Law Summary
Survey Procedure and Public Notice
- The surveyor must provide reasonable notice before surveying each portion of the lands.
- Notices must be posted on the municipal building.
- Boundaries are marked with monuments.
Exceptions to Survey Provisions
- Sections 1 and 2 do not apply if the Bureau of Lands has already initiated the survey before the law's effectivity.
Right of Access and Duties of Land Claimants
- Authorized surveyors can enter lands for surveying and placing monuments.
- Land claimants must provide information about boundaries to surveyors when requested.
- Willful refusal or interference with surveys, destruction or alteration of monuments or notices, constitute misdemeanors punishable by fines or imprisonment.
Filing Petition for Title Adjudication
- After surveying, the Director of Lands, represented by the Attorney-General, files a petition in the Court of Land Registration.
- The petition includes a land description, plan with cadastral numbers, and other relevant data.
- Lots are numbered consecutively within municipalities unless a city or townsite uses block and lot numbers.
Cadastral Numbering and Subdivision
- Cadastral numbers assigned at registration are not to be changed except by court order.
- Subdivisions receive cadastral letters or may use block and lot numbers in cities.
- Subdivisions follow specific legal provisions referencing Act 496.
Publication and Service of Petition Notice
- The court clerk publishes the petition notice twice in the Official Gazette in both languages.
- A formal notice cites interested parties to appear and present claims.
- Notices also posted on land, municipal buildings, sent to local officials, and mailed to known parties.
- Additional notices may be issued at the court's discretion.
Answering Claims and Required Information
- Claimants must appear or be represented and file a sworn answer by the return date.
- Answers must include marital status, age, cadastral details, location, adjoining owners, possession facts, interest claimed, tax assessments, and encumbrances.
Assistance to Defendants
- The provincial governor or court may assign personnel to help defendants prepare pleadings free of charge.
- No fees or documentary stamps are required for answers prepared under this assistance.
- Defendants are informed about their rights and assistance.
Trial Procedures and Title Adjudication
- Trials occur within the province or at a designated place and follow rules of the Court of Land Registration.
- Default and confession orders apply as in ordinary court proceedings.
- Conflicting claims are adjudicated and final decrees form basis for issuing original certificates of title.
- Land Registration Act provisions apply unless otherwise provided.
Continuity of Trial Judges
- If a presiding judge dies or is incapacitated, another judge is appointed to complete and decide the trial with full powers.
New Trial and Appeals
- New trials are limited to specified lots.
- Appeals to the Supreme Court affect only the appellant's claimed lots; other lots' decisions become final.
Issuance and Description of Titles
- Separate certificates of title are issued for each parcel unless otherwise ordered.
- Final decrees with cadastral or block and lot numbers sufficiently describe the land for all purposes.
- Numerical designations must be written in words and figures in conveyance documents.
Fees for Registration Services
- Fees for certificates and registrations are prescribed based on property value tiers.
- Fees are collected alongside annual cost installments.
Cost Apportionment and Payment
- Survey and registration costs are shared among the Insular Government, province, and local municipalities, each bearing one-tenth.
- Remaining costs are apportioned against landowners based on lots.
- Apportionment is a special tax lien, payable in five annual installments.
- Exemptions apply to previously surveyed or registered lots.
- Payments to the Bureau of Lands and Judiciary are funded through the Insular Treasury.
Partition Proceedings
- Court may order partition of lands held in common or jointly during proceedings.
- Commissioners are appointed to execute partition under oath.
- Partition follows relevant Code of Civil Procedure provisions.
- Partition orders have the effect of final judgments.
Representation of Minors and Insane Persons
- Guardians or guardians ad litem represent minors or persons of unsound mind in partition.
- Guardians may perform necessary acts concerning the partition with court approval.
Costs and Expenses in Partition
- No special clerk fees for partition proceedings.
- Commissioners’ compensation and partition expenses may be taxed as costs and apportioned among parties.
- Payment may be enforced by execution or installment as directed by the court.
Liability of Heirs and Devisees
- Heirs/devisees of deceased landowners remain jointly liable to creditors for two years post partition order.
- Liability capped at value of the heir’s received share.
- Proportional contribution among heirs applies.
- Creditors’ judgments specify maximum liability per heir.
- Existing laws on debt payment order remain unaffected.
Interpretation and Terminology
- Construction rules from the Civil Procedure Code and Land Registration Act apply.
- "Court" denotes the Court of Land Registration, but may refer to First Instance Courts if jurisdiction transfers.
Regulation of Private Surveyors
- Private surveyors must pass civil service exams or possess recognized academic diplomas.
- Surveys must comply with Bureau of Lands manual and are subject to verification.
- Director of Lands may revoke authorization for defective surveys, subject to appeal.
- Suspension of survey rights pending appeal.
Effectivity
- The Act is titled "The Cadastral Act" and takes effect upon passage.