GEOG 161:

WEEK 1

+LAND
-is the entire non-reproducible, physical universe outside of humnas. All air,
soil, minerals and water, all natural resources, as well as the ground included in
the definition of land.

CHARACTERISTICS
-Immobility
-Finiteness
-Permanence
-Unique
-Physical Features
*Basic features (lithology, climate, geoglogic structure, and other subsurface
characteristics)
*Mainifests features such as soils, landforms, topography & vegetation.

HUMAN CONCEPTS OF LAND AND ITS USES

*God
-Earliest source of authority to use the land based on the Judeo-Christian
tradition as contained in Genesis & on the Greek Myth of Prometheus

*State or Society
-the later source of authority to use land as contained in the Regalian Doctrine
and the Spanish Encomiendas

*Fee Simple Absolute

-highest form of tenure on land that is bestowed by the state on an individual
through a legal that gives owner right to dispose

*Eastern and Indian Traditions

-introduced the idea that man is part of nature/harmony with nature

*Stewardship
-a concept also of biblical origin but emphasizing the idea of prudent management
of something held in trust

*Concern for Posterity

-another concern for good land use that later evolved, although there is
uncertainty as to the time span of the concern for the future

*Conservation
-by Gifford Pinchot
-a modern idea on land use that has a wider meaning than preservation that includes
the concept of stewardship and posterity
-sustained yield and multiple use

COMMON SENSE DEFINITION

-a solid portion of the earth's surface (terra firma) on which we live our daily
lives
Liquid and gas on earth's surface?
Polar ice caps?
Global scale: 29% 143M sqkm (including polar ice caps) vs 71% or 367M sqkm water
Factors (geophysical, environmental, social and economic factors)
-Desert, forests, ravines, slopes
-Someone might be using them already
-Insufficiency of the common-sense definition
LEGAL SENSE
-any ground, soil, or earth that is regarded as the subject of ownership
-everything annexed to it whether by nature or by man extending indefinitely
vertically upwards and downwards
More restrictive definition
Operative term>subject of ownership
The legal or governmental attributes of land include ownership type, bundle of
rights attached to the property, the type and amount of taxation, zoning and
building laws, planning and restrictions.
Theoretically to the surface of the earth, right is over finite and tiny fraction
of distance
Barlowe (1958): "sum total of the natural and man-made resource over which
possession of the earth's surface gives control."
Land refers to the surface resources and thin layer of subsurface and suprasurface
resources man uses in his daily life.

ECONOMIC SENSE
-land is a natural resource but it can also be man-made; often regarded as a good
or commodity that can be supplied to meet certain requirements for the satisfaction
of human wants.
Today is a scarce resource = population increase vs the finiteness of land

BROAD CONCEPTS OF LAND

-Land as:
*Natural Resource
*Economic Good
*Property
*Territory
-Social: includes communities and settlements, population growth, family sizes, age
groups, prestige and education levels.
-Ecological: includes hydrology, climate, topography, soils, plant and animal
communities.

cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos

-the owner of the land owns everything up to the sky and down to the center of the
earth.
*Fee Simple Absolute
*Fixture or Chattel

FIXTURE OR CHATTEL TEST:

Degree and Method of Annexation
Object and Purpose of Annexation

LIMITATIONS ON LAND OWNER'S RIGHTS:

AIRSPACE
WATER
BOUNDARIES -- PRESUMPTIONS
LAND - MINERALS
CHATTELS -- FIXTURES OR NOT
WILD ANIMALS
SOCIAL LEGISLATION -- PLANNING, HOUSING

KEY PRINCIPLES
AIR SPACE
-the owner of land has rights over his airspace. invasion of the airspace at the
lower stratum (200 meters from roof level) is trespass.

FIXTURES
-ownership of land includes ownership of fixtures on the land.
-fixture or chattel test

UNDERGROUND OBJECTS
-an object buried in the ground belongs to the owner of the land

TREASURE TROVE
-where the object or item buried in the ground amounts to treasure trove, the
rightful owner is the State.

