The confusing land administration system of RP

(Part 1)

Land administration is a very messy affair in the Philippines, where news stories about bloody land disputes, often involving whole families, are a common fare. Yet, for decades, the government has only succeeded in creating layers of bureaucracy and endless red tape instead of a system that truly responds to the needs of the people especially in these high-tech times.

According to studies, not a single town in the country is without a land ownership issue going on at any time. Even in urban areas, entire communities or even prominent entities have found themselves cheated by syndicates churning out fake land titles. People applying for land titles get shuttled from one government office to another, as owning a land involves taking signatures not from one but from several offices.

Take the case of Manang Pinang, 66, who applied for a title in the 1970s over the land she had been born in. She submitted all requirements and followed up her application every two years. In 2001, she was told that her file could no longer be found. She had no choice but to start the whole process again for the sake of her children.

Manang Pinang’s experience illustrates the predicament of millions of Filipinos whose aspirations to legitimize their land ownership are hampered by our flawed land administration system, hounded by problems from survey to titling.

Is there a way out of the mess?

>Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Micchael T. Defensor says the time is ripe for a drastic overhaul of the land titling system to make it more responsive to the demands of the times and maximize its productive potential.

Enumerating the ills bedeviling land titling, Defensor cited incomplete and inaccurate land records; delays in the classification of land; the slow paced disposition and titling of alienable and disposable land; proliferation of fake titles; and duplication and overlapping of activities among government agencies.

"The multiplicity of government agencies is made even worse by multiple and outdated laws governing land transactions," Defensor said in a recent speech. At present, millions of Filipinos occupy lands that have no legal documentation.

The current land administration system fifteen percent of the country’s court cases concerning land civil cases include conflicts, overlapping claims, corrections and the like. These do not include criminal cases arising from land conflicts.

Disputes concerning land have perennially beset the country as land transactions are confusing, expensive and bureaucratic; and valuation is perceived to be inequitable and politically influenced.

These problems have resulted in delays, high costs, spurious titles, low investments and slow economic growth. It has also bred graft and corruption.

While our land administration system is somewhat more mature than other Southeast Asian countries, the land market in the Philippines is seriously threatened by a growing lack of confidence, primarily the result of the troublesome land system.

Two titling processes just can’t work

Aside from the American state of Hawaii, the Philippines is the only place in the world using both administrative and judicial titling processes. We likewise have multiple standards for survey and mapping, multiple agencies undertaking valuation, and multiple valuation standards and methodologies on land transactions. All these provide multiple opportunities for graft and corruption.

The country’s dual titling process has proved to be costly and inefficient over the years. Land administration agencies spend about 30 percent of their resources on "general administration" and "support." Efficient service delivery agencies typically spend around 12 percent.

Within individual land administration agencies, checking and endorsement of work by multiple and increasingly senior layers of management commonly adds at least one-third to the total time required to complete this work.

The central problem is the overlapping functions and powers of the different agencies involved in land administration. Imagine how a typical titling process will have to pass through the following agencies: the Department of Justice’s Land Registration Authority/Registry of Deeds; the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Lands Management Bureau/Land Management Services in the regional, provincial and community offices; and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority. (To be Continued)