Business Bureaucracy 9, Land title registration

A friend who is still enamored with the idea of more government regulation of markets, Floro Francisco, had a little shock of his life when he experienced government bureaucracies first hand. He posted this yesterday in his fb wall, reposting with his permission. Thanks Floro.

The images I got from the web and just added them here.
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Whew, just got back from following up documentary requirements from the BIR, Municipal Hall and the Register of Deeds for the transfer of the land title under my name for a piece of land I bought. Wow so many requirements I had to accomplish and the funny part is I have to submit almost similar requirements to 3 government agencies. And boy the amount of taxes and filing fees I have to pay was a bit shocking: 6.0% for Capital Gains Tax, 1.5% for Documentary Stamps to be paid at the BIR based on the purchase amount of the property. And then you pay also 0.50% for the Transfer Fee of Title at the Munisipiyo. And then another > 1.0% approximately to the Register of Deeds!

On top of these you need to pay the Munisipiyo for a certification of your Tax Declaration and another certification for the Tax Clearance and yet another for the Certification of No Development on the land. And you do not get to know all these payments on the first day you visit them unless you get or better yet make a checklist of the 3 agencies of government. You also had to pay for a Certified Xerox Copy from the Register of Deeds for the Duplicate of the Land Title even if you have a copy of the original owner's duplicate.

It is painstaking hard work and patience. If you play fair like me and do not go through the channel of experts and facilitators lurking around. You might need several months to complete these tasks. If you are not intelligent and ask the right questions to the right people, may be it would take you a year or two to finish everything only for a small piece of land. What if you lacked communication skills and knowledge about documentations? I wonder what happens to the lowly farmers who inherit or buy lands and the agrarian reform beneficiaries who had to deal with such government requirements to get their names on their properties.

I think I should find a politician or become a politician myself to push for reforms in such a bureaucratic mess! No wonder many lazy inheritors just leave their properties to be taken over by knowledgeable government officials and politicians! I think there is injustice there somewhere in terms of the amounts to be paid and the processes to be followed as well as the volume of documentary requirements. Yung ibang maliliit pampa-xerox lang eh wala na, yung pang taxes and processing fees pa kaya mabayaran nila? Some progressive form of taxation in this regard is much needed. A one stop shop processing system that would simplify the procedures need to be pushed! I am actually about to go through the same process for some properties we inherited from our parents and Sister which remain un-acted upon for years since they died because I nor my brother had the material time to do it. It may require that I take a leave from work to attend to these! Ah Bureaucracy! I wish I was born to a Dynasty!

… Ironically in my case mas nahirapan ako sa BIR kung saan mas maraming requirements at mas mahal ang bayarin! Also now you have to be computer literate to deal with BIR kasi you have to fill e-Forms sa eBIR. Paano na ang ka-awawang Magsasaka! Mas madali sa Register of Deeds! Kaya lang yung IT fees nila mahal! Pero tingin ko diskarte sa itaas yung IT Fees At sakop lang ng isang private servicing company yan kasama ng ID system ng SSS, GSIS at Pag-ibig pati ang Drivers License!

Some comments by his friends (I made minor revisions to #1 to make it more readable):

1. may bibilhin govt sa amin (lupa) na maliit lang naman, gagawin service road.. kaso mas malaki daw yung tax na babayaran namen compare sa ibabayad nila.. take note, hindi pa nila nare-release amount ng bayad nila, pero my computation na ng taxes na need bayaran.. at nakakaloka, binigyan kami ng two options, isang mas mataas n babayaran at isang binabaan ng around 3 percent ..whew..

2. yung mga "lazy inheritors" ay hindi talaga "lazy" in the real sense of the word. Marami lang po sa kanila ang walang pambayad sa Estate Taxes, at kung anu-ano pa pong ibang klase ng fees and taxes, para sa transfer ng title sa pangalan ng mga heirs. Idagdag pa ang layo ng locasyon ng namana. Kailangan mo munang umalis sa trabaho upang makasunod sa pinapatupad na proceso ng gobyerno, na kadalasan naman ay nakakalito sa common tao.

3. Don't forget sir that there are Land grabbing syndicates who have ties with officials of LRA and Register of Deeds.

4. These seemingly rigid requirement of the Register of Deeds are the causes of fraud and anomaly in the registration of real properties. It is almost impossible for poor landowners to effect the transfer of title to them!

5. Ha ha funny how you started your cycle, BIR payments agad... The cycle actually starts from acquiring a certified true copy of the title from RD, then Municipal level, then provincial level, then BIR, then the Register of Deeds,,, after this good luck on how soon you can get your title, unless you know somebody from Rd so that release of the title can be expedited!!!

I also commented that it's a good experience for Floro. And we may wonder why many people are still enamored with "more government intervention/regulations" mantra. 

Someone said that the purpose of government is to expand government. Somehow this is true. And that explains why I and other friends campaign and advocate for minimal or limited government, more market competition, more civil society role.

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See also:

Business Bureaucracy 5: Doing Business 2012 Report, August 28, 2012

Business Bureaucracy 6: Presentation at Rotary Club of Manila Bay, February 01, 2013 

Business Bureaucracy 7: Penalizing Small Businesses, February 01, 2013 

Business Bureaucracy 8: Exchanges at Imperium et Populi (Philippines), June 12, 2013