Forest Lands

Non-Registrable Properties

Forest
A large track of land covered with a natural
growth of trees and underbrush; a large wood.
“Every definition of a forest that can be framed for legal
purposes will be found to 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. It
may be necessary, for example, to take under the law a
tract of perfectly barren land which at present has neither
trees brushwood, nor grass on it, but which in the course
of time it is hoped will be ‘reboise;’ but any definition
wide enough to take in all such lands, would also take in
much that was not wanted. On the other hand, the
definition, if framed with reference to tree-growth, might
(and indeed would be almost sure to) include a garden,
shrubbery orchard, or vineyard, which it was not
designed to deal with.”
- B.H. Baden-Powell
Forest Law of India
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Can Possession of
Forest Land Ripen into
Private Ownership?

NO. Possession of forest lands, however long,

cannot ripen into private ownership. A parcel
of forest is within the exclusive jurisdiction of
the Bureau of Forestry and beyond the
power and jurisdiction of the cadastral court
to register under the Torrens System.

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Conservation of Natural
Resources
• Indubitably, there should be conservation of
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 protect Nature’s wealth for
future generations.

• The presumption should be that land is

agricultural in nature.

• Forest reserves of public land can be established

as provided by law.

• The Director of Forestry should submit to the

court convincing proof that the land is not more
valuable than for agricultural than for forest
purposes, if there is a question
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Conservation of Natural Resources

Adverse Effects
• Watersheds dry up
• Rivers and lakes are emptied of their contents
• The fish disappear
• Denuded areas become dust bowls
• As waterfalls cease to function, so will
hydroelectric plants
• With the rains, fertile topsoil is washed away
• Geological erosion
• Dreaded floods

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Classification of land is descriptive of its legal nature, not what it
actually looks like

• Section 2, Article XII of the Constitution states that “alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to
agricultural lands”

• The land must first be released from its classification as forest land and reclassified by the Director of Forestry as
provided for by Section 1827 of the Administrative Code.

a) The classification of public lands is an exclusive prerogative of the executive department, not of the courts.

b) A positive act of the government is needed to declassify a forest land into alienable or disposable land for agricultural
or other purposes.

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Amunategui v. Director of Forestry
G.R. No. L-27873, Nov. 29,1883, 126 SCRA 69
Ponente: Hon. Justice Hugo E. Gutierrez Jr.

FACTS:
Roque Borre, and Melquiades Borre, filed an application for registration. Sometime after, the heirs of Jose Amunategui,
filed an opposition to the application of Roque and Melquiades Borre. They prayed that the title to a portion of Lot No.885
of Pilar be registered in the names of said Heirs of Jose Amunategui. The Director of Forestry, through the Provincial Fiscal
of Capiz, also filed an opposition to the application for registration of title claiming that the land was mangrove swamp
which was still classified as forest land and part of the public domain. Another oppositor, Emeterio Bereber filed his
opposition insofar as a portion of Lot No. 885 was concerned and prayed that title to said portion be confirmed and
registered in his name. During the progress of the trial, applicant-petitioner Roque Borre sold whatever rights and interests
he may have on Lot No. 885 to Angel Alpasan. The latter also filed an opposition, claiming that he is entitled to have said
lot registered in his name. The Court of First Instance adjudicated 117, 956 square meters to Bereber and the rest of the
land to Angel Alpasan and Melquiades Borre. Upon elevating the matter to the Court of Appeals, the decision was reversed.

ISSUE:
Whether the said lot is a public forest land which is not capable of registration

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Amunategui v. Director of Forestry
G.R. No. L-27873, Nov. 29,1883, 126 SCRA 69
Ponente: Hon. Justice Hugo E. Gutierrez Jr.

RULING:
The petition is without merit.
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. "Forest lands" do not have to be on mountains or
in out of the way places. Swampy areas covered by mangrove trees, nipa palms, and other trees growing in brackish or
sea water may also be classified as forestland. 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.

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Section 48(b), C.A.
141, applies only to
alienable and
disposable lands
• Forest lands are excluded.
• In confirmation of imperfect title cases, the
applicant shoulders the burden of proving
that he meets the requirements of Section
48, C.A. No. 141, as amended.
• He must overcome the presumption that the
land he is applying for is part of the public
domain but that he has an interest therein
sufficient to warrant registration in his name
because he has had continuous, open and
notorious possession and occupation of
agricultural lands of the public domain
under a bona fide claim of acquisition of
ownership in the manner and for the length
of time required by law.
SECTION 48. The following-described citizens of the
Philippines, occupying lands of the public domain or claiming
to own any such lands or an interest therein, but whose titles
have not been perfected or completed, may apply to the
Court of First Instance of the province where the land is
located for confirmation of their claims and the issuance of a
certificate of title therefor, under the Land Registration Act ,
to wit:
(b) 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
under the provisions of this chapter.
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