Short answer. No. Article 1623 makes an affidavit of the vendor a precondition to registration: the deed of sale shall not be recorded in the Registry of Property unless it is accompanied by an affidavit that the vendor gave written notice of the sale to all possible redemptioners, including co-owners entitled to redeem.
What the law says
The deed of sale shall not be recorded in the Registry of Property, unless accompanied by an affidavit of the vendor that he has given written notice thereof to all possible redemptioners.
Civil Code, Article 1623 — Thirty-Day Period; Written Notice. Read the full provision →
The affidavit is a condition for registration itself
Article 1623 ties the act of registration directly to proof of notice. It states: the deed of sale shall not be recorded in the Registry of Property, unless accompanied by an affidavit of the vendor that he has given written notice thereof to all possible redemptioners. This is not a suggestion or best practice; it is phrased as a bar on recording. Without that affidavit attached to the deed, the registration is not supposed to proceed at all, regardless of how complete the rest of the documentation otherwise is.
Why the notice requirement exists in the first place
The affidavit requirement exists because Article 1623 gives co-owners and certain other persons a right of legal redemption that only means something if they actually know a sale happened. The article requires notice in writing by the prospective vendor, or by the vendor before that thirty-day redemption period can even begin to run. If a sale could be registered without ever showing that this notice was given, the co-owners' redemption right could be defeated simply because nobody can prove they were ever told about the sale in the first place.
Who counts as a possible redemptioner here
The affidavit has to cover notice to all possible redemptioners, not merely one of them. In a sale of an undivided share by a co-owner, the other co-owners are the ones whose redemption right this article protects. Article 1623 also clarifies how competing redemption rights relate to each other: "the right of redemption of co-owners excludes that of adjoining owners." So when co-owners exist, they are the ones entitled to notice and to redeem in this scenario, ahead of any neighboring landowner who might otherwise have a separate redemption right.
What this means if you are a co-owner or a buyer
If you are a co-owner who was never given written notice of a sale by your co-owner, the absence of the required affidavit is a real point to raise, since the deed should not have been recorded without it in the first place. If you are the buyer or the selling co-owner, making sure the affidavit of notice is prepared and attached before attempting registration avoids a defect that can leave the transaction vulnerable to challenge by co-owners who were entitled to know about the sale and to consider exercising their right to redeem.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Perpetua Vda. De Ape vs. The Honorable Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 133638, April 15, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Adalia B. Francisco vs. Zenaida F. Boiser, G.R. No. 137677, May 31, 2000 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Primary Structures Corp, et al. vs. Sps. Anthony S. Valencia, et al, G.R. No. 150060, August 19, 2003 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Hermelina Rama And Baby Rama Lauron vs. Spouses Medardo Nogra And Purita Nogra And Spouses Ricardo Rama And Mariles Rama, G.R. No. 219556, September 14, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →