Explanation please

JEERS TO the Philippine Daily Inquirer for not explaining a legal term it used in its Oct. 23 report.

Responding to reports that some senators were planning to oust him from the Senate presidency, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile said he will surrender the post to anyone. “I have no Torrens title over this position (and if ouster) is the price I’ll have to pay to maintain my self-respect, then so be it,” the Inquirer  quoted Enrile. (italics by PJRR)

The report, “Enrile: I have no Torrens title to Senate presidency”, did not explain what “Torrens title” means.

Authored by the former Court of Appeals Associate Justice Federico Moreno, The Philippine Law Dictionary defines “torrens title” as: “(t)he certificate of ownership issued under the Torrens system of registration by the government through the Register of Deeds, naming and declaring the owner in fee simple of the property described therein, free from all liens and encumbrances except such as may be expressly noted thereon or otherwise reserved by law.” The book cited the case of Macenas vs. Salazar, in February 1983 as the basis for the definition.

The Philippine Law Dictionary offered another explanation: “A government certification that they who are named therein are the absolute owners of the property described therein.” It then cited the case of Rivera vs. Sarreal in October 1979 as the definition’s basis.