Act No. 2347 CHAPTER II.

Of the General Land Registration Office.

Section 13

SEC. 13. Of the General Land Registration Office.—An office is hereby created which shall be denominated General Land Registration Office" and shall be under the supervision of the judge of the fourth branch of the Ninth District.

Of the chief and assistant chief of the General Land Registration Office.

Section 14

SEC. 14. Of the chief and assistant chief of the General Land Registration Office.—The General Land Registration Office shall have a chief who shall be a lawyer duly qualified by the Supreme Court of the Islands and shall be appointed by the Governor-General, with the advice and consent of the Philippine Commission; he shall be known as "chief of the General Land Registration Office," shall have a salary of five thousand five hundred pesos per annum, and shall assistant chief. perform the duties assigned to him by this Act. It shall have an assistant chief, who shall likewise be appointed by the Governor-General, with the advice and consent of the Commission, and shall perform the duties assigned to him by the chief of the General Land Registration Office, whom he shall substitute in case of death, absence, or incapacity until the vacancy shall be filled or the incapacity of said chief shall be removed. The assistant chief shall receive a salary of three thousand six hundred pesos per annum. It shall also have a chief surveyor who shall have the qualification required by Act Numbered Eighteen hundred and seventy-five, as amended. He shall likewise be appointed as provided in section seventeen hereof. He shall receive a salary of four thousand five hundred pesos per annum. The chief surveyor shall, under the direction of the chief of the General Land Registration Office and the judge of the fourth branch of the Ninth District, have general supervision of all other surveyors in said office, and of all plats, plans and work requiring the services of a surveyor in said office. He shall examine the applications, plans, and technical descriptions in all cases filed whether in the provinces or in the city of Manila, and shall promptly make report to the court of any errors in said plans and technical descriptions and any conflicts between descriptions in said cases and descriptions of adjoining lands for which application for registration has been made. He shall assist the chief of the General Land Registration Office in the preparation of all notices required to be published by existing laws and in the preparation of the final decrees provided for by section forty of Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six.

Of the powers and duties of the General Land Registration Office.

Section 15

SEC. 15. Of the powers and duties of the General Land Registration Office.—The General Land Registration Office, under the direction of its chief, shall: (a) Receive and keep in its archives duplicate copies of all the maps of lands and of the applications for registration and amendments thereof, duplicate copies of all replies and other documents, and of the orders, resolutions, and decisions issued by the Courts of First Instance or the Supreme Court in registration cases. (b) Take care of, preserve, and have under his power of and control all papers, documents, maps, and other articles which on the date when this Act takes effect are under the custody, care, control, and supervision of the clerk of the Court of Land Registration; and all papers, documents, maps, and other articles which in future must be kept and preserved, under Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six and its amendments, and any other laws relative to the registration of lands: Provided, That all the original records of cases, with all the documents, notes of the testimony of witnesses, and other papers attached thereto, after the issuance of the decree of registration, shall be kept, and preserved by the clerk of the Court of First Instance of the province in which the land lies. (c) Keep a separate index of all applications and registration of land, tration decrees and also classify and index all papers or documents received in his office relative to the registration of lands. (d) Keep a separate classification and index of all papers, documents, and maps concerning proceedings for the reservation of land in accordance with Acts Numbered Six hundred and twenty-seven, Eight hundred and six, and Eleven hundred and thirty-eight. (e) Order a seal made for authenticating all documents, papers, and maps which require this requisite upon issuance, or certification by this office. (f) Use the seal of the General Land Registration Office for the authentication of all proceedings or papers coming from any Court of First Instance of the Islands.

Of the powers and duties of the chief of the General Land Registration Office.

Section 16

SEC. 16. Of the powers and duties of the chief of the General Land Registration Office.—The Chief of the General Land Registration Office shall— (a) Give bond, before assuming office, in favor of the Government of the Philippine Islands, in the sum fixed by the Insular Auditor, conditioned on the faithful performance of his official duties, and he may require certain officers and employees of his office, by reason of their official positions, likewise to give bond in favor of the Government of the Philippine Islands, in the sum fixed by said Insular Auditor. (b) Comply with all orders, decisions, or decrees addressed to him by Courts of First Instance relative to the registration of lands. (c) Prepare regulations in order to make the registration, indexing, classification, and filing of all documents, papers, and maps relative to the adjudication of land titles uniform in the General Land Registration Office, the offices of the clerks of Courts of First Instance, and the registers of property, but said regulations shall first be approved by the judge of the fourth branch of the Ninth Judicial District. (d) Prepare and have printed all blank forms necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Act and of Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six, but said blank forms shall first be approved by the judge of the fourth branch of the Ninth Judicial District. (e) Keep an exact account of all funds received by him for fees, or otherwise, which accounts shall be subject to revision and approval by the Insular Auditor. It shall be his duty at the end of each month to pay these funds over to the Insular Treasurer, except those of which another disposition must be made under the law. (f) Have charge of the custody and preservation of all documents delivered to him by virtue of this Act, which he shall number and index. (g) Be ex officio clerk of the Court of First Instance in registrat on matters. registration matters and as such have the necessary authority to appoint deputies, and perform the duties at present imposed upon the clerk of the Court of Land Registration under Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six, as amended, except the duties imposed by the provisions of this Act upon the clerks of the Courts of First Instance of the provinces.

