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How to Reconstitute a Philippine Land Title

by lawyerphilippinesadmin | Feb 2, 2022 | Property Law, Title Issues
Land

Most people go through reconstitution after they’ve gone to the Registry of Deeds (RD)
only to be told that the registry’s copy of their land title has been destroyed.

When the Registry’s copy of your Land Title is destroyed, a long process is needed
to replace it.

This is a major Oh-No moment.

Serious buyers, investors or banks will usually go to the RD to confirm the owner of a
property. If the Registry cannot confirm you as the official owner, they may no longer
proceed with the deal.

This is the case even if you have your owner’s title.

I go through the process of reconstitution step by step:

  
 Detailed information what to expect in a reconstitution court case

Step by step process of a reconstitution court case (in layman’s terms, I promise!)

And – although it only applies to a limited number of cases – I also explain briefly what L
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administrative reconstitution entails.

If instead, you are looking to replace a lost owner’s title, read this post for detailed
information.

What is a Philippine Land Title?

 

When you first acquire Philippine land, the Registry of Deeds (RD) will issue you an
owner’s title and will safeguard the original.

Together, these two documents confirm your ownership.

Both the Owner’s title and the Registry of Deed’s title are proof of your ownership
of the property.

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 When one of the them is lost or destroyed, problems arise challenging your possession.

When the Registry of Deed’s copy is lost or destroyed, unscrupulous people may be
able to sell your property due to the absence of the title in the RD’s. This actually
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happened when the Quezon City Registry of Deeds burned down in 1998. Court
cases continue to this day.

When the Registry of Deed’s copy is destroyed, buyers, banks and other investors
might no longer push through with the sale or investment.

If you are planning to sell or develop your property, you will need both documents.

You might have your owner’s copy. This is not enough.

Buyers often verify your ownership of the property by looking at the title lodged in the
Registry of Deeds.

There are several fake land titles in the country. Serious and cautious buyers will often
go to the RD with your photocopied owner’s title to verify your possession though the
RD’s copy. (In fact, I recommend this for all serious buyers. It saves a lot of trouble
down the road). If the RD copy cannot be found, they may back off.

As such, the need for replacing the lost RD title through the process of reconstitution is
absolutely necessary.

Note: If you have lost your owner’s copy but the RD copy is intact, the process you
need to go through is called Reissuance. I go through the detailed step by step process
for this in this post.
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 Administrative Reconstitution of your Philippine
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You can reconstitute your Reegistry of Deeds (RD) copy by yourself through
administrative reconstitution if:

The RD where the land was located announces that Administrative Reconstitution is
possible. This is usually when the Registry has suffered a natural catastrophe such
as a fire or a flood. More than 10% of the titles have been destroyed and at least
500 titles must have been affected. We do not maintain listings for which Registry of
Deeds permit administrative reconstitution as these change all the time. You’ll have
to call locally to confirm.

If you have your owners duplicate of the certificate of title or if you can present your
co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, or lessee’s duplicate of the certificate of title

Administrative reconstitution is allowed only in very specific circumstances!

So, just to reiterate.

You can do administrative reconstitution if you have your owners or co-owner’s,

mortgagee’s, or lessee’s duplicate of the certificate of title AND if the Registry of Deeds
where the land is located announces that Administrative Reconstitution is allowed.

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 If the RD doesn’t announce you can do Administrative Reconstitution or you don’t have
one of the documents, then you are going to have to go through Judicial Reconstitution.

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Judicial Reconstitution of your Philippine Land

Title
 

Most people will have to go through Judicial Reconstitution.

Judicial Reconstitution is a court case. [Sec 110, PD 1529]

Aside from the case specifically mentioned in the Administrative Reconstitution section,
there is really no way around it. There are numerous fixers and middle men but I’ve
seen enough cases to be extremely wary. The clients can be taken advantage of and
the “quick fix” often doesn’t actually fix the problem.

Most people will need to go to court process to replace the lost RD copy!

Do it the correct way and avoid the very real problems you face in shady, backroom
deals. You may lose a lot of money and often, a lot of time too.

Quick Facts

Case:                   Reconstitution of Lost Owner’s Title

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 Timeline:            1 – 1 ½ years, depending on the court’s schedule

Cost:                    Court Fees, Registry of Deeds Fees, Lawyer’s Fees

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Testimony:         At least once, or more as needed by the court L]
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Documents:       Owner’s Duplicate Certificate of Title or other documents enumerated

below, Other documents required by the court

Process
Step 1: File a petition with the Regional Trial Court where
the land is located.

