NATURAL RESOURCES

Constitution: Article XII

SECTION 2. All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal,
petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy,
fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other
natural resources are owned by the State.
With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources
shall not be alienated.

SECTION 3. Lands of the public domain are classified into

agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands, and national parks.
Agricultural lands of the public domain may be further classified by
law according to the uses which they may be devoted.
Alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to agricultural
lands.
DEFINITION OF ALIENABLE & DISPOSABLE LAND

Class of land of public domain thrown to private

appropriation and settlement by homestead
and other siminal general laws

It pertains to public lands subject to alienation or

disposal by the state in accordance with the
Public Land Act.
CLASSIFICATION OF ALIENABLE & DISPOSABLE
LANDS (USE OR PURPOSE)

Agricultural (Farmland);
Residential , Commercial, Industrial, or for similar
productive purposes;
Educational, Charitable, or other similar
purposes; and
Reservation for townsites and for public and
quasi-public purposes.
PREREQUISITE TO DISPOSITION
Before any public land may be alienated or disposed of,
It is indispensable that there be a formal declaration by
the President upon recommendation of the Secretary of
Environment and Natural Resources, to effect that such
lands are open to dispossession or concession.
Lands which have been reserved for public or quasi-public
uses, as well as those appropriated by the government
or in any manner have become private property or
subject to private right, cannot be included among those
to be declared open to disposition or concession (sec.
7&8 CA 141)
POWER TO CLASSIFY LANDS OF PUBLIC
DOMAIN
Under Section 6 of the PLA, the classification and
the reclassification of public lands are the
prerogative of the Executive Department.
The President, through a presidential proclamation
or executive order, can classify or reclassify a land
to be included or excluded from the public domain.
The Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) Secretary is likewise
empowered by law to approve a land classification
and declare such land as alienable and
disposable. (Fortuna vs. Republic)
LAND REGISTRATION: FORTUNA VS. REPUBLIC
(G.R. NO. 173423, MARCH 5, 2014)
The Constitution declares that all lands of the public domain are
owned by the State.
Of the four classes of public land, i.e., agricultural lands, forest or
timber lands, mineral lands, and national parks, only agricultural
lands may be alienated.
Public land that has not been classified as alienable agricultural land
remains part of the inalienable public domain. Thus, it is essential
for any applicant for registration of title to land derived through a
public grant to establish foremost the alienable and disposable
nature of the land.
The PLA provisions on the grant and disposition of alienable public
lands, specifically, Sections 11 and 48 (b), will find application only
from the time that a public land has been classified as agricultural
and declared as alienable and disposable.
FORTUNA CASE:
Accordingly, jurisprudence has required that an
applicant for registration of title acquired
through a public land grant must present
incontrovertible evidence that the land subject
of the application is alienable or disposable by
establishing the existence of a positive act of
the government, such as a presidential
proclamation or an executive order; an
administrative action; investigation reports of
Bureau of Lands investigators; and a legislative
act or a statute.
FORTUNA CASE:
In this case, the CA declared that the alienable nature of the
land was established by the notation in the survey plan,
which states:
“This survey is inside alienable and disposable area as per
Project No. 13 L.C. Map No. 1395 certified August 7, 1940.
It is outside any civil or military reservation.”

It also relied on the Certification dated July 19, 1999 from the
DENR Community Environment and Natural Resources Office
(CENRO) that "there is, per record, neither any public land
application filed nor title previously issued for the subject
parcel[.]" However, we find that neither of the above
documents is evidence of a positive act from the government
reclassifying the lot as alienable and disposable agricultural
land of the public domain.
FORTUNA CASE:
Mere notations appearing in survey plans are inadequate proof of the covered
properties' alienable and disposable character. These notations, at the very
least, only establish that the land subject of the application for registration
falls within the approved alienable and disposable area per verification
through survey by the proper government office. The applicant, however,
must also present a copy of the original classification of the land into
alienable and disposable land, as declared by the DENR Secretary or as
proclaimed by the President. In Republic v. Heirs of Juan Fabio, the Court
ruled that

“[t]he applicant for land registration must prove that the DENR Secretary
had approved the land classification and released the land of the public
domain as alienable and disposable, and that the land subject of the
application for registration falls within the approved area per verification
through survey by the PENRO or CENRO. In addition, the applicant must
present a copy of the original classification of the land into alienable and
disposable, as declared by the DENR Secretary, or as proclaimed by the
President.”
FORTUNA CASE:
The survey plan and the DENR-CENRO certification are not
proof that the President or the DENR Secretary has
reclassified and released the public land as alienable and
disposable. The offices that prepared these documents are
not the official repositories or legal custodian of the
issuances of the President or the DENR Secretary declaring
the public land as alienable and disposable.

