CADASTRAL REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS

Sec. 35 Cadastral Survey preparatory to filing of petition

Cadastral Registration Proceedings: Nature and Purpose
The purpose, as stated in Section 35 (a), is to serve the public interest by
requiring that the titles to any unregistered lands be settled and adjudicated.
The government initiates a cadastral case, compelling all claimants in a
municipality to litigate against one another regarding their respective claims of
ownership.
Cadastral Registration Proceedings: Nature of proceedings
A Cadastral Registration Proceeding is in the nature of a proceeding in
rem.
Cadastral Registration Proceedings: Principal Aim
The principal aim is to settle as much as possible all disputes over land
and to remove all clouds over land titles, as far as practicable in a community.
Cadastral Proceeding : Procedure (Sec. 35)
1. President shall direct or order Director of Lands to cause to be made a cadastral
survey of the lands involved;
2. The Director of Lands shall give notice to persons claiming any interest in the
lands and to the general public of the day of the survey via:
a. Official Gazette
b. Posting in the place indicated
c. Notice will be sent to the municipal mayor, barangay captain,
sangguniang panlalawigan and sangguniang bayan concerned.
3. The geodetic engineers or other employees of the Lands Management Bureau
shall give advance notice to survey claimants of the date of the survey of
specific portions of the land, to be posted in the bulletin board of the municipal
building of the municipality or barrio in which the lands are situated. They
shall cause for the marking of the boundaries of the lands.
NOTE: Sec. 35 par. (c) 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.
NOTE: Sec. 35 par. (d) DUTY OF CLAIMAINT WHO HAS INTEREST OVER
SUBJECT LAND. 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 therefore all information possessed by such
person concerning the boundary lines of any land to which he claims title or in
which he claim any interest.
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NOTE: Sec. 35 par. (e) ACTS PUNISHABLE The following acts are
punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand pesos or by imprisonment
for not more than one year or both:
a.) 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;
b.) Shall maliciously interfere with the placing of any monument or
remove such monument; and
c.) Shall destroy or remove any notice of survey posted on the land
pursuant to law
4. Sec. 36 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 regional trial court of the
place where the land is situated against the holders, claimants or possessors or
occupants of such lands or any part thereof, stating that public interest
requires that the title to such lands be settled and adjudicated and praying that
such titles be so settled and adjudicated.
NOTE: Sec. 36 par. 2. CONTENTS OF PETITION.

The petition shall

contain the following:

a.) Description of the lands;
b.) Accompanied by a plan thereof;
c.) 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.
5. Sec. 37 Answer to petition in cadastral proceedings
NOTE: Sec. 37 PERSONS QUALIFIED TO FILE ANSWER TO PETITION IN
CADASTRAL REIGSTRATION PROCEEDINGS. The following are the persons
qualified to file answer to petition in cadastral registration proceedings:
a.) Any claimant, whether name in the notice or not; or
b.) By some other authorized person in his behalf
NOTE: Sec. 37 WHEN TO FILE ANSWER TO PETITION IN CADASTRAL
REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS.
a.) Before the date of initial hearing; or
b.) Within such further time as may be allowed by the court.
NOTE: Sec. 37 ANSWER TO PETITION IN CADASTRAL REGISTRATION
PROCEEDINGS : REQUIREMENT
1. The answer shall be signed and sworn to (a) by the claimant; or (b) by some
authorized person in his behalf.
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2. The answer 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.
3. The answer shall also contain:
a.) The age of the claimant;
b.) 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;
c.) The name of the barrio and municipality in which the lots are
situated;
d.) The names and addresses of the owners of the adjoining lots so far as
known to the claimant;
e.) 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
f.) 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;
g.) If the lots have been assessed for taxation, their last assessed value;
and
h.) The encumbrances, if any, affecting the lots and the names of the
adverse claimants, as far as known.
6. Sec. 38 Hearing; Judgment; Decree
NOTE: Sec. 38 Hearing - 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.
NOTE: Sec. 38 Judgment 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 the rightful owners which shall have the same
effect as certificates of title granted in ordinary land registration proceedings. In
the absence of successful claimants, the property is declared public land.

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Sec. 39 Preparation of Decree and Certificate of Title

1. After the judgment directing the registration of title to land has become
final :
-

The court within 15 days issue an order directing LRA

Commissioner to issue the following:
a.) Decree of registration;
b.) Certificate of Title; and
c.) Certificate Stating that the decision has not been
amended, reconsidered nor appealed and has become

final.
2. The Commissioner shall cause to be prepared the decree of registration
as well as the original and duplicate of the corresponding decree of
registration.
NOTE: Sec. 39. The decree of registration shall be signed by the
commissioner and shall be entered and filed in the Land Registration
Commission.
3. All documents referred herein, shall be sent together, to the Register of
Deeds of the City or Province where the property is situated.

PROBATIVE VALUE OF A CERTIFICATE OF TITLE

A certificate of title serves as evidence of indefeasible and incontrovertible
title to the property in favor of the person whose name appears therein.
Such indefeasibility commences after the lapse or expiration of one year
from the date of entry of the decree of registration when all persons are
considered to have constructive notice of the title to the property. After lapse
of one year, title to the property can no longer be contested.
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VALIDITY AND CORRECTNESS OF TITLE IS PRESUMED
The title issued pursuant to the decree of registration enjoys the
presumption of validity. A person dealing with registered land may safely rely
upon the correctness of the certificate of title issued therefor and the law
will in no way oblige him to go behind the certificate to determine the
condition of the property. The law considers said person as an innocent
purchaser for value.
WHERE TWO OR MORE CERTIFICATES COVER THE SAME LAND, THE
EARLIER DATE PREVAILS.
G.R. Earlier Date prevails or Person holding under the prior certificate is
entitled to the land as against the adverse claimant
EXC. If there is no anomaly or irregularity or mistake or faulty or
fraudulent registration tainting the prior title.

TAX

DECLARATIONS

CANNOT

DEFEAT

CONCLUSIVENESS

OF

CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
A certificate of title indicates the true and legal ownership of the registered
owners over the land. A tax declaration cannot defeat a certificate of title
issued under the Torrens system.
NON-APPLICABILITY OF PRINCIPLE OF INDEFEASIBILITY
The principle of indefeasibility of a Torrens title does not apply where fraud
attended the issuance of the title.
Sec. 40 Entry of Original Certificate of Title
1. Upon receipt by the Register of Deeds of the original and duplicate copies
of the original certificate of title the same shall be :
a) Entered in his record book; and
b) Shall be numbered, dated, signed, and sealed by the Register of
deeds with the seal of his office.
NOTE: (Sec. 40) Said Certificate of title shall take effect upon the date of
entry thereof.
2. The Register of Deeds shall forthwith send notice by mail to the
registered owner that his owners duplicate is ready for delivery to him
upon payment of legal fees.
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TITLE VS. CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
Title to real property refers to that upon which ownership is based. It is the
evidence of the right of the owner or the extent of his interest, by which
means he can maintain control and, as a rule assert right to exclusive
possession and enjoyment of property.
A certificate of title, is a mere evidence of ownership; it is not the title to the
land itself.

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