Land Titling System

"The land administration system in the Philippines can be aptly described into two words: multiple and complex. The whole system has been governed by multiple laws, regulations, processes and standards, and has been managed by multiple institutions with limited collaboration. These inherent flaws have been largely attributed to the dual process of land titling and registration—administrative and judicial. This time-consuming and expensive process has not encouraged a “culture of registration” hence a large share of the country’s real estate sector remained undocumented.

The inefficiency in the land administration system has become a disincentive to investment in the land market because of the high transaction costs in securing, registering and transferring property rights. Moreover, the complicated land institutions and processes have further strained limited public sector budget due to unnecessary duplications in management and administration support, and land information and records.

It is imperative that Government is able to balance the competing demands between the increasing need for economic activities and the finite land resources. In so doing, it needs to implement key reforms in the land market that are geared towards the establishment of a single land administration agency that would harmonize -- all land related laws and functions, and where possible, adopt administrative rather than judicial approaches for formally recognizing rights in land.
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"In most developing countries, land is not only a notable means of generating a livelihood but often the key instrument for investing, accumulating, and transferring wealth between generations. Thus, the institutional and legal framework in which access to land is regulated, property rights are defined, and ownership conflicts are resolved, have broad implications in the country’s pursuit for growth and poverty reduction.

Typically, an efficient land market allows the optimal use of land, and well-defined property rights will help overcome credit market imperfections. However, the Philippine land market has not been efficiently functioning (e.g. problems on fake titles and boundary disputes among others).

At present, the Philippine land administration system is handled by multiple agencies and governed by multiple laws resulting to different standards for land valuation, overlapping land titling processes and so many opportunities for graft and corruption. Inefficiencies in the system is due to outdated land legislation and administrative processes which further lead to high cost of doing business involving real estate properties.
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Sub-Sahara Africa is characterized with land ownership which bestows no particular wealth on the holder because substantial portion of land is transacted in an informal market. Manual system of land titling registration is not only time consuming, prone to corruption and cost intensive but also robs the land-owners the full enjoyment of the potential value of their properties and erodes the government revenue generation through tax avoidance as reveals by this paper. Adoption of GIS/LIS tools in land titling registration will not only bring effectiveness in land administration and management but will go a long way in ensuring the reaping of maximum benefit from land by individual owners and boosting the real estate revenue base of the various tiers of government. This paper focuses on the operation of Abuja Geographic Information System AGIS and other major stakeholders while utilizes extensively the World Bank data on Doing Business. For easy presentation, the paper is divided into five sections covering introduction, literature review, data presentation/analysis, recommendations and conclusions. The paper recommends the establishment of National Land Commission and reviewing of Land Use Act as major ways for the effective operation of GIS/LIS in our land administration system in order to achieve urgent economic transformation being needed in Nigeria.

The main thrust of this paper is that titling is inept at safeguarding women's land rights on customary tenure. Intentionally or unintentionally, titling is unable to uphold favorable pre-existing claims and 'rights' of women on customary tenure, that are already socially recognized by traditional norms. These are often lost, modified, or erased as customary tenure gains formality. Neither the replacement theorists nor the adaptation or the hybrid theories favors women's land rights, as none anticipate the existence of embedded and functional women's role-related, legitimate social 'rights or claims as part of the bundle of rights under customary tenure. It is, therefore, illusionary to expect titling to advance women's land rights, since none of its processes or tools are cognizant of this distinct category of rights on customary. Instead, the titling process formalizes inequity in land rights, by creating new rights for men at the expense of women by worsening existing vulnerabilities of and creating 'new additional conditions' that intensify the loss of rights for women, hence deteriorating tenure relations that previously held limited favor for women on customary tenure. Review of seven pilot projects shows, that women's land rights are best negotiated at individual households with partners within a family or homestead, even though agreements to restructure such rights are often reached between partners at this stage, they easily crumble under peer pressure from males in extended families and clans and intimidation or threats meted out to women. Innovation, awareness creation, exchange, and learning ameliorate the situation. However, the challenge is the majority of the titling projects do not anticipate the embedded nature of social rights in land accorded to women under customary, hence an absence of methods and tools to capture them. Accepting that form (non-absolute) and function (use for household welfare) is the basis for the definition of tenure rights for women in a socio-cultural and ecological mode, is part of the solution for a more inclusive titling process on customary tenure.

Normalization of the administration of land rights has been promoted as a pre-requisite for economic development. Perceived benefits include increased tenure security and improved access to credit, thereby providing the incentive and ability for farmers to invest in making improvements to the land. Formal administration is proposed as a means to facilitate a land market, allowing land to move towards its "highest and best use", thus helping farmers become more productive and consequently improved their lives.

