Summit on Land Registration

PROPERTY INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS JOIN HANDS TO CURB FAKE TITLING

From left to right: Ofelia dela Cerna, HLURB Senior VP for Housing Group; LRA Deputy Administrator Ronald A. Ortile; LRA Deputy Administrator Ofelia E. Abueg-Sta. Maria; Senator Teofisto Guingona III; LRA Administrator Eulalio C. Diaz III; DENR Secretary Ramon Paje and Romulo Fabul, CEO of HLURB.

As though taking a cue from reports of fake land titles being peddled by unscrupulous entities and person, stakeholders from the land and property industry, including the banks, recently held a Summit on Land Registration to tackle issues surrounding fake titles and to press the call for a speedier, efficient, and more secure land registration process.

Themed “Challenges in Transition: Technology and Re-engineered Business Processes,” the summit was held to initiate cooperation amongst the various interest groups such as the banking industry, realtors’ associations, PAGIBIG, the Land Registration Authority (LRA), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and to provide a venue for all concerned to raise and settle legitimate issues.

Keynoting the summit was LRA Administrator Eulalio C. Diaz III, who praised the organizers for mounting the summit at such short notice. Diaz was awed by the hundreds of participants who attended the activity in force. The LRA administrator further cited the summit as a perfect example of public-private partnership, noting that the summit was a join project amongst all the industry stakeholders whom he referred to as partners in the quest for a reliable, efficient, and secure land registration process.

The LRA administrator also stated that henceforth, representatives from various sectors will regularly meet to make sure that the industry will have the support it needs to promote economic growth.

Diaz also assured one and all that the computerization of the LRA is on schedule and that most of the woes plaguing the land registration process will soon be eradicated. He also begged for everyone’s indulgence on the birth pains of the computerization project and also noted that the theme of the summit, challenges in transition, is quite apt.

During the summit, LRA Deputy Administrator Ofelia Abueg-Sta. Maria also outlined the present and the future of the LRA, highlighting the gains made with the computerization of the land agency, while LRA Registrars of Deeds acted as moderators during the focus discussion and open forum. Senator Teofisto Guingona III, who was the guest of honor, likewise called for the speedy completion of the Land Titling Computerization Project (LTCP) to curb fake and spurious titling. Gracing the affair was DENR Secretary Ramon Paje, who gave a message on the need of the LRA to automate.

It was unanimously agreed by the land industry stakeholders that fast tracking the LTCP would benefit all concerned and greatly reduce if not totally eradicate fake and spurious titling, since the said project allows anybody to validate dubious land titles online and in real time.