May a corporation own lands?

It depends.
1. Corporation sole can acquire by purchase a parcel of private agricultural land without violating
the constitutional prohibition since it has no nationality.
2. Corporation
a. Private Lands
i. At least 60% Filipino (Sec. 7, Art. XII, 1987 Constitution)
ii. Restricted as to extent reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out purpose for which it was
created
iii. If engaged in agriculture, it is restricted to 1,024 hectares.
b. Patrimonial property of the State (Sec. 3, Art. XII, 1987 Constitution)
i. Lease (cannot own land of the public domain) for 25 years renewable for another 25 years
ii. Limited to 1,000 hectares iii. Applies to both Filipinos and foreign corporations.

May a corporation apply for registration of a parcel of land

Yes, through lease not exceeding 1,000 hectares. Such lease shall not exceed twenty five (25) years and
renewable for not more than twenty five (25) years. (Sec. 3, Art. XII, 1987 Constitution)
Note: Determinative of this issue is the character of the parcels of land – whether they were still public or
already private – when the registration proceedings were commenced. If they are already private lands,
the constitutional prohibition against acquisitions by a private corporation would not apply.

What are the requisites for an action to quiet title?

1. Plaintiff must have a Legal or equitable title to, or interest in the real property which is the subject
matter of the action;
2. There must be Cloud in such title;
3. Such cloud must be Due to some
a. Instrument;
b. Record;
c. Claim;
d. Encumbrance; or
e. proceeding which is apparently valid but is in truth invalid, ineffective, voidable or unenforceable,
and is prejudicial to the plaintiff’s title; and
4. Plaintiff must
a. Return to the defendant all benefits he may have received from the latter; or
b. reimburse him for expenses that may have redounded to his benefit.

What are the requisites for existence of a cloud?

1. There is an Apparently valid or effective instrument.
2. But such instrument is in Truth:
a. Invalid;
b. ineffective;
c. voidable;
d. unenforceable;
e. has been extinguished or terminated;
f. has been barred by extinctive prescription.
3. Such instrument may be Prejudicial to the title.
What are the prescriptive periods for bringing an action to quiet title?
1. Plaintiff in possession – imprescriptible
2. Plaintiff not in possession – 10 years (ordinary) or 30 years (extra-ordinary)
Note: Laches is defined as the failure or neglect, for unreasonable and unexplained length of time, to do
that which by exercising due diligence, could or should have been done earlier. The negligence or
omission to assert a right within a reasonable time, warranting a presumption that the party entitled to
assert it either has abandoned it or declined to assert it. (Tijam v Sibonghanoy, L-21450, Apr. 15, 1968)

Is an action to quiet title imprescriptible?

Yes. Even though the Civil Code does not include an action to quiet title as one of those actions which
are imprescriptible, the SC in this case held that such action is imprescriptible. The basis of the court is
Art. 480. The imprescriptibility of an action to quiet title is a general principle from American
jurisprudence. (Bucton v. Gabar, G.R. No. L-36359, Jan.31, 1974)

Petitions Involving Certificate Of Title

1. There are 4 petitions—petition for surrender of title, petition for correction, amendments, or alterations
in the certificate of title, petition for the issuance of new owner’s duplicate of title, petition for reconstitution

2. Petition for the surrender of the owner’s duplicate of title—the law speaks of two instances. The first
one involves involuntary transactions and the other one, voluntary transactions. In both instances the
procedure is to file a petition in the Regional Trial Court for the owner to surrender the owner’s duplicate
of title.

3. If the owner’s duplicate of title is lost, the law requires that notice under oath be given to the RD. There
should be a verified affidavit that will serve as notice to the RD that the particular owner’s duplicate is lost.
This will prevent any transaction that may arise from the loss of the owner’s duplicate. This particular
petition would prosper and the corresponding duplicate issued will be valid if the owner’s duplicate is
really lost. When the owner’s duplicate is still existing upon filing of petition, the court doesn’t acquire
jurisdiction and the proceedings are null and void. The title is null and void and thus, can be attacked
collaterally.