This is the second in a series of land studies for northern Uganda, whose core objective
is to inform the Plan for Recovery and Development of Northern Uganda (PRDP) and
the National Land Policy. It builds on the work of the first phase conducted in Teso
region to present a more quantitative analysis of trends on disputes and claims on land
before displacement, during displacement and emerging trends or occurrences on
return for Acholi and Lango sub-regions.
The key findings in the Teso study are that there is a high level of distrust towards the
Central Government’s intentions toward land; customary tenure has evolved and
adapted to changing circumstances but remains to be seen as a legitimate form of
tenure; there was not a high prevalence of land disputes; the statutory and customary
institutional framework for land administration and justice has been severely weakened;
and vulnerable groups such as women and children have been marginalized during the
return process. However, the Teso region has been one of the most secure regions
during the conflict and has experienced very short periods of displacement and as such
does not provide a good marker for the situation in the rest of northern Uganda. This is
exemplified by the fact that though land conflict prevalence was extremely low in Teso
region, it is high in the Lango and Acholi regions.
The study is premised on the fact that the issue of land in return (restitution and
resettlement) processes has not been adequately dealt with in the National Land Policy
and various policies regarding IDP return in Northern Uganda. Land is a critical element
in peace building and economic reconstruction in post- conflict situations; relevant
issues must be understood and given appropriate priority for stabilization. The PRDP
should prioritise the protection of land rights and re-establishment of production
relations on land to bridge the poverty gap, which has been widening since 1997,
between war-affected areas (northern Uganda) and the rest of the country.

This paper was presented to provide attorneys and related professionals with a solid understanding of, and practice tips related to, curing title defects in the condition of title of a property involved in a real estate transaction such as a sale, lease, exchange or financing.

The possession of a reqistered title to land is a basic
requirement to prove the ownership of any piece or parcel
of land. Squatter settlers hardly' possess any marketable
title in the Port Harcourt waterfronts. This paper traces the
titles given to dwellers of the water front settlement and
argues that if these settlements which had become the
permanent abode of many poor families, need to be
upgraded, then the money for the inhabitants' contribution
to the upgrading can only be procured if the squatter
settlement dwellers possess a marketable title to land. This
title can only be possible if a registration system is adopted
as a first step in upgrading the settlements. The paper
suggests that squatter settlement dwellers can only market
their title if such titles are first registered.

Key Words: Squatter settlements, Upgrading temporary occupation license, Registered title, Transferability

Recent economic and political changes have fueled uncertainties in land access in many parts of the world.  Land property has become increasingly central to forging new social identities and modes of belonging, as well as inspiring new kinds of competition and conflict. This report studies a form of economic transaction whose regulation has been inconsistent and problematic. That is the land mortgage, a form of agreement with a long history since its ancient beginnings.  Most of the existing scholarly literature on the mortgage comes from economists and legal specialists, writing understandably from the perspectives of their own disciplinary traditions.  This report and the related journal special issue that is in development incorporates the much needed assessments from a wider range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, drawing upon historical experiences, cultural meanings, and locally informed perspectives.
The Boston University Working Group on Land Mortgage, organized by Parker Shipton and Daivi Rodima-Taylor, studies the novel potentials and challenges, and hazards that surround land mortgage, to achieve a human-centered view of expanding rural financialization. This Report is based on materials and discussions that were first presented at a Boston University Symposium “Mortgage across Cultures: Land, Finance, and Epistemology” in April 2016, with international and interdisciplinary scholarly participation. The papers explore the social and cultural meanings of pledging and mortgaging, and the relationships of mortgage to existing property and inheritance institutions, local credit initiatives and patterns of indebtedness, and ongoing land tenure reforms such as land titling or restitution. Special attention is devoted to mortgage in the settings of conflict-related mobility and recent post-socialist and post-authoritarian transitions - ones in which scholarly literature on the topic still remains scarce. Report contributors include Sara Berry, David Seipp, Kristine Juul, Anand Swamy, Lotte Meinert, Mette Kusk, Stefan Dorondel, Marioara Rusu, Georgia Hartman, Daivi Rodima-Taylor and Parker Shipton.

In this paper, the context within which the National Land Policy ascribes to tackle gender issues and especially provide for entrenchment, opportunity, and strengthening of women’s land rights is analyzed. In the first part acknowledgment of influencing context conditions that refine gender issues are detailed these include; the nature of women’s rights, position of women given their transient rights, the consequences of gender inequality on land, and the effect of dispute resolution on land matters. The economic efficiency and equity theory together with the human rights discourse have provided a firm foundation for negotiating and demanding for women’s rights in national policy, which has either had to make choice between options or promote concurrent ideologies to accommodate evidence-based demands to tackle two key issues; access to land and control of land (including its outputs) through adaptation of tenure and legal dualism, making a choice between representation, participant or professionalism in land management and purchase or inheritance under customary or registered tenure. This paper concludes by outlining the key implications of gender
for PSIA data collection and ex-post analysis, as well as implications for systematic
demarcation projects.

