MALACAÑANG
Manila
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 1529
AMENDING AND CODIFYING THE LAWS RELATIVE TO
REGISTRATION OF PROPERTY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
WHEREAS, there is a need to update the Land Registration Act and to
codify the various laws relative to registration of property, in order to
facilitate effective implementation of said laws;
WHEREAS, to strengthen the Torrens system, it is deemed necessary to
adopt safeguards to prevent anomalous titling of real property, and to
streamline and simplify registration proceedings and the issuance of
certificates of title;
WHEREAS, the decrees promulgated relative to the registration of
certificates of land transfer and emancipation patents issued pursuant to
Presidential Decree No. 27 to hasten the implementation of the land
reform program of the country form an integral part of the property
registration laws;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the
Constitution, do hereby order and decree the following:  The salaries of officials and employees provided in this Decree shall be
CHAPTER I employees.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1. Title of Decree. This Decree shall be known as the
PROPERTY REGISTRATION DECREE.  the Commissioner of Land Registration.
Section 2. Nature of registration proceedings; jurisdiction of
courts. Judicial proceedings for the registration of lands throughout the
Philippines shall be in rem and shall be based on the generally accepted
principles underlying the Torrens system.
Courts of First Instance shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all
applications for original registration of title to lands, including
improvements and interests therein, and over all petitions filed after
original registration of title, with power to hear and determine all
questions arising upon such applications or petitions. The court through
its clerk of court shall furnish the Land Registration Commission with
two certified copies of all pleadings, exhibits, orders, and decisions filed
or issued in applications or petitions for land registration, with the
exception of stenographic notes, within five days from the filing or
issuance thereof.
Section 3. Status of other pre-existing land registration system. The
system of registration under the Spanish Mortgage Law is hereby
discontinued and all lands recorded under said system which are not yet
covered by Torrens title shall be considered as unregistered lands.
Hereafter, all instruments affecting lands originally registered under the
Spanish Mortgage Law may be recorded under Section 113 of this
Decree, until the land shall have been brought under the operation of the
Torrens system.
The books of registration for unregistered lands provided under Section
194 of the Revised Administrative Code, as amended by Act No. 3344,
shall continue to remain in force; provided, that all instruments dealing
with unregistered lands shall henceforth be registered under Section 113
of this Decree. 
CHAPTER II
THE LAND REGISTRATION COMMISSION AND ITS
REGISTRIES OF DEEDS
Section 4. Land Registration Commission. In order to have a more
efficient execution of the laws relative to the registration of lands, geared
to the massive and accelerated land reform and social justice program of
the government, there is created a commission to be known as the Land
Registration Commission under the executive supervision of the
Department of Justice.
Section 5. Officials and employees of the Commission. The Land
Registration Commission shall have a chief and an assistant chief to be
known, respectively, as the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner
of Land Registration who shall be appointed by the President. The
Commissioner shall be duly qualified member of the Philippine Bar with
1 LTD PD 1529
at least ten years of practice in the legal profession, and shall have the
same rank, compensation and privileges as those of a Judge of the Court
of First Instance. The Deputy Commissioner, who shall possess the same
qualifications as those required of the Commissioner, shall receive
compensation which shall be three thousand pesos per annum less than
that of the Commissioner. He shall act as Commissioner of Land
Registration during the absence or disability of the Commissioner and
when there is a vacancy in the position until another person shall have
been designated or appointed in accordance with law. The Deputy
Commissioner shall also perform such other functions as the
Commissioner may assign to him.
They shall be assisted by such number of division chiefs as may be
necessary in the interest of the functioning of the Commission, by a
Special Assistant to the Commissioner, and by a Chief Geodetic Engineer
who shall each receive compensation at the rate of three thousand four
hundred pesos per annum less than that of the Deputy Commissioner. 
All other officials and employees of the Land Registration Commission
including those of the Registries of Deeds whose salaries are not herein
provided, shall receive salaries corresponding to the minimum of their
respective upgraded ranges as provided under paragraph 3.1 of Budget
Circular No. 273, plus sixty per centum thereof across the board,
notwithstanding the maximum salary allowed for their respective civil
service eligibilities.
without prejudice to such benefits and adjustments as may from time to
time be granted by the President or by the legislature to government
All officials and employees of the Commission except Registers of Deeds
shall be appointed by the Secretary of Justice upon recommendation of
Section 6. General Functions.
(1) The Commissioner of Land Registration shall have the
following functions:
(a) Issue decrees of registration pursuant to final
judgments of the courts in land registration
proceedings and cause the issuance by the Registers
of Deeds of the corresponding certificates of title;
(b) Exercise supervision and control over all
Registers of Deeds and other personnel of the
Commission;
(c) Resolve cases elevated en consulta by, or on
appeal from decision of, Registers of Deeds; 
(d) Exercise executive supervision over all clerks of
court and personnel of the Courts of First Instance
throughout the Philippines with respect to the
discharge of their duties and functions in relation to
the registration of lands;
(e) Implement all orders, decisions, and decrees
promulgated relative to the registration of lands and
issue, subject to the approval of the Secretary of
Justice, all needful rules and regulations therefor;
(f) Verify and approve subdivision, consolidation,
and consolidation-subdivision survey plans of
properties titled under Act No. 496 except those
covered by P.D. No. 957.
(2) The Land Registration Commission shall have the
following functions:
(a) Extend speedy and effective assistance to the
Department of Agrarian Reform, the Land Bank,
and other agencies in the implementation of the land
reform program of the government;
(b) Extend assistance to courts in ordinary and
cadastral land registration proceedings;
 (c) Be the central repository of records relative to
original registration of lands titled under the Torrens
system, including subdivision and consolidation
plans of titled lands.
Section 7. Office of the Register of Deeds. There shall be at least one
Register of Deeds for each province and one for each city. Every Registry
with a yearly average collection of more than sixty thousand pesos during
the last three years shall have one Deputy Register of Deeds, and every
Registry with a yearly average collection of more than three hundred
thousand pesos during the last three years, shall have one Deputy Register
of Deeds and one second Deputy Register of Deeds.  for a province or city, or in case of vacancy in the office, or
The Secretary of Justice shall define the official station and territorial
jurisdiction of each Registry upon the recommendation of the
Commissioner of Land Registration, with the end in view of making
every registry easily accessible to the people of the neighboring
municipalities.
The province or city shall furnish a suitable space or building for the
office of the Register of Deeds until such time as the same could be
furnished out of national funds.
Section 8. Appointment of Registers of Deeds and their Deputies and
other subordinate personnel; salaries. Registers of Deeds shall be
appointed by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of
the Secretary of Justice. Deputy Registers of Deeds and all other
subordinate personnel of the Registries of Deeds shall be appointed by
the Secretary of Justice upon the recommendation of the Commissioner
of Land Registration.
The salaries of Registers of Deeds and their Deputies shall be at the
following rates:  payment of an additional compensation to the official acting as
(1) First Class Registries The salaries of Registers of Deeds in
first class Registries shall be three thousand four hundred pesos
per annum less than that of the Deputy Commissioner.
(2) Second Class Registries The salaries of Registers of Deeds
in second class Registries shall be three thousand four hundred
pesos per annum less than those of Registers of Deeds in first
class Registries. 
(3) Third Class Registries The salaries of Registers of Deeds in
third class Registries shall be three thousand four hundred
pesos per annum less than those of Registers of Deeds in
second class Registries.
(4) The salaries of Deputy Registers of Deeds and Second
Deputy Registers of Deeds shall be three thousand four
hundred pesos per annum less than those of their
corresponding Registers of Deeds and Deputy Registers of
Deeds, respectively.
The Secretary of Justice, upon recommendation of the Commissioner of
Land Registration, shall cause the reclassification of Registries based
either on work load or the class of province/city, whichever will result in
a higher classification, for purposes of salary adjustments in accordance
with the rates hereinabove provided.
Section 9. Qualifications of Registers of Deeds and Deputy Registers of
Deeds. No person shall be appointed Register of Deeds unless he has
been admitted to the practice of law in the Philippines and shall have
been actually engaged in such practice for at least three years or has been
employed for a like period in any branch of government the functions of
which include the registration of property.
The Deputy Register of Deeds shall be a member of the Philippine Bar.
Provided, however, that no Register of Deeds or Deputy Register of
Deeds holding office as such upon the passage of this Decree shall by
reason hereof, be removed from office or be demoted to a lower category
or scale of salary except for cause and upon compliance with due process
as provided for by law.
Section 10. General functions of Registers of Deeds. The office of the
Register of Deeds constitutes a public repository of records of
instruments affecting registered or unregistered lands and chattel
mortgages in the province or city wherein such office is situated.  notorious possession and occupation of alienable and
It shall be the duty of the Register of Deeds to immediately register an
instrument presented for registration dealing with real or personal
property which complies with all the requisites for registration. He shall
2 LTD PD 1529
see to it that said instrument bears the proper documentary and science
stamps and that the same are properly canceled. If the instrument is not
registerable, he shall forthwith deny registration thereof and inform the
presentor of such denial in writing, stating the ground or reason therefor,
and advising him of his right to appeal by consulta in accordance with
Section 117 of this Decree.
Section 11. Discharge of duties of Register of Deeds in case of vacancy,
etc. 
(1) Until a regular Register of Deeds shall have been appointed
upon the occasion of the absence, illness, suspension, or
inability of the Register of Deeds to discharge his duties, said
duties shall be performed by the following officials, in the
order in which they are mentioned below, unless the Secretary
of Justice designates another official to act temporarily in his
place:
(a) For the province or city where there is a Deputy
Register of Deeds, by said Deputy Register of
Deeds, or by the second Deputy Register of Deeds,
should there be one; 
(b) For the province or city where there is no Deputy
or second Deputy Register of Deeds, by the
Provincial or City Fiscal, or any Assistant Fiscal
designated by the Provincial or City Fiscal;
(2) In case of absence, disability or suspension of the Register
of Deeds without pay, or in case of vacancy in the position, the
Secretary of Justice may, in his discretion, authorize the
Register of Deeds, such additional compensation together with
his actual salary not to exceed the salary authorized for the
position thus filled by him. 
(3) In case of a newly-created province or city and pending
establishment of a Registry of Deeds and the appointment of a
regular Register of Deeds for the new province or city, the
Register of Deeds of the mother province or city shall be the
ex-officio Register of Deeds for said new province or city.
Section 12. Owner's Index; reports. There shall be prepared in every
Registry an index system which shall contain the names of all registered
owners alphabetically arranged. For this purpose, an index card which
shall be prepared in the name of each registered owner which shall
contain a list of all lands registered in his name.
The Register of Deeds shall submit to the Land Registration Commission
within ten days after the month to which they pertain his monthly reports
on collections and accomplishments. He shall also submit to the
Commission at the end of December of each year, an annual inventory of
all titles and instruments in his Registry.
Section 13. Chief Geodetic Engineer. There shall be a Chief Geodetic
Engineer in the Land Registration Commission who shall be the technical
adviser of the Commission on all matters involving surveys and shall be
responsible to him for all plats, plans and works requiring the services of
a geodetic engineer in said office. He shall perform such other functions
as may, from time to time, be assigned to him by the Commissioner.
CHAPTER III
ORIGINAL REGISTRATION
I
ORDINARY REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS
A. APPLICATIONS
Section 14. Who may apply. The following persons may file in the
proper Court of First Instance an application for registration of title
to land, whether personally or through their duly authorized
representatives:
(1) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-
in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive and
disposable lands of the public domain under a bona fide
claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, or earlier.
 (2) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands by 4. That the applicant/s has/have acquired said land in the
prescription under the provision of existing laws. following manner: ________________________________

(3) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or (Note: Refer to Sec. 14 of said Decree. State also whether the
abandoned river beds by right of accession or accretion property is conjugal, paraphernal or exclusive property of the
under the existing laws. applicant/s)

(4) Those who have acquired ownership of land in any
other manner provided for by law.
Where the land is owned in common, all the co-owners shall file the
application jointly.
Where the land has been sold under pacto de retro, the vendor a
retro may file an application for the original registration of the land,
provided, however, that should the period for redemption expire
during the pendency of the registration proceedings and ownership
to the property consolidated in the vendee a retro, the latter shall be
substituted for the applicant and may continue the proceedings.  7. That the applicant/s is/are single or married to
A trustee on behalf of his principal may apply for original
registration of any land held in trust by him, unless prohibited by the
instrument creating the trust.
5. That said land is occupied by the following person:
_____________________________
______________________________________________ 
6. That the names in full and addresses, as far as known to the
undersigned, of the owners of all adjoining properties, of the
persons mentioned in paragraphs 3 and 5, and of the persons
shown on the plan as claimants, are as follows:
__________________________________________________
______________________________________
____________________ (Note: if marriage has been legally
dissolved, state when and how the marriage relation
terminated.)_________________________________________
________________________ _____________________

8. That the applicant's/s' full name, age, citizenship, residence,

Section 15. Form and contents. The application for land registration shall
be in writing, signed by the application or the person duly authorized in and postal address/es is/are as follows:
__________________________________________________
his behalf, and sworn to before any officer authorized to administer oaths
for the province or city where the application was actually signed. If there _________________
is more than one applicant, the application shall be signed and sworn to
by and in behalf of each. The application shall contain a description of the 9. That (Note: If the land included in the application is
land and shall state the citizenship and civil status of the applicant, bounded by a public or private way or road, there should be
whether single or married, and, if married, the name of the wife or stated in this paragraph whether or not the applicant claims any
husband, and, if the marriage has been legally dissolved, when and how and what land within the limits of the way or road and whether
the marriage relation terminated. It shall also state the full names and the applicant desires to have the line of the way or road
addresses of all occupants of the land and those of the adjoining owners, determined.) ________________________________________
if known, and, if not known, it shall state the extent of the search made to ___________________________
find them.
10. That the following documents are attached hereto and made
The application, shall, in form, be substantially as follows:  a part hereof: ___________________________________
________________________________
________ Republic of the Philippines
Court of First Instance of _________________ Signed at ___________________ this
_____________________ day of ____________________, in
the year nineteen hundred and ______________________.

The undersigned,
___________________________________________________________
_hereby applies (or apply) to have the land hereinafter described brought
under the operation of the Property Registration Decree, and to have the
title thereto registered and confirmed:

AND DECLARE . . . . .

1. That the applicants/s is/are the owners of the land (by virtue
of inheritance or deed of sale or conveyance and/or possession
in accordance with Section 14 of said Decree), together with
the building and improvements thereon, with the exception of
the
following:__________________________________________
________________________ which is/are the property of
_________________________ residing at
_________________________ The said land, consisting of
____________________ parcel/s is/are situated, bounded and
described as shown on the plan and technical descriptions
attached hereto and made a part hereof, with the following
exception:__________________________________________
_________________________

2. That said land at the last assessment for taxation was

assessed at P ____, Philippine currency, and the buildings and
other improvements at P ___________, Philippine currency.

3. That to the best of my/our knowledge and belief, there is no

mortgage or encumbrance of any kind whatsoever affecting
said land, nor any other person having any interest therein,
legal or equitable, or in possession, other than as follows:
__________________________________________________
_____________________________

3 LTD PD 1529
_________________________
(Post Office Address)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES  portions thereof and the court, after notice to the parties, shall
PROVINCE (OR CITY) OF _______________
On this _______________ day of
_________________________,19 ________ personally
appeared before me the above- named
__________________________________________________
known to me to be the person/s who executed the foregoing
application and made oath that the statements therein are true
of his/their knowledge, information and belief.
The Residence Certificate/s ______________________ of the
applicant/s ______________ was/were exhibited to me being
No. _________________ issued at ___________________
dated ____________, 19 __________.
Section 16. Non-resident applicant. If the applicant is not a resident of
the Philippines, he shall file with his application an instrument in due
form appointing an agent or representative residing in the Philippines,
giving his full name and postal address, and shall therein agree that the
service of any legal process in the proceedings under or growing out of
the application made upon his agent or representative shall be of the same
legal effect as if made upon the applicant within the Philippines. If the
agent or representative dies, or leaves the Philippines, the applicant shall
forthwith make another appointment for the substitute, and, if he fails to
do so the court may dismiss the application. 
Section 17. What and where to file. The application for land registration
shall be filed with the Court of First Instance of the province or city
where the land is situated. The applicant shall file together with the
application all original muniments of titles or copies thereof and a survey
plan of the land approved by the Bureau of Lands.
The clerk of court shall not accept any application unless it is shown that
the applicant has furnished the Director of Lands with a copy of the
application and all annexes.
Section 18. Application covering two or more parcels. An application
may include two or more parcels of land belonging to the applicant/s
provided they are situated within the same province or city. The court
may at any time order an application to be amended by striking out one or
more of the parcels or by a severance of the application.
Section 19. Amendments. Amendments to the application including
joinder, substitution, or discontinuance as to parties may be allowed by
the court at any stage of the proceedings upon just and reasonable terms.
Amendments which shall consist in a substantial change in the boundaries
or an increase in area of the land applied for or which involve the
inclusion of an additional land shall be subject to the same requirements
of publication and notice as in an original application.  appears from the application or the proceedings that
Section 20. When land applied for borders on road. If the application
describes the land as bounded by a public or private way or road, it shall
state whether or not the applicant claims any and what portion of the land
within the limits of the way or road, and whether the applicant desires to
have the line of the way or road determined.
Section 21. Requirement of additional facts and papers; ocular
inspection. The court may require facts to be stated in the application in
addition to those prescribed by this Decree not inconsistent therewith and
may require the filing of any additional paper. It may also conduct an
ocular inspection, if necessary.
4 LTD PD 1529
Section 22. Dealings with land pending original
registration. After the filing of the application and before the
issuance of the decree of registration, the land therein
described may still be the subject of dealings in whole or in
part, in which case the interested party shall present to the
court the pertinent instruments together with a subdivision plan
approved by the Director of Lands in case of transfer of
order such land registered subject to the conveyance or
encumbrance created by said instruments, or order that the
decree of registration be issued in the name of the person to
whom the property has been conveyed by said instruments.
B. PUBLICATION, OPPOSITION AND DEFAULT
Section 23. Notice of initial hearing, publication, etc. The court shall,
within five days from filing of the application, issue an order setting the
date and hour of the initial hearing which shall not be earlier than forty-
five days nor later than ninety days from the date of the order. 
The public shall be given notice of the initial hearing of the application
for land registration by means of (1) publication; (2) mailing; and (3)
posting.
1. By publication. 
Upon receipt of the order of the court setting the time for initial
hearing, the Commissioner of Land Registration shall cause
notice of initial hearing to be published once in the Official
Gazette and once in a newspaper of general circulation in the
Philippines: Provided, however, that the publication in the
Official Gazette shall be sufficient to confer jurisdiction upon
the court. Said notice shall be addressed to all persons
appearing to have an interest in the land involved including the
adjoining owners so far as known, and "to all whom it may
concern". Said notice shall also require all persons concerned
to appear in court at a certain date and time to show cause why
the prayer of said application shall not be granted.
2. By mailing. 
(a) Mailing of notice to persons named in the
application. The Commissioner of Land Registration
shall also, within seven days after publication of said
notice in the Official Gazette, as hereinbefore
provided, cause a copy of the notice of initial
hearing to be mailed to every person named in the
notice whose address is known.
(b) Mailing of notice to the Secretary of Public
Highways, the Provincial Governor and the Mayor.
If the applicant requests to have the line of a public
way or road determined, the Commissioner of Land
Registration shall cause a copy of said notice of
initial hearing to be mailed to the Secretary of Public
Highways, to the Provincial Governor, and to the
Mayor of the municipality or city, as the case may
be, in which the land lies. 
(c) Mailing of notice to the Secretary of Agrarian
Reform, the Solicitor General, the Director of
Lands, the Director of Public Works, the Director of
Forest Development, the Director of Mines and the
Director of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. If the
land borders on a river, navigable stream or shore, or
on an arm of the sea where a river or harbor line has
been established, or on a lake, or if it otherwise
a tenant-farmer or the national government may
have a claim adverse to that of the applicant, notice
of the initial hearing shall be given in the same
manner to the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, the
Solicitor General, the Director of Lands, the
Director of Mines and/or the Director of Fisheries
and Aquatic Resources, as may be appropriate.
3. By posting. 
The Commissioner of Land Registration shall also cause a duly
attested copy of the notice of initial hearing to be posted by the
sheriff of the province or city, as the case may be, or by his
deputy, in a conspicuous place on each parcel of land included
 in the application and also in a conspicuous place on the
bulletin board of the municipal building of the municipality or
city in which the land or portion thereof is situated, fourteen
days at least before the date of initial hearing.  require the applicant to present evidence. By the description in the notice
The court may also cause notice to be served to such other
persons and in such manner as it may deem proper.
The notice of initial hearing shall, in form, be substantially as
follows:
(Caption and Title)
NOTICE OF INITIAL HEARING
To (here insert the names of all persons appearing to have an interest and
the adjoining owners so far as known, and to all whom it may concern):  as though the facts have been found by the judge himself: Provided,
An application (or petition) having been filed in the above-entitled case
by (full name and address) praying for the registration and confirmation
(or for the settlement and adjudication, in case of petition in cadastral
proceedings) of title to the following described lands:
(Insert description)
You are hereby served this notice to appear before this Court at its
session to be held at _________________ on the ______________ day of
_______________, 19 ______, at _____________ o'clock in the
_________ then and there to present such claims as you may have to said
lands or any portion thereof, and to submit evidence in support of such
claim; and unless you appear at said Court at the time and place aforesaid,
your default will be recorded and the title to the lands will be adjudicated
and determined in accordance with law and the evidence before the
Court, and thereafter you will forever be barred from contesting said
application (or petition) or any decree entered thereon.
Witness, the Hon. ________________________ Judge of the Court of
First Instance of _______ this _______ day of _________________, in
the year 19______.
Attest:
Commissi unmarried, and if married, the name of the husband or wife: Provided,
oner
Section 24. Proof of publication and notice. The certification of the
Commissioner of Land Registration and of the sheriff concerned to the
effect that the notice of initial hearing, as required by law, has been
complied with shall be filed in the case before the date of initial hearing,
and shall be conclusive proof of such fact.
Section 25. Opposition to application in ordinary proceedings. Any
person claiming an interest, whether named in the notice or not, may
appear and file an opposition on or before the date of initial hearing, or
within such further time as may be allowed by the court. The opposition
shall state all the objections to the application and shall set forth the
interest claimed by the party filing the same and apply for the remedy
desired, and shall be signed and sworn to by him or by some other duly
authorized person.
If the opposition or the adverse claim of any person covers only a portion
of the lot and said portion is not properly delimited on the plan attached
to the application, or in case of undivided co-ownership, conflicting
claims of ownership or possession, or overlapping of boundaries, the
court may require the parties to submit a subdivision plan duly approved
by the Director of Lands.
5 LTD PD 1529
Section 26. Order of default; effect. If no person appears and answers
within the time allowed, the court shall, upon motion of the applicant, no
reason to the contrary appearing, order a default to be recorded and
"To all Whom It May Concern", all the world are made parties defendant
and shall be concluded by the default order. 
Where an appearance has been entered and an answer filed, a default
order shall be entered against persons who did not appear and answer.
C. HEARING JUDGMENT AND DECREE OF REGISTRATION
Section 27. Speedy hearing; reference to a referee. The trial court shall
see to it that all registration-proceedings are disposed or within ninety
days from the date the case is submitted for decision,
The Court, if it deems necessary, may refer the case or any part thereof to
a referee who shall hear the parties and their evidence, and the referee
shall submit his report thereon to the Court within fifteen days after the
termination of such hearing. Hearing before a referee may be held at any
convenient place within the province or city as may be fixed by him and
after reasonable notice thereof shall have been served the parties
concerned. The court may render judgment in accordance with the report
however, that the court may in its discretion accept the report, or set it
aside in whole or in part, or order the case to be recommitted for further
proceedings:
Section 28. Partial judgment. In a case where only a portion of the land
subject of registration is contested, the court may render partial judgment
provided that a subdivision plan showing the contested and uncontested
portions approved by the Director of Lands is previously submitted to
said court. 
Section 29. Judgment confirming title. All conflicting claims of
ownership and interest in the land subject of the application shall be
determined by the court. If the court, after considering the evidence and
the reports of the Commissioner of Land Registration and the Director of
Lands, finds that the applicant or the oppositor has sufficient title proper
for registration, judgment shall be rendered confirming the title of the
applicant, or the oppositor, to the land or portions thereof.
Section 30. When judgment becomes final; duty to cause issuance of
decree. The judgment rendered in a land registration proceedings
becomes final upon the expiration of thirty days to be counted from the
data of receipt of notice of the judgment. An appeal may be taken from
the judgment of the court as in ordinary civil cases.
After judgment has become final and executory, it shall devolve upon the
court to forthwith issue an order in accordance with Section 39 of this
Decree to the Commissioner for the issuance of the decree of registration
and the corresponding certificate of title in favor of the person adjudged
entitled to registration.
Section 31. Decree of registration. Every decree of registration issued by
the Commissioner shall bear the date, hour and minute of its entry, and
shall be signed by him. It shall state whether the owner is married or
however, that if the land adjudicated by the court is conjugal property, the
decree shall be issued in the name of both spouses. If the owner is under
disability, it shall state the nature of disability, and if a minor, his age. It
shall contain a description of the land as finally determined by the court,
and shall set forth the estate of the owner, and also, in such manner as to
show their relative priorities, all particular estates, mortgages, easements,
liens, attachments, and other encumbrances, including rights of tenant-
farmers, if any, to which the land or owner's estate is subject, as well as
any other matters properly to be determined in pursuance of this Decree. 
The decree of registration shall bind the land and quiet title thereto,
subject only to such exceptions or liens as may be provided by law. It
shall be conclusive upon and against all persons, including the National
Government and all branches thereof, whether mentioned by name in the
application or notice, the same being included in the general description
"To all whom it may concern".
Section 32. Review of decree of registration; Innocent purchaser for
value. The decree of registration shall not be reopened or revised by
reason of absence, minority, or other disability of any person adversely
affected thereby, nor by any proceeding in any court for reversing
judgments, subject, however, to the right of any person, including the
government and the branches thereof, deprived of land or of any estate or
interest therein by such adjudication or confirmation of title obtained by
actual fraud, to file in the proper Court of First Instance a petition for
reopening and review of the decree of registration not later than one year
from and after the date of the entry of such decree of registration, but in
no case shall such petition be entertained by the court where an innocent
purchaser for value has acquired the land or an interest therein, whose
rights may be prejudiced. Whenever the phrase "innocent purchaser for
value" or an equivalent phrase occurs in this Decree, it shall be deemed to
include an innocent lessee, mortgagee, or other encumbrancer for value.
Upon the expiration of said period of one year, the decree of registration
and the certificate of title issued shall become incontrovertible. Any
person aggrieved by such decree of registration in any case may pursue
his remedy by action for damages against the applicant or any other
persons responsible for the fraud.
Section 33. Appeal from judgment, etc. The judgment and orders of the
court hearing the land registration case are appealable to the Court of
Appeals or to the Supreme Court in the same manner as in ordinary
actions:
Section 34. Rules of procedure. The Rules of Court shall, insofar as not
inconsistent with the provision of this Decree, be applicable to land
registration and cadastral cases by analogy or in a suppletory character
and whenever practicable and convenient.  municipality. However in cities or townsites, a designation of the
II
CADASTRAL REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS
A. ORDER FOR SPEEDY SETTLEMENT AND ADJUDICATION;
SURVEY; NOTICES
Section 35. Cadastral Survey preparatory to filing of petition.
(a) When in the opinion of the President of the Philippines
public interest so requires that title to any unregistered lands be
settled and adjudicated, he may to this end direct and order the
Director of Lands to cause to be made a cadastral survey of the
lands involved and the plans and technical description thereof
prepared in due form.
(b) Thereupon, the Director of Lands shall give notice to
persons claiming any interest in the lands as well as to the
general public, of the day on which such survey will begin,
giving as fully and accurately as possible the description of the
lands to be surveyed. Such notice shall be punished once in the
Official Gazette, and a copy of the notice in English or the
national language shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the
bulletin board of the municipal building of the municipality in
which the lands or any portion thereof is situated. A copy of
the notice shall also be sent to the mayor of such municipality
as well as to the barangay captain and likewise to the
Sangguniang Panlalawigan and the Sangguniang Bayan
concerned.
(c) The Geodetic Engineers or other employees of the Bureau
of Lands in charge of the survey shall give notice reasonably in
advance of the date on which the survey of any portion of such
lands is to begin, which notice shall be posted in the bulletin
board of the municipal building of the municipality or barrio in
which the lands are situated, and shall mark the boundaries of
the lands by monuments set up in proper places thereon. It
shall be lawful for such Geodetic Engineers and other
employees to enter upon the lands whenever necessary for the
purposes of such survey or the placing of monuments.
(d) It shall be the duty of every person claiming an interest in
the lands to be surveyed, or in any parcel thereof, to
communicate with the Geodetic Engineer upon his request
therefor all information possessed by such person concerning
the boundary lines of any lands to which he claims title or in
which he claims any interest.
(e) Any person who shall willfully obstruct the making of any
survey undertaken by the Bureau of Lands or by a licensed
Geodetic Engineer duly authorized to conduct the survey under
this Section, or shall maliciously interfere with the placing of
any monument or remove such monument, or shall destroy or
remove any notice of survey posted on the land pursuant to
law, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand
pesos or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. 
B. PETITION; LOT NUMBERS
6 LTD PD 1529
Section 36. Petition for registration. When the lands have been surveyed
or plotted, the Director of Lands, represented by the Solicitor General,
shall institute original registration proceedings by filing the necessary
petition in the Court of First Instance of the place where the land is
situated against the holders, claimants, possessors, or occupants of such
lands or any part thereof, stating in substance that public interest requires
that the title to such lands be settled and adjudicated and praying that
such titles be so settled and adjudicated:
The petition shall contain a description of the lands and shall be
accompanied by a plan thereof, and may contain such other data as may
serve to furnish full notice to the occupants of the lands and to all persons
who may claim any right or interest therein.
Where the land consists of two or more parcels held or occupied by
different persons, the plan shall indicate the boundaries or limits of the
various parcels as accurately as possible. The parcels shall be known as
"lots" and shall on the plan filed in the case be given separate numbers by
the Director of Lands, which numbers shall be known as "cadastral lot
numbers". The lots situated within each municipality shall, as far as
practicable, be numbered consecutively beginning with number "one",
and only one series of numbers shall be used for that purpose in each
landholdings by blocks and lot numbers may be employed instead of the
designation by cadastral lot numbers.
The cadastral number of a lot shall not be changed after final decision has
been entered decreasing the registration thereof, except by order of court.
Future subdivisions of any lot shall be designated by a letter or letters of
the alphabet added to the cadastral number of the lot to which the
respective subdivisions pertain. The letter with which a subdivision is
designated shall be known as its "cadastral letter": Provided, however,
that the subdivisions of cities or townsites may be designated by blocks
and lot numbers. 
C. ANSWER
Section 37. Answer to petition in cadastral proceedings. Any claimant in
cadastral proceedings, whether named in the notice or not, shall appear
before the court by himself or by some other authorized person in his
behalf, and shall file an answer on or before the date of initial hearing or
within such further time as may be allowed by the court. The answer shall
be signed and sworn to by the claimant or by some other authorized
person in his behalf, and shall state whether the claimant is married or
unmarried, and if married, the name of the spouse and the date of
marriage, his nationality, residence and postal address, and shall also
contain: 
(a) The age of the claimant;
(b) The cadastral number of the lot or lots claimed, as
appearing on the plan filed in the case by the Director of
Lands, or the block and lot numbers, as the case may be;
(c) The name of the barrio and municipality in which the lots
are situated; 
(d) The names and addresses of the owners of the adjoining
lots so far as known to the claimant;
(e) If the claimant is in possession of the lots claimed and can
show no express grant of the land by the government to him or
to his predecessors-in-interest, the answer shall state the length
of time he has held such possession and the manner in which it
has been acquired, and shall also state the length of time, as far
as known, during which the predecessors, if any, held
possession;
(f) If the claimant is not in possession or occupation of the
land, the answer shall fully set forth the interest claimed by
him and the time and manner of his acquisition;
(g) if the lots have been assessed for taxation, their last
assessed value; and 
(h) The encumbrances, if any, affecting the lots and the names
of adverse claimants, as far as known.
D. HEARING; JUDGMENT; DECREE
Section 38. Hearing, Judgment, Decree. The trial of the case may occur
at any convenient place within the province in which the lands are
situated and shall be conducted, and orders for default and confessions
entered, in the same manner as in ordinary land registration proceedings
and shall be governed by the same rules. All conflicting interests shall be
adjudicated by the court and decrees awarded in favor of the persons
entitled to the lands or to parts thereof and such decrees shall be the basis
for issuance of original certificates of title in favor of said persons and
shall have the same effect as certificates of title granted on application for
registration of land under ordinary land registration proceedings. 
CHAPTER IV
CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
Section 39. Preparation of decree and Certificate of Title. After the
judgment directing the registration of title to land has become final, the
court shall, within fifteen days from entry of judgment, issue an order
directing the Commissioner to issue the corresponding decree of
registration and certificate of title. The clerk of court shall send, within
fifteen days from entry of judgment, certified copies of the judgment and
of the order of the court directing the Commissioner to issue the
corresponding decree of registration and certificate of title, and a
certificate stating that the decision has not been amended, reconsidered,
nor appealed, and has become final. Thereupon, the Commissioner shall
cause to be prepared the decree of registration as well as the original and
duplicate of the corresponding original certificate of title. The original
certificate of title shall be a true copy of the decree of registration. The
decree of registration shall be signed by the Commissioner, entered and
filed in the Land Registration Commission. The original of the original
certificate of title shall also be signed by the Commissioner and shall be
sent, together with the owner's duplicate certificate, to the Register of
Deeds of the city or province where the property is situated for entry in
his registration book.
Section 40. Entry of Original Certificate of Title. Upon receipt by the
Register of Deeds of the original and duplicate copies of the original
certificate of title the same shall be entered in his record book and shall
be numbered, dated, signed and sealed by the Register of Deeds with the
seal of his office. Said certificate of title shall take effect upon the date of
entry thereof. The Register of Deeds shall forthwith send notice by mail
to the registered owner that his owner's duplicate is ready for delivery to
him upon payment of legal fees.
Section 41. Owner's duplicate certificate of title. The owner's duplicate
certificate of title shall be delivered to the registered owner or to his duly
authorized representative. If two or more persons are registered owners,
one owner's duplicate certificate may be issued for the whole land, or if
the co-owners so desire, a separate duplicate may be issued to each of
them in like form, but all outstanding certificates of title so issued shall be
surrendered whenever the Register of Deeds shall register any subsequent
voluntary transaction affecting the whole land or part thereof or any
interest therein. The Register of Deeds shall note on each certificate of
title a statement as to whom a copy thereof was issued.  owner's duplicate, shall cancel it together with its original and issue in
Section 42. Registration Books. The original copy of the original
certificate of title shall be filed in the Registry of Deeds. The same shall
be bound in consecutive order together with similar certificates of title
and shall constitute the registration book for titled properties.
Section 43. Transfer Certificate of Title. The subsequent certificate of
title that may be issued by the Register of Deeds pursuant to any
voluntary or involuntary instrument relating to the same land shall be in
like form, entitled "Transfer Certificate of Title", and likewise issued in
duplicate. The certificate shall show the number of the next previous
certificate covering the same land and also the fact that it was originally
registered, giving the record number, the number of the original
certificate of title, and the volume and page of the registration book in
which the latter is found.
Section 44. Statutory liens affecting title. Every registered owner
receiving a certificate of title in pursuance of a decree of registration, and
every subsequent purchaser of registered land taking a certificate of title
for value and in good faith, shall hold the same free from all
encumbrances except those noted in said certificate and any of the
following encumbrances which may be subsisting, namely:
First. Liens, claims or rights arising or existing under the laws
and Constitution of the Philippines which are not by law
required to appear of record in the Registry of Deeds in order
to be valid against subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers of
record.
Second. Unpaid real estate taxes levied and assessed within
two years immediately preceding the acquisition of any right
over the land by an innocent purchaser for value, without
7 LTD PD 1529
prejudice to the right of the government to collect taxes
payable before that period from the delinquent taxpayer alone. 
Third. Any public highway or private way established or
recognized by law, or any government irrigation canal or
lateral thereof, if the certificate of title does not state that the
boundaries of such highway or irrigation canal or lateral
thereof have been determined.
Fourth. Any disposition of the property or limitation on the use
thereof by virtue of, or pursuant to, Presidential Decree No. 27
or any other law or regulations on agrarian reform.
Section 45. Statement of personal circumstances in the certificate. Every
certificate of title shall set forth the full names of all persons whose
interests make up the full ownership in the whole land, including their
civil status, and the names of their respective spouses, if married, as well
as their citizenship, residence and postal address. If the property covered
belongs to the conjugal partnership, it shall be issued in the names of both
spouses.
Section 46. General incidents of registered land. Registered land shall be
subject to such burdens and incidents as may arise by operation of law.
Nothing contained in this decree shall in any way be construed to relieve
registered land or the owners thereof from any rights incident to the
relation of husband and wife, landlord and tenant, or from liability to
attachment or levy on execution, or from liability to any lien of any
description established by law on the land and the buildings thereon, or
on the interest of the owner in such land or buildings, or to change the
laws of descent, or the rights of partition between co-owners, or the right
to take the same by eminent domain, or to relieve such land from liability
to be recovered by an assignee in insolvency or trustee in bankcruptcy
under the laws relative to preferences, or to change or affect in any way
other rights or liabilities created by law and applicable to unregistered
land, except as otherwise provided in this Decree. 
Section 47. Registered land not subject to prescriptions. No title to
registered land in derogation of the title of the registered owner shall be
acquired by prescription or adverse possession.
Section 48. Certificate not subject to collateral attack. A certificate of
title shall not be subject to collateral attack. It cannot be altered, modified,
or canceled except in a direct proceeding in accordance with law.
Section 49. Splitting, or consolidation of titles. A registered owner of
several distinct parcels of land embraced in and covered by a certificate
of title desiring in lieu thereof separate certificates, each containing one
or more parcels, may file a written request for that purpose with the
Register of Deeds concerned, and the latter, upon the surrender of the
lieu thereof separate certificates as desired. A registered owner of several
distinct parcels of land covered by separate certificates of title desiring to
have in lieu thereof a single certificate for the whole land, or several
certificates for the different parcels thereof, may also file a written
request with the Register of Deeds concerned, and the latter, upon the
surrender of the owner's duplicates, shall cancel them together with their
originals, and issue in lieu thereof one or separate certificates as desired.
Section 50. Subdivision and consolidation plans. Any owner subdividing
a tract of registered land into lots which do not constitute a subdivision
project has defined and provided for under P.D. No. 957, shall file with
the Commissioner of Land Registration or with the Bureau of Lands a
subdivision plan of such land on which all boundaries, streets,
passageways and waterways, if any, shall be distinctly and accurately
delineated. 
If a subdivision plan, be it simple or complex, duly approved by the
Commissioner of Land Registration or the Bureau of Lands together with
the approved technical descriptions and the corresponding owner's
duplicate certificate of title is presented for registration, the Register of
Deeds shall, without requiring further court approval of said plan, register
the same in accordance with the provisions of the Land Registration Act,
as amended: Provided, however, that the Register of Deeds shall annotate
on the new certificate of title covering the street, passageway or open
space, a memorandum to the effect that except by way of donation in
favor of the national government, province, city or municipality, no
portion of any street, passageway, waterway or open space so delineated
on the plan shall be closed or otherwise disposed of by the registered
owner without the approval of the Court of First Instance of the province
or city in which the land is situated.
A registered owner desiring to consolidate several lots into one or more,
requiring new technical descriptions, shall file with the Land Registration
Commission, a consolidation plan on which shall be shown the lots to be
affected, as they were before, and as they will appear after the
consolidation. Upon the surrender of the owner's duplicate certificates
and the receipt of consolidation plan duty approved by the Commission,
the Register of Deeds concerned shall cancel the corresponding
certificates of title and issue a new one for the consolidated lots.  statement of such change. All names and addresses shall also be entered
The Commission may not order or cause any change, modification, or
amendment in the contents of any certificate of title, or of any decree or
plan, including the technical description therein, covering any real
property registered under the Torrens system, nor order the cancellation
of the said certificate of title and the issuance of a new one which would
result in the enlargement of the area covered by the certificate of title.
CHAPTER
SUBSEQUENT REGISTRATION
I entry fee, he shall enter, in the order of their reception, all instruments
VOLUNTARY DEALINGS WITH REGISTERED LANDS
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 51. Conveyance and other dealings by registered owner. An
owner of registered land may convey, mortgage, lease, charge or
otherwise deal with the same in accordance with existing laws. He may
use such forms of deeds, mortgages, leases or other voluntary instruments
as are sufficient in law. But no deed, mortgage, lease, or other voluntary
instrument, except a will purporting to convey or affect registered land
shall take effect as a conveyance or bind the land, but shall operate only
as a contract between the parties and as evidence of authority to the
Register of Deeds to make registration.  relative to registered land in the office of the Register of Deeds shall be
The act of registration shall be the operative act to convey or affect the
land insofar as third persons are concerned, and in all cases under this
Decree, the registration shall be made in the office of the Register of
Deeds for the province or city where the land lies.
Section 52. Constructive notice upon registration. Every conveyance,
mortgage, lease, lien, attachment, order, judgment, instrument or entry
affecting registered land shall, if registered, filed or entered in the office
of the Register of Deeds for the province or city where the land to which
it relates lies, be constructive notice to all persons from the time of such
registering, filing or entering.
Section 53. Presentation of owner's duplicate upon entry of new
certificate. No voluntary instrument shall be registered by the Register of
Deeds, unless the owner's duplicate certificate is presented with such
instrument, except in cases expressly provided for in this Decree or upon
order of the court, for cause shown.
The production of the owner's duplicate certificate, whenever any
voluntary instrument is presented for registration, shall be conclusive
authority from the registered owner to the Register of Deeds to enter a
new certificate or to make a memorandum of registration in accordance
with such instrument, and the new certificate or memorandum shall be
binding upon the registered owner and upon all persons claiming under
him, in favor of every purchaser for value and in good faith.
recital to show that such corporation or association is legally qualified to
acquire private lands. Any change in the residence or postal address of
such person shall be endorsed by the Register of Deeds on the original
copy of the corresponding certificate of title, upon receiving a sworn
on all certificates. 
Notices and processed issued in relation to registered land in pursuance of
this Decree may be served upon any person in interest by mailing the
same to the addresses given, and shall be binding, whether such person
resides within or without the Philippines, but the court may, in its
discretion, require further or other notice to be given in any case, if in its
opinion the interest of justice so requires.
V
Section 56. Primary Entry Book; fees; certified copies. Each Register of
Deeds shall keep a primary entry book in which, upon payment of the
including copies of writs and processes filed with him relating to
registered land. He shall, as a preliminary process in registration, note in
such book the date, hour and minute of reception of all instruments, in the
order in which they were received. They shall be regarded as registered
from the time so noted, and the memorandum of each instrument, when
made on the certificate of title to which it refers, shall bear the same date:
Provided, that the national government as well as the provincial and city
governments shall be exempt from the payment of such fees in advance in
order to be entitled to entry and registration.
Every deed or other instrument, whether voluntary or involuntary, so filed
with the Register of Deeds shall be numbered and indexed and endorsed
with a reference to the proper certificate of title. All records and papers
open to the public in the same manner as court records, subject to such
reasonable regulations as the Register of Deeds, under the direction of the
Commissioner of Land Registration, may prescribe. 
All deeds and voluntary instruments shall be presented with their
respective copies and shall be attested and sealed by the Register of
Deeds, endorsed with the file number, and copies may be delivered to the
person presenting them.
Certified copies of all instruments filed and registered may also be
obtained from the Register of Deeds upon payment of the prescribed fees.
(A) CONVEYANCES AND TRANSFERS
Section 57. Procedure in registration of conveyances. An owner desiring
to convey his registered land in fee simple shall execute and register a
deed of conveyance in a form sufficient in law. The Register of Deeds
shall thereafter make out in the registration book a new certificate of title
to the grantee and shall prepare and deliver to him an owner's duplicate
certificate. The Register of Deeds shall note upon the original and
duplicate certificate the date of transfer, the volume and page of the
registration book in which the new certificate is registered and a reference
by number to the last preceding certificate. The original and the owner's
duplicate of the grantor's certificate shall be stamped "canceled". The
deed of conveyance shall be filled and indorsed with the number and the
place of registration of the certificate of title of the land conveyed.

