OUTLINE NOTES IN LAND TITLES AND DEEDS

A. Classification of Lands

1. According to the Constitution

i. Lands of the Public domain

1. Agricultural: may be further classified by law according to the uses to which they may be
devoted. Alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to agricultural lands.

2. forest or timber (Applicable law: Revised Forestry code of 1975)

3. mineral lands (Applicable law: Philippine Mining Act of 1995)

4. national parks. (National Integrated Protection Areas Act of 1992)

ii. Private lands

1. Those who can own private lands: At least 60% of the capital of which is owned by Filipino
Citizens (Sec. 7, Art. XII, 1987 Constitution).

2. Restricted as to extent reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out purpose for which it
was created

3. If engaged in agriculture, it is restricted to 1,024 hectares

4. Filipino citizens are entitled to acquire and own lands or real estate in the Philippines,
whether private or public. This right is enshrined and guaranteed to citizens of the
Philippines in the Philippine Constitution and other pertinent Philippine laws. (Article XII,
National Economy and Patrimony).

5. These also include those lands of the public domain which have been acquired from the
government by purchase or grant by qualified Filipino individuals as well as those which
have been in the possession of the occupant and his predecessors-in-interest since time
immemorial.
6. Private lands may be in the nature of

 residential (lot, house & lot, condominium units, townhouses etc),

 commercial (lots, office buildings, commercial spaces etc.)

 industrial (warehouses, factories, plants, etc) and

 agricultural lands (ricelands, farm lands or estates, forest farms, etc.)

iii. Patrimonial property of the state

1. Lease (cannot own land of the public domain) for 25 years renewable for another 25 years

2. Limited to 1,000 hectares

3. Applies to both Filipinos and foreign corporations

2. Public Land Act

i. Disposable lands

1. Lands reclaimed by the Government by dredging, filling, or other means;

2. Foreshore;

3. Marshy lands or lands covered with water bordering upon the shores or banks of
navigable lakes or rivers;

4. Lands not included in any of the foregoing classes.

ii. lands of the public domain

1. alienable or disposable lands - sub-classify ed according to the use or purposes to which

such lands are destined as follows:
 Agricultural;

 Residential, commercial, industrial, or for similar productive purposes;

 Educational, charitable, or other similar purposes;

 Reservations for town sites and for public and quasipublic uses

(Disposable Lands)

2. timber lands

3. mineral land

 If patent or title is issued – void ab initio for lack of jurisdiction

 Not subject to acquisitive prescription; even if in possession for long time, will not ripen
into ownership

 Except: mineral lands and forest lands acquired before inauguration of Commonwealth
in November 15, 1935; vested rights which are protected

B. Modes of Acquiring Title

a. Requirement for prescription

a. Prescription, in general, is a mode of acquiring (or losing) ownership and real rights
through lapse of time in the manner and under conditions laid down by law, namely, that
the possession be in the concept of an owner, public, peaceful, uninterrupted, and adverse
for a certain period of time may be converted into ownership of the land. Acquisitive
prescription is either voluntary or extraordinary. All things which are within the commerce
of men are susceptible of prescription, unless otherwise provided. However, property of the
State or any of its subdivisions not patrimonial in character shall not be the object of
prescription.
 Ordinary Prescription

For ordinary prescription, the following requisites must concur:

1. Capacity to acquire by prescription;

2. the object must be susceptible of prescription

3. The possession must be in concept of owner, public, peaceful, continuous and

uninterrupted

4. The possession must be in good faith

5. The possession must be by virtue of a just title;

6. he period of possession must be 4 years if the object is movable or ten years if it is

immovable.

 Extraordinary acquisitive prescription

In extraordinary acquisitive prescription, the following must concur:

1. Capacity to acquire by prescription

2. The object must be susceptible of prescription

3. The possession must be in the concept of owner, public, peaceful, continuous, and
uninterrupted; and

4. The period of possession must be 8 years if the object is movable or 30 years if it is

immovable.

b. Administrative methods

a.Homestead
 i. A Homestead application should be filed at the Department of
Energy and Natural Resources -Community Environment and Natural Resources Office
where the land being applied for is located.

ii. Those who are qualified to apply for the patent should be :

 a Filipino citizen and of legal age (18), most preferably the head of a family.

