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CAN FORMER FILIPINOS INHERIT LAND IN THE PHILIPPINES ?

-Ferdie Aguirre

(About the writer: G. Ferdinand (Ferdie) Aguirre has more than 20 years of combined experience as a legal professional in the Philippines and in Canada. After graduating from the Ateneo de Manila College of Law in 1987 and passing the Bar given that year, he has held the following positions in the Philippine Corporate world: Asst. Senior Vice President of the Philippine National Bank, Senior Manager of the Law Division of the Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company and as Chief Legal Counsel of Unibancard. His private practice included having successfully handled several major cases and being included in the Philippine case books. Ferdie Aguirre was also a professor of Political Science and Business Law before migrating to Ontario Canada in 2005 where worked as a Paralegal. He is presently a Court Agent & a Commissioner for Oaths in Alberta and is now working on his admission to the Alberta Bar. Ferdie Aguirre may be reached at (403) 6131168 /(403) 4747168 or at [email protected])

CAN FORMER FILIPINOS INHERIT LAND IN THE PHILIPPINES ?

Cherrie was a nurse who left the Philippines to work in Canada in 1985. Having stayed Canada continuously for several years , she became a Canadian in 1993 and settled there permanently.

In 2001, her mother and sadly in less than a year her elderly father succumbed to a heart attack.

Coming home to attend the wake of her father, he sibling informed her that she has to sign some papers so she could get her share of the inheritance which comprise real estate properties of her deceased parents. After everything was put in order, the papers were sent to the register of the deeds together the land titles of her parents. After seeing that Cherrie was a Canadian , he refused to register the property in her name claiming the law prohibits ownership of real property to foreigners . Is the Register of Deeds right?

THE REGISTER OF DEEDS

IS INCORRECT

Filipinos can inherit land by intestate succession.

By law, only Filipinos are allowed by Philippine laws to acquire by purchase, transfer or assignment any lands in the Philippines. However, there are some execptions where foreigners may be able to acquire real estate properties in the Philippines. One of these execptions is provided under the Philippine Constitution and we quote:

Section 7, Article XII of the Philippine Constitution, foreigners can inherit land.

SEC. 7. “Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be transferred or conveyed except to individuals, corporations, or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain.”

Under the circumstances, Cherrie can acquire ownership of the land even if she was already a Canadian at the time of the death of her parents.

(Legal Disclaimer: This article is designed for general information. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be neither formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. )

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