Case No. 7 GR No. 205817 2021-10-06 REPUBLIC v. LUISA ABELLANOSA HERNANDO, J.

 Judicial reconstitution of a Torrens title. 

Case No. 7 GR No. 205817 2021-10-06

REPUBLIC v. LUISA ABELLANOSA HERNANDO, J. 

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In Republic v. Mancao,  the Court explained that: 

[T]he judicial reconstitution of a Torrens title under Republic Act No. 26 means the restoration in the original form and condition of a lost or destroyed Torrens certificate attesting the title of a person to registered land. The purpose of the reconstitution is to enable, after observing the procedures prescribed by law, the reproduction of the lost or destroyed Torrens certificate in the same form and in exactly the same way it was at the time of the loss or destruction. 

For the judicial reconstitution of an existing and valid original certificate of Torrens title, Section 2 of RA 26 enumerates the acceptable bases, while Sections 12 and 13 provide for the procedure for the reconstitution.

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In Sebastian v. Spouses Cruz,  We pointed out that the following requisites must be complied with for an order for reconstitution to be issued: 

(a) that the certificate of title had been lost or destroyed; 

(b) that the documents presented by petitioner are sufficient and proper to wanant reconstitution of the lost or destroyed certificate of title; 

(c) that the petitioner is the registered owner of the property or had an interest therein; 

( d) that the certificate of title was in force at the time it was lost and destroyed; and 

(e) that the description~ area and boundaries of the property are substantially the same as those contained in the lost or destroyed certificate of title. 

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Petitioner claims that the RTC did not acquire jurisdiction over the case because the second amended petition contained substantial changes and annexes and yet said petition was not posted and published as required under Sections 12 and 13 of RA 26. 

We disagree.

This Court finds, as the CA did, that the foregoing does not affect the nature of the action that necessitates another posting and publication, The revisions merely refer to the substitution of the parties in view of the deaths of the spouses Manalo and the mention of RA 26 as the applicable law. These are minor matters that simply tend to assist and guide the RTC in conducting the proceeding. Hence, the earlier posting and publication of the petition for reconstitution prior to the second amendment were sufficient for the RTC to acquire jurisdiction on the subject matter of the case. 

Nevertheless, assuming arguendo that another posting and publication was necessary in view of the second amendment, the absence of the same does not divest the RTC of its jurisdiction that it validly acquired in the first instance. Settled is the rule that jurisdiction once acquired is not lost upon the instance of the parties but continues until the case is terminated. Moreover, the use of the technical descriptions as embodied in the blue prints and such other documents adduced as bases for the production of the new title, likewise does not necessitate another posting and publication because while they were newly mentioned in the second amendment~ the same werw already available for the court to scrutinize during the first amendment. 

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The reconstitution of title is an action in rem, which means it is one directed not only against particular persons, but against the thing itself.  The essence of posting and publication is to give notice to the whole world that such petition has been filed and that interested parties may intervene or oppose in the case. This purpose was achieved in this case when notices on the first and second amendments were duly served upon the parties in interest of the case and proper posting and publication was made to the original petition for reconstitution. In view of this, We find that the court validly acquired jurisdiction over the case. 

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For the judicial reconstitution of an existing and valid original certificate of Torrens title, Section 2 of RA 26 has expressly listed the acceptable bases: 

SECTION 2. Original certificates of title shall be reconstituted from such of the sources hereunder enumerated as may be available, in the following order: 

(a) The owner's duplicate of the certificate oftitle; 

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(f) Any other document which, in the judgment of the court, is sufficient and proper basis for reconstituting the lost or destroyed certificate of title. 

In the instant case, the contents of the second amendment and the original petition for reconstitution, along with their respective supporting documents, were considered collectively by the RTC. Thus, the bases for the reconstitution of the title were not only the plans and technical descriptions but also the legible duplicate copies of the titles and a host of other official documents. 

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In sum, the Court finds that there was sufficient basis for the RTC to grant the petition for reconstitution. 

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