LMB, CREBA ink computerization pact

In a bid to preserve and ensure the safety of records vital to the country’s land titling and administration, the Land Management Bureau (LMB) and the Chamber of Real Estate and Builder’s Associations (CREBA) yesterday inked a memorandum of agreement for the computerization of the LMB’s location monuments registry, at no cost to the government.

Location monuments whose coordinates are recorded and maintained by the LMB are the official reference points to establish the geographic position of, among others, a titled land.

The computerization project was initiated by Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Michael T. Defensor when CREBA called his attention to the decaying state of the LMB’s century-old records.

In his Memorandum Order to the LMB and all DENR regional directors, Defensor said that the registry of location monuments is "an indispensable component of our country’s system of land ownership. Its preservation and safety must be ensured, even as we allow convenient public access thereto pursuant to our mandates."

Defensor’s Order also directs the LMB "to study the possibility of providing the public with internet access to the BLLM registries through the DENR website. For this purpose, and on matters concerning computerization of its other records or automating its tasks, the LMB may avail of CREBA’s technical assistance, which the latter has offered free of charge."