Public Land Act

Commonwealth Act.
No. 141 of 1936
CA No. 141, otherwise known as "The Public Land Act",
was enacted on November 07, 1936.

Its provisions apply to lands of the public domain; but

timber and mineral lands are governed by special laws.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDS

Act No. 926

First Public Land Act
Philippine Bill of 1902 CA No. 141
Essentially, Act No. 2874
1935 Constitution

Act No. 2874

Second Public Land Act
Jones Law
 POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

The State shall ensure, for the benefit of the Filipino

people, the full exploration and development as well as the
judicious disposition, utilization, management, renewal and
conservation of the country's forest, mineral, land, waters and
other natural resources, consistent with the objective of making
the exploration, development and utilization of such natural
resources equitably accessible to the different segments of the
present as well as future generations.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) shall be in charge in carrying out the State's
constitutional mandate to control and supervise the
exploration, developtilization, and conservation of the
country's natural resources.
Regalian Doctrine
Under Section 2, Article XII of the Constitution, which
embodies the Regalian Doctrine, all lands of the public domain
belong to the State, the source of any asserted right to ownership
of land. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural
resources shall not be alienated.

The Regalian Doctrine reserves to the State that all natural

wealth that may be found in the bowels of the earth even if the
land where the discovery is made to be private.
SEC. 2. All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal,
petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy,
fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other
natural resources are owned by the State. With the exception of
agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be
alienated…
 Organizational Structure

The Secretary of the DENR is the executive officer charged with carrying out the
provisions of the Public Land Act, through the Director of Lands.

The decision of the Director of Lands may be annulled or reviewed when issue
involves the question of law or based upon a misconstruction of the law.
However, a question of fact is conclusive and not subject to be reviewed by the
courts.

Under EO No. 192, the newly created Lands Management Bureau (LMB) as
headed by a Director, shall advise the DENR Secretary on matters pertaining to
national land classification management and disposition.
Doctrine of Primary Jurisdiction

Courts cannot and will not resolve a controversy involving a

question which is within the jurisdiction of an administrative
tribunal, especially where the question demand the exercise of
sound administrative discretion requiring the special knowledge,
experience and services of the administrative tribunal to determine
technical and intricate matters of fact.
 Exhaustion of Administrative
Remedies

As a general rule, recourse through court action

cannot prosper until all remedies have been
exhausted at the administrative level.
Classification of lands
Lands of the public domain - either alienable or inalienable.
Lands of private domain - lands belonging to and owned by
the State as a private individual, without being devoted for
public use.

Under the Civil Code, government lands can either be:

Properties of the public dominion - those intended

for public use.

Patrimonial properties of the State - not or no longer

intended for public use.
 Classification of Lands
1987 Constitution
Agricultural Lands Mineral Lands
 Classification of Lands
1987 Constitution
Forests or Timber National Parks
Classification under Public Land Act

1. Alienable or disposable lands

2. Timber lands
3. Mineral lands

The President may at any time and in a like manner

transfer such lands from one class to another, for the
purposes of their administration and disposition
Classifications of Public Lands Open to Disposition

Residential, Commercial,
Agricultural Lands
etc.,
Classifications of Public Lands Open to Disposition

Educational, Charitable, Reservation for townsites,

etc., public, etc.,
Classification of lands an Executive
Prerogative, not the courts.
The President, through the DENR, must first officially
classify these lands as alienable or disposable, before
the government could alienate or dispose of lands of
the public domain.
 Government land and Public land

Public Land - is equivalent to Public Domain, includes

lands open to private appropriation and settlement by
homestead and other like general laws.

Government Land - more extensive and embraces not only

the public land but also other lands of the government
already reserved or devoted to public use or subject to
private right.
Modes of Disposition;
Prerequisite

No Public Land can be Acquired Except by a Grant from the State

It is indispensable that there be a showing of Title from the State that may
come in the form of a homestead, sales or free patent or grant.

Only Alienable and Disposable (A&D) may be the Subject of Disposition

The applicant's remedy lies in the release of the property from its present
classification.
 Specific Modes of Disposition

Public lands suitable for agricultural purposes can be disposed of

only as follows:

❑ Homestead settlement
❑ By sale
❑ By lease
❑ By confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles:
A) by Judicial Legalization
b) Administrative Legalization
For homestead settlement
✔ Any citizen of the Philippines
✔ Over the age of 18 or head of the
family
✔ A homestead of the not exceeding
12 hectares
✔ Applicant must have cultivated and
improved at least one fifth of the
land continuously
✔ Resided at least one year in the
Municipality
✔ Payment of the required fee
 Sale of Public Agricultural Land

✔ Any citizen of the Philippine

✔ Of lawful age or head of the family
✔ Applicant may purchase not to exceed 12 hectares which shall be
sold through sealed bidding

It is required that the purchaser shall have not less than 1/5 of the
land cultivated within 5 years from the date of the award, and before
any patent is issued, he must show actual occupancy, cultivation and
improvement of at least 1/5 of the land until the date of final payment
Lease

✔ Any citizen of the Philippines

of lawful age

✔ Any corporation or
association of which at least
60% of the capital stock
belong wholly to the citizens
of the Philippines
Private Corporations
They can only hold alienable lands of the public domain by lease:

• Not exceeding 25 years, renewable for not more than 25 years

• Not exceeding 1,000 hectares
Filipino Citizens

• Lease up to 500 hectares

• -Acquire not more than 12 hectares by purchase, homestead or
grant.
Confirmation of Imperfect title
(Judicial Legalization)
The applicant must be a Filipino citizen.

