Land ownership in the philippines
Purchasing property in the Philippines can be more complicated than previously outlined below.
Unlike almost all other countries operating under the Torrens Title system, in the Philippines, there are four legal sources of title to land.
So you, or your wife / gf etc may hold a legal title, but if some senator likes the look of your place, he can have a legal title to the same property raised in his / her name.
He then claims the property and argues the case in court. You will never win this argument.
In a test project in Quezon City a few years ago, a shop owner was found who was paying rent to three owners, all of whom claimed to have the legitimate title.
G
Surigao. The Existential Absrudity Continues
i arrived here yesterday from cebu, together with a carry-on and a small checked bag that wouldn't fit into the overhead rack of the tiny, cramped cebu pacific plane. no matter. the flight was only 45 minutes and my bags and i arrived intact. one night at the tavern hotel with a seaview room wasn't bad. the place is basic but clean and the oceanfront terrace attached to my room was serenity itself.
however, as i write this from the airport waiting area, having checked in for the flight back to cebu, i find my serenity disturbed by the check-in from hell. understand that the airport is about as big as a good size living room, so space is at a premium for the two or three flights a day that serve this miniscule city on the northernmost tip of mindanao. a crowd of at least 5 people (maybe 4) was waiting for the narrow, closet-size door to open that would allow passengers inside to begin the check-in from hell experience. the guy guarding the door, in his perfervid desire to prevent terrorist acts, or perhaps just to demonstrate his bloated sense of self importance, scrutiized tickets and ids like they were the rosetta stone and he had just discovered the archeological treasure, of the century, thus turning what should have been a ten second per person process into a minute or more. once the rent-a-cop had bestowed his grudging approval, we proceeded to baggage xray and metal detection screening; except wait a minute,"we used to have an x ray machine and a metal detector but they've been broken since the beginning of the millenium." so, hand inspection and "body search" were the hallmarks of the day, thus turning what should have been a ten second, tolerable experience into three or four minutes from hell.
the inspector; a full-fledged police officer, meticulously went through all of the items she found, though she missed an entire compartment, and then apparently found me fit for travel. two minutes later, boarding pass in hand, i proceeded to the "departure hall," lovingly cooled by a fan that would be more appropriate to a small bedroom. but wait! i wasn't allowed to sit on the lovingly crafted php50 plastic seats before passing "final inspection," which is located about 2 meters from the "preliminary inspection." what a surprise! the xray machine and metal detector were broken here as well, so re-open the luggage and the hand-carry. this time, they confirep001ed a lighter, sternly admonishing me that lighters weren't permitted, while obliviious to the other 3 lighters packed in my hand-carry.
what a country! you'v got to love it.
ge
Surigao. The Existential Absurdity Continues
i arrived here yesterday from cebu, together with a carry-on and a small checked bag that wouldn't fit into the overhead rack of the tiny, cramped cebu pacific plane. no matter. the flight was only 45 minutes and my bags and i arrived intact. one night at the tavern hotel with a seaview room wasn't bad. the place is basic but clean and the oceanfront terrace attached to my room was serenity itself.
however, as i write this from the airport waiting area, having checked in for the flight back to cebu, i find my serenity disturbed by the check-in from hell. understand that the airport is about as big as a good size living room, so space is at a premium for the two or three flights a day that serve this miniscule city on the northernmost tip of mindanao. a crowd of at least 5 people (maybe 4) was waiting for the narrow, closet-size door to open that would allow passengers inside to begin the check-in from hell experience. the guy guarding the door, in his perfervid desire to prevent terrorist acts, or perhaps just to demonstrate his bloated sense of self importance, scrutiized tickets and ids like they were the rosetta stone and he had just discovered the archeological treasure, of the century, thus turning what should have been a ten second per person process into a minute or more. once the rent-a-cop had bestowed his grudging approval, we proceeded to baggage xray and metal detection screening; except wait a minute,"we used to have an x ray machine and a metal detector but they've been broken since the beginning of the millenium." so, hand inspection and "body search" were the hallmarks of the day, thus turning what should have been a ten second, tolerable experience into three or four minutes from hell.
the inspector; a full-fledged police officer, meticulously went through all of the items she found, though she missed an entire compartment, and then apparently found me fit for travel. two minutes later, boarding pass in hand, i proceeded to the "departure hall," lovingly cooled by a fan that would be more appropriate to a small bedroom. but wait! i wasn't allowed to sit on the lovingly crafted php50 plastic seats before passing "final inspection," which is located about 2 meters from the "preliminary inspection." what a surprise! the xray machine and metal detector were broken here as well, so re-open the luggage and the hand-carry. this time, they confirep001ed a lighter, sternly admonishing me that lighters weren't permitted, while obliviious to the other 3 lighters packed in my hand-carry.
what a country! you'v got to love it.
ge
