Section 14. Who may apply.

(1) 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.
(2) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands by prescription under the provision
of existing laws.
(3) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned river beds by right of
accession or accretion under the existing laws.
(4) 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.
PURPOSE OF THE TORRENS SYSTEM OF REGISTRATION
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To decree land titles that should be final , irrevocable, and undisputable

Notice to the whole world

Registration does not vest or give title to the land, but merely confirms and thereafter
protects the title already possessed by the owner, making it imprescriptive by occupation of
third parties.

Proceedings are JUDICIAL and IN REM and it binds the whole world.
A. JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF IMPERFECT OR INCOMPLETE TITLE
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Based on ADVERSE POSSESSION and the right of acquisition

Requisites:
1. Land must be alienable and disposable at the time the application for confirmation is filed.

Originally the land is public agricultural land but because of adverse possession, the land
has become private

In RA 1942, adverse possession should be at least 30 years immediately preceding the

filing of the application

P.D. No. 1073 has reverted the period of possession to June 12,1945
Requisites for Availment
a. Applicant must be a Filipino citizen
b. Possessed and occupied by himself or through predecessor-in-interest
c. OCEN since June 12, 1945
d. Filed in the proper court

Case: Republic vs. Naguit

Whether or not it is necessary under Section 14 (1) that the subject land be first classified as A & D
before the applicants possession under a bona fide claim of ownership could even start?
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What the law merely requires is that the property sought to be registered is already A & D
at the time the application for registration of title is filed. It is necessary that the land be
classified as A & D before the applicants possession under a bona fide claim of ownership
could start.

Only A & D lands may be subject for the application of registration.

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Classification and reclassification of public lands is the prerogative of the executive

department.

Forest land cannot be owned by private persons; not registrable and now matter how
lengthy, cannot be convert it into private property unless it is reclassified and considered A &
D

Applicant must secure a certification from the government that the land is A & D
a. Existence of a positive act of the government such as presidential proclamation,
executive order, legislative act, investigation reports of Bureau of Lands

Where applicant has acquired a right to a government grant, the land ceases to be of public
dominion

Application is a mere formality, the lack of which does not affect the legal sufficiency
of the title.
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Compliance with all requirements for a government grant ipso jure converts land into private
property.

Case: Oh Cho v. Director of Lands

Land acquisition by private corporations
GR: It may not hold A & D except by lease
EX: Predecessor-in-interest had been in possession and occupation thereof in the manner and for
the period prescribed by law since the land was no longer public but private property.
A corporation sole is qualified to apply for registration.
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It is vested with the right to purchase and hold real estate and personal property.

Associated with clergy

Bishops & archbishops, as the case may be, as corporations sole are merely administrators
of the church properties that come to their possession, and which they hold in trust for the
church

Has no nationality

Foreign priest can acquire and 60-40 is not applicable because they are mere
administrators.

Purpose of prohibition
To transfer ownership of only a limited area of alienable land of the public domain to
qualified individual.

For private corporation to apply:

The character of the land is determinative whether it was already a private land before the
private corporation owned and applied.

Vested rights cannot be impaired by subsequent law.

Title is void where land is inalienable and may be cancelled even in the hands of an innocent
purchaser for value.
2. Possession and occupation since June 12, 1945 or thirty years

B. REGISTRATION UNDER PROPERTY REGISTRATION DECREE ( PD No. 1529)

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No material differences between Section 14 (1) of PD 1529 and Section 48 (b) of CA No.141

Section 14 (2) acquisition by PRESCRIPTION

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Prescription is one of the modes of acquiring ownership under the Civil Code.

It may be registered even if the possession commenced on a date later than June 12, 1945.

Possession must be that of owner and it must be public, peaceful and uninterrupted.

Section 14 (3) by ACCESSION or ACCRETION, ABANDONED RIVER

a. ABANDONED RIVER
Requisites:
1. Change must be sudden in order that the old river may be identified
2. Changing of the course must be more or less permanent and not temporary over flooding
of anothers land.
3. The change of the river must be a natural one
4. There must be definite abandonment by the government
5. The river must continue to exist, that is, it must not be completely dry up or disappear.
b. ACCRETION
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Resulting from the gradual deposit by or sedimentation from the waters belongs to the
owners of land bordering on streams, lakes, rivers.
Requisites:
1. The deposit be gradual and imperceptible
2. Made through the effects of the current water
3. That the land where the accretion takes place is adjacent to the banks of rivers

Registration does not protect the riparian owner against the diminution of the area of his land
through gradual changes in the course of the adjoining stream.