 In addition, the applicant should not own more than 12 hectares of land or has not had
the benefit of any gratuitous allotment of more than 12 hectares pursuant to the 1987
constitution.

 must have resided continuously for at least 1 year in the municipality where the land is
situated

 must have cultivated at least 1/5 of the land applied for

iii. Legal Requirements

 Application fee of P50.00;

 Entry fee of P5.00;

 Final fee of P5.00;

 Approved plan and technical description of the land applied for;

 Actual occupation and residence by the applicant

iv. Steps before a person is issue a homested application

 Upon the filing of application, the government will conduct a preliminary investigation
verifying the authenticity of the statements of the applicants. If the government, finds no
fault then the application shall be approved. The applicant should then file for final proofs
which consists of two parts

(1) notice of intention to make final proof which is posted for 30 days and
 (2) testimony of the applicant corroborated by two witnesses mentioned in the notice.

 The final proof in filed not earlier than one year after the approval of the application but
within 5 years from the indicated date. After the submission of these papers, the
government will conduct a confirmatory final investigation and then they will release an
order of issuance of patent. The applicant will then wait for the preparation of patent using
Judicial Form No. 67 and 67-D and the technical description duly inscribed at the back
thereof. Lastly, is the transmittal of the Homestead patent to the Register of Deeds
concerned.

v. Aim of Homestead

 Benevolent intention of government to distribute disposable agricultural land to destitute

citizens for their home and cultivation

 As a matter of public policy, may be repurchased even if after 5 years provided not for
profit

 Right of repurchase not allowed if sold within family & not for cultivating or living but for
speculation purpose

vi. Homestead Restrictions

 Cannot be alienated within 5 years after approval of application for patents

 Cannot be liable for satisfaction of debt within 5 years after approval of patent application

 Subject to repurchase of heirs within 5 years after alienation when allowed already

 No private corporation, partnership may lease land unless it is solely for commercial,
industrial, educational, religious or charitable purpose, or right of way (subject to consent
of grantee and approval of S of Environment & Natural Resources)

 Exceptions:

i. Action for partition because it is not a conveyance

 ii. Alienations or encumbrances made in favor of the
government

b. Sale Patent

i. To whom granted: Citizens of the Philippines of lawful age or

head of the family may purchase public agricultural land of not more than 12 hectares (

Requirements

a. to have at least 1/5 of the land broken and cultivated within 5 years from the date of the
award (public auction)

b. shall have established actual occupancy, cultivation, and improvement of at least 1/5 of
the land until the date of such final payment for agricultural Lands suitable for residential,
commercial or industrial purposes, patent is issued only after:

i. full payment of purchase price, and

ii. completion of the construction of permanent

improvements appropriate for purpose for which the land is purchased (must be completed
within 18 months from date of award)

ii. Two whom granted: To any citizen of legal age for residential
purposes (Sales patent without bidding)

Requirements

a. does not own a home lot in the municipality in which he resides

b. in good faith, established his residence on a parcel of land of public domain not needed for
public service

c. limitations: not more than 1000 sq. m.

d. Residence requirement: occupant must have constructed his house on the land and
actually resided therein (actual occupancy)
e. no public auction required not subject to any restriction against encumbrance or
alienation

f. age requirement: Over the age of 18 years (19 and above)

g. land ownership requirements: Must be the owner of the lot

h. Cultivation Requirements: residential land

c. Free Patent

i. Citizenship Requirement : Any natural-born citizen of the

Philippines

ii. Land Ownership Requirement: Does not own more than 12hectares

iii. Requirement: At least for 30years prior to the effectivity of the

amendatory Act, has continuously occupied and cultivated, either by himself or his
predecessors-in-interest tract/s of agricultural public land subject of disposition for at least
30 years prior to March 28,1990, who shall have paid the real taxes thereon while the same
has not been occupied by any person Note: Under the amendatory Act, the period for the
filing of applications for free patents ends on Dec.31,2000

iv. grant will be limited to 12 hectares only

v. Limitations: Does not own more than 12hectares of land

c. Carp

a. Private agricultural lands covered by CARP are acquired through any of the following
modes:

i. Compulsory Acquisition (CA);

 whereby the land is expropriated by the State (Section 16 of RA 6657)

 done through the mandate of the law whether or not the landowner disagrees to part with
his property.
  follows the schedule of CARP implementation based on the area of the landowner's
landholdings. In contrast VOS may be done even for lands not yet scheduled by law to be
acquired.

 lands covered by compulsory acquisition:

1. Except in the case of tenanted rice and corn lands under PD 27, which are acquired
following a different set of rules, compulsory acquisition (CA) is done for all private
agricultural lands which become due for coverage following the phasing of implementation
earlier discussed. However, CA is suspended in those cases where the landowners opt for
other modes of compliance, e.g., voluntary land transfer or stock distribution option. CA is
resumed once the negotiations in these other modes fail.

