LRA enters 21st century with computerized titles

MANILA, Philippines - Property owners in many parts of the country can now heave a sigh of relief when they go to their Registry of Deeds for the registration of their real properties.

The computerization project of the Land Registration Authority (LRA) is now in full swing and property owners can now expect to get their land titles in an efficient, secure and reliable manner that befits the 21st century.

Officials of the LRA said the computerization is part of the agency’s to preserve the stability and integrity of land ownership and maintain the trust and confidence of the public.

The LRA has introduced a state-of the-art information technology system called the Land Titling Computerization Project (LTCP) in Registry of Deeds all over the country.

Already operational in more than 100 RD’s, the benefits of the project are now being seen and felt as manifested by good performance indicators.

Observers can’t help but do the math themselves and look for factors contributing to progress of the LRA. Some say it can be partly attributed to the improved services being provided by the agency’s computerized system and enhanced business processes. Some say it can be through the leadership of the LRA administrator Eulalio Diaz III, who vowed to make the agency more reliable and efficient.

Diaz is also responsible for setting up the newly opened Certified True Copy (CTC) Kiosk for Quezon City property owners located at the Central Office building which speeds up the transactions in the Quezon City RD.

The initiatives of the current LRA administrator echoes one of the priority platforms of President Benigno Aquino III which is to provide Filipinos with effective and efficient services.

Observers say it is about time that an effective project with honest, steadfast leadership such as this gets implemented and supported all the way because the Filipinos deserve a credible program that secures their real estate properties which they acquired though hard work.

The computerization project is now in its final stage and once completed the physical records would no longer be needed as the digital copies in the database would prove to be the more accurate basis for current land data, lot status verification, and more powerful and intelligent queries such as title and parcel information. This means that cutting-edge technology is now being used to servethe public.

The LRA project also involves the construction of cleaner, more conducive and client-friendly RDs with modern office design, air-conditioning, and generators. This will all translate to a more convenient transacting experience with the RDs and ultimately, the peace of mind that land titles and documents are safe and secure in the database system.

LRA officials say the computerization project will pave the way for more comprehensive services that will be beneficial to the public. This includes interconnectivity with other government agencies, SMS transaction queries and feedback, and anytime-anywhere web-enabled transactions. In short, quicker and easier access to accurate land data anytime, anywhere.

This early, property owners are welcoming this development because as far as they are concerned, apart from securing land titles and documents, the project will prevent the issuance of fraudulent, duplicate, and overlapping titles which has been the problem for decades.

The LRA said it would complete the computerization project by November of this year. It is still finalizing the fees to be collected for the new system, but they assured that it would be a small price to pay in exchange for a secure and good quality service.

“Administrator Diaz should be congratulated for these remarkable changes in the LRA and I hope the public would support this undertaking which ultimately aims to provide better service to all Filipinos with hard-earned real properties in the country,” one LRA official said.