You must file the Petition for Reconstitution of Lost Owner’s title with the Regional Trial
Court where the land is situated.

You and your lawyer will create a petition requesting the court to order the replacement
of the Registry of Deeds copy.

Your lawyer will first need to assess evidence that you are the owner of the land. To do
that, he would first ask you for any of the following documents:

Your owner’s duplicate certificate of title

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Your lawyer must present the proper documents to show ownership strengthen
your claim.

Your co-owner’s, mortgagee’s or lessee’s duplicate certificate

Certified copy of the certificate previously issued by the RD

Authenticated copy of the decree of registration or patent that was the basis of the
certificate of title, if the reconstitution is for the original certificate of title OR Deed of
transfer or other document or an authenticated copy with the property’s description
covered by the transfer certificate of title and filed at the RD, if the reconstitution if
for a transfer certificate of title

Deed or an authenticated copy of mortgage, lease or encumbrance with the

property’s description and filed at the RD

Any other document which is sufficient in the judgement of the court

As with any court case, you need to have strong evidence for the case to succeed.

The specific documents cited up top are documents acknowledged by the court as valid
sources of reconstitution. Your lawyer will have to carefully go over your case if you can
only present other proof.

When your attorney has gone over your documents, he’ll create a petition to be filed at
the court.

There will be filing fees, publication fees and other document related fees such as
postal or notarial fees. In addition, a land survey may have to be commissioned for LRA
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 approval if documentary evidence isn’t strong.

Step 2: Witness Testimony

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Witnesses may have to testify to support the case.

Before the witness’ testimony at court, your lawyer will have done the following:

Coordinated with the Official Gazette to publish a notice which must be completed
30 days before the court’s first hearing.

Complied with notice requirements

Worked with you to create a land survey, if needed

Appeared at court to show compliance to legal requirements

Complied with other orders of the court

All of the above will take some time, so the witness might be called to the court only
several months after the filing of the petition.

Your lawyer will interview the witness and file a submission to the court called the
“judicial affidavit” which goes through the facts the witness presented.

Fees related to the petition, the court appearance and other submissions will be paid.

Step 3: Court Decision

Unless there is opposition, your case should be headed for its conclusion. (a hopefully
happy ending where your land title is reconstituted 🙂  ).
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 Your lawyer is busy now putting together the final submission to the court and dealing
with any other legal requirements that court might have ordered.

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A court decision is released after the evidence has been submitted.

The Court will release its decision and be prepared for a bit of a wait, as it can take
months.

The court case is concluded at this point but remember that you still have to register
this with the Registry of Deeds (RD) where the land is located.

Don’t skip registering the decision with the RD!

It is important as the RD will only reconstitute your title after the court’s decision has
been registered with them. I’ll admit that it is a time-consuming process to register with
the RD, but it is a very, very necessary one. (And yes, you will have to pay RD fees as
well)

Summary
 

This post is written from your point of view – what you need to prepare, the steps you
need to be aware of, and how the case will look from your point of view.

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You will need to undergo the three steps of Judicial Reconstitution if the copy of your
title in the RD has been lost/destroyed

In general, it looks like this:

File and submit a petition

Present a witness at court

Wait for the court decision and register it at the Registry of Deeds

Your lawyer will take care of all the other requirements as he will attend all the other
hearings, address extra court orders, and generally follow up and coordinate with the
court on several other things.

(FYI, the process from the lawyer’s side is more complicated than what I’ve presented
and there are a lot of court rules that he needs to comply with to make sure your case
goes as smoothly as possible. Always hire good counsel, it’s better than a case
dragging on forever or being denied).

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Avoid fixers and middlemen!

Take care to go through the correct process.

There are several fixers and middlemen who promise shortcuts and easy fixes. The
aftermath of these “easy fixes” can be court cases against you, lost money and lost
time.

If you’re successful, you should be able to easily sell or have investors look at the land
to maximize its potential.

63 Comments

Rahmat Abdullah on March 26, 2019 at 5:43 pm

What is the cost of reconstituting a land title if the cost of the property is 2 million
pesos?
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Lawyers in the Philippines on March 31, 2019 at 10:58 am 

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 Sent you an email.

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Rainnie McBee on September 11, 2021 at 1:14 pm

Hi. Can u send the cost on my email too? Thank you.

