The Land Registration Authority or the LRA would like to remind all landowners that upgrading to Computerized Titles or Electronic Titles (eTitles) is fully optional. Contrary to what most people believed in about it being compulsory, it actually isn’t. As a matter of fact, they have been successful in implementing the Voluntary Title Standardization Program which gives landowners the option to upgrade the hardcopy of their titles in digital or computerized versions.
In light of this reminder by the LRA, they said that people should never worry if ever they find the process upgrading to computerized titles slow. Birth Pain is the instance that they call it because it’s still the initial procedure of improving or developing it to be computerized or electronic.
Read: The Land Registration Authority’s (LRA) 5 Easy Steps to Process Land Titling in the Philippines
Why Upgrading to Computerized Titles is Slow
If you’re one of the people who are in deep questions as to why it’s slow, the LRA says that it’s because of the fact that the process will require locating the same file that can be found in the Title Room of the Registry of Deeds. Then, the next step would be to copy it and migrate it for it to become digital.
The LRA would go through millions of land titles and the process isn’t that easy. The whole bulk of the work would be with how the LRA would find the Owner’s Duplicate Certificate in the Registry of Deeds. Why? Because all land titles that land owners have has a copy in the Title Room of the Registry of Deeds. There are millions and millions of land titles in the country and that’s going to be where most of the work is.
Read: Guide to Transferring Land Title From Deceased Parent/s
How Much is the Fee to Upgrade to Electronic Titles
As per the LRA, the fee for upgrading to computerized titles would be for P745 per title. As per them, the LRA was able to draft up an agreement with a private sector contractor about the government not spending anything for computerizing or digitizing land titles.
Ang programang ito ay mahigit 20 years old na. Nagkaroon ng contract ang government sa private contractor, na hindi gagastos ang government sa pag-cocomputerized ng lahat ng 164 registries of deeds sa buong Pilipinas kasali na ang LRA Central Office. Ang private contractor ay may mahigit kumulang na isang libong empleyado na binabayaran buwan buwan hanggang ngayon para sa pagpapatakbo ng computerization. Ang private contractor din ang gumastos sa mga computers at pagpapatayo ng mga gusali ng Registries of Deeds.”
In Translation: This program is more than 20 years old. The Philippine government had a contract with a private contractor that the government will not pay for anything for computerizing all 164 registries of deeds in the whole country, including the Central Office of the LRA. The private contractor has more about one thousand employees that they pay every month until today. In addition to that, the private contractor is also the company that spends for the computers and technology as well as the building and the establishment of the infrastructures of the Registries of Deeds.
Read: Duterte to Gov’t Offices: Simplify or I Will K!ll You
A lot of well-known and well-grounded institutions had their land titles computerized; they include the following companies:
- Ayala Land, Inc.;
- PNB Savings Bank;
- Cebu Holding, Inc.;
- RCBC Savings Bank;
- San Miguel Corporation; and
- Others
As of today, the LRA is still looking for different ways on how they can improve or develop their services to help and assist the Filipino people more.
Goal of the Land Titling Computerization Project
Among the many goals of this very project, some of the most essential and the most relevant include:
- Maintain the security and the integrity of the records by carefully safeguarding them from being tampered with or being destroyed;
- Deter substitution or insertion of erroneous or questionable data, both in paper and in digital form;
- Maintain online information on titles that are accurate, complete, and current; and
- Provide a system of detection and identification of fake and counterfeit land titles which helps in identifying the people responsible for it.
Read: A Guide on How to Verify if the Land Title is Authentic in the Philippines
Are you a land owner and you want to keep your properties secure? Have you been searching for ways on how you can guarantee the safety of your land titles? Upgrading to computerized titles might just be what you’re looking for. However, don’t forget that it’s an optional thing to do – it’s not mandatory.
There’s no need for you to go over all the stressful and the non-essential ways of how you can secure your land title. Upgrading it to an electronic or a computerized land title is enough.
Source: The Land Registration Authority Website and Facebook Page