Section 17

SEC. 17. The Attorney-General shall, upon recommendation by the chief of the General Land Registration Office, appoint the necessary employees, in accordance with the Civil Service Act and Regulations. The number and salaries of said employees shall be fixed with the approval of the Secretary of Finance and Justice.

Clerks of court, ex officio deputies of the General Land Registration Office.

Section 18

SEC. 18. Clerks of court, ex officio deputies of the General Land Registration Office.—In the respective provinces, the clerks of the Courts of First Instance shall be ex officio deputies of the chief of the General Land Registration Office in all registration cases, and as such they shall— (a) Have the custody and control, under the direction of-records-the judge of the Court of First Instance, of the original records of all registration cases filed in their respective offices in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and shall number the same in chronological order and keep a record of them. (b) Attend in person or through deputies the court sessions in all hearings of registration cases and keep minutes of said hearings. (c) Collect and receive the fees at present paid to the clerk of the Court of Land Registration in accordance with the provisions of Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six as amended by Acts Numbered Eleven hundred and eight and Sixteen hundred and forty-eight, and dispose of said fees in the manner provided in the Accounting Act. (d) Perform all duties of the clerk of the court in relation of judicial tion to all registration cases from the time of the first publication, in each case, for the hearing, until final decision by the court, and issue during such time, under the seal of the court, all necessary notices, summonses, and subpoenas, and make also the necessary certificates: Provided, however, That this section shall not apply to the city of Manila. (e) Perform the duties assigned to the chief of the General Land Registration Office in subsection (c) of section fifteen of this Act.

Procedure for filing applications with the General Land Registration Office in the city of Manila.

Section 19

SEC. 19. Procedure for filing applications with the General Land Registration Office in the city of Manila.—In land registration cases in the city of Manila, the applications shall be filed in the manner prescribed by Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six, as amended. The chief of the General Land Registration Office shall, either personally or through deputies, attend the sessions of the fourth branch of the Court of First Instance of the Ninth District, keep a docket of all cases, and affix the seal of said court to all records or papers requiring said seal. In the provinces, outside of the city of Manila, the applicant for registration of title shall attach to his application a true copy of the same, together with a technical description of the land in duplicate, and a correct and duly verified map of said land, accompanied by a blue print copy: Provided, however, That for the purposes of this section, the chief of the General Land Registration Office may, by regulations prescribed in subsection (c) of section sixteen of this Act, authorize the use of photographic reproductions of the original map on file in his office, in which case the duplicate of the copies of the map shall be filed with the application instead of the original and blue print copy. All subsequent amendments to the application as well as the replies and other proceedings or allegations filed in the office of the clerk of the Court of First Instance shall be accompanied by true copies. Immediately after the filing of the application, and after compliance with the requirement of section seven of Act Numbered Sixteen hundred and ninety-nine, the clerk of the Court of First Instance shall send a copy of the application, together with the duplicate of the technical description and the duplicate of the map, to the General Land Registration Office, where the same shall be filed and duly indexed. If photographic copies of the map are authorized and used, one of them shall be sent with the copy of the application instead of the original. The clerk shall also send to the General Land Registration Office a copy of all subsequent amendments to the application and all answers and allegations, as well as certified copies of all orders and decisions made in the case.

Designation of day of trial.

Section 20

SEC. 20. Designation of day of trial.—The judges of Courts of First Instance shall as soon as possible designate the time for the hearing of all registration cases instituted within their respective provinces or districts and shall at least two months before the date designated for the hearing of the case advise the chief of the General Land Registration Office of the time and place of said hearing. Upon receipt of this notice, the chief of the General Land Registration Office shall proceed to publish said hearing in the form and manner provided in Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six, as amended.

Of the decree.

Section 21

SEC. 21. Of the decree.—Immediately after final decision by the court directing the registration of any property, the clerk shall send a certified copy of such decision to the chief of the General Land Registration Office, who shall prepare the decree in accordance with section forty of Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six, and he shall forward a certified copy of said decree to the register of deeds of the province or city in which the property is situate. The register shall then comply with the duties assigned to him in section forty-one of Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six.