The State's power, right to regulate real property

The State has the power and the right to provide for a procedure for adjudicating property titles. It has control over real estate within its limits. The conditions of ownership of immovable property within the State are subject to its rules, concerning the holding, transfer, liability of obligations, private or public, and the methods of establishing the title of ownership, and for the purpose of deciding these questions, the State may provide reasonable rules or procedures. The State not only has the right to determine how land ownership can be acquired and proven, it is also within its legislative capacity to establish the mode of procedure to achieve such an end.

The reason behind the State's power and right as discussed above is the public interest in the settlement of disputes regarding ownership and possession of land. It can be argued further that the Government must regulate possession, conveyance and other methods and processes affecting real property because public order, to a great extent, depends on such regulation. This is exactly why the law adopting the Torrens system, among others, has been enacted, the primary purpose of which is to quiet title. (G. R. No. 8936, October 02, 1915)