03/17/2012 [ tribune.net.ph ]
The House of Representatives has approved on second reading a bill authorizing the Land Management Bureau (LMB) to conduct a nationwide cadastral survey to curb the proliferation of fake land titles.
House Bill 5870 authored by San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito aims to restore the integrity of land titles by identifying bonafide landowners and claimants.
Ejercito said land owners must be protected against defective titles. The integrity of the Torrens Title System, as a foundation of ownership to real property must be enhanced, so that in the end, the faith and reliance of the people on the integrity of the land title will be restored.
Under the measure to be known as the “Cadastral Survey Act of 2012,” the LMB is authorized to conduct a survey of the entire country.
The survey shall consist of research and reconnaissance; establishment recovery and densification of project control and political boundary surveys.
Survey activities further include lot surveys, inspection, verification and approval of survey returns.
The LMB is mandated to award any survey contract, subject to applicable bidding rules and regulations, to qualified geodetic engineers engaged in survey work with the most advantageous terms to the government.
The bill directs the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to include in its program the implementation of this Act and the inclusion of its funding in the annual general appropriations.
The bill was endorsed for plenary approval by the House committee on natural resources chaired by Surigao del Norte Rep. Francisco Matugas.
The co-authors of the measure are Matugas and Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya.
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