4. Petition for reconstitution is filed when the certificate of title has been lost or destroyed. This pertains to
original and transfer certificates of title as well as encumbrances and liens. Purpose is to bring back to its
original form and state. No addition nor reductions. If it is found out that the certificate is not lost or
destroyed, court doesn’t attack jurisdiction and proceedings are null and void.

5. There are two kinds of restitution—judicial and administrative. Judicial is when you file a petition in
court. Administrative is when you file the petition with the RD. It is easier with the Register of Deeds as
you have to file it with the reconstituting officer of the Register of Deeds only.
6. The court in entertaining petitions for reconstitution should be careful and cautious. Section 12 and 13
are mandatory requirements. Section 12 refers to the contents requirement as 13 refers to the publication
requirements.

7. The reconstitution proceedings are proceedings in rem.

8. Section 2 and 3 of RA 26 will tell the different documents or evidence that you can submit for a petition
for reconstitution can prosper. Sources found in the law are in a hierarchy of preference. First and
foremost in this list, may it be for the original or transfer certificates of title is the owner’s duplicate of title.

9. The phrase “Any other document” will pertain to documents similar to those previously enumerated. An
example is a case pertaining to an action for the recovery of possession. The court decision contained the
technical description of the land and whatnot as would pertain to any other document that warrants
reconstitution.

10. Administrative reconstitution is warranted in cases where the number of certificates lost is not less
than 500 and the cause of the loss or destruction is by fire, flood or any other force majeure. If you pass
these requirements, then administrative reconstitution is allowed. If you are not satisfied, you can go to
the LRA within 15 days from the receipt of the decision. If not the LRA, file a petition for review with the
proper court or specifically, the RTC. This can be done within 60 days from knowledge of decision but not
later than 6 months from promulgation of decision.

11. The reconstituted title should be in the form and condition as the original lost title.
12. All these petitions and motions should be filed with the same registration case. This is specifically
provided for in Section 108. You will use the same case number wherein the title was issued.

MATTERS SHOULD BE LEFT TO THE COURTS FOR DETERMINATION

> The powers of the RD are generally regarded as ministerial only and said officer has no power to pass
upon the legality of an order issued by a court of justice

> Whether the document presented for registration is invalid, frivolous or intended to harass, is not the
duty of the RD to decide but a court of competent jurisdiction

> The question of whether or not a conveyance was made to defraud creditors of the transferor should
better be left for determination of the proper court.

APPEAL TO THE COURT OF APPEALS IS THE PROPER REMEDY

AVAILABLE TO A PARTY WHO DOESN’T AGREE WITH THE ACTION
TAKEN BY THE LRA ADMINISTRATOR

> This is specially governed by Rule 43 of the Rules of Court, which provides for decisions, orders,
resolutions of any quasi-judicial agency, ilke the LRA, in the exercise of its quasi-judicial functions

> The appeal shall be taken within 15 days from notice of the decision, order of resolution

> If no appeal is filed within said period, the decision, order or resolution shall become final and may be
executed as provided by existing law.

REGISTRATION OF INSTRUMENTS DEALING WITH UNREGISTERED

LAND
> All instruments affecting lands originally registered under the Spanish Mortgage Law may be recorded
under Section 113 until the land shall have been brought under the operation of the Torrens system

RECORDING OF MINISTERIAL OFFICERS

> Opening paragraph in substance declares that no instrument or deed affecting rights to real property
not registered under the Torrens system shall be valid except as between the persons thereto, until such
instrument or deed shall have been registered in the manner prescribed therein
> This provision cannot be interpreted to include conveyances made by ministerial officers, such as
sheriff’s deeds
> It contemplates only instruments as may be created through agreement between parties

RECORDING SHALL BE WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO A THIRD PERSON

WITH BETTER RIGHT RECORDING OF RD MINISTERIAL
> Register of Deeds doesn’t exercise a judicial or quasi-judicial power in the registration of sheriff’s deeds
or certificates of sale
> If the Register of Deeds refuses to register the instrument, he shall advise the party in interest in writing
of the grounds for his refusal, and the latter may elevate the matter to the Administrator en consulta

HOW RECORDING IS EFFECTED

> The Register of Deeds shall keep a primary entry book and a registration book
> The primary entry book shall contain an entry number, names of parties, nature of the document, and
the date, hour and minute it was presented
> The recording shall be effected by annotating on the registration book after the same shall have been
entered in the primary entry book
> After recording, the Register of Deeds shall endorse on the original of the instrument the file number
and the date as well as the hour and minute when the instrument is received, returning to the registrant
the duplicate of the instrument with a certification that he has recorded the same

Land Registration Circular No. 35

COMPLIANCE WITH JURISDICTIONAL REQUIREMENTS IS
MANDATORY

> The court doesn’t acquire jurisdiction to hear the petition

> It is not enough that there is publication in the Official Gazette only for there is a posting requirement
also. Failure to comply will nullify the proceedings.

