February 11, 1913

ACT NO. 2259

THE CADASTRAL ACT

SECTION 1. When, in the opinion of the Governor-General (now the President), the
public interests require that the title to any lands be settled and adjudicated, he may to
this end order the Director of Lands to make a survey and plan thereof. (As amended by
Sec. 1850, Act No. 2711.)

The Director of Lands shall, thereupon, give notice to persons claiming an interest in the
lands, and to the general public, of the day on which such survey will begin, giving as
full and accurate a description as possible of the lands to be surveyed. Such notice shall
be published in two successive issues of the Official Gazette, and a copy of the notice
in the English and Spanish languages shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the
chief municipal building of the municipality, township or settlement in which the lands,
or any portion thereof, are situated. A copy of the notice shall also be sent to the
president of such municipality, township, or settlement, and to the provincial board. (As
amended by Sec. 1851, Act No. 2711.)

SECTION 2. The surveyor or other employees of the Bureau of Lands in charge of the
survey shall give reasonable notice to the day on which the survey of any portion of such
lands is to begin, and shall post such notice in the usual place on the chief municipal
building of such municipality, township, or settlement in which the lands are situated,
and shall mark the boundaries of the lands by monuments set up at proper places
thereon. (As amended by Sec. 1852, Act No. 2711.)

SECTION 3. (Repealed by Act No. 2711.)

SECTION 4. It shall be lawful for surveyors and other employees of the Bureau of Lands
to enter upon the lands whenever necessary for the making of such survey or for the
placing of monuments. (As amended by Sec. 1853, Act No. 2711.)

It shall be the duty of every person claiming an interest in the lands to be surveyed, or in
any parcel thereof, to communicate to the surveyor in charge upon his request therefor
all information possessed by such person concerning the boundary lines of any lands to
which he claims title or in which he claims any interest. (As amended by Sec. 1584, Act
No. 2711.)

Interference with surveys and monuments. Any person who shall interfere with the
making of any survey undertaken by the Bureau of Lands, or shall interfere with the
placing of any monument in connection with any such survey, or shall deface, destroy,
or remove any monuments so placed, or shall alter the location of any such monument,
or shall destroy or remove any notice of survey posted on the land pursuant to law, shall
be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred pesos or by imprisonment for not
more than thirty days or both. (As amended by Section 2753, Act No. 2711.)

SECTION 5. When the lands have been surveyed and platted, the Director of Lands
represented by the Attorney-General (now Solicitor General), shall institute registration
proceedings, by petition against the holders, claimants, possessors, or occupants of
such lands or any part thereof, stating in substance that the public interests require that
the titles to such lands be settled and adjudicated, and praying that such titles be so
settled and adjudicated.

The petition shall contain a description of the lands and shall be accompanied by a plan
thereof, and may contain such other data as may serve to furnish full notice to the
occupants of the lands and to all persons who may claim any right or interest therein.
(As amended by Sec. 1855, Act No. 2711.)

If the lands contain two or more parcels held or occupied by different persons, the plan
shall indicate the boundaries or limits of the various parcels as correctly as may be. The
parcels shall be known as "lots" and shall on the plans filed in the case be given separate
numbers by the Director of Lands, which numbers shall be known is "cadastral
numbers." The lots situated within each municipality, township or settlement, shall, as
far as practicable, be numbered consecutively, beginning with the number "one" and
only one series of numbers shall be used for that purpose in each municipality, township,
or settlement.

In cities or townsites, a designation of the land holdings by block and lot numbers may
be employed instead of the designation by cadastral numbers and shall have the same
effect for all purposes as the latter. (As amended by Sec. 1856, .Act No. 2711.)

