ILLUSTRATIVE CASE: JOSE LUIS ROS ,ET. AL VS.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM

G.R NO. 132477 , AUGUST 31,2005

Facts : Petitioners are the owners of such land located at Balamban. By virtue of municipal oridance
passed by the Municipal Council of Balamban, such land were reclassified as industrial lands.
Provincial board of Cebu approved such ordinance. Petitioner wants to convert such agricultural land to
industrial park, hence, the petitioner secured all the necessary permits and government certification.

Despite such permits and procedural legalities done by the petitioner , they still received a letter
from the Director of Agrarian Reform Regional Office for Region 7 which disallows the petitioner for
such conversion of land for industrial use. DAR directed the petitioner to stop further development to
avoid civil and criminal liabilities.

Petitioner aggrieved on the instruction of DAR, hence , they file a complaint at RTC Toledo for
such injunction. RTC ruled that the DAR has the proper jurisdiction on that case matter. So eventually
the complaint was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Hence, they moved the petition to the CA but still
was denied. CA affirmed the decision of the RTC.

Issues : 1.) Whether or not the reclassification of the subject lands to industrial use by the
Municipality of Balamban, Cebu, pursuant to its authority under Section 20 (a) of RA No. 7160
or the Local Government Code of 1991 has the effect of taking such lands out of the coverage of the
CARL and beyond the jurisdiction of DAR.

2.)Whether or not the complaint for injunction is an appropriate remedy against the order of the
DAR enjoining the development works on the subject land.

Held : 1.) After the passage of the RA. No. 6657, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program, agricultural lands though reclassified , have to go through the process of conversion
jurisdiction over which is vested in the DAR. However, agricultural lands already reclassified before
the effectivity of RA No. 6657 are exempted from conversion.
In the case at bar , there is no final order of conversion. What happened here is a
reclassification. Conversion is different from reclassification.

CONVERSION – Act of changing the current use of a piece agricultural land into some other
use as approved by the DAR.

RECLASSIFICATION- Is the act of specifying how agricultural lands shall be utilized for non-
agricultural uses such as residential , industrial , commercial , as embodied in the land use plan subject
to the requirements and procedure for land use conversion .

Hence , a mere reclassification of agricultural land does not automatically allow a landowner
the process of conversion before he is permitted to use the agricultural land for that purpose .

*RA No. 6657 – took effect on June 15 , 1988

*Municipal Ordinance No. 101 of Balamban which reclassified the subject lands was passed on
March 25 , 1992
*Provincial ordinance No. 95-8 of the Provincial Board of Cebu which adopted Municipal Ordinance
No. 101 was passed on April 3, 1995.

Hence, long after RA 6657 has taken effect.

Section 4 of RA 6657 provides :

Scope: The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 shall cover , regardless of tenural
arrangement and commodity produced, all public and private agricultural lands as provided in
Proclamation No. 131 and E.O No. 229 , including other lands of the Public Domain suitable for
agriculture .

To further clarify the doubt of its authority the DAR issued Administrative Order No. 12 dated
October 1994 which reads :

Subject : Consolidated and revised Rules and procedures governing conversion of Agricultural Lands
and Non-agricultural Lands.

Prefaratory Statement : The guiding principles on land use conversion is to preserve prime agricultural
lands , when coinciding with the objectives of the CARL to promote social justice , industrialization,
and the optimum use of land as a national resource offer Public Welfare, shall be pursued in a speedy
and judicious manner.

That is why DAR issued guidelines to regulate the land use conversion

Legal Mandate :
1.) The DAR is mandated to approve or disapproved applications for conversion,
restructuring or readjustment of agricultural lands into non-agricultural land uses.
Pursuant to Section 4 (1) of E.O 129-A,series of 1987.
2.) Section 5 (1) of the E.O No. 129-A series of 1987, rests in the DAR an exclusive
authority to approve or disapprove applications for conversion of agricultural lands for
residential , commercial , or industrial.
3.) Section 65 of RA No. 6657 known as the CARL of 1980 , also empowers DAR to
authorize certain conditions, the reclassification or conversion of agricultural lands.
4.) Section 4 of memorandum Circular No. 54, series of 1993 of the Office of the President
also provided that action on applications for land conversion on individual landholdings
shall remain a responsibility of DAR.
Definition of Terms :

1.) Agricultural Land : devoted to agricultural activity and not classified as mineral,
forest , residential , commercial or industrial land.
2.) Conversion
3.) Reclassification
Coverage : This shall cover all private lands as defined herein regardless of tenural arrangement and
commodity produced. It shall also include agricultural lands reclassified by the LGU into non-
agricultural uses.

Based on the foregoing premises which respect to the conversions of Agricultural Lands
covered by RA. No. 6657 to non-agricultural uses, the authority of DAR to approve such conversions
may be exercised from the date of the law's effectivity on June 15 , 1988.

DAR issued Administrative Order No. 6 series of 1994, stating that lands already
reclassified as non-agricultural land before the enactment of RA. No. 6657 , no longer conversion
clearance.
Legal Basis : Section 3 (c) of RA 6657 state that agricultural lands refers tot he land devoted to
agricultural activity as defined in this act and not classified as mineral . Forest , residential ,
commercial, and industrial land.

2.) DOJ opinion no. 44 series of 1990 has ruled that, with respect tot he conversion of agricultural
lands covered by RA No. 6657 to non-agricultural land uses , the authority of DAR to approve
such conversion may be exercised from the date of its effectivity on June 15 , 1988. Thus , all
lands that are already classified as commercial , industrial , or residential before June 15 , 1988
no longer need any conversion clearances .

The Local government code provides that “nothing in this section shall be construed on repealing or
modifying in any manner on the provision on RA No. 6657.

Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the RTC which was also affirmed by the CA. Petition is
denied for lack of jurisdiction.