Anon on July 2, 2019 at 1:33 pm

I understand that this is oddly specific but what if there was a theft of the legal
documents to my family’s farm land…

and this thief was somehow able to sell the land and/or possess it without our
permission?

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Lawyers in the Philippines on July 4, 2019 at 5:16 pm

Hi:

You can file a case against the person who sold it.

The proof, the documents, and the situation must first be assessed however.
REPLY

Jet on July 6, 2021 at 12:20 pm

Can you please contact me? Would like assistance to reconstitute a title.

FCB Law on July 6, 2021 at 6:25 pm

Replied to your other message.

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 Jet on July 6, 2021 at 12:19 pm

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Can you please contact me? Would like assistant to reconstitute a title.

REPLY

FCB Law on July 6, 2021 at 5:47 pm

Hello. We have a form on the homepage http://www.lawyerphilippines.org where

we can be reached.

Gudo on July 24, 2019 at 11:04 am

What if my father died and 2 of his lots don’t have a Original title. So I went to LRA to
get a CTC of the land and it is still in my father’s name what is the best option to
transfer the title on my name. Also have seen someone have requested a copy of
original title thru LRA without my father’s consent and us what case can I file to that
person?
REPLY

Lawyers in the Philippines on July 25, 2019 at 9:50 am

Hi Gudo:

If the properties do not have a Title and the estate has not been settled, it is
important to do both processes as soon as possible to avoid the very heavy fines for
late settlement.

If your father passed on or before Dec 31, 2017, then you may avail of the estate tax
amnesty. This is only available for the next 2 years so you must hurry as addressing
both issues may take that long, depending on the facts of the case.

A court case to replace the titles is the only way to replace them in most cases.

It is very difficult to really comment on your specific situation as not enough

information is available.
REPLY
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 Ben on July 29, 2019 at 8:52 pm

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Hello,

I’d like to purchase a property through a broker.

how would I know the property is authenticated or not?

Thanks.
REPLY

Lawyers in the Philippines on July 30, 2019 at 9:35 am

Hi Ben:

You’d have to do a lot of research.

You will need a copy of the title, then you will need to check that the title is valid by
going to the Registry of Deeds where the property is located.

In addition, it is best to ensure that the owner is actually the person named on the
title and that he is the person selling the property to you through the broker.
REPLY

Marga on July 31, 2021 at 10:33 am

Isn’t it the fault of the RD for titles that are lost under their custody,while the owner
still have the copy of the title?

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FCB Law on July 31, 2021 at 4:31 pm

Yes, this may be so, but the government is generally immune from suit.

Janine on July 31, 2019 at 10:15 am

Hi,   
 I read in this article that if the owner’s duplicate of title is lost or destroyed and the
original copy of title in the RD is still intact. Application should be re-issuance of title.
May I request for a more detailed process of this? Thank you
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REPLY

Lawyers in the Philippines on July 31, 2019 at 3:48 pm

Sent an email.
REPLY

danica on December 15, 2020 at 2:49 pm

I read in this article that if the owner’s duplicate of title is lost or destroyed and the
original copy of title in the RD is still intact. Application should be re-issuance of
title. May I request for a more detailed process of this? Thank you

lawyerphilippinesadmin on February 1, 2021 at 10:46 am

Sent you an email.

G on July 26, 2021 at 2:27 pm

Received an RTC decision that the land my parents bought and we’ve built a house
on has been granted reconstitution to it’s orig owner. There are several lots in our
area actually, not just ours. And we are inside a village by a known developer. What
do we do?
REPLY

FCB Law on July 26, 2021 at 3:49 pm

We cannot say without seeing the court decision.

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 But it may be necessary to file a court case of your own to contest title to the
property.

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Max on August 7, 2019 at 3:32 pm

Hello,

I work with this property owner for a condominium. I’m currently in a situation where the
real estate broker who conducted the sale to this property owner hasn’t transferred the
title to the buyer’s name. the title is still registered under the previous owners name. we
have tried contacting this broker to ask about the transfer and the title. but, this person
is uncooperative and unreachable. the current owner has been trying to reach the
broker for the last year and nothing has happened. as of today, i have the deed of
absolute sale as evidence the sale was done and some tax receipts.

what should i do? apply for reissuance? file a case against a person who is really hard
to find?
REPLY

Lawyers in the Philippines on August 7, 2019 at 5:26 pm

Sent an email.
REPLY

Christine on August 29, 2019 at 4:44 am

The deed of absolute sale should indicate who is responsible for the transfer.
Usually, for purchase of a condominium, the buyer is responsible to transfer the title
in his/her name and all fees and expenses associated with the transfer.
REPLY

Lou on August 9, 2019 at 1:41 pm

My certificate of title according to rd was not properly transmitted.but they say that my
owner’s duplicate copy is not fake.but they cannot find my documents.what will i
do..how much
 does rreconstitution cost.  
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Lawyers in the Philippines on August 9, 2019 at 3:01 pm
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Sent an email.

