Registration of Lands and Deeds

Chapter IV Publication, Answer, and Default

Publication of Notice
Publication of Notice - Overview
▪ Under the provision of Section 23 of Presidential Decree No.
1529(Notice of initial hearing, publication, etc…), the
Administrator of Land Registration Authority, upon receipt of the
order of the court setting the date for initial hearing, shall cause
a notice of the hearing to be published in the Official Gazette
and once in a newspaper of general circulation in the
Philippines.
▪ The notice is to be addressed to all persons appearing to have
an interest in the land involved, including adjoining owners so
far as known, and in general to all whom it may concern.
Publication of Notice - Overview
▪ The notice requires all persons concerned to appear in court on
the date and time indicated to show cause why the application
for registration should not be granted.
▪ The publication in the Official Gazette shall be sufficient to
confer jurisdiction upon the court.
Publication of Notice - Overview
▪ The publication in the Official Gazette binds the whole world,
inclusive of those who may be adversely affected and those
who factually have been innocent of such publication.
▪ This is the only way to give meaning to the finality and
indefeasibility of the Torrens title to be issued, as against the
argument that such rule could result to actual injustice.
Publication of notice of initial hearing in a
Newspaper of general circulation —
Mandatory Requirement.
Director of Lands vs. CA, 276 SCRA 276
▪ the Supreme Court held that land registration proceedings are actions in rem. It
is not necessary to give personal notice to the owners or claimants of the land
sought to be registered, to vest the court with authority over the res. Instead, it is
the publication of notice of the application for registration which serves to
apprise the whole world that such petition has been filed and whosoever is
minded to oppose it, may do so within 30 days before the date set by the court
for hearing the petition
▪ As a proceeding in rem, the decree of registration issued in land registration
cases is binding upon and conclusive against the entire world.
Director of Lands vs. CA, 276 SCRA 276 - Remedy
▪ Worthy to note, despite the foregoing rule, petitioner is not
without a remedy. The landowner whose property has been
wrongfully registered in another’s name, after the one year
period, could not ask for the court to set aside the decree, but
he could bring an ordinary action for damages if, as in this case,
the property has passed unto the hands of innocent purchasers
for value. (Ching vs. CA, 181 SCRA 9; Sy vs. IAC, 162 SCRA
130).
LACHES –When it applies
Laches – When it applies
▪ Laches is meant the negligence or omission to assert a right within a reasonable
time, warranting a presumption that the party entitled to assert it either has
abandoned it or declined to assert it.
▪ It does not involve mere lapse or passage of time, but is principally an
impediment to the assertion or enforcement of a right, which has become under
the circumstances inequitable or unfair to permit.
▪ Laches sets in if it would take 18 years for a person to file an action to annul the
land registration proceedings, especially so if the registrant has already
subdivided the land and sold the same to innocent third parties. A party’s long
inaction or passivity in asserting his rights over disputed property precludes him
from recovering the same. (Heirs of Teodoro dela Cruz vs. CA, 298 SCRA 172;
Aurora Ignacio vs. Valeriano Basilio, et al., G.R. No. 122824, Sept. 26, 2001).
Laches – Effect of absent of any publication in
newspaper of general circulation
▪ Absent any publication in a newspaper of general circulation,
the Land Registration Court can not validly confirm and register
title to the applicant. Admittedly, the above provision (Section
20, P.D. 1529) provides in clear and categorical terms that
publication in the Official Gazette suffices to confer jurisdiction
upon the land registration court.
▪ However, the question boils down to whether, absent any
publication in a newspaper of general circulation, the land
registration court can validly confirm and register the title of
private respondents.
Laches – Effect of absent of any publication in
newspaper of general circulation
▪ It should be noted further that land registration proceedings is a
proceeding in rem. Being in rem, such proceedings requires
constructive seizure of the land against all persons, including
the state who have rights to or interests in the property. An in
rem proceeding is validated essentially through publication. This
being so, the process must be complied with. Otherwise,
persons who may be interested or whose rights may be
adversely affected would be barred from contesting the
application which they had no knowledge of.
Purpose and Effects of Publication
Purpose and Effects of Publication
▪ The primary purpose and effects of publication of the notice of
application are:
▪ (1) to confer jurisdiction over the land applied for upon the
court, and;
▪ (2) to charge the whole world with knowledge of the application
of the land involved, and invite them to take part in the case and
assert and prove their rights over the property subject thereof.
Benin vs. Tuason, 57 SCRA 531, clearly explains the effects
of publication and non-publication of the application
▪ “The settled rule, further, is that once the registration court had acquired jurisdiction
over a certain parcel, or parcels, of land in the registration proceedings in virtue of
the publication of the application, that jurisdiction attaches to the land or lands
mentioned and described in the application. If it is later shown that the decree of
registration had included land or lands not included in the original application as
published, then the registration proceedings and the decree of registration must be
declared null and void insofar — but only insofar — as the land not included in the
publication is concerned. This is so, because the court did not acquire jurisdiction
over the land not included in the publication — the publication being the basis of
jurisdiction of the court. But the proceedings and the decree of registration, relating
to the lands that were included in the publication, are valid. Thus, if it is shown that a
certificate of title had been issued covering lands where the registration court had no
jurisdiction, the certificate of title is null and void insofar as it concerns the land or
lands over which the registration court had not acquired jurisdiction.”
Benin vs. Tuason, 57 SCRA 531, clearly explains the effects
of publication and non-publication of the application
▪ This case of Benin, nonetheless, ruled that if the area of the
land appearing in the decree of registration and as reproduced
in the original certificate of title is bigger by only 27.10 square
meters than that published, the entire parcel of land decreed
being more than 879 hectares, then the difference is not so
substantial as would affect the identity of the land. The failure to
publish the bigger area does not perforce affect the court’s
jurisdiction.
Land Registration Court vs Administrative Acts
▪ It is also the rule that a land registration court which has validly acquired
jurisdiction over a parcel of land for registration of title thereto by the publication
cannot be divested of said jurisdiction by a subsequent administrative act
consisting in the issuance by the Director of Lands of a homestead patent
covering the same parcel of land.
▪ Thus, in the situation presented in the case of de los Angeles vs. Santos, 12
SCRA 625, if the applicants succeed in proving their allegations in their
application for registration that they are owners pro-indiviso and in a fee simple
of the land involved, then the court would have to order a decree of title issued
in favor of the applicants and declare the homestead patent a nullity which
vested no title in the patentee as against the real owners.
Forms of Notice
Forms of Notice
▪ The aforementioned Section 23 of PD1529 (Notice of initial hearing, publication, etc…) requires
that copy of the notice of initial hearing duly attested by the Administrator of Land Registration
Authority be posted by the Sheriff of the province or city in a conspicuous place on each parcel of
land as well as on the bulletin board of the municipality or city in which the land is situated at
least fourteen days in advance of the date set for the hearing.