SECTION 6. After final decree has been entered for the registration of a lot, its cadastral
number shall not be changed except by order of the Court of First Instance. Future
subdivisions of any lot shall, with the approval of said Court, be designated by a letter or
letters of the alphabet added to the cadastral number of the lot to which the respective
subdivisions pertain. The letter with which a subdivision, is designated shall be known
as its "cadastral letter": Provided, however, That subdivisions of additions to cities or
town sites may, with the approval of the court, be designated by block and lot numbers
instead of cadastral numbers and letters.

All subdivisions under this section shall be made in accordance with the provisions of
section forty-four of Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six and the provisions of
section fifty-eight of the said Act shall be applicable to conveyances of lands so
subdivided.

SECTION 7. Upon the receipt of the order of the court setting the time for initial hearing
of the petition, the Chief of the General Land Registration Office shall cause notice
thereof to be published twice, in successive issues of the Official Gazette, in the English
language. The notice shall be issued by order of the court, attested by the Chief of the
General Land Registration Office, and shall be in form substantially as follows:

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

Court of First Instance, Province of __________
Cadastral Case No. _____
G.L.R.O. Cadastral Record No. _____
NOTICE OF HEARING
To (here insert the names of all persons appearing to have an interest and the adjoining
owners so far as known), and to all whom it may concern:
WHEREAS, a petition has been presented to said Court by the Director of Lands.,
praying that the titles to the following described lands or the various parcels thereof be
settled and adjudicated (insert description), you are hereby cited to appear et the Court
of First Instance to be held at _____, in the Province of _______, on the day of ___, 19___,
at ___ o'clock, to present such claims as you may have to said lands or any portion
thereof, and to present evidence, if any you have, in support of such claims.
And unless you appear at said court at the time and place aforesaid, your default will be
recorded and the titles to the lands will be adjudicated and determined in accordance
with the prayer of the petition and upon the evidence before the Court and you will be
forever barred from contesting such petition or any decree entered thereon.
WITNESS _____, Judge of said Court, this __ day of ____, 19 __.
ISSUED at Manila, Philippines, this __ day of _____, 19__
ATTEST:
_________________
Chief of the General
Land Registration Office
(As amended by See. 3, Rep. Act No. 96., and Sec. 3, Rep. Act No. 1151.)

SECTION 8. The return of said notice shall not be less than thirty days nor more than
one year from the date of issue. The Chief of the General Land Registration Office shall
also. within seven days after the publication of said notice in the Official Gazette, as
hereinbefore provided, cause a copy of the notice to be mailed to every person named
therein whose address is known. Said official shall also cause a duly, attested copy of
the notice to be posted, in a conspicuous place on the lands included in the petition and
also in a conspicuous place upon the chief municipal building of the city, municipality,
township, or settlement in which the lands or a portion thereof are situated, by the sheriff
of the province, or by his deputy, or by such other person as may be designated by the
Chief of the General Land Registration Office, fourteen days at least before the return
day thereof. A copy of the notice shall also be sent by registered mail to the Mayor of
the city, municipality, township, or settlement in which the lands are situated and to the
Provincial Governor. The court may cause other or further notice of the petition to be
given in such manner and to such persons as it may deem proper. (As amended by Sec.
4 of Republic Act No. 96.)
SECTION 9. Any person claiming any interest in any part of the lands, whether named
in the notice or not, shall appear before the Court by himself, or by some person in his
behalf and shall file an answer on or before the return day or within such further time as
may be allowed by the Court. The answer shall be signed and sworn to by the claimant
or by some person in his behalf, and shall state whether the claimant is married or
unmarried, and, if married, the name of the husband or wife and the date of the marriage,
and shall also contain:

(a) The age of the claimant.

(b) The cadastral number of the lot or lots claimed, as appearing on the plan
filed in the case by the Director of Lands, or the block and lot numbers, as the case may
be.

(c) The name of the barrio and municipality, township, or settlement in which
the lots are situated.

(d) The names of the owners of the adjoining lots as far as known to the
claimant.

(e) If the claimant is in possession of the lots claimed and can show no express
grant of the land by the Government to him or to his predecessors in interest, the answer
shall state the length of time he has held such possession and the manner in which it
has been acquired, and shall also state the length of time, as far as known, during which
his predecessors, if any, held possession.