In all cases of registration procured by fraud, the owner may pursue all
his legal and equitable remedies against the parties to such fraud without
prejudice, however, to the rights of any innocent holder for value of a
certificate of title. After the entry of the decree of registration on the
original petition or application, any subsequent registration procured by
the presentation of a forged duplicate certificate of title, or a forged deed
or other instrument, shall be null and void.
Section 54. Dealings less than ownership, how registered. No new
certificate shall be entered or issued pursuant to any instrument which
does not divest the ownership or title from the owner or from the
transferee of the registered owners. All interests in registered land less
than ownership shall be registered by filing with the Register of Deeds
the instrument which creates or transfers or claims such interests and by a
brief memorandum thereof made by the Register of Deeds upon the
certificate of title, and signed by him. A similar memorandum shall also
be made on the owner's duplicate. The cancellation or extinguishment of
such interests shall be registered in the same manner.
Section 55. Grantee's name, nationality, etc., to be stated. Every deed or
other voluntary instrument presented for registration shall contain or have
endorsed upon it the full name, nationality, residence and postal address
of the grantee or other person acquiring or claiming an interest under such
instrument, and every deed shall also state whether the grantee is married
or unmarried, and if married, the name in full of the husband or wife. If
the grantee is a corporation or association, the instrument must contain a
8 LTD PD 1529
Section 58. Procedure where conveyance involves portion of land. If a
deed or conveyance is for a part only of the land described in a certificate
of title, the Register of Deeds shall not enter any transfer certificate to the
grantee until a plan of such land showing all the portions or lots into
which it has been subdivided and the corresponding technical
descriptions shall have been verified and approved pursuant to Section 50
of this Decree. Meanwhile, such deed may only be annotated by way of
memorandum upon the grantor's certificate of title, original and duplicate,
said memorandum to serve as a notice to third persons of the fact that
certain unsegregated portion of the land described therein has been
conveyed, and every certificate with such memorandum shall be effectual
for the purpose of showing the grantee's title to the portion conveyed to
him, pending the actual issuance of the corresponding certificate in his
name. 
Upon the approval of the plan and technical descriptions, the original of
the plan, together with a certified copy of the technical descriptions shall
be filed with the Register of Deeds for annotation in the corresponding
certificate of title and thereupon said officer shall issue a new certificate
of title to the grantee for the portion conveyed, and at the same time
cancel the grantor's certificate partially with respect only to said portion
conveyed, or, if the grantor so desires, his certificate may be canceled
totally and a new one issued to him describing therein the remaining
portion: Provided, however, that pending approval of said plan, no further
registration or annotation of any subsequent deed or other voluntary
instrument involving the unsegregated portion conveyed shall be effected
by the Register of Deeds, except where such unsegregated portion was
purchased from the Government or any of its instrumentalities. If the land
has been subdivided into several lots, designated by numbers or letters,
the Register of Deeds may, if desired by the grantor, instead of canceling
the latter's certificate and issuing a new one to the same for the remaining
unconveyed lots, enter on said certificate and on its owner's duplicate a
memorandum of such deed of conveyance and of the issuance of the
transfer certificate to the grantee for the lot or lots thus conveyed, and that
the grantor's certificate is canceled as to such lot or lots.
Section 59. Carry over of encumbrances. If, at the time of any transfer,
subsisting encumbrances or annotations appear in the registration book,
they shall be carried over and stated in the new certificate or certificates;
except so far as they may be simultaneously released or discharged.
(B) MORTGAGES AND LEASES
Section 60. Mortgage or lease of registered land. Mortgage and leases
shall be registered in the manner provided in Section 54 of this Decree.
The owner of registered land may mortgage or lease it by executing the
deed in a form sufficient in law. Such deed of mortgage or lease and all
instruments which assign, extend, discharge or otherwise deal with the
mortgage or lease shall be registered, and shall take effect upon the title
only from time of registration.
No mortgagee's or lessee's duplicate certificate of title shall hereafter be
issued by the Registers of Deeds, and those issued prior to the effectivity
of this Decree are hereby deemed canceled and the holders thereof shall
immediately surrender the same to the Register of Deeds concerned.
Section 61. Registration. Upon presentation for registration of the deed of
mortgage or lease together with the owner's duplicate, the Register of
Deeds shall enter upon the original of the certificate of title and also upon
the owner's duplicate certificate a memorandum thereof, the date and time
of filing and the file number assigned to the deed, and shall sign the said
memorandum. He shall also note on the deed the date and time of filing
and a reference to the volume and page of the registration book in which
it is registered.
Section 62. Discharge or cancellation. A mortgage or lease on registered
land may be discharge or canceled by means of an instrument executed
by the mortgage or lessee in a form sufficient in law, which shall be filed
with the Register of Deeds who shall make the appropriate memorandum
upon the certificate of title.
Section 63. Foreclosure of Mortgage. (a) If the mortgage was foreclosed
judicially, a certified copy of the final order of the court confirming the
sale shall be registered with the Register of Deeds. If no right of
redemption exists, the certificate of title of the mortgagor shall be
canceled, and a new certificate issued in the name of the purchaser. 
Where the right of redemption exists, the certificate of title of
the mortgagor shall not be canceled, but the certificate of sale
and the order confirming the sale shall be registered by a brief
memorandum thereof made by the Register of Deeds upon the
certificate of title. In the event the property is redeemed, the
certificate or deed of redemption shall be filed with the
Register of Deeds, and a brief memorandum thereof shall be
made by the Register of Deeds on the certificate of title of the
mortgagor.
If the property is not redeemed, the final deed of sale executed
by the sheriff in favor of the purchaser at a foreclosure sale
shall be registered with the Register of Deeds; whereupon the
title of the mortgagor shall be canceled, and a new certificate
issued in the name of the purchaser.
(b) If the mortgage was foreclosed extrajudicially, a certificate
of sale executed by the officer who conducted the sale shall be
filed with the Register of Deeds who shall make a brief
memorandum thereof on the certificate of title.
In the event of redemption by the mortgagor, the same rule
provided for in the second paragraph of this section shall
apply.
In case of non-redemption, the purchaser at foreclosure sale
shall file with the Register of Deeds, either a final deed of sale
executed by the person authorized by virtue of the power of
attorney embodied in the deed of mortgage, or his sworn
statement attesting to the fact of non-redemption; whereupon,
the Register of Deeds shall issue a new certificate in favor of
9 LTD PD 1529
the purchaser after the owner's duplicate of the certificate has
been previously delivered and canceled.
(C) POWERS OF ATTORNEY; TRUSTS
Section 64. Power of attorney. Any person may, by power of attorney,
convey or otherwise deal with registered land and the same shall be
registered with the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the
land lies. Any instrument revoking such power of attorney shall be
registered in like manner. 
Section 65. Trusts in registered land. If a deed or other instrument is filed
in order to transfer registered land in trust, or upon any equitable
condition or limitation expressed therein, or to create or declare a trust or
other equitable interests in such land without transfer, the particulars of
the trust, condition, limitation or other equitable interest shall not be
entered on the certificate; but only a memorandum thereof shall be
entered by the words "in trust", or "upon condition", or other apt words,
and by a reference by number to the instrument authorizing or creating
the same. A similar memorandum shall be made upon the original
instrument creating or declaring the trust or other equitable interest with a
reference by number to the certificate of title to which it relates and to the
volume and page in the registration book in which it is registered.
Section 66. Trust with power of sale, etc., how expressed. If the
instrument creating or declaring a trust or other equitable interest contains
an express power to sell, mortgage or deal with the land in any manner,
such power shall be stated in the certificate of title by the words "with
power to sell", or "power to mortgage", or by apt words of description in
case of other powers. No instrument which transfers, mortgages or in any
way deals with registered land in trust shall be registered, unless the
enabling power thereto is expressly conferred in the trust instrument, or
unless a final judgment or order of a court of competent jurisdiction has
construed the instrument in favor of the power, in which case a certified
copy of such judgment or order may be registered.
Section 67. Judicial appointment of new trustee. If a new trustee of
registered land is appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, a new
certificate may be issued to him upon presentation to the Register of
Deeds of a certified copy of the order or judicial appointment and the
surrender for cancellation of the duplicate certificate.
Section 68. Implied, trusts, how established. Whoever claims an interest
in registered land by reason of any implied or constructive trust shall file
for registration with the Register of Deeds a sworn statement thereof
containing a description of the land, the name of the registered owner and
a reference to the number of the certificate of title. Such claim shall not
affect the title of a purchaser for value and in good faith before its
registration.
II
INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS
Section 69. Attachments. An attachment, or a copy of any writ, order or
process issued by a court of record, intended to create or preserve any
lien, status, right, or attachment upon registered land, shall be filed and
registered in the Registry of Deeds for the province or city in which the
land lies, and, in addition to the particulars required in such papers for
registration, shall contain a reference to the number of the certificate of
title to be affected and the registered owner or owners thereof, and also if
the attachment, order, process or lien is not claimed on all the land in any
certificate of title a description sufficiently accurate for identification of
the land or interest intended to be affected. A restraining order, injunction
or mandamus issued by the court shall be entered and registered on the
certificate of title affected, free of charge. 
Section 70. Adverse claim. Whoever claims any part or interest in
registered land adverse to the registered owner, arising subsequent to the
date of the original registration, may, if no other provision is made in this
Decree for registering the same, make a statement in writing setting forth
fully his alleged right or interest, and how or under whom acquired, a
reference to the number of the certificate of title of the registered owner,
the name of the registered owner, and a description of the land in which
the right or interest is claimed.
The statement shall be signed and sworn to, and shall state the adverse
claimant's residence, and a place at which all notices may be served upon
him. This statement shall be entitled to registration as an adverse claim on
the certificate of title. The adverse claim shall be effective for a period of
thirty days from the date of registration. After the lapse of said period, the
annotation of adverse claim may be canceled upon filing of a verified
petition therefor by the party in interest: Provided, however, that after
cancellation, no second adverse claim based on the same ground shall be
registered by the same claimant.
Before the lapse of thirty days aforesaid, any party in interest may file a
petition in the Court of First Instance where the land is situated for the
cancellation of the adverse claim, and the court shall grant a speedy
hearing upon the question of the validity of such adverse claim, and shall
render judgment as may be just and equitable. If the adverse claim is
adjudged to be invalid, the registration thereof shall be ordered canceled.
If, in any case, the court, after notice and hearing, shall find that the
adverse claim thus registered was frivolous, it may fine the claimant in an
amount not less than one thousand pesos nor more than five thousand
pesos, in its discretion. Before the lapse of thirty days, the claimant may
withdraw his adverse claim by filing with the Register of Deeds a sworn
petition to that effect. 
Section 71. Surrender of certificate in involuntary dealings. If an
attachment or other lien in the nature of involuntary dealing in registered
land is registered, and the duplicate certificate is not presented at the time
of registration, the Register of Deeds shall, within thirty-six hours
thereafter, send notice by mail to the registered owner, stating that such
paper has been registered, and requesting him to send or produce his
duplicate certificate so that a memorandum of the attachment or other lien
may be made thereon. If the owner neglects or refuses to comply within a
reasonable time, the Register of Deeds shall report the matter to the court,
and it shall, after notice, enter an order to the owner, to produce his
certificate at a time and place named therein, and may enforce the order
by suitable process.
Section 72. Dissolution, etc. of attachments, etc. Attachments and liens of
every description upon registered land shall be continued, reduced,
discharged and dissolved by any method sufficient in law, and to give
effect to the continuance, reduction, discharge or dissolution thereof the
certificate or other instrument for that purpose shall be registered with the
Register of Deeds.
Section 73. Registration of orders of court, etc. If an attachment is
continued, reduced, dissolved, or otherwise affected by an order, decision
or judgment of the court where the action or proceedings in which said
attachment was made is pending or by an order of a court having
jurisdiction thereof, a certificate of the entry of such order, decision or
judgment from the clerk of court or the judge by which such decision,
order or judgment has been rendered and under the seal of the court, shall
be entitled to be registered upon presentation to the Register of Deeds. 
Section 74. Enforcement of liens on registered land. Whenever registered
land is solved on execution, or taken or sold for taxes or for any
assessment or to enforce a lien of any character, or for any costs and
charges incident to such liens, any execution or copy of execution, any
officer's return, or any deed, demand, certificate, or affidavit, or other
instrument made in the course of the proceedings to enforce such liens
and required by law to be recorded, shall be filed with the Register of
Deeds of the province or city where the land lies and registered in the
registration book, and a memorandum made upon the proper certificate of
title in each case as lien or encumbrance.
Section 75. Application for new certificate upon expiration of redemption
period. Upon the expiration of the time, if any, allowed by law for
redemption after registered land has been sold on execution taken or sold
for the enforcement of a lien of any description, except a mortgage lien,
the purchaser at such sale or anyone claiming under him may petition the
court for the entry of a new certificate of title to him.
Before the entry of a new certificate of title, the registered owner may
pursue all legal and equitable remedies to impeach or annul such
proceedings.
Section 76. Notice of lis pendens. No action to recover possession of real
estate, or to quiet title thereto, or to remove clouds upon the title thereof,
or for partition, or other proceedings of any kind in court directly
affecting the title to land or the use or occupation thereof or the buildings
thereon, and no judgment, and no proceeding to vacate or reverse any
judgment, shall have any effect upon registered land as against persons
other than the parties thereto, unless a memorandum or notice stating the
institution of such action or proceeding and the court wherein the same is
pending, as well as the date of the institution thereof, together with a
reference to the number of the certificate of title, and an adequate
description of the land affected and the registered owner thereof, shall
have been filed and registered.  Section 82. Registration of prior registered mortgaged or lease on
Section 77. Cancellation of lis pendens. Before final judgment, a notice
of lis pendens may be canceled upon order of the court, after proper
showing that the notice is for the purpose of molesting the adverse party,
or that it is not necessary to protect the rights of the party who caused it to
be registered. It may also be canceled by the Register of Deeds upon
verified petition of the party who caused the registration thereof.
10 LTD PD 1529
At any time after final judgment in favor of the defendant, or other
disposition of the action such as to terminate finally all rights of the
plaintiff in and to the land and/or buildings involved, in any case in which
a memorandum or notice of lis pendens has been registered as provided in
the preceding section, the notice of lis pendens shall be deemed canceled
upon the registration of a certificate of the clerk of court in which the
action or proceeding was pending stating the manner of disposal thereof.
CHAPTER VI
REGISTRATION OF JUDGMENTS; ORDERS; PARTITIONS
Section 78. Judgment for Plaintiff. Whenever in any action to recover
possession or ownership of real estate or any interest therein affecting
registered land judgment is entered for the plaintiff, such judgment shall
be entitled to registration on presentation of a certificate of the entry
thereof from the clerk of court where the action is pending to the Register
of Deeds for the province or city where the land lies, who shall enter a
memorandum upon the certificate of title of the land to which such
judgment relates. If the judgment does not apply to all the land described
in the certificate of title, the certificate of the clerk of the court where the
action is pending and the memorandum entered by the Register of Deeds
shall contain a description of the land affected by the judgment. 
Section 79. Judgment adjudicating ownership. When in any action to
recover the ownership of real estate or an interest therein execution has
been issued in favor of the plaintiff, the latter shall be entitled to the entry
of a new certificate of title and to the cancellation of the original
certificate and owner's duplicate of the former registered owner. If the
registered owner neglects or refuses within a reasonable time after request
of the plaintiff to produce his duplicate certificate in order that the same
may be canceled, the court shall, on application and after notice, enter an
order to the owner to produce his certificate at the time and place
designated, and may enforce the order by suitable process.
Section 80. Execution of deed by virtue of judgment. Every court
rendering judgment in favor of the plaintiff affecting registered land shall,
upon petition of said plaintiff, order and parties before it to execute for
registration any deed or instrument necessary to give effect to the
judgment, and shall require the registered owner to deliver his duplicate
certificate to the plaintiff or to the Register of Deeds to be canceled or to
have a memorandum annotated upon it. In case the person required to
execute any deed or other instrument necessary to give effect to the
judgment is absent from the Philippines, or is a minor, or insane, or for
any reason not amenable to the process of the court rendering the
judgment, said court may appoint a suitable person as trustee to execute
such instrument which, when executed, shall be entitled to registration.
Section 81. Judgment of partition. In proceedings for partition of
registered land, after the entry of the final judgment of partition, a copy of
such final judgment, certified by the clerk of the court rendering the
same, shall be filed and registered; thereupon, if the land is set of to the
owners in severalty, each owner shall be entitled to have his certificate
entered showing the share set off to him in severalty, and to receive an
owner's duplicate thereof. 
If the land is ordered by the court to be sold, the purchaser or his assigns
shall be entitled to certificate of title entered in his or their favor upon
presenting a certified copy of the judgment confirming the sale.
In case the land is ordered by the court to be assigned to one of the parties
upon payment to the others of the sum ordered by the court, the party to
whom the land is thus assigned shall be entitled to have a certificate of
title entered in his favor upon presenting a certified copy of the judgment:
Provided, however, that any new certificate entered in pursuance of
partition proceedings, whether by way of set-off or of assignment or of
sale, shall contain a reference memorandum to the final judgment of
partition, and shall be conclusive as to the title to the same extent and
against the same persons as such judgment is made conclusive by the
laws applicable thereto: and provided, further, that any person holding
such certificate of title or a transfer thereof shall have the right to petition
the court at any time to cancel the memorandum relating to such
judgment or order and the court, after notice and hearing, may grant the
petition. Such certificate shall thereafter be conclusive in the same
manner and to the same extent as other certificates of title.
partitioned property. If a certified copy of a final judgment or decree of
partition is presented and it appears that a mortgage or lease affecting a
specific portion or an undivided share of the premises had previously
been registered, the Register of Deeds shall carry over such encumbrance
on the certificate of title that may be issued.
Section 83. Notice of insolvency. Whenever proceeding in bankruptcy or
insolvency, or analogous proceedings, are instituted against a debtor who
owns registered land, it shall be the duty of the officer serving the notice
of the institution of such proceedings on the debtor to file a copy thereof
with the office of the Register of Deeds for the province or city where the
land of the debtor lies. The assignee or trustee appointed by the court in
such proceedings shall be entitled to the entry of a new certificate of the
registered land of the debtor or bankrupt, upon presenting and filing a
certified copy of the assignment in insolvency or order or adjudication in
bankruptcy with the insolvent's or bankrupt's duplicate certificate of title;
but the new certificate shall state that it is entered to him as assignee in
insolvency or trustee in bankruptcy or other proceedings, as the case may
be.  court having jurisdiction of the testate or intestate proceedings directs the
Section 84. Judgment or order vacating insolvency
proceedings. Whenever any of the proceedings of the character named in
the preceding section against a registered owner, of which notice has been
registered, is vacated by judgment, a certified copy of the judgment or
order may be registered. Where a new certificate has been entered in the
name of the assignee or trustee, such certificate shall be surrendered for
cancellation and forthwith the debtor shall be entitled to the entry of a
new certificate to him.
Section 85. Land taken by eminent domain. Whenever any registered
land, or interest therein, is expropriated or taken by eminent domain, the
National Government, province, city, municipality, or any other agency
or instrumentality exercising such right shall file for registration in the
proper Registry a certified copy of the judgment which shall state
definitely, by an adequate description, the particular property or interest
expropriated, the number of the certificate of title, and the nature of the
public use. A memorandum of the right or interest taken shall be made on
each certificate of title by the Register of Deeds, and where the fee simple
title is taken, a new certificate shall be issued in favor of the National
Government, province, city, municipality, or any other agency or
instrumentality exercising such right for the land so taken. The legal
expenses incident to the memorandum of registration or issuances
incident to the memorandum of registration or issuance of a new
certificate shall be for the account of the authority taking the land or
interest therein.
Section 86. Extrajudicial settlement of estate. When a deed of
extrajudicial settlement has been duly registered, the Register of Deeds
shall annotate on the proper title the two-year lien mentioned in Section 4
of Rule 74 of the Rules of Court. Upon the expiration of the two-year
period and presentation of a verified petition by the registered heirs,
devisees or legatees or any other party in interest that no claim or claims
of any creditor, heir or other person exist, the Register of Deeds shall
cancel the two-year lien noted on the title without the necessity of a court
order. The verified petition shall be entered in the Primary Entry Book
and a memorandum thereof made on the title.  Nothing in this section shall in any way preclude the court from
No deed of extrajudicial settlement or affidavit of adjudication shall be
registered unless the fact of extrajudicial settlement or adjudication is
published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of
general circulation in the province and proof thereof is filed with the
Register of Deeds. The proof may consist of the certification of the
publisher, printer, his foreman or principal clerk, or of the editor, business
or advertising manager of the newspaper concerned, or a copy of each
week's issue of the newspaper wherein the publication appeared.
Section 87. Filing of letters of administration and will. Before the
executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased owner of registered
land may deal with the same, he shall file with the office of the Register
of Deeds a certified copy of his letters of administration or if there is a
will, a certified copy thereof and the order allowing the same, together
with the letters testamentary or of administration with the will annexed,
as the case may be, and shall produce the duplicate certificate of title, and
thereupon the Register of Deeds shall enter upon the certificate a
memorandum thereof, making reference to the letters and/or will by their
file number, and the date of filing the same.
Section 88. Dealings by administering subject to court approval. After a
memorandum of the will, if any, and order allowing the same, and letters
testamentary or letters of administration have been entered upon the
certificate of title as hereinabove provided, the executor or administrator
may alienate or encumber registered land belonging to the estate, or any
interest therein, upon approval of the court obtained as provided by the
Rules of Court.  Fund.
Section 89. Land devised to executor. When it appears by will, a certified
copy of which with letters testamentary had already been filed as
provided in this Decree, that registered land is devised to the executor to
his own use, or upon some trust, the executor may have the land
transferred to himself upon the register in like manner and subject to like
terms and conditions and to like rights as in the case of a transfer pursuant
to a deed filed in the office of the Register of Deeds.
11 LTD PD 1529
Section 90. When executor empowered by will to sell, etc. When the will
of a deceased owner of registered lands, or an interest therein, empowers
the executor to sell, convey, encumber, charge or otherwise deal with the
land, a certified copy of the will and letters testamentary being filed as
provided in this Decree, such executor may sell, convey, encumber,
charge or otherwise deal with the land pursuant to the power in like
manner as if he were registered owner, subject to the terms and
conditions and limitations expressed in the will.
Section 91. Transfer in anticipation of final distribution. Whenever the
executor or administrator to take over and transfer to the devisees or
heirs, or any of them, in anticipation of final distribution a portion or the
whole of the registered land to which they might be entitled on final
distribution, upon the filing of a certified copy of such order in the office
of the Register of Deeds, the executor or administratory may cause such
transfer to be made upon the register in like manner as in case of a sale,
and upon the presentation of the owner's duplicate certificate to the
Register of Deeds, the devisees or heirs concerned shall be entitled to the
issuance of the corresponding certificates of title.
Section 92. Registration of final distribution of estate. A certified copy of
the partition and distribution, together with the final judgment or order of
the court approving the same or otherwise making final distribution,
supported by evidence of payment of estate taw or exemption therefrom,
as the case may be, shall be filed with the Register of Deeds, and upon
the presentation of the owner's duplicate certificate of title, new
certificates of title shall be issued to the parties severally entitled thereto
in accordance with the approved partition and distribution. 
CHAPTER VII
ASSURANCE FUND
Section 93. Contribution to Assurance Fund. Upon the entry of a
certificate of title in the name of the registered owner, and also upon the
original registration on the certificate of title of a building or other
improvements on the land covered by said certificate, as well as upon the
entry of a certificate pursuant to any subsequent transfer of registered
land, there shall be paid to the Register of Deeds one-fourth of one per
cent of the assessed value of the real estate on the basis of the last
assessment for taxation purposes, as contribution to the Assurance Fund.
Where the land involved has not yet been assessed for taxation, its value
for purposes of this decree shall be determined by the sworn declaration
of two disinterested persons to the effect that the value fixed by them is to
their knowledge, a fair valuation.
increasing the valuation of the property should it appear during the
hearing that the value stated is too small.
Section 94. Custody and investment of fund. All money received by the
Register of Deeds under the preceding section shall be paid to the
National Treasurer. He shall keep this money in an Assurance Fund
which may be invested in the manner and form authorized by law, and
shall report annually to the Commissioner of the Budget the condition
and income thereof. 
The income of the Assurance Fund shall be added to the principal until
said fund amounts to five hundred thousand pesos, in which event the
excess income from investments as well as from the collections of such
fund shall be paid into the National Treasury to the account of the
Assurance Fund.
Section 95. Action for compensation from funds. A person who, without
negligence on his part, sustains loss or damage, or is deprived of land or
any estate or interest therein in consequence of the bringing of the land
under the operation of the Torrens system of arising after original
registration of land, through fraud or in consequence of any error,
omission, mistake or misdescription in any certificate of title or in any
entry or memorandum in the registration book, and who by the provisions
of this Decree is barred or otherwise precluded under the provision of any
law from bringing an action for the recovery of such land or the estate or
interest therein, may bring an action in any court of competent
jurisdiction for the recovery of damages to be paid out of the Assurance
Section 96. Against whom action filed. If such action is brought to
recover for loss or damage or for deprivation of land or of any estate or
interest therein arising wholly through fraud, negligence, omission,
mistake or misfeasance of the court personnel, Register of Deeds, his
deputy, or other employees of the Registry in the performance of their
respective duties, the action shall be brought against the Register of
Deeds of the province or city where the land is situated and the National
Treasurer as defendants. But if such action is brought to recover for loss
or damage or for deprivation of land or of any interest therein arising
through fraud, negligence, omission, mistake or misfeasance of person
other than court personnel, the Register of Deeds, his deputy or other
employees of the Registry, such action shall be brought against the
Register of Deeds, the National Treasurer and other person or persons, as
co-defendants. It shall be the duty of the Solicitor General in person or by
representative to appear and to defend all such suits with the aid of the
fiscal of the province or city where the land lies: Provided, however, that
nothing in this Decree shall be construed to deprive the plaintiff of any
right of action which he may have against any person for such loss or
damage or deprivation without joining the National Treasurer as party
defendant. In every action filed against the Assurance Fund, the court
shall consider the report of the Commissioner of Land Registration.  CERTIFICATE OF LAND TRANSFER,
Section 97. Judgment, how satisfied. If there are defendants other than
the National Treasurer and the Register of Deeds and judgment is entered
for the plaintiff and against the National Treasury, the Register of Deeds
and any of the other defendants, execution shall first issue against such
defendants other than the National and the Register of Deeds. If the
execution is returned unsatisfied in whole or in part, and the officer
returning the same certificates that the amount due cannot be collected
from the land or personal property of such other defendants, only then
shall the court, upon proper showing, order the amount of the execution
and costs, or so much thereof as remains unpaid, to be paid by the
National treasurer out of the Assurance Fund. In an action under this
Decree, the plaintiff cannot recover as compensation more than the fair
market value of the land at the time he suffered the loss, damage, or
deprivation thereof.
Section 98. General Fund when liable. If at any time the Assurance Fund
is not sufficient to satisfy such judgment, the National Treasurer shall
make up for the deficiency from any funds available in the treasury not
otherwise appropriated.
Section 99. Subrogation of government to plaintiff's rights. In every case
where payment has been made by the National Treasurer in accordance
with the provisions of this Decree, the Government of the Republic of the
Philippines shall be subrogated to the rights of the plaintiff against any
other parties or securities. The National Treasurer shall enforce said
rights and the amount recovered shall be paid to the account of the
Assurance Fund. 
Section 100. Register of Deeds as party in interest. When it appears that
the Assurance Fund may be liable for damages that may be incurred due
to the unlawful or erroneous issuance of a certificate of title, the Register
of Deeds concerned shall be deemed a proper party in interest who shall,
upon authority of the Commissioner of Land Registration, file the
necessary action in court to annul or amend the title.
The court may order the Register of Deeds to amend or cancel a
certificate of title or to do any other act as may be just and equitable.
Section 101. Losses not recoverable. The Assurance Fund shall not be
liable for any loss, damage or deprivation caused or occasioned by a
breach of trust, whether express, implied or constructive or by any
mistake in the resurveyed or subdivision of registered land resulting in
the expansion of area in the certificate of title. 
Section 102. Limitation of Action. Any action for compensation against
the Assurance Fund by reason of any loss, damage or deprivation of land
or any interest therein shall be instituted within a period of six years from
the time the right to bring such action first occurred: Provided, That the
right of action herein provided shall survive to the legal representative of
the person sustaining loss or damage, unless barred in his lifetime; and
Provided, further, That if at the time such right of action first accrued the
person entitled to bring such action was a minor or insane or imprisoned,
or otherwise under legal disability, such person or anyone claiming from,
by or under him may bring the proper action at any time within two years
after such disability has been removed, notwithstanding the expiration of
the original period of six years first above provided.
CHAPTER VIII
REGISTRATION OF PATENTS
Section 103. Certificates of title pursuant to patents. Whenever public
land is by the Government alienated, granted or conveyed to any person,
the same shall be brought forthwith under the operation of this Decree. It
shall be the duty of the official issuing the instrument of alienation, grant,
patent or conveyance in behalf of the Government to cause such
instrument to be filed with the Register of Deeds of the province or city
where the land lies, and to be there registered like other deeds and
conveyance, whereupon a certificate of title shall be entered as in other
cases of registered land, and an owner's duplicate issued to the grantee.
The deed, grant, patent or instrument of conveyance from the
12 LTD PD 1529
Government to the grantee shall not take effect as a conveyance or bind
the land but shall operate only as a contract between the Government and
the grantee and as evidence of authority to the Register of Deeds to make
registration. It is the act of registration that shall be the operative act to
affect and convey the land, and in all cases under this Decree, registration
shall be made in the office of the Register of Deeds of the province or
city where the land lies. The fees for registration shall be paid by the
grantee. After due registration and issuance of the certificate of title, such
land shall be deemed to be registered land to all intents and purposes
under this Decree.
CHAPTER IX
EMANCIPATION
PATENT, AFFIDAVIT OF NON-TENANCY
Section 104. Provisional Register of Documents. The Department of
Agrarian Reform shall prepare by automate data processing a special
registry book to be known as the "Provisional Register of Documents
issued under PD-27" which shall be kept and maintained in every
Registry of Deeds throughout the country. Said Registry Book shall be a
register of:
a. All Certificates of Land Transfer (CLT) issued pursuant to
P.D. No. 27; and 
b. All subsequent transactions affecting Certificates of Land
Transfer such as adjustments, transfer, duplication and
cancellations of erroneous Certificates of Land Transfer.
Section 105. Certificates of Land Transfer Emancipation Patents. The
Department of Agrarian reform shall pursuant to P.D. No. 27 issue in
duplicate, a Certificate of Land Transfer for every land brought under
"Operation Land Transfer", the original of which shall be kept by the
tenant-farmer and the duplicate, in the Registry of Deeds.
After the tenant-farmer shall have fully complied with the requirements
for a grant of title under P.D. No. 27, an Emancipation Patent which may
cover previously titled or untitled property shall be issued by the
Department of Agrarian Reform.
The Register of Deeds shall complete the entries on the aforementioned
Emancipation Patent and shall assign an original certificate of title
number in case of unregistered land, and in case of registered property,
shall issue the corresponding transfer certificate of title without requiring
the surrender of the owner's duplicate of the title to be canceled.
In case of death of the grantee, the Department of Agrarian Reform shall
determine his heirs or successors-in-interest and shall notify the Register
of Deeds accordingly.
In case of subsequent transfer of property covered by an Emancipation
Patent or a Certificate of Title emanating from an Emancipation Patent,
the Register of Deeds shall affect the transfer only upon receipt of the
supporting papers from the Department of Agrarian Reform. 
No fee, premium, of tax of any kind shall be charged or imposed in
connection with the issuance of an original Emancipation Patent and for
the registration or related documents.
Section 106. Sale of agricultural land; affidavit. No voluntary deed or
instrument purporting to be a subdivision, mortgage, lease, sale or any
other mode of encumbrance or conveyance of private agricultural land
principally devoted to rice or corn or any portion thereof shall be
registered unless accompanied by an affidavit of the vendor or executor
stating that the land involved is not tenanted, or if tenanted, the same is
not primarily devoted to the production of rice and/or corn.
If only a portion of the land is primarily devoted to the production of rice
and/or corn, and such area so devoted is tenanted, no such deed or
instrument shall be registered unless accompanied by an affidavit stating
the area (size) of the portion which is tenanted and primarily devoted to
rice and/or corn, and stating further that the deed or instrument covers
only the untenanted portion or that which is not primarily devoted to the
production of rice and/or corn. A memorandum of said affidavit shall be
annotated on the certificate of title. The Register of Deeds shall cause a
copy of the registered deed or instrument, together with the affidavit, to
be furnished the Department of Agrarian Reform Regional Office where
the land is located. The affidavit provided in this section shall not be
required in the case of a tenant-farmer who deals with his Certificate of
Land Transfer or Emancipation Patent in accordance with law.
CHAPTER X Notice of all hearings of the petition for judicial reconstitution shall be
PETITIONS AND ACTIONS AFTER ORIGINAL given to the Register of Deeds of the place where the land is situated and
REGISTRATION to the Commissioner of Land Registration. No order or judgment
ordering the reconstitution of a certificate of title shall become final until
Section 107. Surrender of withhold duplicate certificates. Where it is the lapse of thirty days from receipt by the Register of Deeds and by the
Commissioner of Land Registration of a notice of such order or judgment
necessary to issue a new certificate of title pursuant to any involuntary
instrument which divests the title of the registered owner against his without any appeal having been filed by any of such officials. 
consent or where a voluntary instrument cannot be registered by reason of
the refusal or failure of the holder to surrender the owner's duplicate CHAPTER XI
certificate of title, the party in interest may file a petition in court to SCHEDULE OF FEES: SPECIAL FUND
compel surrender of the same to the Register of Deeds. The court, after
hearing, may order the registered owner or any person withholding the Section 111. Fees payable. The fees payable to the Clerk of Court, the
duplicate certificate to surrender the same, and direct the entry of a new
Sheriff, the Register of Deeds and the Land Registration Commission
certificate or memorandum upon such surrender. If the person shall be as follows:
withholding the duplicate certificate is not amenable to the process of the
court, or if not any reason the outstanding owner's duplicate certificate
cannot be delivered, the court may order the annulment of the same as A. Fees payable to the Clerk of Court. The fees payable to the
well as the issuance of a new certificate of title in lieu thereof. Such new clerk of court or his deputies shall be as follows:
certificate and all duplicates thereof shall contain a memorandum of the
annulment of the outstanding duplicate.  1. For filing an application for the registration of
land, the fees shall be based on the assessed value of
Section 108. Amendment and alteration of certificates. No erasure, the property for the current year, in accordance with
alteration, or amendment shall be made upon the registration book after the following schedule
the entry of a certificate of title or of a memorandum thereon and the
attestation of the same be Register of Deeds, except by order of the (a) When the value of the property does
proper Court of First Instance. A registered owner of other person having not exceed two thousand pesos, fifteen
an interest in registered property, or, in proper cases, the Register of pesos for the first five hundred pesos, or
Deeds with the approval of the Commissioner of Land Registration, may fractional part thereof, and five pesos for
apply by petition to the court upon the ground that the registered interests each additional five hundred pesos, or
of any description, whether vested, contingent, expectant or inchoate fractional part thereof.
appearing on the certificate, have terminated and ceased; or that new
interest not appearing upon the certificate have arisen or been created; or
that an omission or error was made in entering a certificate or any (b) When the value of the property does
memorandum thereon, or, on any duplicate certificate; or that the same or not exceed two thousand pesos but does
any person on the certificate has been changed; or that the registered not exceed ten thousand pesos, thirty five
owner has married, or, if registered as married, that the marriage has been pesos for the first three thousand pesos, or
terminated and no right or interests of heirs or creditors will thereby be fractional part thereof, and five pesos for
affected; or that a corporation which owned registered land and has been each additional one thousand pesos, or
dissolved has not convened the same within three years after its fractional part thereof.
dissolution; or upon any other reasonable ground; and the court may hear
and determine the petition after notice to all parties in interest, and may (c) When the value of the property is
order the entry or cancellation of a new certificate, the entry or more than ten thousand pesos but does not
cancellation of a memorandum upon a certificate, or grant any other relief exceed one hundred thousand pesos,
upon such terms and conditions, requiring security or bond if necessary, eighty pesos for the first twenty thousand
as it may consider proper; Provided, however, That this section shall not pesos, or fractional part thereof, and ten
be construed to give the court authority to reopen the judgment or decree pesos for each additional ten thousand
of registration, and that nothing shall be done or ordered by the court pesos, or fractional part thereof. 
which shall impair the title or other interest of a purchaser holding a
certificate for value and in good faith, or his heirs and assigns, without his
or their written consent. Where the owner's duplicate certificate is not (d) When the value of the property is
presented, a similar petition may be filed as provided in the preceding more than one hundred thousand pesos
section. but does not exceed five hundred
thousand pesos, one hundred eighty pesos
for the first one hundred twenty-five
All petitions or motions filed under this Section as well as under any thousand pesos, or fractional part thereof,
other provision of this Decree after original registration shall be filed and and twenty pesos for each additional
entitled in the original case in which the decree or registration was twenty-five thousand pesos, or fractional
entered.  part thereof.

