Multiple Sales of Properties in the Philippines

Among the most widespread real-estate frauds in the Philippines are the multiple sales of one real estate property or site for housing. The scheme is to sell a lot to several buyers and hope that some may not be able to keep up with the installment and so forfeit the property. In some instances, several buyers who religiously paid the monthly installment would find out later on that someone else has bought and registered the property already. They are then given the run-around or offered other lots of lower value.

Double selling of real property is so common that Philippine Congress finds it necessary to quiet the title by passing article 1544 in the Civil Code of the Philippines (see Chapter 21). When two buyers in good faith were duped into buying the same property, the one who first registered the property with the Register of Deeds is considered the owner. In the absence of registration, the one who took possession is the owner. In the absence of both registration or inscription and possession, the one who has the title registered first is the owner. The recourse of the aggrieved party is against the seller or vendor. This can be avoided by getting hold of the original certificate of registration and have it registered and transfer to your name immediately. It would be foolish to pay without the original certificate available and check carefully.

Under Section 1 of Public Act No. 2103: (a) The acknowledgment shall be made before a notary public or an officer duly authorized by law of the country to take acknowledgement of instruments or documents in the place where the act is done. The notary public or the officer shall certify that the person acknowledging the instrument or document is known to him and that he is the same person who executed it, and acknowledgement that the same is his free act and deed. The certificate shall be made under the official seal, if he is by law required to keep a seal, and if not, his certificate shall so state.

Make sure that the seller is the real person signing the contract instead of having the agent doing all the leg works. To avoid forgery, have the instruments of sale notarized with all persons involved at the notary public and have the attorney checks on the identity of the signatories. This is significant because it is at this time that the money change hands closing the deal.

There are some notary publics whose work involves signing hundreds of public instruments without seeing the signatories. They will even swear to heaven that all the signatories were present when the instruments were presented to them. There must be strict enforcement of the notary public law especially when it involves third party or sales or transfer of real properties.

Even dead people have been acknowledged as signing instruments or documents. In another case, the lawyer was suspended for six months for notarizing under oath a Deed of Absolute Sale knowing some of the vendors were already dead, being his former clients.

Sidewalk notary publics have been cleared but not expunged. It is time those careless notary publics who notarized public documents involving third party's rights and large sums of money be penalized more harshly for negligence. Signatories should sign the documents in his presence and their identification be checked carefully. Aggrieved party should also have the right to go after them for damages.

Double selling of registered lot is almost impossible unless there is negligence or connivance on the part of persons in the Register of Deeds. How could two owner's duplicate titles exist at the same time unless one of them is forged. Negligence can happen when the title is not carefully check for its authenticity. Not only the signatures, but the type of typewriter used, the spacing, the fonts, etc. should be checked against the original. Connivance happens when person(s) in the Register of Deeds deliberately registered the lot knowing that it is a forgery

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