What to do when owner’s duplicate certificate of title is lost

Dear PAO,

My wife and I acquired a lot several years ago. Unfortunately, our house WAS RAZED BY fiRE. WHAT SHOULD WE DO IF OUR DUPLICATE COPY OF THE CERTIfiCATE of title is lost/destroyed? Ponz

Dear Ponz,

In the case of Heirs of Spouses Gervacio A. Ramirez and Martina Carbonel, represented by Cesar S. Ramirez and Elmer R. Aduca v. Joey Abon and the Register of Deeds of Nueva Vizcaya, GR 222916, July 24, 2019, penned by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, the Supreme Court discussed the requirements when the owner’s duplicate certificate of title is lost/destroyed, viz.:

“Jurisprudence holds that Section 109 of Presidential Decree No. (PD) 1529 ‘is the law applicable in petitions for issuance of new owner’s duplicate certificates of title which are lost or stolen or destroyed.’

“To clarify, in the instant case, what has been lost is the owner’s duplicate copy of the subject OCT, and not the original copy of the OCT on file with the RD. As held in Billote v. Solis, ‘[a] reading of the provisions clearly reveals that Sections 18 and 19 of RA 26 applies only in cases of reconstitution of lost or destroyed original certificates of title on file with the Register of Deeds, while Section 109 of PD 1529 governs petitions for the issuance of new owner’s duplicate certificates of title which are lost or destroyed.’ Hence, the petitioners Heirs of the Sps. Ramirez’s original position in their Petition for Annulment of Judgment that RA 26 applies in the instant case, a theory they entirely abandoned in the instant Petition, is incorrect.

“Section 109 of PD 1529, which is the applicable law in the instant case, reads:

“SEC. 109. Notice and replacement of lost duplicate certificate. In case of loss or theft of an owner’s duplicate certificate of title, due notice under oath shall be sent by the owner or by someone in his behalf to the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies as soon as the loss or theft is discovered. If a duplicate certificate is lost or destroyed, or cannot be produced by a person applying for the entry of a new certificate to him or for the registration of any instrument, a sworn statement of the fact of such loss or destruction may be filed by the registered owner or other person in interest and registered.

“Upon the petition of the registered owner or other person in interest, the court may, after notice and due hearing, direct the issuance of a new duplicate certificate, which shall contain a memorandum of the fact that it is issued in place of the lost duplicate certificate, but shall in all respects be entitled to like faith and credit as the original duplicate, and shall thereafter be regarded as such for all purposes of this decree.

“As explained by the CA, Former 14th Division in the assailed Decision, the requirements for the replacement of a lost owner’s duplicate certificate of title can be summarized in the following manner:

“The requirements for the replacement of lost owner’s duplicate certificate OF TITLE MAY BE SUMMARIZED, thus: a) the registered owner or other person in interest shall send notice of the loss or destruction of the ownER’S DUPLICATE CERTIfiCATE OF TITLE TO THE Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies as soon as the loss or destruction is discovered; b) the corresponding petition for the replacement of the lost or destroyed OWNER’S DUPLICATE CERTIfiCATE SHALL THEN BE fiLED IN COURT AND ENTITLED IN the original case in which the decree of registration was entered; c) the petition shall state under oath the facts and circumstances surrounding such loss or destruction; and d) the court may set the petition for hearing after due notice to the Register of Deeds and all other interested parties as shown in the memorandum of encumbrances noted in the original OR TRANSFER CERTIfiCATE OF TITLE ON fiLE IN THE OFfiCE OF THE REGISTER OF DEEDS; and e) after due notice and hearing, the court may direct the issuance of a NEW DUPLICATE CERTIfiCATE WHICH SHALL contain a memorandum of the fact that it is issued in place of the lost or DESTROYED CERTIfiCATE AND SHALL IN ALL respects be entitled to the same faith and credit as the original duplicate.”

To replace your lost owner’s duplicate copy of the certificate of title, you may follow the afore-cited requirements.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated on.