Registration of property is not a mode of acquisition of ownership, but merely a mode

of confirmation of ownership.

Requisites for Registration

 that the property in question is alienable and disposable land of the public
domain;
 that the applicants by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have
been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation;
and
 that such possession is under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945
or earlier.

 Tax declarations are not conclusive proof of ownership; they constitute good
indicia of possession in the concept of owner and a claim of title over the subject
property.

 Possession alone is not sufficient to acquire title to alienable lands of the public
domain because the law requires possession and occupation.

 The burden of proof in land registration cases rests on the applicant who must
show by clear, positive and convincing evidence that his alleged possession and
occupation of the land is of the nature and duration required by law.

 One main reason why the informal sector has not become formal is that from
Indonesia to Brazil, 90 percent of the informal lands are not titled and registered.
This is a generalized phenomenon in the so-called Third World. And it has many
consequences.

 Commonwealth Act No. 141, also known as the Public Land Act, has, since its
enactment, governed the classification and disposition of lands of the public
domain. The President is authorized, from time to time, to classify the lands of
the public domain into alienable and disposable, timber, or mineral lands.
Alienable and disposable lands of the public domain are further classified
according to their uses into (a) agricultural; (b) residential, commercial,
industrial, or for similar productive purposes; (c) educational, charitable, or other
similar purposes; or (d) reservations for town sites and for public and quasi-
public uses.

Prescription
  is one of the modes of acquiring ownership of patrimonial property under the
Civil Code. There is a consistent jurisprudential rule that properties classified as
alienable public land may be converted into private property by reason of open,
continuous and exclusive possession of at least thirty (30) years. With such
conversion, such property may now fall within the contemplation of "private
lands" under Section 14(2), and thus susceptible to registration by those who
have acquired ownership through prescription. Thus, even if possession of the
alienable public land commenced on a date later than June 12, 1945, and such
possession being been open, continuous and exclusive, then the possessor may
have the right to register the land by virtue of Section 14(2) of the Property
Registration Decree.
It is clear under the Civil Code that where lands of the public domain are patrimonial in
character, they are susceptible to acquisitive prescription. On the other hand, among the
public domain lands that are not susceptible to acquisitive prescription are timber lands
and mineral lands. The Constitution itself proscribes private ownership of timber or
mineral lands.

BASIS
 The Civil Code is the only existing law that specifically allows the acquisition by
prescription of private lands, including patrimonial property belonging to the
State.

Types of Prescription
There are two kinds of prescription by which patrimonial property may be acquired,
one ordinary and other extraordinary.

 Under ordinary acquisitive prescription, a person acquires ownership of a

patrimonial property through possession for at least ten (10) years, in good faith
and with just title.

 Under extraordinary acquisitive prescription, a person's uninterrupted adverse

possession of patrimonial property for at least thirty (30) years, regardless of
good faith or just title, ripens into ownership.

[two kinds of prescription under the Civil Code — ordinary acquisitive prescription and
extraordinary acquisitive prescription, which, under Article 1137, is completed "through
uninterrupted adverse possession for thirty years, without need of title or of good faith"]
ORDINARY ACQUISITIVE PRESCRIPTION, which, under Article 1117, requires
possession in good faith and with just title; and, under Article 1134, is completed
 through possession of ten (10) years. Indispensable Requisites — good faith and
just title.

 It is clear that property of public dominion, which generally includes property

belonging to the State, cannot be the object of prescription or, indeed, be subject
of the commerce of man. Lands of the public domain, whether declared alienable
and disposable or not, are property of public dominion and thus insusceptible to
acquisition by prescription.

 Accordingly, there must be an express declaration by the State that the public
dominion property is no longer intended for public service or the development
of the national wealth or that the property has been converted into patrimonial.
Without such express declaration, the property, even if classified as alienable or
disposable, remains property of the public dominion, pursuant to Article 420 (2),
and thus incapable of acquisition by prescription. It is only when such alienable
and disposable lands are expressly declared by the State to be no longer intended
for public service or for the development of the national wealth that the period of
acquisitive prescription can begin to run. Such declaration shall be in the form of
a law duly enacted by Congress or a Presidential Proclamation in cases where
the President is duly authorized by law.

 Possession of public dominion property before it becomes patrimonial cannot be

the object of prescription according to the Civil Code.

 Section 14 (1) mandates registration on the basis of possession, while Section 14

(2) entitles registration on the basis of prescription. Registration under Section 14
(1) is extended under the aegis of the Property Registration Decree and the Public
Land Act while registration under Section 14 (2) is made available both by the
Property Registration Decree and the Civil Code.

 Registration under Section 48 (b) of the Public Land Act as amended by Rep. Act
No. 1472 is based on thirty years of possession alone without regard to the Civil
Code, while the registration under Section 14 (2) of the Property Registration
Decree is founded on extraordinary prescription under the Civil Code.

Good faith vs. Bad faith

 Good faith is the opposite of fraud and of bad faith, and its non-existence must
be established by competent proof. While good faith is presumed, conversely,
bad faith must be established by competent proof by the party alleging the same.
Possession, concept under prescription
 Under the public land act, judicial confirmation of imperfect title required
possession en concepto de dueño since time immemorial, or since July 26, 1894.
Republic Act No. 1942 was enacted amending C.A. No. 141. This later enactment
required adverse possession for a period of only thirty (30) years.

