Last March 11, 2013, we went to the Quezon City Registry of Deeds to request for a certified true copy of the TCT of a foreclosed property located in Quezon City, and we were surprised by a memorandum which prevented us from making the request.
The said memorandum stated that we should have proper authorization, along with proper identification of the authorizing party, in order for us to request for a certified true copy of the TCT (Transfer Certificate of Title).
Since they were distributing a copy of the memo to everyone like us, I scanned the said memo and posted a copy below for easy reference for everyone who would need certified true copies of titles of properties located in Quezon City.
Quezon City Registry of Deeds Memorandum for certified true copies of titles and other documents (click to download)
If you can’t read the memo above, I have pasted the full text of the contents below:
Republic of the Philippines
Department of Justice
LAND REGISTRATION AUTHORITY
REGISTRY OF DEEDS OF Quezon City
East Avenue cor. NIA Road
Quezon CIty
MEMORANDUM
To: ALL CONCERNED
FROM: ATTY. CARLO V. ALCANTARA
SUBJECT: PROPER IDENTIFICATION/AUTHORITY
DATE: FEBRUARY 28, 2013
You are hereby reminded that under “LRA Circular 05-2006″ “Proper identification including written authority must be required of the presenter before issuing electronic certified true copies of all titles and documents”. If requesting party has an adverse interest, his/her alleged interest must be supported by a document to prove same.
Violation of the subject circular shall be dealt with accordingly.
[SGD.]ATTY. CARLO V. ALCANTARA
Acting Register of Deeds
I hope this saves all concerned of the trouble of going to the Quezon City Registry of Deeds only to find out that they need to get proper authorization from the owner of a property.
With the memo above, you will have to get proper authorization, and a copy of their ID(s) BEFORE requesting for certified true copies at the Quezon City Registry of Deeds.
For someone like us who came all the way from Las Pinas City, think of the time, effort, and gasoline which we could have wasted. I’m just glad we also inspected a number of foreclosed properties in the area and the 1.5 hour trip from Las Pinas to Quezon City (that’s one way and with minimal traffic!) did not go to waste, although this means we will have to go back to the Quezon City RD one of these days.
Keep in mind that after making a request for a certified true copy of a TCT/CCT, you will have to come back again after several days to pick it up… bummer!
LRA Circular 05-2006
By the way, I searched for a copy of LRA Circular 05-2006 but I couldn’t find one. I only found an excerpt which states the following:
“that the Register of Deeds will only release the owner’s duplicate of the title to the presentor of the transaction, who normally is the registered owner or a party to the instrument. If the owner’s copy of the title is to be claimed by a person or party other than the presentor of the document, then he/she must have written authority from the registered owner or the party to the instrument. Only under such condition will the Register of Deeds release the owner’s copy to that person other than the presentor.”
This is totally understandable for the owner’s duplicate of the title. But how about for certified true copies? What do you think?
What if the owner of a property does not wan’t to give proper authorization/identification?
It’s common knowledge that you have to get a certified true copy of a property’s title as part of due diligence. But just in case the owner is reluctant to give you proper authorization and identification, what can you do?
I would suggest you show a copy of the memo above to the owner, and explain that you need the authorization to get a certified true copy of the title as as part of due diligence.
But what if they still do not want to give you authorization? Then I guess you have found a seller who does not really want to sell their property, and you can just walk away.
Heck, I’ve heard of private sellers who don’t even want to show a photocopy of the title, pretty strange in my opinion… makes me ask “How the heck can they sell that property if they won’t let you do your due diligence?!”.
I’m just glad that this is not a problem with banks as they would readily give authorization and proper identification.
Anyway, if you are doing your due diligence for properties located in Quezon City, better keep this memo in mind and save yourself the hassle… get proper authorization/identification from the owner before making that trip to the QC RD!
How about other cities / municipalities?
I too wonder if other Registry of Deeds in other cities/municipalities have issued a similar memo. If you know of other RD’s who have implemented something similar, please do let us all know by leaving a comment below. Thanks!
~~~
To our success and financial freedom!
Jay Castillo
Real Estate Investor
PRC Real Estate Broker License No. 3194
Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
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Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2008 – 2013 All rights reserved.
