REPUBLIC ACT No. 2263
The tenancy relationship is extinguished by the voluntary surrender
AN ACT AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED ONE THOUSAND ONE
HUNDRED NINETY-NINE, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE AGRICULTURAL TENANCY ACT OF
THE PHILIPPINES.
Section 1. The last paragraph of section four of Republic Act Numbered One thousand one hundred
ninety-nine is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 4. Systems of Agricultural Tenancy: Their Definitions.
"Leasehold tenancy exists when a person who, either personally or with the aid of labor available form
members of his immediate farm household, undertakes to cultivate a piece of agricultural land
susceptible of cultivation by a single person together with members of his immediate farm household,
belonging to or legally possessed by, another in consideration of a fixed amount in money or in produce
or in both,"
Section 2. Subsections (c) and (r) of section five of the same Act are hereby amended to read as
follows hereinbelow; and said section five is further amended by inserting a new subsection between
subsections (c) and (d) to be known as subsection (c-1), two new subsections between subsections
(g) and (h) to be known as subsections (g-1) and (g-2) and by adding a new subsection after
subsection (r) to be known as subsection (s) to read as follows:
"Sec. 5. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act:
"(c) Agricultural year is the period of time necessary for the arising of seasonal agricultural products,
including the preparation of the land, and the sowing, planting harvesting and, whenever applicable,
threshing of the crop: Provided, however, That in the case of coconuts, citrus, coffee, ramie, and
other crops where more than one harvest is obtained from one planting, the words "agricultural
year" shall mean the period of time from the preparation of the land to the first harvest and
thereafter from harvest to harvest. In both cases, the period of time may be shorter or longer than
a calendar year.
"(c-1) Beginning of the agricultural year is the time the first farm operation for the production of the
principal crop is performed, such as, seed-bed preparation in the case of rice.
"(g-1) Broadcasting is the strewing or the scattering of seeds directly to the landholding in lieu of
transplanting.
"(g-2) Ratooning as the cutting of the straw close to the ground at harvesting time after all the
standing water has been drained out to allow the young tillers to sprout out the rootstocks and
develop into mature normal bearing plants in three or four months with the aid of fertilizer, manure
or compost.
"(r) Auxiliary crop is any product raised other than the crop to which the cultivation of the land is
principally devoted in each agricultural year; and excluding the produce of the lot referred to in
section twenty-two, paragraph three.
"(s) Suited for mechanization shall mean that more than 60% of the tenants' labor as provided for
in this Act shall be displaced by farm machinery and that the employment of mechanized implements
will lower the cost of production."
Section 3. Section nine of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 9. Severance of Relations.
or abandonment of the land by, or the death or incapacity of, the tenant: Provided, That in case of
the tenant's death or incapacity, the tenancy relationship shall continue between the landholder and
one member of the tenant's immediate farm household who is related to the tenant within the second
degree by consanguinity and who shall cultivate the land himself personally unless the landholder shall
cultivate the land himself personally or through the employment of mechanical farm implements, in
accordance with section fifty hereof. Should the deceased or incapacitated tenant have two or more
members of his immediate farm household qualified to succeed him, the landholder shall have the
right to choose from among them who should succeed. The expiration of the period of the contract as
fixed by the parties, or the sale, alienation or transfer of legal possession of the land does not of itself
extinguish the relationship. In the latter case, the purchaser or transferee shall assume the rights and
obligations of the former landholder in relation to the tenant, In case of death of the landholder, his
heir or heirs shall likewise assume his rights and obligations."
Section 4. Section fourteen of Republic Act Numbered Eleven hundred ninety-nine is hereby amended
to read as follows:
"Sec. 14. Change of System. The tenant shall have the right to change the tenancy contract from one
of share tenancy to leasehold tenancy and vice versa and from one crop sharing arrangement to
another of the share tenancy. If the share tenancy contract is in writing and is duly registered, the
right to change from one crop sharing arrangement to another or from one tenancy system to another
may be exercised at least one month before the beginning of the next agricultural year after the
expiration of the period of the contract, the right may be exercised at least one month before the
agricultural year when the change shall be effected."
Section 5. Subsections (2) and (3) of section twenty-two of the same Act are hereby amended to
read as follows:
"Sec. 22. Rights of the Tenant:
"(2) The tenant shall, aside from his labor, have the right to provide any of the contributions for
production whenever he can do so adequately and on time subject to the provisions of section
fourteen of this Act.
"(3) The tenant shall have the right to demand for a home lot suitable for dwelling with an area of
not more than 3 per cent of the area of his landholding provided that it does not exceed one thousand
square meters and that it shall be located at a convenient and suitable place within the land of the
landholder to be designated by the later where the tenant shall construct his dwelling and may raise
vegetables, poultry, pigs and other animals and engage in minor industries, the products of which
shall accrue to the tenant exclusively. The Tenant's dwelling shall not be removed from the lot
already assigned to him by the landholder, except as provided in section twenty-six unless there is
a severance of the tenancy relationship between them as provided under section nine, or unless the
tenant is ejected for cause, and only after the expiration of forty-five days following such severance
of relationship or dismissal for cause.