 Prior to Presidential Decree No. 1073, imperfect title to agricultural land of the
public domain could be acquired by adverse possession of 30 years. Presidential
Decree No. 1073, issued on 25 January 1977, amended Section 48 (b) of the Public
Land Act by requiring possession and occupation of alienable and disposable
land of the public domain since 12 June 1945 or earlier for an imperfect title.
Hence, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1073, the requisite period of
possession for acquiring imperfect title to alienable and disposable land of the
public domain is no longer determined according to a fixed term (i.e., 30 years);
instead, it shall be reckoned from a fixed date (i.e., 12 June 1945 or earlier) from
which the possession should have commenced.

ACCRETION
 An accretion does not automatically become registered land just because the lot
which receives such accretion is covered by a Torrens title. Ownership of a piece
of land is one thing; registration under the Torrens system of that ownership is
another. Ownership over the accretion received by the land adjoining a river is
governed by the Civil Code. Imprescriptibility of registered land is provided in
the registration law. Registration under the Land Registration and Cadastral
Acts does not vest or give title to the land, but merely confirms and, thereafter,
protects the title already possessed by the owner, making it imprescriptible by
occupation of third parties. But to obtain this protection, the land must be placed
under the operation of the registration laws, wherein certain judicial procedures
have been provided

ACCESSION AND ACCRETION

 since by ACCESSION, the land in question pertains to the original estate,

and since in this instance the original estate is registered, the
ACCRETION, consequently, falls within the purview of Section 46 of Act
No. 496, which states that 'no title to registered land in derogation to that
 of the registered owner shall be acquired by prescription or adverse
possession.

 Accretion as a mode of acquiring property under Article 457 of the Civil

Code, requires the concurrence of the following requisites:
(1) that the accumulation of soil or sediment be gradual and
imperceptible; (2) that it be the result of the action of the waters of the
river: and
(3) that the land where the accretion takes place is adjacent to the bank of
the river.

 ACCRETION is the process whereby the soil is deposited, while alluvium

is the soil deposited on the estate fronting the riverbank; the owner of
such estate is called the riparian owner. Riparian owners are, strictly
speaking, distinct from littoral owners, the latter being owners of lands
bordering the shore of the sea or lake or other tidal waters. The alluvium,
by mandate of Article 457 of the Civil Code, is automatically owned by the
riparian owner from the moment the soil deposit can be seen hut is not
automatically registered property, hence, subject to acquisition through
prescription by third persons.

Section 3, Article XII, 1987 Constitution

 Lands of the public domain are classified into agricultural, forest or timber,
mineral lands and national parks. Agricultural lands of the public domain may
be further classified by law according to the uses to which they may be devoted.

Purpose of Prohibition
 The prohibition applies to alienable public lands as to which a Torrens title may
be secured. Section 2, Article XIII of the 1935 Constitution allows private
corporations to purchase public agricultural lands not exceeding one thousand
and twenty-four hectares. Petitioner' prohibition action is barred by the doctrine
of vested rights in constitutional law.
Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect or Incomplete Titles
 Section 48(b) of the Public Land Act, C.A. 141 as amended, applies exclusively to
alienable and disposable public agricultural land. Possession of inalienable
public lands, no matter how long, cannot ripen into private ownership.
SUZI vs. RAZON
In favor of Valentin Susi, there is, moreover, the presumption juris et de jure established
in paragraph (b) of section 45 of Act No. 2874, amending Act No. 926, that all the
necessary requirements for a grant by the Government were complied with, for he has
been in actual and physical possession, personally and through his predecessors, of an
agricultural land of the public domain openly, continuously, exclusively and publicly
since July 26, 1984, with a right to a certificate of title to said land under the provisions
of Chapter VIII of said Act. So that when Angela Razon applied for the grant in her
favor, Valentin Susi had already acquired by operation of law not only a right to a
grant, but a grant of the Government, for it is not necessary that a certificate of title
should be issued in order that said grant may be sanctioned by the courts, an
application therefor is sufficient, under the provisions of section 47 of Act No. 2874. If
by a legal fiction, Valentin Susi had acquired the land in question by a grant of the State,
it had already ceased to be of the public domain and had become private property, at
least by presumption, of Valentin Susi, beyond the control of the Director of Lands.
Consequently, in selling the land in question of Angela Razon, the Director of Lands
disposed of a land over which he had no longer any title or control, and the sale thus
made was void and of no effect, and Angela Razon did not thereby acquire any right.

The Public Land Act, as amended, governs lands of the public domain, except timber
and mineral lands, friar lands, and privately-owned lands which reverted to the State.
36 It explicitly enumerates the means by which public lands may be disposed, as
follows:
(1) For homestead settlement;
(2) By sale;
(3) By lease;
(4) By confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles;
(a) By judicial legalization; or
 (b) By administrative legalization (free patent)
Judicial confirmation or legalization of imperfect or incomplete title to land, not
exceeding 144 hectares, may be availed of by persons identified under Section 48 of the
Public Land Act, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1073. Section 48. The
following-described citizens of the Philippines, occupying lands of the public domain or
claiming to own any such lands or an interest therein, but whose titles have not been
perfected or completed, may apply to the Court of First Instance of the province where
the land is located for confirmation of their claims and the issuance of a certificate of
title thereafter, under the Land Registration Act.