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CPBRD POLICY B RIEF
CONGRESSIONAL POLICY AND BUDGET RESEARCH DEPARTMENT
MAY 2011
NO. 2011-4
ADDRESSING POLICY GAPS IN
THE LAND ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM*
In most developing countries, land is not only a notable means of generating a livelihood but
often the key instrument for investing, accumulating, and transferring wealth between
generations. Thus, the institutional and legal framework in which access to land is regulated,
property rights are defined, and ownership conflicts are resolved, have broad implications in
the country’s pursuit for growth and poverty reduction.1
Typically, an efficient land market allows the optimal use of land, and well-defined property
rights will help overcome credit market imperfections. However, the Philippine land market
has not been efficiently functioning (e.g. problems on fake titles and boundary disputes
among others).
At present, the Philippine land administration system is handled by multiple agencies and
governed by multiple laws resulting to different standards for land valuation, overlapping
land titling processes and so many opportunities for graft and corruption. Inefficiencies in
the system is due to outdated land legislation and administrative processes which further lead
to high cost of doing business involving real estate properties.
Defining Land administration system
The United Nations-Economic Commission for Europe defines land administration as:
“…the process of determining, recording and disseminating information about the
ownership, value, and use of land when implementing land management policies. It is
considered to include land registration, cadastral surveying and mapping, fiscal, legal and
multi-purpose cadastres and land information systems.”2
Moreover, Dale and MacLaughlin3 further define land administration as “the process of
regulating land and property development and the use and conservation of land, the
gathering of revenues from the land through sales, leasing, and taxation, and the resolving of
conflicts concerning the ownership and use of land.”
* Prepared by Ma. Leni Lebrilla of the Special Projects Service in consultation with Director Novel Bangsal and CPBRD OIC
Director-General Romulo Emmanuel Miral, Jr. The views, opinions and interpretations in this report do not necessarily reflect the
views of the House of Representatives as an institution or its individual Members.
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Simply put, land administration system is the way in which the rules of land tenure are
applied and made operational. Land administration, whether formal or informal, comprises
an extensive range of systems and processes to administer, namely:4



Land Rights: the allocation of rights in land, the delimitation of boundaries of parcels
for which the rights are allocated, the transfer from one party to another through
sale, lease, loan, gift or inheritance, and the adjudication of doubts and disputes
regarding rights and parcel boundaries;
Land-use Regulation: land-use planning and enforcement and the adjudication of all
land use conflicts; and
Land Valuation and Taxation: the gathering of revenues through forms of land
valuation and taxation, and the adjudication of land valuation and taxation disputes.
Gaps in the land administration system
The existing land administration system in the Philippines can be summarized in two words:
multiple and complex. The whole system is governed by multiple laws, regulations, processes
and standards, and is managed by multiple institutions with limited collaboration.

Legal and regulatory framework
An inventory of the laws relevant to public land disposition and land registration revealed
the existence of more than 60 laws.5 Of this number, the following are the more important
measures that define the process of land registration and titling:6

Commonwealth Act 141 (Public Land Act of 1936) serves as the foundation of
subsequent laws on public land.

Act 496 (Land Registration Act 1902) as supplemented by PD 1529 (property
Registration Decree). Both provide for the registration of lands claimed as
private property, requiring all patents, certificates, deed and conveyance issued by
the Bureau of Land to be registered at the Registry of Deeds.

Act 2259 (Cadastral Act) provides for the cadastral survey and institution of
compulsory and mass judicial proceedings for the settlement and adjudication of
claims to all kinds of land.

