Slide 1

Section 14 (4) - Acquisition of ownership in any other manner provided for by law under

Modes provided by law:

(a) Statute
(b) Executive Act

Slide 2

(1) Registration under Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) / RA No. 8371
(Under RA 8731, individual members of cultural communities, with respect to their individually-
owned ancestral lands who, by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest, have been
in continuous possession and occupation of the same in concept of owner since time
immemorial or for a period of not less than thirty (30) years immediately preceding the approval
of the act in October 29, 1997 shall have the option to secure title to their ancestral lands under
the provisions of Public Land Act or the Property Registration Decree.)

Requirements under the law:

(a) Ancestral lands must be agricultural in character
(b) Ancestral lands must be used for agricultural, residential, pasture, and tree farming purposes

(The law requires that said ancestral lands must be agricultural in character and actually used
for agricultural, residential, pasture, and tree farming purposes. The law classifies these lands
as already alienable and disposable agricultural lands, including those with a slope of eighteen
percent (18%) or more)

Slide 3

(2) Registration of foreshore and offshore areas through “special patents”

•Special Patent - a land grant through statute or executive act conveying land to grantee without
regard to its classification
•PD No. 1085 - authorized the issuance of special land patents for lands reclaimed from
foreshore or submerged areas by the Public Reclamation Authority (PRA)

(A special patent is a form of land grant whereby the government, by an act of congress or
executive order, conveys land in full ownership to the grantee without regard to its classification.

PD No. 1085, issued on February 4, 1997 authorized the issuance of special land patents for
lands reclaimed from foreshore or submerged areas by the Public Estate’s Authority, later
renamed Public Reclamation Authority under EO No. 380, dated October 26, 2004.
Pursuant to its mandate, PRA reclaimed several portions of the foreshore and offshore areas of
Manila Bay, including those located in Paranaque City, and were issued OCT Titles and
Transfer Certificate Titles over the reclaimed lands. But the mere fact that alienable lands of the
public domain, like the Freedom Islands, were transferred to PEA and issued land patents or
certificates of title in PEA’s name does not automatically make such lands private. The Republic
may grant the beneficial use of its real property to an agency or instrumentality of the national
government but the government remains the owner of the real property. In the hands of the
government agency tasked and authorized to dispose of alienable and disposable lands of the
public domain, these lands are still public, not private lands)

Slide 4

(3) Reservation for a specific public purpose by Presidential proclamation

•Republic, rep. by the Mindanao Medical Center v. CA

•Central Mindanao University v. Republic

(In Republic, rep. by the Mindanao Medical Center v. CA, the trial court ordered the registration
of Lot No. 1176 B-2 situated in Davao City, which was reserved by a presidential proclamation
for medical site purposes in 1956 in favor of petitioner Mindanao Medical Center. Respondent
Alejandro de Jesus questioned the registration on the ground that his father Eugenio de Jesus
had acquired a vested right in favor of petitioner. It held that Proclamation No. 350 legally
effected a land grant to the Mindanao Medical Center validly sufficient for initial registration
under the Land Registration Act. Such grant is constitutive of a fee simple title or absolute title in
favor of petitioner.)

(In Central Mindanao University v. Republic, the Court underscored that where the President
has reserved certain portions of then public domain for school site purposes pursuant to Section
83 of CA 141, said parcels of land would ordinarily be inalienable and not subject to occupation
entry, sale, lease, or other disposition, until again declared alienable by legislative act by
proclamation of the President pursuant to Section 88 of the same act)