MEMBERS

Universidad de Sta. Isabel Sibal, Raizebel

Naga City, Philippines Silerio, Monica Felise
Senior High School Department
Sumayao, Jazzyreh
A/Y 2019-2020

PHILIPPINES’ HUMAN RIGHT: RIGHT TO OWN PROPERTY

To increase the economy, the Philippines can't go without the human rights protection. Rule of
law matters for financial improvement, ensuring the agreements and maintaining human rights are both
an integral part of the standard of law. Property Ownership in the Philippines is always a difficult topic
and can consist many different parts.

According to an Article by Capili, R. (2015) A Real Property include the interests, rights in
inherit and benefits of the real estate. Any private property should be deprived from public use with
proper indemnity as stated in Section 9, Article III stating “Private Property shall not be taken for public
use without just compensation.” If damage happens in a private property indemnity is a must, government
are not liable from anything that is part of a Private Property. A Public Property is a property in which all
nations have access into that is led by the government. These properties are open for public use.

The right to own a property is classified as one of the human rights of the people in a certain
country. At the point when private property rights are unprotected, society can rapidly deteriorate into
mayhem and confusion. Posses and menaces can seize different people's houses, vehicles, or shops, and
the ambitious individuals will escape and escape such society and just the apathetic, harassers, and go
getters will remain.

Fellow economist who appear to accept the Philippines can still seek development under a system
that fails to maintain the standard of law, and all the more explicitly neglects to secure human rights.
There is also a holistic institutional environment that does not protect human rights that does not uphold
contracts. During the time of Ferdinand Marcos's initially welcomed and later widely condemned rule in
the 1970s and 1980s, downward spiral involving failure to protect both human rights and contractual
rights has been seen by the Philippines before.

Section 7, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution famously restricts land ownership to Filipino
citizens, but Section 8 has an exception. Even before re-acquiring Filipino citizenship, former Filipino
citizens who have taken foreign citizenship can still own land in the Philippines. Notwithstanding the
provisions of Section 7 of this Article, Section 8 provides that a natural-born citizen of the Philippines
who has lost his Philippine citizenship may be a transfer of private land, subject to legal limitations. If the
property is for private use in urban areas, it can still own up to 1,000 square meters of land formerly
natural born residents. If the land is agricultural, this goes up to one hectare (Batas Pambansa Blg. 185). If
the property is for commercial use, it can hold up to 5,000 square meters of urban land formerly natural
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born residents. If the land is agricultural, this goes up to 3 hectares (Republic Act No. 8179). For the
ownership of the land it is highly-regulated and reserved for persons legally defined as Filipino citizens.
The Philippines' Anti-Dummy Law must consider an aggressive ownership structure to the foreigners that
are interested in acquiring real property. The Condominium Act of the Philippines (RA 4726) for the
foreigners are only limited to purchase of 40% interest in a condominium project.

The Property Ownership and Rights- According to Section 6, Article XII “The use of property
bears a social function, and all economic agents shall contribute to the common good. Individual and
private groups, including corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective organizations, shall have the
right to own, establish, and operate economic enterprises, subject to the duty of the State to promote
distributive justice and to intervene when common good so demand;” and The Act No. 2874, Chapter 1,
Section 2, stated that the provisions of this Act shall apply to the lands of the public domain; but timber
and mineral lands shall be governed by special laws and nothing in this Act provided shall be understood
or construed to charge or modify the government and disposition of the lands commonly called "friar
lands" and those which, being privately owned, have reverted to or become the property of the Philippine
Government, which administration and disposition shall be governed by the laws at present in force or
which hereafter be enacted by the Legislature.

Notes/ Reference:

Mendoza, Ronald (2019). To Boost Its Economy, the Philippines Can’t Forgo Human Rights
Protections. The Diplomat. Retrieved from https://thediplomat.com/2019/

Kitelson Corpo (N.D). Land Ownership and Property Acquisition in the Philippines for
Foreigners and Former Filipino Citizens. Kitelson Corpo. Retrieved from
https://kittelsoncarpo.com/property-ownership/

Britanico, Francesco (2017). Filipinos, foreigners, and real estate in the Philippines. Lawyers in
the Philippines. Retrieved from https://lawyerphilippines.org/2017/05/21/filipinos-foreigners-and-real-
estate-in-the-philippines/

Capili, Roberto (2015). The Legal Basis of Property Ownership. Sunstar Philippines. Retrieved
from https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/45156

LawPhil (N.D.). To Amend and Compile the Laws Relative to Lands of the Public Domain, and
for other purposes. LawPhil. Retrieved from https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/acts/act_2874_1919.html