RECONSTITUTION IMPROPER WHERE IS NO TITLE TO BE

RECONSTITUTED, OR WHERE THE ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
IN FACT EXISTS

> Sections 18 and 19 of Republic Act 26

ACTION OF THE COURT; RECONSTITUTION; WHEN MANDATORY

> If the court, after hearing, finds that the documents presented, as supported by parole evidence or
otherwise, are sufficient, and proper to warrant the reconstitution of the lost or destroyed certificate of title,
xxx an order for reconstitution shall be issued

> The clerk of court shall forward the order to the RD and all documents which, pursuant to said order,
are to be used as basis of the reconstitution

> If the court finds that there is no sufficient evidence or basis to justify the reconstitution, the petition will
be dismissed without prejudice to the right of the parties entitled thereto to file an application for
confirmation of title

> Sections 15-17 of RA26

THE REGISTER OF DEEDS IS NOT A PROPER PARTY TO FILE THE

PETITION

WRIT OF POSSESSION NOT PROPER IN A RECONSTITUTION

PROCEEDING

COURTS ARE CAUTIONED IN GRANTING PETITIONS FOR

RECONSTITUTION

ADMINISTRATIVE RECONSTITUTION

> Can only be availed of in case of substantial loss or destruction of land titles due to flood, fire or other
force majeure as determined by the Administrator

> Provided that the titles lost or damages should at least be 10% of the total number in the possession of
the office of the RD

> That in no case that the number of certificates of titles lost or damaged be less than 500

> Notice of all hearings of the petition for judicial reconstitution shall be furnished the Register of Deeds of
the place where the land is situated and to the Administrator of the Land Registration Authority

> No judgment ordering the reconstitution shall be final until the lapse of 15 days from receipt by the RD
and by the Administrator of the LRA of the notice of order or judgment without any appeal having been
filed by any such officials
DUTY OF LAND REGISTRATION AUTHORITY TO PREPARE
INVENTORY SOURCES OF RECONSTITUTION; CONTENTS OF
PETITION

> Same sources as those enumerated in Republic Act 26

> Accompanied by an affidavit stating, among other things
o That no deed or other instrument affecting the property had been presented for registration, or if there
be any, the names thereof, the date of its presentation, as well as the names of the parties, whether the
registration of said deed or instrument is still pending accomplishment
o That the owner’s duplicate is not the subject of litigation or investigation, administrative or judicial,
regarding the genuineness or due execution and issuance
o That the owner’s duplicate certificate or co-owner’s duplicate is in due form without any apparent
intentional alterations or erasures
o That the certificate was in full force and effect at the time it was lost or destroyed
o That the certificate was covered by a tax declaration regularly issued by the Assessor’s office
o That real estate taxes have been fully paid up to at least 2 years prior to the filing of the petition for
reconstitution

ACTION ON THE PETITION

> All reconstituted titles shall be reproduced by the LRA in at least 3 image copies or in whatever means
by which the original can be reproduced, one copy to be kept by the LRA, the second copy to be kept by
the National Library Archives Division, and the third copy to be secured in a government fire-proof vault,
preferably in the Security Printing Plant of the Central Bank

> Such image copy of the original copy of the reconstituted title shall be considered after due
authentication by the LRA, through the RD in the province or city where the land is located

> After reconstitution, said owner’s duplicate or co-owner’s duplicate exhibited as basis for the
reconstitution shall be surrendered to the RD and a new certificate of title issued in lieu thereof, the
original of which shall be kept by the RD and the owner’s duplicate delivered to the registered owner.