He must have, by himself or through his predecessors in

interest, possessed and occupied an alienable and
disposable agricultural portion of public domain.
Such possession and occupation must have been open,
continuous, exclusive, notorious and in the concept of
owner, since June 12, 1945.

The application must be filed with the proper court

Limiting the area applied for to 12 hectares, lands must be
occupied by himself or through his predecessors in interest,
possessed and occupied an alienable and disposable
agricultural portion of public domain. Land must be alienable
and disposable at the time of the application for confirmation is
filed. Land is not registrable as when it forms part of the public
forest.
 Question!
Sec. 48 (b) of PD 1073 requires adverse
possesion of th land since June 12, 1945 or
earlier. What if the subject land was only
released as alienable or disposable in 1963?
 Republic v. CA and Naguit

The phrase "since June 12, 1945" qualifies its antecedent phrase
"under a bona fide claim of ownership."

Hence, what the law merely requires is that the property sought to
be registered is "already alienable and disposable at the time the
application for registration of title is filed."
Positive Grant from the
Government

The applicant must secure a certification from the government

that the land applied for by the applicant is alienable and
disposable. This can be established by a presidential
proclamation or an executive order; an administrative action;
investigation reports of lands or forest investigators; or legislative
act or statute.
There can be no imperfect title to be confirmed over lands not yet
classified as disposable or alienable. In the absence of such
classification, the land remains unclassified public land until
released therefrom and open to disposition.

Bracewell v. CA
G.R. No. 107427, January 25, 2000
 NON-REGISTRABLE PROPERTIES

1. Property of public dominion 7. Military or Naval reservation

o Intended for public use 8. Foreshore and reclaimed lands
o Intended for some public 9. Submerged areas
service 10. Lake
2. Forest lands 11. Navigable rivers
3. Watersheds 12. Creeks
4. Mangrove swamps 13. Reservations for public and
5. Mineral lands semi-public purposes
6. National park
 Agricultural Free Patent Reform Act

The Agricultural Free Patent Reform Act (RA11231)

stipulates that public agricultural lands awarded to qualified
public land applicants shall not be subject to restrictions,
encumbrances, conveyances, transfers, or dispositions.
 Agricultural Free Patent Reform

This removes the restrictions on agricultural free patents

under the Public Land Act of 1936 as follows:

• Five-year prohibition on selling and mortgaging from the

issuance of patent (Section 18).
• Five-year right to repurchase the patents within five years
from the transfer and conveyances (Section 19).
• Prohibition on corporation, association, or partnership to
acquire or own an agricultural free patent (Sec. 121).
QUESTION:
Can the possessor of land deemed to have acquired a
right to a grant without the necessity of a Certificate of
Title being issued?

Section 48(b) of the Act provides that those who by themselves or

through their predecessors in interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive,
and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the public
domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisition or ownership, for at least
thirty years immediately preceding the filing of the application for
confirmation of title except when prevented by war or force majeure.

These shall be conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions

essential to a Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title.

H 0
Vested Rights cannot be impaired by subsequent law
Doctrine of Vested Rights
This means that a right is vested when the right to
enjoyment, present or prospective, has become the property of
some person or persons as a present interest (Balboa vs. Farrales,
G.R. No. L-27059, February 14, 1928).
It is some right or interest in property which has become
fixed and established and is no longer open to doubt or
controversy.

H 0
 QUESTION: Which court has the
jurisdiction for the applications for
registration proceeding?

H 1
 ANSWER: The Regional Trial Court
Procedure:
✔ Upon the application for registration, notice of all such applications, together
with a plan of the lands claimed, shall be immediately forwarded to the Director
of Lands who may appear as the party in such cases;
✔ Prior to the publication for hearing, all the papers in said case shall be transmitted
by the clerk to the Solicitor General or officer acting in his stead;
✔ For him to investigate all facts alleged in the application or otherwise brought to
his attention.

H 0
 EXCEPTIONS: BP 129 known as the Judiciary Reorganization Act of
1980, as amended by the RA NO. 7691 grants the MTC, MCTC, MeTC the delegated
jurisdiction to hear and determine Cadastral or land registration cases in the
following instances:
a. where the lot sought to be registered is not the subject of controversy or opposition; or
b. where the lot is contested but the value thereof does not exceed P100,000, such
value to be ascertained by the affidavit of the claimant or by the agreement of the
respective claimants, if there be more than one or from the corresponding tax
declaration of the real property.

H 0
Section 48(b) of the Public Land Act
Burden of Possession and
Proof Occupation
Judgment Order of Issuance of
Decree

H 0
Administrative Legalization
(Free Patent)
Section 44, Chapter VII (Free Patent) of the Public Land Act provides:

“any natural-born citizen of the Philippines who is not the owner of more than 12
hectares and who, for at least 30 years prior to the effectivity of the amendatory Act,
has continuously occupied and cultivated, either by himself or through his
predecessors-in-interest a tract or tracts of agricultural public lands subject to disposition,
who shall have paid the real estate tax thereon while the same has not been occupied by
any person shall be entitled, TO HAVE FREE PATENT ISSUED TO HIM FOR SUCH
TRACT OR TRACTS OF SUCH LAND NOT TO EXCEED 12 HECTARES. “

✔ The same section provides for a prescriptive period of thirty (30) years possession.

H 1
 Republic Act No. 10023
Any Filipino citizen who is an actual occupant of a residential land may
apply for a free patent title, provided that in highly urbanized cities, the
land should not exceed 200 square meters; in other cities, it should not
exceed 500 square meters; in first class and second class
municipalities, it should not exceed 750 square meters; and in all other
municipalities, it should not exceed 1,000 square meters, and provided
further that the land applied for is not needed for public service or
public use.

