not be effective unless the corresponding instrument of conveyance is registered. No voluntary instrument shall be registered by the Register of Deeds unless the owner's duplicate certificate is presented with such instrument, except in cases expressly provided for in this Decree or upon order of the court for cause shown.

The production of the owner's duplicate certificate, whenever any voluntary instrument is presented for registration, shall be conclusive authority from the registered owner to the Register of Deeds to enter a new certificate or to make a memorandum of registration in accordance with such instrument, and the new certificate or memorandum shall be binding upon the registered owner and upon all persons claiming under him, in favor of every purchaser for value and in good faith.

In all cases of registration procured by fraud, the owner may pursue all his legal and equitable remedies against the parties to such fraud, without prejudice, however, to the rights of any innocent holder for value of a certificate of title. After the entry of the decree of registration on the original petition or application, any subsequent registration procured by the presentation of a forged duplicate certificate of title, or of forged deed or other instrument, shall be null and void.

CHAPTER V — SUBSEQUENT REGISTRATION

A. VOLUNTARY DEALINGS

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:

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;
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;
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;
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.

SEC. 45. Necessity of registration. — No deed, conveyance, mortgage, lease or other voluntary instruments affecting lands, whether registered or unregistered, shall be valid, except as between the parties thereto, unless such instrument shall have been registered in the manner herein prescribed in the office of the Register of Deeds for the province or city where the land lies.

This section shall not apply to political subdivisions, instrumentalities, or to government-owned or -controlled corporations.

SEC. 46. General incidents of registered land. — Registered land shall be subject to such burdens and incidents as may be imposed and prescribed by law, and may be dealt with by the owner as fully as if it had not been registered. The registered owner may convey, mortgage, lease, charge or otherwise deal with the same as fully as if it had not been registered. He may use any form of deed, mortgage, lease or other voluntary instrument sufficient in law. But no deed, mortgage, lease or other voluntary instrument, except a will purporting to convey, or affect registered land shall take effect as a conveyance or bind the land, but shall operate only as a contract between the parties and as evidence of authority to the Register of Deeds to make registration.

SEC. 47. Registered land not subject to prescription. — No title to registered land in derogation of the title of the registered owner shall be acquired by prescription or adverse possession.

SEC. 48. Certificate not subject to collateral attack. — A certificate of title shall not be subject to collateral attack. It cannot be altered, modified or cancelled except in a direct proceeding in accordance with law.

SEC. 49. Splitting of title or reconveyance. — The registered owner of land may convey the whole or any portion of the same, or any undivided interest therein. If a portion less than the whole of the land is conveyed, the Register of Deeds shall not enter any transfer certificate of title to the grantee until a plan of said land showing all the portions or lots into which it has been subdivided and the corresponding technical descriptions shall have been verified and approved pursuant to Section 50 of this Act. Upon the approval of said plan and receipt of the approved technical descriptions an appropriate endorsement of the subdivision on the original title shall be made by the Register of Deeds and a transfer certificate of title shall be issued to the grantee for the portions conveyed, and the balance of the original title or be made to cover only the remaining unconveyed portions.

If the land has been subdivided into several lots, designated by letters or numbers, the registered owner may convey any of such lots by brief description without stating the metes and bounds.

SEC. 50. Subdivision and consolidation plans. — Any owner subdividing a tract of registered land into lots which do not constitute a subdivision project as 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 owner's 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 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 registered in his name shall file with the Commissioner of Land Registration or with the Bureau of Lands a consolidation plan on which the boundaries of said lots are distinctly and accurately delineated. If the plan be approved and is filed together with the owner's duplicate certificates, the Register of Deeds shall issue a new certificate of title for the consolidated lots.

SEC. 51. Conveyance and other dealings by registered owner. — An owner of registered land may convey, mortgage, lease, charge or otherwise deal with the same in accordance with existing laws. He may use such forms of deeds, mortgages, leases or other voluntary instruments as are sufficient in law. But no deed, mortgage, lease, or other voluntary instrument, except a will purporting to convey or affect registered land shall take effect as a conveyance or bind the land, but shall operate only as a contract between the parties and as evidence of authority to the Register of Deeds to make registration.

The act of registration shall be the operative act to convey or affect the land insofar as third persons are concerned, and in all cases under this Decree, the registration shall be made in the office of the Register of Deeds for the province or city where the land lies.

SEC. 52. Constructive notice upon registration. — Every conveyance, mortgage, lease, lien, attachment, order, judgment, instrument or entry affecting registered land shall, if registered, filed or entered in the office of the Register of Deeds for the province or city where the land to which it relates lies, be constructive notice to all persons from the time of such registering, filing or entering.

SEC. 53. Presentation of owner's duplicate upon entry of new certificate. — No voluntary instrument shall be registered by the Register of Deeds unless the owner's duplicate certificate is presented with such instrument, except in cases expressly provided for in this Decree or upon order of the court, for cause shown.

The production of the owner's duplicate certificate, whenever any voluntary instrument is presented for registration, shall be conclusive authority from the registered owner to the Register of Deeds to enter a new certificate or to make a memorandum of registration in accordance with such document, and the new certificate or memorandum shall be binding upon the registered owner and upon all persons claiming under him, in favor of every purchaser for value and in good faith.

In all cases of registration procured by fraud, the owner may pursue all his legal and equitable remedies against the parties to such fraud without prejudice, however, to the rights of any innocent holder for value of a certificate of title. After the entry of the decree of registration on the original petition or application, any subsequent registration procured by the presentation of a forged duplicate certificate of title, or a forged deed or other instrument, shall be null and void.

SEC. 54. Dealings less than ownership, how registered. — No new certificate shall be entered or issued pursuant to any instrument which does not divest the ownership or title from the owner or from the transferee of the registered owners. All interests in registered land less than ownership shall be registered by filing with the Register of Deeds the instrument which creates or transfers or claims such interest and by a brief memorandum thereof made by the Register of Deeds upon the certificate of title, and signed by him. A similar memorandum shall also be made on the owner's duplicate. The cancellation or extinguishment of such interests shall be registered in the same manner.