2. Compulsory acquisition is also done in idle and abandoned lands regardless of their size
and phasing, and in lands whose commercial farm deferment is revoked.

ii. Voluntary Offer to Sell (VOS);

 VOS is a scheme wherein landowners come forward and voluntarily offer their
agricultural lands for coverage regardless of the phasing. The DAR encourages this mode
because VOS generally ensures the cooperation of the landowners.

 Application for VOS can be filed either at the Central Office, or at any field office of DAR.
However, the receiving office should forward the application to the MARO of the
municipality where the land is located.

 Incentives given to landowners who offer their lands under VOS: The cash portion of the
compensation to the landowner is increased by five percent (5%), while the LBP bond
portion is correspondingly decreased by five percent. However, this incentive is not
available to banks and other financial institutions. It should be noted that the total
compensation is not increased, only the proportion of the cash component.

ii. Voluntary Land Transfer/Direct Payment Scheme

(VLT/DPS);

 scheme whereby the landowners voluntarily offer their agricultural lands for coverage
regardless of phasing
 VLT/DPS, on the other hand, is a voluntary arrangement entered into by a landowner
and a qualified farmer-beneficiary to directly transfer the land to the beneficiary under
terms and conditions mutually agreed by them but with payment terms not less favorable to
the farmer than if it were the government purchasing the land and transferring it to the
beneficiary.

 VLT/DPS is a scheme wherein a landowner of an agricultural land covered by CARP and

the qualified beneficiaries of such land agree to the direct transfer of the ownership of the
land, as provided for under Sections 20 and 21 of RA 6657. The area to be transferred
should not, however, be less than the area which the government through compulsory
acquisition would otherwise acquire. Administrative Order No. 13, Series of 1991, embodies
the rules and procedures governing VLT/DPS.

 Basic Requirement in VLT/DPS:

i. ARBs must give theirinformed consent to the

landowner's VLT/DPS proposal. Specifically, this means that the ARBs should be made
aware of their rights and options under the law, particularly, the terms and conditions of
land transfer under the "regular" compulsory acquisition mode.

ii. Among others, the field implementor (Municipal

Agrarian Reform Officer or Agrarian Reform Program Technologist — MARO or
SARPT/ARPT) must explain to the ARBs: (1) that the land will sooner or later be acquired
under CA subject to the phasing; and (2) about how much they will have to pay under the
CA mode.

iii. VLT/DPS is a scheme favorable to the Government for

two reasons.

i. First, Government does not have to pay for the

land. Second, the agreement between the two parties facilitates land acquisition and
distribution. The DAR, however, ought to ensure that the beneficiaries know what they are
entering into and that terms and conditions of the VLT/DPS are not disadvantageous to the
ARBs.

iv. Who are the qualified beneficiaries under VLT/DPS?

The qualified beneficiaries are the same as those who would be beneficiaries if the land were
to be covered under compulsory acquisition or voluntary offer to sell. (See Sec. 22, RA
6657).

v. Prescribed period for the completion of VLT/DPS

negotiations? Negotiations for VLT/DPS between the landowner and the beneficiaries must
 be completed and the agreement arrived at must be submitted within one (1) year from the
time the DAR receives the notice of application for VLT/DPS.

vi. If VLT/DPS negotiations remain unresolved after one

year, the land shall be covered under compulsory acquisition.

vii. The transfer of possession and ownership should be

done immediately after the submitted VLT/DPS agreement is approved by the DAR.
Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) with the proper annotations to
protect the landowner shall be issued to the beneficiaries.

iii. Operation Land Transfer (OLT) under PD 27 and EO 228;

and

 OLT is governed by PD 27 and EO 228 and has been in operation since 1972. It follows a
different set of procedures, particularly in land valuation.

 done through the mandate of the law whether or not the landowner disagrees to part with
his property.

 The requisites for coverage under the Operation Land Transfer program are the
following—

i. The land must be devoted to rice or corn crops

ii. There must be a system of share-crop or lease-tenancy

obtaining therein

 If either is absent, the landowner may apply for exemption

 PD27 grants each tenant of covered lands a 5 hectare lot, or in case the lot is irrigated, 3
hectares constituting the family size farm. However, said law allows a covered landowner to
retain not more than 7 hectares of his land if his aggregate landholding doesn’t exceed 24
hectares

 Consequently, a landowner may keep his whole covered land if its aggregate size doesn’t
exceed the retention limit of 7 hectares