REPLY

Adrian on August 19, 2019 at 3:03 am

I have the same problem with Lou, but in their database they located the titles file(Lot
no., etc.) but it has no actual title. RD issued a certification that they could not locate the
file in their registry. What should be my next step? how much and how long will
reconstitution take?
REPLY

Lawyers in the Philippines on August 19, 2019 at 9:07 am

Sent an email.
REPLY

Charm on September 2, 2019 at 8:11 pm

Good Day! Ask ko lang po attorney kung paano po na bumili kami ng lupa. Binigyan po
kami deed of sale. Kaso yung original title po ng previous owner nawala nya po. Tapos
pumunta po kami sa registry of deeds wala din daw po sakanila yung physical copy ng
title po. Yung previous owner nagfile na po reconstitution of loss of title sa trial court.
Paano po yun attorney hindi po namin mailipat sa pangalan namin yung tax decleration
lumalaki na po yung capital gain tax. At hindi pa po namin mapatituluhan nabili naming
lupa kasi need po ng original copy ng title? Naloko po ba kami? Pwede po ba namin
ipabalik yung byad namin. Please help us.Thank you.
REPLY

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 Atty. Francesco Britancio on September 3, 2019 at 1:31 pm

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Sent you an email.
REPLY

Gwen on September 30, 2019 at 5:48 pm

Good day Atty!

i have same scenario with Lou and Adrian. RD already issued certification that they
cannot locate the transmittal if our land title is already transferred to Las Pinas.For your
assistance on what to do next. thank you in advance.
REPLY

Atty. Francesco Britancio on October 1, 2019 at 9:16 am

Hi Gwen:

In this situation, investigation of both RDs is needed.

If it truly does not exist, this is when a case must be filed.

However remember that you will need documentary proof that you own the land
such as your owner’s title.
REPLY

ma. theresa on October 25, 2019 at 4:13 pm

we have in our possession the original title, transfer certifcate of title but RD copies is
missing, advise us to go judicial reconstitution. how much is the reconstitution?? thanks
again
REPLY

Atty. Francesco Britancio on October 28, 2019 at 12:12 pm

  
 Sent an email.
REPLY

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Myrna on April 16, 2021 at 8:24 pm

My uncle is a single and he left a

land property is his name. They were 5 in the family. All of his brother and sisters
died except my mother who is still alive at 94 yrs old. One sister is single and the
rest were married with children. Is my mother has the right to inherit or to own of
his properties? How? Thank you for response.

Atty. Francesco Britanico on April 16, 2021 at 8:59 pm

The children of his siblings are also entitled to inherit in representation of their
parent’s share. An extrajudicial settlement of his estate — a unanimous
agreement among the heirs — may be the simplest way to do this if everyone can
agree.

Anna on May 18, 2021 at 9:24 pm

How much is the reissuance of lost land title?

REPLY

Atty. Francesco Britanico on May 19, 2021 at 5:16 am

This depends on a number of factors such as the location where the court case
must be filed and the available evidence because these affect how long or difficult
the case will be.

Angelynne on December 6, 2019 at 1:32 am

Atty we purchased a townhouse thru bank. Upon their verification, the title has Sec 7
RA26 which we need to file at court. What is the process and how much would it cost?
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 The seller does not want to process it as it is costly. We have not been informed about
this prior. Please help. Ty

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Atty. Francesco Britanico on December 9, 2019 at 2:10 pm

I will send an email.

REPLY

April Marasigan on June 19, 2020 at 8:09 pm

Good day atty. Dapat po ba talaga ipareconstitute ang lumang titulo ng lupa?
Magkano po kaya ang magagastos. Maraming salamat po.

Atty. Francesco Britanico on June 20, 2020 at 11:13 am

It can depend on several factors including the documents and evidence available
and the location of the property.

MV Marinas on June 10, 2020 at 7:36 pm

Good evening.