For failure to present incontrovertible evidence that Lot No.

4457 has been reclassified as alienable and disposable land
of the public domain though a positive act of the Executive
Department, the spouses Fortuna's claim of title through a
public land grant under the PLA should be denied.
PUBLIC LAND ACT

COMMONWEALTH ACT 141

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
 ACT NO. 926 – the first Public Land Act, Prescribed rules and
regulation of the homesteading, selling and leasing of portions of
the public domain, and prescribed the terms and conditions to
enable persons to perfect their titles to public lands in the islands
Also provided for the issuance of patents to certain native settlers
upon public lands for the establishment of town sites and sale of
lots therein, for the completion of imperfect titles and for the
cancellation or confirmation of Spanish concessions and grants
in the islands

• ACT NO. 2874 - The second Public Land Act was more
comprehensive in scope but limited the exploitation of agricultural
lands to Filipinos and Americans and citizens of other countries which
gave Filipinos same privileges.
CA 141
 Enacted on November 7, 1936

 Grants of public lands are brought under the operation of the

Torrens system of registration.

 Its provisions govern the classification and disposition of

lands of the public domain other that timber and mineral
lands.

 Note: Public land patents when duly registered are veritable

Torrens titles, they become private property which can no
longer be subject of subsequent disposition by the Director
of Lands.
MODES OF DISPOSITION

 Public lands suitable for agricultural purposes

can be disposed of only as follows:
 1. For homestead settlement
 2. By sale

 3. By lease; and

 4. Confirmation of imperfect or incomplete title:

 a. Judicial Legalization
 b. Administrative legalization (Free Patent)

 (section 11 of CA 141)
HOMESTEAD

 By homestead is meant the home, the house

and the adjoining land where the head of the
family dwells; home farm; the fixed residence of
the head of the family.
 Homestead Act is a social legislation enacted
for the welfare and protection of the poor
(Patricio vs. Bayog 112 SCRA 42)
 Law protects it from execution (P3,000.00)
QUALIFICATIONS AND AREA OBTAINABLE
 The applicant must be:
 a. Filipino citizen
 b. More than 18 years old
 c. Does not own more than12 ha. of land
 d.Resided for at least 1 year in the municipality
which the land is located or in the municipality
adjacent to the same
 e. Must have cultivated and improved at least 1/5
of land continuously since the approval of the
application
 f. Payment of fee
PROCEDURE TO OBTAIN HOMESTEAD PATENT

 * File application with the Bureau of Lands

 -Payment of fees – ‘entry fee’
*DENR Approves the application
*Within 6 months from approval of the application, the
applicant shall start to improve and cultivate the land
*Within the period of not less than one year or more than
five years from date of approval of the application,
applicant should have cultivated or improved at least
1/5 of the land.
- PD 152 prohibits employment or use of share tenants
PROCEDURE: HOMESTEAD
 *Residency requirement of 1 year.
 *After complying with the above requirements
on cultivation and residence, applicant should
notify DENR to present final proof of his
compliance with the legal requirements to be
entitled to the issuance of the Homestead
Patent
- Submit Affidavit /Joint Affidavit of applicant and
two witnesses.
 - Notice and Hearing.
* Homestead Patent issued.
NOTE!
 Once an application for homestead patent is approved, the
applicant has the right to take possession of the land and
priority of right to acquire title upon his compliance with
the requirements of law.
 - Can he file forcible entry against an intruder?