Alluvion must be the exclusive work of nature.

Accretion does not automatically become registered land. Imprescriptibility of registered land
is provided in the registration law. It may still be acquired through prescription by third
persons.

It must be placed under Torresns System.

C. REGISTRATION UNDER THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS ACT

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Allows indigenous people to obtain recognition of their right of ownership over ancestral
lands and ancestral domains by virtue of native title.

Ownership by virtue of native title presupposes that the land has been held by its possessor
and his predecessors-in-interest in the concept of an owner since TIME IMMEMORIAL.

The land is not acquired from the State, that is from Spain, U.S. and Phil government.

In contrast, ownership of land is acquisitive prescription against the state involves a conversion of
the character of the property from a public land to private land, which presupposes a transfer of title
from the State to a private person.
Modes of Acquistion
1. By native title over both ancestral lands and domains
2. By Torrens title under the Public Land Act and LRA (with respect to ancestral lands only).
Section 15. Form and contents.
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The application for land registration shall be in writing, signed by the application or the
person duly authorized in his behalf, and sworn.

contain a description of the land

state the citizenship and civil status of the applicant

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.

Section 16. Non-resident applicant

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file with his application an instrument 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.
Section 17. What and where to file.
The application for land registration shall be filed with the RTC of the province or city where the land
is situated.
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It deals not only on applications for original registration but also on all questions arising upon
such applications or petitions such as issue on ownership.

Venue is procedural, not jurisdictional and hence, may be waived.

Section 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.
Section 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.
-

Publication is one of the essential basis of the jurisdiction of the court in land registration and
cadastral cases and additional territory cannot be included by amendment of the plan without
new publication.

Jurisdiction attaches to the land or lands mentioned and described in the application.

Thus, if it is shown that a certificate of title had been issued covering lands where the
registration court had no jurisdiction, the certificate of title is null and void insofar as it
concerns the land over which the registration court had not acquired jurisdiction.

If amendment does not involve an addition, but on the contrary, a reduction of the original
area that was published, no new publication is required.

B. PUBLICATION, OPPOSITION AND DEFAULT

Section 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.
- It is a mandatory requirement.
1. By publication
- It is an in rem proceeding
- It is addressed to ALL PERSONS appearing to have interest; (a) adjoining owners; (b) to all whom
it may concern
Purpose:
1. To confer JURISDICTION upon the court over the res
2. To apprise the whole world of the pending registration so they may assert their rights or
interests in the land, if any, and oppose the application, if so minded.
Publication of notice
1. once in the Official Gazette
2. once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines
- publication in a newspaper is necessary to accord with due process requirement
- new publication necessary to include additional area but if amendment consists in the exclusion of
a portion of the area covered by the original application and the original plan as previously
published, a new publication is not necessary.
- effect of non or defective publication
1. land registration decision is void
2. deprives the court of jurisdiction
2. By mailing.
(a) Mailing of notice to persons named in the application.
(b) Mailing of notice to the Secretary of Public Highways, the Provincial Governor and the
Mayor.
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If the applicant requests to have the line of a public way or road determined

(c) 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.
1. Solicitor General
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Represent the government in all land registration and related proceedings

He can deputize it to the provincial or city prosecutors because they are under the direction
and control of OSG however the OSG has the ultimate control and supervision regarding
land registration proceedings

Unless the OSG is furnished with copies of court orders, notices, and decisions, the same
have no binding effect on the government.

2. Secretary of Agrarian Reform, if it is tenanted

3. the Director of Public Work, if land or property is along the road or public way
4. Director of Forest Development, the Director of Mines and the Director of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources.
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Land borders on a river, navigable steam or shore and etc.

3. By posting.
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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

Section 25. Opposition to application in ordinary proceedings.

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Filed on or before the date of initial hearing

REQUISITES
1. the oppositor (whether named in the notice or not) must have an interest in the land applied
for
2. he should state all the objections as well as the nature of his claimed interest
3. he should indicate the desired relief
4. opposition should be signed and sworn to him or by his duly authorized representative
Effects on failure to file
1. cannot allege damage or error against the judgment
2. forever lost his right (within 1 year after the certificate of title is issued)
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Failure of the Director of Lands, in representation of the government, will not justify the court
in adjudicating the land applied for as private property, applicant must provide proof in
evidence.

