LRA’s 5 easy steps to land titling

MANILA, Philippines - With its agency-wide computerization program now in place, the Land Registration Authority (LRA) has significantly shortened its land titling process to five easy steps which can be taken in a single visit to any register of deeds (RD) office anywhere in the country.

As a result of the LRA’s computerization program, the agency has streamlined the processing and issuance of land titles, LRA Administrator Eulalio Diaz said.

Essentially, there are only five easy steps to take for a landowner in applying for a title to the property.

Step 1. Submit the conveyance instrument and all supporting documents to the entry clerk at the RD. The applicant will receive an electronic primary entry book (EPEB) number to confirm receipt of the conveyance instrument and supporting documents.

Step 2. Pay the corresponding fees.

Step 3. The documents will be turned over to the examiner who will check if all the requirements have been met, after which the information would be encoded.

Step 4. If the requirements are complete, the RD approves the applicant.

Step 5. A new land title will finally be printed and issued to the applicant.

The LRA stresses, however, that application for land titles is strictly conducted on a “first in registration, first in right” basis.

This simply means that the person or entity who registered the land first gets the legal preferential right to own it first, according to Diaz.

To ward off conflicts in land ownership, other claimants to the same property cannot stop the registration process provided the first applicant has been able to successfully enter the instrument in the register of deeds, and has been issued an EPEB number confirming receipt of submitted documentary requirements, and payment of the proper fees.

An exemption to the rule is through a temporary restraining order issued by the court, or when the applicant failed to meet the requirements, in which case the application could be denied and the submitted instruments deemed “not registrable,” Diaz said.

However, any registrant whose application for registration was denied by an RD can still file an appeal called “consulta” with the LRA head office. Consulta refers to the quasi-judicial power of the LRA to reverse or affirm the RD’s decision, as the case may be.

“For this purpose, it is imperative that the chiefs of the offices of register of deeds should be lawyers because the position requires good knowledge of the law,” Diaz said.

There are three basic reasons why the LRA issue land titles: sale of the property, consolidation resulting from mortgage foreclosure, and involuntary transactions such as court orders.

Titling for unregistered lands follows either of two different routes: the judicial way and the administrative way.

The judicial way involves filing a petition in court for original registration of title for a property with no existing title. The claimant must be able to present proof of land possession, along with all other requirements by the court.

After resolving the petition, the court will issue an order directing the LRA to issue a decree of registration, and the corresponding original certificate of title (OCT) that will be registered with the RD.

On the other hand, the administrative way is coursed through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other agencies that have authority to issue public land title. The claimant can go to the DENR and apply for a patent.

The application is thoroughly screened, and if found meritorious, a patent title which has the same function as a Torrens title, is issued and registered with the registry offices.