(First of two parts)
Under the Property Registration Decree, an owner of registered land may convey, mortgage, lease charge, or otherwise deal with the same in accordance with existing laws. But the corresponding deed shall only operate as a contract between the parties and thus, shall not affect the land and third persons, unless it is duly registered by the proper Register of Deeds.
The Register of Deeds may register this deed or instrument once presented along with the owner’s duplicate certificate, unless otherwise stated in the Decree or upon the court’s order. To be sure, the production of the certificate shall be conclusive authority from the registered owner to the Register of Deeds to enter a new certificate or to make a memorandum of registration in accordance with such instrument.
This certificate or memorandum shall bind the registered owner and all persons claiming under him, in favor of every purchaser for value and in good faith. In this regard, in all cases of registration procured by fraud, the owner may pursue all his legal and equitable remedies against the fraudulent party, without prejudice to the rights of any innocent holder for value of a certificate of title.
Meanwhile, the same certificate shall not be issued pursuant to an instrument, such as a contract of lease or deed of real estate mortgage, which does not divest ownership from the owner or transferee of the registered owners. All such interests shall be registered by filing with the Register of Deeds the instrument which creates, transfers or claims them and by a duly signed, brief memorandum thereof upon the certificate of title. A similar memorandum shall also be made on the owner’s duplicate. The cancellation of these instruments shall be registered in the same manner.
Each Register of Deeds shall keep a primary entry book in which, upon payment of the entry fee, he shall enter, in the order of their reception, all instruments including copies of writs and processes filed with him relating to registered land. These instruments are deemed registered from the time they have been noted in the primary entry book, while the memorandum of each instrument, when made on the certificate of title to which it refers, shall bear the same date.
An owner desiring to convey his registered land in fee simple shall execute and register a deed of conveyance in the prescribed form.
Afterwards, the Register of Deeds shall make out in the registration book a new certificate of title to the grantee and shall prepare and deliver to him an owner’s duplicate certificate. The Register of Deeds shall note upon the original and duplicate certificates the details regarding the transfer and registration thereof, and shall stamp “cancelled” on them.
If a deed of conveyance would cover a portion of the land described in a certificate of title, the Register of Deeds shall not enter any transfer certificate to the grantee until a plan of such land showing all portions or lots into which it has been subdivided and the corresponding technical descriptions shall have been verified and approved accordingly.
Meanwhile, such deed may only be annotated by way of memorandum upon the grantor’s certificate of title, original and duplicate, and which shall serve as a notice to third persons of the fact of the conveyance of the portion of the land referred to therein. Every certificate with such memorandum shall be effectual for the purpose of showing the grantee’s title to the portion conveyed to him, pending the actual issuance of the corresponding certificate in his name.
Upon the approval of the plan and technical descriptions, the original of the plan, together with a certified copy of the technical descriptions shall be filed with the Register of Deeds for annotation in the corresponding certificate of title. Based thereon, the handling officer shall issue a new certificate of title to the grantee for the portion conveyed, and at the same time cancel the grantor’s certificate partially with respect only to said portion conveyed or, if the grantor so desires, his certificate may be cancelled totally and a new one issued to him describing therein the remaining portion.
If at the time of any transfer, subsisting encumbrances or annotations appear in the registration book, they shall be carried over and stated in the new certificate or certificates, except so far as they may be simultaneously released or discharged.
(To be continued)