Imagine you just bought a beautiful piece of land in Cebu or Bohol.
You receive the Torrens title and everything appears official and complete. Then you look at the technical description and see something like:
“Line 1-2, Bearing N 45° 00′ E, Distance 20.00 meters…”
For someone who is not a surveyor, this can look like a complicated mathematical code.
You might naturally think:
“If these measurements are written on my title, doesn’t that tell me exactly where my property is?”
The answer is: the technical description is extremely important, but it is not the same thing as having your property boundaries physically located on the ground.
Your title identifies and legally describes your registered property. But if you want to know exactly where Corner 1, Corner 2, Corner 3 and Corner 4 are physically located today, you generally need the work of a licensed Geodetic Engineer.
This is especially important before building a house, putting up a fence, buying neighboring land, subdividing property, or settling a boundary dispute.
1. What Is the Technical Description?
The technical description is the written description of the boundaries of your property.
It normally contains things such as:
- bearings or directions;
- distances;
- boundary lines;
- adjoining properties;
- corner information; and
- other survey information.
Think of it as a written set of instructions describing the shape and boundaries of the land.
For example, it might say that one boundary runs northeast for 20 meters, another runs southeast for 15 meters, and so on.
A surveyor can use these measurements to reconstruct the parcel.
But there is an important problem for the ordinary landowner:
The words and numbers do not physically appear on the ground.
Your title does not normally put a visible line across your property saying, “This is the boundary.”
That is where surveying comes in.
2. Your Title Is Not the Same as a Physical Survey
A common misunderstanding is that owning a title means you can simply take the measurements written on it and locate the property yourself.
In reality, determining where those measurements begin and end requires reference information and surveying.
The Philippine land-survey system uses survey plans, reference points, cadastral information and coordinate systems. DENR regulations define a survey plan as a map showing the metes and bounds of surveyed parcels and other relevant information.
The Land Registration Authority also recognizes the importance of the approved survey plan and technical description. Its requirements for certain land-status and registration matters include documents such as the technical description, lot data computation, cadastral map, geographic position and plane coordinates of the tie point, and the approved plan when available.
So think of it this way:
The title tells you what property is registered to you.
The survey helps translate that registered description into physical positions on the ground.
3. Why Can’t an Ordinary Person Just Follow the Numbers?
Because the numbers need a reliable starting reference.
Suppose your technical description says:
“Beginning at Corner 1…”
The obvious question is:
Where exactly is Corner 1?
You cannot simply choose a random point on your property and start measuring from there.
The surveyor needs to establish the correct reference using the available survey records, plans, coordinates, monuments and other evidence.
This is one reason government land records are so important.
4. What About the Approved Survey Plan?
This is something many property owners don’t realize.
The technical description should not be viewed in isolation.
There may be an approved survey plan associated with the property. Government records can also include cadastral maps, lot data computations, technical descriptions and reference information.
The LRA specifically lists the approved survey plan and related survey records among documents used in land-status and registration processes.
The survey plan gives the surveyor a much better picture of the parcel than simply looking at several lines of text on a title.
It can show:
- the shape of the lot;
- its corners;
- neighboring lots;
- adjoining roads or boundaries;
- survey information; and
- its relationship to the larger cadastral or subdivision survey.
5. What If the Numbers Don’t Match?
This is where you should be very careful.
Sometimes a surveyor may discover that the technical description, old survey records, physical monuments, existing fences or neighboring documents do not appear to agree.
For example, you might discover:
- an old fence is several meters away from the surveyed boundary;
- a neighboring wall appears to cross your property line;
- the lot appears to have a different shape from what you expected;
- an old monument cannot be found;
- measurements in different documents don’t agree; or
- the available records contain discrepancies.
Do not simply change a number on the title to make the drawing close.
A discrepancy has to be investigated.
The surveyor may need to compare the title with the approved survey plan, lot data computation, cadastral records, neighboring survey information and other government records.
The objective is not simply to make the mathematics work.
The objective is to determine what the authoritative survey records actually establish.
6. What Is a Tie Point?
The term “tie point” can sound intimidating, but the basic concept is simple.
A survey needs a reliable reference from which positions can be established.