FUNCTION OF THE Land Registration Authority TO REVIEW AND

ADJUDICATE
> LRA has jurisdiction to act on petitions for administrative reconstitution

> It has the power to review, revise, reverse, modify or affirm on appeal the decision of the reconstituting
officer

> Function is adjudicatory in nature—it can properly deliberate on the validity of the titles subject of the
reconstitution

REMEDY OF AGGRIEVED PARTY

> A reconstituted title obtained by means of fraud, deceit or other machination is void ab initio as against
the party obtaining the same and all persons having knowledge thereof
> There are two remedies available—
o PETITION FOR REVIEW on the ground of fraud, accident, mistake, or excusable negligence filed with
the proper court
o APPEAL FROM THE ORDER OF RECONSTITUTION to the LRA administrator

JUDICIAL RECONSTITUTION UNDER REPUBLIC ACT 26

> Republic Act 26: An Act Providing a Special Procedure For The Reconstitution of Torrens Certificate of
Titles Lost or Destroyed

> Reconstitution of title is an action in rem

> A judicially reconstituted title has the same validity and legal effect as the original thereof, and isn’t
subject to the reservation that it shall be without prejudice to any party whose right or interest in the
property was duly noted in the original at the time of loss or destruction but which entry or notation hasn’t
been
made on the reconstituted title

> The limitation that reconstitution of title should be limited to the certificate as it stood at the time of its
loss or destruction has reference only to changes which alter or affect title of the registered owner and not
to mere liens and other encumbrances

RECONSTITUTION DENOTES RESTORATION OF THE LOST TITLE IN

ITS ORIGINAL FORM AND CONDITION
> Purpose is to have it reproduced, after observing the procedure prescribed by law in the same form
they where when the loss or destruction occurred

> The fact that the title to the land was lost doesn’t mean that the lot ceased to be a registered land
before the reconstitution of its title

> As the subject land didn’t cease to be titled, it cannot be acquired by acquisitive prescription

> Reconstitution is proper only when it is satisfactorily shown that the title sought to be reconstituted is
lost or no longer available

> Where the petition for reconstitution wasn’t to restore a lost registered certificate of title but to re-register
and issue a new certificate in the names of petitioner and her deceased husband, in lieu of one originally
registered in the names of other persons, the petition should be denied without prejudice to the right of
the
parties to take the necessary action under Section 51 and 53 of PD1529

> Republic Act 26 provides for special procedure for the reconstitution of torrens certificate of title that are
missing and not fictitious titles which are existing. Where a certificate of title over a parcel of land was
reconstituted judicially and later it was found that there existed a previous certificate of title covering the
same land in the name of another person, the court ruled that the existence of the prior title ipso facto
nullified the reconstitution proceedings

SOURCES OF RECONSTITUTION ORIGINAL CERTIFICATES OF TITLE

1. The owner’s duplicate certificate of title

2. The co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, or lessee’s duplicate certificate of title
3. A certified copy of the certificate of title, previously issued by the RD or by a legal custodian thereof
4. An authenticated copy of the decree of registration or patent, as the case may be, pursuant to which
the original certificate of title was issued
5. A document, on file with the RD, by which the property, the description of which is given in said
document, is mortgaged, leased, or encumbered, or an authenticated copy of said document showing
that its original has been registered
6. Any other document which, in the judgment of the court is sufficient and proper basis for reconstituting
the lost or destroyed certificate of title

FOR TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE

1. The owner’s duplicate certificate of title
2. The co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, or lessee’s duplicate certificate of title
3. A certified copy of the certificate of title, previously issued by the RD or by a legal custodian thereof
4. The deed of transfer or other document, on file in the RD, containing a description of the property, or
an authenticated copy thereof, showing that its original had been registered, and pursuant to which the
lost or destroyed transfer certificate of title was issued
5. A document, on file with the RD, by which the property, the description of which is given in said
document, is mortgaged, leased, or encumbered, or an authenticated copy of said document showing
that its original has been registered
6. Any other document which, in the judgment of the court is sufficient and proper basis for reconstituting
the lost or destroyed certificate of title
FOR LIENS AND ENCUMBRANCES

