G.R. No.

167707

THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT

OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES, et al.
Petitioner
-vs-

MAYOR JOSE S. YAP, LIBERTAD TALAPIAN,

MILA Y. SUMNDAD,
and ANICETO YAP, in their behalf and in behalf
of all those similarly situated,
Respondents

Facts of the case:

Up for resolution is a petition for review on certiorari of the Decision of Court of Appeals which
granted the declaratory relief filed by the respondents-claimants.

President Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1801 declaring Boracay Island, as tourist zones and
marine reserves under the administration of Philippine Tourist Authority. Thereafter, PTA Circular 3-82
was issued to implement the said Proclamation. However, respondent-claimants, Mayor Yap. Jr., et. al.
filed a petition for declaratory relief with the Regional Trial court in Kalibo, Aklan with the contention
that the Proclamation No. 1801 precluded them from filing an application for judicial confirmation of
imperfect title or survey of land for titling purposes. To support their claims, the respondents declared
that they had been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation in Boracay
since June 12, 1945, or earlier since time immemorial. Further, contented that the classification of
Boracay Island as a tourist zone associates susceptibility of private ownership.
On the other hand, the Republic, through the Office of the Solicitor General, opposed the petition
for declaratory hearing contending that the subject land was an unclassified land of public domain as it
is considered as public forest which is not available for disposition. Since Boracay Island had not been
classified as alienable and disposable, whatever possession they had cannot ripen into ownership.
Relative on subject matter, the RTC and CA rendered similar decision in favor of the
respondents-claimants right to have their occupied lands titled in their name. The OSG moved for
reconsideration but the same was denied. 

Issue:
Whether or not private-claimants have a right to secure titles over their occupied portions in
Boracay.

Held:

The Court ruled in negative granting the petition for certiorari filed by the herein petitioner. The
Court based its decision on the Regalian Principle which dictates that all lands of the public domain
belong to the State, that the State is the source of any asserted right to ownership of land and charged
with the conservation of such patrimony. All lands not otherwise appearing to be clearly within private
ownership are presumed to belong the state.

PD No. 705 issued by President Marcos categorized all unclassified lands of  the public domain
as public forest.  Applying PD No. 705, all unclassified lands, including those in Boracay Island,
are ipso facto considered public forests. Among the classifications of land of the public domain provided
by the 1987 Constitution, only agricultural lands may be alienated. In the case at bar, the respondents-
claimants declaration on their possession and ownership does not create a presumption that the land is
alienable and does not converted the island into private ownership. A positive act declaring land as
alienable and disposable is required such as a presidential proclamation or an executive order; an
administrative action; investigation reports of Bureau of Lands investigators; and a legislative act or a
statute. A certification from the government must also secure that the land claimed to have been
possessed for the required number of years is alienable and disposable. In the instant case, no such
proclamation, executive order, administrative action, report, statute, or certification. The respondent-
claimants cannot rely on Proclamation No. 1801 as basis for judicial confirmation of imperfect title as
the said proclamation did not convert Boracay into an agricultural land. Thus, it remained an
unclassified land of the public domain and is considered State property in consonance to the Regalian
doctrine.

Hence, the Court held that respondents-claimants are ineligible to apply for judicial confirmation
of title over their occupied portions in Boracay despite their continued possession and occupation.