After the Philippines was ceded by Spain to the United States on December 10, 1898 there were no longer Spanish titles being issued and that ends the original registration of Spanish title under Spanish Mortgage Law.                                 On February 1, 1903, another system of registration (Torrens system) was imposed by the Republic Act 496 (Land Registration Act).                              The Torrens system mandated that the person legible for registration must be the owner of the land .                               On June 11, 1978, Act 496 was amended by P.D. 1529.   This decree still adheres to the ruling that the applicant qualified for the registration must be the owner of the land.   To quote:        “The applicant for land registration under Presidential Decree No. 1529 must be the owner of the land because registration under   the Torrens system is not a mode of acquiring ownership of the land .”