1. Annotations or memoranda appearing on the owner’s co-owner’s mortgagee’s or lessee’s duplicate

2. Registered documents on file in the RD, or authenticated copies thereof showing that the originals
thereof had been registered
3. Any other document which, in the judgment of the court is sufficient and proper basis for reconstituting
the liens or encumbrances affecting the property covered by the lost or destroyed certificate of title

MEANING OF “ANY OTHER DOCUMENT”

> As per LRC circular #35, the signed duplicate copy of the petition to be forwarded to this Commission
shall be accompanied by the following:
o A duly prepared plan of said parcel of land in tracing cloth, with 2 print copies thereof, prepared by the
government agency which issued the certified technical
description, or by a duly licensed Geodetic Engineer who shall certify thereon that he prepared the same
on the basis of a duly certified technical description. Where the plan as submitted is certified by the
government agency which issued the same, it is sufficient that the technical description be prepared by a
duly licensed Geodetic Engineer on the basis of said certified plan.
o The original, 2 duplicate copies, and a Xerox copy of the original of the technical description of the
parcel of land covered by the certificate of title, duly certified by the authorized officer of the Bureau of
Lands or the LRC who issued the technical description
o A signed copy of the certification of the RD concerned that the original of the certificate on title on file
with the RD was either lost or destroyed, indicating the name of the registered owner, if known from the
other records in file in said office.

WHERE TO FILE PETITION; CONTENTS

> Shall be filed by the registered owner, his assigns, or any person having interest in the property with the
proper RTC where the same is based on sources enumerated earlier

> Contents shall be as followed—

1. That the owner’s duplicate had been lost or destroyed
2. That no co-owner’s, mortgagee’s, lessee’s, duplicate had been issued or, if any had been issued, the
same had been lost or destroyed
3. The location, area and boundaries of the property
4. The nature and description of the buildings or improvements, if any, which don’t belong to the owner of
the land, and the names and addresses of the owners of such buildings or improvements
5. The names and addresses of the occupants or persons in possession of the property, of the owners of
the adjoining properties and all persons who may have any interest in the property
6. A detailed description of the encumbrances if any, affecting the property
7. A statement that no deeds or other instruments affecting the property have been presented for
registration, or if there be any, the registration thereof hasn’t been accomplished, as yet

REQUIREMENTS OF NOTICE BY PUBLICATION, POSTING AND

MAILING

1. To be published twice, at the expense of the petitioner, in successive issues of the Official Gazette
2. To be posted on the main entrance of the provincial building and of the municipal building of the
municipality or city in which the land is situated
3. Copy of the notice to be sent by registered mail or otherwise, at the expense of the petitioner, to every
person named therein whose address is known, within 30 days prior the date of hearing

> The jurisdiction of the court is hedged in the forewalls of the petition and the published notice of hearing
which define the subject matter of the petition.

NO TIME LIMIT TO FILE PETITION TO ANNOTATE A DEED OF SALE

> No limitation or period is fixed for filing a petition to annotate a deed of sale at the back of a certificate of
title

> If any person claims that a person registered a deed of sale can no longer do so, because the deed was
executed more than 10 years before, such objection must be raised in an ordinary civil action

> Where there is no question as to the existence and validity of the deed of sale, the registration of the
sale and issuance of a Transfer Certificate of Title are ministerial duties of the RD
MODES OF ACQUISITION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND

1. Operation land transfer—mechanism established for the implementation of PD27

2. Voluntary offer to sell—scheme whereby the landowners voluntarily offer their agricultural lands for
coverage regardless of phasing

3. Voluntary land transfer/direct payment scheme—landowner and the beneficiary enter into a voluntary
agreement for the direct transfer of lands to the latter

4. Compulsory acquisition—whereby the land is expropriated by the State (Section 16 of RA 6657)

5. Voluntary stock distribution in the case of corporate farms – alternative arrangement for the physical
distribution of lands wherein corporate owners voluntarily divest a portion of their capital stock, equity or
participation in favor of their workers or other qualified beneficiaries