(f) If the claimant is not in possession or occupation of the lands, the answer
shall fully set forth the interest claimed by him and the time and manner of its acquisition.

(g) If the lots have been assessed for taxation, their last assessed value.

(h) The encumbrance, if any, affecting the lots and the names of the adverse
claimants as far as known.

SECTION 10. The governor of the province shall, upon the request of the court, detail
an officer or employee of the province to assist the defendants in action brought under
this Act in the preparation of their pleadings and evidence, without cost to them:
Provided, however, That the court may in its discretion, detail any of its employees to
perform such service, and in case of the failure of the provincial governor to make
suitable provision for the assistance of the defendants as above set forth, the court may,
with the approval of the Secretary of Justice, employ for such purpose the necessary
personnel, to be paid out of provincial funds. The officer or employee detailed, or the
person employed to assist the defendants, shall prepare their answer, which shall be
sworn to before such officer, employee or person. No fees shall be charged for the
preparation, acknowledgment and filing of answer, nor shall a documentary stamp be
required. The court shall, at some convenient date prior to the expiration of the time for
filing the answer, cause such general notice to be issued to all persons interested as
may be necessary fully to inform them of the purposes of this section and their rights
with respect thereto.

SECTION 11. The trial of the case may occur at any convenient place within the province
in which the lands are situated or at such other place as the court, for reasons stated in
writing and filed with the record of case, may designate, and shall be conducted in the
same manner as ordinary trials and proceedings in the Court of First Instance and shall
be governed by the same rules. Orders of default and confession shall also be entered
in the same manner as in ordinary cases in cases in the same court and shall have the
same effect. All conflicting interests shall be adjudicated by the court and decrees
awarded in favor of the persons entitled to the lands or the various parts thereof, and
such decrees, when final, shall be the basis for original certificates of title in favor of said
persons which shall have the same effect as certificates of title granted on application
for registration of land under the Land Registration Act, and except as herein otherwise
provided all of the provisions of said Land Registration Act, as now amended, and as it
hereafter may be amended, shall be applicable to proceedings under this Act, and to the
titles and certificates of title granted or issued hereunder.

Provided, however, That in deciding a cadastral case the court shall set aside from the
cadastral proceedings all lots that have not been contested and shall award such lots to
the claimants in a decision which shall become final thirty days after the rendition of the
same, without prejudice to going on with the preceding as regards the contested lots.
Every decision shall set forth the civil status of the respective claimant, the name of the
spouse if married, the age if a minor, and if under disability, the nature of such disability.
(,As amended by Sec. 1, Act No. 3080.)

SECTION 12. In case of the death of any judge, who may have begun the trial of an
action brought under the provisions of this Act, before the termination of the trial or in
case of his inability for any other reason to terminate such trial, the Secretary of Justice
may designate another judge to complete the trial and to decide the case. Such other
judge shall have the same power as the judge who began the trial to decide all questions
arising in connection with the case and to decide the case upon the evidence appearing
in the record.

SECTION 13. Whenever in an action brought under the provisions of this Act a new trial
is ordered, the court shall specify the lot or lots with reference to which the new trial is
ordered, and the case shall remain closed as to all other lots, if any, included in the
action.

SECTION 14. In the event of an appeal to the Supreme Court from any decision or order
of the Court of First Instance in an action brought under the provisions of this Act, only
the lots claimed by the appellant shall be affected thereby. The decision of the Court of
First Instance shall be final as to all remaining lots, if any, included in the action, and
upon the expiration of the time for the filing of a bill of exceptions, final decree for such
remaining lots may be entered and certificates of title therefor issued.

SECTION 15. Except as otherwise ordered by the court, a separate certificate of title
shall be entered and a corresponding duplicate certificate issued for each separate
parcel or holding of land included in tile petition.