Failure to appear on the day of the initial hearing is not a ground for default where
opposition or answer had been filed.

Section 26. Order of default; effect.

A. Order of general default
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if no person appears and answers within the time allowed and it is entered against the
whole world

motion to modify or amend an order of general default may be allowed prior to final
judgment

motion to lift is a relief from order of default if his failure to answer was due to fraud,
accident, mistake or excusable negligence

Government is not estopped by the mistake or error of its agents.

B. Order of special default

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

CLASSIFICATION OF PUBLIC LAND

NON-REGISTRABLE PROPERTIES
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Land intended for public use or service nor available for private appropriation.

Land may be alienated when declared that it is no longer needed for public use or service.

Classification of land is descriptive of its NATURE, not what it actually looks like. If it is
classified as forest land, then so it is even though no tree is visible.

A. Mineral lands
-

Possession of mineral lands does not confer possessory rights

Ownership of land does not extend to minerals underneath

B. Foreshore lands and submerged lands (which may be the subject of reclamation) are
INALIENABLE unless declared by law to be alienable and disposable portions of the public
domain.
SPECIFIC EVIDENCE OF OWNERSHIP

All applicants have the burden of overcoming the presumption that the land does not form
part of the public dominion
1. Land is A & D
a. Certification of the Bureau of Forest Development
b. Land classification map from DENR
c. Executive proclamation
d. Legislative act

What defines a piece of land is not the area but the boundaries therof, metes and bounds
2. Possession and occupation

C. HEARING JUDGMENT AND DECREE OF REGISTRATION

Section 27. Speedy hearing; reference to a referee.
Section 28. Partial judgment.
Section 29. Judgment confirming title.
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All conflicting claims of ownership and interest in the land subject of the application shall be
determined by the court.

Judgment dismissing an application for registration of land does not constitute res judicata,
the unsuccessful applicant may file another proceeding.

Section 30. When judgment becomes final; duty to cause issuance of decree.
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upon the expiration of thirty days to be counted from the data 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, the court issues an order and for the
issuance of the decree of registration and the corresponding certificate of title in favor of the
person adjudged entitled to registration.

Section 31. Decree of registration

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It shall bear the date, hour and minute of its entry, and shall be signed by him.

It shall state the name and status of the owner (married, minor, etc)

It shall contain a description of the land; all particular estates, mortgages, easements, liens,
attachments, and other encumbrances, including rights of tenant-farmers.

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".

REMEDIES AVAILABLE TO AGGRIEVED PARTY IN REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS

1. REVIEW OF DECREED OF REGISTRATION
Section 32. Review of decree of registration; Innocent purchaser for value.
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Only ground that may be invoked is ACTUAL FRAUD (intentional omission of fact which is
extrinsic and positive) to file in the RTC 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

Conditions:
1. Plaintiff is the owner of the land ordered registered in the name of the defendant
2. Registration was procured through actual fraud
3. Property has not been transferred to an IPV
4. Action is filed within 1 year from the issuance and entry of the decree of registration

Upon the expiration of said period of one year, the decree of registration and the certificate
of title issued shall become incontrovertible.

2. APPEAL
Section 33. Appeal from judgment, etc.
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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:

3. NEW TRIAL
Grounds
a. Fraud, Accident, Mistake or Excusable Negligence (FAME)

b. Newly discovered which he couldnt with reasonable diligence have discovered

c. Evidence was insufficient
4. RELIEF FROM JUDGEMENT
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There is FAME

Applicable if filed within the time therein provided and the decree of registration is not yet
issued.

Applies only when one deprived of his right is A PARTY TO THE CASE.

Motion for new trial and reconsideration and petition for relief are exclusive of each other

5. RECONVEYANCE
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While the land wrongfully registered under the Torrens system still stands in the name of the
person who caused the true owner to be prejudiced or deprived of his right, an action in
personam will lie to compel a reconveyance of the property.

It is available as long as the property has not passed to an IPV.

Reconveyance is a remedy of the landowner whose property has been wrongfully or

erroneously registered in the name of another but which recourse cannot be availed of if the
property has passed to an IPV.

6. RECOVERY OF DAMAGES
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A person who is wrongfully deprived og land or of any estate or interest therein, without
negligence on his part, by the registration in error of another person as owner of such land,
may successfully maintain an action for damages.