Section 194 of Act 3344 (Administrative Code) provides for a system of recording
instruments or deeds relating to real estate not registered under Act 496 or under
the Spanish Mortgage Law.
Given the complex legal structure, the Philippine case is considered unique because the land
titling process is done judicially and administratively (Table 1). In stark contrast, land
registration in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos are done through
administrative processes only. The Land Registration Act and the Cadastral Act both fall
under the Torrens system of titling process and the proceedings in both Acts are judicial in
character.7
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The Torrens System was formulated to assure landowners covered by original Certificate of
Title or Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) issued by the Registry of Deeds that the land title
will be absolute, indefeasible and imprescriptible. The Torrens system in the Philippines
which is based on American model is particularly contentious because it requires
intervention of the courts in the title registration process.
Interestingly, most countries in the Asian region have managed to implement an overarching
land law, often referred to as Land Code while the Philippines still implements multiple
decrees that often overlap. The percentage share of documented lands in the Philippines is
66% compared to Thailand (80+%) and Vietnam (90%).
Table 1. Regional Institutional and Legislative Comparisons
Country
Institution/s
Legal Framework
(date of latest amendments)
Thailand
Department of Lands
Land Code (2001)
Malaysia
Ministry of Lands and
Cooperative Development
National Land Code (2002)
Indonesia
National Land Agency
Basic Agrarian Law (1998)
Cambodia
Ministry of Land
Management, Urban
Planning and Construction
Land Law (2001)
Laos
National Land Management
Authority, incorporating
Department of Lands
Land Law (2003)
Vietnam
Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment
Land Law (2003)
Philippines
Department of Justice
Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
Department of Agrarian
Reform
Overlapping and inconsistent
Acts and Decrees
Registration
Process
% of Land
Parcels
Registered
Administrative
80+
Administrative
Administrative
--
42
Administrative
37
Administrative
35
Administrative
Judicial and
Administrative
90
66
Source: Burns, Anthony and Dalrymple, Kate, Land Administration Core Comparisons, Australia, May 2007; Keith Clifford Bell,
January 2007.
Obtaining a formal title in the country through voluntary judicial proceedings has not
encouraged a “culture of registration.” 7 This can be attributed to tedious number of steps
involved and the delays due to an overloaded court system and the inability of the courts to
allocate sufficient time to land titling matters. Survey of Regional Courts indicates that 15%
of all cases handled by the courts is related to land registration issues.8
Moreover, the requirement for judicial determination is not confined to original registration.
It includes matters such as reconstitution of lost original titles, replacement of lost duplicate
titles, and removal of notifications on administratively reconstituted titles and correction of
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errors (including minor clerical errors) on titles.9 In these requirements, the Philippines made
a major departure from the original aim of the Torrens system which was to provide a
simple, inexpensive administrative process.
Voluntary judicial proceedings and administrative proceedings can operate in parallel. This
means that a claimant may choose which process to use to formalize a title. But each process
involves different agencies and sadly, the coordination between and among the said agencies
has been problematic. In most cases, competing claims from different proceedings can lead
to more friction in the land market.10

Institutional arrangements
A number of government agencies have varied interests in land use planning, land
administration, land development and/or land management (Table 2). Registration alone is
undertaken in 162 registries of deeds with a registry in each municipality, city and province.11
The multiple laws12 that mostly define institutional arrangements are complex, overlapping,
and in some cases, inconsistent. Multiplicity of laws governing various aspects of land
development and their enforcement is vested in a number of National Government
Agencies and offices as provided in their respective charters.13 Each agency therefore, is
guided by its own requirements and standards of operation in carrying out its respective
mandate, for instance, on how to classify agricultural lands within its legal jurisdiction.
Examples of agencies with overlapping functions abound. The Administrative Code of 1987
states that DENR shall serve as the sole agency responsible for the surveying of lands.
However, the same Code specifies that the Bureau of Land Development under DAR shall
develop and prescribe procedures and techniques for land surveys in accordance with
approved standards. Moreover, Section 46 of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA)
1987 provides that the Ancestral Domains Office within the National Commission for
Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) shall be responsible for the identification, delineation, and
recognition of ancestral lands/domains.14
Implications of an inefficient system
There are no provisions for harmonization among these related laws and coordination
among agencies that implement these laws. As such, the performance of government
agencies undertaking land administration functions such as surveys, mapping, classification,
titling and disposition and registration are hampered by the structure and operation of the
land administration system, which further result to other problems such as:15

