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Adopted: 03 March 2015
Date Filed: 14 May 2015
WHEREAS, the Land Registration Authority (“LRA”) is the government agency mandated by law to preserve the integrity of the land registration process, protect the sanctity of the Torrens Title, and act as the central repository of all land records through its Registry of Deeds (“RD”) offices nationwide where all records are kept affecting registered and unregistered lands, as well as the chattel mortgages affecting movable properties;

WHEREAS, to support its mandate, LRA is implementing the Land Titling Computerization Project (“LTCP” or the “Project”), which, among others, seeks to maintain on-line information on titles that is current, complete and accurate; maintain the security and integrity of records by safeguarding these from tampering or destruction and deter substitution or insertion of questionable data; ensure the integrity of the land titling registration system by moving from a largely paper-based to a largely paperless system; protect land titles from loss due to fire, theft, natural disasters and the normal ravages of time; and implement more reliable and predictable land registration procedures;

WHEREAS, the implementation of the LTCP allows for the encoding of Titles, and the linking of Titles to their corresponding preceding title/s and, in the case of subject titles which are marked as “Cancelled”, to their corresponding derivative title/s;

WHEREAS, this Authority has established the need for a service that shall enable clients to request for information on previous title/s with links to their current title (the “Query/Verification Service - Title Trace-back”) for a desired number of generations or up to the Original Certificate of Title (“OCT”), which service shall be available in the RDs, the LRA Kiosks and LRA Extension Offices (“EOs”);

WHEREFORE, in order to maximize the benefits of the Land Titling Computerization Project being implemented by this Authority, the scope of services offered to RDs, LRA Kiosks and EOs shall hereinafter include the Query/Verification Service - Title Trace-back (the “Trace-back Service”), as follows:

Section 1. Features of the Trace-back Service:

1. The Trace-back Service allows the identification of all titles previously issued by the Registries of Deeds relative to the currently valid title.
   
2. The Client may request for the Trace-back Service at the Registry of Deeds having jurisdiction of the subject title, or at any other computerized Registry of Deeds, LRA Kiosk or LRA Extension Office;
   
3. The Client may specify the number of generations required, or the trace-back may be up to the Original Certificate of Title;
   
4. If the subject title is a product of a consolidation of several titles/parcels, then the trace-back shall be up to the specified number of generations or up to the Original Certificate of Title of each preceding title/s;
   
5. The trace-back shall be based only on the existing title information in the computerized database;
   
6. If a preceding title does not exist in the database, then the trace-back shall only be up to that particular title. The output shall indicate that further trace- back cannot be completed and the possible reasons why the particular title is not in the database. The Client may consult with the Records Officer of the Registry of Deeds having jurisdiction on the subject property/title, or may request for Certified True Copies of the existing titles;
   
7. There are situations where different titles have the same title type and number as the preceding title. In such cases, the trace-back shall branch out and the computerized system shall generate a trace-back for each of the Repeating Title Number (“RTN”) title; and,
   
8. The output shall be printed on a specified LRA form. A sample output is attached herewith as Annex A.

Section 2. The applicable fees shall be computed as follows:

Fee Type	Details
a. LRA and IT Service Fee for Verification/Query/Research	Fee shall be applied based on the subject title, regardless of the result; based on the existing published rates
b. IT Service Fee for Network Transmission	Fee shall be applied based on the subject title, regardless of the result, and shall be applicable if the transaction is entered in a location other than the RD having jurisdiction over the title; based on existing published rates
c. LRA and IT Service Fee for Operation and Maintenance	Fee shall be applied based on the subject title, regardless of the result, and shall be applicable if the transaction is entered in 3rd Party EOs; based on the agreed rates between LRA and its Partner Institution

Section 3. The Trace Back Service may be availed of as follows:

1. The Client shall accomplish a Request Form indicating the request for a trace-back of a title for a desired number of generations or up to the OCT, and submit this to the Entry Clerk;
   
2. The Entry Clerk shall process the request and give an Assessment Form to the Client;
   
3. The Client shall present the Assessment Form to the Cashier and pay the amount due;
   
4. The Cashier shall receive the payment and issue an Official Receipt to the Client; and
   
5. The Records Officer shall generate the output on a specified LRA form, which shall be released to the Client at the Releasing Counter after the Client acknowledges receipt on the Acknowledgement Slip.

Section 4. This Circular shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its publication in a newspaper of general circulation, and the filing of three (3) copies hereof with the University of the Philippines Law Center.

Done this _ day of February 2015 at Quezon City, Philippines.

(SGD) EULALIO C. DIAZ III
Administrator