▪ “The date of mailing of the motions, pleading, or any other papers, which may include
instruments as the deed of donation, is considered the date of fi ling as shown by the post offi ce
stamp on the envelope or registry receipt
Mailing and Proof of Publication
Mailing and Proof of Publication
▪ The time fixed by law for the initial hearing of the case is not less than forty-five days
nor more than ninety days from the date of the order. And within seven days after the
publication of the notice in the Official Gazette, the Administrator of Land
Registration Authority shall cause a copy of the notice to be mailed to every person
named therein whose address is known.
▪ If the applicant seeks to have the line of a public way determined, the Administrator
shall cause a copy of said notice to be mailed to the city or municipal mayor and the
provincial governor concerned.
▪ If the land borders on a river, navigable stream, or shore, or an arm of the sea where
a river or harbor line has been established, or on a lake, or if it otherwise appears
from the application or the proceedings that a tenant-farmer or the national
government may have a claim adverse to that of the applicant, notice shall be given
in the same manner to the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Solicitor General, the
Director of Lands, the Director of Mines and/or the Director of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources.
Mailing and Proof of Publication
▪ The court, whenever deemed possible, shall require proof of actual notice to all
adjoining owners and to all persons who appear to have interest in or claims to
the land involved. Mailing of notices to such persons shall be by registered mail,
if practicable.
▪ The certification of the Administrator and of the sheriff concerned to the effect
that the notice of initial hearing, as required by law, has been complied with shall
be filed in the case before the date of initial hearing, and shall be conclusive
proof of such facts
▪ A party to an action has no control over the Administrator or the Clerk of Court
acting as a land court he has no right to meddle unduly with the business of
such official in the performance of his duties
Minors and Persons Under Disability given due
Representation
Minors and Persons Under Disability given due
Representation