We bought 4 parcels of land and was given by the Seller the corresponding Owners
Duplicate copies but we cannot transfer the titles to our name because according to the
Register of Deeds 2 of the 4 titles have no image saved on their database and they had
advised us to pursue title reconstitution. Can we, as buyers, do the restitution ourselves
even though the titles are not yet under our name? Kindly advise how much the
reconstitution of the 2 titles will cost. Thank you very much’
REPLY

Atty. Francesco Britanico on June 20, 2020 at 11:40 am

  
 Yes, but more information is necessary. Will send you an email.
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Sandra on September 22, 2020 at 5:21 am

In 2002 i bought a land for 5M, however i didn’t register or change it in the registry of
deeds. In 2004, the seller, knowing that ive still haven changed it, sold the land to
another for a much lower price, it had been said to me that the buyer knew i already
bought it; later that year ive been told that the buyer went to the registry and change the
owner of the land that i initially bought. Do i have a better chance to own the land?

REPLY

Atty. Francesco Britanico on September 23, 2020 at 3:43 pm

The amount of time that has passed since all this happened makes it difficult to
obtain relief.

REPLY

xmc.pl on November 13, 2020 at 9:01 pm

keep at it man, your almost there , thanks for the read!

REPLY

lawyerphilippinesadmin on November 17, 2020 at 8:07 pm

Thank you!

REPLY

Angie Legaspi on March 25, 2021 at 12:01 pm

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 We have receive letter/affidavit from RD that our title was destroyed due to fire. We
have the duplicate copy of the said title. Need pa din po ba mag pa judicial
reconstitution khit may affidavit na kmi from RD?
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Atty. Francesco Britanico on March 26, 2021 at 9:32 pm

Yes. That would be one of the pieces of evidence you would present to the court.

REPLY

Remz on March 31, 2021 at 10:35 am

Hi. I’ve bought a lot in 2019 and was given a photocopy of the title and an Absolute
Deed of Sale. I also checked the lot in the Registry of Deeds and they said that the title
is “clean.” Now, the original title is on regional court for reconstitution since it was
destroyed during Typhoon Yolanda. Is it normal for this to drag on for years? It’s been
on court for almost 7 years already.
REPLY

Atty. Francesco Britanico on April 1, 2021 at 5:29 am

7 years is going long for such a case. You may ask to check to court records to verify
its current status.

REPLY

Pablito Apolinar on April 7, 2021 at 8:38 am

How much will it cost to reconstitute a title?

REPLY

Atty. Francesco Britanico on April 12, 2021 at 3:43 am

  
 This depends on a number of factors, including what the necessary documents are,
the availability of evidence and the need to obtain them, and the location (city or
municipality) of the property.
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katrina del rosario on May 20, 2021 at 1:53 am

my father bought a property from the daughter of the ownee (owner died long years
ago) only to find out that the govt copy was destroyed by fire. now that we are
transferring it to my fathers name they said that we need to undergo rexonstitution.. i
just want to ask can my father as the new owner, can he alone file a petition?

REPLY

Atty. Francesco Britanico on May 20, 2021 at 7:25 am

Yes, he can be the named petitioner in the court case.

REPLY

Pia Matienzo on June 22, 2021 at 10:50 am

32 I have a photocopy of the court decision, am not sure if it has been filed. I also have
a photocopy of the tct and tax DECLARATION. What should I do next to get an original
copy of the title? Thanks

REPLY

FCB Law on June 22, 2021 at 3:25 pm

If there is already court decision, it should be enforced. A photocopy will not suffice.
A certified copy of the decision should be secured from the court and presented to
the register of deeds.
REPLY

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 Jude on July 24, 2021 at 10:46 am

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How can I stop the reconstitution of american tittle because we have tax declarations of
portion of that land that the living heirs are not willing to give to us…thank you

REPLY

FCB Law on July 25, 2021 at 5:24 pm

If there is a pending court case, you can intervene or oppose it. Or you can file you
own court case for your title to be registered or confirmed.

REPLY

Anna on October 13, 2021 at 4:47 pm

Hi. Ano po bang documents ang hihingin ng court kapag nag file ng affidavit of loss sa
titulo, example po misplaced na po at di makita? Thank you.

REPLY

Teodora Morando on October 26, 2021 at 1:14 am

Hello po i need help po for my parents lost title on who to go to or maybe a lawyer that
would represent us on processing of lost land title. Please reply
REPLY

FCB Law on October 28, 2021 at 1:36 pm

We will be happy to help you with this.

Please fill out our form on http://www.lawyerphilippines.org so that we can speak to

the details of your specific case.

Thank you.
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