SEC. 55. Grantee's name, nationality, etc., to be stated. — Deeds, conveyances, mortgages, leases and other voluntary instruments, whether affecting registered or unregistered land, executed in accordance with law, shall be registerable. Every deed or other voluntary instrument presented for registration shall contain or have endorsed thereon the full name, nationality, residence and postal address of the grantee, lessee, or other claimant and the nature and extent of the right or interest claimed or enjoyed by said person. If the grantee is a corporation or association, the instrument or the endorsement thereon shall contain a recital sufficient to show that such corporation or association is legally qualified to acquire private lands. The Register of Deeds shall not accept for registration or annotation instruments which do not comply with the foregoing requirements.

SEC. 56. Partition and sale of land held in common. — If two or more persons are registered owners as tenants in common of any registered land, any one of them may file with the Register of Deeds a verified petition to have his undivided share set off on a partition plan. Tax declaration or a certificate to that effect in proper cases shall be submitted with the petition. After notice to the other co-owners and to all other interested persons, and after hearing, the court may order the partition in accordance with the pertinent provisions of the Rules of Court.

Any one of several registered co-owners may give a general or special power of attorney to his co-owner as appears in the instrument executed before a notary, empowering one co-owner to sell, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of, all the undivided interests of the common property owned in common.

A certified copy of any final order establishing any partition of jointly owned property shall be registered with the Register of Deeds.

SEC. 57. Procedure in registration of conveyances. — An owner desiring to convey his registered land in fee simple shall execute and register a deed of conveyance in a form sufficient in law. The Register of Deeds shall thereafter make out in the registration book a new certificate of title to the grantee and shall prepare and deliver to him an owner's duplicate certificate. The Register of Deeds shall note upon the original and duplicate certificate the date of transfer, the volume and page of the registration book in which the new certificate is registered and a reference by number to the last prior certificate. The original and the owner's duplicate of the grantor's certificate shall be stamped "cancelled". The deed of conveyance shall be filed and indorsed with the number and the place of registration of the certificate of title of the land conveyed.

SEC. 58. Procedure where conveyance involves portions of land. — If a deed or conveyance is for a part only of the land described in a certificate of title, the Register of Deeds shall not enter any transfer certificate to the grantee until a plan of said land showing all the portions or lots into which it has been subdivided and the corresponding technical descriptions shall have been verified and approved pursuant to Section 50 of this Decree. Meanwhile, such deed may only be annotated by way of memorandum upon the grantor's certificate of title, original and duplicate, said memorandum shall serve as a notice to third parties of the fact that certain unsegregated portion of the land described therein has been conveyed, and every certificate with such memorandum shall be effectual for the purpose of showing the grantee's title to the portion conveyed to him, pending the actual issuance of the corresponding certificate in his name.

Upon the approval of the plan and technical descriptions, the original of the plan, together with a certified copy of the technical descriptions shall be filed with the Register of Deeds for annotation in the corresponding certificate of title and thereupon said officer shall issue a new certificate of title to the grantee for the portion conveyed, and at the same time cancel the grantor's certificate partially with respect only to said portion conveyed, or, if the grantor so desires, his certificate may be cancelled totally and a new one issued to him describing therein the remaining portion: Provided, however, that pending approval of said plan, no further registration or annotation of any subsequent deed or other voluntary instrument involving the unsegregated portion conveyed shall be effected by the Register of Deeds, except a notice of lis pendens involving said portion.

AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATES OF TITLE

SEC. 59. Carry over of encumbrances. — If, at the time of any transfer, subsisting encumbrances or annotations appear in the registration book, they shall be carried over and stated in the new certificate or certificates; except so far as they may be simultaneously released or discharged.

B. INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS

SEC. 60. Adverse claim. — Whoever claims any part or interest in registered land adverse to the registered owner, arising subsequent to the date of the original registration, may, if no other provision is made in this Decree for registering the same, make a statement in writing setting forth fully his alleged right or interest, and how and under whom acquired, a reference to the number of the certificate of title of the registered owner, the name of the registered owner, and a description of the land in which the right or interest is claimed.

The statement shall be signed and sworn to, and shall state the adverse claimant's residence, and a place at which all notices may be served upon him. This statement shall be entitled to registration as an adverse claim on the certificate of title. The adverse claim shall be effective for a period of thirty days from the date of registration. After the lapse of said period, the annotation of adverse claim may be cancelled upon filing of a verified petition therefor by the party in interest: Provided, however, that after cancellation, no second adverse claim based on the same ground shall be registered by the same claimant.

Before the lapse of thirty days aforesaid, any party in interest may file a petition in the Court of First Instance where the land is situated for the cancellation of the adverse claim, and the court shall grant a speedy hearing upon the question of the validity of such adverse claim, and shall render judgment as may be just and equitable. If the adverse claim is adjudged to be invalid, the registration thereof shall be ordered cancelled. If, in any case, the court, after notice and hearing, shall find that the adverse claim thus registered was frivolous, it may fine the claimant in an amount not less than one thousand pesos nor more than five thousand pesos, in its discretion. Before the lapse of thirty days, the claimant may withdraw his adverse claim by filing with the Register of Deeds a written petition to that effect.

SEC. 61. Notice of attachment.- An attachment, or a copy of any writ, order or process issued by a court, to attach registered land belonging to the person against whom the same is issued, or to satisfy a money judgment against such person, shall be registered and shall be effectual from the time of registration: Provided, that the attachment, writ, or order shall also designate or describe thereon the property being attached.

SEC. 62. Levy on registered lands. — Registered land may be levied on or sold on execution. The officer making the sale shall file with the Register of Deeds a copy of the execution and of the writ of sale, personally executed by him, the latter containing a description of the land or interest thereon sold, the name of the purchaser, the sum paid, and the date upon which the purchaser will be entitled to a deed. Upon the expiration of the time, if any, allowed by law for redemption after registered land has been sold on any execution, or taken or sold for the enforcement of a lien of any description, except a mortgage lien, the conveyance by the officer to the purchaser shall be registered with the Register of Deeds.