Section 109. Notice and replacement of lost duplicate certificate. In case (e) When the value of the property is
of loss or theft of an owner's duplicate certificate of title, due notice under more than five hundred thousand pesos,
oath shall be sent by the owner or by someone in his behalf to the five hundred twenty pesos for the first
Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies as soon as five hundred fifty thousand pesos, or
the loss or theft is discovered. If a duplicate certificate is lost or fractional part thereof, and forty pesos for
destroyed, or cannot be produced by a person applying for the entry of a each additional fifty thousand pesos, or
new certificate to him or for the registration of any instrument, a sworn fractional part thereof.
statement of the fact of such loss or destruction may be filed by the
registered owner or other person in interest and registered.
If the property has not been assessed for taxation,
the fees above prescribed shall be based on the
Upon the petition of the registered owner or other person in interest, the current market value; and the applicant shall file
court may, after notice and due hearing, direct the issuance of a new with his application a sworn declaration of three
duplicate certificate, which shall contain a memorandum of the fact that it disinterested persons that the value fixed by him is
is issued in place of the lost duplicate certificate, but shall in all respects to their knowledge a fair valuation.
be entitled to like faith and credit as the original duplicate, and shall
thereafter be regarded as such for all purposes of this decree.
2. For filing a petition for review of judgment and
decree, or other claim adverse to the registered
Section 110. Reconstitution of lost or destroyed original of Torrens owner, for each petition, twenty pesos.
title. Original copies of certificates of title lost or destroyed in the offices
of Register of Deeds as well as liens and encumbrances affecting the
lands covered by such titles shall be reconstituted judicially in accordance 3. For filing a petition after the decision has become
with the procedure prescribed in Republic Act No. 26 insofar as not final, twenty pesos. If it affects land decrees in more
inconsistent with this Decree. The procedure relative to administrative than one case, for each additional case, one peso. If
reconstitution of lost or destroyed certificate prescribed in said Act is it affects several lots or parcels of land in which the
hereby abrogated. petitioners have no common interest, each of such
petitioners shall pay the corresponding fees as if
separate petitions had been filed by him.

13 LTD PD 1529
 B. Fees payable to the Sheriff. The sheriff shall collect fees for
his services rendered in connection with land registration and
cadastral proceedings as follows:
1. For posting notices of initial hearing of land
registration cases in conspicuous places on the lands
described in the notice, for each parcel of land on
which a copy of such notice is posted, besides travel
fees, three pesos.  of directors empowering an officer or member
2. For posting notices of initial hearing of cadastral
cases in conspicuous places on the lands included in
the survey, for each group of one hundred lots on
which a copy of the notice is posted, besides travel
fees, three pesos.
3. For posting one copy of a notice of initial hearing
in a conspicuous place upon the municipal building
of the city, municipality, or municipal district in
which the land or portion thereof lies, besides travel
fees, three pesos.
4. For serving notices upon cadastral claimants to
appear before the court, travel fees only as provided
in the Rules of Court.
5. For all other services not mentioned above, the
same fees including travel fees as provided in the
Rules of Court for similar services.
C. Fees payable to the Register of Deeds. The Register of
Deeds shall collect fees for all services rendered by him under
this Decree in accordance with the following schedule:
1. Original certificate of title. For the entry of one
original certificate of title and issuance of one
owner's duplicate certificate, ten pesos for the first
parcel of land described thereon and five pesos for
each additional parcel.
2. Entry fee. For each entry fee in the primary entry
book, five pesos.
3. Attachment, levy, etc. For the annotation of an
attachment, levy, writ of execution, adverse claim,
five pesos for each parcel of land affected thereby.
4. Lis Pendens, etc. For the annotation of a notice of
lis pendens, or of any document or order in
connection therewith, for each of land affected
thereby, five pesos.  including its duplicate, to the cestui que trust in case
5. Release of encumbrance. For the annotation of a
release of any encumbrance, except mortgage, lease,
or other lien for the cancellation of which a specific
fee is prescribed herein, for each parcel of land so
released, five pesos; but the total amount of fees to
be collected shall not exceed the amount of fees paid
for the registration of such encumbrance.
6. Court Order. For the annotation of an order of the
court for the amendment of, or the making of a
memorandum on, a certificate of title, except
inclusion of buildings or improvements, or any order
directing the registration of a document, or of any
right or interest referred to in said order, or the
cancellation of a certificate of title and/or the
issuance of a new one, ten pesos for each certificate
of title on which the annotation is made, in addition
to the fees prescribed under paragraphs sixteen or
seventeen, as the case may be, of this subsection, in
the same are also due for the registration of such
document, right or interest.
7. Building. For the annotation of an order of the
court for the inclusion of building and/or
improvement in a certificate of title, ten pesos for
each certificate of title.
8. Powers of attorney, letters of administration,
appointment of guardian, resolution or revocation
thereof. For registering and filing a power of
14 LTD PD 1529
attorney, letters of administration or letters
testamentary whether or not accompanied by a copy
of the testament, certificate of allowance of a will
with attested copy of the will annexed, appointment
of guardian for a minor or incompetent person,
appointment of receiver, trustee, or administrator,
articles of incorporation of any corporation,
association or partnership, or resolution of its board
thereof to act in behalf of the same, twenty pesos;
and for the annotation of such papers on certificates
of title when required by existing laws or
regulations, five pesos for each certificate of title so
annotated: Provided, however, that when the
certificate of allowance of a will and the letters
testamentary or letters of administration are filed
together, only one fee shall be collected. For
registering an instrument of revocation of any of the
paper mentioned above, five pesos, and if annotated
on the corresponding certificate of title, three pesos
for each certificate of title. 
9. Notice of tax lien, loss, etc. For the annotation of
a notice of tax lien of any description notice of lost
duplicate or copy of a certificate of title, order of the
court declaring such duplicate or copy null and void,
notice of change of address, or the cancellation of
any such annotation, for each certificate of title, five
pesos.
10. Carry over of annotation. For transferring the
memorandum of an encumbrance of any kind from
one certificate of title which is canceled to a new
one in lieu thereof, for each memorandum thus
transferred, five pesos.
11. Annotation on additional copy of title. For any
memorandum made in a standing co-owner's copy of
a certificate of title after a similar memorandum has
been made in the original thereof, of each certificate
of title, five pesos.
12. No specific fee. For any memorandum made in a
certificate of title for which no specific fee is
prescribe above, for each certificate of title, five
pesos.
13. Transfer to trustee, executor, administrator
receiver. For the issuance of a transfer certificate of
title, including its duplicate, to a trustee, executor,
administrator, or receiver, or for the cancellation of
such certificate of title and issuance of a new one,
of trusteeship, ten pesos. If the certificate covers
more than one parcel or lot, an additional fee of five
pesos shall be collected for each additional parcel or
lot. 
14. Transfer certificate of title. For the issuance of a
transfer certificate of title, including its duplicate, to
a person other than those named in the next
preceding paragraph, ten pesos, in addition to the
fees hereinafter prescribed in paragraph sixteen or
seventeen, as the case may be, of this subsection, if
the same are also due. If the certificate covers more
than one parcel or lot, an additional fee of five pesos
shall be collected for each additional parcel or lot.
15. Additional copy of title. For the issuance of a
new owner's duplicate or a co-owner's copy of a
certificate of title, or any additional duplicate or
copy thereof, ten pesos for the first page and five
pesos for each subsequent page, or fraction thereof.
16. Registration fee. For the registration of a deed of
sale, conveyance, transfer, exchange, partition, or
donation; a deed of sale with pacto de retro,
conditional sale, sheriff's sale at public auction, sale
for non-payment of taxes, or any sale subject to
redemption, or the repurchase or redemption of the
property so sold; any instrument, order, judgment or
decree divesting the title of the registered owner,
except in favor of a trustee, executor, administrator
or receiver; option to purchase or promise to sell;
any mortgage, surety, bond, lease, easement, right-
 of-way, or other real right or lien created or
constituted by virtue of a distinct contract or
agreement, and not as an incidental condition of
sale, transfer or conveyance; the assignment,
enlargement, extension or novation of a mortgage or
of any other real right, or a release of mortgage,
termination of lease, or consolidation of ownership
over a property sold with pacto de retro; where no
specific fee is prescribed therefor in the preceding
paragraphs, the fees shall be based on the value of
the consideration in accordance with the following
schedule:
(a) Six thousand pesos maximum. When
the value of the consideration does not
exceed six thousand pesos, seven pesos
for the first five hundred pesos, or
fractional part thereof, and three pesos for
each additional five hundred pesos, or
fractional part thereof.
(b) Thirty thousand pesos maximum.
When the value of the consideration is
more than six thousand pesos but does not
exceed thirty thousand pesos, or fractional
part thereof, and eight pesos for each
additional two thousand pesos, or
fractional part thereof.
(c) One hundred thousand pesos
maximum. When the value of the
consideration is more than thirty thousand
pesos but does not exceed one hundred
thousand pesos, one hundred fifty pesos
for the first thirty-five thousand pesos, or
fractional part thereof, and fourteen pesos
or each additional five thousand pesos, or
fractional part thereof.
(d) Five hundred thousand pesos
maximum. When the value of the
consideration is more than one hundred
thousand pesos but does not exceed five
hundred thousand pesos, three hundred
fifty-two pesos for the first one hundred
ten thousand pesos, or fractional part
thereof, and twenty pesos for each
additional ten thousand pesos, or
fractional part thereof. 
(e) More than five hundred thousand
pesos. When the value of the
consideration is more than five hundred
thousand pesos, one thousand one
hundred sixty-two pesos for the first five
hundred twenty thousand pesos, or
fractional part thereof, and thirty pesos for
each additional twenty thousand pesos, or
fractional part thereof.
17. Fees for specific transactions. In the following
transactions, however, the basis of the fees
collectible under paragraph sixteen of this
subsection, whether or not the value of the
consideration is stated in the instrument, shall be as
hereunder set forth:
(a) Exchange. In the exchange of real
property the basis of the fees to be paid by
each party shall be the current assessed
value of the properties acquired by one
party from the other, in addition to the
value of any other consideration, if any,
stated in the contract.
(b) Hereditary transfer. In the
transmission of an hereditary estate
without partition or subdivision of the
property among the heirs, devisees or
legatees, although with specification of
the share of each in the value of the
estate, the basis shall be the total current
assessed value of the property thus
transmitted.
15 LTD PD 1529
(c) Partition of hereditary estate; Conjugal
property. In the partition of an hereditary
estate which is still in the name of the
deceased, in which determinate properties
are adjudicated to each heir devisee or
legatee, or to each group of heirs,
devisees or legatees, the basis of the fees
to be paid by each person or group, as the
case may be, shall be the total current
assessed value of the properties thus
adjudicated to each person or group. In
the case, however, of conjugal property,
the basis of the fees for the registration of
one-half thereof in the name of the
surviving spouse shall be the total current
assessed value of the properties
adjudicated to said spouse. 
(d) Subdivision or partition. In the
partition of real property held in common
by several registered co-owner's the basis
of the fees to be paid by each co-owner or
group of co-owners shall be the total
assessed value of the property taken by
each co-owner or group.
(e) Conveyance: several lots and parties.
In the sale, conveyance or transfer of two
or more parcels of land in favor of two or
more separate parties but executed in one
single instrument, the basis shall be the
total selling price paid by each party-
buyer, or, in the case of lump sum
consideration, such portion thereof as
apportioned in accordance with the
assessed value of the respective land
acquired by each party-buyer.
(f) Conveyance of properties in different
places. In the sale, conveyance, or transfer
of properties situated in different cities or
provinces, the basis of the fees in each
Registry of Deeds where the instrument is
to be registered shall be the total selling
price of the properties situated in the
respective city or province, or, in the case
of lump sum consideration, such portion
thereof as obtained for those properties
lying within the jurisdiction of the
respective registry after apportioning the
total consideration of the sale,
conveyance or transfer in accordance with
the current assessed value of such
properties. 
(g) Conveyance of mortgaged properties.
In the sale, conveyance, or transfer of a
mortgaged property, the basis shall be the
selling price of the property proper plus
the full amount of the mortgage, or the
unpaid balance thereof if the latter is
stated in the instrument. If the properties
are situated in different cities or
provinces, the basis of the fees in each
Registry of Deeds where the instrument is
to be registered shall be such sum as
obtained for the properties situated in the
respective city or province after
apportioning in accordance with the
current assessed values of said properties
the total amount of consideration as above
computed, unless the selling price of the
properties in each city or province and the
proportionate share thereof in the amount
of unpaid balance of the mortgage are
stated in the instrument, in which case,
the aggregate of such selling price and
share shall be the basis. In any case,
however, where the aggregate value of the
consideration as above computed shall be
less than the current assessed value of the
properties in the city or province
concerned, such assessed value shall be
the basis of the fees in the respective
Registry.
 (h) Mortgage of properties in different
places. In a mortgage affecting properties
situated in different cities or provinces,
the basis of the fees in each Registry of
Deeds where the document is to be
registered shall be such amount as
obtained for the properties lying within
the jurisdiction of said Registry after
apportioning the total amount of the
mortgage in accordance with the current
assessed value of such properties. 
(i) Release of mortgage. In the release of
a mortgage the basis of the fees shall be
an amount equal to ten per centum of the
total amount of obligation secured by the
mortgage. If the properties are situated in
different cities or provinces, the basis of
the fees in each Registry shall be ten per
centum of such sum as obtained for the
properties in the respective city or
province after apportioning the amount of
the mortgage in accordance with the
current assessed values of such properties.
In the case of a partial release, the fees
shall be based on ten per centum of the
current assessed value of the property so
released in the respective city or province;
Provided, however, That where several
partial releases had been registered, the
fees corresponding to the final release
shall be computed on the basis of ten per
centum of the difference between the
amount of the mortgage and the aggregate
of the consideration used as basis for the
collection of the fees paid for the
registration of all previous partial
releases.
(j) Certificate of sale. In a certificate of
sale at public auction by virtue of an order
of execution or sale for delinquency in the
payment of taxes, or repurchase of the
property so sold, the basis of the fees in
each Registry shall be ten per centum of
the selling or repurchase price of the
property lying within the jurisdiction of
the Registry.
(k) Affidavit of consolidation of
ownership. In an affidavit for the
consolidation of ownership over a
property sold with pacto de retro or
pursuant to an extra judicial foreclosure
under the provisions of Act Numbered
Thirty-one hundred and thirty-five, as
amended, the basis of the fees in each
Registry shall be an amount equivalent to
ten per centum of the consideration of the
sale in the respective city or province.
(l) Contract of lease. In contracts of lease,
the basis of the fees in each Registry shall
be the sum total to be paid by the lessee
for the properties situated in the
respective city or province during the
entire period specified in the contract,
including the extension contemplated by
the parties which may be given effect
without the necessity of further
registration. If the period is from year to
year, or otherwise not fixed, the basis
shall be the total amount of rentals due for
thirty months. If the rentals are not
distributed, the total amount thereof as
above computed shall be apportioned to
said properties in accordance with their
assessed values, and the proportionate
sum thus obtained for each city or
province shall be the basis of the fees to
be collected in the Registry concerned.
(m) Termination of lease. In the
termination of lease, the basis of the fees
in each registry shall be ten per centum of
the amount used as basis for the collection
16 LTD PD 1529
of the fees paid for the registration of said
lease.
(n) Option to purchase or promise to sell.
In contracts of option to purchase or
promise to sell, the basis of the fees in
each Registry shall be ten per centum of
the current assessed value of the property
subject of such contract in the respective
city or province. 
(o) Consideration not stated or fixed or
less than assessed value. In other
transactions where the actual value of the
consideration is not fixed in the contract
or cannot be determined from the terms
thereof, or, in case of a sale, conveyance,
or transfer, the consideration stated is less
than the current assessed value of the
property, the basis of the fees shall be the
current assessed value of the property
involved in the transaction. If the
properties are situated in different cities
or provinces, the basis of the fees in each
Registry shall be the current assessed
value of the properties lying within the
jurisdiction of the Registry concerned.
18. Issuance of copy of document. For furnishing
copies of any entry, decree, document, or other
papers on file, fifty centavos for each hundred words
of fraction thereof contained in the copies thus
furnished.
19. Certified copy. For certifying a copy furnished
under the next preceding paragraph, for each
certification, five pesos for one page and one peso
for each additional page certified.
20. Certification. For issuing a certificate relative to,
or showing the existence or non-existence of, an
entry in the registration books or a document on file,
for each such certificate containing not more than
two hundred words, five pesos; if it exceeds that
number an additional fee of one peso shall be
collected for every hundred words, or fraction
thereof, in excess of the first two hundred words.
21. Research fee. For services rendered in attending
to request for reference or researches on any records
or documents on file in the Registry, there shall be
collected two pesos per document or record.
D. Fees payable to the Commissioner of Land Registration.
The fees payable to the Commissioner of Land Registration
shall be as follows: 
1. For verification and approval of subdivision
plans, the fee shall be: 
(a) For each lot ... P2.00
………………………………….............
(b For each corner of a lot, irrespective of whether 0.20
) such corner is common to two or more
lots ...............
(c) For each traverse station ......... 0.10
………………………...
(d For each observation ........... 0.50
) ……………………………
(e) In case the plan is a resurveyed or relocation
plan an additional 40 per cent of the rates
prescribed above shall be collected.
Provided, however, that the total fee as computed above,
whether for subdivision and/or consolidation-subdivision
survey, resurveyed or relocation plan, shall in no case be less
than P8.00 per plan.
 2. For changing or correcting the name of any 7. For the preparation of a simple plan or sketch of
person appearing on the subdivision plan or other any available survey or plan on any paper other than
plan in order to have it conform to that stated in the a tracing cloth, the fee on the basis of each lot, shall
certificate of title covering the land, and for the be as follows:
cancellation of an approved plan when so requested
by the interested party, there shall be a fee of P5.00
per plan. (a) For the first ten corners or fraction thereof .... P20.00
……………………………………........ 
3. The rates of fees prescribed in paragraph 1 and 2,
(b For the second ten corners or fraction thereof ....... 5.00
inclusive, shall apply to similar services rendered in
) …………………………………....... 
connection with the examination, verification, and
approval of consolidation, consolidation-
subdivision, resubdivision, and reconsolidation (c) For the third ten corners or fraction thereof ........ 2.00
……………………………………….... 
plans, special work order plans on the basis of
certified copies of technical descriptions of plans
approved by the Land Registration Commission or (d For each corner in excess of the first thirty corners 0.20
the Bureau of Lands, private surveys, and other ) …………………………….............. 
plans of similar nature. 
(e) If the sketch is prepared in tracing cloth, add to the total 5.00
fees as above computed ... 
In the computation of fees relative to lots subject of
consolidation and consolidation-subdivision plans, a (f) If the plan or sketch so prepared contains the bearing and
fee of two pesos shall be collected per lot as distances of the sides and tie-lines, add to the total fees as
appearing in the old survey in addition to the fee above computed 10 per centum thereof.
collectible in paragraph 1 hereof for the new lots.