H 1
The application shall be supported by the following:
a). Map based on an actual survey conducted by a licensed geodetic engineer and
approved by the DENR;

b.) Technical description of the land applied for; and

c.) Supporting affidavit of two disinterested persons who are residing in the
barangay of the city or municipality where the land is located, attesting to the truth
of the facts contained in the application to the effect that the applicant thereof has,
either by himself or through his predecessor-in-interest, actually resided on and
continuously possessed and occupied, under a bona fide claim of acquisition of
ownership, the land applied for at least 10 years and has complied with the
requirements prescribed in Section 1 of the Act.

H 1
 Chapter IX, Title III of the
Public Land Act
It provides that any tract of land of the public
domain which, being neither timber nor mineral
land, is intended to be used for residential
purposes or for commercial, industrial, or other
productive purposes other than agricultural, and is
open to disposition or concession, shall be
disposed of under the provisions of said chapter.
Section 59 classifies the lands disposable
under Title III as follows:
a.) Lands reclaimed by the government by
dredging, filling, or other means;

H 1
Foreshore

Marshy lands or lands covered with

water bordering upon the shores or
banks of navigable lakes or rivers
H 1
 Foreshore land
- strip of land that lies between
the high and low water marks and
that is alternately wet and dry
according to the flow of the tide.

H 1
Foreshore lands, submerged areas and reclaimed lands are inalienable unless
converted by law into alienable and disposable lands of the public domain.

The shores and the lands reclaimed from the sea, while they continue to be
devoted to public uses and no grant whatever has been made of any portion of
them to private persons, remain a part of the public domain and are for public
uses, and, until they are converted into patrimonial property of the State, such
lands, thrown up by the action of the sea and the shores adjacent thereto, and
also not susceptible of prescription, even if for lease shall not be a subject of
commerce of men.

H 1
Modes of
Disposition

H 1
 Sale
Only paragraph (d)of Section 59 may be disposed, among others, comprise the
following conditions:

a. The purchaser shall make improvements of a permanent character appropriate for the
purpose for which the land is purchased, shall commence work thereon within six months
from the receipt of the order of award, and shall complete the construction of said
improvements within 18 months from the date of such award; otherwise, the Secretary of
Environment and Natural Resources may rescind the contract;

b. The purchase price shall be paid in cash or in equal annual installments, not to exceed
ten.

H 1
 Lease
The lands comprised in classes a, b, c of Section 59 shall be disposed of to private
parties by lease only and not otherwise, as soon as the President, upon the
recommendation by the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resource, shall declare
that the same are not necessary for the public service and are open to disposition.

However, marshy lands and lands under water bordering on shores or banks of
navigable lakes or rivers which are covered by subsisting leases or those leases which
may hereafter be granted and are already improved and have been utilized for farming,
fishpond, or similar purposes for at least 5 years from the date of the contract of lease,
may be SOLD to the LESSEES thereof under Chapter V of the Act.

H 1
 Conditions of Lease

D. The lessee shall construct permanent improvements appropriate for

the purpose for which the lease is granted, shall commence the
construction thereof within six months from the date of the award of
the right to lease the land, and shall complete the said construction
within 18 months from said date.

E. At the expiration of the lease or of any extension of the same, all

improvements made by the lessee, his heirs, executors,
administrators, successors, or assigns shall become the property of the
Government.

In Lu Do and Lu Ym Corp. vs. Aznar Brothers Realty Co., it was held

that the failure to comply with the condition for the construction of
improvement does not automatically give rise to the rescission of the
lease contract
H 1
Lands for residential, commercial or industrial purposes shall
be disposed of through oral bidding

Sec. 67 of CA No. 141

General Rule: Lease or sale shall be made through oral bidding; and
adjudication shall be made to the highest bidder. If all or part of the
lots remain unleased or unsold, the Director of Lands shall be applied

However, with the enactment of the RA NO. 730, an exception to the

foregoing procedure was created by authorizing disposition of lands
of the public domain by private sale, instead of bidding, provided that:
1.) the applicant has in his favor the conditions specified therein,
and
2.) the area applied for is not more that 1,000 square meters.

H 1
Sale of Lands within Military Reservations
RA No. 274 provides that lands within military
reservations, when declared by the President
as no longer needed for military purposes,
may be subdivided by the Director of Lands,
and thereafter sold to persons qualified to
acquire agricultural public lands under the
Public Land Act with priority given to the bona
fide occupants and then to war veterans.

H 1
Concession of Lands for Educational,
Charitable and Other Similar Uses
Chapter X, Title IV of the Land Public Act provides
that whenever any province, municipality, or other
branch or subdivision of the government shall need
any portion of the land of the public domain open to
concession for educational, charitable, or other
similar purposes.

H 1
Special Patents
a “patent to grant, cede, and convey full ownership of alienable and
disposable lands formerly covered by a reservation or lands of the public
domain”.
An example of “special patent” is that issued by the President to the Public
Estates Authority, now Philippine Reclamation Authority, under PD No.
1085.

H 3
 Importance of
Registration of Patent

H 1
 Registration of patent is an
operative act to convey the land
Once a public land is alienated, granted or conveyed by the
government, “the same shall be brought forthwith under the
operation of the Property Registration Decree.”

H 4
The Torrens System
aims to obviate possible conflicts of title by giving the public the right to
rely upon the face of the Torrens Certificate and to dispense, as a rule,
with the necessity of inquiring further; on the part of the registered
owner, the system gives him complete peace of mind that he would be
secured in his ownership as long as he has not voluntarily disposed of
any right over the covered land.

H 1
Date of issuance of Patent corresponds to the issuance of the decree
in ordinary registration.