SECTION 16. After the entry of the final decree of registration of any lot, the designation
of the lot by its cadastral number, or block and lot number as the case may be, together
with the name of the municipality, township, or settlement and province in which the lot
is situated, shall be a sufficient description of said lot for all purposes. The cadastral
letter of a subdivision of a lot added to the cadastral number thereof shall, together with
the name of the municipality, township, or settlement and province, be a sufficient
description of each subdivision. In deeds of conveyance or other documents evidencing
the transfer of title to lands, or creating encumbrances thereon, the cadastral numbers
or the block and lot numbers, as the case may be, shall be written in words and figures.
SECTION 17. In all proceedings under this Act, the fees of the several registers of deeds
for the making and entering of a certificate of title, including the issue of one duplicate
certificate, and for the registration of the same, including the entering, indexing, filing,
and attesting thereof, shall be as follows and no other fees shall be lawful:

When the value of property does not exceed fifty pesos, fifty centavos.

When the value of the property exceeds fifty pesos but does not exceed two hundred
pesos, one peso.

When the value of the property exceeds two hundred pesos but does not exceed five
hundred pesos, two pesos.

When the value of the property exceeds five hundred pesos, six pesos.

For the purposes of this section the value of the property shall be its last assessed value,
or, in default thereof, its market value.
The fees authorized under this section shall be payable to the register upon the delivery
of the titles to the owners thereof: Provided, however, That such fees may be payable to
the provincial treasurer or his deputies when these deliver said titles by delegation to the
register. (As amended by Sec. 1, Act No. 3080.)

SECTION 18. (a) One-tenth of the cost of registration proceedings and the cadastral
survey and monumenting had under this Act shall be borne by the Insular Government;
one-tenth shall be paid by the province concerned, and one-tenth by the city,
municipality, municipal district, township, or settlement in which the land is situated, the
City of Manila to be considered for this purpose, both as a province, and municipality;
and the remaining seven-tenth shall be assessed and collected against each and all of
the lots included in a cadastral proceeding and shall be apportioned in accordance with
the square root of the area thereof, but in no case shall less than five-pesos be taxed
against each lot: Provided, That when the province, a municipality, municipal district,
township, or settlement has not sufficient funds to pay this obligation, its share may be
paid in five equal installments within five years, without interest. The amount thus taxed
against each of the lots or parcels of land shall be considered a special assessment of
taxes against the respective parcels, shall constitute a first lien upon the land, and shall
be collected by the Director of Lands or his duly authorized representatives in equal
installments within a period of five years, bearing interest at the rate of six per centum
per annum. The first installment shall become due and payable at the same time as the
general land taxes for the year next succeeding the year in which the assessment of the
costs shall be received by the provincial treasurer, and shall be collected in the same
manner as such general land taxes. Each succeeding installment shall become due and
payable at the same time as the general land taxes for the corresponding current year
and shall be collected in the same manner. The Director of Lands shall for this purpose
send to the officer in charge of such collection a copy of said assessment of costs:
Provided, however, That the amounts representing the proportional shares of the costs
taxed against lots surveyed at the request and expenses of their owner and for which a
plan other than the cadastral plan has been made by a duly authorized surveyor prior to
the decision in the cadastral proceeding, or which have been registered in accordance
with the provisions of Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six, entitled. "The Land
Registration Act" or surveyed, patented, or leased under the Public Land and Mining
Laws, prior to the decision in the cadastral proceeding, or have been declared to be
public land by the court, shall not constitute a lien against said lot nor shall be collected
from the owners thereof: Provided, further, that the owner of any lot may, if he so desired,
pay any installment of the costs taxed against his lot at any time before the same
becomes due.