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Hi, I'm 
Thank you for sharing the updated rules of the register of deeds in Quezon city.
Thanks sir Jay for d updated government auction list. I really apreciate ur effort. God bless u always! Hope some people like u will multiply and empowered d good nation with a good purpose. keep it up!
note that in qc, one person receives the request and another person releases the electronic copy, but in binangonan the person who receives the request is also the same person that releases the electronic copy, problem of understaffing perhaps
Hi Jay, here in Southern Leyte, there is no such memo issued by our own RD. I think there’s something wrong with the memo. A certificate of title is a public document, so its certified true copy should be made available for access to everyone without any restriction/condition.
I agree Atty Ram, thanks for dropping by. Cheers!
have to clarify what i wrote about valenzuela, at this time since it is still undergoing computerization, valenzuela provides at this time a certified xerox copy, a certified true copy which is the electronic copy nowadays is different from certified xerox copy
Thanks for clarifying that Leo. I noticed in computerized RD’s like Binangonan and QC, certified true copies take more than a day. For RD’s that give certified xerox copies, they are available on the same day…
yes, jay, manila & san juan is already computerized. fyi, before in manila, one requests and has to get back another day to get the certified true copy, its good now one can request and get the copy on the same day. so it has improved its services, in time i guess the rest of the rds will provide electronic copies on the day of the request. valenzuela is the same, request today get it today too, but its not electronic copy, only certified true copy, its still undergoing computerization
The LRA circular cannot be amended by an RD’s memo. The RD’s memo has the effect of emending the LRA circular, which is not proper. The memo pertains to a certified-true-copy but the circular refers to the owner’s copy of the title. They are two different things.
Suppose you want to attach a property in connection with a pending case, how could the plaintiff do it if he could not secure a copy of the title?
The memo’s validity should be challenged in court.
Hi Joyce, thanks for the inputs, we really need to see the full text of the LRA circular as there might be text which pertains to certified true copies.
Just a thought for attaching properties, can the courts give the authorization to get a certified true copy instead of the owner?
Hi, I’m a licensed broker based in Mandaluyong. Just to inform you and others that Mandaluyong Registry of Deeds has long been promulgating that same requirements when securing a certified true copy of the title – the owner’s written authority together with the IDs of both the owner and the requesting party.
Thanks a lot Gay for the feedback, really appreciate it.
By the way, how long does it take to get a certified true copy in Mandaluyong? Can you get it on the same day?
Thanks again!
Certified true copies of titles can be secured after three (3) days. If you request it on a Monday, you can get it Wednesday afternoon.
Thanks!
no such requirement in san juan and manila, one secures the certified true copy on the same day
Hi Leo, thanks a lot for the heads-up!
I’m also glad you can get a copy on the same day. Just curious, are they already computerized? I noticed RD’s that are already computerized have several days of lead-time and you have to go back to claim the certified true copy on another day, which makes me agree with other people’s observation that the LRA’s computerization is ironically making things slower.
Frankly speaking, I really don’t understand why it would take more than a day to retrieve and print an electronic copy of a TCT/CCT.
Thanks for the info… it’s very helpful.
But what if… I have a client who wanted to buy a certain property and wanted to know who’s the owner of that property so that he could give him an offer to buy? How would it go?
Hi Ruth,
I would suggest you find out who the owner is by doing your research at the tax mapping section (if you know the address, you can find the tax declaration, and then the owner’s name(s) and TCT number. Then I guess you can politely talk with the owner (or whoever is living in that property) and let them know your intent. You can even give a letter of intent subject to title verification/due diligence. If they are interested, then that’s the proper time to request for authorization to get a certified true copy of the title.
I hope this helps. Thanks for the comment!
Hi Jay, it would be interesting how this is interpreted in the context of the Freedom of Information Act of 2010; more precisely, if this is an exception covered under Section 7-C.
Hi John, I suppose under section 7-C of the FOI Bill, access to such information cannot be denied from the general public if TCT’s are considered as public records.
I wonder when the FOI Bill will get passed, if ever. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for the information Jay! It will definitely saves us a lot of time on requesting the certified true copy of the TCT in Quezon City.
You’re welcome Dan, thanks for dropping by. Cheers!