4. For the preparation of a plan in a tracing cloth of

any survey, the data of which are available in the
Commission, except when the same is merely traced 8. For furnishing a plan copy (blue-print, or white
from an existing plan, the fees shall be computed as print) of any plan on file in the Commission, the fee
follows: shall be as follows: 

(a) When the plan to be so prepared

contains only one lot:  (a) For the copy of any size not exceeding forty square decimeters ..……...……….

(b) For one copy of more than forty square decimeters but not exceeding eig
1 P40.00 …………………………....... 
For the first ten corners or fraction thereof .........…………
.
(c) For one copy of more than eighty square decimeters but not exceeding one h
2 For the next ten corners or fraction thereof .... 6.00 size ………………….. 
. ……………......
(d) For one copy in excess of one hundred twenty square decimeters in size, the ba
3 For each corner in excess of the first twenty 0.40 twenty square decimeters or fraction thereof in excess …………………………
. corners ...........

9. For the preparation of technical descriptions,

(b) When the plan to be so prepared other than mere copying from an existing copy,
contains two or more lots:  there shall be collected the following fees:

1.  For the first lot, which must be the biggest of the group, P40.00 (a) For technical descriptions of lots or parcels, typewritten in triplicate
irrespective of the number of its corner ......... and double-spaced, including certification:
……………………………….
1. For each lot ...........  P3.00
2. For each additional lot, irrespective of the number of its P15.00
corners, said lot being adjacent to the first lot or any other 2. For each corner of a lot ...........  0.20
lot ……………………..
3. For each extra carbon copy, extra charge ....  0.20
3. For each non-adjacent lot (other than the first charged lot), P20.00
irrespective of the number of its corners ........ 4. Minimum total charge .............  3.00
……………………………... 
(b For lot description prepared in tracing cloth (on tabulated form)
4. If any lot contains more than twenty corners for each P0.40 ) including certification:
corner of such lot in the first twenty corners ........
…………………………………….  1. For each sheet .........  P1.50

2. For each lot ..........  0.20

3. For each corner in excess of ten for a lot ....  0.10

5. For the preparation of a plan in tracing cloth, to be
(c) Any common corner shall be counted as many items as there are
traced from an existing plan, complete with bearings
lots to which it pertains.
and distances of corners and tie lines, the fee shall
be 30 per centum of the fees prescribed in paragraph
4 above.

6. For the preparation of a plan in tracing cloth, to be

10. For certification of plans or copies of plans as to
copied from an existing plan, complete with
the correctness of the same, per plan or print copy
bearings and distances of sides and tie-lines, but
P3.00 and for the issuance of all other certification
using a different scale, the fee shall be 50 per
P5.00 plus one 30-centavo documentary stamp to be
centum of the fees prescribed under paragraph 4
affixed thereto.
above, if made on a reduced scale; or 60 per centum
of the same fees, if made on an enlarged scale. 
11. For inspection of land subject of private surveys,
simple or complex subdivision plans, or
17 LTD PD 1529
 consolidation, consolidation-subdivision, Deeds, conveyances, encumbrances, discharges, powers of attorney and
resubdivision, or reconsolidation plans, special work other voluntary instruments, whether affecting registered or unregistered
orders, and other plans of similar nature for the land, executed in accordance with law in the form of public instruments
purpose of verification and/or approval: shall be registerable: Provided, that, every such instrument shall be signed
by the person or persons executing the same in the presence of at least
two witnesses who shall likewise sign thereon, and shall acknowledged to
(a) For each plan with an aggregate area of 1,000 sq. m. or P100.00 be the free act and deed of the person or persons executing the same
less .........  before a notary public or other public officer authorized by law to take
acknowledgment. Where the instrument so acknowledged consists of two
(b) For each subdivision with an aggregate area of more than 1,000 sq. or more pages including the page whereon acknowledgment is written,
m.: each page of the copy which is to be registered in the office of the
Register of Deeds, or if registration is not contemplated, each page of the
1. For the first 1,000 s.m. .............  P100.00 copy to be kept by the notary public, except the page where the signatures
already appear at the foot of the instrument, shall be signed on the left
2. For every succeeding 1,000 sq. m. or fraction 10.00 margin thereof by the person or persons executing the instrument and
thereof ...........  their witnesses, and all the ages sealed with the notarial seal, and this fact
as well as the number of pages shall be stated in the acknowledgment.
Where the instrument acknowledged relates to a sale, transfer, mortgage
or encumbrance of two or more parcels of land, the number thereof shall
likewise be set forth in said acknowledgment.
12. For actual field work of subdivision survey, relocation
survey and resurveyed of land, the fees shall be as follows: CHAPTER XIII
DEALINGS WITH UNREGISTERED LANDS
(a) Subdivision survey: 
Section 113. Recording of instruments relating to unregistered lands. No
1. Rural (Agricultural)  deed, conveyance, mortgage, lease, or other voluntary instrument
affecting land not registered under the Torrens system shall be valid,
except as between the parties thereto, unless such instrument shall have
Area Survey Fee been recorded in the manner herein prescribed in the office of the
Register of Deeds for the province or city where the land lies.
For the first hectare ........... P 350.00
(a) The Register of Deeds for each province or city shall keep a
For the 2nd ha. to 10th ha. An additional 60.00 per ha. Primary Entry Book and a Registration Book. The Primary
Entry Book shall contain, among other particulars, the entry
For the 11th ha. to 20th ha. An additional P30.00 per ha. number, the names of the parties, the nature of the document,
the date, hour and minute it was presented and received. The
For the 21st ha. to 30th ha. An additional P20.00 per ha. recording of the deed and other instruments relating to
unregistered lands shall be effected by any of annotation on the
For the 31st ha. to 200th ha. An additional P10.00 per ha. space provided therefor in the Registration Book, after the
same shall have been entered in the Primary Entry Book.
For the 201st ha. or over An additional P8.00 per ha.
(b) If, on the face of the instrument, it appears that it is
sufficient in law, the Register of Deeds shall forthwith record
the instrument in the manner provided herein. In case the
A fraction of a hectare shall be considered one Register of Deeds refuses its administration to record, said
hectare. official shall advise the party in interest in writing of the
ground or grounds for his refusal, and the latter may appeal the
2. Urban (Solar):  matter to the Commissioner of Land Registration in accordance
with the provisions of Section 117 of this Decree. It shall be
understood that any recording made under this section shall be
First 200 sq. m. or less .........  without prejudice to a third party with a better right. 

Succeeding 201 sq. m. or more ...........  (c) After recording on the Record Book, the Register of Deeds
(b) Relocation Survey or Resurveyed: 
The fee for relocation survey or resurveyed shall be one hundred fifty per
cent (150%) of the amount of survey fee collectible on the basis of the
schedule of fees for subdivision survey as provided in the preceding
paragraph plus one per cent (1%) of the assessed value of the land.
Special Account. Twenty per centum of all the collections of the
Registers of Deeds and of the Land Registration Commission under this
Section and Sections 118 and 116 of this Decree shall be appropriated
and upon approval of a budget for it by the Ministry of the Budget, such
amounts shall be disbursed and all offices under the Land Registration
Commission, for the purchase of necessary equipment, for payment of
allowances of officials and employees of the Commission, including
those of the Registries of Deeds, as authorized by the Commissioner, for
contracts regarding security printing of Land title forms, for survey
contracts, and for the maintenance and other operating expenses of the
Commission. 
CHAPTER
FORMS USED IN LAND REGISTRATION
CONVEYANCING
Section 112. Forms in conveyancing. The Commissioner of Land
Registration shall prepare convenient blank forms as may be necessary to
help facilitate the proceedings in land registration and shall take charge of
the printing of land title forms.  Section 115. Manner of recording chattel mortgages. Every Register of
18 LTD PD 1529
shall endorse among other things, upon the original of the
recorded instruments, the file number and the date as well as
the hour and minute when the document was received for
recording as shown in the Primary Entry Book, returning to the
registrant or person in interest the duplicate of the instrument,
with appropriate annotation, certifying that he has recorded the
instrument after reserving one copy thereof to be furnished the
provincial or city assessor as required by existing law.
(d) Tax sale, attachment and levy, notice of lis pendens,
adverse claim and other instruments in the nature of
involuntary dealings with respect to unregistered lands, if made
in the form sufficient in law, shall likewise be admissible to
record under this section. 
(e) For the services to be rendered by the Register of Deeds
under this section, he shall collect the same amount of fees
prescribed for similar services for the registration of deeds or
instruments concerning registered lands.
CHAPTER XIV
REGISTRATION OF CHATTEL MORTGAGES
XII
AND
Section 114. Recording of chattel mortgages. A chattel mortgage shall be
recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds of the province or city
where the mortgagor resides as well as where the property is situated or
ordinarily kept.
Deeds shall keep a Primary Entry Book and a Registration Book for
chattel mortgages; shall certify on each mortgage filed for record, as well
as on its duplicate, the date, hour, and minute when the same was by him
received; and shall record in such books any chattel mortgage,
assignment or discharge thereof, and any other instrument relating to a
recorded mortgage, and all such instruments shall be presented to him in
duplicate, the original to be filed and the duplicate to be returned to the
person concerned.  the property is situated shall be sufficient
The recording of a mortgage shall be effected by making an entry, which
shall be given a correlative number, setting forth the names of the
mortgagee and the mortgagor, the sum or obligation guaranteed, date of
the instrument, name of the notary before whom it was sworn to or
acknowledged, and a note that the property mortgaged, as well as the
terms and conditions of the mortgage, is mentioned in detail in the
instrument filed, giving the proper file number thereof. The recording of
other instruments relating to a recorded mortgage shall be effected by
way of annotation on the space provided therefor in the Registration
Book, after the same shall have been entered in the primary Entry Book.
The Register of Deeds shall also certify the officer's return of sale upon
any mortgage, making reference upon the record of such officer's return
to the volume and page of the record of the mortgage, and a reference of
such return on the record of the mortgage itself, and give a certified copy
thereof, when requested, upon payment of the legal fees for such copy
thereof, when requested, upon payment of the legal fees for such copy
and certify upon each mortgage officer's return of sale or discharge of
mortgage, and upon any other instrument relating to such a recorded
mortgage, both on the original and in the duplicate, the date, hour, and
minute when the same is received for record and record such certificate
index of mortgagors and mortgagees, which record and index shall be
open to public inspection.
Duly certified copies of such records and of filed instruments shall be
receivable as evidence in any court.
Section 116. Fees for chattel mortgages, etc. The register of Deeds shall
collect the following fees for services rendered by him under this section:  shall be collected on the basis of five per centum of the amount
1. Entry fee. For entry or presentation of any document in the
Primary Entry Book, five pesos. Supporting papers presented
together with the principal document need not be charged any
entry or presentation fee unless the party in interest desires that
they be likewise entered.
2. Chattel Mortgage. For filing and recording each chattel
mortgage, including the necessary certificates and affidavits,
the fees established in the following schedule shall be
collected:
(a) Six thousand pesos maximum. When the amount
of the mortgage does not exceed six thousand pesos,
seven pesos for the first five hundred pesos, or
fractional part thereof, and three pesos for each
additional five hundred pesos, or fractional part
thereof.  five pesos.
(b) Thirty thousand pesos maximum. When the
amount of the mortgage is more than six thousand
pesos but does not exceed thirty thousand pesos,
forty-eight pesos for the initial amount not
exceeding eight thousand pesos, and eight pesos for
each additional two thousand pesos or fractional part
thereof.
(c) One hundred thousand pesos maximum. When
the amount of the mortgage is more than thirty
thousand pesos but does not exceed one hundred
thousand pesos, one hundred fifty pesos for the
initial amount not exceeding thirty-five thousand
pesos, and fourteen pesos for each additional five
thousand pesos of fractional part thereof.
(d) Five hundred thousand pesos maximum. When
the amount of the mortgage is more than one
hundred thousand pesos but does not exceed five
hundred thousand pesos, three hundred fifty-two
pesos for the initial amount not exceeding one
hundred ten thousand pesos and twenty pesos for
each additional ten thousand pesos or fractional part
thereof.  registration, or where any party in interest does not agree with the action
(e) More than five hundred thousand pesos. When
the amount of the mortgage is more than five
hundred thousand pesos, one thousand one hundred
19 LTD PD 1529
sixty-two pesos for the initial amount not exceeding
five hundred twenty thousand pesos, and thirty
pesos for each additional twenty thousand pesos or
fractional part thereof: Provided, however, that
registration of the mortgage in the province where
registration and provided, further, that if the
mortgage is to be registered in more than one city or
province, the Register of Deeds of the city or
province where the instrument is first presented for
registration shall collect the full amount of the fees
due in accordance with the schedule prescribed
above, and the Register of Deeds of the other city of
province where the same instrument is also to be
registered shall collect only a sum equivalent to
twenty per centum of the amount of fees due and
paid in the first city of province, but in no case shall
the fees payable in any Registry be less than the
minimum fixed in this schedule.
3. Conveyance of mortgaged property, etc. For recording each
instrument of sale, conveyance, or transfer of the property
which is subject of a recorded mortgage, or of the assignment
of mortgage credit, the fees established in the preceding
schedule shall be collected on the bases of ten per centum of
the amount of the mortgage or unpaid balance thereof,
provided, that the latter is stated in the instrument.
4. Notice of attachment. For recording each notice of
attachment, including the necessary index and annotations,
eight pesos.
5. Release of mortgage. For recording such release of
mortgage, including the necessary index and references, the
fees established in the schedule under paragraph (b) above
of the mortgage. 
6. Release of attachment. For recording each release of
attachment, including the proper annotations, five pesos.
7. Sheriff's return of sale. For recording each sheriff's return of
sale, including the index and references, seven pesos.
8. Power of attorney, appointment of guardian, administrator or
trustee. For recording a power of attorney, appointment of
judicial guardian, administrator, or trustee, or any other
instrument in which a person is given power to act in behalf of
another in connection with a mortgage, ten pesos.
9. No specific fee. For recording each instrument or order
relating to a recorded mortgage, including the necessary index
and references, for which no specific fee is provided above,
10. Certified copy. For certified copies of records, such fees as
are allowed by law for copies kept by the Register of Deeds.
11. Certification. For issuing a certificate relative to, or
showing the existence or non-existence of an entry in the
registration book, or a document on file, for each such
certificate containing not more than two hundred words, five
pesos; if it exceeds that number, an additional fee of one peso
shall be collected for every one hundred words or fractional
part thereof, in excess of the first two hundred words.
12. Research Fee. For services rendered in attending to
requests for references to, or researches on any document on
file in the Registry, there shall be collected a fee of two pesos
per document. 
CHAPTER XV
CONSULTAS
Section 117. Procedure. When the Register of Deeds is in doubt with
regard to the proper step to be taken or memorandum to be made in
pursuance of any deed, mortgage or other instrument presented to him for
taken by the Register of Deeds with reference to any such instrument, the
question shall be submitted to the Commissioner of Land Registration by
the Register of Deeds, or by the party in interest thru the Register of
Deeds. 
Where the instrument is denied registration, the Register of Deeds shall
notify the interested party in writing, setting forth the defects of the
instrument or legal grounds relied upon, and advising him that if he is not
agreeable to such ruling, he may, without withdrawing the documents
from the Registry, elevate the matter by consulta within five days from
receipt of notice of the denial of registration to the Commissioner of Land
Registration.

The Register of Deeds shall make a memorandum of the pending consulta

on the certificate of title which shall be canceled motu proprio by the
Register of Deeds after final resolution or decision thereof, or before
resolution, if withdrawn by petitioner.

The Commissioner of Land Registration, considering the consulta and the

records certified to him after notice to the parties and hearing, shall enter
an order prescribing the step to be taken or memorandum to be made. His
resolution or ruling in consultas shall be conclusive and binding upon all
Registers of Deeds, provided, that the party in interest who disagrees with
the final resolution, ruling or order of the Commissioner relative to
consultas may appeal to the Court of Appeals within the period and in
manner provided in Republic Act No. 5434. 

CHAPTER XVI
FINAL PROVISIONS

Section 118. Appropriation. There is hereby appropriated initially the

sum of TWELVE MILLION THREE HUNDRED FORTY THOUSAND
PESOS (P12,340,000.00) from the National Treasury not otherwise
appropriated for the implementation of this decree; thereafter, said sum
shall be added to the regular appropriation act of every year.

Section 119. Postage exemption. No postage stamps or mailing charges

shall be required in all matters transmitted by the Land Registration
Commission or any of its Registry of Deeds in the implementation of
Sections 21, 40, 106, 118 and 117 of this Decree.

Section 120. Repealing clause. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and

regulations, or parts thereof, in conflict or inconsistent with any of the
provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 121. Separability clause. In the event that any provision of this

Decree is declared unconstitutional, the validity of the remainder shall not
be affected thereby.

Section 122. Effectivity. This Decree shall take effect upon its approval.

Done in the City of Manila, this 11th day of June, in the year of Our
Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-eight.

20 LTD PD 1529
THE PHILIPPINE BILL OF JULY 1, 1902
levied and collected at all ports and places in
ACT OF CONGRESS OF JULY FIRST, NINETEEN HUNDRED
the Philippine Islands upon passing into the
AND TWO, "THE PHILIPPINE BILL." AN ACT TEMPORARILY
occupation and possession of the forces of the
TO PROVIDE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE AFFAIRS
United States, together with the subsequent
OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, AND
amendments of said order, are hereby
FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
approved, ratified, and confirmed, and the
   
actions of the authorities of the Government
Section 1.  That the action of the President of
of the Philippine Islands taken in accordance
the United States in creating the Philippine
with the provisions of said order and
Commission and authorizing said
subsequent amendments, are hereby approved:
Commission to exercise the powers of
Provided, That nothing contained in this
government to the extent and in the manner
section shall be held to amend or repeal an
and form and subject to the regulation and
Act entitled "An Act temporarily to provide
control set forth in the instructions of the
revenue for the Philippine Islands, and for
President to the Philippine Commission, dated
other purposes," approved March eighth,
April seventh, nineteen hundred, and in
nineteen hundred and two.
creating the offices of Civil Governor and
Sec. 3.  That the President of the United
Vice-Governor of the Philippine Islands, and
States, during such time as and whenever the
authorizing said Civil Governor and Vice-
sovereignty and authority of the United States
Governor to exercise the powers of
encounter armed resistance in the Philippine
government to the extent and in the manner
Islands, until otherwise provided by Congress,
and form set forth in the Executive order
shall continue to regulate and control
dated June twenty-first, nineteen hundred and
commercial intercourse with and within said
one, and is establishing four Executive
Islands by such general rules and regulations
Departments of government in said Islands as
as he, in his discretion, may deem more
set forth in the Act of the Philippine
conducive to the public interests and the
Commission entitled "An Act providing an
general welfare.chanrobles virtual law library
organization for the Departments of the
Sec.  4.  That all inhabitants of the Philippine
Interior, of Commerce and Police, of Finance
Islands continuing to reside therein who were
and Justice, and of Public Instruction,"
Spanish subjects on the eleventh day of April,
enacted September sixth, nineteen hundred
eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and then
and one, is hereby approved, ratified, and
resided in the Philippine Islands, and their
confirmed, and until otherwise provided by
children born subsequent thereto, shall be
law the said Islands shall continue to be
deemed and held to be citizens of the
governed as thereby and herein provided, and
Philippine Islands and as such entitled to the
all laws passed hereafter by the Philippine
protection of the United States, except such as
Commission shall have an enacting clause as
shall have elected to preserve their allegiance
follows. "By authority of the United States, be
to the Crown of Spain in accordance with the
it enacted by the Philippine Commission."
provisions of the treaty of peace between the
The provisions of section eighteen hundred
United States and Spain signed at Paris
and ninety-one of the Revised Statutes of
December tenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-
eighteen hundred and seventy eight shall not
eight.
apply to the Philippine Islands.  chanrobles
Sec.  5.  That no law shall be enacted in said
virtual law library
Islands which shall deprive any person of life,
Future appointments of Civil Governor, Vice-
liberty, or property without due process of
Governor, members of said Commission and
law, or deny to any person therein the equal
heads of Executive Departments shall be
protection of the laws.
made by the President, by and with the advice
That in all criminal prosecutions the accused
and consent of the Senate. chanrobles virtual
shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself
law library
and counsel, to demand the nature and cause
Sec. 2.  That the action of the President of the
of the accusation against him, to have a
United States heretofore taken by virtue of the
speedy and public trial, to meet the witnesses
authority vested in him as Commander in
face to face, and to have compulsory process
Chief of the Army and Navy, as set forth in
to compel the attendance of witnesses in his
his order of July twelfth, eighteen hundred
behalf.
and ninety-eight, whereby a land of duties and
That no person shall be held to answer for a
taxes as set forth by said order was to be
criminal offense without due process of law;

21 LTD PD 1529
 and no person for the same offense shall be
twice put in jeopardy of punishment, nor shall
be compelled in any criminal case to be a
witness against himself.
That all persons shall before conviction be
bailable by sufficient sureties, except for
capital offenses.
That no law impairing the obligation of
contracts shall be enacted. chanrobles virtual
law library
That no person shall be imprisoned for
debt. chanrobles virtual law library
That the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
shall not be suspended, unless when in cases
of rebellion, insurrection, or invasion the
public safety may require it, in either of which
events the same may be suspended by the
President, or by the Governor, with the
approval of the Philippine Commission,
wherever during such period the necessity for
such suspension shall exist.
That no ex post facto law or bill of attainder
shall be enacted.
That no law granting a title of nobility shall be
enacted, and no person holding any office of
profit or trust in said Islands, shall without the
consent of the Congress of the United States,
accept any present, emolument, office, or title
of any kind whatever from any king, queen,
prince, or foreign State.
That excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and
unusual punishment inflicted.
That the right to be secure against
unreasonable searches and seizures shall not
be violated.
That neither slavery, nor involuntary
servitude, except as a punishment for crime
whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist in said
Islands. chanrobles virtual law library
That no law shall be passed abridging the
freedom of speech or of the press, or the right
of the people peaceably to assemble and
petition the Government for redress of
grievances. chanrobles virtual law library
That no law shall be made respecting an
establishment of religion or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof, and that the free exercise
and enjoyment of religious profession and
worship, without discrimination or preference,
shall forever be allowed.
That no money shall be paid out of the
Treasury except in pursuance of an
appropriation by law.
That the rule of taxation in said Islands shall
be uniform.
22 LTD PD 1529
That no private or local bill which may be
enacted into law shall embrace more than one
subject, and that subject shall be expressed in
the title of the bill.
That no warrant shall issue but upon probable
cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be
searched and the person or things to be seized.
That all money collected on any tax levied or
assessed for a special purpose shall be treated
as a special fund in the Treasury and paid out
for such purpose only.
Sec.  6.  That whenever the existing
insurrection in the Philippine Islands shall
have ceased and a condition of general and
complete peace shall have been established
therein and the fact shall be certified to the
President by the Philippine Commission, the
President, upon being satisfied thereof, shall
order a census of the Philippine Islands to be
taken by said Philippine Commission; such
census in its inquiries relating to the
population shall take and make so far as
practicable full report for all the inhabitants,
of name, age, sex, race, or tribe, whether
native or foreign born, literacy in Spanish
native dialect, or language, or in English,
school attendance, ownership of homes,
industrial and social statistics, and such other
information separately for each island, each
province, and municipality, or other civil
division, as the President and said
Commission may deem necessary: Provided,
That the President may, upon the request of
said Commission, in his discretion, employ
the service of the Census Bureau in compiling
and promulgating the statistical information
above provided for, and may commit to such
Bureau any part or portion of such labor as to
him may seem wise. chanrobles virtual law
library
Sec.  7.  That two years after the completion
and publication of the census, in case such
condition of general and complete peace with
recognition of the authority of the United
States shall have continued in the territory of
said Islands not inhabited by Moros or other
non-Christian tribes and such facts shall have
been certified to the President by the
Philippine Commission, the President upon
being satisfied thereof shall direct
Commission to call, and the Commission shall
call, a general election for the choice of
delegates to a popular assembly of the people
of said territory in the Philippine Islands,
which shall be known as the Philippine
Assembly. After said Assembly shall have
 convened and organized, all the legislative
power heretofore conferred on the Philippine
Commission in all that part of said Islands not
inhabited by Moros or other non-Christian
tribes shall be vested in a Legislature
consisting of two Houses — the Philippine
Commission and the Philippine Assembly.
Said Assembly shall consist of not less than
fifty nor more than one hundred members to
be apportioned by said Commission among
the provinces as nearly as practicable
according to population: Provided, That no
province shall have less than one member:
And provided further, That provinces entitled
by population to more than one member may
be divided into such convenient district as the
said Commission may deem best.
Public notice of such division shall be given at
least ninety days prior to such election, and
the election shall be held under rules and
regulations to be prescribed by law. The
qualification of electors of such election shall
be the same as is now provided by law in case
of electors in municipal elections. The
members of Assembly shall hold office for
two years from the first day of January next
following their election, and their successors
shall be chosen by the people every second
year thereafter. No person shall be eligible to
such election who is not a qualified elector of
the election district in which he may be
chosen, owing allegiance to the United States
and twenty-five years of age. chanrobles
virtual law library
The Legislature shall hold annual sessions,
commencing on the first Monday of February
in each year and continuing not exceeding
ninety days thereafter (Sundays and holidays
not included); Provided, That the first meeting
of the Legislature shall be held upon the call
of the Governor within ninety days after the
first election: And provided further, That if at
the termination of any session the
appropriations necessary for the support of
Government shall not have been made, an
amount equal to the sums appropriated in the
last appropriation bills for such purposes shall
be deemed to be appropriated; and until the
Legislature shall act in such behalf the
Treasurer may, with the advice of the
Governor, make the payments necessary for
the purposes aforesaid.
The Legislature may be called in special
session at any time by the Civil Governor for
general legislation, or for action on such
specific subjects as he may designate. No
special session shall continue longer than
23 LTD PD 1529
thirty days, exclusive of Sundays.
The Assembly shall be the judge of the
elections, returns, and qualifications of its
members. A majority shall constitute a
quorum to do business, but a smaller number
may adjourn from day to day and may be
authorized to compel the attendance of absent
members. It shall choose its Speaker and other
officers, and the salaries of its members and
officers shall be fixed by law. It may
determine the rule of its proceedings, punish
its members for disorderly behavior, and with
the concurrence of two-thirds expel a member.
It shall keep a journal of its proceedings,
which shall be published, and the yeas and
nays of the members on any question shall, on
the demand of one-fifth of those present, be
entered on the journal.
Sec. 8.  That at the same time with the first
meeting of the Philippine Legislature, and
biennially thereafter, there shall be chosen by
said Legislature, each House voting
separately, two resident Commissioners to the
United States, who shall be entitled to an
official recognition as such by all departments
upon presentation to the President of a
certificate of election by the Civil Governor of
said Islands, and each of whom shall be
entitled to a salary payable monthly by the
United States at the rate of five thousand
dollars per annum, and two thousand dollars
additional to cover all expenses: Provided,
That no person shall be eligible to such
election who is not a qualified elector of said
Islands, owing allegiance to the United States,
and who is not thirty years of age. chanrobles
virtual law library
Sec.  9.  That the Supreme Court and the
Courts of First Instance of the Philippine
Islands shall possess and exercise jurisdiction
as heretofore provided and such additional
jurisdiction as shall hereafter be prescribed by
the Government of said Islands, subject to the
power of said Government to change the
practice and method of procedure. The
municipal courts of said Islands shall possess
and exercise jurisdiction as heretofore
provided by the Philippine Commission,
subject in all matters to such alteration and
amendment as may be hereafter enacted by
law; and the Chief Justice and Associate
Justices of the Supreme Court shall hereafter
be appointed by the President, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate, and shall
receive the compensation heretofore
prescribed by the Commission until otherwise
provided by Congress. The judges of the
 Court of First Instance shall be appointed by
the Civil Governor, by and with the advice
and consent of the Philippine Commission:
Provided, That the admiralty jurisdiction of
the Supreme Court and Courts of First
Instance shall not be changed except by Act of
Congress. chanrobles virtual law library
Sec.  10.  That the Supreme Court of the
United States shall have jurisdiction to review,
revise, reverse, modify, or affirm the final
judgments and decrees of the Supreme Court
of the Philippine Islands in all actions, cases,
causes, and proceedings now pending therein
or hereafter determined thereby in which the
Constitution or any statute, treaty, title, right,
or privilege of the United States is involved,
or in causes in which the value in controversy
exceeds twenty-five thousand dollars, or in
which the title or possession of real estate
exceeding in value the sum of twenty-five
thousand dollars, to be ascertained by the oath
of either party or of other competent
witnesses, is involved or brought in question;
and such final judgments or decrees may and
can be reviewed, revised, reversed, modified,
or affirmed by said Supreme Court of the
United States on appeal or writ of error by the
party aggrieved, in the same manner, under
the same regulations, and by the same
procedure, as far as applicable, as the final
judgments and decrees of the Circuit Courts of
the United States.
Sec.  11.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands is hereby authorized to
provide for the needs of commerce by
improving the harbors and navigable waters of
said Islands and to construct and maintain in
said navigable waters and upon the shore
adjacent thereto bonded warehouses, wharves,
piers, light-houses, signal and life-saving
stations, buoys, and like instruments of
commerce, and to adopt and enforce
regulations in regard thereto, including
bonded warehouses wherein articles not
intended to be imported into said Islands nor
mingled with the property therein, but brought
into a port of said Islands for reshipment to
another country may be deposited in bond and
reshipped to another country without the
payment of customs duties or charges.  empowered, on such terms as it may
Sec.  12.  That all the property and rights
which may have been acquired in the
Philippine Islands by the United States under
the treaty of peace with Spain, signed
December tenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-
eight, except such land or other property as
shall be designated by the President of the
24 LTD PD 1529
United States for military and other
reservations of the Government of the United
States, are hereby placed under the control of
the Government of said Islands, to be
administered for the benefit of the inhabitants
thereof, except as provided in this Act. chan
robles virtual law library
Sec.  13.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands, subject to the provisions of
this Act and except as herein provided, shall
classify according to its agricultural character
and productiveness, and shall immediately
make rules and regulations for the lease, sale,
or other disposition of the public lands other
than timber or mineral lands, but such rules
and regulations shall not go into effect or have
the force of law until they have received the
approval of the President, and when approved
by the President they shall be submitted by
him to Congress at the beginning of the next
ensuing session thereof and unless
disapproved or amended by Congress at said
session they shall at the close of such period
have the force and effect of law in the
Philippine Islands: Provided, That a single
homestead entry shall not exceed sixteen
hectares in extent.
Sec.  14.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands is hereby authorized and
empowered to enact rules and regulations and
to prescribe terms and conditions to enable
persons to perfect their title to public lands in
said Islands, who, prior to the transfer of
sovereignty from Spain to the United States,
had fulfilled all or some of the conditions
required by the Spanish laws and royal
decrees of the Kingdom of Spain for the
acquisition of legal title thereto, yet failed to
secure conveyance of title; and the Philippine
Commission is authorized to issue patents,
without compensation, to any native of said
Islands, conveying title to any tract of land not
more than sixteen hectares in extent, which
were public lands and had been actually
occupied by such native or his ancestors prior
to and on the thirteenth of August, eighteen
hundred and ninety-eight.
Sec.  15.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands is hereby authorized and
prescribe, by general legislation, to provide
for the granting or sale and conveyance to
actual occupants and settlers and other
citizens of said Islands such parts and portions
of the public domain, other than timber and
mineral lands, of the United States in said
Islands as it may deem wise, not exceeding
 sixteen hectares to any one person and for the
sale and conveyance of not more than one
thousand and twenty-four hectares to any
corporation or association of persons:
Provided, That the grant or sale of such lands,
whether the purchase price be paid at once or
in partial payments, shall be conditioned upon
actual and continued occupancy,
improvement, and cultivation of the premises
sold for a period of not less than five years,
during which time the purchaser or grantee
can not alienate or encumber said land or the
title thereto; but such restriction shall not
apply to transfers of rights and title of
inheritance under the laws for the distribution
of the estates of decedents.
Sec.  16.  That in granting or selling any part
of the public domain under the provisions of
the last preceding section, preference in all
cases shall be given to actual occupants and
settlers; and such public lands of the United
States in the actual possession or occupancy
of any native of the Philippine Islands shall
not be sold by said Government to any other
person without the consent thereto of said
prior occupant or settler first had and
obtained: Provided, That the prior right hereby
secured to an occupant of land, who can show
no other proof of title than possession, shall
not apply to more than sixteen hectares in any
one tract. chanrobles virtual law library
Sec.  17.  That timber, trees, forests, and forest
products on lands leased or demised by the
Government of the Philippine Islands under
the provisions of this Act shall not be cut,
destroyed, removed, or appropriated except by
special permission of said Government and
under such regulations as it may prescribe.
All moneys obtained from lease or sale of any
portion of the public domain or from licenses
to cut timber by the Government of the
Philippine Islands shall be covered into the
Insular Treasury and be subject only to
appropriation for insular purposes according
to law.
Sec.  18.  That the forest laws and regulations
now in force in the Philippine Islands, with
such modifications and amendments as may
be made by the Government of said Islands,
are hereby continued in force, and no timber
lands forming part of the public domain shall
be sold, leased, or entered until the
Government of said Islands, upon the
certification of the Forestry Bureau that said
lands are more valuable for agriculture than
for forest uses, shall declare such lands so
certified to be agricultural in character:
25 LTD PD 1529
Provided, That the said Government shall
have the right and is hereby empowered to
issue licenses to cut, harvest, or collect timber
or other forest products on reserved or
unreserved public lands in said Islands in
accordance with the forest laws and
regulations hereinbefore mentioned and under
the provisions of this Act, and the said
Government may lease land to any person or
persons holding such licenses, sufficient for a
mill site, not to exceed four hectares in extent,
and may grant rights of way to enable such
person or persons to get access to the lands to
which such licenses apply.
Sec.  19.  That the beneficial use shall be the
basis, the measure, and the limit of all rights
to water in said Islands, and the Government
of said Islands is hereby authorized to make
such rules and regulations for the use of water,
and to make such reservations of public lands
for the protection of the water supply, and for
other public purposes not in conflict with the
provisions of this Act, as it may deem best for
the public good.
Sec.  20.  That in all cases public lands in the
Philippine Islands valuable for minerals shall
be reserved from sale, except as otherwise
expressly directed by law. 
Sec.  21.  That all valuable mineral deposits in
public lands in the Philippine Islands, both
surveyed and unsurveyed, are hereby declared
to be free and open to exploration, occupation,
and purchase, and the land in which they are
found to occupation and purchase, by citizens
of the United States, or of said Islands:
Provided, That when on any lands in said
Islands entered and occupied as agricultural
lands under the provisions of this Act, but not
patented, mineral deposits have been found,
the working of such mineral deposits is hereby
forbidden until the person, association, or
corporation who or which has entered and is
occupying such lands shall have paid to the
Government of said Islands such additional
sum or sums as will make the total amount
paid for the mineral claim or claims in which
said deposits are located equal to the amount
charged by the Government for the same as
mineral claims. chanrobles virtual law library
Sec.  22.  That mining claims upon land
containing veins or lodes of quartz or other
rock in place bearing gold, silver, cinnabar,
lead, tin, copper, or other valuable deposits,
located after the passage of this Act, whether
located by one or more persons qualified to
locate the same under the preceding section,
shall be located in the following manner and
 under the following conditions: Any person so
qualified desiring to locate a mineral claim
shall, subject to the provisions of this Act with
respect to land which may be used for mining,
enter upon the same and locate a plot of
ground measuring, where possible, but not
exceeding, one thousand feet in length by one
thousand feet in breadth, in as nearly as
possible a rectangular form; that is to say: All
angles shall be right angles, except in cases
where a boundary line of a previously
surveyed claim is adopted as common to both
claims, but the lines need not necessarily be
meridional. In defining the size of a mineral
claim, it shall be measured horizontally,
irrespective of inequalities of the surface of
the ground.
Sec.  23.  That a mineral claim shall be
marked by two posts placed as nearly as
possible on the line of the ledge or vein, and
the posts shall be numbered one and two, and
the distance between posts numbered one and
two shall not exceed one thousand feet, the
line between posts numbered one and two to
be known as the location line; and upon posts
numbered one and two shall be written the
name given to the mineral claim, the name of
the locator, and the date of the location. Upon
post numbered one there shall be written, in
addition to the foregoing, "Initial post," the
approximate compass bearing of post
numbered two, and a statement of the number
of feet lying to the right and to the left of the
line from post numbered one to post
numbered two, thus: "Initial post Direction of
post numbered two _________ feet of this
claim lie on the right and ____________ feet
on the left of the line from number one to
number two post." All the particulars required
to be put on number one and number two
posts shall be furnished by the locator to the
provincial secretary, or such other officer as
by the Philippine Government may be
described as mining recorder, in writing, at the
time the claim is recorded, and shall form a
part of the record of the sum claim.
Sec.  24.  That when a claim has been located
the holder shall immediately mark the line
between posts numbered one and two so that
it can be distinctly seen. The locator shall also
place a post at the point where he has found
minerals in place, on which shall be written
"Discovery post:" Provided, That when the
claim is surveyed the surveyor shall be guided
by the records of the claim, the sketch plan on
the back of the declaration made by the owner
when the claim was recorded, posts numbered
26 LTD PD 1529
one and two, and the notice on number one,
initial post. chanrobles virtual law library 
 