▪ The court may appoint a disinterested person to act as guardian

ad litem for minors and persons not in being, unascertained,
unknown, or out of the Philippines, who may have an interest.
Minors and Persons Under Disability given due
Representation – Compensation of Guardians

▪ The compensation of the guardian or the agent shall be

determined by the court and paid as part of the expenses
of the court
Minors and Persons Under Disability given due
Representation – Authority of Guardian

▪ Ordinarily, a guardian ad litem has no authority to act or

bind a minor in any transaction with respect to his estate,
his authority being restricted only to matters connected
with the litigation at hand; but he can however do so with
the approval of the court
Notice essential to due process
Notice essential to due process

▪ The purpose of the notice and publication thereof is to invite all

persons concerned who may have any rights or interests in the
property applied for to come to the court and show cause why
the application should not be granted.
▪ Everybody is welcome to become a party to the case if he has
any rights to enforce or interests to protect.
▪ To deprive him of that opportunity will be to deprive him of his
right or property without due process of law.
Personal Notice Necessary but Not
Indispensable
Personal Notice Necessary but Not Indispensable

▪ By the description in the notice, “To all whom it may concern,’’ all the world are made
parties defendant. To require personal notice as a prerequisite to the validity of
registration would absolutely prohibit the foreclosure of unknown claims, for the
reason that personal notice could never be given to “unknown claimants.’’
▪ Courts have held that in actions in rem, personal notice to owners of a res is not
necessary to give the courts jurisdiction to deal with and to dispose of the res.
Neither may lack of such personal notice vitiate or invalidate the decree or title
issued in a registration proceeding.
▪ Thus, notice of application and initial hearing by publication is sufficient and the mere
fact that a person purporting to have a legitimate claim in the property did not receive
personal notice is not a sufficient ground to invalidate the proceedings although he
may ask for the review of the judgment or the reopening of the decree of registration,
if he was made the victim of actual fraud. However, lack of actual notice or
knowledge of the pendency of the proceedings does not of itself constitute fraud.
Who May Oppose or Answer
Who May Oppose or Answer

▪ Any person claiming an interest, whether named in the notice or not, may
appear and fi le an opposition or answer on or before the return day, or within
such further time as may be allowed by the court.
What includes the answer?

▪ The answer shall state all the objections to the application, and
shall set forth the interest claimed by the party fi ling the same
and apply for the remedy desired, and shall be signed and
sworn to by him or by some person in his behalf.
▪ It is not essential that he make a claim to the title of the property.
Effects of Failure to Answer or to Oppose

▪ Failure to file an answer or opposition within the period granted

by the court or within a reasonable time thereafter constitutes
abandonment of the opposition
▪ But once an opposition has been formally filed, it is improper for
the court taking cognizance of such registration case to order
the dismissal thereof on the ground that the opposition failed to
appear on the day set for the hearing.
Requisites of Opposition
Requisites of Opposition

▪ It is important to note the kind of answer authorized under Section 25 of P.D. No. 1529
(Opposition to application in ordinary proceedings). It is quite different from an answer permitted
by law in actions in the courts of first instance. It has two requisites, namely:

▪ (1) It shall set forth “all the objections to the application’’ and;

▪ (2) It shall state the “interest claimed by the party filing the same.’’

▪ Nothing more is required

▪ The requirement that the opponent show his interest being merely for purpose of making plain,
full, and clear the objections to the application
Is Affirmative Relief Obtainable Answer?
Is Affirmative Relief Obtainable Answer?

▪ Where there is an adverse claim, the court shall determine the conflicting
interests of the applicant and the adverse claimant or opposition, and after
taking evidence shall dismiss the application if neither of them succeeds in
showing that he has title proper for registration, or shall enter a decree awarding
the land applied for, or any part thereof, to the person entitled thereto, and such
decree, when final, shall entitle such person to the issuance of an original
certificate of title.
▪ The new rule seems to be in keeping with the procedure under the Public Land
Act, permitting any number of persons (Section 50) to seek judicial confirmation
of imperfect or incomplete title to land by presenting their respective
applications, praying that the validity of the alleged title or claim be inquired into
and determined accordingly.
Basic Ground for Opposition
Basic Ground for Opposition

▪ May a person present an opposition to an application for registration on

the ground that the land applied for is property of the government?
▪ If the ground, therefore, is the property applied for is property of the
government, it is incumbent upon its duly authorized representative to
present the opposition and not any private individual.
▪ However, where a private individual opposing an application for
registration alleges that while the land sought to be registered was part
of the public domain for which he had a sales application approved by
the Bureau of Lands and was in actual possession thereof by authority of
said Bureau, it was held that such an opposition cannot be dismissed
inasmuch as it is predicated upon actual possession which constitutes
sufficient interest to make the oppositor an adverse claimant
Effects of Failure to Answer
Effects of Failure to Answer