Multiple standards for mapping and land surveys. There are too many maps
with overlapping territorial boundaries conducted by NAMRIA, DENR and IPRA.
While the DENR was the sole agency responsible for classifying land as per
Commonwealth Act 141, the IPRA of 1987 gave NCIP a similar function with
respect to ancestral lands, which significantly encompasses unclassified forest lands.16
Both the DENR regional land management offices and Land Registration Authority
conduct verification and approval of subdivision or consolidation surveys for titling
purposes, which results in two different sets of parcel maps in different reference
systems, and these are not interlinked.
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Table 2. Key Duplication/Overlap Between Agencies
Duplication/Overlap
Agencies Involved
Primary classification of public
land as Arable and Disposable
land
DENR/NAMRIA
Undertaking of land surveys for
titling purposes
DENR (LMB);
NCIP
DAR
Potentially NCIP
Approval of subdivision surveys
for titling purposes (for land
already titled)
LMB;
Awarding of original private
rights in Arable and Disposable
land
DENR (Patents);
LRA
Source of Duplication/Overlap
Conflict between responsibilities for land
classification as determined by EO 292 of
July 1987 (instituting the Administrative
Code), and Indigenous Peoples Rights Act
(IPRA) 1987.
Administrative Code provides authority to
both DENR and DAR to undertake land
surveys. IPRA 1987 gives NCIP
responsibility for the identification,
delineation, and recognition of ancestral
lands/domains.
Property Registration Decree (PD 1529 of
June 1978, As amended) permits either
LMB or LRA to approve such plans.
Two titling processes (administrative,
judicial), both mandated by law.
DAR (CLOAs);
Courts (court decrees);
Legislation authorizing different forms of
ownership rights in land, by administrative
process.
NCIP (CADTs)
Maintenance of independent,
uncorrelated versions of
cadastral maps/records
DENR (LMB);
A consequence of two agencies involved in
two titling processes.
LRA
The practice is neither explicitly mandated
nor necessitated by law.
Compilation of land maps and
information
Multiple agencies
A reflection of differing agency needs for
land information but some unnecessary
overlap occurs.
Land valuation and related
mapping for tax purposes
BIR; LGUs
Different valuation methods mandated by
different property taxation laws.
Source: LAMP-DENR, Institutional Arrangement Policy Study, July 2002.
Please note the following abbreviation: BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue), CADT (Certificate of Ancestral Domain
Title), CLOA (Certificate of Land Ownership Awards); DAR (Department of Agrarian Reform), DENR (Department of
Environment and Natural Resources); LMB (Land Management Bureau); LRA (Land Registration Authority); NCIP
(National Commission of Indigenous People); and NAMRIA (National Mapping and Resources Information Authority).
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
Multiple forms for title certificates. There is confusion over the status and relative
merits of various rights in land, e.g, CLOAs, patents, original Certificates of Title,
Certificate of Ancestral Land Title, and other decrees. For example, a patent is widely
regarded as a lesser title than a Certificate of Title issued on a judicial decree. Courts
have not respected the indefeasibility of registered patents to the same degree as
other titles, while some banks will not lend as much money on them.17

Multiple standards for land valuation. There are multiple systems/methodologies
and laws/regulations used by government agencies for land valuation. The systems
are used for different purposes including real property taxation, compensation for
land acquired for public investment, and for land valuation under the CARP.
Valuations are often doubtful, incorrect, and influenced by local politics.18