Where no right of redemption exists, the certificates of title in the name of the former owner shall be cancelled and a new certificate entered in the name of the purchaser; but where a right of redemption exists, the certificate of title in the name of the former owner shall not be cancelled, but the sale shall be endorsed on said certificate by the Register of Deeds, and the filing and endorsement shall have the same force and effect as registration.

If the property is redeemed, the redemption shall be endorsed on the certificate of title and when so endorsed the certificate of title shall operate as a transfer of the property to the one making the redemption, and the Register of Deeds shall note on such endorsement the date, hour and minute of the same. When any new certificate of title is entered in place of a certificate a portion only of the land included in which has been sold, there shall be included in the new certificate a statement of the interest retained by the former owner.

SEC. 63. Levy on the interest of a judgment debtor who is a co-owner. — When any judgment debtor has any interest in registered land as a co-owner under a subsisting certificate of title, the judgment may be annotated on said certificate and appropriate memorandum, if any may be made on the new certificates and titles issued in the name of the other co-owners.

Where the writ of execution or order declares that the judgment debtor has a share in registered land and the same is adequate to satisfy the money judgment, the sheriff or other proper officer shall at the judgment debtor's option sell only the undivided interest belonging to him, as indicated by the annotation, or in the absence of such annotation, as shown by the terms of the agreement, order or decision of the court. The execution sale shall be enforced only against interest and share of the judgment debtor, free from the interest of the other co-owners, and such undivided portion of the land may be assigned and transferred by the purchaser with the corresponding right of cancellation of such portion from the original certificate of title and issuance of a new certificate in favor of the purchaser. If the interest of the judgment debtor is a minority interest or one that has no definite valuation, or if the co-owners shall not agree to its sale, and if the same is sufficient to answer the judgment, the court may order the judgment debtor's interest sold at public auction in accordance with law. Thereafter, the judgment debtor's interest in the certificate of title and in the land represented thereby shall be entered by the Register of Deeds to indicate the nature and extent of the rights of the purchaser from sale on execution, who may after registration of such interest be bound by all obligations to the other co-members of the former co-owner's share in that particular property.

The sale of an undivided interest and issuance of a new certificate of title to the purchaser as provided herein, shall apply only to cases when the share of a judgment debtor is capable of definite determination and valuation.

SEC. 64. Power of attorney. — Any person may by power of attorney convey or otherwise deal with registered land and the deed so executed by him shall be effectual as if executed by the registered owner, and the Register of Deeds shall register the same and all other instruments executed in pursuance of said power of attorney.

SEC. 65. Lis pendens. — No action to recover possession of real estate, or to quiet title thereto, or to remove clouds upon the title thereof, or for partition or other proceedings of any kind in court directly affecting the title to land or the use or occupation thereof or the buildings thereon, and no judgment, and no proceeding to vacate or reverse any judgment, shall have any effect upon registered land as against persons other than the parties thereto, unless a memorandum or notice stating the institution of such action or proceeding and the court wherein the same is pending, as well as the date of the institution thereof, together with a reference to the number of the certificate of title, and an adequate description of the land affected and the registered owner thereof, shall have been filed and registered.

SEC. 66. Mortgage. — The owner of registered land may mortgage the same, or any portion thereof, by executing a deed of mortgage and registering the same. The mortgage shall be registered and a memorandum thereof made on the certificate of title. The mortgage shall remain as a lien until satisfied or discharged as provided by law.

CHAPTER VI — CANCELLATION AND RECONSTITUTION OF CERTIFICATES OF TITLE

SEC. 67. Cancellation of a certificate of title. — All certificates of title which are required to be cancelled pursuant to any transaction under this Decree shall be cancelled by the Register of Deeds upon receipt of the order of the Commissioner of Land Registration or of a court of competent jurisdiction. No certificate of title for registered land shall be cancelled except upon order of the Land Registration Commission or of a court of competent jurisdiction.

SEC. 68. Who may apply; grounds. — Any owner of registered land whose certificate of title has not been lost or destroyed, but which contains legal defects or errors in the wording or technical descriptions therein, may file with the Register of Deeds a verified petition requesting the correction thereof, and the Register of Deeds shall issue an amended certificate of title to the owner, free from the errors or defects of the previous certificate, on the condition that the owner shall simultaneously surrender the old original and owner's duplicate certificate of title for cancellation in exchange for the issuance of the new certificate, upon payment of the fees in this behalf under the provisions of this Decree. For this purpose, such errors or defects as may be corrected shall be reflected in the amended certificate and annotated on the Register of Deeds' copy of the original certificate.

SEC. 69. Reconstitution when title lost. — The registered owner of any registered land, or his assigns who has lost, mislaid, is unable to locate or locate the owner's duplicate of his certificate of title, or any person in interest, may file a petition in court for the issuance of a new owner's duplicate certificate of title to take the place of the one so lost, mislaid, destroyed, or become illegible.

A notice of the petition shall be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines.

The court, after hearing and after notice and publication as hereinabove provided, shall issue an order directing that a new owner's duplicate certificate of title be issued, which shall in all respects be entitled to like faith and credit as the one lost or destroyed.

SEC. 70. Reconstitution, judicial. — Whenever the original of a certificate of title has been lost, missing, destroyed, mutilated or burnt, and no co-owner's or mortgagee's duplicate is available, the registered owner, mortgagee, or any person having interest therein, may petition the court for reconstitution of the same with the Land Registration Commission, giving notice thereof to the Register of Deeds and other parties in interest. The reconstituted certificate of title, together with the owner's duplicate, shall, upon approval by the court, be issued by the Register of Deeds, which shall in all respects be entitled to like faith and credit as the original, after the payment of the prescribed fees.

CHAPTER VII — SPECIAL MODES OF ACQUIRING REGISTERED LAND

A. TRANSMISSION BY INHERITANCE

SEC. 71. Acquisition of ownership of registered land by inheritance. — Immediately upon the death of any owner of registered land, or the owner of any interest therein, his name shall be stricken from the register and the names of the persons entitled to the property shall be substituted so far as known, without prejudice to subsequence amendment of the entry in proper cases.