▪ If no person appears and answers within the time allowed, the court may
at once upon motion of the applicant, no reason to the contrary
appearing, order a general default to be recorded and the application to
be taken for confessed
▪ A person who has not challenged an application for registration of land,
cannot allege damage or error against the judgment ordering the
registration, inasmuch as he did not allege or pretend to have any right to
such land.
▪ A claimant having failed to present his answer or objection to the
registration of a parcel of land under the Torrens system or to question
the validity of such registration within a period of one year after the
certificate of title had been issued, had forever lost his right in said land
General Default Not a Guarantee to Success
of Application
General Default Not a Guarantee to Success of
Application

▪ The petitioner is not necessarily entitled to have the land registered under the
Torrens system simply because no one appears to oppose his title and to
oppose the registration of the land.
▪ He must show, even though there is no opposition, to the satisfaction of the
court, that he owns the legal estate in fee simple. Courts are not justified in
registering property under the Torrens system simply because there is no
opposition interposed
▪ Courts may, even, in the absence of any opposition, deny the registration of the
land under the Torrens system, upon the ground that the facts presented did not
show that the petitioner is the owner in fee simple, of the land which he is
attempting to register
Order of Default may be Set Aside
Order of Default May be Set Aside

▪ The power to set aside such a judgment is a power inherent in

courts of general jurisdiction, and may, so it has been declared,
be exercised without the grant of statutory Authority
▪ Moreover, an interlocutory judgment or order remains under the
control of the court, in the absence of a legal provision to the
contrary, until the final decision of the case, and may be
modified and rescinded, on sufficient grounds shown, at any
time before the entry of final judgment
Issuance of Order of General Default
Assumed
Issuance of Order of General Default Assumed

▪ Where the record in a land registration case does not

affirmatively show an order of general default, it is deemed that
such order was issued. For, in the absence of showing to the
contrary, a judicial proceeding is presumed to be regular, and all
steps required by law to be taken before the court may validly
render judgment, have been so taken
General Default Distinguished from Special
Default
General Default Distinguished from Special Default

▪ General default may be ordered by the court if no person

appears and answers within the time prescribed, on the
other hand where a party appears at the initial hearing
without having filed an answer or opposition and asks the
court for time within which to file the same, and this has
accordingly been granted, in case of failure of such party
to file his answer or opposition within the period allowed,
he may be declared specially in default.
Order of Default, when Appealable
Order of Default, when Appealable

▪ As a rule in ordinary civil cases, a party who has been declared in default loses
his standing in court and, consequently, cannot appear later on, adduce
evidence and be heard, and for that reason he is not entitled even to notice.
Neither can he appeal from the judgment rendered, and the only exception is
when the party in default files a motion to set aside the order of default on the
ground or grounds stated in Rule 38 of the Rules of Court (Relief from
Judgements, Orders, or Other Proceedings), in which event he is entitled to
notice of all proceedings.
▪ However, in registration proceedings, where a party appeared and presented an
answer in opposition and later amended it, although rejected by the court, he did
not lose thereby his standing in court, and the order excluding his answer, which
is equivalent to declaring him in default, is appealable as soon as the decision
ordering the issuance of the decree in favor of the adverse party shall have
been rendered
Withdrawal of application in a land
registration case does not terminate
proceedings if there is an adverse claim.
Withdrawal of application in a land registration case does not
terminate proceedings if there is an adverse claim.

▪ In a land registration case, when the applicant withdraws her application with
the consent of the court, and only the Director of Lands and the private
oppositors are left, it does not mean, that the withdrawal terminates the
proceedings
▪ An opposition presented by the Director of Lands is, for all intents and
purposes, as conflicting interest as against that of the applicant or of the
private oppositors, asserting a claim over the land sought to be registered.
Consequently, the withdrawal by either the applicant or any of the private
oppositors from the case does not ipso facto obliterate the conflicting
interests in the case. Neither is the case terminated because under the
above-cited law, as amended, the trial court is required to resolve the claims
of the remaining parties, the withdrawal of the application by the applicant
and/or some private oppositors notwithstanding.
Thank you!!!