DOJ Opinion No. 127, s. 1982

DOJ OPINION NO. 127 , s. 1982 July 6, 1982 The Commissioner Land Registration Commission Quezon City Sir : This refers to the request of the Land Registration Commission, through its then Officer-in-Charge Deputy Commissioner Paz Lahoz-Argel, for opinion on the request of the Minister of Agrarian Reform regarding exemptions from payment of registration fees pursuant to Section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 266, as amended by Section 105 of Presidential Decree No. 1529. In his basic letter addressed to that Commission, the Minister of Agrarian Reform states that there are two modes of payment applicable to landholdings covered by Operation Land Transfer pursuant to P.D. No. 27, namely: (1) payment through the Land Bank of the Philippines under P.D. No. 25; and (2) direct payment by the tenant-beneficiary to the landowner concerned. He further states that while some Registers of Deeds consider exempt from payment of registration fees transfers of land paid for under the first mode of payment pursuant to Section 2 of P.D. No. 266, as amended by Section 105 of P.D. No. 1529, other Registers of Deeds require payment of such fees where the compensation scheme adopted is the second mode, even upon the certification of the Ministry of Agrarian Reform (MAR) "that the transfer of ownership is pursuant to P.D. No. 27". In view thereof, he is requesting that Commission to extend the exemption privilege granted under the aforecited provision to transfers involving payments under the second mode and to instruct its Registers of Deeds to that effect. The cited provision reads: "SEC. 105. Certificates of Land Transfer: Emancipation Patents . The Department of Agrarian Reform shall pursuant to P.D. No. 27 issue in duplicate, a Certificate of Land Transfer for every land brought under 'Operation Land Transfer', the original of which shall be kept by the tenant-farmer and the duplicate, in the Registry of Deeds. After the tenant-farmer shall have fully complied with the requirements for a grant of title under P.D. No. 27, an Emancipation Patent which may cover previously titled or untitled property shall be issued by the Department of Agrarian Reform . xxx xxx xxx The Register of Deeds shall complete the entries on the aforementioned Emancipation Patent and shall assign an original certificate of title number in case of unregistered land, and in case of registered property, shall issue the corresponding transfer certificate of title without requiring the surrender of the owner's duplicate of the title to be cancelled. In case of death of the grantee, the Department of Agrarian Reform shall determine his heirs or successors-in-interest and shall notify the Register of Deeds accordingly. In case of subsequent transfer of property covered by an Emancipation Patent or a Certificate of Title emanating from an Emancipation Patent ,the Register of Deeds shall effect the Transfer only upon receipt of the supporting papers from the Department of Agrarian Reform. No fee, premium or tax of any kind shall be charged or imposed in connection with the issuance of an original Emancipation Patent and for the registration of related documents ." (Emphasis supplied.) As we see it, the application of the exemption provision found in the last paragraph of Sec. 105, supra , is not dependent on the mode of payment adopted by the parties concerned, In other words, the mode by which the land-owner, whose landholding is the subject of registration pursuant to Section 105 P.D. No. 1529, has been compensated for the transfer of the land to the tenant-beneficiary is immaterial in the determination of the abovecited exemption provision. What should be deemed controlling for purposes of the abovequoted provision is whether it is an original Emancipation Patent which is being issued by the Ministry of Agrarian Reform which patent serves as the authority for the Register of Deeds to cancel the title of the landowner and to issue a new title in favor of the tenant-beneficiary in case of registered lands, or to issue an original certificate of title to the said tenant-beneficiary in case of unregistered property. When such an Emancipation Patent is presented to the Register of Deeds for registration, the registrant shall be exempt from paying the registration fees chargeable in connection with the registration of such patent and the issuance of the corresponding title to the new owner. Needless to add, a mere certification from the MAR that the land subject of registration is being transferred pursuant to P.D. No. 27 would not be sufficient authority for the Register of Deeds to exempt the transaction from the payment of registration fees under Section 105, supra . The said provision clearly contemplates the registration of an "original Emancipation Patent" and "of related documents" in connection with which "no fee, premium, or tax of any kind shall be charged or imposed". It does not contemplate the registration of any voluntary deed of transfer, independently of, or unaccompanied by an original Emancipation Patent, notwithstanding any accompanying MAR certification that the land involved is covered by Operation Land Transfer pursuant to P.D. No. 27. LexLib Please be guided accordingly. Very truly yours, (SGD.) RICARDO C. PUNO Minister of Justice