Streamlined land transactions through the Transaction Ready Program

The Land Registration Authority (LRA), which is mandated by law to preserve the integrity of land transactions, including the registration process, protect the Torrens System and improve its role as the repository of records relative to registered and unregistered lands, had implemented the Title Ready Program through LRA Circular No. 15-2020, later renamed to the Transaction Ready Program (TRP) under the LRA Circular No. 08-2021.

WHAT IS TRP?
The TRP is a service from the LRA that allows registered property owners or their representatives to request the search, location, and retrieval of their titles from the Registry of Deeds in advance of a transaction. The TRP aims to more quickly convert paper titles to scanned images which shall be uploaded in the LRA’s Computerized System, and ensure a faster processing of future requests for certified true copies.

The TRP is part of the government’s efforts to modernize land registration through e-Titles and computerized systems, to maintain online information on titles as current, complete, and accurate, which safeguard titles against tampering, destruction, and deter substitution or insertion of questionable data; it likewise protect titles from loss due to fire, theft, natural disasters, and the normal ravages of time. The TRP facilitates the faster processing of requests for Certified True Copies (CTCs) of land titles from the various Registries of Deeds, including processing of transactions or registrations of deeds and instruments affecting the titles. Through this program, transactions involving titled land shall be faster and the conduct of due diligence becomes easier, which in turn aims to avoid fraudulent transactions concerning titled lands.

HOW TRP WORKS/IMPLEMENTATION
TRP may be requested by the registered owners, or their duly appointed representatives, by visiting the Registry of Deeds having custody of their land title.

Alternatively, TRP may also be requested by sending a text message to 0917-847-0598 for Globe subscribers or 0919-066-5327 for Smart subscribers, or by e-mail through clrp@lra.gov.ph.

The TRP may also be initiated by the various Registries of Deeds in the Philippines.

To encourage the processing of titles under the TRP, the Registries of Deeds around the Philippines are mandated to inform the public to request for their titles to be processed, so that the titles will be readily available for any future transaction.

Notably, all TRP requests shall be processed without fees or charges.

The Records Officer shall compare all covered titles with the title database of the Registry of Deeds and determine the appropriate action/s to be taken, including to electronically tag as having undergone the TRP process, to update the title image in the LRA’s Computerized System, or to issue a report to the LRA Central Office if the paper Government Copy is not available.

UPDATING AND TAGGING OF TITLES
Based on the request/s, the Records Officer of the Registry of Deeds shall process the scanning and uploading of the images of not only the title subject of the TRP request but also all other “active” titles that are part of the volume containing the title requested for.

When the process is successfully completed, the updated scanned image shall be electronically tagged as a “TRP,” and the phrase “Processed under the Transaction Ready Program” shall be printed on the Certified True Copy of the titles as a watermark.

EXCEPTION HANDLING
Should the LRA, through the TRP process, likewise discover that the Government Copy of the titles may no longer be found in its possession despite diligent search, it shall accordingly inform the requesting party so that the appropriate legal remedies may be resorted to replace, and/or reconstitute such title, as may be appropriate.

BENEFITS OF THE TRP
The conduct of due diligence and the request for CTCs become easier and more streamlined through the TRP. The TRP helps manage the flow of requests and transactions involving titled lands and thus increases the efficiency of the service provided by the LRA and the various Registries of Deeds. Consequently, prospective buyers of titled lands will have an easier way to determine in the records of the Registry of Deeds the veracity of the titles of the lands marketed to them and thereby avoid fraudulent transactions. The program ultimately enhances the core tenets of indefeasibility and the reliability of registered titles in our legal system.

The TRP also complements the other programs of the LRA such as the eSerbisyo Portal, (this service allows the online request of CTCs), the Anywhere to Anywhere (A2A; this service enables one to request a CTC from any computerized Registry of Deeds in the Philippines to retrieve titles/documents from another Registry of Deeds), and the Transaction Preview Notice (this service allows registered owners a chance to correct data in the entry and encoding stage of their transaction, and thus minimizes user errors and eliminates the tedious process of correcting typographical errors in the titles).

This move from a largely paper-based to a largely paperless system offers increased security and reduced costs to Filipino landowners by minimizing risks like loss, damage, and fraud associated with paper titles. It significantly improves efficiency through faster processing, reduced administrative burden, and better data accuracy and exchange.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and not o ff ered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.

John Frederick E. Derije is a senior associate of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW), Davao Branch.

(6382) 224-0996;

jederije @accralaw.com