SEC. 72. Registration of order partitioning registered land. — In the partition and distribution among the heirs of any estate consisting entirely or in part of registered land, whether by order of the court or by agreement between the heirs, the court shall ascertain, before approving the final partition and order of distribution, that proper deduction has been made to satisfy the claims of all creditors and that all taxes under the estate and property in question have been paid and discharged, and a certified copy of the final order of the court assigning the land or any portion thereof to the parties entitled thereto, after being duly recorded in the Registry of Deeds, shall be the authority of the Register of Deeds for the issuance of the corresponding certificate of title to any such party.

SEC. 73. Limitation of action on partition. — From the time of the recording in the Register of Deeds of any order of court distributing or partitioning any estate consisting entirely or in part of registered land among the heirs, legatees or devisees, the land affected shall thereafter be subject to the provisions of this Decree applicable to registered land, and the final distribution or partition shall be conclusive as to the rights of the heirs, legatees or devisees in such land.

SEC. 74. Transmission of property in trust. — Any person taking title to registered land in trust for another shall file with the Register of Deeds a sworn statement of the trust. The trustee, unless forbidden by the instrument creating the trust, may demand that a new certificate of title be issued exclusively to him for the land held in trust by him; but a memorandum of the trust shall be entered on all the original and owner's duplicate of the certificate and when the relationship of trust or trust estate ceases the certificate shall be properly amended by the Register of Deeds: Provided, that where the deed is a public instrument executed in accordance with law, the sworn statement herein required is not necessary.

SEC. 75. Application for registration of land held in trust. — Any trustee holding registered land in trust, or registered as trustee, may, with the approval of the court, apply for registration of such land and it may be registered in the name of the trustee as such: Provided, that such application shall state the nature of the trust, the designation, if any, of the beneficiaries or classes thereof, and whether the property was to be held as common or joint estate, and copies of any instruments creating the trust shall be filed with the application, and if such instruments are not in writing, the terms and conditions of the trust shall be stated in the application, but if the trust or any terms or conditions thereof is not permitted to be disclosed, the trustee shall present to the court a sworn statement or affidavit, setting forth the nature of such trusts as far as permitted to be disclosed and that the trustee is entitled in his capacity as such, to have such land registered.

B. EXPROPRIATION AND OTHER STATE ACQUISITIONS

SEC. 76. Acquisition of registered lands for public use. — Whenever registered land is required for right of way, or for other public uses, and whenever upon the petition of the National Government, through the proper department or bureau, a copy of said petition or order of taking such land for public use, by reason of condemnation or as a consequence of expropriation proceedings or by any other manner provided for by law, shall be delivered in writing to the office of the Register of Deeds for the province or city where the land is situated, such order or petition shall be registered upon the certificate of title and shall constitute a lien upon the registered land against subsequent purchasers for value and shall entitled the National Government to the possession upon payment to the registered owner of the just compensation therefor.

SEC. 77. Surrender or cancellation of certificates. — Upon the taking of registered land by the National Government for right of way, or for public uses, the proper officer may demand a surrender of the owner's duplicate certificate of title and thereupon cancel the same. Thereafter, all certificates issued in case of portion of the land where the same continues in the ownership of the former registered owner shall be subject to such lien, right of way or use as may be determined by the court.

C. SALE UNDER TAX DELINQUENCY OR SALE FOR TAXES

SEC. 78. Notation of delinquency, payment, or sale. — All taxes levied under the Real Property Tax Code or any other law shall constitute a lien in favor of the National or local government concerned superior to all other liens, mortgages, encumbrances or other charges whatsoever: Provided, that this lien shall not be valid as against any registered owner of the property who is not at the same time a taxpayer unless the tax assessment had been registered with the Register of Deeds of the province or city in which the land lies.

If any delinquency in the payment of the real estate tax shall occur, the assessor or collecting officer shall prepare and file for registration with the Register of Deeds, a sworn statement of such delinquency which shall be entered upon the certificate of title covering such land and remain so noted until payment of the tax is shown.

SEC. 79. Sale of registered lands for taxes. — Registered land sold at public auction for nonpayment of taxes may be redeemed by the registered owner, or any owner of a subsequent registered interest or estate or by any heir or assignee of either, in the manner prescribed by law. If the land is not redeemed at the expiration of the period of redemption, the person to whom it has been sold may demand of the officer in charge of the collection of taxes, a certificate showing how, and by whom, and for what amount the land was sold, and describing the land briefly, but sufficiently to identify it: Provided, that when the land or any portion thereof is redeemed, the officer in charge of tax collection shall notify the Register of Deeds to that effect, and the certificate of title shall be amended accordingly.

SEC. 80. Transfer certificate of title to purchaser in tax sale. — The purchaser at a sale of registered land for non-payment of taxes shall present the certificate issued by the officer in charge of the collection of taxes, together with such other proof of payment to the appropriate officer as may be required by law, and the Register of Deeds shall thereupon cancel the certificate of title of the delinquent taxpayer, if applicable, and enter a new certificate in the name of the purchaser, who shall be entitled to the possession of such land from and after the date of such new certificate, if the land was sold as a whole, or if less than the whole of the land was sold, then the purchaser shall be entitled to possession of the part sold.

CHAPTER VIII — DEALINGS WITH REGISTERED LAND

SEC. 81. Recording of death. — When any person appearing on a certificate of title dies, his death shall be recorded by the Register of Deeds during the lifetime of any registered owner of any interest in the land covered by such certificate.

SEC. 82. Voluntary court proceedings. — Any party claiming to have an interest in or right to registered land may bring any appropriate suit for the enforcement thereof, even though the suit may result in the change or cancellation of a certificate of title.

SEC. 83. Heirs, administrators, executors or receivers; representation. — Where the registered owner of any registered land dies, those succeeding to the estate including administrators, executors or receivers, as the case may be, may convey or transfer such land subject to all rights under what is known as the heir's equity of redemption.

