LRA downplays WB standard on release of land titles

The Land Registration Authority (LRA) downplayed the World Bank standard which cited three weeks as the ideal period of time for the release of land title registrations and said it is only realistic in countries that do not follow the Torrens System

“The World Bank study on the ease of doing business citing 3 weeks as the maximum period for release of land titles is based on the processes followed by countries without the legal torrens systems,” LRA Deputy Administrator for Operations Atty. Robert Nomar V. Leyretana said last Thursday.

Leyretana had a one-on-one discussion with Land Management Bureau (LMB) officer-in-charge Engr. Ralph C. Pablo and the officials of the Organization of Socialized Housing Developers of the Philippines (OSHDP) in the city to thresh out the organization’s concern on the delay in the release of land title registrations all over the country as a result of LRA’s computerization program.

OSHDP President Atty. Ryan T. Tan said the developers are pushing for the harmonization of the systems used by the LRA and the LMB to make the system of land administration, property registration and transferrability of titles more efficient.

“Globally the standard for processing of our subdivision of titles is three weeks maximum but in the Philippines you are lucky if you get your titles in three months (because of the conflict between the two agencies),” he said.

LRA started bidding its computerization program in 2000 under the Build-Own-Operate Scheme but the implementation started only in 2008. The computerization program aims to make LRA’s operations more efficient and prevent the issuance of dubious land titles. However, developers claim it is only in this country where computerization has resulted to delays in transactions specifically in the release of land titles.

 

“The three-week standard is easy in Australia because they do not have land titles—they just have the transfer of their properties listed and that’s it,” Mr. Leyretana said. In the Philippines, he said, the torrent system has been followed since 1903 and this legal framework has resulted to a slower process.

This is the reason why the LRA thought of computerizing their system, to respond to this particular problem, he said.  But while they have computerized the system, he added, LRA cannot do away with the legal framework.

LRA has scanned 22.28 million of 24 million certificates of title and has encoded 21.37 million of such titles as of August 08, 2013. Up to 136 of the 167 Register of Deeds nationwide are already fully computerized and live. Aside from the usual technical glitches, he said, the agency is also faced with the problem of antiquated personnel most of whom are 55 years old and above who are not computer-savvy.

“Only 6-7% of the Registry of Deeds have not been computerized but these are smaller ones located in Batanes, Bongao, Tawi-Tawi and Catanduanes,” Mr. Leyretana said.

But the computerization process did not reinvent the wheel of the whole land title registration program based on PD 1529, he said. PD 1529 is the law amending and codifying the Laws relative to registration of property.

A case in point, he said, is the process of getting a certificate of copy of a lost land title. Many people think we can just print the copy since we are computerized, he added, but they still have to go to court and file a petition to get an order directing the Register of Deeds to issue a copy.

Leyretana was however quick to point out the benefits of the computerization program saying lot owners can now go to the LRA and get a print out of the land configuration in order to determine the right measurement of their lots. It has also started to offer geo-spatial query service to several government agencies to identify the right of way and titled property falling within danger zones.

“We have been pushing for the LARA Law (Land Administration and Reform Act) in order to harmonize our policies,” Pablo said. He said they were asked to submit the latest version of this bill in order to harmonize the different government processes. The LARA Bill seeks to combine several offices with land distribution functions into one.

However, Leyretana said they have been vigilant in opposing the passage of this bill. “We want a reconfiguration not a merging of all agencies with land distribution functions,” he added. LRA should not be lumped among these agencies, he said, because it is only mandated to register titles and not to dispose or distribute.

In the meantime, the developers and homeowners will have to wait for these agencies to resolve their problems. “Naiipit ang pera natin habang nag-aaway ang DENR (LMB),” Tan said.

OSHDP pushing for socialized housing condominium

The Organization of Socialized Housing Developers of the Philippines (OSHDP) is pushing for the inclusion of the condominium as a socialized housing project through an amendment in Republic Act 7279, paving the way for socialized housing condominiums.

Under the law, socialized housing referred to “housing programs and projects covering houses and lots or home lots only, undertaken by the Government or the private sector for the underprivileged and homeless citizens.”

“Housing for the poor remains sluggish and if the Aquino administration wants to address this problem and provide safer and disaster-resilient communities for the marginalized sector then this will be a significant legislation,” OSHDP President Atty. Ryan T. Tan told BusinessWorld during the second day of the OSHDP and HUDCC 4^th national Convention held at Marco Polo Hotel.

Mr. Tan said housing problems in the country remain huge, with 600,000 informal settler families all over the country and 104,000 in NCR alone. The need for housing is also increasing faster than actual production of housing units, he added.

He said amending the law will encourage private sector developers to build 5-story socialized housing condominiums that can house hundreds of people compared to only a few families that occupy horizontal housing developments. With buildings or condominiums included in RA 7279, private sector developers will be able to build socialized housing condominiums and include them as their compliance under Section 18 which requires developers to allocate 20% of their project area or project cost to socialize housing.

“Private sector developers will also be able to enjoy the tax exemptions once socialized housing condominiums are included in the law,” he said.

Mr. Tan said such legislation is very timely because climate change has compelled the government to do something about the informal sectors especially in Metro Manila.  Providing incentives to private developers has a social benefit because it will give the government an option when it comes to relocating the informal sectors living near the waterways and in esteros, he said.

By now, he said, it is obvious that relocating the informal sector outside of Manila is not working because they just flock back to Mania and sell the land or home lots awarded to them. In-city or on-site development for urban centers is the way to go, he added.

He said lots in Manila and in other major cities are expensive but somehow, private developers will be able to lower the cost with socialized housing condominiums.

OSHDP has submitted its proposal to HUDCC and is willing to initiate the filing of the proposed bill that will not only make condominiums more affordable to the marginalized sector but will also help the government solve its problem on the informal sector.

Engr. Carol R. Angel, Regional Manager of the National Housing Authority, said they are supporting OSHDP’s move because this will greatly benefit not only Metro Manila but also urban areas like Davao where there are no socialized or even lost cost condominiums. 

“Low income earners do not want to be relocated far from their workplace because that will be double expenses for them in terms of living allowance or transportation cost,” she said.

Mr. Tan said it cannot be denied that there is a gap between policy statements and actual housing related government programs for the poor. Private sector participation is always at its highest when state policies call for it, he said, and this legislation will be effective in bridging this gap.