✔ The decree finally awards the land applied for registration to the
party entitled to it, and the patent issued by the Director of Lands
equally and finally grants, awards, and conveys the land applied for
to the applicant.

H 1
Title cannot be DEFEATED by
adverse possession, nor subject
to collateral attack.

H 2
Prohibited
Alienations

H 1
 Section 118:
Except in favor of the Government or any of its
branches, units or institutions, or legally constituted
banking corporations, lands acquired under free
patent or homestead provisions shall not be subject
to encumberance or alienation from the date of the
approval of the application and for a term of five
years from and after the date of issuance of the
patent or grant nor shall they become liable to the
satisfaction of any debt contracted prior to the
expiration of said period; but the improvements or
crops on the land may be mortgaged or pledged to
qualified persons, associations, or corporations.
H 1
Section 121:
Except with the consent of the grantee and the
approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, and solely for educational,
religious, or charitable purposes or for the right
of way, no corporation, association, or
partnership may acquire or have any right, title,
interest, or property right whatsoever to any
land granted under the free patent, homestead,
or individual sale provisions of the Act or to any
permanent improvement on such land.
 Section 122:
No land originally acquired in any manner under the
provisions of this Act, nor any permanent
improvement on such land, shall be encumbered,
alienated or transferred, except to persons,
corporations, association, or partnerships who may
acquire lands of the public domain under this Act or
to corporations organized in the Philippines
authorized therefore by their charters.
H 1
Section 124:
Any acquisition, conveyance, alienation,
transfer, or other contract made or executed in
violation of any of the provisions of sections
118, 120, 121, 122, 123 of this Act shall be
unlawful and null and void from its execution
and shall produce the effect of annulling and
cancelling the grant, title, patent, or permit
originally issued, recognized or confirmed,
actually or presumptively, and cause the
reversion of the property and its improvements
to the State.
A. POLICY OF THE LAW
The prohibition has the avowed purpose of giving the homesteader
or patentee every chance to preserve for himself and his family the
land that the State had gratuitously given him as a reward for his
labor in cleaning and cultivating it.

B. PROHIBITION TO ALIENATE
The prohibition to alienate commences to run from the date the application is
approved which may be a date earlier than the date of issuance of the patent.
The latest rulings of the Supreme Court emphasizes that the patent is considered
issued once the order for its issuances is promulgated and, therefore, the
FIVE-YEAR period is computed from this date and not from the date of
registration with the Registration with the Registration of Deeds or from the date
of the Certificate of Title.

H 1
C. APPROVAL OF SECRETARY IS DIRECTORY
In Raffinan vs. Abel, it was held that the requirement for the approval of the
Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources is merely directory, and its
absence does not invalidate any alienation, transfer or conveyance of the
homestead after five years and before the 25-year period. Such approval may be
secured at any time in the future.

D. AGREEMENTS WHICH ARE CONSIDERED A

CIRCUMVENTION OF THE LAW
The prohibition applies as well to the sale of the land to the homesteader’s
own son or daughter as a clever homesteader who wants to circumvent the
ban may simply sell the lot to his descendant and the latter after registering
the same in his name would sell it to a third person.

H 1
E. SALE OF ONLY A PART OF THE LAND VIOLATES
PROHIBITION
Even if only a part of the property has been sold or alienated within the
prohibited period of five years from the issuance of the patent, such alienation is
a sufficient ground or cause for the reversion of the whole estate of the State.

F. REPURCHASE BY APPLICANT OR HIS HEIRS

Section 119 of the Public Land Act provides that every conveyance of land
acquired under the free patent or homestead provisions, when proper, shall
be subject to repurchase by the applicant, his, widow, or legal heirs, within a
period of five years from the date of the conveyance.

When the patentee-vendor is still living, he has the right to repurchase,

otherwise, his widow or his legal heirs have that right.

H 1
 a. Period of Repurchase under Section 119
The five-year for legal redemption starts from the date of the execution of the
deed of sale, and not from the date of registration in the office of the Register of
Deeds.

b. Effect of a void conveyance

Section 124 provides that any acquisition, conveyance, alienation, transfer, or
other contract made or executed in violation of any of the provisions of
Sections 108, 120, 121, 122, and 123 of the Act shall be unlawful and null and
void from its execution and shall produce the effect of annulling and
cancelling the grant, title, patent, or permit originally issued, recognized or
confirmed, actually or presumptively, and cause the reversion of the
property and its improvements to the State.

H 1
 Nieves Tinio Vs. Gregorio Frances
G.R. No. L- 7747
November 29, 1955

FACTS:

This involves the annulment of the sale of a homestead that the plaintiffs, who are
the heirs of Sergio Nicolas, inherited from him. Nicolas had applied for a parcel of
land in 1917, and his application was approved in the same year. He filed the
necessary final proof papers, which were approved in 1943, after his death. The
Director of Lands then ordered the issuance of a patent in favor of Nicolas's heirs.

In 1947, the heirs transferred their rights to the homestead to the defendants, and
the transfers were approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce in
1948. The defendants subsequently obtained a homestead patent and a title for
the land. In 1953, he defendants subsequently obtained a homestead patent and a
title for the land, the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit to annul the conveyances and recover
the land.
ISSUE:
Whether the conveyances of a homestead without prior approval
from the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce are null and void.
RULING:

Yes. The conveyances of a homestead without prior approval from the Secretary
of Agriculture and Commerce are null and void.