CHAPTER IX — REGISTRATION OF PATENTS

SEC. 84. Registration of patents. — Every original grantee of land issued a patent by the President of the Philippines shall be entitled to have such land registered under the provisions of this Decree, and every grantee, by his duly authorized representative, shall present to the Register of Deeds for the province or city where the land lies, the patent issued by the President, duly sealed with the seal of the proper office, and shall file with him the original plat or plan of such land, and such other documents as may be required by the Register of Deeds.

A copy of the patent issued by the President, when duly authenticated by the proper office, may be filed and registered. Such patent, and the original plat or a certified copy thereof, shall be filed and endorsed and numbered by the Register of Deeds, in the manner prescribed for other voluntary instruments, with a proper reference noted thereon to the number of the certificate of title for such land.

The Register of Deeds shall enter in the registration book the date, hour and minute of the receipt of the patent, the names of the grantees therein, and the number of the patent, and shall make and sign on each of the patents a memorandum of the date, hour and minute of the receipt of the same.

SEC. 85. Patent constituting land as registered. — The acceptors of the patent and his assignees and all voluntary and involuntary instruments affecting his interest in the land shall thereafter be governed by this Decree.

CHAPTER X — TRANSMISSIONS, TRANSFERS AND RECONVEYANCES IN TRUST

SEC. 86. Trusts. — If any registered land is to be held in trust for any person, other than the owner, or otherwise than for the benefit of the owner, or if the owner is to hold the land in any capacity other than in his own right, such trust shall be stated upon the certificate of title but no other reference need be made to any unrecorded trust. All trusts affecting registered land shall be governed by the general laws relating to trusts and trustees in force in the Philippines.

SEC. 87. If trust is not shown on certificate. — If the certificate of title does not state that the registered owner is a trustee, such owner shall be conclusively presumed to be invested with full ownership of property against any other person claiming an interest therein other than by way of adverse claim under this Decree.

SEC. 88. Implied trusts. — Neither an express nor an implied trust concerning registered land shall be valid as against the registered owner of such land if such owner took the land in good faith and for value; but unregistered equities not inconsistent with the registered certificate of title may be protected in the manner provided in this Decree.

CHAPTER XI — EFFECT OF REGISTRATION; ASSURANCE FUND

SEC. 89. Effect of registration. — No person dealing in registered land shall be charged with notice of any document, paper or claim which is not noted or annotated on the certificate of title of the land, the production of said title being sufficient evidence for this purpose and the annotation constituting notice to all persons of such document, paper or claim.

SEC. 90. Fraud in securing registration of instrument. — Any person who, in securing the registration of any instrument or the cancellation of any certificate of title, shall make, subscribe, or file, or cause to be made, subscribed or filed, any false affidavit, or shall forge or utter any false or forged document or instrument, or shall knowingly make or cause to be made any false entry or any false endorsement or memorandum, or shall in any manner commit any fraud or deception, shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than ten years.

SEC. 91. Cancellation of certificates. — All titles heretofore or hereafter obtained through fraud shall be void ab initio.

SEC. 92. Only in cases of complete destruction or of substantial loss. — Indemnity for the complete destruction or for any substantial loss of, or encumbrance or interest in, registered land shall be paid only when the certificate of title has been obtained, or any act or omission affecting the same has been done or omitted, through actual fraud.

SEC. 93. Mortgage or encumbrance validated. — Every mortgage or encumbrance of registered land which purports on its face to affect the registered land shall be deemed to affect it, and the mortgagee or encumbrancer shall be entitled to assert his rights as a mortgagee or encumbrancer against the registered owner and all persons claiming under him, unless otherwise specially provided herein.

SEC. 94. Suits against the Treasurer of the Philippines. — The Treasurer of the Philippines after notice to the Attorney General at whose instance all needful defenses may be made, shall be the defendant in all actions or legal proceedings arising out of any fraudulent registration, which actions or proceedings shall be commenced and tried in the provinces or cities where the land lies.

SEC. 95. Action for compensation from funds. — A person who, without negligence on his part, sustains loss or damage, or is deprived of land or any estate or interest therein in consequence of the bringing of the land under the operation of the Torrens system arising after original registration, (a) through any omission, mistake or misfeasance of the clerk of court, or of the Register of Deeds or of any of their deputies or clerks, in the performance of their respective duties; (b) through any omission, mistake, or misfeasance in the preparation of the instruments of any Geodetic Engineer or any of his subordinates; or (c) through the registration of any other person as owner of such land; or (d) by the entry or cancellation of any memorandum or annotation on any certificate of title or on any owner's duplicate of certificate of title; or (e) through any proceedings of the court through which a wrong person is registered; or (f) through the registration or lien or encumbrance not authorized by law, may bring in any court of competent jurisdiction, an action against the Treasurer of the Philippines for recovery of damages to be paid out of Assurance Fund.

SEC. 96. Action against Treasurer; bond. — An action against the Treasurer of the Philippines, for recovery of damages arising out of the registration of any other person as owner of registered land only, shall be commenced within a period of six years after the plaintiff is evicted from the property. No action may be brought against the Treasurer of the Philippines until after the termination of the proceedings by which the recovery of property, compensation for loss or damage has been sought against the person, or any other property of the person, liable therefor. All actions for recovery from the Treasurer of the Philippines shall be begun within a period of one year after the termination of such proceedings.

SEC. 97. Limitation of liability. — The liability of the Treasurer of the Philippines shall be limited to the actual market value of the interest in the land at the time when it became registered, except when the court granting relief for an action for compensation allows recovery of loss or damages, where the loss sustained is partial, from the Assurance Fund, in which latter case judgment shall be rendered for the recovery of the partial loss sustained. But no indemnity shall be paid for a partial loss except when such partial loss exceeds one thousand pesos.

Interest at the legal rate shall be paid on all amounts recovered from the time of demand which shall be presumed to be from the time of service of summons in the action brought for their recovery.