Sec.  25.That it shall not be lawful to move
number one post, but number two post may be
moved by the deputy mineral surveyor when
the distance between posts numbered one and
two exceeds one thousand feet, in order to
place number two post one thousand feet from
number one post on the line of location. When
the distance between posts numbered one and
two is less than one thousand feet the deputy
mineral surveyor shall have no authority to
extend the claim beyond number two.
Sec.  26.  That the "location line" shall govern
the direction of one side of the claim, upon
which the survey shall be extended according
to this Act.
Sec.  27.  That the holder of a mineral claim
shall be entitled to all minerals which may lie
within his claim, but he shall not be entitled to
mine outside the boundary lines of his claim
continued vertically downward: Provided,
That this Act shall not prejudice the rights of
claim owners nor claim holders whose claims
have been located under existing laws prior to
this Act.
Sec.  28.  That no mineral claim of the full
size shall be recorded without the application
being accompanied by an affidavit made by
the applicant or some person on his behalf
cognizant of the facts — that the legal notices
and posts have been put up; that mineral has
been found in place on the claim proposed to
be recorded; that the ground applied for is
unoccupied by any other person. In the said
declaration shall be set out the name of the
applicant and the date of the location of the
claim. The words written on the number one
and number two posts shall be set out in full,
and as accurate a description as possible of the
position of the claim given with reference to
some natural object or permanent monuments.
Sec.  29.  That no mineral claim which at the
date of its record is known by the locator to be
less than a full-sized mineral claim shall be
recorded without the word "fraction" being
added to the name of the claim, and the
application being accompanied by an affidavit
or solemn declaration made by applicant or
some person on his behalf cognizant of the
facts: That the legal posts and notices have
been put up; that mineral has been found in
place on the fractional claim proposed to be
recorded; that the ground applied for is
unoccupied by any other person. In the said
 declaration shall be set out the name of the
applicant and the date of the location of the
claim. The words written on the posts
numbered one and two shall be set out in full,
and as accurate a description as possible of the
position of the claim given. A sketch plan
shall be drawn by the applicant on the back of
the declaration, showing as near as may be the
position of the adjoining mineral claims and
the shape and size, expressed in feet, of the
claim or fraction desired to be recorded:
Provided, That the failure on the part of the
locator of a mineral claim to comply with any
of the foregoing provisions of this section
shall not be deemed to invalidate such
location, if upon the facts it shall appear that
such locator has actually discovered mineral
in place on said location, and that there has
been on his part a bona fide attempt to comply
with the provisions of this Act, and that the
nonobservance of the formalities hereinbefore
referred to is not of a character calculated to
mislead other persons desiring to locate
claims in the vicinity.  under the laws of the United States, or of any
Sec.  30.  That in cases where, from the nature
or shape of the ground, it is impossible to
mark the location line of the claim as provided
by this Act, then the claim may be marked by
placing posts as nearly as possible to the
location line, and noting the distance and
direction such posts may be from such
location line, which distance and direction
shall be set out in the record of the claim.
Sec.  31.  That every person locating a mineral
claim shall record the same with the
provincial secretary or such other officer as by
the Government of the Philippine Islands may
be described as mining recorder of the district
within which the same is situated, within
thirty days after the location thereof. Such
record shall be made in a book to be kept for
the purpose in the office of the said provincial
secretary or such other officer as by said
Government described as mining recorder, in
which shall be inserted the name of the claim,
the name of each locator, the locality of the
mine, the direction of the location line, the
length in feet, the date of location, and the
date of the record. A claim which shall not
have been recorded within the prescribed
period shall be deemed to have been
abandoned.
Sec. 32.  That in case of any dispute as to the
location of a mineral claim the title to the
claim shall be recognized according to the
priority of such location, subject to any
question as to the validity of the record itself
27 LTD PD 1529
and subject to the holder having complied
with all the terms and conditions of this Act.
Sec.  33.  That no holder shall be entitled to
hold in his, its or their own name or in the
name of any other person, corporation or
association more than one mineral claim on
the same vein or lode.
Sec.  34.  That a holder may at any time
abandon any mineral claim by giving notice,
in writing, or such intention to abandon, to the
provincial secretary or such other officer as by
the Government of the Philippine Islands may
be described as mining recorder; and from the
date of the record of such notice all his
interest in such claim shall cease.
Sec.  35.  That proof of citizenship under the
clauses of this Act relating to mineral lands
may consist in the case of an individual, of his
own affidavit thereof; in the case of an
association of persons unincorporated, of the
affidavit of their authorized agent made on his
own knowledge or upon information and
belief, and in case of a corporation organized
State or Territory thereof, or of the Philippine
Islands, by the filing of a certified copy of
their charter or certificate of incorporation.
Sec.  36.  That the United States Philippine
Commission or its successors may make
regulations, not in conflict with the provision
of this Act, governing the location, manner of
recording, and amount of work necessary to
hold possession of a mining claim, subject to
the following requirements:
On each claim located after the passage of this
Act, and until a patent has been issued
therefor, not less than one hundred dollars'
worth of labor shall be performed or
improvements made during each year:
Provided, That upon a failure to comply with
these conditions the claim or mine upon which
such failure occurred shall be open to
relocation in the same manner as if no
location of the same had ever been made,
provided that the original locators, their heirs,
assigns, or legal representatives have not
resumed work upon the claim after failure and
before such location. Upon the failure of any
one of several co-owners to contribute his
proportion of the expenditures required
thereby, the co-owners who have performed
the labor or made the improvements may, at
the expiration of the year, give such
delinquent co-owner personal notice in
writing or notice by publication in the
newspaper published nearest the claim, and in
two newspapers published at Manila, one in
 the English language and the other in the
Spanish language, to be designated by the
Chief of the Philippine Insular Bureau of
Public Lands, for at least once a week for
ninety days, and, if at the expiration of ninety
days after such notice in writing or by
publication such delinquent shall fail or refuse
to contribute his proportion of the expenditure
required by this section his interest in the
claim shall become the property of his co-
owners who have made the required
expenditures. The period within which the
work required to be done annually on all
unpatented mineral claims shall commence on
the first day of January succeeding the date of
location of such claim. chanrobles virtual law
library
Sec.  37.  That a patent for any land claimed
and located for valuable mineral deposits may
be obtained in the following manner: Any
person, association, or corporation authorized
to locate a claim under this Act, having
claimed and located a piece of land for such
purposes, who has or have complied with the
terms of this Act may file in the office of the
provincial secretary, or such other officer as
by the Government of said Islands may be
described as mining recorder of the province
wherein the land claimed is located, an
application for a patent, under oath showing
such compliance, together with a plat and
field notes of the claim or claims in common,
made by or under the direction of the Chief of
the Philippine Insular Bureau of Public Lands,
showing accurately the boundaries of the
claim, which shall be distinctly marked by
monuments on the ground, and shall post a
copy of such plat, together with a notice of
such application for a patent, in a conspicuous
place on the land embraced in such plat
previous to the filing of the application for a
patent, and shall file an affidavit of at least
two persons that such notice has been duly
posted, and shall file a copy of the notice in
such office, and shall thereupon be entitled to
a patent for the land, in the manner following:
The provincial secretary, or such other officer
as by the Philippine Government may be
described as mining recorder, upon the filing
of such application, plat, field notes, notices,
and affidavits, shall publish a notice that such
an application has been made, once a week for
the period of sixty days, in a newspaper to be
by him designated as nearest to such claim
and in two newspapers published at Manila,
one in the English language and one in the
Spanish language, to be designated by the
28 LTD PD 1529
Chief of the Philippine Insular Bureau of
Public Lands; and he shall also post such
notice in his office for the same period. The
claimant at the time of filing this application,
or at any time thereafter within the sixty days
of publication, shall file with the provincial
secretary or such other officer as by the
Philippine Government may be described as
mining recorder a certificate of the Chief of
the Philippine Insular Bureau of Public Lands
that five hundred dollars' worth of labor has
been expended or improvements made upon
the claim by himself or grantors; that the plat
is correct, with such further description by
such reference to natural objects or permanent
monuments as shall identify the claim, and
furnish an accurate description to be
incorporated in the patent. At the expiration of
the sixty days of publication the claimant shall
file his affidavit, showing that the plat and
notice have been posted in a conspicuous
place on the claim during such period of
publication. If no adverse claim shall have
been filed with the provincial secretary or
such other officer as by the Government of
said Islands may be described as mining
recorder at the expiration of the sixty days of
publication, it shall be assumed that the
applicant is entitled to a patent upon the
payment to the provincial treasurer or the
collector of internal revenue of five dollars per
acre and that no adverse claim exists, and
thereafter no objection from third parties to
the issuance of a patent shall be heard, except
it be shown that the applicant has failed to
comply with the terms of this Act: Provided,
That where the claimant for a patent is not a
resident of or within the province wherein the
land containing the vein, ledge, or deposit
sought to be patented is located, the
application for patent and the affidavits
required to be made in this section by the
claimant for such patent may be made by his,
her, or its authorized agent where said agent is
conversant with the facts sought to be
established by said affidavits. 
Sec.  38.  That applicants for mineral patents,
if residing beyond the limits of the province or
military department wherein the claim is
situated, may make the oath or affidavit
required for proof of citizenship before the
clerk of any court of record, or before any
notary public of any province of the
Philippine Islands, or any other official in said
Islands authorized by law to administer oaths.
Sec. 39.  That where an adverse claim is filed
during the period of publication it shall be
 upon oath of the person or persons making the
same, and shall show the nature, boundaries,
and extent of such adverse claim, and all
proceedings, except the publication of notice
and making and filing of the affidavits
thereof, shall be stayed until the controversy
shall have been settled or decided by a court
of competent jurisdiction or the adverse claim
waived. It shall be the duty of the adverse
claimant, within thirty days after filing his
claim, to commence proceedings in a court of
competent jurisdiction to determine the
question of the right of possession, and
prosecute the same with reasonable diligence
to final judgment, and a failure so to do shall
be a waiver of his adverse claim. After such
judgment shall have been rendered the party
entitled to the possession of the claim, or any
portion thereof, may, without giving further
notice, file a certified copy of the judgment
roll with the provincial secretary or such other
officer as by the Government of the Philippine
Islands may be described as mining recorder,
together with the certificate of the Chief of the
Philippine Insular Bureau of Public Lands that
the requisite amount of labor has been
expended or improvements made thereon, and
the description required in other cases, and
shall pay to the provincial treasurer or the
collector of internal revenue of the province in
which the claim is situated, as the case may
be, five dollars per acre for his claim, together
with the proper fees, whereupon the whole
proceedings and the judgment roll shall be
certified by the provincial secretary or such
other officer as by said Government may
described as mining recorder to the Secretary
of the Interior of the Philippine Islands, and a
patent shall issue thereon for the claim, or
such portion thereof as the applicant shall
appear, from the decision of the court, rightly
to possess. The adverse claim may be verified
by the oath of any duly authorized agent or
attorney in fact of the adverse claimant
cognizant of the facts stated; and the adverse
claimant, if residing or at the time being
beyond the limits of the province wherein the
claim is situated, may make oath to the
adverse claim before the clerk of any court of
record, or any notary public of any province
or military department of the Philippine
Islands, or any other officer authorized to
administer oaths where the adverse claimant
may then be. If it appears from the decision of
the court that several parties are entitled to
separate and different portions of the claim,
each party may pay for his portion of the
29 LTD PD 1529
claim, with the proper fees, and file the
certificate and description by the Chief of the
Philippine Insular Bureau of Public Lands,
whereupon the provincial secretary or such
other officer as by the Government of said
Islands may be described as mining recorder
shall certify the proceedings and judgment roll
to the Secretary of the Interior for the
Philippine Islands, as in the preceding case,
and patents shall issue to the several parties
according to their respective rights. If in any
action brought pursuant to this section, title to
the ground in controversy shall not be
established by either party, the court shall so
find, and judgment shall be entered
accordingly. In such case costs shall not be
allowed to either party, and the claimant shall
proceed in the office of the provincial
secretary or such other officer as by the
Government of said Islands may be described
as mining recorder or be entitled to a patent
for the ground in controversy until he shall
have perfected his title. Nothing herein
contained shall be construed to prevent the
alienation of a title conveyed by a patent for a
mining claim to any person whatever.
Sec.  40.  That the description of mineral
claims upon surveyed lands shall designate
the location of the claim with reference to the
lines of the public surveys, but need not
conform therewith; but where a patent shall be
issued for claims upon unsurveyed lands, the
Chief of the Philippine Insular Bureau of
Public Lands in extending the surveys shall
adjust the same to the boundaries of such
patented claim according to the plat or
description thereof, but so as in no case to
interfere with or change the location of any
patented claim.
Sec.  41.  That any person authorized to enter
lands under this Act may enter and obtain
patent to lands that are chiefly valuable for
building stone under the provisions of this Act
relative to placer mineral claims. chanrobles
virtual law library
Sec.  42.  That any person authorized to enter
lands under this Act may enter and obtain
patent to lands containing petroleum or other
mineral oils and chiefly valuable therefor
under the provisions of this Act relative to
parcel mineral claims.
Sec.  43.  That no location of a placer claim
shall exceed sixty-four hectares for any
association of persons, irrespective of the
number of persons composing such
association, and no such location shall include
more than eight hectares for an individual
 claimant. Such locations shall conform to the
laws of the United States Philippine
Commission, or its successors, with reference
to public surveys, and nothing in this section
contained shall defeat or impair any bona fide
ownership of land for agricultural purposes or
authorize the sale of the improvements of any
bona fide settler to any purchase.
Sec.  44.  That where placer claims are located
upon surveyed lands and conform to legal
subdivisions, further survey or plat shall be
required, and all placer mining claims located
after the date of passage of this Act shall
conform as nearly as practicable to the
Philippine system of public-land surveys and
the regular subdivision of such surveys; but
where placer claims can not be conformed to
legal subdivisions, survey and plat shall be
made as on unsurveyed lands; and where by
the segregation of mineral lands in any legal
subdivision a quantity of agricultural land less
than sixteen hectares shall remain, such
fractional portion of agricultural land may be
entered by any party qualified by law for
homestead purposes.
Sec.  45.  That where such person or
association, they and their grantors have held
and worked their claims for a period equal to
the time prescribed by the statute of
limitations of the Philippine Islands, evidence
of such possession and working of the claims
for such period shall be sufficient to establish
a right to a patent thereto under this Act, in the
absence of any adverse claim; but nothing in
this Act shall be deemed to impair any lien
which may have attached in any way whatever
prior to the issuance of a patent.
Sec.  46.  That the Chief of the Philippine
Insular Bureau of Public Lands may appoint
competent deputy mineral surveyors to survey
mining claims. The expenses of the survey of
vein or lode claims and of the survey of placer
claims, together with the cost of publication of
notices, shall be paid by the applicants, and
they shall be at liberty to obtain the same at
the most reasonable rates, and they shall also
be at liberty to employ any such deputy
mineral surveyor to make the survey. The
Chief of the Philippine Insular Bureau of
Public Lands shall also have power to
establish the maximum charges for surveys
and publication of notices under this Act; and
in case of excessive charges for publication he
may designate any newspaper published in a
province where mines are situated, or in
Manila, for the publication of mining notices
and fix the rates to be charged by such paper;
30 LTD PD 1529
and to the end that the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands may be fully informed on the
subject such applicant shall file with the
provincial secretary, or such other officer as
by the Government of the Philippine Islands
may be described as mining recorder, a sworn
statement of all charges and fees paid by such
applicant for publication and surveys, and of
all fees and money paid the provincial
treasurer or the collector of internal revenue,
as the case may be, which statement shall be
transmitted, with the other papers in the case,
to the Secretary of the Interior for the
Philippine Islands. 
Sec.  47.  That all affidavits required to be
made under this Act may be verified before
any officer authorized to administer oaths
within the province or military department
where the claims may be situated, and all
testimony and proofs may be taken before any
such officer, and, when duly certified by the
officer taking the same, shall have the same
force and effect as if taken before the proper
provincial secretary or such other officer as by
the Government of the Philippine Islands may
be described as mining recorder. In cases of
contest as to the mineral or agricultural
character of land the testimony and proofs
may be taken as herein provided on personal
notice of at least ten days to the opposing
party; or if such party can not be found, then
by publication at least once a week for thirty
days in a newspaper to be designated by the
provincial secretary or such other officer as by
said Government may be described as mining
recorder published nearest to the location of
such land and in two newspapers published in
Manila, one in the English language and one
in the Spanish language, to be designated by
the Chief of the Philippine Insular Bureau of
Public Lands; and the provincial secretary or
such other officer as by said Government may
be described as mining recorder shall require
proofs that such notice has been given.
Sec.  48.  That where nonmineral land not
contiguous to the vein or lode is used or
occupied by the proprietor of such vein or
lode for mining or milling purposes, such
nonadjacent surface ground may be embraced
and included in an application for a patent for
such vein or lode, and the same may be
patented therewith, subject to the same
preliminary requirements as to survey and
notice as are applicable to veins or lodes; but
no location of such nonadjacent land shall
exceed two hectares, and payment for the
same must be made at the same rate as fixed
 by this Act for the superficies of the lode. The
owner of a quartz mill or reduction works not
owning a mine in connection therewith may
also receive a patent for his mill site as
provided in this section. chanrobles virtual
law library
Sec.  49.  That as a condition of sale the
Government of the Philippine Islands may
provide rules for working, policing, and
sanitation of mines, and rules concerning
easements, drainage, water rights, right of
way, right of Government survey and
inspection, and other necessary means to their
complete development not inconsistent with
the provisions of this Act, and those
conditions shall be fully expressed in the
patent. The Philippine Commission or its
successors are hereby further empowered to
fix the bonds of deputy mineral surveyors.
Sec.  50.  That whenever by priority of
possession rights to the use of water for
mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other
purposes have vested and accrued and the
same are recognized and acknowledged by the
local customs, laws, and the decisions of
courts, the possessors and owners of such
vested rights shall be maintained and
protected in the same, and the right of way for
the construction of ditches and canals for the
purposes herein specified is acknowledged
and confirmed, but whenever any person, in
the construction of any ditch or canal, injures
or damages the possession of any settler on
the public domain, the party committing such
injury or damage shall be liable to the party
injured for such injury or damage.
Sec.  51.  That all patents granted shall be
subject to any vested and accrued water rights,
or rights to ditches and reservoirs used in
connection with such water rights as may have
been acquired under or recognized by the
preceding section.
Sec.  52.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands is authorized to establish
land districts and provide for the appointment
of the necessary officers wherever they may
deem the same necessary for the public
convenience, and to further provide that in
districts where land offices are established
proceedings required by this Act to be had
before provincial officers shall be had before
the proper officers of such land offices.
Sec.  53.  That every person above the age of
twenty-one years, who is a citizen of the
United States, or of the Philippine Islands, or
who has acquired the rights of a native of said
Islands under and by virtue of the treaty of
31 LTD PD 1529
Paris, or any association of persons severally
qualified as above, shall, upon application to
the proper provincial treasurer, have the right
to enter any quality of vacant coal lands of
said Islands not otherwise appropriated or
reserved by competent authority, not
exceeding sixty-four hectares to such
individual person, or one hundred and twenty-
eight hectares to such association, upon
payment to the provincial treasurer or the
collector of internal revenue, as the case may
be, of not less than twenty-five dollars per
hectare for such lands, where the same shall
be situated more than fifteen miles from any
completed railroad or available harbor or
navigable stream, and not less than fifty
dollars per hectare for such lands as shall be
within fifteen miles of such road, harbor, or
stream: Provided, That such entries shall be
taken in squares of sixteen or sixty-four
hectares, in conformity with the rules and
regulations governing the public-land surveys
of the said Islands in plotting legal
subdivisions.
Sec.  54.  That any person or association of
persons, severally qualified as above
provided, who have opened and improved, or
shall hereafter open and improve, any coal
mine or mines upon the public lands, and shall
be in actual possession of the same, shall be
entitled to a preference right of entry under
the preceding section of the mines so opened
and improved.
Sec.  55.  That all claims under the preceding
section must be presented to the proper
provincial secretary within sixty days after the
date of actual possession and the
commencement of improvements on the land
by the filing of a declaratory statement
therefor; and where the improvements shall
have been made prior to the expiration of
three months from the date of the passage of
this Act, sixty days from the expiration of
such three months shall be allowed for the
filing of a declaratory statement; and no sale
under the provisions of this Act shall be
allowed until the expiration of six months
from the date of the passage of this
Act. chanrobles virtual law library
Sec.  56.  That the three preceding sections
shall be held to authorize only one entry by
the same person or association of persons; and
no association of persons, any member of
which shall have taken the benefit of such
sections, either as an individual or as a
member of any other association, shall enter
or hold any other lands under the provisions
 thereof; and no member of any association
which shall have taken the benefit of such
section shall enter or hold any other lands
under their provisions; and all persons
claiming under section fifty-eight shall be
required to prove their respective rights and
pay for the lands filed upon within one year
from the time prescribed for filing their
respective claims; and upon failure to file the
proper notice or to pay for the land within the
required period, the same shall be subject to
entry by any other qualified applicant.
Sec.  57.  That in case of conflicting claims
upon coal lands where the improvements shall
be commenced after the date of the passage of
this Act, priority of possession
improvement, followed by proper filing and
continued good faith, shall determine the
preference right to purchase. And also where
improvements have already been made prior
to the passage of this Act, division of the land
claimed may be made by legal subdivisions,
which shall conform as nearly as practicable
with the subdivisions of land provided for in
this Act, to include as near as may be the
valuable improvements of the respective
parties. The Government of the Philippine
Islands is authorized to issue all needful rules
and regulations for carrying into effect the
provisions of this and preceding sections
relating to mineral lands.  prescribed as requisite to their retention in the
Sec.  58.  That whenever it shall be made to
appear to the secretary of any province or the
commander of any military department in the
Philippine Islands that any lands within the
province are saline in character, it shall be the
duty of said provincial secretary
commander, under the regulations of the
Government of the Philippine Islands, to take
testimony in reference to such lands, to
ascertain their true character, and to report the
same to the Secretary of the Interior for the
Philippine Islands; and if, upon
testimony, the Secretary of the Interior shall
find that such lands are saline and incapable
of being purchased under any of the laws
relative to the public domain, then and in such
case said lands shall be offered for sale at the
office of the provincial secretary or such other
officer as by the said Government may be
described as mining recorder of the province
or department in which the same shall be
situated, as the case may be, under such
regulations as may be prescribed by said
Government and sold to the highest bidder,
for cash, at a price of not less than three
dollars per hectare; and in case such lands fail
32 LTD PD 1529
to sell when so offered, then the same shall be
subject to private sale at such office, for cash,
at a price not less than three dollars per
hectare, in the same manner as other lands in
the said Islands are sold. All executive
proclamations relating to the sales of public
saline lands shall be published in only two
newspapers, one printed in the English
language and one in the Spanish language, at
Manila, which shall be designated by said
Secretary of the Interior.
Sec.  59.  That no Act granting lands to
provinces, districts, or municipalities to aid in
the construction of roads, or for other public
purposes, shall be so construed as to embrace
and mineral lands, which, in all cases, are reserved
exclusively, unless otherwise specially
provided in the Act or Acts making the
grant. chanrobles virtual law library
Sec.  60.  That nothing in this Act shall be
construed to affect the rights of any person,
partnership, or corporation having a valid,
perfected mining concession granted prior to
April eleventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-
nine, but all such concessions shall be
conducted under the provisions of the law in
force at the time they were granted, subject at
all times to cancellation by reason of illegality
in the procedure by which they were obtained,
or for failure to comply with the conditions
laws under which they were granted:
Provided, That the owner or owners of every
such concession shall cause the corners made
by its boundaries to be distinctly marked with
permanent monuments within six months after
or this Act has been promulgated in the
Philippine Islands, and that any concessions
the boundaries of which are not so marked
within this period shall be free and open to
exploration and purchase under the provisions
of this Act.
such Sec.  61.  That mining rights on public lands
in the Philippine Islands shall, after the
passage of this Act, be acquired only in
accordance with its provisions.
Sec.  62.  That all proceedings for the
cancellation of perfected Spanish concessions
shall be conducted in the courts of the
Philippine Islands having jurisdiction of the
subject-matter and of the parties, unless the
United States Philippine Commission, or its
successors, shall create special tribunals for
the determination of such controversies.
Authority for the Philippine Islands
Government to Purchase Lands of Religious
Orders and Others and Issue Bonds for
 Purchase Price.
Sec.  63.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands is hereby authorized,
subject to the limitations and conditions
prescribed in this Act, to acquire, receive,
hold, maintain, and convey title to real and
personal property, and may acquire real estate
for public uses by the exercise of the right of
eminent domain.
Sec.  64.  That the powers hereinbefore
conferred in section sixty-three may also be
exercised in respect of any lands, easements,
appurtenances, and hereditaments which, on
the thirteenth of August, eighteen hundred and
ninety-eight, were owned or held by
associations, corporations, communities,
religious orders, or private individuals in such
large tracts or parcels and in such manner as
in the opinion of the Commission injuriously
to affect the peace and welfare of the people
of the Philippine Islands. And for the purpose
of providing funds to acquire the lands
mentioned in this section said Government of
the Philippine Islands is hereby empowered to
incur indebtedness, to borrow money, and to
issue, and to sell at not less than par value, in
gold coin of the United States of the present
standard value or the equivalent in value in
money of said Islands, upon such terms and
conditions as it may deem best, registered or
coupon bonds of said Government for such
amount as may be necessary, said bonds to be
in denominations of fifty dollars or any
multiple thereof, bearing interest at a rate not
exceeding four and a half per centum per
annum, payable quarterly, and to be payable at
the pleasure of said Government after dates
named in said bonds not less than five nor
more than thirty years from the date of their
issue, together with interest thereon, in gold
coin of the United States of the present
standard value or the equivalent in value in
money of said Islands; and said bonds shall be
exempt from the payment of all taxes or duties
of said Government, or any local authority
therein, or of the Government of the United
States, as well as from taxation in any form by
or under State, municipal, or local authority in
the United States or the Philippine Islands.
The moneys which may be realized or
received from the issue and sale of said bonds
shall be applied by the Government of the
Philippine Islands to the acquisition of the
property authorized by this section, and to no
other purposes. chanrobles virtual law library
Sec. 65.  That all lands acquired by virtue of
the preceding section shall constitute a part
33 LTD PD 1529
and portion of the public property of the
Government of the Philippine Islands, and
may be held, sold, and conveyed, or leased
temporarily for a period not exceeding three
years after their acquisition by said
Government on such terms and conditions as
it may prescribe, subject to the limitations and
conditions provided for in this Act: Provided,
That all deferred payments and the interest
thereon shall be payable in the money
prescribed for the payment of principal and
interest of the bonds authorized to be issued in
payment of said lands by the preceding
section and said deferred payments shall bear
interest at the rate borne by the bonds. All
moneys realized or received from sales or
other disposition of said lands or by reason
thereof shall constitute a trust fund for the
payment of principal and interest of said
bonds, and also constitute a sinking fund for
the payment of said bonds at their maturity.
Actual settlers and occupants at the time said
lands are acquired by the Government shall
have the preference over all others to lease,
purchase, or acquire their holdings within
such reasonable time as may be determined by
said Government. 
 