 Upon compliance of the applicant to the conditions and

terms, applicant acquires a vested interest therein and is
to be regarded as the equitable owner thereof.
 The date of issuance of the patent is not determinative of when
the applicant acquires ownership of the property, BUT the time
when he has fully complied with all the requirements of the law
for the acquisition of the patent. (Fiel vs. Wagas 48 O.G. 195)
NOTE:

 Registration of the Homestead Patent

(contract) with the Register of Deeds is the
operative act to convey and affect the land.
 Registration brings the land under the
operation of the Torrens System.
 Registration makes the Patent indefeasible,
imprescriptible and unassailable.
 No longer becomes part of the Public Land.
NOTE:
 Action for annulment and cancellation of
homestead patent may be filed within one from
issuance of the title.
 Thereafter, the government can file an action
for reversion, which should be made within five
years from the time the action for reversion is
available.
 Violation of restrictions on subsequent
alienation and encumbrance
RESTRICTIONS
 a. It cannot be encumbered or alienated from the date
of the approval of the application and for a term of five
years from and after the date of issuance of the patent;
 b. It shall not become liable to the satisfaction of any
debt contracted prior to the expiration of said period
except for the improvements or crops
 c. No alienation, transfer or conveyance after 5 years
and before 25 years after issuance of title shall be valid
without the approval of the DENR, which shall not be
denied except for constitutional and legal grounds.
 d. Sale within 5 years is void (reckoned upon
promulgation of the order of issuance of patent)
NOTE:
 Redemption – five years from date of the
conveyance reckoned from the date of sale NOT
on the date of registration of the deed. (sec.
119 of CA 141)
 Right of redemption not applicable to
conveyance within family circle.
 Why?
 Because the property is retained within the
family of the original homesteader.
SALE OF PUBLIC AGRICULTURAL LANDS
Qualifications?
 1. Filipino citizen
 2. Over 18 years of age or head of the family
 3. Not exceeding 12 ha.
 4. Mode of Sale is through sealed bidding
 5. To be paid in full or 10 annual equal installment
 6. Must have cultivated and improved at least 1/5 of the
land within 5 years from date of award.
 If grazing land ratio one head of cattle for every two ha of
the entire area.
 7. Must show actual occupancy, cultivation and
improvement of at least 1/5 of the land unil the date of
final payment.
PROCEDURE FOR THE SALE OF PAL
 Filing of application
 Appraisal by the Director of Lands approved by the
Secretary of DENR
 Publication of notice of sale
 Submission of sealed bids – cash or certified
check or treasury warrant or PMO for an amount
equivalent to 10% of the bid.
 Opening of bids and award – highest bidder
 - if equal bidding and one of which is the applicant, it
shall be awarded in favor of the applicant.
 - Otherwise, oral bidding. Applicant may participate to
put up a bid equal to the highest bidder and thereby
preferred (Torres vs Gonzales 54 Phil 851)
PROCEDURE

 Payment of price – overdue installments subject to

4%/annum interest from date of delinquency.
 NOTE:
 Approval of the sales application merely authorizes the
applicant to take possession of the land do that he can
comply with the requirements prescribed by law before
a fina sales patent can be issued in his favor.
 Pending compliance, the government remains the
owner of the land and may cancel it for non compliance
and may award it to another applicant.
NOTE
 Pending issuance of sales patent, the applicant
after cultivation of the hand has began may
convey or encumber his rights to any person.
 Provided it does not affect any right or interest
of the government on the land, and the
transferor is not delinquent in the payment of
installment due and demandable
 Prior approval of the Secretary of DENR
required.
LEGAL LIMITATION AND RESTRICTIONS
 1. No sale patent shall be issued unless the land
purchased has been surveyed and an accurate plat
made thereof by the Bureau of Lands
 2. Shall not include nor convey title to mineral deposits
 3. It shall be subject to the same public servitudes as
are imposed on lands owned by private persons.
 4. After the title has been granted, the purchaser may
not within ten years from grant or cultivation convey or
encumber or otherwise dispose of the land or rights
therein, without prejudice to the right or interest of the
government in the land
NOTE

 Land becomes private ownership only after

issuance and registration of the sales patent.
LEASE OF PUBLIC AGRICULTURAL LANDS
 Who are qualified to lease PAL?
 1. Any Filipino citizen of lawful age
 - not to exceed 500 ha
 - 1/3 of the land must be cultivated within 5 years

 2. Any corporation or association of which at least 60% of

the capital stock or of any interest in said capital stock
belongs wholly to Filipinos, and which is organized and
constituted under the laws of the Philippines
 - not to exceed 1,000 ha
 - 1/3 of the land must by cultivated within 5 years
 - period of lease not more than 25 years, renewable for not more
than 25 years.