SEC. 98. Fund to indemnify and be reimbursed. — The Treasurer of the Philippines shall pay to persons who are entitled thereto, as the same may from time to time be ordered by the court, such sums of money as may be necessary to satisfy any judgment rendered in any action arising under this Decree, together with the costs of the proceedings, and to maintain the same at the proper level, said Treasurer shall reimburse the Fund out of the General Fund of the National Government.

SEC. 99. Subrogation of rights. — In every case of recovery from the fund, the Treasurer of the Philippines shall be subrogated to all the rights of the party so recovering in respect to such amount, and the Attorney General shall, on demand by the Treasurer of the Philippines, take the necessary steps to enforce such rights, and any sum so recovered shall be paid into the Assurance Fund. Subrogation shall be for the amounts actually paid or to be paid by the Treasurer of the Philippines.

CHAPTER XII — FEES

SEC. 100. Application fees. — For every application for original registration of not more than five parcels of land, the applicant shall pay a fee of thirty-five pesos (P35.00) for each parcel including one (1) lot in excess of five (5), an additional fee of five pesos (P5.00) shall be charged. The fees for the application shall include the cost of the publication of the notice of initial hearing in the Official Gazette.

No plan for original registration shall be approved without first payment into the Assurance Fund of an amount equal to one-half of one percent (1/2 of 1%) of the assessed value of the land for the current year as declared in the tax declaration; Provided, however, that the amount shall not be less than twenty-five pesos (P25.00).

SEC. 101. Cadastral registration fees. — The fees for the registration of land under the cadastral system shall be as prescribed for ordinary registration of land with respect to the cadastral lot value assessed per lot, except that, in all cases such fees shall not be less than twenty pesos (P20.00) per lot.

The payment of the fees in cadastral proceedings shall in all cases be made prior to the entry in the registration book and the issuance of the certificate of title.

SEC. 102. Fees for registration, issuance etc. — The following fees shall be collected by the Register of Deeds:

A. REGISTRATION

For the registration of any single deed, conveyance, order, judgment, attachment, release of attachment, lis pendens, levy and other similar documents, including the issuance of the entry and certificate of registration, the fee shall be based on the value of the consideration of such deed, conveyance or the value of the property as fixed by the parties or, in the absence thereof, as shown by the tax declaration filed with local assessor's office for estates, mortgages or other encumbrances, the fee shall be based on the value of the property as fixed by the parties or, in the absence thereof, as shown by the latest approved tax declaration, at the following rates: | Value of Property | Fee | | ------------------------------------------------------ | ------ | | 1. Not exceeding P10,000.00 | P 5.00 | | 2. More than P10,000, but not exceeding P50,000 | 10.00 | | 3. More than P50,000, but not exceeding P100,000 | 50.00 | | 4. More than P100,000, but not exceeding P500,000 | 100.00 | | 5. In excess of P500,000, but not exceeding P1 million | 250.00 | | 6. In excess of P1 million | 500.00 |
For the registration of bail bonds, corporate bonds and other bonds not otherwise provided for, the fee shall be one-fourth of one percent (1/4 of 1%) of the amount of the bond.
For the registration of powers of attorney, a fee of fifteen pesos (P15.00) shall be charged.
For the registration of a certificate of sale in any legal proceedings, a fee of fifty pesos (P50.00) shall be charged.
For the registration of an adverse claim or its cancellation, a fee of twenty pesos (P20.00) shall be charged.
For the registration of any other instrument not otherwise provided for, a fee of ten pesos (P10.00) for each instrument shall be charged.

B. CERTIFICATES OF TITLE

For the entry of each original certificate of title, a fee of twenty pesos (P20.00) shall be charged.
For each entry of a transfer certificate of title, a fee of fifteen pesos (P15.00) shall be charged.
For every duplicate owner's copy of a certificate of title issued, a fee of ten pesos (P10.00) shall be charged.
For the amendment or alteration of any certificate, a fee of five pesos (P5.00) shall be charged.

C. CERTIFIED COPIES

For each copy of certificate or certified copy of a title or any instrument, document or writing, certified by the Register of Deeds: | Description | Fee | |---|---| | For the first 200 words | P10.00 | | For each 100 words, or fraction thereof, in excess of the first 200 words | 2.00 |
For each certification made regarding an original certificate of title, a fee of two pesos (P2.00) shall be charged.

D. RESEARCH, VERIFICATION, RECONSTITUTION

For looking up or verifying an entry in the index or day book, a fee of two pesos (P2.00) for each entry shall be charged.
For a certified copy of any tract, index, book or entry, a fee of five pesos (P5.00) for each entry shall be charged.
For the reconstitution of a lost or destroyed certificate of title or any other instrument, document, or writing, the fee shall be the same as that originally charged for the registration thereof.

E. OPPOSITION

For the filing or registration of each opposition in or to an application for original registration, the following rates shall be charged:

Value of Land	Fee
1. Not exceeding P5,000	P 5.00
2. P5,000 but not exceeding P10,000	10.00
3. P10,000 but not exceeding P20,000	15.00
4. P20,000 but not exceeding P30,000	20.00
5. P30,000 but not exceeding P40,000	25.00
6. Over P40,000	30.00

F. SUBDIVISION AND CONSOLIDATION

For the registration of a subdivision or consolidation plan, a fee of five pesos (P5.00) for each parcel as shown in the plan shall be charged.
For the annotation of the road lots or right of way lots as provided for in Section 50 of this Decree, a fee of five pesos (P5.00) for each lot shall be charged.

G. SPECIAL FEES

For the administration of oaths or acknowledgment of any deed or instrument, a fee of ten pesos (P10.00) for each document shall be charged.
The Register of Deeds is authorized to collect the sum of one peso (P1.00) for the Commissioner of Land Registration for each certificate of title issued, which sum shall be deposited in the LRC Revolving Fund as herein provided.