Municipal Bonds for Public Improvements
 
Sec.  66.  That for the purpose of providing
funds to construct sewers, to furnish adequate
sewer and drainage facilities, to secure a
sufficient supply of water, and to provide all
kinds of municipal betterments and
improvements in municipalities, the
Government of the Philippine Islands, under
such limitations, terms, and conditions as it
may prescribe, with the consent and approval
of the President and the Congress of the
United States, may permit any municipality of
said Islands to incur indebtedness, borrow
money, and to issue and sell (at not less than
par value in gold coin of the United States)
registered or coupon bonds in such amount
and payable at such time as may be
determined by the Government of said
Islands, with interest thereon not to exceed
five per centum per annum: Provided, That
the entire indebtedness of any municipality
under this section shall not exceed five per
centum of the assessed valuation of the
property in said municipality and any
obligation in excess of such limit shall be null
and void.
 Sec.  67.  That all municipal bonds shall be in
denominations of fifty dollars, or any multiple
thereof, bearing interest at a rate not
exceeding five per centum per annum, payable
quarterly, such bonds to be payable at the
pleasure of the Government of the Philippine
Islands, after dates named in said bonds not
less than five nor more than thirty years from
the date of their issue, together with the
interest thereon, in gold coin of the United
States of the present standard of value, or its
equivalent in value in money of the said
Islands: and said bonds shall be exempt from
the payment of all taxes or duties of the
Government of the Philippine Islands, or any
local authority therein, or the Government of
the United States.
Sec.  68.  That all moneys which may be
realized or received from the issue and sale of
said bonds shall be utilized under
authorization of the Government of the
Philippine Islands in providing the municipal
improvements and betterment which induced
the issue and sale of said bonds, and for no
other purpose.
Sec.  69.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands shall, by the levy and
collection of taxes on the municipality, its
inhabitants and their property, or by other
means, make adequate provision to meet the
obligation of the bonds of such municipality,
and shall create a sinking fund sufficient to
retire them and pay the interest thereon in
accordance with the terms of issue: Provided,
That if said bonds or any portion thereof shall
be paid out of the funds of the Government of
said Islands, such municipality shall
reimburse said Government for the sum thus
paid, and said Government is hereby
empowered to collect said sum by the levy
and collection of taxes on such municipality.
Sec.  70.  That for the purpose of providing
funds to construct sewers in the city of Manila
and to furnish it with an adequate sewer and
drainage system and supply of water the
Government of the Philippine Islands, with
the approval of the President of the United
States first had, is hereby authorized to permit
the city of Manila to incur indebtedness, to
borrow money, and to issue and sell (at not
less than par value in gold coin of the United
States), upon such terms and conditions as it
may deem best, registered or coupon bonds of
the city of Manila to an amount not exceeding
four million dollars, lawful money of the
United States, payable at such time or times as
may be determined by said Government, with
34 LTD PD 1529
interest thereon not to exceed five per centum
per annum.
Sec.  71.  That said coupon or registered
bonds shall be in denominations of fifty
dollars or any multiple thereof, bearing
interest at a rate not exceeding five per
centum per annum, payable quarterly, such
bonds to be payable at the pleasure of the
Government of the Philippine Islands, after
dates named in said bonds not less than five
nor more than thirty years from the date of
their issue, together with the interest thereon
in gold coin of the United States of the present
standard value, or the equivalent in value in
money of the said Islands; and said bonds
shall be exempt from the payment of all taxes
or duties of the Government of the said
Islands, or of any local authority therein, or of
the Government of the United States.
Sec.  72.  That all moneys which may be
realized or received from the issue and sale of
said bonds shall be utilized under
authorization of said Government of the
Philippine Islands in providing a suitable
sewer and drainage system and adequate
supply of water for the city of Manila and for
no other purpose. chanrobles virtual law
library
Sec.  73.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands shall, by the levy and
collection of taxes on the city of Manila, its
inhabitants and their property, or by other
means, make adequate provision to meet the
obligation of said bonds and shall create a
sinking fund sufficient to retire them and pay
the interest thereon in accordance with the
terms of issue: Provided, That if said bonds or
any portion thereof shall be paid out of the
funds of the Government of said Islands, said
city shall reimburse said Government for the
sum thus paid, and said Government is hereby
empowered to collect said sum by the levy
and collection of taxes on said city. 
 
Franchises
 
Sec.  74.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands may grant franchises;
privileges, and concessions, including the
authority to exercise the right of eminent
domain for the construction and operation of
works of public utility and service, and may
authorize said works to be constructed and
maintained over and across the public
property of the United States, including
streets, highways, squares, and reservations,
 and over similar property of the Government
of said Islands, and may adopt rules and
regulations under which the provincial and
municipal governments of the Islands may
grant the right to use and occupy such public
property belonging to said provinces or
municipalities: Provided, That no private
property shall be taken for any purpose under
this section without just compensation paid or
tendered therefor, and that such authority to
take and occupy land shall not authorize the
taking, use, or occupation of any land except
such as is required for the actual necessary
purposes for which the franchise is granted,
and that no franchise, privilege, or concession
shall be granted to any corporation except
under the conditions that it shall be subject to
amendment, alteration, or repeal by the
Congress of the United States, and that lands
or rights of use and occupation of lands thus
granted shall revert to the Governments by
which they were respectively granted upon the
termination of the franchises and concession
under which they were granted or upon their
revocation or repeal. That all franchises,
privileges, or concessions granted under this
Act shall forbid the issue of stock or bonds
except in exchange for actual cash, or for
property at a fair valuation, equal to the par
value of the stock or bonds so issued; shall
forbid the declaring of stock or bond
dividends, and, in the case of public-service
corporations, shall provide for the effective
regulation of the charges thereof, for the
official inspection and regulation of the books
and accounts of such corporations, and for the
payment of a reasonable percentage of gross
earnings into the Treasury of the Philippine
Islands or of the province or municipality
within which such franchises are granted and
exercised: Provided further, That it shall be
unlawful for any corporation organized under
this Act, or for any person, company, or
corporation receiving any grant, franchise, or
concession from the Government of said
Islands, to use, employ, or contract for the
labor of persons claimed or alleged to be held
in involuntary servitude; and any person,
company, or corporation so violating the
provisions of this Act shall forfeit all charters,
grants, franchises, and concessions for doing
business in said Islands, and in addition shall
be deemed guilty of an offense, and shall be
punished by a fine of not less than ten
thousand dollars.
Sec. 75.  That no corporation shall be
35 LTD PD 1529
authorized to conduct the business of buying
and selling real estate or be permitted to hold
or own real estate except such as may be
reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out
the purposes for which it is created, and every
corporation authorized to engage in
agriculture shall by its charter be restricted to
the ownership and control of not to exceed
one thousand and twenty-four hectares of
land; and it shall be unlawful for any member
of a corporation engaged in agriculture or
mining and for any corporation organized for
any purpose except irrigation to be in any
wise interested in any other corporation
engaged in agriculture or in mining.
Corporations, however, may loan funds upon
real-estate security and purchase real estate
when necessary for the collection of loans, but
they shall dispose of real state so obtained
within five years after receiving the title.
Corporations not organized in the Philippine
Islands, and doing business therein shall be
bound by the provisions of this section so far
as they are applicable.  
 
Coinage
 
Sec.  76.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands is hereby authorized to
establish a mint at the city of Manila, in said
Islands, for coinage purposes, and the coins
hereinafter authorized may be coined at said
mint. And the said Government is hereby
authorized to enact laws necessary for such
establishment: Provided, That the laws of the
United States relating to mints and coinage, so
far as applicable, are hereby extended to the
coinage of said Islands.
Sec.  77.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands is authorized to coin, for
use in said Islands, a coin of the denomination
of fifty centavos and of the weight of one
hundred and ninety-two and nine-tenths
grains, a coin of the denomination of twenty
centavos and of the weight of seventy-seven
and sixteen one-hundredths grains, and a coin
of the denomination of ten centavos and of the
weight of thirty-eight and fifty-eight one-
hundredths grains, and the standards of said
silver coins shall be such that of one thousand
parts by weight nine hundred shall be of pure
metal and one hundred of alloy, and the alloy
shall be of copper.
Sec.  78.  That the subsidiary silver coins
authorized by the preceding section shall be
 coined under the authority of the Government
of the Philippine Islands in such amounts as it
may determine, with the approval of the
Secretary of War of the United States, from
silver bullion purchased by said Government,
with the approval of the Secretary of War of
the United States: Provided, That said
Government may in addition and in its
discretion recoin the Spanish-Filipino dollars
and subsidiary silver coins issued under the
authority of the Spanish Government for use
in said Islands into the subsidiary coins
provided for in the preceding section at such
rate and under such regulations as it may
prescribe, and the subsidiary silver coins
authorized by this section shall be legal tender
in said Islands to the amount of ten
dollars. chanrobles virtual law library
Sec.  79.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands is also authorized to issue
minor coins of the denominations of one-half
centavo, one centavo, and five centavos, and
such minor coins shall be legal tender in said
Islands for amounts not exceeding one dollar.
The alloy of the five-centavo piece shall be of
copper and nickel, to be composed of three
fourths copper and one-fourth nickel. The
alloy of the one-centavo and one-half-centavo
pieces shall be ninety-five per centum of
copper and five per centum of tin and zinc, in
such proportions as shall be determined by
said Government. The weight of the five-
centavo piece shall be seventy-seven and
sixteen-hundredths grains troy, and of the one-
centavo piece eighty grains troy, and of the
one-half centavo piece forty grains troy.
Sec.  80.  That for the purchase of metal for
the subsidiary and minor coinage, authorized
by the preceding sections, an appropriation
may be made by the Government of the
Philippine Islands from its current funds,
which shall be reimbursed from the coinage
under said sections; and the gain
seigniorage arising therefrom shall be paid
into the Treasury of said Islands.
Sec.  81.  That the subsidiary and minor
coinage hereinbefore authorized may be
coined at the mint of the Government of the
Philippine Islands at Manila, or arrangements
may be made by the said Government with the
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States
for their coinage at any of the mints of the
United States, at a charge covering the
reasonable cost of the work.chanrobles virtual
law library
Sec.  82.  That the subsidiary and minor
coinage hereinbefore authorized shall bear
36 LTD PD 1529
devices and inscriptions to be prescribed by
the Government of the Philippines Islands,
and such devices and inscriptions shall
express the sovereignty of the United States,
that it is a coin of the Philippine Islands, the
denomination of the coin, and the year of the
coinage.
Sec.  83.  That the Government of the
Philippine Islands shall have the power to
make all necessary appropriations and all
proper regulations for the redemption and
reissue of worn or defective coins and for
carrying out all other provisions of this Act
relating to coinage.
Sec.  84.  That the laws relating to entry,
clearance, and manifests of steamships and
other vessels arriving from or going to foreign
ports shall apply to voyages each way
between the Philippine Islands and the United
States and the possessions thereof, and all
laws relating to the collection and protection
of customs duties not inconsistent with the
Act of Congress of March eighth, nineteen
hundred and two, "temporarily to provide
revenue for the Philippine Islands," shall
apply in the case of vessels and goods arriving
from said Islands in the United States and its
aforesaid possessions.
The laws relating to seamen on foreign
voyages shall apply to seamen on vessels
going from the United States and its
possessions aforesaid to said Islands, the
customs officers there being for this purpose
substituted for consular officers in foreign
ports. chanrobles virtual law library
The provisions of chapters six and seven, title
forty-eight, Revised Statutes, so far as now in
force, and any amendments thereof, shall
apply to vessels making voyages either way
between ports of the United States or its
aforesaid possessions and ports in said
Islands; and the provisions of law relating to
or the public health and quarantine shall apply in
the case of all vessels entering a port of the
United States or its aforesaid possessions from
said Islands, where the customs officers at the
port of departure shall perform the duties
required by such law of consular officers in
foreign ports.
Section three thousand and five, Revised
Statutes, as amended, and other existing laws
concerning the transit of merchandise through
the United States, shall apply to merchandise
arriving at any port of the United States
destined for any of its insular and continental
possessions or destined from any of them to
foreign countries.
 Nothing in this Act shall be held to repeal or
alter any part of the Act of March eighth,
nineteen hundred and two, aforesaid, or to
apply to Guam, Tutuila, or Manua, except that
section eight of an Act entitled "An Act to
revise and amend the tariff laws of the
Philippine Archipelago," enacted by the
Philippine Commission on the seventeenth of
September, nineteen hundred and one, and
approved by an Act entitled "An Act
temporarily to provide revenues for the
Philippine Islands, and for other purposes,"
approved March eighth, nineteen hundred and
possessions of the United States subject to the
jurisdiction of the War Department; and the
Secretary of War is hereby authorized to detail
an officer of the Army whom he may consider
especially well qualified, to act under the
authority of the Secretary of War as the chief
of said Bureau, and said officer while acting
under said detail shall have the rank, pay, and
allowances of a colonel.
Sec.  88.  That all Acts and parts of Acts

two, is hereby amended so as to authorize the inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed.

Civil Governor thereof in his discretion to

establish the equivalent rates of the money in
circulation in said Islands with the money of
the United States as often as once in ten days. 

Sec.  85.  That the Treasury of the Philippine

Islands and such banking associations in said
Islands with a paid-up capital of not less than
two million dollars and chartered by the
United States or any State thereof as may be
designated by the Secretary of War and the
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States
shall be depositories of public money of the
United States, subject to the provisions of
existing law governing such depositories in
the United States: Provided,

That the Treasury of the Government of said

Islands shall not be required to deposit bonds
in the Treasury of the United States, or to give
other specific securities for the safe-keeping
of public money except as prescribed, in his
discretion, by the Secretary of War. 
Sec. 86.  That all laws passed by the
Government of the Philippine Islands shall be
reported to Congress, which hereby reserves
the power and authority to annul the same,
and the Philippine Commission is hereby
directed to make annual report of all its
receipts and expenditures to the Secretary of
War. chanrobles virtual law library 
 
Bureau of Insular Affairs
 

Sec.  87.  That the Division of Insular Affairs

of the War Department, organized by the
Secretary of War, is hereby continued until
otherwise provided, and shall hereafter be
known as the Bureau of Insular Affairs of the
War Department. The business assigned to
said Bureau shall embrace all matters
pertaining to civil government in the island