(b) In case of the sale, transfer, or conveyance, for a pecuniary consideration,

of any property, or part thereof, registered by virtue of a decree issued in a cadastral
proceeding, prior to the payment of the total amount of the costs taxed against such
property in accordance with the preceding paragraph, endorsed as an encumbrance of
lien upon each cadastral certificate of title, the vendor or his legal representatives shall
pay such costs in their entirety in case the order apportioning the costs has already been
issued in the cadastral proceeding in which the property being sold, transferred, or
conveyed is included, and the register of deeds concerned shall demand of the vendor,
before registering the deed for such sale, transfer, or conveyance of said property, that
he exhibit a receipt signed by the Director of Lands or his duly authorized representative,
showing that such encumbrance or lien has been paid: Provided, however, That in cases
of sale, transfer, or conveyance of the property in. which the order apportioning the costs
has not yet been issued, the register shall endorse on the certificate of transfer issued
by him the encumbrance or lien appearing on the former certificate as guarantee of the
payment of the costs above referred to.

(c) The costs of the registration proceedings under the provisions of this Act
shall consist of a sum equivalent to ten per centum of the cost of the survey and
monumenting of the land. The amount of the costs of the proceeding so taxes shall be
for all services rendered by the General Land Registration Office and the clerk or his
deputies in each cadastral proceeding, and the expense of publication, mailing, and
posting notices, as well as the notices of the decision and the order apportioning the
costs shall be borne by the General Land Registration Office.

(d) All amounts collected by the Director of Lands or his duly authorized
representatives from the owners of the various lots as costs of proceedings, survey, and
monumenting in accordance with this section, shall be covered into the Insular Treasury:
Provided, however, That the various lots and owners thereof, and in such event the
payments required to be made by said owners shall be made as herein provided and
shall be covered into the provincial or municipal treasury as a part of the general funds
of the province or municipality.

(e) Upon the collection of the amount of the cost of the registration proceedings,
or part thereof, in each cadastral proceeding in accordance with this Section, the
Commissioner of Land Registration shall forward to the Insular Auditor and the Insular
Treasurer a statement of such collection, and the latter is hereby authorized and
empowered to pay to the General Land Registration office a sum equal to the amount of
said cost of proceedings collected, and the sums necessary to make such payments,
are hereby appropriated, such sums to be credited to the appropriation for the General
Land Registration Office for disbursement in other cadastral registration proceedings.
(As amended by Sec. 2, Act No. 3081, and Secs. 3 and 5, Rep. Act No. 1151.)

SECTION 19. Whenever in proceedings under this Act the Court is of the opinion that
the interests of justice require or the parties themselves petition that a partition be made
of lands included in the petition and held by various persons in common or jointly, the
court may order that partition be made and for that purpose may appoint two or more
disinterested and judicious persons to be commissioners, commanding them to make
partition of the lands and to get off to each of the parties in interest such part and
proportion of the lands as the court shall order. By agreement between the co-owners
or co-tenants of lands included in the petition, lands not so included but held by said
co-owners or co-tenants in the same manner and by the same tenure may, with the
approval of the court, be included in the same partition proceedings, and in such cases
the court may order a survey to be made of such lands.
SECTION 20. Before making the partition, the commissioners shall take and subscribe
an oath before any officer authorized to administer oaths, that they will faithfully perform
their duties as such commissioners, which oath shall be filed in court with the
proceedings in the case.

SECTION 21. Except as herein otherwise provided, the commissioners and the court in
making the partition shall be governed by the provisions of sections one hundred and
eighty-five, one hundred and eighty-six, one hundred and eighty-seven, one hundred
and ninety, one hundred-and ninety-one of the Code of Civil Procedure and the
commissioners shall receive such compensation as the court may determine, but not to
exceed three, pesos per day for the time actually and necessarily employed in the
performance of the duties.

SECTION 22. The order of the court effecting the partition shall state definitely, by
adequate description, the particular portion of the estate which is apportioned t each
party in interest and shall have the same force and effect as the final judgment in partition
proceedings under the Code of Civil Procedure.