Section 20 of the Public Land Act states that the sale or conveyance of a
homestead is prohibited after the issuance of a patent. The prohibition on the sale
or conveyance of a homestead should be extended to the date on which the
order for the issuance of the patent is issued. In this case, the conveyances were
made without the prior approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce,
which is a requirement under Section 20.
RULING:

Nicolas was able to continue with his homestead until his death. It did not appear that he could
not continue with his homestead through no fault of his own. This is another requirement under
Section 20 that the court found was not met. Therefore, the conveyances did not comply with
the requirements of Section 20. Furthermore, the order for the issuance of a patent is the same
in effect as the issuance of a patent itself.

Thus, the prohibition on the sale or conveyance of a homestead after the issuance of a patent
should be extended to the date on which the order for the issuance of the patent is issued. As the
conveyances in this case were made after the order for the issuance of the patent was issued,
they were deemed null and void. Hence, the conveyances null and void. The Supreme Court
ordered the cancellation of the transfer certificate of title issued to the defendants, and ordered
the return of the land to the plaintiffs.
POLICIES, PROGRAMS and PROJECTS
Revised Forestry Code
of the Philippines
Presidential Decree No. 705
May 19, 1975
PD No.705 was amended
by PD No. 1559, June 11,
1978, and further
amended by EO No. 277,
July 25, 1987.

H 1
01 Concept of Forests and Forest Lands

Foresters: No legal definition of “forest” is practicable

or useful

B. H. Baden-Powell, in his work on Forest Law of

India, states as follows:

Every definition of a forest that can be framed for

legal purposes will be found either to exclude some
cases to which the law ought to apply, or on the
other hand, to include some with which the law
ought not to interfere.
(Ramos v. Director of Lands, GR No. 13298,
November 19, 1918).
01 Concept of Forests and Forest Lands
A forest consists of either closed
forest formations where trees of
various storeys and undergrowth
cover a high proportion of the
ground or open forest
formations with a continuous
vegetation cover in which tree
crown cover exceeds 10 percent

“forest” is a land with an area of more than 0.5 hectare and tree crown
cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10 percent.

The trees should be able to reach a minimum height of 5 meters at

maturity in situ (original position/location).
 “A forested area classified as forest land of the public domain does not
lose such classification simply because loggers or settlers may have
stripped it of its forest cover. Parcels of land classified as forest land may
actually be covered with grass or planted to crops by kaingin cultivators or
other farmers.…

The classification is descriptive of its legal nature or status and does not
have to be descriptive of what the land actually looks like. Unless and
until the land classified as "forest" is released in an official proclamation to
that effect so that it may form part of the disposable agricultural lands of
the public domain, the rules on confirmation of imperfect title do not
apply.”
Heirs of Jose Amunategui vs. Director of Forestry, GR No. L-127873, November 29, 1983
01 THE STATE OF FORESTRY IN THE PHILIPPINES
AND MAJOR TRENDS
● One of the most active producers and exporters of logs
and other wood products in the Asia-Pacific Region.
● From being the world’s biggest exporter of tropical
hardwoods to being a net importer of forest products.
● The timber industry topped all other industries in terms
of foreign exchange earnings. However, the industry
began to wane in the 1980s.
● The rapid depletion of the country's forest brought about
by massive conversion to other land uses, forest fires
and illegal logging, which has severely affected and
continued to affect the economic contribution of the
forestry sector to the economy (Food and Agriculture
Organization).
01 Primary Forest Loss in the Philippines

From 2002 to 2022, Philippines lost 185 kha of humid primary forest,
making up 13% of its total tree cover loss in the same time period. Total area
of humid primary forest in Philippines decreased by 4.0% in this time
period (Global Forest Watch Organization, 2023).
01 Forest Loss in the Philippines

Tree Cover Loss in Philippines: From 2001 to 2022,

Philippines lost 1.42 Mha of tree cover, equivalent
to a 7.6% decrease in tree cover since 2000, and
848 Mt of CO₂e emissions.

Annual Tree Cover Loss By Dominant Driver In

Philippines: In Philippines from 2001 to 2022,
89% of tree cover loss occurred in areas where
the dominant drivers of loss resulted in
deforestation. Source: Global Forest Watch Organization, 2023.
01 Forest Loss in the Philippines

Source: Global Forest Watch Organization, 2023.

01 State Policy

Establishment of
Multiple Uses
wood-processing plants

Protection, development
Land classification and
and rehabilitation of forest
survey
lands
Public forest is the mass of lands of the public domain which has not been the subject
02
of the present system of classification for the determination of which lands are needed
for forest purposes and which are not.

Permanent forest or forest reserves refer to those lands of the public domain
which have been the subject of the present system of classification and determined to be
needed for forest purposes.

Alienable and disposable lands refer to those lands of the public domain which
have been the subject of the present system of classification and declared as not needed
for forest purposes.

Forest product means timber, pulpwood, firewood, bark, tree top, resin, gum, wood, oil,
honey, beeswax, nipa, rattan, or other forest growth such as grass, shrub, and flowering
plant, the associated water, fish, game, scenic, historical, recreational and geologic
resources in forest lands.
 02
License is a privilege granted by the State to a person to utilize forest resources as in
any forest land, without any right of occupation and possession over the same, to the
exclusion of others, or establish and operate a wood-processing plant, or conduct any
activity involving the utilization of any forest resources.

License agreement is a privilege granted by the State to a person to utilize forest

resources within any forest land with the right of possession and occupation thereof to
the exclusion of others, except the government, but with the corresponding obligation to
develop, protect and rehabilitate the same in accordance with the terms and conditions
set forth in said agreement.

