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MANILA, Philippines - With its agency-wide computerization

program now in place, the Land Registration Authority (LRA has

signi!icantly shortened its land titling process to !i"e easy steps

which can #e ta$en in a single "isit to any register o! deeds (R%

o!!ice anywhere in the country&

 As a result o! the LRA's computerization program, the agency has

streamlined the processing and issuance o! land titles, LRA

 Administrator ulalio %iaz said&

ssentially, there are only !i"e easy steps to ta$e !or a landowner inapplying !or a title to the property&

)tep *& )u#mit the con"eyance instrument and all supporting

documents to the entry cler$ at the R%& +he applicant will recei"e an

electronic primary entry #oo$ (P num#er to con!irm receipt o!

the con"eyance instrument and supporting documents&

)tep & Pay the corresponding !ees&

)tep .& +he documents will #e turned o"er to the e/aminer who will

chec$ i! all the re0uirements ha"e #een met, a!ter which the

in!ormation would #e encoded&

usiness ( Article MRec , pagematch1 *, sectionmatch1 *

)tep 2& I! the re0uirements are complete, the R% appro"es the

applicant&

)tep 3& A new land title will !inally #e printed and issued to the

applicant&

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+he LRA stresses, howe"er, that application !or land titles is strictly

conducted on a 4!irst in registration, !irst in right5 #asis&

+his simply means that the person or entity who registered the land!irst gets the legal pre!erential right to own it !irst, according to %iaz&

+o ward o!! con!licts in land ownership, other claimants to the same

property cannot stop the registration process pro"ided the !irst

applicant has #een a#le to success!ully enter the instrument in the

register o! deeds, and has #een issued an P num#er con!irming

receipt o! su#mitted documentary re0uirements, and payment o! theproper !ees&

 An e/emption to the rule is through a temporary restraining order

issued #y the court, or when the applicant !ailed to meet the

re0uirements, in which case the application could #e denied and the

su#mitted instruments deemed 4not registra#le,5 %iaz said&

6owe"er, any registrant whose application !or registration was

denied #y an R% can still !ile an appeal called 4consulta5 with the

LRA head o!!ice& 7onsulta re!ers to the 0uasi-8udicial power o! the

LRA to re"erse or a!!irm the R%'s decision, as the case may #e&

49or this purpose, it is imperati"e that the chie!s o! the o!!ices o!

register o! deeds should #e lawyers #ecause the position re0uires

good $nowledge o! the law,5 %iaz said&

+here are three #asic reasons why the LRA issue land titles1 sale o!

the property, consolidation resulting !rom mortgage !oreclosure, and

in"oluntary transactions such as court orders&

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+itling !or unregistered lands !ollows either o! two di!!erent routes1

the 8udicial way and the administrati"e way&

+he 8udicial way in"ol"es !iling a petition in court !or originalregistration o! title !or a property with no e/isting title& +he claimant

must #e a#le to present proo! o! land possession, along with all

other re0uirements #y the court&

 A!ter resol"ing the petition, the court will issue an order directing the

LRA to issue a decree o! registration, and the corresponding original

certi!icate o! title (:7+ that will #e registered with the R%&

:n the other hand, the administrati"e way is coursed through the

%epartment o! n"ironment and Natural Resources (%NR and

other agencies that ha"e authority to issue pu#lic land title& +he

claimant can go to the %NR and apply !or a patent&

+he application is thoroughly screened, and i! !ound meritorious, a

patent title which has the same !unction as a +orrens title, is issued

and registered with the registry o!!ices&

How Are Land Titles Transferred

in the Philippines?BYLamudi 11 March 2015Tips and advice

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Remember, ownership is not complete until the buyer registers

the title under his name.

Most people know that buying a property is not a simple task,

but very few appreciate how much more complicated the

process of transferring land titles from the seller’s name to the

buyer’s name is. The importance ofland title transfer should not

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be underestimated. Remember, this is where you, as a buyer,

will start claiming the property as your own. The issuance of a

new land title under your name will be your proof of ownership;

otherwise, you might be facing technical, legal, and financial

problems later on, because of an improper land title transfer or

the absence of it.

© Shutterstock

Where Does It Start?

The process of buying a property does not end with paying the

seller and executing a Deed of Sale. What is important for you

to remember is that once the Deed of Sale has been signed and

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notarized, deadlines for tax payments are already in effect.

Should you fail to meet these deadlines, the penalties and

surcharges will certainly make a dent on your pocket.

Sometimes, if payment has been delayed for several years, this

might be even bigger than the value of the property at the time it

was bought.

Ideally, even before the property is purchased, you should

already plan on land title transfer just to make sure that even if

you will not be able to do it yourself, you have someone doing it

for you, you can trust. Remember, ownership is not complete

until you register the title under your name.

These are the steps for

transferring a land title:

1.File and secure the documentary requirements at the

Registry of Deeds and Municipal or Provincial Assessor’s

Office.

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2. Secure assessment of transfer taxes at the Bureau of

Internal Revenue (BIR) and Municipal or City Treasurer’s

Office.

3.File documents at the BIR for the issuance of Certificate

Authorizing Registration (CAR) or BIR Clearance.

4.Pay the Transfer Taxes and secure the Tax Clearance.

5.File documents at the Registry of Deeds for the issuance

of new land title.

6.File documents at the Municipal or Provincial Assessors

Office for the issuance of new Tax Declaration.

© Ingimage

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It is important to note that this step is often missed out.

Transferring ownership of aTax Declarationshould always be

done afterLand Title Transfer as the name on theLand

Titleshould coincide with the name indicated on the Tax

Declaration.

These steps will require you to go back and forth between

multiple government agencies. In addition, the whole procedure

could take several months to complete, more so if there are

problems with the property’s existing documents or records. The

process might also require constant follow-ups with the

government agencies, and sometimes it is necessary to

personally visit the respective agencies to follow up and speed

up the process.

If accomplishing these tasks personally is not possible for you,

then it would be wise to look for someone, a duly registered

company preferably, who has expertise in this matter.

Remember, you must transfer ownership immediately after

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buying a property to avoid encountering problems later on and

paying a huge penalty for late transfer.