37 LTD PD 1529
ACT NO. 926
ACT NO. 926 - AN ACT PRESCRIBING RULES AND
REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE HOMESTEADING,
SELLING, AND LEASING OF PORTIONS OF THE PUBLIC
DOMAIN OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, PRESCRIBING
TERMS AND CONDITIONS TO ENABLE PERSONS TO
PERFECT FOR THE ISSUANCE OF PATENTS WITHOUT
COMPENSATION TO CERTAIN NATIVE SETTLERS UPON THE
PUBLIC LANDS, PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
TOWN SITES AND SALES OF LOTS THEREIN, AND
PROVIDING FOR A HEARING AND DECISION BY THE COURT
OF LAND REGISTRATION OF ALL APPLICATIONS FOR THE
COMPLETION AND CONFIRMATION OF ALL IMPERFECT
AND INCOMPLETE SPANISH CONCESSIONS AND GRANTS IN
SAID ISLANDS, AS AUTHORIZED BY SECTIONS THIRTEEN,
FOURTEEN AND FIFTEEN OF THE ACT OF CONGRESS OF
JULY FIRST NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWO, ENTITLED "AN
ACT TEMPORARILY TO PROVIDE FOR THE
ADMINISTRATION OF THE AFFAIRS OF CIVIL
GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES"
By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine
Commission that:
CHAPTER I land for more than six months at any one time during the two years of
HOMESTEADS ON THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
Section 1. Any citizen of the Philippine Islands, or of the United States, or
of any Insular possession thereof, over the age of twenty-one years or the
head of a family may, as hereinafter provided, enter a homestead of not
exceeding sixteen hectares of unoccupied, unreserved unappropriated
agricultural public land in the Philippine Islands, as defined by the Act of
Congress of July first, nineteen hundred and two entitled "An Act
temporarily to provide for the administration of the affairs of civil
government in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes which shall
be taken, if on surveyed lands, by legal subdivisions, but if on unsurveyed
lands shall be located in a body which shall be as nearly as practicable
rectangular in shape and not more than eight hundred meters in length; but
no person who is the owner of more than sixteen hectares of land in said
islands or who has had the benefits of any gratuitous allotment of sixteen
hectares of land since the acquisition of the Islands by the United States,
shall be entitled to the benefits of this chapter.
Sec. 2. Any person applying to enter land under the provisions of this
chapter shall file with such officer as may be designated by law as local
land officer, or in case there be no such officer than with the Chief of the
Bureau of Public Lands, an application under oath showing that he has the
qualifications required under section one of this chapter, and that he
possesses none of the disqualifications there mentioned that such
application is made for his exclusive use and benefits: that the same is
made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not either
directly or indirectly, for the use or benefit of any other person, persons,
corporation or association of persons; that the land applied for is non-
mineral, does not contain valuable deposits of coal or salts, is more
valuable for agricultural than forestry purposes, and is not occupied by any
other person; and showing the location of the land by stating the province,
municipality, and barrio in which the same is situated, and as accurate a
description as may be given, showing the boundaries of the land, having
reference to natural objects and permanent monuments, if any. Upon the
filing of said application the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall
summarily determine, by inquiry of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry
and from the available land records, whether the land described is prima
facie subject under the law to homestead settlement, and, if he shall find
nothing to the contrary, the applicant, upon the payment of ten pesos,
Philippine currency, shall be permitted to enter the quantity of land
specified, provided, however, that the option of the applicant, payment of
said entry fee and of the fee prescribed in section three hereof may be
made it five annual installments of four pesos each. These payments may
be made to the municipal treasurer of the locality who, in turn, shall
forward to the provincial treasurer the amounts received on this account. In
case of the delinquency of the applicant in the payment of any said
installments, thirty days after having become delinquent, he shall lose ipso
facto his rights to the land in question, shall not be entitled to the
reimbursement of the installments which he may have paid, and the land
shall become vacant and open to entry by another.  one thousand and twenty-four hectares for a corporation or like
Sec. 3. No certificate shall be given or patent issued for the land applied
for until the expiration of five years from the date of filing of the
application; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at any time within
three years thereafter, the person filing such application shall prove by two
credible witnesses that he has resided upon the land for the last two years
immediately preceding the day of such proof, and cultivated the land for
the term of five years immediately succeeding the time of filing the
application aforesaid, and shall make affidavit that no part of said land has
been alienated or encumbered, and that he has borne true allegiance to the
38 LTD PD 1529
Government of the United States and that of the Philippine Islands, then,
upon payment of a fee of ten pesos, Philippine currency, or upon the
payment of the last of the five installments provided for in section two, to
such officer as may be designated by law as local land officer, or in case
there be no such officer then to the Director of Lands, he shall be entitled
to a patent, provided, however, That in the event of the death of an
applicant prior to the issuance of a patent his widow shall be entitled to
have a patent for the land applied for issue to her upon showing that she
has consummated the requirements of law for homesteading the lands as
above set out; and in case the applicant dies before the issuance of the
patent and does not leave a widow, then the interest of the applicant in the
land shall descend and patent shall issue to the persons who under the laws
of the Philippine Islands would have taken, had the title been perfected by
patent before the death of the applicant, upon proof, by the persons thus
entitled, of compliance with said requirement and conditions. (As amended
by Act No. 1864.)
Sec. 4. No lands acquired under the provisions of this chapter shall in any
event become liable to the satisfactions of any debt contracted prior to the
issuance of a patent therefor
Sec. 5. If, at any time after the filing of the application as herein-above
provided and before the expiration of the period allowed by law for the
making of final proof, it is proved to the satisfaction of the Chief of the
Bureau of Public Lands, after due notice to the homesteader, that the land
entered is not under the law subject to homestead entry, or that the
homesteader has actually changed his residence, voluntarily abandoned the
residence herein required, or has otherwise failed to comply with the
requirements of law, then in that even the Chief of the Bureau of Public
Lands may cancel the entry, subject to appeal under proper regulations to
the Secretary of the Interior, and the land thereupon shall become subject
to disposition as other public lands of like character.
Sec. 6. Not more than one homestead entry shall be allowed to any one
person.
Sec. 7. Before final proof shall be submitted by any person claiming to
have complied with the provisions of this chapter, due notice, as prescribed
by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the
Secretary of the Interior, shall be given to the public of his intention to
make such proof, stating thereon the time and places, and giving a
description of the land and the names of the witnesses by whom it is
expected that the necessary facts will be established.
Sec. 8. Any person may file an affidavit of contest against any homestead
entry, charging that the land entered was not unoccupied, unreserved, or
unappropriated agricultural land at the time of filing the application,
alleging disqualification of the entryman, non-compliance with law as to
residents or cultivation, or any other matter which, if proven, would be just
cause for the cancellation of the entry, and upon successful termination of
the contest, the contestant, if a qualified entryman shall be allowed a
preference right of entry for sixty days from said date.
The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands or any public official becoming
aware of the existence of any of the grounds above stated, for impeaching
or cancelling the entry, may file formal complaint against the entry on such
ground which, if proven, shall cause the cancellation of the entry.
Sec. 9. No patent shall issue under the provisions of this chapter until the
land has been surveyed under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands and an accurate plan made thereof, the cost of which survey
shall be borne by the Insular Government.
CHAPTER II
SALES OF PORTIONS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
Sec. 10. Any citizen of the Philippine Islands, or of the United States or of
any insular possession therefor, or any corporation or like association of
persons organized under the laws of the Philippine Islands or of the United
States or any state, territory, or insular possession thereof, and authorized
to transact business in the Philippine Islands, may purchase any tract of
unoccupied, unappropriated and unreserved non-mineral agricultural
public land in the Philippine Islands, as defined in the Act of Congress of
July first, nineteen hundred and two, not to exceed sixteen hectares for an
individual or one thousand and twenty-four hectares for an individual or
association, by proceeding as hereinafter provided in this chapter,
provided, that no association of persons not organized as above and no
more partnership shall be entitled to purchase a greater quantity than will
equal sixteen hectares for each member thereof.
Sec. 11. Purchases made under the provisions of this chapter of land
previously surveyed must be made of contiguous legal subdivisions. All
lands purchases hereunder, whether previously surveyed or not, in case the
tract sought to be purchased exceeds sixty-four hectares in area, must be
taken, wherever possible, in the form of contiguous squares which shall
contain at least sixty four hectares each, provided, That in connection with
the purchase of lands in one or more tracts of sixty-four hectares there may
be purchased one rectangular tract of thirty-two hectares, the longer side of
which must be contiguous to the square tract of sixty four hectares, or to
one of such tracts if more than one be purchased. In no case may lands
purchased under the provisions of this chapter be taken in such manner as
to gain any such control of any adjacent land, water, stream, shore line,
way, roadstead, or other valuable right as might be prejudicial to the
interests of the public.
Sec. 12. An application to purchase land under this chapter must be filed
with such officer as may designated by law as local land officer, or in case
there be no such officer then with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands.
It must be executed under oath and must state the citizenship of the
applicant and his post-office address; the location of the land desired,
stating the province, municipality, and barrio in which the same is situated,
and as accurate a description as can be given, showing the boundaries of
the land, having reference to natural objects and permanent monuments, if
any; a statement as to whether any part of the land is occupied or
improved, and that it is non-mineral in character, more valuable for
agricultural than for forestry purposes, and does not contain deposits of
coal or salts. The application of a corporation must be accompanied by a
certified copy of its charter or articles of incorporation. An unincorporated
association must show that its members are severally possessed of the
qualifications above required of individuals. In the case of a corporation or
association organized outside of the Philippine Islands there must be
attached to the application proper documentary evidence that the law
governing the transaction of business in the Philippine Islands by foreign
corporations or associations has been complied with.
Sec. 13. It shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to
examine all applications to purchase under this chapter, and to determine
whether the applicant has the qualifications acquired in section ten thereof,
and from the certificate of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry to determine
whether the land applied for is more valuable for agricultural than forestry
purposes. He shall report his findings to the Secretary of the Interior, who,
after proper consideration and approval of same, shall order the sale to be
made.
It shall also be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to
appraise the land applied for under this chapter, which appraisement shall
not be less than ten pesos, Philippine currency, per hectare, and in making
this appraisal he may call to his assistance any provincial or municipal
official of the province in which the land lies, when the land shall have
been appraised, as herein above provided, the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands shall advertise the same for sale, by publishing a notice
thereof once a week for six consecutive weeks, in two newspapers, one
published at Manila and the other (if any such there be) published near the
land applied for, such notices to be published in both the English and
Spanish languages. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall, with the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior, prescribe, in addition to the
publication in newspapers, a suitable method of posting notice upon the
land sought to be purchased or in the pueblo where the land is situated.
The notices shall state a date not earlier than ten days after the date of the
last publication of the notice in the newspaper published at Manila, upon
which date the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands will award the land to
the highest bidder, or will call for new bids, or otherwise proceed as
provided by law.
Sec. 14. All bids must be sealed and addressed to the Chief of the Bureau
of Public Lands, and must have enclosed therewith a certified check or a
post-office money order payable to his order, for twenty-five per centum
of the amount of the bid, which amount shall be retained, in case the bid is
accepted, as part payment of the purchase price: Provided, That no bids
shall be considered which are for less than the appraised value of the land.
Sec. 15. Upon the opening of the bids the land shall be awarded to the
highest bidder. If there are two or more bidders which are higher than
other bidders and are equal, and one of such higher and equal bids is the
bid of the applicant, his bid shall be accepted. If, however, the bid of the
applicant is not one of such equal and higher bids, then the Chief of the
Bureau of Public Lands shall at once submit the lands for public bidding,
and to the person making the highest bid on such public auction the land
shall be awarded, but no bid received at such public auction shall be finally
accepted until the bidder shall have deposited twenty-five per centum of
his bid, as required in section fourteen. The deposits of all unsuccessful
bidders shall be returned at once by the Chief of the Bureau of Public
Lands. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the
Secretary of the Interior, shall have authority to reject any and all bids
hereunder.
Sec. 16. Lands sold under the provisions of this chapter must be paid for in
the following manner: The balance of the purchase price after deducting
the amount paid by check or post office money order at the time of
submitting the bid, may be paid in full upon the making of the award, or
may be paid in equal annual installments, or may be paid in one
installment at the expiration of five years from the date of the award. All
sums remaining unpaid after date of the award shall bear six per centum
39 LTD PD 1529
interest per annum from such date until paid.
Sec. 17. No patent shall issue under the provisions of this chapter until the
land has been surveyed under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands and as accurate plat made thereof. The cost of such survey
must be borne by the purchaser, if a corporation or like association, and if
the survey be made in advance of the regular surveys of the Island: but
where the purchaser is an individual the cost of the survey shall be borne
by the Insular Government. Patents shall not be issued until after the
expiration of five years from the date of the award, and before the same
shall issue the purchaser must show actual occupancy, cultivation, and
improvement of the premises for a period of five years immediately
succeeding the date of the award, and that he has not sold the land or in
any manner encumbered the title.
Sec. 18. If at any time after the date of the award and before the issuance
of patent, it is proven to the satisfaction of the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands after due notice to the purchaser, that the purchaser has
voluntarily abandoned the land for more than one year at any time, or has
otherwise failed to comply with the requirements of the law, then the land
shall be reverted to the Government and all prior payments of purchase
money shall be forfeited.
Sec. 19. This chapter shall be held to authorize only one purchase of the
maximum amount of land hereunder by the same person, or by the same
corporation or association of persons; and no corporation or association,
any member of which shall have taken the benefits of this chapter, either
as an individual or as a member of any other corporation or association
shall purchase any other public lands under this chapter.
Sec. 20. In the event of the death of an individual applicant subsequent to
the date of the filing of the applicant and prior to the issuance of patent, the
distributes of his estate, as defined by law, may claim the privilege of
being subrogated to the rights of the deceased applicant, and if they
consummate the requirements of law for purchasing land hereunder, patent
shall issue to such distributes.
Sec. 21. If any land applied for under the provisions of this chapter shall be
actually occupied by any person who is qualified to make a homestead or
other entry under the public land laws of the Philippine Islands, or by any
native who is entitled by law to a free patent such person shall be
personally served with notice as to his rights, and shall be allowed a
preference right of one hundred and twenty days within which to make
entry or apply for patent.
CHAPTER III
LEASES OF PORTIONS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
Sec. 22. Any citizen of the United States, or of the Philippine Islands, or of
any insular possession of the United States, or any corporation or
association of persons organized under the laws of the Philippine Islands,
or of any state, territory, or insular possession thereof, authorized by the
laws of its creation and any by the laws of the Philippine Islands and the
Acts of Congress applicable thereto to transact business in the Philippine
Islands, may lease any tract of unoccupied, unreserved, nonmineral
agricultural public lands, as defined by sections eighteen and twenty of the
Act of Congress approved July first, nineteen hundred and two providing a
temporary government for the Philippine Islands, and so forth, not
exceeding one thousand and twenty-four hectares, by proceeding as
hereinafter in this chapter indicated; Provided, That no lease shall be
permitted to interfere with any prior claim by settlement or occupation
until the consent of the occupant or settler is first had and obtained, or until
such claim shall be legally extinguished; And provided, further, That no
corporation or association of person shall be permitted to lease lands
hereunder which are not reasonably necessary to enable it to carry one the
business for which it was lawfully created and which it may lawfully
pursue in the Philippine Islands.
Sec. 23. Leases made under the provisions of this chapter, of land
previously surveyed, must be made of contiguous legal subdivisions. All
lands leased hereunder, whether previously surveyed or not, in case the
tract sought to be leased exceeds sixty-four hectares in area, must be taken
where possible in the form of contiguous squares, which shall contain at
least sixty-four hectares each: Provided, That in connection with the lease
of lands in one or more tracts of sixty-four hectares there may be leased
one rectangular tract of thirty two hectares, the longer side of which must
be continuous to the square tract of sixty four hectares, or to one of such
tracts if more than one be leased. In no case may lands leased under the
provisions of this chapter be taken so as to gain a control of adjacent land,
water, stream, shore line, way, roadstead, or other valuable right which in
the opinion of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands would be
prejudicial to the interests of the public.
Sec. 24. An application to lease land under this chapter must be executed
under oath and filed with such officer as may be designated by law as local
land officer of the district in which the land is situated, or in case there be
no such officer then with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands; and
must show the following facts: The citizenship and post office address of
the applicant; the location of the land, showing the province, municipality,
and barrio in which the same is situated, and as accurate a description as
may be given, showing the boundaries of the land, having reference to
natural objects and permanent monuments, if any, a statement as to
whether the land contains any improvements or evidences of settlement
and cultivation, and a statement that it is nonmineral in character, more
valuable for agricultural than for forestry purposes and does not contain
deposits of coal and salts. Corporations and associations shall be required
to file evidence of their legal existence and authority to transact business in
the Philippine Islands.
Sec. 25. All applicants for the lease under the terms of this chapter must
give notice, by publication and by such other means as may be required by
the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the Secretary
of Interior, of intent to make application to lease the tract in question,
which notice shall state the date when the application will be presented and
shall describe as definitely as practicable the land sought to be leased.
Sec. 26. It shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to
examine all applications for leases under this chapter, and to determine
whether the applicant has the qualifications required in section twenty-two
hereof, and, from the certificate of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, to
determine whether the land applied for is more valuable for agricultural
than forestry purposes, and further summarily to determine from available
records whether the land nonmineral and does not contain deposits of coal
or salts. He shall report his findings to the Secretary of Interior, who after
proper consideration and approval of same, shall cause the lease to be
executed.
Sec. 27. The rate per hectare per annum for lands leased under this chapter
shall be fixed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and shall in no case be less than
fifty centavos, Philippine Currency, per hectare per annum, said rent shall
be paid yearly in advance, the first payment being deposited with the Chief
of the Bureau of Public Lands before the delivery of the lease.
Sec. 28. Leases hereunder shall run for a period of not more than twenty-
five years, but may be renewed for a second period of twenty-five years, at
a rate to be fixed as above indicated, which rate shall not be less than fifty
centavos per hectare and shall not exceed one peso and fifty centavos,
Philippine currency per hectare. Land leased hereunder shall not be
assigned or sublet without the consent of the Bureau of Public Lands and
the Secretary of the Interior.
Sec. 29. No land shall be leased under the provisions of this chapter until
the land has been surveyed under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau
of Public Lands and an accurate plat made thereof, the cost of the survey to
be borne by the lessee.
Sec. 30. The lease of any lands under this chapter shall not confer the right
to remove or dispose of any valuable timber except as provided in
regulations of the Bureau of Forestry for cutting timber upon such lands.
Nor shall such lease confer the right to remove or dispose of stone, oil,
coal, salts, or other minerals, but the lease as to the part thereof which shall
be mineral may be cancelled by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands,
with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, whenever the mineral
character of such part shall be made satisfactorily to appear, after due
notice of the lessee.
Sec. 31. The commission of waste or the violation of the forestry
regulations by the lessee shall work a forfeiture of his last payment of the
rent and render him liable to immediate dispossession and suit for damage.
CHAPTER IV
FREE PATENTS TO NATIVE SETTLERS
Sec. 32. Any native of the Philippine Islands now as occupant and
cultivator of unreserved, unappropriated agricultural public land, as
defined by the Act of Congress of July first, nineteen hundred and two,
who has continuously occupied and cultivated such land, either by himself
or through his ancestors, since August first, eighteen hundred and ninety;
or who prior to August first, eighteen hundred and ninety eighty
continuously occupied and cultivated such land for three years
immediately prior to said date, and who has been continuously since July
fourth, nineteen hundred and two, until the date of the taking effect of this
Act, an occupier and cultivator of such land, shall be entitled to have a
patent issued to him without compensation for such tract of land, not
exceeding sixteen hectares, as hereinafter in this chapter provided.
Sec. 33. Any person desiring to obtain the benefits of this chapter unit,
prior to January first, nineteen hundred and twenty-three file an application
for a patent with such officer as may be designated by law as local land
officer, or in case there be no such officer then with the Director of Lands.
Said application must be executed under oath, and must show the
following facts: The name, age, and post-office address of the applicant;
That he is a native of the Philippine Islands; The location of the land
40 LTD PD 1529
desired, stating the province, municipality, and barrio in which the same is
situated, and as accurate a description as may be given, showing the
boundaries of the land, having reference to natural objects and permanent
monuments, if any; That the land is not claimed or occupied by any other
person; a statement as to date when the applicant or his ancestor giving the
name of the ancestor and stating his relationship to the applicant, entered
into occupation and began cultivation, and a description of the
improvements which have been made. If the first occupation and
cultivation is claimed through an ancestor, the applicant must show the
name of such ancestor and must file satisfactory evidence of the date and
place of his death and burial, in which case the patent shall issue in the
name of the heir or heirs of such ancestor as defined by the laws of the
Philippine Islands. (As amended by Act No. 2222).
Sec. 34. Upon receipt of the said application it shall be the duty of the
Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to cause a careful investigation to be
made in such manner as he shall deem necessary for the ascertainment of
the truth of the allegations therein contained and if satisfied upon such
investigation that the applicant comes within the provisions of this chapter,
he shall cause a patent to issue for the tract to such applicant, or to the
heirs of his ancestor, as provided in the next preceding section, not
exceeding sixteen hectares in extent: Provided, That no application shall be
finally acted upon until notice thereof has been published in the
municipality and barrios in which the land is located, and adverse
claimants have had an opportunity to present their claims: And provided
further, That no patent shall issue until the land has been surveyed under
the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands and accurate plat
made thereof.
Sec. 35. Lands acquired under the provisions of this chapter shall be
inalienable and shall not be subject to encumbrances for a period of seven
years from the date of the issuance of the patent therefor, and shall not be
liable for the satisfaction of any debt contracted prior to the expiration of
that period.
CHAPTER V
TOWN SITES
Sec. 36. Whenever in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior it shall be
in the public interest to reserve a town site from the public land or to
acquire lands for such purpose by the exercise of the right of the eminent
domain, he shall direct the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to have
made a survey if the exterior boundaries of the land which he deems it
wise so to reserve or acquire.
Sec. 37. Upon the completion and return of the survey mentioned in
section thirty-six the Secretary of the Interior shall forward the same to the
Philippine Commission with his recommendations.
Sec. 38. The Commission, if it approve the recommendations of the
Secretary of the Interior, shall pass a resolution reserving the land
surveyed, or such part thereof as it may deem wise, as a town site, and a
certified copy of such resolution shall be sent to the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands, who shall record the same in the records of his office and
forward a certified copy of such record to the register of the province in
which the surveyed land lies.
Sec. 39. It shall then be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public
Lands, having recorded the resolution of the Commission and the
preliminary survey accompanying the same, to direct a subdivision and
plat of the land, in accordance with the directions contained in the
resolution approving the same, if such resolution contain directions as to
the method of subdivision, or if it contain no such direction, then in a
manner which shall to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands seem best
adapted to the convenience and interest of the public and the residents of
the future town.
Sec. 40. The Commission, by resolution, or in the absence of action in this
regard by the Commission, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, shall
reserve from the land to be platted, lots of sufficient size and convenient
situation for public uses, as well as the necessary avenues, streets, alleys,
parks, and plazas.
Sec. 41. The plat of the subdivision shall designate certain lots as business
lots and the remainder as residence lots, and shall also reserve and note the
lots of land owned by private individuals as evidenced by record titles, or
as possessed and claimed by them as private property: Provided, however,
that the avenues, streets, alleys, parks, plazas, and lots shall be laid out on
the plat as though the lands owned or claimed by private persons were part
of the reservation, with a view to the possible subsequent purchase or
condemnation thereof if deemed necessary by the proper authorities.
Sec. 42. All lots, whether public or private contained in the exterior
boundaries shall be platted and numbered upon a general plan or system.
Sec. 43. The plat of the subdivision of the reserve town site thus prepared
under the supervision of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall be
submitted to the Secretary of the Interior for presentation of the
Commission for its consideration, modification, amendment, or approval.
Sec. 44. The resolution of the Commission approving the plat shall provide
whether the proceeds derived from the sale of lots shall be covered into the
Insular Treasury as general Insular funds, or as a special fund to be
devoted to public improvements in or near the town site, and thereafter the
receipts from the sale of lots shall be applied as provided in the resolution
of the Commission.
Sec. 45. Where the proceeds of the sale are to constitute a fund to be
devoted to public improvements in or near the town site, the same be
expended by provided by law or resolution of the Commission.
Sec. 46. When the plat of subdivision is approved by the Commission it
shall be certified to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, together with
the resolution approving the same, and the Chief of the Bureau of Public
Lands shall record the same in the records of his office and shall forward a
certified copy of such record to the registrar of the province in which the
land lies, to be by such registrar recorded in the records of his office.
Sec. 47. All lots except those claimed by or belonging to private owners
and claimants and excepting such lots and tracts as may be reserved for
parks, public buildings, and public uses, shall be sold under the direction
of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, as hereinafter in this chapter
provided, and the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval
of the Secretary of the Interior, shall prescribe rules and regulations for
disposal of lots hereunder.
Sec. 48. All lots in the reservation which are subject to sale as above
provided shall, if in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior the value of
the lots is sufficiently known to make an appraisement useful, be appraised
by a committee to be appointed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public
Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
Sec. 49. The lots in any such town site thus established and subject to sale,
shall after the approval and recording of the plat of subdivision as above
provided, and after due advertisement, be sold at public auction to the
highest bidder but no bid shall be accepted, in case of appraised lots, if the
bid does not equal two thirds of the appraised value, and in the case of lots
not appraised the bid shall not be accepted if in the judgment of the Chief
of the Bureau of Public Lands and Secretary of the Interior the bid is an
inadequate price for lot.
Sec. 50. Not more than two residence lots and two business lots in any one
town site shall be sold to only one person, corporation, or association
without the specific approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
Sec. 51. Lots which have been offered for sale in the manner herein
prescribed, and for which no satisfactory bid has been received, shall be
again offered for sale after due advertisement, and if at the second sale no
satisfactory bid is received, they may be sold at private sale by the Chief of
the Bureau of Public Lands for not less than their value, as appraised by a
committee to be appointed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands with
the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
Sec. 52. In any case in which, in the opinion of the Commission, it shall be
necessary to condemn private lands within the reserved or proposed limits
of a townsite, either for streets, alleys, parks, or as lots for public buildings
or other public uses, the Commission shall pass a resolution declaring the
necessity for the same which resolution shall be certified to the Attorney-
General, who shall at once begin proceedings for the condemnation of the
lands described in the resolution in accordance with the provisions of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
Sec. 53. Town sites constituted under the provisions of this chapter on land
forming a part of an exist municipality shall remain within the jurisdiction
of such municipality until taken therefrom by legislative action of the
Commission.
CHAPTER VI
UNPERFECTED TITLE AND SPANISH GRANTS AND
CONCESSIONS
Sec. 54. The following described persons or their legal successors in right,
occupying public lands in the Philippine Islands, or claiming to own any
such lands or an interest therein, but whose titles to such lands have not
been perfected, may apply to the Court of Land Registration of the
Philippine Islands for confirmation of their claims and the issuances of a
certificate of title therefor, to wit:
1. All persons who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the
United States had fulfilled all the conditions required by the Spanish laws
and royal decrees of the Kingdom of Spain for the purchase of public
lands, including the payment of the purchase price, but who failed to
secure formal conveyance of title;
41 LTD PD 1529
2. All persons who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the
United States, having applied for the purchase of public lands and having
secured a survey, auction, and an award, or a right to an award, of such
lands, did not receive title therefor through no fault upon their part;
3. All persons who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the
United States, having applied for the purchase of public lands and having
secured a survey and award of same, did not through negligence upon their
part, comply with the conditions of full or any payment therefor, but who
after such survey and award shall have occupied the land adversely, except
as prevented by war or force majeure, until the taking effect of this Act;
4. All persons who were entitled to apply and did apply for adjustment or
composition of title to lands against the Government under the Spanish
laws and royal decrees in force prior to the royal decree of February
thirteen, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, but who failed to receive title
therefor through no default upon their part;
5. All persons who were entitled to a gratuitous title to public lands by
"possessory proceedings" under the provisions of articles nineteen and
twenty of the royal decree of the king of Spain issued February thirteen,
eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and who, having complied with all the
conditions therein required failed to receive title therefor through no
default upon their part; and
6. All persons who by themselves or their predecessors in interest has been
in the open, continuous exclusive, and notorious possession and
occupation of agricultural public lands, as defined by said Act of Congress
of July first, nineteen hundred and two, under a bona fide claim of
ownership except as against the Government, for a period of ten years next
preceding the taking effect of this Act except when prevented by war or
force majeure, shall be conclusively presumed to have performed all the
conditions essential to a government grant and to have received the same,
and shall be entitled to a certificate of title to such land under the
provisions of this chapter.
All applicants for lands under paragraphs one, two, three, four, and five of
this section must establish by proper official records or documents that
such proceedings as are therein required were taken and the necessary
conditions complied with; Provided, however, that such requirements shall
not apply to the fact of adverse possession.
Sec. 55. All persons claiming title to Government lands not coming within
the classes specified in the preceding section are excluded from the
benefits of this chapter.
Sec. 56. Any person or persons, or their legal representatives or successors
in right, claiming any land or interest in lands in the Philippines under the
provisions of this chapter, and who now desire or claim the right to have
such title perfected must in every case present an application in writing to
the Court of Land Registration praying that the validity of the alleged title
or claim be inquired into and that a certificate of title issue to then under
the provisions of the Land Registration Act for the lands claimed.
Sec. 57. Such claims and applications shall conform as nearly as may in
their material allegations to the requirements of an application for
registration under the provisions of section twenty-one and subsequent
sections of the Land Registration Act, and shall be accompanied by a plan
of the land and all documents evidencing a right on the part of the
applicant to the land claimed. The application shall also set forth fully the
nature of the claim to the land, and when based upon proceedings initiated
under Spanish laws shall particularly state the date and form of the grant,
concession, warrant, or order of survey under which the claim is made; by
whom such grant, concession, warrant or order of survey was made; the
extent of the compliance with the conditions required by the Spanish laws
and royal decrees for the acquisition of legal title, and if not fully complied
with the reason for such noncompliance, together with a statement of the
length of time such land or any portion thereof has been actually occupied
by the claimant and his predecessors in interest; the use made of the land,
and the nature of the enclosure, if any. The face provided to be paid for the
registration of land under the Land Registration Act shall be collected from
applicants under this chapter, except that upon the original registration of
land claimed hereunder no fee shall be required for the assurance fund.
Sec. 58. Any applicant for registration of lands under the provisions of this
chapter may, upon petition directed to the Chief of the Bureau of Public
Lands, and upon payment of the fees as regulated by law, secure a survey
and plan of the lands claimed to be owned by him, which said plan shall be
filed with his application in the Court of Land Registration.
Sec. 59. Upon the filing of claims and applications for registration in the
Court of Land Registration, under this chapter, the same procedure shall be
adopted in the hearing of such cases and in the matter of appeal as is by the
Land Registration Act provided for other claims, except that a notice of all
such applications, together with a plan of the lands claim, shall be
immediately forward to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands of the
Philippine Islands, who shall be represented in all question arising upon
the consideration of such applications by the Attorney-General of the
Philippine Islands or by any subordinate or assistant to the Attorney-
General appointed for that purpose.
Sec. 60. It shall be the duty of the examiner of titles, upon reference to him
of any such claim or application, to investigate all the facts alleged therein
or otherwise brought to his attention, and to make careful inquiry as to the
period of occupation of the land by the claimant or his predecessors in
interest; the nature of such lands; the character of the enclosure, if any, and
the extent to which the land has been subjected to cultivation. He shall file
a full report of his investigation in the case, concluding with a certificate of
his opinion upon the merits of the claim.
Sec. 61. It shall be lawful for the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands,
Whenever in the opinion of the Chief Executive the Public interest shall
require it, to cause to be filed in the Court of Land Registration, through
the Attorney-General, a petition against the holder, claimant, possessor, or
occupant of any land in the Philippine Islands who shall not have
voluntarily come in under the provisions of this chapter of the Land
Registration Act stating in substance that the title of such holder, claimant,
possessor, or occupant is open to question, or stating in substance that the
boundaries of any such land which has not been brought into court as
aforesaid are open to question and praying that the title to any such land of
the boundaries thereof or the right to occupancy thereof be settled and
adjudicated. Such petition shall contain all the data essential to furnish a
full notice thereof to the occupants of such land and to all persons who
may claim an adverse interest therein, and shall be accompanied by a plan
of the land in question. The court shall cause service of notice to be made
as in other cases, and shall proceed to hear, try, and determine the
questions stated in such petition or arising in the matter, and settle and
determine the ownership of the land and cause certificate of title to be
issued therefor, as in other cases filed under this chapter.
Sec. 62. Whenever any lands in the Philippine Islands are set apart as town
sites, under the provisions of chapter five of this Act, it shall be lawful for
the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the Secretary
of the Interior, to notify the judge of the Court of Land Registration that
such lands have been reserved as a town site and that all private lands or
interests therein within the limits described forthwith to be brought within
the operation of the Land Registration Act, and to become registered land
within the meaning of said Registration Act. It shall be the duty of the
judge of said court to issue a notice thereof, stating that claims for all
private lands of interests therein within the limits described must be
presented for registration under the Land Registration Act in the manner
provided in Act Numbered six hundred and twenty seven entitled "An Act
to bring immediately under the operation of the land Registration Act all
lands lying within the boundaries lawfully set apart for military
reservations, and all land desired to be purchased by the Government of
the United states for military purposes." The procedure for the purpose of
this section and the legal effects thereof shall thereupon be in all respect as
provided in sections three, four, five, and six of said Act numbered six
hundred and twenty seven.
Sec. 63. All proceedings under this chapter involving title to or interest in
land shall be conducted and considered as an application for registration of
such land, and the final decrees of the court shall in every case be the basis
for the original certificate of title in favor of the person entitled to the
property under the procedure prescribed in section forty one of the Land
Registration Act.
Sec. 64. If in the hearing of any application arising under this chapter the
court shall find that more than one person or claimant has an interest on
the land, such conflicting interests shall be adjudicated by the court and
decrees awarded in favor of the persons or persons entitled to the land
according to the laws of the Philippine Islands, except that where the
action is voluntarily dismissed by the parties interested the order of the
court shall be merely one of dismissal without affecting title.
Sec. 65. Whenever, in any proceedings under this chapter to secure
registration of an incomplete or imperfect claim of title initiated prior to
the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States, it shall appear
that had such claim been prosecuted to completion under the laws
prevailing when instituted, and under the conditions of the grant then
contemplated, the conveyance of such land to the applicant would not have
been gratuitous but would have involved payment therefor to the
Government, then and in that event, the court shall, after decreasing in
when title should vest, further determine the amount to be paid as a
condition for the registration of the land. Such judgment shall be certified
to the Bureau of Public Lands by the clerk of the court for collection of the
amount due from the person entitled to conveyance. Upon payment to the
Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, of the price specified in the
judgment, the case shall be returned by him to the Court of Land
Registration with a notation of such payment, whereupon the registration
of the land in favor of the party entitled thereto shall be ordered by the
court. If the applicant shall fail to pay the amount of money required by the
decree within a reasonable time after he received notice thereof the court
may order the proceeding to stand dismissed and the title to the land shall
then be in the Government free from any claim of the applicant.
42 LTD PD 1529
Sec. 66. Whenever any judgment of confirmation or other decree of the
court involving public lands shall become final, the clerk of the court shall
certify that fact to the Bureau of Public Lands with a copy of the decree of
confirmation or judgment of the court, which shall plainly state the
location, boundaries and are as nearly as may be, of the tract involved in
the decree or judgment, and shall be accompanied by a plan of the land as
confirmed or acted upon by the court. In the event the original survey was
made by the Bureau of Public Lands, and the decree of the court conforms
thereto, no further proceedings shall be required. When the original survey
was made by the applicant or where the tract confirmed by the court varied
from the original survey as made by the Bureau of Public Lands, the Chief
of the Bureau of Public Lands shall immediately cause the tract, so
confirmed by the court, to be surveyed at the cost of the Insular
Government, and shall, when such survey has been approved by him,
furnish a copy of same to the Court of Land Registration and to the
applicant, which survey when approved by the court, and unless objected
to by the applicant with thirty days, shall be conclusively presumed to be
correct. If objection is made to the survey by the applicant, the court, upon
notice to the Bureau of Public Lands, shall hear such objections, and its
action in the matter shall be final.
Sec. 67. No title to, or right or equity in, any public lands in the Philippine
Islands may hereafter be acquired by prescription or by adverse possession
or occupancy, or under or by virtue of any laws in effect prior to American
occupation, except as expressly provided by laws enacted or provided
since the acquisition of the Islands by the United States.
CHAPTER VII
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 68. The short title of this Act shall be "The Public Land Act."
Sec. 69. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, under the supervision of
the Secretary of the Interior, shall prepare and issue such forms and
instructions, consistent with this Act, or may be necessary and proper to
carry into effect all the provisions thereof that are to be administered by or
under the direction of the Bureau of Public Lands, and for the conduct of
all proceedings arising under such provision.
Sec. 70. While title to public lands in the Philippine Islands remains in the
Government, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands under the
supervision of the Secretary of the Interior shall be charged with the
immediate executive control of the survey, classification lease sale, and
other disposition and management thereof and the decisions of the Bureau
as to questions of facts relating to such lands shall be conclusive when
approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
Sec. 71. The Civil Governor, for reasons of public policy, may, from time
to time by proclamation, designate any tract or tracts of public lands in the
Philippines as nonalienable, and thereafter the same shall be withdrawn
from settlement, entry, sale or other disposition under any of the public
land laws of the islands until again made subject thereto by law of the
islands.
Sec. 72. Provincial-secretaries and all other persons that may be designated
as mining recorders shall, in their capacities as such recorders, be subject
to the supervision of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands.
Sec. 73. All patents or certificates for lands disposed of under this law
shall be prepared in the Bureau of Public Lands and shall issue in the name
of the United States and the Philippine Government under the signature of
the Civil Governor; but such patents or certificates shall be effective only
for the purposes defined in section one hundred and twenty two of the
Land Registration Act, and the actual conveyance of the land shall be
effected only as provided in said section.
Sec. 74. All persons receiving title to Government lands under the
provisions of this Act, shall hold such lands subject to the same public
servitudes as existed upon lands owned by private persons under the
sovereignty of Spain, including those with reference to the literal of the sea
and the banks of navigable rivers or rivers upon which rafting may be
done.
Sec. 75. The beneficial use of water shall be the basis, the measure, and the
limit of all rights thereto in said islands, and the patents herein granted
shall be subject to the right of the Government of these islands to make
sure rules and regulations for the use of water and the protection of the
water supply, and for other public purposes, as it may deem best for the
public good. Whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the use of water
for mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes have vested and
accrued, and the same are recognized and acknowledged by the local
customs, laws and decisions of the courts, the possessors and owners of
such vested rights shall be maintained and protected in the same, and all
patents granted under this Act shall be subject to any vested and accrued
rights to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such water rights
as may have been acquired in the manner above described prior to April
eleventh eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.