Multiple taxes on land ownership and transfers. Responsibility for taxes on real
property is shared between the national and local governments with local
governments collecting taxes on the value of land and both levels taxing land
transfers. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collects four (4) major taxes that are
related to land transfers: capital gains tax, estate tax, donor’s tax, and documentary
stamp tax. It also collects income tax on real property, professionals and others
participating in land markets as a business, value-added tax on certain real property
sales, and minor amount in certificate fees.
The high tax rates in relation to registration of lands transfers discourage formal
transactions (including registration of land transfers) due to high cost; provide
incentives and opportunities for inappropriate practices, encourage sellers and buyers
to seek non-formal ways of transacting; and put pressure on the land valuation
system to reduce property assessment and accompanying taxes.
Current reform efforts
There have been long-standing efforts to streamline the country’s land administrative
approach. Since the 8th Congress, the Land Administration Reform Act (LARA) and related
measures have been filed and refiled without much legislative success. Under the 15th
Congress, House Bill Nos. 44 (Rufus B. Rodriguez and Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.), 408 (Juan
Edgardo M. Angara), 826 (Diosdado M. Arroyo and Gloria M. Arroyo), 2970 (Salvador H.
Escudero III), and 2620 (Ignacio T. Arroyo) are geared to institutionalize reforms in land
administration in order to optimize and rationalize their contribution to the national goals.
Specifically, the LARA proposes to create the Land Administration Authority (LAA) and
place it under the Office of the President. The LAA will serve as the primary government
agency responsible for land administration and public land management. It will be the sole
agency that will prepare, issue, and register all land titles. Further, LARA creates the Land
Adjudication Board (LAB) which will serve as a quasi-judicial body of LAA. The LAB will
exercise exclusive original jurisdiction over all matters involving the implementation of laws,
rules and regulations on land administration and public land management.
Finally, LARA proposes to integrate with LAA the following offices: DENR’s Land
Management Bureau, Land Management Services, and Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program National Secretariat and its field offices, the Land Registration Authority and
Register of Deeds.
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Endnotes
Novel Bangsal and Ma. Leni Lebrilla , Land Administration System: Functional and Efficiency Implications, Policy
Advisory No. 2008-5, Congressional Planning and Budget Department, House of Representatives, 2008.
2 Daniel Steudler, Abbas Rajabifard, and Ian P. Williamson, Evaluation of Land Administration Systems, available at
www.geom.unimelb.edu.au/research/SDI_research/publications/files/SteudlerEtal2004.pdf, accessed: 3 March 2011.
3 P. Dale and JD MacLaughlin,, Land Administration Systems, Oxford University, 1999.
4 http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y4307E/y4307e05.htm download on March 2, 2011.
5 Novel Bangsal and Ma. Leni Lebrilla, Land Administration System: Functional and Efficiency Implications, Policy
Advisory No. 2008-5, Congressional Planning and Budget Department, House of Representatives, 2008.
6 Ibid.
7 LAMP-DENR, Land Laws and Regulations Policy Study, Department of Environment and Natural Resources,2002
8 Ibid.
9 Novel Bangsal, and Ma. Leni Lebrilla , Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Anne-Marie Brits, Chris Grant, and Tony Burns, Comparative Study of Land Administration Systems, Regional
Workshops on Land Policy Issues, Asia Program, 4-6 June 2002.
13 The legal framework for the institutional arrangements for land administration comprises three main elements: (1)
the Administrative Code; (2) various laws and Executive decrees which include provisions determining the powers of
specific agencies and/or the functions or activities they administer, and (3) other legislation applicable to land-related
agencies that regulate way in which they are funded and managed, e.g, R.A. No.6656 (LAMP-DENR, Institutional
Arrangement Policy Study, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, July 2002).
14 LAMP-DENR, The Land Development Process Study, Department of Environment and Natural Resources,
November 2004.
15 LAMP-DENR, Institutional Arrangement Policy Study, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, July
2002.
16 Novel Bangsal and Ma. Leni Lebrilla, Land Administration System: Functional and Efficiency Implications, Policy
Advisory No. 2008-5, Congressional Planning and Budget Department, House of Representatives, 2008.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
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