Hostile Takeover

Mr. Xyz purchased a vacant lot along a famous highway in Quezon City in the 90s and sat on it. They kept the property; they didn't put up walls or have a caretaker.

Years passed, and one of the few times they drove by the property, they were surprised to find their property (along with the lot beside it) now fenced up with a big sign stating "No Trespassing. This property is owned by..."

Mr. Xyz contacted the owner of the adjacent lot (a military guy) and told him that someone was claiming ownership over their properties. Mr. Xyz and the military man called for a meeting and met with the supposed land grabber.

At the meeting, a representative of the land grabber escorted by Police personnel showed up. The meeting ended as expected–the land grabber claimed the property was theirs.

Angry, the military guy called for military reinforcements, and went to the lots to forcibly take them back. An altercation happened and warning shots were fired; fortunately, nobody was hurt and the goons of the trespassers vacated the premises.

JPRE: In 1988, a fire broke out in Quezon City Hall. Among those destroyed were the Registry of Deeds (RD) copies of property titles. The titles the RD holds today are merely "reconstituted" copies (i.e., in the succeeding years after the fire, the RD "borrowed" property owners' titles so they could make new RD copies of the titles–hence the "Section 7. Annotation" on Quezon City property titles).

Land grabbers are rampant in Quezon City because, first, not all property owners surrendered their titles to the RD for reconstitution, and second, "trace-backs" of previous titles cannot be done. So, two people can show up, both claiming they're owners of a particular property. Land grabbers would hire goons and corrupt policemen to try and scare rightful owners.

In the story, Mr. Xyz was lucky the owner of the adjacent lot was from the military. Otherwise, the story may have ended differently.