WILD ANIMALS
-the owner of the land has a qualified proper pro

OBJECT ON THE GROUND

-an object found on the ground belongs to the finder (if he is not a trespasser)
unless the owner of the land manifested intention to retain control over such
items.

FUNCTIONS OF LAND
Land:
supports life
territory
property
economic resource
source of wealth
factor of production (labors and is capital)
commodity/consumption good
living space (human/social/cultural functions)
supports ecosystems

+LAND OWNERSHIP

LAND OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP
-state or fact of exclusive rights and control over a property
-involves a bundle of rights (right to use, rights to develop, dispose, destroy,
control, etc.)
-implies responsibility: the owning entity makes rules governing the use of the
property
-the process and mechanics of owenership are fairly complex since once can gain,
transfer, and lose ownership of property in many ways
-to acquire property one can purchase it with money, trade it, receive it as a
gift, steal it, make it or homestead it
-to own and operate property, systems have been created in many societies e.g
cooperatives, corporations, trusts, partnerships, associations are only some of the
varied types of structured ownership

Ownership is the key building block in the development of the capitalist socio-
economic system.

LAND TENURE
-the right or capacity to have and hold land for certain uses. It also means:
Holding of a property by reference to a superior.
Exclusion of others in the use and disposal of the land
Period of time for which the property is held

OWNERSHIP AS BUNDLE OF RIGHTS

1. Rights held by the State
Right to Tax - real property, idle land, land transfer, public land use taxes
Right to Condemn - right to take title of private land by govenment for public or
quasi-public use, aka right of eminent domain
Police Power - right of government to protect and promote public health, safety,
morals and general welfare
Power of Escheat - power to force land to revert to public ownership if:
A. Taxes are not paid.
B. The land is abandoned.
C. There are no heirs to the land.

LIMITATIONS TO BUNDLE OF RIGHTS

1. Legal/Government Limitations
a. Zoning - land use classifications and the allowable utilization under each
classification
b. Taxation - power of government or any of its political subdivisions to impose
charge or burden upon persons, property or property rights for the use and support
of the govenment
c. Eminent Domain - power of the State or any of its instrumentalities to take
private property for public use and payment of just compensation
d. Other provisons of law such as legal easement, requirement of legitimate in
succession, prohibition against sale and encumbrance of property acquired by
patent, rent control, laws on subdivision development, urban and agrarian reform,
etc.

2. Contractual or Voluntary Limitations

-Those imposed by the grantor of the property to the grantee, either by contract or
by last will; or those imposed by the owner, himself such as voluntary easement,
mortgage, lease, use restrictions in subdivision contracts, etc.

OWNERSHIP MODELS

State Ownership
-Assets that a state or certain state agency has jurisdiction over in terms of use.
Government Ownership - assets belonging to a body of government
Public Property - assets owned by a government or state that are available for
public use to all their constituents

Personal Ownership
-Assets and property belonging to an individual, also known as individual ownership

Common Ownership
-Assets and property that are held in common by all members of society (also non-
ownership)
Communal ownership - property held in common by a commune

Collective Ownership
-assets and property that belong to a collective body of people who control their
use and collect the proceeds of their operation
Private Collective Ownership - subset of collective property whereby a collective
group of owners (ie shareholders) own productive property that is used by
employees, usually for generating a profit
Cooperative Ownership - property that is owned by those who operate and use it.
Also referred to as social ownership.

LAND OWNERSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES

Precolonial Period
Lands were previously held in common.
Unrestricted rights to natural resources for the members of the community
Private individual rights - eg rice paddies, residential lots

Spanish Period
1700 - all lands were considered as property of the Spanish King, Regalian
Doctrine, per "Recopilcaion de las Leyes de las Indias" (Laws of the Indies)
Premise for "titling" - conferred by Spanish Crown or subordinate official
"Oficina de Terenos" - in charge of recording and registration
Concept of private property started to take root
Land grants from crown, lands bequethed to some spanish officials and the Holy
Orders
Spanish colonial government started the policy of titling lands. Mostly the elite
or those familiar with written documents were familiar with this.