SEC. 103. Fees for issuance of decrees, etc. — The Commissioner of Land Registration shall collect the following fees:

For issuing each decree of registration: | Assessed Value | Fee | |---|---| | 1. Not exceeding P10,000.00 | P 5.00 | | 2. P10,000 — but not exceeding P50,000 | 10.00 | | 3. P50,000 — but not exceeding P100,000 | 20.00 | | 4. Exceeding P100,000 | 30.00 |
For every certified copy of any map, plan, record, or document in his office, a fee of ten pesos (P10.00) shall be charged, and for every page of typewritten copy thereof, a fee of three pesos (P3.00) shall be charged.
For every certification of condition of title or status of application, a fee of five pesos (P5.00) shall be charged.
For checking and verifying surveys of land covered by application for original registration not exceeding 25 hectares in area, a fee of twenty-five pesos (P25.00) shall be charged, and for those exceeding 25 hectares, an additional fee of three pesos (P3.00) for each additional hectare or fraction thereof shall be charged.
For checking and verifying the survey of each lot in cases involving subdivision of lands, a fee of five pesos (P5.00) per lot shall be charged.
For the approval of a consolidation plan, a fee of five pesos (P5.00) per lot shall be charged.

SEC. 104. Fees in cadastral proceedings. — When any cadastral registration proceeding affecting registered land is instituted by the Bureau of Lands, all fees required by this Decree for registration shall be paid by the interested parties claiming ownership thereof before the issuance of the final decree; and when any work of surveying, platting, or subdividing is done under the direction of the Commissioner of Land Registration, and a reasonable survey fee therefor shall be established by that office and, when established, shall be paid into the National Treasury and credited to the "Surveying Fund."

SEC. 105. Use of fees collected by Register of Deeds. — The Register of Deeds may proceed to carry out his duties under this Decree upon the payment of all the fees collecting the same. The Register of Deeds shall deposit such fees daily with the Provincial or City Treasurer. The Provincial or City Treasurer shall remit such collections weekly to the National Treasurer.

SEC. 106. Disposition and use of fees. — All fees collected under this Decree in cadastral and land registration proceedings shall be paid into the National Treasury as follows:

Forty per centum to the regular appropriation of the Assurance Fund;
Thirty per centum to be credited for the Land Registration Commission Revolving Fund; and
Thirty per centum to be credited to the "Surveying Fund."

CHAPTER XIII — FINAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 107. Title, etc., Bound by Decree. — Whoever, not being a party to a case in which a decree of registration is entered, claims an interest in the land which was the subject of such decree, but of which interest no notice was given him, and the claimant was absent from the Philippines at the time such decree was made, may, if within one year after returning to the Philippines, bring an action in the proper court against the person named in the decree, his heirs or assigns, to compel reconveyance of the land on the ground that the decree was obtained through actual fraud.

SEC. 108. Amendment and alteration of certificates. — No erasure, alteration, or amendment shall be made upon the registration book after the entry of a certificate of title or of a memorandum thereon and the attestation of the same by the Register of Deeds, except by order of the proper Court of First Instance. A registered owner or other person having an interest in registered property, or, in proper cases, the Register of Deeds with the approval of the Commissioner of Land Registration, may apply by petition to the court upon the ground that the registered interests of any description, whether vested, contingent, expectant or inchoate appearing on the certificate, have terminated and ceased; or that new interest not appearing upon the certificate have arisen or been created; or that an omission or error was made in entering a certificate or any memorandum thereon, or on any duplicate certificate; or that the same or any person on the certificate has been changed; or that the registered owner has married, or, if registered as married, that the marriage has been terminated and no right or interests of heirs or creditors will thereby be affected; or that a corporation which owned registered land and has been dissolved has not convened the same within three years after its dissolution; or upon any other reasonable ground; and the court may hear and determine the petition after notice to all parties in interest, and may order the entry or cancellation of a new certificate, the entry or cancellation of a memorandum upon a certificate, or grant any other relief upon such terms and conditions, requiring security or bond if necessary, as it may consider proper: Provided, however, that this section shall not be construed to give the court authority to reopen the judgment or decree of registration, and that nothing shall be done or ordered by the court which shall impair the title or other interest of a purchaser holding a certificate for value and in good faith, or his heirs and assigns, without his or their written consent. Where the owner's duplicate certificate is not presented, a similar petition may be filed as provided in the preceding section.

All petitions or motions filed under this Section as well as under any other provision of this Decree after original registration shall be filed and entitled in the original case in which the decree of registration was entered.

SEC. 109. Notice and replacement of lost duplicate certificate. — In case of loss or theft of an owner's duplicate certificate of title, due notice under oath shall be sent by the owner or by someone in his behalf to the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies as soon as the loss or theft is discovered. If a duplicate certificate is lost or destroyed, or cannot be produced by a person applying for the entry of a new certificate to him or for the registration of any instrument, a sworn statement of the fact of such loss or destruction may be filed by the registered owner or other person in interest and registered.

Upon the petition of the registered owner or other person in interest, the court may, after notice and due hearing, direct the issuance of a new duplicate certificate, which shall contain a memorandum of the fact that it is issued in place of the lost duplicate certificate, but shall in all respects be entitled to like faith and credit as the original duplicate, and shall thereafter be regarded as such for all purposes of this decree.

SEC. 110. Reconstitution of lost or destroyed original of Torrens title. — Original copies of certificates of title lost or destroyed in the offices of Registers of Deeds as well as liens and encumbrances affecting the lands covered by such titles shall be reconstituted judicially in accordance with the procedure described in Republic Act No. 26 insofar as not inconsistent with this Decree. The procedure relative to administrative reconstitution of lost or destroyed certificate prescribed in said Act may be availed of only in case of substantial loss or destruction of land titles due to fire, flood or other force majeure as determined by the Administrator of the Land Registration Authority: Provided, that at least five hundred (500) certificates of title in a Registry are lost or damaged.

Notice of all hearings of the petition for judicial reconstitution shall be furnished the Register of Deeds of the place where the land is situated and to the Solicitor General who may appear and oppose the petition if in his judgment such reconstitution is not proper. If in his opinion, the petition should be granted, he shall not be required to appear in said proceedings.

No reconstituted title shall be subject to the one-year period provided in Section 32 of this Decree.

SEC. 111. Forms and samples of books. — The Commissioner of Land Registration shall prepare the necessary forms and samples of books to be used in land registration proceedings and registering of documents, and the same shall be approved by the Secretary of Justice.