Section 6. Subsections (1) and (2) of Section twenty-five of the same Act are hereby amended to
read as follows:
"Sec. 25. Rights of the Landholder:
"(1) The landholder shall have the right to choose the kind of crop and the seeds which the tenant
shall plant in his holdings: Provided, That if the tenant should object, the court shall settle the conflict
according to the best interest of both parties: Provided, further, That in no case shall a tenant be
ejected as a consequence of a change in crop.
 "(2) The landholder shall have the right to require the tenant to follow those proven farm practices
which have been found to contribute towards increased agricultural production and to use fertilizer
of the kind or kinds shown by proven farm practices to be adopted to the requirements of the
land: Provided, That in case of disagreement thereto by the tenant, the court shall settle the conflict
according to the best interest of both parties."
Section 7. Subsection (a) of section twenty-six of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 26. Obligations of the Landholder:
(a) The landholder shall furnish the tenant with a home lot as provided in section 22 (3): Provided,
That should the landholder designated another site for such home lot than that already occupied by
the tenant, the former shall bear the expenses of transferring the existing house and improvements
from the home lot already occupied by the tenant to the site newly designated by the former: Provided,
further, That if the tenant disagrees to the transfer of the home lot, the matter shall be submitted to
the court for determination."
Section 8. Section twenty-seven of the same Act is hereby amended by inserting the following
subsections to be known as subsections (4) and (5):
"Sec. 27. Prohibition to the Landholder:
"(4) The landholder shall not mortgage the share of the tenant in the crop, and any mortgage
executed by the landholder on the land and/or its crop shall not affect the share of the tenant in
such crop.
"(5) The landholder shall not discourage, directly or indirectly, the formation, maintenance or growth
of a union or organization of tenants in his landholding, but he shall not initiate, dominate, assist or
interfere in the formation or administration of any such union or organization."
Section 9. Subsection (2) of section twenty-eight of the same Act is hereby amended to read as
follows:
"Sec. 28. Expenses for Seeds; Fertilizers; Pest and Weed Control Expenses:
(2) The cost of fertilizer and expenses for pest and disease control, as evidenced by sales invoices
and/or receipts, as well as the cost of weeding beyond the customary practice in the locality shall
be paid out of the gross harvest and returned to the party who advanced the cost expenses. In case
of disagreement as to the cost of weeding, the court shall determine the same.
Section 10. Section thirty-one of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 31. Cost of Fertilizer, Etc.; When to be Advanced by the Landholder. Whenever the use of
fertilizer, the application of insect, disease and rodent control measures or weeding beyond the
customary practice in the locality is directed by the landholder, he shall advance their cost, which
shall be deducted from the gross produce."
Section 11. Section thirty-two of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 32. Share Basis. The parties shall, on ricelands which produce a normal average of more than
forty cavans per hectare for the three agricultural years next preceding the current harvest, receive
as shares in the gross produce, after setting aside the same amount of palay used as seed, and after
deducting the cost of fertilizer, pest and weed control, irrigation fees, reaping of not more than ten
per centum of the gross harvest, threshing and, whenever applicable, broadcasting or other farm
operations not listed in this Act as contributions or labor of tenant, the amount corresponding to the
total equivalent of their individual contributions, computed as follows:
Participation
Contributions
Per cent
1. Land 30
2. Labor 30
3. Farm Implements 5
4. Work Animals 5
5. Final harrowing of the field immediately 5
before the transplanting
6. Transplanting 25:
Provided, however, That the participation of any of the contributions enumerated above which are not
actually contributed because of the nature of the farming culture followed, shall be divided between
the landholder and tenant in the same proportion as their total contribution to the production."
Section 12. Subsection (4) of section thirty-seven of the same Act is hereby amended to read as
follows:
"Sec. 37. Further Rights of the Landholder:
"(4) The date of threshing which should not be beyond one month from the date of stacking of the
harvest into big stacks.
Section 13. Section thirty-nine of the same Act is amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 39. Prohibition on Pre-Threshing. It shall be unlawful for either the tenant or landholder, without
mutual consent, to reap or thresh a portion of the crop at any time previous to the date set, for its
threshing: Provided, That if the tenant needs food for his family and the landholder does not or cannot
furnish such and refuses to allow the tenant to reap or thresh a portion of the crop previous to the
date set for its threshing, the tenant can reap or thresh not more than ten per cent of his net share in
the last normal harvest after giving notice thereof to the landholder or his representative. Any violation
of this section by either party shall be treated and penalized in accordance with this Act and/or under
the general provisions of law applicable to the act committed."