Resumen: este artículo analiza lo que llamamos un tercer escenario de resistencia y adaptación, el cual puede configurarse cuando se implementa una política pública de tierras. Particularmente, examina el encuentro entre el Programa de Formalización de la Propiedad Rural (PFPR), diseñado y estructurado por el Gobierno central colombiano, y las luchas políticas e identitarias de las comunidades de campesinos y campesinos negros y/o afrodescendientes organizados en el Alto Cauca, una de las zonas donde fue implementado el programa. Empleamos una metodología cualitativa que incluyó la revisión de documentos de política pública, así como trabajo de campo realizado a lo largo de tres visitas, a Santander de Quilichao, Buenos Aires y Jamundí, durante las cuales se hicieron entrevistas, grupos focales y un sondeo. Concluimos que: 1) las políticas de formalización también deben pensarse desde las dimensiones política y cultural de los territorios que pretenden regular; 2) las políticas públicas son reinterpretadas y resignificadas tanto por quienes las implementan como por las comunidades a las que van dirigidas. En este caso, estas últimas disputan las nociones normativas sobre lo campesino que la política contiene, y 3) las apuestas políticas del campesinado de la región están relacionadas, por un lado, con luchas identitarias, territoriales, por el acceso a la tierra y a recursos productivos y, por el otro, con el hecho de que las visiones inconmensurables del territorio no se dan entre las comunidades rurales, sino entre estas y el proyecto político neoliberal.  La singularidad de este trabajo radica en que retoma las teorías poscoloniales sobre hibridación, para mostrar el escenario que surge en el Alto Cauca y su potencial para renovar/cambiar las relaciones y prácticas concernientes a la política pública de formalización en el territorio.

Palabras clave: Alto Cauca, campesinos, hibridación, neoliberalismo, políticas públicas, titulación de tierras.

Let’s Get Formalized!: Peasant Disputes in the Upper Cauca

Abstract: This article analyzes what we call a third scenario of resistance and adaptation, which can take shape when a public land policy is implemented. In particular, it examines the encounter between the Program for the Formalization of Rural Property (PFPR), designed and structured by the Colombian central government, and the political and identity struggles of the communities of black and/or Afro-descendant peasants organized in the Upper Cauca, one of the areas where the program was implemented. We used a qualitative methodology that included a review of public policy documents, as well as field work conducted over the course of three visits to Santander de Quilichao, Buenos Aires and Jamundí, which comprised interviews, focus groups, and a survey. We concluded that: 1) formalization policies must also be understood from the political and cultural dimensions of the territories they are intended to regulate; 2) public policies are reinterpreted and resignified both by those who implement them and by the communities they are intended for. In this case, the latter contest the normative notions contained in the policy regarding the “peasantry.” and 3) the political stakes of the region's peasantry are related, on the one hand, to territorial identity struggles for access to land and productive resources and, on the other, to the fact that the immeasurable visions of territory do not exist among rural communities, but rather between them and the neoliberal political project. The singularity of this work lies in the fact that it resumes the post-colonial theories on hybridization, to reveal the scenario that emerges in the Upper Cauca and its potential to renew/change the relations and practices concerning the public policy of formalization in the territory.

Keywords: hybridization, land titling, neoliberalism, peasants, public policy, Upper Cauca.

Vamos formalizar!: disputas do camponês no Alto Cauca
Resumo: este artigo analisa o que chamamos “terceiro cenário” de resistência e adaptação, que pode ser configurado quando uma política pública de terras é implementada. Em particular, examina o encontro entre o Programa de Formalização da Propriedade Rural, desenhado e estruturado pelo governo central colombiano, e as lutas políticas e identitárias das comunidades de camponeses e camponeses negros ou afrodescendentes organizados no Alto Cauca, Colômbia, uma das áreas onde o programa foi implementado. Utilizamos uma metodologia qualitativa que incluiu a revisão de documentos de política pública, bem como trabalho de campo realizado ao longo de três visitas a Santander de Quilichao, Buenos Aires e Jamundí, durante as quais foram feitos entrevistas, grupos focais e sondagem. Concluímos que: 1) as políticas de formalização também devem ser pensadas a partir das dimensões política e cultural dos territórios que pretendem regular; 2) as políticas públicas são reinterpretadas e ressignificadas tanto por quem as implementa como pelas comunidades às quais vão dirigidas. Nesse caso, estas últimas disputam as noções normativas que a política traz sobre o camponês; 3) as apostas políticas do campesinato da região estão relacionadas, por um lado, com lutas identitárias territoriais pelo acesso à terra e a recursos produtivos; por outro, com o fato de as visões incomensuráveis do território não acontecerem entre as comunidades rurais, mas sim entre estas e o projeto político neoliberal. A singularidade deste trabalho está na retomada das teorias pós-coloniais sobre hibridação, para mostrar o cenário que surge no Alto Cauca e seu potencial para renovar/mudar as relações e práticas concernentes à política pública de formalização no território.

Palavras-chave: Alto Cauca, camponeses, hibridação, neoliberalismo, políticas públicas, titulação de terras.

The continuum of rights model developed by UN-Habitat describes different forms of relationships that mankind has with land. These rights range from the informal to formal continuum. It is the less formal rights that are of major concern especially in the developing world as they are in most cases neither officially registered nor documented. This brings forth various land administration problems to include difficulty in managing natural disasters and land resources. The absence of land registration in customary tenure areas has resulted in research in land titling as a method to move informal tenure arrangements to the formal domains and hence with the assumption that land titling improves land tenure security. Whether or not land titling is working has varied opinions in academic literature. The aim of this study is to determine factors influencing the misalignment between land titling, land tenure security and the improvement of the quality of life of communities. The second aim ...