Canceling and issuing new TCT

Canceling and issuing new TCT "I am planning to buy a small parcel of land. The owner of the land lost his Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT). Can we proceed with the sale without the TCT? Are the certified true copies of the TCT from the Local Registrar’s Office enough to finalize the sale and transfer the ownership in my name? RC Dear RC,A contract of sale shall be obligatory and binding between the parties if all the requisites for a valid contract are complied with. These requisites are: (a) consent of the contracting parties (b) object certain which is the subject matter of the contract and (c) cause of the obligation which is established. But our law requires that certain contracts be in some form in order that it may be enforceable. Article 1358 of the Civil Code requires that contracts involving the sale of real property or any interest therein must appear in a public document. Note that this requisite is not a requirement for the validity of a contract, it is required for purpose of convenience only. Hence, as long as you and the seller agreed on the purchase of a certain land for a sum of money, your contract of sale is valid and effective between the two of you. However, in order to bind third persons, your contract of sale must appear in a public document and must be registered in the Registry of Deeds where the land is situated. Section 57 of Presidential Decree 1529 requires the execution and registration of a deed of conveyance in a form sufficient in law in conveyances or sales involving registered lands. You and the owner of the land must execute the proper Deed of Absolute Sale of the land you bought and have it registered in the Registry of Deeds of the place where the land is situated. However, the instrument evidencing your sale will be registered in the Registry of Deeds and a new transfer certificate of title (TCT) will be issued in your name only if the owner’s duplicate TCT can be presented to the Registry of Deeds. Such presentation is required so that the owner’s duplicate TCT will be stamped “cancelled” and a new TCT will be issued in your name.You mentioned that the owner lost his copy of the TCT of the land. In this case, title to the said land cannot be transferred in your name as the owner will not be able to present his TCT in the Registry of Deeds for cancellation. Before you buy the land, it would be more prudent to first ask the owner of the land to notify the Registry of Deeds of the lost TCT and to file the necessary petition for the issuance of a new duplicate certificate, which shall contain a memorandum of the fact that it was issued in place of a lost duplicate certificate (Section 109, Presidential Decree 1529). Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net or via text message ( key in: Times dearpao and send to 2299" - https://www.affordablecebu.com/