Sec. 76. There is hereby reserved from the operation of all patents,
certificates, entries, and grants by the Insular Government authorized
under this Act the right to use for the purposes of power any flow of water
in any stream running through or by the land granted to convertible power
from which at ordinary low water exceeds fifty horsepower. Where the
convertible power in any running through or running by land granted under
the authority of this Act thus exceeds fifty horsepower, and there is no
means of using such power except by the occupation of a part of the land
granted under authority of this Act, then no such land as is reasonably
necessary for the mill site or site for the power house, and for a suitable
dam and site for messing the water, is hereby excepted from such grant,
not exceeding four hectares, and a right of way to the nearest public
highway from the land thus excepted, and also a right of way for the
construction and maintenance of such flumes, aqueducts, wires, poles, or
other conduits as may be needed in conveying the water to the point where
its fall will yield the greatest power, or the power from the point of
conversion or easement upon the land granted by authority of this Act;
Provided, however, That when the government or any concessionaire of
the Government shall take possession of land under this section which a
grantee under this Act shall have paid for, supposing it to be subject to
grant under this Act, said grantee shall be entitled to indemnity from the
Government or the concessionaire for the amount if any, paid by him to
the Government for the land taken from him by virtue of this section; And
provided further, That with respect to the flow of water, except for
converting the same into power exceeding fifty horsepower, said grantee
shall be entitled to the same use of the water flowing through or along his
land that other private owners enjoy by the laws of the Philippine Islands,
subject to the governmental regulation provided in the previous section.
Water power privileges in which the convertible power are, ordinary low
water shall exceed fifty horsepower shall be disposed of only upon terms
to be embodied in a special Act of the Commission until a general law
shall be passed concerning the use, lease, or acquisition of such water
privilege.
Sec. 77. Any person who shall wilfully and knowingly submit or cause to
be submitted any false proof, or who shall make, or cause to be made any
false affidavit in support of any application or claim in any manner
respecting the public lands of the Philippine Islands, shall be deemed
guilty of perjury and punished accordingly.
Sec. 78. The provisions of this Act shall extend and apply to all provinces
and places of the Philippine archipelago except the Moro provinces of
Lepanto-Bontoc, Benguet, Paragua, and Nueva Vizcaya; but the provisions
of this Act or of any chapter hereof may at any time by resolution of the
Philippine Commission, be extended over and put in force in any of the
provinces or any part thereof hereby excepted from its operation.
Sec. 79. When this Act shall have been approved by the President of the
United States and shall have received the express or implied sanction of
Congress, as provided by section thirteen of the Act of Congress approved
July first, nineteen hundred and two, entitled "An Act temporarily to
provide for the administration of the affairs of civil government on the
Philippine Island, and for other purposes such facts shall be made known
by the proclamation of the civil Governor of the Island, and this Act shall
take effect on the date of such proclamation.
ACT NO. 926
ACT NO. 926 - AN ACT PRESCRIBING RULES AND
REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE HOMESTEADING,
SELLING, AND LEASING OF PORTIONS OF THE PUBLIC
DOMAIN OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, PRESCRIBING
TERMS AND CONDITIONS TO ENABLE PERSONS TO
PERFECT FOR THE ISSUANCE OF PATENTS WITHOUT
COMPENSATION TO CERTAIN NATIVE SETTLERS UPON THE
PUBLIC LANDS, PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
TOWN SITES AND SALES OF LOTS THEREIN, AND
PROVIDING FOR A HEARING AND DECISION BY THE COURT
OF LAND REGISTRATION OF ALL APPLICATIONS FOR THE
COMPLETION AND CONFIRMATION OF ALL IMPERFECT
AND INCOMPLETE SPANISH CONCESSIONS AND GRANTS IN
SAID ISLANDS, AS AUTHORIZED BY SECTIONS THIRTEEN,
FOURTEEN AND FIFTEEN OF THE ACT OF CONGRESS OF
JULY FIRST NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWO, ENTITLED "AN
ACT TEMPORARILY TO PROVIDE FOR THE
ADMINISTRATION OF THE AFFAIRS OF CIVIL
GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES"
By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine
Commission that:
CHAPTER I the making of final proof, it is proved to the satisfaction of the Chief of
HOMESTEADS ON THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
43 LTD PD 1529
Section 1. Any citizen of the Philippine Islands, or of the United
States, or of any Insular possession thereof, over the age of twenty-one
years or the head of a family may, as hereinafter provided, enter a
homestead of not exceeding sixteen hectares of unoccupied,
unreserved unappropriated agricultural public land in the Philippine
Islands, as defined by the Act of Congress of July first, nineteen
hundred and two entitled "An Act temporarily to provide for the
administration of the affairs of civil government in the Philippine
Islands, and for other purposes which shall be taken, if on surveyed
lands, by legal subdivisions, but if on unsurveyed lands shall be
located in a body which shall be as nearly as practicable rectangular
in shape and not more than eight hundred meters in length; but no
person who is the owner of more than sixteen hectares of land in said
islands or who has had the benefits of any gratuitous allotment of
sixteen hectares of land since the acquisition of the Islands by the
United States, shall be entitled to the benefits of this chapter.
Sec. 2. Any person applying to enter land under the provisions of this
chapter shall file with such officer as may be designated by law as
local land officer, or in case there be no such officer than with the
Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, an application under oath
showing that he has the qualifications required under section one of
this chapter, and that he possesses none of the disqualifications there
mentioned that such application is made for his exclusive use and
benefits: that the same is made for the purpose of actual settlement
and cultivation, and not either directly or indirectly, for the use or
benefit of any other person, persons, corporation or association of
persons; that the land applied for is non-mineral, does not contain
valuable deposits of coal or salts, is more valuable for agricultural
than forestry purposes, and is not occupied by any other person; and
showing the location of the land by stating the province, municipality,
and barrio in which the same is situated, and as accurate a description
as may be given, showing the boundaries of the land, having reference
to natural objects and permanent monuments, if any. Upon the filing
of said application the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall
summarily determine, by inquiry of the Chief of the Bureau of
Forestry and from the available land records, whether the land
described is prima facie subject under the law to homestead
settlement, and, if he shall find nothing to the contrary, the applicant,
upon the payment of ten pesos, Philippine currency, shall be
permitted to enter the quantity of land specified, provided, however,
that the option of the applicant, payment of said entry fee and of the
fee prescribed in section three hereof may be made it five annual
installments of four pesos each. These payments may be made to the
municipal treasurer of the locality who, in turn, shall forward to the
provincial treasurer the amounts received on this account. In case of
the delinquency of the applicant in the payment of any said
installments, thirty days after having become delinquent, he shall lose
ipso facto his rights to the land in question, shall not be entitled to the
reimbursement of the installments which he may have paid, and the
land shall become vacant and open to entry by another. 
Sec. 3. No certificate shall be given or patent issued for the land
applied for until the expiration of five years from the date of filing of
the application; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at any time
within three years thereafter, the person filing such application shall
prove by two credible witnesses that he has resided upon the land for
the last two years immediately preceding the day of such proof, and
cultivated the land for the term of five years immediately succeeding
the time of filing the application aforesaid, and shall make affidavit
that no part of said land has been alienated or encumbered, and that
he has borne true allegiance to the Government of the United States
and that of the Philippine Islands, then, upon payment of a fee of ten
pesos, Philippine currency, or upon the payment of the last of the five
installments provided for in section two, to such officer as may be
designated by law as local land officer, or in case there be no such
officer then to the Director of Lands, he shall be entitled to a patent,
provided, however, That in the event of the death of an applicant
prior to the issuance of a patent his widow shall be entitled to have a
patent for the land applied for issue to her upon showing that she has
consummated the requirements of law for homesteading the lands as
above set out; and in case the applicant dies before the issuance of the
patent and does not leave a widow, then the interest of the applicant in
the land shall descend and patent shall issue to the persons who under
the laws of the Philippine Islands would have taken, had the title been
perfected by patent before the death of the applicant, upon proof, by
the persons thus entitled, of compliance with said requirement and
conditions. (As amended by Act No. 1864.)
Sec. 4. No lands acquired under the provisions of this chapter shall in
any event become liable to the satisfactions of any debt contracted
prior to the issuance of a patent therefor
Sec. 5. If, at any time after the filing of the application as herein-above
provided and before the expiration of the period allowed by law for
the Bureau of Public Lands, after due notice to the homesteader, that
the land entered is not under the law subject to homestead entry, or
that the homesteader has actually changed his residence, voluntarily
abandoned the land for more than six months at any one time during
the two years of residence herein required, or has otherwise failed to
comply with the requirements of law, then in that even the Chief of
the Bureau of Public Lands may cancel the entry, subject to appeal
under proper regulations to the Secretary of the Interior, and the land
thereupon shall become subject to disposition as other public lands of
like character.
Sec. 6. Not more than one homestead entry shall be allowed to any one
person.
Sec. 7. Before final proof shall be submitted by any person claiming to
have complied with the provisions of this chapter, due notice, as
prescribed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior, shall be given to the public
of his intention to make such proof, stating thereon the time and
places, and giving a description of the land and the names of the
witnesses by whom it is expected that the necessary facts will be
established.
Sec. 8. Any person may file an affidavit of contest against any
homestead entry, charging that the land entered was not unoccupied,
unreserved, or unappropriated agricultural land at the time of filing
the application, alleging disqualification of the entryman, non-
compliance with law as to residents or cultivation, or any other matter
which, if proven, would be just cause for the cancellation of the entry,
and upon successful termination of the contest, the contestant, if a
qualified entryman shall be allowed a preference right of entry for
sixty days from said date.
The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands or any public official
becoming aware of the existence of any of the grounds above stated,
for impeaching or cancelling the entry, may file formal complaint
against the entry on such ground which, if proven, shall cause the
cancellation of the entry.
Sec. 9. No patent shall issue under the provisions of this chapter until
the land has been surveyed under the direction of the Chief of the
Bureau of Public Lands and an accurate plan made thereof, the cost
of which survey shall be borne by the Insular Government.
CHAPTER II
SALES OF PORTIONS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
Sec. 10. Any citizen of the Philippine Islands, or of the United States or of
any insular possession therefor, or any corporation or like association of
persons organized under the laws of the Philippine Islands or of the United
States or any state, territory, or insular possession thereof, and authorized
to transact business in the Philippine Islands, may purchase any tract of
unoccupied, unappropriated and unreserved non-mineral agricultural
public land in the Philippine Islands, as defined in the Act of Congress of
July first, nineteen hundred and two, not to exceed sixteen hectares for an
individual or one thousand and twenty-four hectares for an individual or
one thousand and twenty-four hectares for a corporation or like
association, by proceeding as hereinafter provided in this chapter,
provided, that no association of persons not organized as above and no
more partnership shall be entitled to purchase a greater quantity than will
equal sixteen hectares for each member thereof.
Sec. 11. Purchases made under the provisions of this chapter of land
previously surveyed must be made of contiguous legal subdivisions. All
lands purchases hereunder, whether previously surveyed or not, in case the
tract sought to be purchased exceeds sixty-four hectares in area, must be
taken, wherever possible, in the form of contiguous squares which shall
contain at least sixty four hectares each, provided, That in connection with
the purchase of lands in one or more tracts of sixty-four hectares there may
be purchased one rectangular tract of thirty-two hectares, the longer side
of which must be contiguous to the square tract of sixty four hectares, or to
one of such tracts if more than one be purchased. In no case may lands
purchased under the provisions of this chapter be taken in such manner as
to gain any such control of any adjacent land, water, stream, shore line,
way, roadstead, or other valuable right as might be prejudicial to the
interests of the public.
Sec. 12. An application to purchase land under this chapter must be filed
with such officer as may designated by law as local land officer, or in case
there be no such officer then with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands.
It must be executed under oath and must state the citizenship of the
applicant and his post-office address; the location of the land desired,
stating the province, municipality, and barrio in which the same is
situated, and as accurate a description as can be given, showing the
boundaries of the land, having reference to natural objects and permanent
monuments, if any; a statement as to whether any part of the land is
occupied or improved, and that it is non-mineral in character, more
valuable for agricultural than for forestry purposes, and does not contain
deposits of coal or salts. The application of a corporation must be
accompanied by a certified copy of its charter or articles of incorporation.
44 LTD PD 1529
An unincorporated association must show that its members are severally
possessed of the qualifications above required of individuals. In the case
of a corporation or association organized outside of the Philippine Islands
there must be attached to the application proper documentary evidence
that the law governing the transaction of business in the Philippine Islands
by foreign corporations or associations has been complied with.
Sec. 13. It shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to
examine all applications to purchase under this chapter, and to determine
whether the applicant has the qualifications acquired in section ten thereof,
and from the certificate of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry to determine
whether the land applied for is more valuable for agricultural than forestry
purposes. He shall report his findings to the Secretary of the Interior, who,
after proper consideration and approval of same, shall order the sale to be
made.
It shall also be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to
appraise the land applied for under this chapter, which appraisement shall
not be less than ten pesos, Philippine currency, per hectare, and in making
this appraisal he may call to his assistance any provincial or municipal
official of the province in which the land lies, when the land shall have
been appraised, as herein above provided, the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands shall advertise the same for sale, by publishing a notice
thereof once a week for six consecutive weeks, in two newspapers, one
published at Manila and the other (if any such there be) published near the
land applied for, such notices to be published in both the English and
Spanish languages. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall, with
the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, prescribe, in addition to the
publication in newspapers, a suitable method of posting notice upon the
land sought to be purchased or in the pueblo where the land is situated.
The notices shall state a date not earlier than ten days after the date of the
last publication of the notice in the newspaper published at Manila, upon
which date the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands will award the land to
the highest bidder, or will call for new bids, or otherwise proceed as
provided by law.
Sec. 14. All bids must be sealed and addressed to the Chief of the Bureau
of Public Lands, and must have enclosed therewith a certified check or a
post-office money order payable to his order, for twenty-five per centum
of the amount of the bid, which amount shall be retained, in case the bid is
accepted, as part payment of the purchase price: Provided, That no bids
shall be considered which are for less than the appraised value of the land.
Sec. 15. Upon the opening of the bids the land shall be awarded to the
highest bidder. If there are two or more bidders which are higher than
other bidders and are equal, and one of such higher and equal bids is the
bid of the applicant, his bid shall be accepted. If, however, the bid of the
applicant is not one of such equal and higher bids, then the Chief of the
Bureau of Public Lands shall at once submit the lands for public bidding,
and to the person making the highest bid on such public auction the land
shall be awarded, but no bid received at such public auction shall be
finally accepted until the bidder shall have deposited twenty-five per
centum of his bid, as required in section fourteen. The deposits of all
unsuccessful bidders shall be returned at once by the Chief of the Bureau
of Public Lands. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior, shall have authority to reject any
and all bids hereunder.
Sec. 16. Lands sold under the provisions of this chapter must be paid for in
the following manner: The balance of the purchase price after deducting
the amount paid by check or post office money order at the time of
submitting the bid, may be paid in full upon the making of the award, or
may be paid in equal annual installments, or may be paid in one
installment at the expiration of five years from the date of the award. All
sums remaining unpaid after date of the award shall bear six per centum
interest per annum from such date until paid.
Sec. 17. No patent shall issue under the provisions of this chapter until the
land has been surveyed under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands and as accurate plat made thereof. The cost of such survey
must be borne by the purchaser, if a corporation or like association, and if
the survey be made in advance of the regular surveys of the Island: but
where the purchaser is an individual the cost of the survey shall be borne
by the Insular Government. Patents shall not be issued until after the
expiration of five years from the date of the award, and before the same
shall issue the purchaser must show actual occupancy, cultivation, and
improvement of the premises for a period of five years immediately
succeeding the date of the award, and that he has not sold the land or in
any manner encumbered the title.
Sec. 18. If at any time after the date of the award and before the issuance
of patent, it is proven to the satisfaction of the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands after due notice to the purchaser, that the purchaser has
voluntarily abandoned the land for more than one year at any time, or has
otherwise failed to comply with the requirements of the law, then the land
shall be reverted to the Government and all prior payments of purchase
money shall be forfeited.
Sec. 19. This chapter shall be held to authorize only one purchase of the
maximum amount of land hereunder by the same person, or by the same
corporation or association of persons; and no corporation or association,
any member of which shall have taken the benefits of this chapter, either
as an individual or as a member of any other corporation or association
shall purchase any other public lands under this chapter.
Sec. 20. In the event of the death of an individual applicant subsequent to
the date of the filing of the applicant and prior to the issuance of patent,
the distributes of his estate, as defined by law, may claim the privilege of
being subrogated to the rights of the deceased applicant, and if they
consummate the requirements of law for purchasing land hereunder, patent
shall issue to such distributes.
Sec. 21. If any land applied for under the provisions of this chapter shall
be actually occupied by any person who is qualified to make a homestead
or other entry under the public land laws of the Philippine Islands, or by
any native who is entitled by law to a free patent such person shall be
personally served with notice as to his rights, and shall be allowed a
preference right of one hundred and twenty days within which to make
entry or apply for patent.
CHAPTER III
LEASES OF PORTIONS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
Sec. 22. Any citizen of the United States, or of the Philippine Islands, or of
any insular possession of the United States, or any corporation or
association of persons organized under the laws of the Philippine Islands,
or of any state, territory, or insular possession thereof, authorized by the
laws of its creation and any by the laws of the Philippine Islands and the
Acts of Congress applicable thereto to transact business in the Philippine
Islands, may lease any tract of unoccupied, unreserved, nonmineral
agricultural public lands, as defined by sections eighteen and twenty of the
Act of Congress approved July first, nineteen hundred and two providing a
temporary government for the Philippine Islands, and so forth, not
exceeding one thousand and twenty-four hectares, by proceeding as
hereinafter in this chapter indicated; Provided, That no lease shall be
permitted to interfere with any prior claim by settlement or occupation
until the consent of the occupant or settler is first had and obtained, or
until such claim shall be legally extinguished; And provided, further, That
no corporation or association of person shall be permitted to lease lands
hereunder which are not reasonably necessary to enable it to carry one the
business for which it was lawfully created and which it may lawfully
pursue in the Philippine Islands.
Sec. 23. Leases made under the provisions of this chapter, of land
previously surveyed, must be made of contiguous legal subdivisions. All
lands leased hereunder, whether previously surveyed or not, in case the
tract sought to be leased exceeds sixty-four hectares in area, must be taken
where possible in the form of contiguous squares, which shall contain at
least sixty-four hectares each: Provided, That in connection with the lease
of lands in one or more tracts of sixty-four hectares there may be leased
one rectangular tract of thirty two hectares, the longer side of which must
be continuous to the square tract of sixty four hectares, or to one of such
tracts if more than one be leased. In no case may lands leased under the
provisions of this chapter be taken so as to gain a control of adjacent land,
water, stream, shore line, way, roadstead, or other valuable right which in
the opinion of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands would be
prejudicial to the interests of the public.
Sec. 24. An application to lease land under this chapter must be executed
under oath and filed with such officer as may be designated by law as
local land officer of the district in which the land is situated, or in case
there be no such officer then with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands;
and must show the following facts: The citizenship and post office address
of the applicant; the location of the land, showing the province,
municipality, and barrio in which the same is situated, and as accurate a
description as may be given, showing the boundaries of the land, having
reference to natural objects and permanent monuments, if any, a statement
as to whether the land contains any improvements or evidences of
settlement and cultivation, and a statement that it is nonmineral in
character, more valuable for agricultural than for forestry purposes and
does not contain deposits of coal and salts. Corporations and associations
shall be required to file evidence of their legal existence and authority to
transact business in the Philippine Islands.
Sec. 25. All applicants for the lease under the terms of this chapter must
give notice, by publication and by such other means as may be required by
the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the
Secretary of Interior, of intent to make application to lease the tract in
question, which notice shall state the date when the application will be
presented and shall describe as definitely as practicable the land sought to
be leased.
Sec. 26. It shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to
examine all applications for leases under this chapter, and to determine
whether the applicant has the qualifications required in section twenty-two
hereof, and, from the certificate of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, to
45 LTD PD 1529
determine whether the land applied for is more valuable for agricultural
than forestry purposes, and further summarily to determine from available
records whether the land nonmineral and does not contain deposits of coal
or salts. He shall report his findings to the Secretary of Interior, who after
proper consideration and approval of same, shall cause the lease to be
executed.
Sec. 27. The rate per hectare per annum for lands leased under this chapter
shall be fixed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and shall in no case be less than
fifty centavos, Philippine Currency, per hectare per annum, said rent shall
be paid yearly in advance, the first payment being deposited with the Chief
of the Bureau of Public Lands before the delivery of the lease.
Sec. 28. Leases hereunder shall run for a period of not more than twenty-
five years, but may be renewed for a second period of twenty-five years, at
a rate to be fixed as above indicated, which rate shall not be less than fifty
centavos per hectare and shall not exceed one peso and fifty centavos,
Philippine currency per hectare. Land leased hereunder shall not be
assigned or sublet without the consent of the Bureau of Public Lands and
the Secretary of the Interior.
Sec. 29. No land shall be leased under the provisions of this chapter until
the land has been surveyed under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau
of Public Lands and an accurate plat made thereof, the cost of the survey
to be borne by the lessee.
Sec. 30. The lease of any lands under this chapter shall not confer the right
to remove or dispose of any valuable timber except as provided in
regulations of the Bureau of Forestry for cutting timber upon such lands.
Nor shall such lease confer the right to remove or dispose of stone, oil,
coal, salts, or other minerals, but the lease as to the part thereof which
shall be mineral may be cancelled by the Chief of the Bureau of Public
Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, whenever the
mineral character of such part shall be made satisfactorily to appear, after
due notice of the lessee.
Sec. 31. The commission of waste or the violation of the forestry
regulations by the lessee shall work a forfeiture of his last payment of the
rent and render him liable to immediate dispossession and suit for damage.
CHAPTER IV
FREE PATENTS TO NATIVE SETTLERS
Sec. 32. Any native of the Philippine Islands now as occupant and
cultivator of unreserved, unappropriated agricultural public land, as
defined by the Act of Congress of July first, nineteen hundred and two,
who has continuously occupied and cultivated such land, either by himself
or through his ancestors, since August first, eighteen hundred and ninety;
or who prior to August first, eighteen hundred and ninety eighty
continuously occupied and cultivated such land for three years
immediately prior to said date, and who has been continuously since July
fourth, nineteen hundred and two, until the date of the taking effect of this
Act, an occupier and cultivator of such land, shall be entitled to have a
patent issued to him without compensation for such tract of land, not
exceeding sixteen hectares, as hereinafter in this chapter provided.
Sec. 33. Any person desiring to obtain the benefits of this chapter unit,
prior to January first, nineteen hundred and twenty-three file an
application for a patent with such officer as may be designated by law as
local land officer, or in case there be no such officer then with the Director
of Lands. Said application must be executed under oath, and must show
the following facts: The name, age, and post-office address of the
applicant; That he is a native of the Philippine Islands; The location of the
land desired, stating the province, municipality, and barrio in which the
same is situated, and as accurate a description as may be given, showing
the boundaries of the land, having reference to natural objects and
permanent monuments, if any; That the land is not claimed or occupied by
any other person; a statement as to date when the applicant or his ancestor
giving the name of the ancestor and stating his relationship to the
applicant, entered into occupation and began cultivation, and a description
of the improvements which have been made. If the first occupation and
cultivation is claimed through an ancestor, the applicant must show the
name of such ancestor and must file satisfactory evidence of the date and
place of his death and burial, in which case the patent shall issue in the
name of the heir or heirs of such ancestor as defined by the laws of the
Philippine Islands. (As amended by Act No. 2222).
Sec. 34. Upon receipt of the said application it shall be the duty of the
Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to cause a careful investigation to be
made in such manner as he shall deem necessary for the ascertainment of
the truth of the allegations therein contained and if satisfied upon such
investigation that the applicant comes within the provisions of this chapter,
he shall cause a patent to issue for the tract to such applicant, or to the
heirs of his ancestor, as provided in the next preceding section, not
exceeding sixteen hectares in extent: Provided, That no application shall
be finally acted upon until notice thereof has been published in the
municipality and barrios in which the land is located, and adverse
claimants have had an opportunity to present their claims: And provided
further, That no patent shall issue until the land has been surveyed under
the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands and accurate plat
made thereof.
Sec. 35. Lands acquired under the provisions of this chapter shall be
inalienable and shall not be subject to encumbrances for a period of seven
years from the date of the issuance of the patent therefor, and shall not be
liable for the satisfaction of any debt contracted prior to the expiration of
that period.
CHAPTER V shall after the approval and recording of the plat of subdivision as above
TOWN SITES
Sec. 36. Whenever in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior it shall be
in the public interest to reserve a town site from the public land or to
acquire lands for such purpose by the exercise of the right of the eminent
domain, he shall direct the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to have
made a survey if the exterior boundaries of the land which he deems it
wise so to reserve or acquire.
Sec. 37. Upon the completion and return of the survey mentioned in
section thirty-six the Secretary of the Interior shall forward the same to the
Philippine Commission with his recommendations.
Sec. 38. The Commission, if it approve the recommendations of the
Secretary of the Interior, shall pass a resolution reserving the land
surveyed, or such part thereof as it may deem wise, as a town site, and a
certified copy of such resolution shall be sent to the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands, who shall record the same in the records of his office and
forward a certified copy of such record to the register of the province in
which the surveyed land lies.
Sec. 39. It shall then be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public
Lands, having recorded the resolution of the Commission and the
preliminary survey accompanying the same, to direct a subdivision and
plat of the land, in accordance with the directions contained in the
resolution approving the same, if such resolution contain directions as to
the method of subdivision, or if it contain no such direction, then in a
manner which shall to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands seem best
adapted to the convenience and interest of the public and the residents of
the future town.
Sec. 40. The Commission, by resolution, or in the absence of action in this
regard by the Commission, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, shall
reserve from the land to be platted, lots of sufficient size and convenient
situation for public uses, as well as the necessary avenues, streets, alleys,
parks, and plazas.
Sec. 41. The plat of the subdivision shall designate certain lots as business
lots and the remainder as residence lots, and shall also reserve and note the
lots of land owned by private individuals as evidenced by record titles, or
as possessed and claimed by them as private property: Provided, however,
that the avenues, streets, alleys, parks, plazas, and lots shall be laid out on
the plat as though the lands owned or claimed by private persons were part
of the reservation, with a view to the possible subsequent purchase or
condemnation thereof if deemed necessary by the proper authorities.
Sec. 42. All lots, whether public or private contained in the exterior
boundaries shall be platted and numbered upon a general plan or system.
Sec. 43. The plat of the subdivision of the reserve town site thus prepared
under the supervision of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall be
submitted to the Secretary of the Interior for presentation of the
Commission for its consideration, modification, amendment, or approval.
Sec. 44. The resolution of the Commission approving the plat shall
provide whether the proceeds derived from the sale of lots shall be
covered into the Insular Treasury as general Insular funds, or as a special
fund to be devoted to public improvements in or near the town site, and
thereafter the receipts from the sale of lots shall be applied as provided in
the resolution of the Commission.
Sec. 45. Where the proceeds of the sale are to constitute a fund to be
devoted to public improvements in or near the town site, the same be
expended by provided by law or resolution of the Commission.
Sec. 46. When the plat of subdivision is approved by the Commission it
shall be certified to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, together with
the resolution approving the same, and the Chief of the Bureau of Public
Lands shall record the same in the records of his office and shall forward a
certified copy of such record to the registrar of the province in which the
land lies, to be by such registrar recorded in the records of his office.
Sec. 47. All lots except those claimed by or belonging to private owners
and claimants and excepting such lots and tracts as may be reserved for
parks, public buildings, and public uses, shall be sold under the direction
of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, as hereinafter in this chapter
46 LTD PD 1529
provided, and the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval
of the Secretary of the Interior, shall prescribe rules and regulations for
disposal of lots hereunder.
Sec. 48. All lots in the reservation which are subject to sale as above
provided shall, if in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior the value of
the lots is sufficiently known to make an appraisement useful, be
appraised by a committee to be appointed by the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
Sec. 49. The lots in any such town site thus established and subject to sale,
provided, and after due advertisement, be sold at public auction to the
highest bidder but no bid shall be accepted, in case of appraised lots, if the
bid does not equal two thirds of the appraised value, and in the case of lots
not appraised the bid shall not be accepted if in the judgment of the Chief
of the Bureau of Public Lands and Secretary of the Interior the bid is an
inadequate price for lot.
Sec. 50. Not more than two residence lots and two business lots in any one
town site shall be sold to only one person, corporation, or association
without the specific approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
Sec. 51. Lots which have been offered for sale in the manner herein
prescribed, and for which no satisfactory bid has been received, shall be
again offered for sale after due advertisement, and if at the second sale no
satisfactory bid is received, they may be sold at private sale by the Chief
of the Bureau of Public Lands for not less than their value, as appraised by
a committee to be appointed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands
with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
Sec. 52. In any case in which, in the opinion of the Commission, it shall be
necessary to condemn private lands within the reserved or proposed limits
of a townsite, either for streets, alleys, parks, or as lots for public buildings
or other public uses, the Commission shall pass a resolution declaring the
necessity for the same which resolution shall be certified to the Attorney-
General, who shall at once begin proceedings for the condemnation of the
lands described in the resolution in accordance with the provisions of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
Sec. 53. Town sites constituted under the provisions of this chapter on
land forming a part of an exist municipality shall remain within the
jurisdiction of such municipality until taken therefrom by legislative action
of the Commission.
CHAPTER VI
UNPERFECTED TITLE AND SPANISH GRANTS AND
CONCESSIONS
1.
Sec. 54. The following described persons or their legal
successors in right, occupying public lands in the Philippine
Islands, or claiming to own any such lands or an interest therein,
but whose titles to such lands have not been perfected, may
apply to the Court of Land Registration of the Philippine Islands
for confirmation of their claims and the issuances of a
certificate of title therefor, to wit:
1. All persons who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from
Spain to the United States had fulfilled all the conditions
required by the Spanish laws and royal decrees of the Kingdom
of Spain for the purchase of public lands, including the payment
of the purchase price, but who failed to secure formal
conveyance of title;
2. All persons who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from
Spain to the United States, having applied for the purchase of
public lands and having secured a survey, auction, and an
award, or a right to an award, of such lands, did not receive title
therefor through no fault upon their part;
3. All persons who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from
Spain to the United States, having applied for the purchase of
public lands and having secured a survey and award of same,
did not through negligence upon their part, comply with the
conditions of full or any payment therefor, but who after such
survey and award shall have occupied the land adversely,
except as prevented by war or force majeure, until the taking
effect of this Act;
4. All persons who were entitled to apply and did apply for
adjustment or composition of title to lands against the
Government under the Spanish laws and royal decrees in force
prior to the royal decree of February thirteen, eighteen hundred
and ninety-four, but who failed to receive title therefor through
no default upon their part;
5. All persons who were entitled to a gratuitous title to public
lands by "possessory proceedings" under the provisions of
 articles nineteen and twenty of the royal decree of the king of
Spain issued February thirteen, eighteen hundred and ninety-
four, and who, having complied with all the conditions therein
required failed to receive title therefor through no default upon
their part; and
6. All persons who by themselves or their predecessors in
interest has been in the open, continuous exclusive, and
notorious possession and occupation of agricultural public
lands, as defined by said Act of Congress of July first, nineteen
hundred and two, under a bona fide claim of ownership except
as against the Government, for a period of ten years next
preceding the taking effect of this Act except when prevented
by war or force majeure, shall be conclusively presumed to have
performed all the conditions essential to a government grant and
to have received the same, and shall be entitled to a certificate
of title to such land under the provisions of this chapter.
All applicants for lands under paragraphs one, two, three, four,
and five of this section must establish by proper official records
or documents that such proceedings as are therein required were
taken and the necessary conditions complied with; Provided,
however, that such requirements shall not apply to the fact of
adverse possession.
Sec. 55. All persons claiming title to Government lands not
coming within the classes specified in the preceding section are
excluded from the benefits of this chapter.
Sec. 56. Any person or persons, or their legal representatives or
successors in right, claiming any land or interest in lands in the
Philippines under the provisions of this chapter, and who now
desire or claim the right to have such title perfected must in
every case present an application in writing to the Court of Land
Registration praying that the validity of the alleged title or claim
be inquired into and that a certificate of title issue to then under
the provisions of the Land Registration Act for the lands
claimed.
Sec. 57. Such claims and applications shall conform as nearly as
may in their material allegations to the requirements of an
application for registration under the provisions of section
twenty-one and subsequent sections of the Land Registration
Act, and shall be accompanied by a plan of the land and all
documents evidencing a right on the part of the applicant to the
land claimed. The application shall also set forth fully the nature
of the claim to the land, and when based upon proceedings
initiated under Spanish laws shall particularly state the date and
form of the grant, concession, warrant, or order of survey under
which the claim is made; by whom such grant, concession,
warrant or order of survey was made; the extent of the
compliance with the conditions required by the Spanish laws
and royal decrees for the acquisition of legal title, and if not
fully complied with the reason for such noncompliance,
together with a statement of the length of time such land or any
portion thereof has been actually occupied by the claimant and
his predecessors in interest; the use made of the land, and the
nature of the enclosure, if any. The face provided to be paid for
the registration of land under the Land Registration Act shall be
collected from applicants under this chapter, except that upon
the original registration of land claimed hereunder no fee shall
be required for the assurance fund.
Sec. 58. Any applicant for registration of lands under the
provisions of this chapter may, upon petition directed to the
Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, and upon payment of the
fees as regulated by law, secure a survey and plan of the lands
claimed to be owned by him, which said plan shall be filed with
his application in the Court of Land Registration.
Sec. 59. Upon the filing of claims and applications for
registration in the Court of Land Registration, under this
chapter, the same procedure shall be adopted in the hearing of
such cases and in the matter of appeal as is by the Land
Registration Act provided for other claims, except that a notice
of all such applications, together with a plan of the lands claim,
shall be immediately forward to the Chief of the Bureau of
Public Lands of the Philippine Islands, who shall be represented
in all question arising upon the consideration of such
applications by the Attorney-General of the Philippine Islands
or by any subordinate or assistant to the Attorney-General
appointed for that purpose.
Sec. 60. It shall be the duty of the examiner of titles, upon
reference to him of any such claim or application, to investigate
all the facts alleged therein or otherwise brought to his attention,
and to make careful inquiry as to the period of occupation of the
land by the claimant or his predecessors in interest; the nature of
47 LTD PD 1529
such lands; the character of the enclosure, if any, and the extent
to which the land has been subjected to cultivation. He shall file
a full report of his investigation in the case, concluding with a
certificate of his opinion upon the merits of the claim.
Sec. 61. It shall be lawful for the Chief of the Bureau of Public
Lands, Whenever in the opinion of the Chief Executive the
Public interest shall require it, to cause to be filed in the Court
of Land Registration, through the Attorney-General, a petition
against the holder, claimant, possessor, or occupant of any land
in the Philippine Islands who shall not have voluntarily come in
under the provisions of this chapter of the Land Registration
Act stating in substance that the title of such holder, claimant,
possessor, or occupant is open to question, or stating in
substance that the boundaries of any such land which has not
been brought into court as aforesaid are open to question and
praying that the title to any such land of the boundaries thereof
or the right to occupancy thereof be settled and adjudicated.
Such petition shall contain all the data essential to furnish a full
notice thereof to the occupants of such land and to all persons
who may claim an adverse interest therein, and shall be
accompanied by a plan of the land in question. The court shall
cause service of notice to be made as in other cases, and shall
proceed to hear, try, and determine the questions stated in such
petition or arising in the matter, and settle and determine the
ownership of the land and cause certificate of title to be issued
therefor, as in other cases filed under this chapter.
Sec. 62. Whenever any lands in the Philippine Islands are set
apart as town sites, under the provisions of chapter five of this
Act, it shall be lawful for the Chief of the Bureau of Public
Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, to
notify the judge of the Court of Land Registration that such
lands have been reserved as a town site and that all private lands
or interests therein within the limits described forthwith to be
brought within the operation of the Land Registration Act, and
to become registered land within the meaning of said
Registration Act. It shall be the duty of the judge of said court
to issue a notice thereof, stating that claims for all private lands
of interests therein within the limits described must be presented
for registration under the Land Registration Act in the manner
provided in Act Numbered six hundred and twenty seven
entitled "An Act to bring immediately under the operation of the
land Registration Act all lands lying within the boundaries
lawfully set apart for military reservations, and all land desired
to be purchased by the Government of the United states for
military purposes." The procedure for the purpose of this
section and the legal effects thereof shall thereupon be in all
respect as provided in sections three, four, five, and six of said
Act numbered six hundred and twenty seven.
Sec. 63. All proceedings under this chapter involving title to or
interest in land shall be conducted and considered as an
application for registration of such land, and the final decrees of
the court shall in every case be the basis for the original
certificate of title in favor of the person entitled to the property
under the procedure prescribed in section forty one of the Land
Registration Act.
Sec. 64. If in the hearing of any application arising under this
chapter the court shall find that more than one person or
claimant has an interest on the land, such conflicting interests
shall be adjudicated by the court and decrees awarded in favor
of the persons or persons entitled to the land according to the
laws of the Philippine Islands, except that where the action is
voluntarily dismissed by the parties interested the order of the
court shall be merely one of dismissal without affecting title.
Sec. 65. Whenever, in any proceedings under this chapter to
secure registration of an incomplete or imperfect claim of title
initiated prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the
United States, it shall appear that had such claim been
prosecuted to completion under the laws prevailing when
instituted, and under the conditions of the grant then
contemplated, the conveyance of such land to the applicant
would not have been gratuitous but would have involved
payment therefor to the Government, then and in that event, the
court shall, after decreasing in when title should vest, further
determine the amount to be paid as a condition for the
registration of the land. Such judgment shall be certified to the
Bureau of Public Lands by the clerk of the court for collection
of the amount due from the person entitled to conveyance. Upon
payment to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, of the price
specified in the judgment, the case shall be returned by him to
the Court of Land Registration with a notation of such payment,
whereupon the registration of the land in favor of the party
entitled thereto shall be ordered by the court. If the applicant
shall fail to pay the amount of money required by the decree
 within a reasonable time after he received notice thereof the
court may order the proceeding to stand dismissed and the title
to the land shall then be in the Government free from any claim
of the applicant.
Sec. 66. Whenever any judgment of confirmation or other
decree of the court involving public lands shall become final,
the clerk of the court shall certify that fact to the Bureau of
Public Lands with a copy of the decree of confirmation or
judgment of the court, which shall plainly state the location,
boundaries and are as nearly as may be, of the tract involved in
the decree or judgment, and shall be accompanied by a plan of
the land as confirmed or acted upon by the court. In the event
the original survey was made by the Bureau of Public Lands,
and the decree of the court conforms thereto, no further
proceedings shall be required. When the original survey was
made by the applicant or where the tract confirmed by the court
varied from the original survey as made by the Bureau of Public
Lands, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall
immediately cause the tract, so confirmed by the court, to be
surveyed at the cost of the Insular Government, and shall, when
such survey has been approved by him, furnish a copy of same
to the Court of Land Registration and to the applicant, which
survey when approved by the court, and unless objected to by
the applicant with thirty days, shall be conclusively presumed to
be correct. If objection is made to the survey by the applicant,
the court, upon notice to the Bureau of Public Lands, shall hear
such objections, and its action in the matter shall be final.
Sec. 67. No title to, or right or equity in, any public lands in the
Philippine Islands may hereafter be acquired by prescription or
by adverse possession or occupancy, or under or by virtue of
any laws in effect prior to American occupation, except as
expressly provided by laws enacted or provided since the
acquisition of the Islands by the United States.
CHAPTER VII
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 68. The short title of this Act shall be "The Public Land Act."
Sec. 69. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, under the supervision of
the Secretary of the Interior, shall prepare and issue such forms and
instructions, consistent with this Act, or may be necessary and proper to
carry into effect all the provisions thereof that are to be administered by or
under the direction of the Bureau of Public Lands, and for the conduct of
all proceedings arising under such provision.
Sec. 70. While title to public lands in the Philippine Islands remains in the
Government, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands under the
supervision of the Secretary of the Interior shall be charged with the
immediate executive control of the survey, classification lease sale, and
other disposition and management thereof and the decisions of the Bureau
as to questions of facts relating to such lands shall be conclusive when
approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
Sec. 71. The Civil Governor, for reasons of public policy, may, from time
to time by proclamation, designate any tract or tracts of public lands in the
Philippines as nonalienable, and thereafter the same shall be withdrawn
from settlement, entry, sale or other disposition under any of the public
land laws of the islands until again made subject thereto by law of the
islands.
Sec. 72. Provincial-secretaries and all other persons that may be
designated as mining recorders shall, in their capacities as such recorders,
be subject to the supervision of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands.
Sec. 73. All patents or certificates for lands disposed of under this law
shall be prepared in the Bureau of Public Lands and shall issue in the
name of the United States and the Philippine Government under the
signature of the Civil Governor; but such patents or certificates shall be
effective only for the purposes defined in section one hundred and twenty
two of the Land Registration Act, and the actual conveyance of the land
shall be effected only as provided in said section.
Sec. 74. All persons receiving title to Government lands under the
provisions of this Act, shall hold such lands subject to the same public
servitudes as existed upon lands owned by private persons under the
sovereignty of Spain, including those with reference to the literal of the
sea and the banks of navigable rivers or rivers upon which rafting may be
done.
Sec. 75. The beneficial use of water shall be the basis, the measure, and
the limit of all rights thereto in said islands, and the patents herein granted
shall be subject to the right of the Government of these islands to make
sure rules and regulations for the use of water and the protection of the
water supply, and for other public purposes, as it may deem best for the
public good. Whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the use of
48 LTD PD 1529
water for mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes have
vested and accrued, and the same are recognized and acknowledged by the
local customs, laws and decisions of the courts, the possessors and owners
of such vested rights shall be maintained and protected in the same, and all
patents granted under this Act shall be subject to any vested and accrued
rights to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such water rights
as may have been acquired in the manner above described prior to April
eleventh eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.
Sec. 76. There is hereby reserved from the operation of all patents,
certificates, entries, and grants by the Insular Government authorized
under this Act the right to use for the purposes of power any flow of water
in any stream running through or by the land granted to convertible power
from which at ordinary low water exceeds fifty horsepower. Where the
convertible power in any running through or running by land granted
under the authority of this Act thus exceeds fifty horsepower, and there is
no means of using such power except by the occupation of a part of the
land granted under authority of this Act, then no such land as is reasonably
necessary for the mill site or site for the power house, and for a suitable
dam and site for messing the water, is hereby excepted from such grant,
not exceeding four hectares, and a right of way to the nearest public
highway from the land thus excepted, and also a right of way for the
construction and maintenance of such flumes, aqueducts, wires, poles, or
other conduits as may be needed in conveying the water to the point where
its fall will yield the greatest power, or the power from the point of
conversion or easement upon the land granted by authority of this Act;
Provided, however, That when the government or any concessionaire of
the Government shall take possession of land under this section which a
grantee under this Act shall have paid for, supposing it to be subject to
grant under this Act, said grantee shall be entitled to indemnity from the
Government or the concessionaire for the amount if any, paid by him to
the Government for the land taken from him by virtue of this section; And
provided further, That with respect to the flow of water, except for
converting the same into power exceeding fifty horsepower, said grantee
shall be entitled to the same use of the water flowing through or along his
land that other private owners enjoy by the laws of the Philippine Islands,
subject to the governmental regulation provided in the previous section.
Water power privileges in which the convertible power are, ordinary low
water shall exceed fifty horsepower shall be disposed of only upon terms
to be embodied in a special Act of the Commission until a general law
shall be passed concerning the use, lease, or acquisition of such water
privilege.
Sec. 77. Any person who shall wilfully and knowingly submit or cause to
be submitted any false proof, or who shall make, or cause to be made any
false affidavit in support of any application or claim in any manner
respecting the public lands of the Philippine Islands, shall be deemed
guilty of perjury and punished accordingly.
Sec. 78. The provisions of this Act shall extend and apply to all provinces
and places of the Philippine archipelago except the Moro provinces of
Lepanto-Bontoc, Benguet, Paragua, and Nueva Vizcaya; but the
provisions of this Act or of any chapter hereof may at any time by
resolution of the Philippine Commission, be extended over and put in
force in any of the provinces or any part thereof hereby excepted from its
operation.
Sec. 79. When this Act shall have been approved by the President of the
United States and shall have received the express or implied sanction of
Congress, as provided by section thirteen of the Act of Congress approved
July first, nineteen hundred and two, entitled "An Act temporarily to
provide for the administration of the affairs of civil government on the
Philippine Island, and for other purposes such facts shall be made known
by the proclamation of the civil Governor of the Island, and this Act shall
take effect on the date of such proclamation.