Subdivisions Surveys

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No survey, no title.

This has been the mantra of professionals involved in the issuance of titles. Whether you go through the courts or you go through Administrative processes, you will need to have your land surveyed before you can get your title.

It’s a good thing that Cadastral Surveys have been completed throughout the Philippines, as DENR tells us. But having your land covered by a Cadastral Survey does not automatically mean you don’t need a subdivision survey anymore, as your plot may be part of a larger piece of land that appears on the cadastral survey. 

Subdivision surveys for individual lots cost money. You will need a licensed Geodetic Engineer to do it. He does not work alone, but with a team. And they need equipment, transportation, meals. You can pay for it all, packaged in a contact. The cost is usually set for each locality by an association of surveyors, which establishes a tariff. 

Having adjacent lots surveyed at one time could be cheaper - economies of scale and all that. This is one reason why Systematic Adjudication is being promoted. Systematic Adjudication happens when government - particularly DENR and LGUs - come to the Barangay and conduct tilting operations for everyone qualified to apply for a title. 

Still, the question remains - who will pay for Subdivision Surveys in the context of Systematic Adjudication?

DENR’s budget for subdivision surveys is pegged to its targets. If a Region is given a target of a thousand Residential Free Patents, for example, it is also given enough money to pay for subdivision surveys of a thousand lots. At least, that’s the theory.

The reality is that the budget could possibly cover less than the target. Good if the DENR Regional or Provincial office has its own, organic survey team. They can do surveys “by administration”. Their salaries are already part of the office’s regular budget, so the only funds needed would be for their transportation and meals.

An alternative has been emerging, from DENR’s partnerships with local governments. One involves the engagement of LGU survey teams. Since August 2012, barangays of the Municipality of San Francisco in Agusan del Sur had hired their own survey team, then deployed this team to support titling efforts by the DENR.

Another mode of LGU-supported subdivision surveying comes out of Surigao del Sur. Here the Provincial Government and the Municipal Government split the cost of subdivision surveys. The survey is done by private survey companies (accredited by DENR). When the title is released - usually a Residential Free Patent - the beneficiary pays back the Municipal Government the cost of the survey.

A national effort to title all occupied alienable and disposable lands will have to address the logistics and cost of subdivision surveys. As the examples of San Francisco (ADS) and Surigao del Sur show, local governments can play a big role here. 

There is also another alternative that can be explored - reducing the cost of subdivision surveys through the use of technology. What if it will be possible to conduct accurate subdivision surveys for more parcels at lesser cost, using drones and GPS? The concept has been tested and proved in other countries. If it worked there, it could work here. 

But of course technical soundness is not the only thing needed for a new method to be adopted. It must also be politically acceptable. How drones and GPS can be accepted by a surveying industry used to transits and total stations remains to be seen.

What could be done to sell this idea to surveyors?

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 3, 2015 at 4:01 PM

    it is true. survey cost is very high that is why it is very costly for our brothers and sisters in rural area to go for titling. the reasons for the GE is the cost of survey equipment and manpower because their are 3-4 member in a survey team. yes, it is true that the lot owner will shoulder the cost of transportation, meals and board and lodging of the survey team plus the PF of the GE all incorporated to their contract. we hope that and pray that the survey using by drone will introduce to our country like what other country using today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ren SanapoJanuary 22, 2016 at 9:10 PM

      Sam your wish might come true sooner than you think. We have received support from Omidyar Network to test the use of drone+GPS in a subdivision survey, hopefully by April 2016. We will see whether the results of this survey will meet the accuracy requirements of the Land Management Bureau.

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