SECTION 23. The guardian of minors and persons of unsound mind shall represent them
in the partition proceedings authorized by this Act. Where no guardian is appointed, or
where he fails to appear, the court may appoint a guardian "ad litem" to represent the
minors or persons of unsound mind in the proceedings. Such guardian or guardian "ad
litem" may, on behalf of his ward, and with the approval of the court, do and perform
any act, matter, or thing respecting the partition of the estate, including amicable
partition thereof which such minor or person of unsound mind could do in the partition
proceedings if he were of age or of sound mind.

SECTION 24. The proceedings in partitions authorized by this Act shall be regarded as
a part of the land registration case in connection with which the partition is ordered, and
no special fees shall be charged by the clerk of the court for any service performed by
him in such partition proceedings, but the compensation of the commissioners
appointed and additional expenses incurred in connection with the partition, including
the costs of additional surveys, may be taxed as cost in the case and apportioned among
the parties interested in the partition to such an extent and in such a manner as the court
may deem just and equitable. Upon the order taxing and apportioning such costs
becoming final, an execution may issue therefor as in partition proceedings under the
Code of Civil Procedure unless the court directs that payment be made in installments
as provided in section eighteen of this Act.

SECTION 25. If the property partitioned under the foregoing provisions constitutes the
estate, or part of the estate, of a deceased person, which has not been settled by
administration proceedings under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, the heirs
or devisees of such deceased person shall, for the full period of two years from the date
of the order effecting the partition, be jointly liable to the creditors of the deceased for
his debts: Provided, however, That no heir or devisee shall be liable for a greater amount
than the value of the property received by him as his share in the estate: And Provided,
further, That for the purpose of contribution between the heirs or devisees themselves,
the amount of the debts of the estate for which each shall be liable shall bear the same
proportion to the value of his share of the estate as the total amount of the legal debts
paid by the heirs or devisees demanding contribution bears to the total value of the
estate. Any heir or devisee who, under a final judgment rendered in an action brought
under this section, pays more than his proportionate share of the debts of the estate
shall, with reference to the excess, be subrogated to the rights of the creditors under
such judgment against each of the other heirs or devisees to the extent of their respective
proportionate shares of the debts so paid by him: Provided, further, That the provisions
of this section shall not be construed to modify the provisions of existing law as to the
order in which the heirs or devisees are liable to pay the debts of the deceased.

The judgment rendered in any action brought under this section by a creditor against the
heirs or devisees of a deceased person shall, if favorable to the plaintiff, specify the
maximum amount for which each heir or devisee shall be liable under such judgments.

SECTION 26. In the interpretation of the provisions of this Act, the rules of construction
laid down by sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure and section 123 of
the Land Registration Act shall apply. The word "court" as used in this Act shall mean
the Court of First Instance.

SECTION 27. In the event that the Philippine Legislature shall pass an Act transferring
to the Courts of First Instance the jurisdiction now conferred upon the Court of Land
Registration, the word "court" used in this Act shall be construed to mean the respective
Courts of First Instance and the word "clerk" to mean the Clerk of the respective Courts
of First Instance, or the Chief of the General Land Registration Office if that office shall
have been created and the powers and duties now performed by the clerk of the court
of Land Registration transferred to that office. (Amended by Secs. 1, 2, 3 and 5, Rep.
Act 1151.)

SECTION 28. The surveyors employed to make surveys for registration purposes, or to
prepare maps and plats of property in connection therewith, shall give due notice in
advance to the adjoining owners, whose, addresses are known, of the date and hour
when they should present themselves on the property for the purpose of making such
objections to the boundaries of the properties to be surveyed as they consider necessary
for the protection of their rights. (As amended by Sec. 1859, Act No. 2711.)

Surveyors shall report all objections made by adjoining property owners and occupants
or claimants of any portion of the lands at the time of the survey and demarcation, giving
a proper description of the boundaries claimed by such owners, occupants or claimants.
(As amended by Sec. 1859, Act No. 2711.)

