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What sort of land titles are used in the Philippines? |
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There are different kinds of evidences of title for lands in the
Philippines. Titles under the Torrens System are absolute proof of
ownership. Tax Declarations are proof of lawful possession and affords
possessory rights under the law.
- Certificate of Stewardship CSA (Certificate of Stewardship Agreement) - A document issued by the government to qualified individual occupants pursuant to Stewardship Agreement (SA). A Stewardship Agreement is a 50-year contract entered into by and between an individual forest occupant or forest community association, or cooperative and the government allowing the former the right to peaceful occupation, possession, and sustainable management over the designated area. This is awarded by the State to individuals possessing properties that are in State Reservations. This certificate is transferable and it can even be used as loan instrument or collateral.
- Tax Declared - “Tax Declared” Properties are owned by the State but you have the right to possess, use, develop and dispose of it. With proper Leasehold Agreement and/or Land Use Agreement with the Government you can pursue construction and development of this kind of properties. A Tax Declaration is granted by the Philippines Government in lieu of freehold land. This is similar to all lands sold in strategic waterfront properties in Sydney and Melbourne (Australia), also much of the land sold in England, particularly London. They cannot be rescinded by the Government except in (very rare) cases of National Interest. Tax Declarations cannot be used as loan instruments or collateral. While Tax Declarations do not provide the absolute security of indefeasible title provided by a Torrens Title, it is however, the next best thing. Tax Declarations are universally recognized in Philippine jurisprudence as evidence of possession.
- Titled – The present land titling system of the Philippines was instituted just after the Americans colonized the Philippines in 1898. Act 496, or the “Land Registration Law of 1903” placed all public and private lands in the Philippines under the Torrens System. The law is almost a verbatim copy of the Massachusetts Land Registration Act of 1898, which, in turn, followed the principles and procedure of the Torrens System of registration formulated by Sir Robert Torrens who patterned it after the Merchant Shipping Acts in South Australia.
- The Torrens System requires that the government issues an official certificate of title attesting to the fact that the person named is the owner of the property described therein, subject to such liens and encumbrances as thereon noted or the law warrants or reserves. The certificate of title is indefeasible and imprescriptible and all claims to the parcel of land are quieted upon issuance of said certificate.
- If I buy a “Tax Declared” property can I get it “Titled or something to make me feel "safer"?
- Yes. With the recent lifting of the moratorium on the disposition and granting of any title, concession, permit or lease on all small islands nationwide by virtue of Administrative Order No. 2003-06 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, certain islands that are tax declared can now be titled for as long as they are classified as alienable and disposable. However, certain types of land may never be titled.
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