American Period
Spanish titles remained valid
Also adopted Regalian Doctrine: State instead of King
Introduced Torrens System, based from system adopted from South Australia (Robert
Torrens, Premier of South Australia) for the registration of land titles and deeds
thru Land Registration Act (no. 496)
Intended to ensure stability, rationality, predictability and security in dealings
with registration of land and transaction on land
Enacted Public Lands Act: designed to allow landless to acquire 16 has. of public
land by establishing homestead and cultivating it for 5 years, for a nominal fee
Homestead Act: which was supposed to benefit landless peasants, led to an even more
skewed distribution of land.
Supplemented with Cadastral Act (Act 2259) of 1913, making registration compulsory
and intended to fast track implementation of Torrens System

Commonwealth Period
Not all lands were registered under Spanish Mortgage Law or American Period - Land
Registration Law. Public Lands Act was enacted and provided more modes of acquiring
land. Ex. Homestead patents, free patents, and sales patents
Mostly concentrated in agri/rural lands, lands vested had to yield to superior
rights

Post-War to Present
High population growth combined with increasingly skewed distribution of land leads
to squatting, first in public lands then in private landholdings
Squatting both in lowland settlements as well as in protected lands
Land laws on poverty reduction needed (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program 'CARP'
for rural areas, Urban Development and Housing Act 'UDHA' for urban areas)
CAPR and UDHA implementation issues

Methods of Acquiring Land

Public Grant - from government (homesteads, free patents)
Private Grant - transfer from private
Descent - heirs suceed the deceased owner
Accretion - when earht and other deposits settles and attaches to other lands by
natural process
Reclamation - filling of submerged lands by deliberate act
Adverse Possession or Prescription - acquired by adverse possession and continued
or uninterrupted possession in 10yrs if thru good faith; 30 years if wanting in
good faith
Involuntary Alienation - eminent domain, land confiscation
Devise - heirs is not related to owner
Emancipation Patent or Grant - grant of agricultural land to tenant farmers through
land reform
LAND TITLES
-Title refers to ownership or claim of ownership.
-Title implies possession, either actual or constructive, although possession does
not necessarily imply title.
-Certificate of Title - evidence of right or extent of interest of owner over a
parcel of land

TYPES OF TITLE (SPANISH PERIOD)

TITULO REAL
- royal grant

TITULO DE COMPOSICION EL ESTADO

-or title by composition with the state; issued as a compromise between government
and informal settlers/occupants

TITULO DE INFORMATION POSSESORIA

-possessory information; provided for ripening and confirmation of possession into
ownership after period of 20 years

TITULO DE COMPRA
-title by purchase

CURRENT SYSTEM
Torrens System - still in effect
Spanish Mortgage Law/Spanish certificate of titles were required to be registered
under Torrens System (PD)
Lands covered by Spanish certificate of Titles who fail to be registered per PD
would be considered "unregistered lands"
RA 4726 - The Condominium Act
-Common undivided interest over land and common areas.
-Separate absolute right or interest over condominium unit
-Covered by Condominium Certificate of Title

ACQUIRING LAND BASED ON GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES

Free Patent - mode of acquiring A&D land suitale for agricultural purposes, thru
administrative confirmation of imperfect or incomplete title
Filipino, not>12 has of land
Occupied, cultivated by applicant and predecessor in interest in interest prior to
4/1990 (RA 6940) for at least 30 years

Homestead Patent - mode of acquiring A&D land suitable for agricultural purposes,
conditioned on actual cultivation and residences
Filipino, over 18 or head of the family
not> 12 has of land
Married women can't apply (with exceptions)

Sales Patent - mode of acquiring any tract of A&D land for agricultural purposes

Special Patent - mode of acquiring land thru special Law (Congress), proclamation
(President)
Filipino citizen or GOCC, LGU, branch of government
Term: 25+25 years

Foreshore Lease Application - mode of leasing foreshore lands for residential,

commercial, industrial, or other productive purposes other than agricultural.