Philippine surveying uses established reference systems and control information. DENR’s regulations recognize reference points and the Philippine Reference System of 1992 (PRS92) as the national common coordinate reference system for surveys and maps.
Government records may contain information concerning the geographic position and plane coordinates of a tie point.
Importantly, if an old physical monument is missing or damaged, that does not automatically mean that your property has moved.
The surveyor’s job is to investigate the available reference information and re-establish the position using appropriate surveying procedures.
7. What Does a Geodetic Engineer Actually Do?
A licensed Geodetic Engineer does much more than measure your lot with a tape measure.
Depending on the type of survey, the work may include:
A. Examining Your Documents
The surveyor examines your title and other property documents and determines what survey information needs to be checked.
B. Checking Government Survey Records
Where appropriate, the surveyor may need to examine records such as the approved survey plan, cadastral map, technical description and lot data.
The LRA and DENR maintain and process various survey records used for land registration and verification.
C. Establishing the Survey Reference
The surveyor establishes the appropriate reference or control points needed to locate the property accurately.
Modern surveying equipment, including GNSS/GPS-based equipment, may be used together with other surveying instruments and established control.
D. Locating the Property Corners
The surveyor calculates and physically establishes the positions of the property’s corners based on the relevant survey records and field measurements.
E. Comparing the Survey With What Exists on the Ground
This is extremely important.
The surveyor can compare the calculated property boundaries with things such as:
- fences;
- concrete walls;
- buildings;
- roads;
- old monuments;
- neighboring structures; and
- other physical features.
This can reveal a possible encroachment—for example, when a fence or building appears to extend beyond the property’s established boundary.
F. Investigating Discrepancies
If the records and physical conditions don’t agree, the surveyor investigates the discrepancy rather than simply guessing.
If a correction to an official record is ultimately required, the appropriate government and legal procedures must be followed.
8. Why You Should Survey Before Building
This is particularly important if you are planning to build.
Imagine you own a 500-square-meter lot.
You assume your fence is already on the property line.
You then build a beautiful house, garage and concrete perimeter wall.
Several months later, a neighboring owner commissions a survey.
The survey shows that your fence and part of your structure may be beyond the established boundary.
Now you potentially have a very expensive problem.
Moving a fence is one thing.
Moving a house is another.
That is why a boundary or relocation survey should be considered before major construction when the exact property boundaries are important.
9. A Survey Is Especially Important When Buying Land
Before buying property, don’t rely solely on:
“The seller says this is the boundary.”
And don’t rely solely on:
“The existing fence has been here for 30 years.”
A fence shows where somebody placed a fence.
It does not automatically prove that the fence represents the legally established property boundary.
Likewise, a concrete wall, road or landmark should not automatically be assumed to be the property line.
If the purchase is significant, having the property properly checked can potentially prevent a much more expensive problem later.
10. The Simple Way to Remember It
Think of your land documents like this:
The TITLE = your registered legal ownership record.
The TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION = the written description of the property’s boundaries.
THE APPROVED SURVEY PLAN = the surveyed map associated with the parcel.
THE SURVEYOR = the professional who translates the survey information into physical locations on the ground.
And:
THE PROPERTY MARKERS = the physical points used to identify the corners or boundaries on the actual land.
These pieces work together.
Before You Build, Do This
If you own land and are preparing to build, consider having a licensed Geodetic Engineer perform the appropriate survey before construction begins.
Give the surveyor your:
- Original or Certified True Copy of the title;
- technical description;
- available survey plan;
- previous survey documents;
- tax declaration, when relevant; and
- other property documents.
The surveyor can then determine what records need to be checked and what type of survey is appropriate.
Don’t wait until your house is already standing to discover that your understanding of the property boundary was wrong.
The Bottom Line
A Torrens title is a powerful legal document, but a piece of paper cannot physically place a boundary line on the ground.
The technical description provides important survey information. The approved survey plan and government survey records provide additional context. A licensed Geodetic Engineer uses these records, appropriate reference systems and field measurements to establish where the property’s boundaries are physically located.
So before you build a fence, pour a foundation, construct a house, subdivide land or enter a serious boundary dispute, remember:
Don’t just ask, “What does my title say?”
Ask:
“Where are the boundaries described in my title actually located on the ground?”
That is where professional land surveying becomes essential.
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