Permit is a short-term privilege or authority granted by the State to a person to utilize

any limited forest resources or undertake a limited activity with any forest land without
any right of occupation and possession therein.
 Organizational Structure
● amended by EO 192 (Reorganization of the DENR)
● creation of Forest Management Bureau

SUPERVISION EXHAUSTION OF
AND CONTROL ADMINISTRATIVE
OF THE DENR REMEDIES

ORGANIZATION
FINALITY OF
OF THE FOREST
ADMINISTRATIVE
MANAGEMENT
REMEDIES
BUREAU

03
 DENR; mandate.
to ensure, for the benefit of the Filipino
people, the full exploration and development
as well as the judicious disposition, utilization,
management, renewal, and conservation of
the country’s forest, mineral, land, waters,
fisheries, wildlife, off-shore areas, and other
natural resources, consistent with the
necessity of maintaining a sound ecological
balance and protecting and enhancing the
quality of the environment and the objective
of making the exploration, development, and
utilization of such natural resources equitably
accessible to the different segments of the
present as well as future generations.
 The Department of Environment and
Natural Resources Mandate
the primary government
agency responsible for the
conservation, management,
the DENR shall assure the development and proper use of
availability and sustainability of the country’s environment and
the country’s natural resources natural resources, specifically
through judicious use and forest and grazing lands, mineral
systematic restoration or resources, including those in
replacement, whenever reservation and watershed
possible, and increase the areas, and lands of the public
productivity of natural resources domain, as well as the licensing
in order to meet the demands and regulation of all natural
for the products from forest, resources as may be provided
mineral, land, and water for by law in order to ensure
resources of a growing equitable sharing of the benefits
population. derived therefrom for the
welfare of the present and
future generations of Filipinos.
a. DENR Secretary has delegated discretionary
power to classify as alienable and disposable
forest lands of the public domain

Under Section 13 of PD No. 705, the DENR Secretary has delegated

discretionary power to classify as alienable and disposable forest lands of
the public domain no longer needed for forest reserves.

Under the same provision, the DENR Secretary has no discretionary power
to classify unclassified lands of the public domain, not needed for forest
reserve purposes, into agricultural lands.
b. Policy determination by the executive branch on
the proper management of forest resources cannot
as a rule be interfered with by the courts
c. Forest lands not exempt from the territorial
application of municipal laws

“… the DENR is not the sole government agency vested

with the authority to issue permits relevant to the
transportation of salvaged forest products, considering
that, pursuant to the general welfare clause, LGUs may
also exercise such authority.”
Ruzol v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 186739, April 17, 2013
 Organizational Structure of the
Forest Management Bureau

EXHAUSTION OF
SUPERVISION REVIEW ADMINISTRATIVE
REMEDIES
Jurisdiction of Forest Management Bureau
The Bureau shall be responsible for the:
● protection, development, management, regeneration, and reforestation of forest
lands;
● regulation and supervision of the operation of licensees, lessees and permittees for
the taking or use of forest products therefrom or the occupancy or use thereof;
● implementation of multiple use and sustained yield management in forest lands;
the protection, development and preservation of national parks, marine parks,
game refuges and wildlife;
● implementation of measures and programs to prevent kaingin and managed
occupancy of forest and grazing lands;
● the effective, efficient and economic classification of lands of the public domain;
and
● enforcement of forestry, reforestation, parks, game and wildlife laws, rules, and
regulations.
Classification
and Survey
H 1
03 Section 13, PD No. 705

System of Land Classification.

The Department Head shall study, devise, determine and

prescribe the criteria, guidelines and methods for the proper and
accurate classification and survey of all lands of the public domain
into agricultural, industrial or commercial, residential,
resettlement, mineral, timber or forest, and grazing lands, and
into such other classes as now or may hereafter be provided by
law, rules and regulations.
04 Classification and Survey

The DENR Secretary shall determine which of the

unclassified lands of the public domain are needed for
forest purposes and declare them as permanent to foster
to form part of the forest reserves.

The DENR Secretary shall decree those classified and

determined not to be needed for forest purposes as
alienable and disposable lands, the administrative
jurisdiction and management of which shall be
transferred to the Land Management Bureau.
Classification and Survey

Mangrove and Those still to be Forest lands which have been

Other Swamps the subject of pasture leases
classified and permits shall remain
classified as forest lands
H 1
 Public forests or forest
reserves are not capable
of private appropriation

H 1
04 Public forests or forest reserves are not capable of
private appropriation

Public forest lands or forest reserves, unless declassified and

released by positive act of the Government so that they may form
part of the disposable agricultural lands of the public domain, are
not capable of private appropriation. As to these assets, the rules
on confirmation of imperfect title do not apply.

Republic bs. Naguiat, GR. No. 134209, January 24, 2006

04 Public forests or forest reserves are not capable of
private appropriation

Under Section 6 of the Public Land Act, the prerogative of classifying or

reclassifying lands of the public domain, i.e., from forest or mineral to
agricultural and vice versa, belongs to the executive branch of the
government and not the courts.
Forest lands or forest reserves are not capable of private appropriation and
possession thereof, however long, cannot convert them into private property
There can be no imperfect title to be confirmed over lands not yet classified as
disposable or alienable. Declassification of forest land is an express and
positive act of government. It cannot be presumed. Neither should it be
ignored nor deemed waived.
Mangrove swamps are in the category of
forest lands

Boracay island is a forest land, hence inalienable;

only the government can determine the manner in
which the island should be disposed of or conveyed to
private individuals
04
05 Topography
No land of the public domain
18% in slope or over shall be
classified as alienable and
disposable, nor any forest
land 50% in slope or over, as
grazing land.
Lands 18% in slope or over which have
already been declared as alienable and
disposable shall be reverted to the
classification of forest lands by the DENR
Secretary, to form part of the forest
reserves, unless they are already covered
by existing titles or approved public land
applications, or actually occupied openly,
continuously, adversely, and publicly for a
period of not less than 30 years as of the
effectivity of the Code, where the
occupant is qualified for a free patent
under the Public Land Act.
05
Reservations in Forest Lands and Off-Shore Areas.