ACQUISITION OF PRIVATE AGRICULTURAL LANDS; PAYMENT OF

JUST COMPENSATION

1. The land must be privately-owned and found suitable for agriculture

2. There are beneficiaries willing to take over the ownership of the land and make it more productive

3. The landowner is paid just compensation or deposit cash or LBP bonds is made in his name if the
value is contested

4. Title to the land is transferred in the name of the RP

AGRICULTURAL TENANCY

> The physical possession by a person of land devoted to agriculture, belonging to, or legally possessed
by, another for the purpose of production through the labor of the former, and of the members of his
immediate farm household, is consideration of which the former agrees to share the harvest with the
latter, or to
pay a price certain or ascertainable, either in produce or in money, or both

REQUISITES OF AGRICULTURAL TENANCY

1. Parties are the landowner and the tenant
2. The subject is the agricultural land
3. There is consent
4. The purpose is agricultural production
5. There is personal conviction
6. There is sharing of harvests

AGRARIAN REFORM PROVISION IN THE 1987 CONSTITUTION

> Article 13, Section 4. The State shall, by law, undertake an agrarian reform program founded on the
right of farmers and regular farm workers who are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they
till or, in the case of other farm workers, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof. To this end, the State
shall encourage and undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands, subject to such priorities and
reasonable retention limits as the Congress may prescribe, taking into account ecological, developmental,
or equity considerations, and subject to the payment of just compensation. In determining retention limits,
the State shall respect the right of small landowners. The State shall further provide incentives for
voluntary land-sharing.

REPURCHASE OF LAND BY APPLICANT OR HIS HEIRS

> Sanctioned by Section 119 of the Public Land Act
> The right to repurchase attaches to every alienation and encumbrance, and that right can be exercised
even in the absence of any stipulation in the deed of sale
> To give the homesteader or patentee every chance to preserve for himself and his family the land that
the state had gratuitously given to him as a reward for his labor in cleaning and cultivating it

> The five-year period starts from the date of execution of the deed of sale, and not from the date of
registration in the office of the Register of Deeds. This is true even if the full payment of the purchase
price is not made on the date of conveyance unless there is stipulation to the contrary.

A HOMESTEAD IS EXEMPT FROM CARP COVERAGE RULE WHEN

HOMESTEAD IS SUBJECT OF MORTGAGE
> The five-year period begins from the date when the deed of absolute sale is executed and the property
is formally transferred to the purchaser

REPURCHASE MAY BE BARRED BY LACHES

PROHIBITION AGAINST ALIENATION OF LANDS ACQUIRED UNDER

THE HOMESTEAD AND FREE PATENT PROVISIONS
> Section 116. Except in favor of the Government or any of its branches, units or institutions, or legally
constituted banking corporations, lands acquired under the free patent or homestead provisions shall not
be subject to encumbrance 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. (As amended
by section 23 of Act No. 3517).

> Section 119. Except with the consent of the grantee and the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources, and solely for commercial, industrial, educational, religious or charitable
purposes or for a 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 this Act or to any permanent improvement on such land. (As amended by section 24 of
Act. No. 3517).

> Section 120. 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, associations, or partnerships who may acquire lands of the public domain under this Act; to
corporations organized in the Philippine Islands authorized therefor by their charters, and upon express
authorization by the Philippine Legislature, to citizens of countries the laws of which grant to citizens of
the Philippine Islands the same right to acquire, hold, lease, encumber, dispose of, or alienate land, or
permanent improvements thereon, or any interest therein, as to their own citizens, only in the manner and
to the extent specified in such laws, and while the same are in force, but not thereafter.

> Section 122. Any acquisition, conveyance, alienation, transfer, or other contract made or executed in
violation of any of the provisions of sections one hundred and sixteen, one hundred and eighteen, one
hundred nineteen, one hundred and twenty, and one hundred and twenty-one of this act shall be unlawful
and null and void from its execution and shall produce the effect of annulling and canceling 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 Government.