Surveyors shall define the boundaries of the lands, surveyed for registration purposes,
by means of monuments placed thereon and shall indicate on the maps or plats the
respective boundaries as designated, both by the applicant for the survey and adverse
claimants of adjoining properties; but the work of survey and demarcation of the
boundaries of the lands as occupied by the said applicant need not be suspended
because of the presentation of any complaint or objections. (As amended by Sec. 1860,
Act No. 2711.)

If, in any registration proceeding involving such survey, the court shall find the boundary
line designated by an adverse claimant to be incorrect and that designated by the
applicant to be correct, the expense of making any extra survey over that required by
the applicant shall be assessed by the court as cost against the adverse claimant. (As
amended by See. 1861, Act. No. 2711)

Private surveyors employed in making survey as hereinabove contemplated shall be

subject to the regulations of the Bureau of Lands in respect to such surveys and shall
execute the same in accordance with current instructions relative thereto as issued by
the Director of Lands. Promptly upon completing their work, it shall be their duty to send
their original field notes, computations, reports, surveys, maps and plate of the property
in question to the Bureau of Lands, for verification and approval. (As amended by Sec.
1862, Act No. 2711.)

Except as hereinbelow provided, no private surveyor shall be qualified to make a survey

to be used in registration proceedings unless he shall have passed either the appropriate
civil service examination provided for surveyors or a special examination prepared by
the Bureau of Lands for the purpose of determining his competency for such work. When
so requested by the Director of Lands such special examination may be given under the
supervision of the Bureau of Civil Service upon the dates and at the places of scheduled
civil service examinations, the papers being returned to the Director of Lands for rating
by him. (As amended by Sec. 1863, Enact Act No. 2711.)

Surveyors who have held the office of assistant in one of the technical corps of engineers
of public works, forests, mines, and agronomist during the Spanish Government and
surveyors holding an academic diploma issued by a duly authorized and recognized
university, college of school who furnished satisfactory proof to the Director of Lands
that they have practiced surveying in the Philippine Islands prior to June First, nineteen
hundred and nine, shall be exempted from the examination hereinabove required,
excepting those who, having taken the said examination, failed to obtain a rating of fifty
per centum therein. "Surveyors, holding an academic diplomas," as herein used, shall
include all those who with similar diplomas under the Spanish Government, were
considered as surveyors or as entitled to practice to said profession in the Philippine
Islands. (As amended by Sec. 1863, Act No. 2711.)

A private surveyor possessing the prescribed qualifications shall, upon application to the
Director of Lands, be given a certificate authorizing him to make surveys as
contemplated in this article; and without such certificate no private surveyor shall make
any survey for Land registration purposes. (As amended by Sec. 1864, Act No. 2711.)

When the Director of Lands shall find that any certified private surveyor submits any plan
or survey made by him which is defective, incorrect and substantially erroneous, owning
to incompetency, inexperience, bad faith, or inexcusable negligence; or fails to forward
within a reasonable length of time to the Bureau of Lands for verification any surveys
work contracted by him to the prejudice and detriment of the clients; or that he is guilty
of any fraud, deceit, malpractice, or misconduct in the exercise of his profession or of
disregarding the instruction, rules and regulations issued by the said Bureau concerning
the survey in preparation of his plans, the said Director may, after due investigation,
suspend or cancel the certificate of such surveyor; but the latter may, within thirty days
after receiving notice of such action, take and appeal to a committee composed of the
Department Head, the Judge of the fourth branch of the Court of First Instance for the
Ninth Judicial District, and duly authorized surveyor appointed by the Governor-General.
Pending appeal the right of the surveyor shall be suspended, and the action of said
committee shall be final. (Sec. 1865, Rev. Adm. Code, as amended by Sec. 1, Act No.
3092.)

SECTION 29. The short title of this Act shall be "The Cadastral Act."

SECTION 30. This Act shall take effect on its passage.

Enacted, February 11, 1913