● The President may establish within any lands of the public domain,
forest reserve and forest reservation for the national park system, for
preservation as critical watersheds, or for any other purpose, and
modify boundaries of existing ones.
● The Department Head may reserve and establish any portion of the
public forest or forest reserve as site or experimental forest for use of
the Forest Research Institute.
● When public interest so requires, any off-shore area needed for the
preservation and protection of its educational, scientific, historical,
ecological and recreational values including the marine life found
therein, shall be established as marine parks.
06 Utilization and Management

Only the utilization, exploitation, occupation, or

possession of any forest land, or any activity therein,
involving one or more of its resources, which will produce
the optimum benefits to the development and progress of
MULTIPLE USE
the country and the public welfare, without impairment or
with the least injury to its other resources, shall be allowed.

LICENSE AGREEMENT, No person may utilize, exploit, occupy, possess or

LICENSE OF LEASE conduct any activity within any forest land, or establish
PERMIT and operate any wood-processing plant, unless he has
been authorized to do so under a license agreement, lease,
license, or permit.
07 Timber
Timber license: an instrument by which the state
regulates the utilization and disposition of forest
resources to the end that public welfare is
promoted.
Presidential Warranty: covers only the right to cut,
collect, and remove timber in a concession area, and
does not extend to the utilization of other resources,
such as mineral resources, occurring within the
concession.
“A license is not a contract, property or a
property right protected by the due
process clause of the Constitution. It can
be withdrawn or cancelled in the exercise
of the police power of the State.”
Oposa vs. Factoran, G.R. No. 101083. July
30, 1993
07 Duration of license agreement or license to harvest timber in forest lands

It is fixed and determined in accordance

with the annual allowable cut therein

The maximum period of any privilege to

harvest timber is twenty-five (25) years,
renewable for a period, not exceeding
twenty-five (25) years, necessary to utilize
all the remaining commercial quantity or
harvestable timber either from the
unlogged or logged-over area.
It shall be a condition for the continued privilege
to harvest timber under any license or license
SIZE OF FOREST CONCESSIONS: shall be limited
agreement that the licensee shall reforest all the
to that which a person may effectively utilize and
areas which shall be determined by the Bureau
develop for a period of fifty (50) years
(Section 27, PD No. 705, as amended)
 Preservation and reservation of
forests and watersheds
Indubitably, there should be conservation of the natural resources of
the Philippines. The prodigality of the spendthrift who squanders his
substance for the pleasure of the fleeting moment must be
restrained for the less spectacular but surer policy which protects
Nature's wealth for future generations.
Ramos vs. Director of Lands, G.R. No. 13298, November 19, 2018

H 1
Principle of Intergenerational
Responsibility

Sec. 16. The State shall protect and

Right of the People to a
balanced and healthful ecology
advance the right of the people to a
balanced and healthful ecology in
accord with the rhythm and harmony of
nature.

H 1
Principle of Intergenerational
Responsibility
The right to a balanced and
healthful ecology carries with it the
correlative duty to refrain from
impairing the environment. The
said right implies, among many
other things, the judicious
management and conservation of
the country's forests. Without such
forests, the ecological or
environmental balance would be
irreversibly disrupted.

H 1
09 Reforestation; Industrial tree plantations and
tree farms; priority

At lease for a period of fifty (50) years for the establishment of an

industrial tree plantations, tree farm or agro-forestry farm, may
be granted by the Department Head, upon recommendation of the
Director, to any person qualified to develop and exploit natural
resources, over timber or forest lands of the public domain categorized
in Section 33 (1) hereof except those under paragraphs (d) and (g) with
a minimum area of one hundred (100) hectares for industrial tree
plantations and agro-forestry farms and ten (10) hectares for tree
farms: Provided, That the size of the area that may be granted under
each category shall, in each case, depend upon the capability of the
lessee to develop or convert the area into productive condition within
the term of the lease (Section 34, PD 705, as amended).
09 Reforestation; Industrial tree plantations and
tree farms; priority
Over any suitable area covered by a timber license agreement or
permit, the priority to establish industrial tree plantation, tree farms or
agro-forestry farm shall be given to the holder thereof after the Bureau
had determined the suitability of such and has set aside the same for
the purpose.

The priority herein granted must, however, be availed of within a

reasonable period otherwise the area shall be declared open to any
qualified person and consequently segregated from the licensee’s or
permittee’s area.

Priority shall also be given to the establishment of communal

industries tree plantations by barangays, municipalities or cities and
provinces (Section 35, PD 705, as amended).
09 Forest Protection: Control of Concession Area

● ALL FOREST LANDS must be protected from illegal entry, unlawful occupation, kaingin, fire,
insect infestation, theft, and other forms of forest destruction.
● The utilization of timber therein shall not be allowed except through license agreements.
● Corresponding obligation to adopt all the protection and conservation measures to ensure the
continuity of the productive condition of said areas conformably with multiple use and
sustained yield management.
09 Forest Protection

● Regulation of timber utilization in all other classes of lands

and of wood-processing plants.

● All mangrove swamps set aside for coast-protection

purposes shall not be subject to clear-cutting operation.

