Can You Rely On The Certificate Of Title?

QUESTION:

Aldrin, we purchased a parcel of land with buildings and land improvements from an individual several years ago. Let’s call this person Juan. The problem is, somebody recently approached us, telling us that Juan was not the real owner of the property we bought. According to this person, the real owner is his father; let’s call the said father, Pedro. But Aldrin, before purchasing the property, we conducted due diligence. In addition, the TCT clearly states that the owner is Juan. Both Juan and Pedro are now deceased. My question is, can this property be taken from us?

ANSWER:

Under our Torrens system of registration…

A person dealing with registered land may safely rely on the correctness of the certificate of title issued.

Which means that…

If you’re trying to purchase a titled property…

You can rely on what appears on the Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) in case of lands and Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT) in case of condominium units…

You are in no way obliged to go beyond the certificate.

So, if you indeed conducted your due diligence…

You protected yourself from fraudulent titles…

And you examined the TCT or CCT…

And found no mortgage… no encumbrance… no lis pendens… no adverse claim…

And through title verification…

You observed that the Certified True Copy coming from the Register of Deeds and the Owner’s Duplicate Copy have EXACTLY the same information…

(For example, the technical description that describes the property boundaries, the property area and the location are EXACTLY the same for both the Certified True Copy coming from the Register of Deeds and the Owner’s Duplicate Copy in the possession of the seller…)

That indeed, it appears that you’re transacting with the lawful owner of the property…

Then it can be said that you’re an innocent purchaser for value.

Which means that…

If somebody approaches you, like the heirs of Pedro… They can’t just take your property based on what they say… (which may or may not be true)…

Indeed, the burden of proving that you transacted with a fraudulent owner falls on them.

Whatever grounds for their claims might be…

Whether it’s arising from alleged forgery of Juan of the signature of the original owner…

Or that Juan was an agent (ahente) of Pedro…

Or the fact that Juan was an assignee of Pedro…  

Whatever it is, really…

It’s their burden of proof.

Sure, they can file a case… anybody can file a case…

But proving their allegations with evidence…

And having the Court decide the case in their favor…

Is an entirely different thing.   

So, in other words…

It cannot be taken away from you, as long as you have legal grounds for your ownership.