May an alien be allowed to lease PAL?

PROCEDURE FOR LEASE OF PAL
 Filing of application
 Appraisal by the Director of Lands approved by the Secretary
of DENR
 Publication of notice of sale
 Submission of sealed bids - cash or certified check or
treasury warrant or PMO for an amount of not less than 3%
of the appraised value of the land (as annual rent) and
deposit at least the first three months of the lease.
 For grazing land, minimum annual rental is 2% of its appraised
value;
 Opening of bids and award – highest bidder
 - if equal bidding and one of which is the applicant, it shall be
awarded in favor of the applicant.
 - Otherwise, oral bidding. Applicant may participate to put up a bid
equal to the highest bidder and thereby preferred (Torres vs
Gonzales 54 Phil 851)
NOTE
 Rental is to be paid yearly in advance from the
date of approval of the lease
 Reappraisal maybe done every 10 years
 Thus, annual rental is subject to increase automatically as when it
should fall below the minimum 3% of the reappraisal value
 All improvements shall be owned by the
government after termination of the lease
 Assignment, encumbrance or sublease should be
upon approval of the Secretary of DENR and only
upon persons who are qualified to lease public
land.
 Registration of the Contract of Lease is not
necessary
CONFIRMATION OF IMPERFECT OR INCOMPLETE
TITLE ( JUDICIAL LEGALIZATION )
 Requisites:
 1. Applicant must be a Filipino citizen

 2. By themselves of through their predecessor in

interest, possessed and occupied A&D agricultural
portion of public domain
 3. OCENPO since June 12, 1945 under a bona fide
ownership
 4. Filed in the proper court.

 *** limitation of 12 ha.

 ***JL is similar to Land Registration Act

ADMINISTRATIVE LEGALIZATION OR FREE
PATENT
 Qualifications
 1. Any natural-born citizen of the philippines
 2. Not the owners of more than 12 ha

 3. Has continuously occupied and cultivated either by

himself or through his predecessor-in-interest the
agricultural land
 4. For a period of 30 years under a bona fide claim of
ownership
 5. Not occupied by any other person.

 6. FP granted not to exceed 12 ha.

 *** Application until December 31, 2020 (RA9176)

RESTRICTIONS ON FREE PATENT
 Similar to homestead patent
 *Cannot be encumbered within five years from and after
the date of the issuance of the patent EXCEPT in favor of
the government
 *Cannot be made liable to the satisfaction of debt
contracted prior to the expiration of the period. ***
 Where Corp/Assoc/Partnership acquire patented land or
improvements thereon, it can only be done with the
consent of the grantee and the approval of the Secretary
of the DENR and solely for Commercial, Industrial,
Educational, Religious or Charitable Purposes, or for
right of Way.
 How about forced sale/execution sale, is the consent of the
grantee and DENR Secretary still required?
CLASSIFICATIONS OF LAND (USE)
 Agricultural land/Farmland
 - may be disposed by grant, sale, and lease
 Reclaimed Land
 Foreshore
 Marshy land
 - may be disposed by lease or sale (RA 293)
 - provided the President upon the recommendation of
the Secretary of DENR shall have declared them open
for lease when no longer needed for public service
 - the land shall be used for residential, commercial,
industrial or other productive purposes.
ACCORDING TO USE
 Lands classified for Educational, Charitable and other
similar purposes
 - Granted to Government Entities through
donation/lease/sale
 - Private institutions through sale or lease for the purpose of
founding a cemetery, church, college, school, university, or
other institutions for educational, charitable or
philanthropical purposes or scientific search.
 - Area of land subject of concession should not exceed 96
ha. (this limitation does not apply to government entities)
 - it cannot be sold/transferred/encumbered/ leased for any
other purpose other than that contemplated in the
application
 - disposition should be subject to approval of the Secretary
of the DENR.