How to register unregistered land?
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Josie then filed an application for the Original Registration of the said lot before the Regional Trial Court.
In the application, Josie claimed that she is the owner of the said unregistered land by virtue of a deed of absolute sale.
Naturally, Fely opposed Josie’s application. She maintained her position that
she is the true and lawful owner of the parcel of land, which is the subject
of the amended application; and that Josie’s deed of absolute sale is an
absolute fake.
While the case was pending, Fely managed to have the land registered in her name. Consequently, an Original Certificate of Title was issued in Fely’s name.
While the case was pending, Fely managed to have the land registered in her name. Consequently, an Original Certificate of Title was issued in Fely’s name.
This development prompted Josie to file a notice of lis pendens with the
Registry of Deeds of Cavite, which was annotated on the title. Moreover, in
the application for Original Registration Josie filed, she challenged the
validity of the OCT that was issued in favor Fely’s name.
Josie argued that the rule on indefeasibility of title does not attach to titles secured by fraud and misrepresentation. Josie reiterated that Fely fraudulently registered the subject property under her name after she had already sold a portion thereof to Josie. By virtue of the deed of sale, Josie insists that she is considered to be the real owner of the subject parcel of land.
Q: What are the conditions that must be complied before an unregistered
land can be registered?
A: P.D. 1529, otherwise known as the Property Registration Decree, governs
the original registration proceedings of unregistered land. The subject
application for the original registration was filed pursuant to Sec. 14(1)
of PD 1529, which provides the condition necessary for registration. Thus:
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.
Based on these legal parameters, applicants for registration of title
under Section 14(1) must sufficiently establish that the subject land
forms part of the disposable and alienable lands of the public domain;
that the applicant and his predecessors-in-interest have been in open,
continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of the same;
and that it is under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945 or
earlier.
Q: Was Josie able to comply with the above conditions? Read
more: The value of registration. Ma. Soledad Deriquito-Mawis -
@inquirerdotnet. Philippine Daily Inquirer. December 23, 2017.
https://business.inquirer.net/242953/the-value-of-registration.
A: No. Josie’s application must be denied on the issue of open,
continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of the
subject land.
She was not able to comply with the requirement of possession and
occupation under Sec. 14 (1) of P.D. No. 1529, considering that she had
admitted that it was not physically turned over to her.
As she was not in actual and physical possession, she could not have
exercised any acts of dominion over the subject property which was
essential to the requirement of possession and occupation contemplated
under Sec. 14 (1) of P.D. No. 1529.
Q: What is the effect of the registration of the land to Fely’s
name?
A: Once a patent is registered and the corresponding certificate of
title is issued, the land ceases to be part of public domain and
becomes private property over which the Director of Lands has neither
control nor jurisdiction. A public land patent, when registered in the
corresponding Register of Deeds, is a veritable Torrens title, and
becomes as indefeasible upon the expiration of one year from the date
of issuance thereof.
Said title, like one issued pursuant to a judicial decree, is subject
to review within one year from the date of the issuance of the patent.
This rule is embodied in Section 103 of PD 1529, which provides that:
Section 103. Certificates of title pursuant to patents. Whenever
public land is by the Government alienated, granted or conveyed to any
person, the same shall be brought forthwith under the operation of
this Decree. x x x After due registration and issuance of the
certificate of title, such land shall be deemed to be registered land
to all intents and purposes under this Decree. (Emphasis supplied)
Accordingly, Fely’s registered patent in the corresponding Registry of
Deeds is a veritable Torrens title and becomes as indefeasible as a
Torrens title upon the expiration of one year from the date of its
issuance.
Q: Can the adverse, open and notorious possession of the property
or prescription defeat a certificate of title?
A: No. As provided under Sec. 47 of PD 1529, no title to registered
land in derogation of the title of the registered owner shall be
acquired by prescription or adverse possession.
Q: Can Josie challenge the validity of the certificate of title
that was issued in favor of Fely in the Application for Original
Registration Lot 8348-B which she filed against the latter?
A: No, the issue of the validity of title can only be assailed in an
action expressly instituted for such purpose.
A certificate of title cannot be attacked collaterally. The issue as
to whether title was procured by falsification or fraud as advanced
by petitioner can only be raised in an action expressly instituted
for the purpose.
Q: Is ownership the same as a certificate of title?
A: Ownership is different from a certificate of title. The fact that
a person was able to secure a title in his name does not operate to
vest ownership upon him of the subject land.
Registration of a piece of land under the Torrens System does not
create or vest title, because it is not a mode of acquiring
ownership.
A certificate of title is merely an evidence of ownership or title
over the particular property described therein. It cannot be used to
protect a usurper from the true owner; nor can it be used as a
shield for the commission of fraud: neither does it permit one to
enrich himself at the expense of others.
Its issuance in favor of a particular person does not foreclose the
possibility that the real prope1iy may be co-owned with persons not
named in the certificate, or that it may be held in trust for
another person by the registered owner. (Source: Wee vs. Mardo, G.R.
No. 202414, June 4, 2014) Read more: The value of registration.
Ma. Soledad Deriquito-Mawis - @inquirerdotnet. Philippine Daily
Inquirer. December 23, 2017.
https://business.inquirer.net/242953/the-value-of-registration.