> Section 122(A). The provisions of sections twenty three, twenty four, thirty four, fifty seven, one hundred
and twenty, and one hundred and twenty-one of this Act, and any other provisions or provisions restricting
or tending to restrict the right of persons, corporations, or associations to acquire, hold, lease, encumber,
dispose of, or alienate land in the Philippines, or permanent improvements thereon, or any interest
therein, shall not be applied in cases in which the right to acquire, hold or dispose of such land,
permanent improvements thereon or interests therein in the Philippine Islands is recognized by existing
treaties in favor of citizens or subjects of foreign nations and corporations or associations organized and
constituted by the same, which right in so far as it exists under such treatise, shall continue and subsist in
the manner and to the extent stipulated in said treaties, and only while these are in force, but not
thereafter.
PROHIBITION STARTS FROM DATE OF APPROVAL UP TO 5TH YEAR
FROM ISSUANCE OF PATENT

POLICY OF THE LAW

> To conserve the land which a grantee has acquired under the Public Land Act for him and his heirs

> To give the patentee a place where to live with his family so he may become a happy citizen and useful
member of the society

FORESHORE LANDS, SUBMERGED AREAS, AND RECLAIMED LANDS

> A foreshore land is that strip off land that lies between the high and low water marks and that is
alternatively wet and dry according to the flow of the tide

> Inalienable unless converted by law into Alienable and Disposable lands of the public domain

FRIAR LANDS

> Were purchased by the government for sale to actual occupants under the provisions of Act 1120 or the
Friar Lands Act

> These lands are not public lands but private and patrimonial lands of the government

> The Land Management Bureau shall first issue a certificate stating therein that the government has
agreed to sell the land to such settler or occupant

> The latter shall then accept the certificate and agree to pay the purchase price so fixed, in installments
and at the rate of interest specified in the certificate

> The conveyance or certificate of sale executed in favor of a buyer is a conveyance of ownership of the
property, subject only to the resolutory condition that the sale may be cancelled if the price agreed upon
is not paid in full

SPECIAL PATENTS
> Patent to grant, cede, and convey full ownership of alienable and disposable lands formerly covered by
a reservation of lands of the public domain and is issued upon the promulgation of a special law or act of
Congress or by the DENR Secretary as authorized by the President

SPECIAL PATENTS
> Patent to grant, cede, and convey full ownership of alienable and disposable lands formerly covered by
a reservation of lands of the public domain and is issued upon the promulgation of a special law or act of
Congress or by the DENR Secretary as authorized by the President

FREE PATENT
> Any natural born citizen of the Philippines who is the owner of more than 12 hectares and who, for at
least 30 years prior to the effectivity of this 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 hasn’t been occupied by any
person shall be entitled, under the provisions of this Chapter, to have a free patent issued to him for such
tract or tracts of such land not to exceed 12 hectares

> PD 1073—apply only to A and D lands of the public domain which have been in open, continuous,
exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation by the applicant himself or thru his predecessors-in-
interest, under a bona fide claim of ownership

CLASSIFICATION OF PUBLIC LANDS OPEN TO DISPOSITION

> Classification is an executive function
> Lands of the public domain which are alienable or open to disposition may be further classified as
agricultural, residential, commercial, or industrial, or for similar productive purposes, educational,
charitable, or other similar purpose, and reservations for townsites and for public and quasi-public uses

MODES OF DISPOSITION
1. For homestead settlement
2. By sale
3. By lease
4. By confirmation of imperfect or incomplete title
a. By judicial legalization
b. By administrative legalization or free patent

NO PUBLIC LAND CAN BE ACQUIRED EXCEPT BY A GRANT FROM

THE STATE

> No public land can be acquired by private persons without any grant, express or
implied, from the government

> It is indispensable that there be a showing of a title from the State

> The law requires at least 30 years of open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious
possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona fide
claim of acquisition, immediately preceding the filing of the application for free patent

ONLY ALIENABLE AND DISPOSABLE LANDS MAY BE THE

SUBJECT OF DISPOSITION

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PD 1529 AND PUBLIC LAND ACT

PROPERTY REGISTRATION DECREE PUBLIC LAND ACT CA 141

PD 1529
There exists a title which is to be The presumption always is that the
confirmed by the court land applied for pertains to the
State, and that the occupants and
possessors claim an interest only in
the same by virtue of their
imperfect tile or continuous, open,
and notorious possession
The court may dismiss the The court has jurisdiction or proper
application of the applicant with or to adjudicate land in favor of any of
without prejudice to the right to file the conflicting claimants
a new application for the
registration of the same land
Only risk that an applicant runs is to The applicant runs the risk of losing
have his application denied the land applied for
Vests in the Director of Lands and
Secretary of DENR the authority to
dispose and manage public lands