● Mangrove and other swamps released to the Bureau of

Fisheries and Aquatic Resources for fishpond purposes
which are not utilized, or which have been abandoned for
five (5) years from the date of such release shall revert to the
category of forest land.
● Visitorial Power of the DENR Secretary (Sec 44, PD 705)

● Authority of Forest Officers: free entry into areas covered by a license

agreement, license, lease or permit, authority to administer oath and take
acknowledgment in official matters connected with the functions of their
office, and to take testimony in official investigations and the
implementing rules and regulations (Sec 45, PD 705).

● “Mining operations in forest lands shall be regulated and conducted with

due regard to protection, development and utilization of other surface
resources…” (Section 47, PD 705).

● Mineral reservations which are not the subject of mining operations or

where mining operations have been suspended for more than five (5)
years shall be placed under forest management by the Bureau. Mineral
reservations where mining operations have been terminated due to the
exhaustion of its minerals shall revert to the category of forest land, unless
otherwise reserved for other purposes. (Section 48, PD 705).
Special Uses of Forest Lands

Pasture in forest lands Wildlife Conservation

Recreation H 1 Other special uses

Qualifications of Concessionaires
● The use of forest lands shall be diffused to as many qualified and
deserving applicants as possible.

● Filipino equity and participation beyond the 60% constitutional

limitation shall be encouraged. All other factors being equal, the
applicant with more Filipino equity and participation shall be preferred.

Service Contracts
● The Secretary may in the national interest, allow forest products licensees,
lessees, or permittees to enter into service contracts for forms of assistance,
in consideration of a fee, with any foreign person or entity for the exploration,
development, exploitation or utilization of the forest resources, covered by
their license agreements, licenses, leases or permits.

● EO No. 278
10 Criminal Offenses

● Unlawful occupation or destruction

of forest lands
● Pasturing livestock
● Illegal occupation of national parks
system and recreation areas and
vandalism therein
● Destruction of wildlife resources
● Survey by unauthorized persons
● Misclassification and survey by
government official or employee
● Declaring a forest land for taxation
purposes is a criminal act
Offenses punished under Section
68, PD No. 705 as amended
In People vs. Que, GR No. 120365, December 17, 1996, the Court explained that
there are two distinct and separate offenses punished under Section 68 of PD No.
705, as amended by EO No. 277:

1. Cutting, gathering, collecting and removing timber or other forest products from
any forest land, or timber from alienable or disposable public and, or from private
land without any authority; and

2. Possession of timber or other forest products without the legal documents

required under existing forest laws and regulations.
Search and seizure without warrant
G.R No. 104988, June 18, 1996 257 SCRA
430

In Mustang Lumber, Inc v. vs Court of Appeals, it was held that the

seizure of petitioners truck and its cargo consisting if lauan and almagica
lumber which were not accompanied with the required invoices and
transport documents, was held to be a valid exercise of the power vested
upon a forest officer by Section 80 of P.D 705, as amended by P.D NO.
1775, the search was conducted on a moving vehicle which could be
lawfully conducted without a search warrant
DENR has jurisdiction over the confiscation
of forest products and conveyance used in the
commission of the offense.

Under Section 68 of PD No. 705, as amended, the regional trial court

has jurisdiction to order the confiscation of the timber or forest products
as well as the machinery, equipment, implements and tools illegally used
in the area where the timber or forest products are found.

Under Section 68-A of PD No. 705, as amended by EO No. 277, the

DENR Secretary or his duly authorized representative, may order the
confiscation of any forest products illegally cut, gathered, removed, or
possessed or abandoned, and all conveyances used either by land, water
or air in the commission of the offense and to dispose of the same in
accordance with pertinent laws, regulations or policies on the matter.
Arrest and Institution of Criminal Action
1. Search and seizure without warrant
2. Forest products confiscated upon authority of
the DENR Secretary is beyond the reach of
replevin
Villarin vs. People, G.R. No. 175289, August 31, 2011
Mere possession of timber without the legal documents required
under forest laws and regulations makes one automatically liable of
violation of Section 68, Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 705, as amended.
Lack of criminal intent is not a valid defense.

Idanan vs. People, G.R. No. 193313, March 16, 2016

Illegal possession of timber is an offense covered by special law and
is malum prohibitum. Thus, criminal intent is not an essential element of
the offense. However, the prosecution must prove intent to possess or
animus possidendi

Crescencio vs. People, G.R. No. 205015, November 19, 2014

The fact of possession by the petitioner of the 24 pieces of
magsihagon lumber, as well as her subsequent failure to produce the legal
documents as required under existing forest laws and regulations
constitute criminal liability for violation of the Forestry Code.
POLICIES, PROGRAMS, and PROJECTS
DENR Administrative Order
No. 96-29
October 10, 1996

Rules and Regulations for the

Implementation of Executive Order
263, Otherwise Known as the
Community-Based Forest Management
Strategy (CBFMS)

Community Forestry Program.

A forest management program of
the DENR which grants rights to
organized communities to manage,
develop and utilize forest resources
on a sustainable basis. The CFP is
principally governed by DAO 123, S
1989 and DAO 22, S 1993.
Forest Protection Initiatives; NGOs.
ISSUES and CHALLENGES

● Bureaucratic malpractice and corruption in the

Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR)
● Lack of attention to community organizing and
social preparation, and politically influential
commercial interests (UNRISD Discussion Paper No.
92)
Despite some good policies, much work needs to be done for policy
implementation to actually benefit both local communities and the
environment.

While policies have changed, the fundamental socio-political make-up of

Philippine society has not. As several writers have pointed out, deforestation
in the Philippines cannot be fully understood without considering the
distribution of power in society (Porter and Ganapin, 1988; Boyce, 1993;
Vitug, 1993).
Revised Forestry Code
of the Philippines
Presidential Decree No. 705
May 19, 1975