 An application for exemption is different from that of retention. They are distinct
remedies and thus, judgment in one doesn’t preclude the subsequent institution of the other
 i. The right to retention is a constitutionally guaranteed
right which is subject to the qualifications by the legislature

ii. Landowners who haven’t exercised their retention rights

under PD27 may exercise their retention rights under RA 6657

iii. The right to retention may be exercised over tenanted

land despite the issuance of the certificate of land transfer to farmerbeneficiaries. What
must be protected, however, is the right of the tenants to opt to stay on the land chosen to be
retained by the landowner or be a beneficiary in another agricultural land with similar or
comparable features

iv. Land awards made pursuant to a government’s agrarian

reform program are subject to the exercise of the landowner who is qualified to the right of
retention

v. The issuance of emancipation patents or certificates of

land transfers doesn’t absolutely bar the landowner from retaining the area covered thereby

iv. Executive Order No. 407, as amended by EO 448 and EO

506

 as amended pertains only to government agencies as landowners in a propriety capacity,

or to public A & D lands under their administration by virtue of presidential proclamation.

 directs all government instrumentalities, including government financial institutions

(GFIs) and government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs)to immediately transfer
to DAR all their landholdings suitable for agriculture for immediate distribution to
qualified beneficiaries under CARP.

 is a concrete act of the Government to divest itself of its agricultural landholdings as an

example for private landowners to follow. Moreover, inasmuch as the landowners involved
are also Government agencies, EO 407 has facilitated the acquisition by the DAR of
thousands of hectares of agricultural lands for distribution under CARP.

 EO 407 covers the following:

i. all agricultural lands owned or controlled by government

departments, agencies or instrumentalities, including lands foreclosed by government
financing institutions;
 ii. lands covered by cancelled or expired Timber License
Agreements (TLAs) and Pasture Lease Agreements (PLAs) for redistribution by the DENR,
in coordination with the DAR, to qualified ARBs identified by the DAR; and

iii. lands covered by cancelled or expired Fishpond Lease

Agreements (FLAs) for redistribution by the Department of Agriculture, in coordination
with the DAR to qualified ARBs identified by the DAR.

iv. EO 448 included within the coverage of EO 407 all

reservations or portions thereof, which are suitable for agriculture and are no longer needed
for the purpose for which they were established.

v. EO 506, however, further amended EO 407 to exclude: all

existing and proposed national parks, game refuge, bird sanctuaries wildlife reserves,
wilderness areas and other protected areas, including old growth or virgin forests and all
forests above 1,000 meters elevation or above 50 percent slope until such time that they
are segregated for agricultural purposes or retained under the National Integrated
Protected Areas System (NIPAS) of DENR.

d. Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect Title

a.Nature

i. In rem, judicial proceedings

ii. The decree of registration issued is conclusive and final

iii. Governed by court procedure and law of evidence

iv. Application/when:Extended up to December 31, 2020, as

provided in Sec. 2 of RA 9176

b. LIMITATION TO AREA APPLIED FOR: Maximum of 12 hectares (Sec. 3, RA 6940)

a. Applicants:

i. Filipino citizens who by themselves or through their predecessors-

in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and
 occupation of alienable and disposable lands of public domain under a bona fide claim of
acquisition since June 12, 1945 or prior thereto or since time immemorial (CA No. 141
Section 48, as amended by PD No. 1073, Sec. 4).

ii. Filipino citizens who by themselves or their predecessors-in-

interest have been, prior to the effectivity of PD 1073 on January 25, 1977, in open,
continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the
public domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisition of ownership, for at least 30 years, or
at least since January 24, 1947 (RA No. 1942).

iii. Private corporations or associations which had acquired lands from

Filipino citizens who had possessed the same in the manner and for the length of time
indicated in paragraphs 1 and 2 above

iv. Natural-born citizens of the Philippines who have lost their

citizenship and who has the legal capacity to enter into a contract under Philippine laws
may be a transferee of private land up to a maximum area of 5,000 sq,m, in case of urban
land or 3 hectares in case of rural land to be used by him for business or other purposes.
(Section 5, RA No. 8179)

NOTE: When the conditions set by law are complied with, the possessor of the land, by
operation of law, acquires a right to a grant, a government grant, without the necessity of a
certificate of the title being issued. The law, as presently phrased, requires that possession of
lands of the public domain must be from June 12, 1945 or earlier, for the same to be
acquired through judicial confirmation of imperfect title. (Republic vs Doldol. 295 SCRA
359)

b. Applicant Must Prove:

i. That the land is alienable and disposable land of public domain;

and

ii. That they have been in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious
possession and occupation of the land for the length of time and in the manner and concept
provided by law.

iii. Extended period for filing of application: Section 1, RA No.

9176 provides in part that “The time to be fixed in the entire archipelago for the filing of
applications under this chapter shall not extend beyond 31 December 2020. Provided that
the area applied for does not exceed twelve (12) hectares.”
 iv. Section 3 of RA No. 7196 provides that “All pending applications
filed before the effectivity of this amendatory act shall be treated as having been filed in
accordance with the provisions of this Act.”