SEC. 112. All incumbrances to be registered. — All incumbrances of registered land, including attachments, executions, notices of lis pendens and other liens of whatever character, created, or issued in accordance with law, shall, as far as practicable, be registered, in accordance with the provisions of this Decree concerning registrations.

SEC. 113. Order for production of owner's duplicate. — In any action or proceeding, including perjury proceedings against the party or person who filed the false affidavit mentioned in Section 109, the court may require the party in possession or in control of the owner's duplicate copy of the certificate of title to surrender the same to the court. This order may be enforced by contempt proceedings.

SEC. 114. Imperative nature of decrees. — No petition for review under Section 32 of this Decree or motion for re-opening the decree of registration after the decree of registration has become final shall be entertained; neither may any court issue orders directed against the Land Registration Commission for the amendment or non-issuance of a decree, after the decree has been issued. However, before the issuance of the decree, the court may order the Land Registration Commission to amend the said decree.

SEC. 115. Official seals. — The Commissioner of Land Registration and each Register of Deeds shall provide himself with an official seal, upon application, through the proper official, to the Secretary of Justice. Such seals shall be used to authenticate official documents as provided.

SEC. 116. Penalty for refusal to surrender certificate of title. — If a person who is so ordered as provided in Section 109, wilfully refuses or fails to surrender his duplicate copy of the certificate of title, he shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand pesos, or imprisonment of not more than five years, or both.

SEC. 117. Penal provisions. — Whoever shall fraudulently procure or abet the fraudulent procurement of any certificate of title or of a Torrens title, shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of not less than two years nor more than ten years or by a fine of not less than five thousand pesos nor more than twenty thousand pesos, or both such fine and imprisonment.

A public officer who knowingly approves or connives in the fraudulent procurement of any certificate of title or Torrens title, shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of not less than one year nor more than ten years or by a fine of not less than three thousand pesos nor more than twenty thousand pesos, or both such fine and imprisonment. Upon conviction thereon, said officer shall be removed from office.

SEC. 118. Rules of Court to apply. — Except as otherwise provided herein, the provisions of the Rules of Court relating to procedure in ordinary civil actions shall be applicable to land registration and cadastral cases.

SEC. 119. Separability clause. — If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Decree is declared to be unconstitutional or invalid, such declaration shall not affect the validity of the provisions of this Decree.

SEC. 120. Repealing clause. — All laws and executive orders or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 121. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take effect upon its approval.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 11th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-eight.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

CHAPTER I — GENERAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER II — THE LAND REGISTRATION COMMISSION AND ITS REGISTRIES OF DEEDS

CHAPTER III — ORIGINAL REGISTRATION

I. ORDINARY REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS

A. APPLICATIONS

B. PUBLICATION, OPPOSITION AND DEFAULT

C. HEARING, JUDGMENT AND DECREE OF REGISTRATION

II. CADASTRAL REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS

A. ORDER FOR SPEEDY SETTLEMENT AND ADJUDICATION; SURVEY; NOTICES

B. PETITION; LOT NUMBERS

C. ANSWER

D. HEARING; JUDGMENT; DECREE

CHAPTER IV — ISSUANCE OF DECREES AND CERTIFICATES OF TITLES

CHAPTER V — SUBSEQUENT REGISTRATION

A. VOLUNTARY DEALINGS

AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATES OF TITLE

B. INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS

CHAPTER VI — CANCELLATION AND RECONSTITUTION OF CERTIFICATES OF TITLE

CHAPTER VII — SPECIAL MODES OF ACQUIRING REGISTERED LAND

A. TRANSMISSION BY INHERITANCE

B. EXPROPRIATION AND OTHER STATE ACQUISITIONS

C. SALE UNDER TAX DELINQUENCY OR SALE FOR TAXES

CHAPTER VIII — DEALINGS WITH REGISTERED LAND

CHAPTER IX — REGISTRATION OF PATENTS

CHAPTER X — TRANSMISSIONS, TRANSFERS AND RECONVEYANCES IN TRUST

CHAPTER XI — EFFECT OF REGISTRATION; ASSURANCE FUND

CHAPTER XII — FEES

CHAPTER XIII — FINAL PROVISIONS

Confirm Action

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

CHAPTER I — GENERAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER II — THE LAND REGISTRATION COMMISSION AND ITS REGISTRIES OF DEEDS

CHAPTER III — ORIGINAL REGISTRATION

I. ORDINARY REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS

A. APPLICATIONS

B. PUBLICATION, OPPOSITION AND DEFAULT

C. HEARING, JUDGMENT AND DECREE OF REGISTRATION

II. CADASTRAL REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS

A. ORDER FOR SPEEDY SETTLEMENT AND ADJUDICATION; SURVEY; NOTICES

B. PETITION; LOT NUMBERS

C. ANSWER

D. HEARING; JUDGMENT; DECREE

CHAPTER IV — ISSUANCE OF DECREES AND CERTIFICATES OF TITLES

CHAPTER V — SUBSEQUENT REGISTRATION

A. VOLUNTARY DEALINGS

AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATES OF TITLE

B. INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS

CHAPTER VI — CANCELLATION AND RECONSTITUTION OF CERTIFICATES OF TITLE

CHAPTER VII — SPECIAL MODES OF ACQUIRING REGISTERED LAND

A. TRANSMISSION BY INHERITANCE

B. EXPROPRIATION AND OTHER STATE ACQUISITIONS

C. SALE UNDER TAX DELINQUENCY OR SALE FOR TAXES

CHAPTER VIII — DEALINGS WITH REGISTERED LAND

CHAPTER IX — REGISTRATION OF PATENTS

CHAPTER X — TRANSMISSIONS, TRANSFERS AND RECONVEYANCES IN TRUST

CHAPTER XI — EFFECT OF REGISTRATION; ASSURANCE FUND

CHAPTER XII — FEES

CHAPTER XIII — FINAL PROVISIONS

Table of Contents

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