Section 14. Subsections (a) and (b) of section forty-six of the same Act is hereby amended to read
as follows:
"Sec. 46. Consideration for the Use of Land.
"(a) The fixed consideration for the use of ricelands, shall not be more than the equivalent of twenty-
five per centum in case of first class land and twenty per centum in case of second class land of the
average gross produce after deducting the same amount of palay used as seed and the cost of
harvesting and threshing of the past three normal harvest: Provided, That if the landholder
introduced improvements on the farm which will increase its productivity, he may demand for an
increase in the rental proportionate to the increase in production resulting from such improvements.
In case of disagreement the court shall determine the reasonable increase in rental. Classification
of ricelands shall be determined by productivity; first class lands being those which yield more than
forty cavans per hectare and second class lands being those which yield forty cavans or less, the
same to be computed upon the normal average harvest of the three preceding years.
"(b) The fixed consideration for agricultural land where exist fruit trees and other useful trees, crops
and plants, from which the whole or any portion of the produce of the said land is taken, shall not
be more than twenty-five per cent of the average gross produce of the past three normal
 harvests: Provided, however, That additional considerations for the enjoyment of said trees and
useful plants, if the principal product is rice or other crops, shall be decided and specified by
negotiation between the landholder-lessor and the tenant-lessee: Provided, further, That when the
tenant-lessee, during the period of the lease and/or in consideration thereof, plants and/or takes
care of said trees and plants, with the consent of the landholder-lessor, the tenant-lessee shall be
compensated by the latter in the manner agreed between them.
Section 15. The following new subsection is added to section forty-six of the same Act:
"(d) In case the landholding is planted to auxiliary crops, the landholder-lessor and tenant-lessee
shall divide the same in accordance with the provision of section thirty of this Act."
Section 16. Section forty-nine of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 49. Ejectment of Tenant. Notwithstanding any agreement or provision of law as to the period or
future surrender of the land, in all cases where land devoted to any agricultural purpose is held under
any system of tenancy, the tenant shall not be dispossessed of his holdings by the landholder except
for any of the causes hereinafter enumerated and only after the same has been proved before and the
dispossession is authorized by the court.
It shall likewise be unlawful for any third party to dispossess the tenant of his holding except by order
of the Court. Any violation of this provision shall be penalized in accordance with section fifty-seven
of this Act and/or under the general provisions of law applicable to the act committed."
Section 17. Subsection (a) of section fifty of the same Act. is hereby amended to read as follows:
"(e) When a share-tenant fails to follow these proven farm practices which, as determined by the court
of agrarian relations, will contribute towards the proper care of the land and increased agricultural
production in case of conflict as to whether the margate or any other accepted scientific system is a
proven farm practice for any particular land, the conflict shall be decided by the court taking the
testimony of the proper government officials."
Section 18. The first paragraph of section fifty-two of the same Act is hereby amended to read as
follows:
"Sec. 52. Duties of the agricultural Tenancy Commission. It shall be the duty of the Agricultural
Tenancy Commission to:
Section 19. Section fifty-three of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 53. Duties of Secretary of Justice. The Secretary of Justice, acting through a tenancy mediation
commission shall carry out a rational enforcement program, which shall include among other things,
mediation of tenancy disputes."
Section 20. Section fifty-four of the same act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 54. Representation by Counsel. In all cases herein a tenant cannot afford to be represented by
counsel, it shall be the duty of the trial attorney of the tenancy mediation commission to represent
him, upon proper notification by the party concerned, or the court of competent jurisdiction shall
assign or appoint counsel de oficio for the indigent tenant.

"Sec. 50. Causes for the Dispossession of Tenant. Any of the following and no other, shall be sufficient Section 21. Section fifty-seven of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
cause for the dispossession of a tenant from his holdings:
"Sec. 57. Penal Provision. Violation of the provisions of subsections one and three, section twenty-
(a) The bona fide intention of the landholder-owner or his relative within the first degree by seven and of sections thirty-nine and forty-nine of this Act shall be punished by a fine not exceeding
consanguinity to cultivate the land himself personally or through the employment of farm machinery two thousand pesos or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion of the Court.
and implements: Provided, however, That should the landholder-owner or the aforesaid relative not Any person who in bad faith shall induce or cause anybody to violate the aforesaid sections of Republic
cultivate the land himself for at least three years or the landholder-owner and his successor in Act numbered one thousand one hundred ninety-nine shall be punished with a fine not exceeding four
interest should fail to employ mechanical farm implements for a period of at least five years after thousand pesos or imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both, at the discretion of the court.
dispossession of the tenant, it shall be presumed that he acted in bad faith and the tenant shall have
In case of juridical persons, the manager or the person who has charge of the management or
the right to demand possession of the land and damages for any loss incurred by him because of
administration of the property or, in their default, the person acting in their stead, shall be liable under
said dispossession: Provided, further, That the landholder-owner or the aforesaid relative shall, at
this section."
least one year but not more than two years prior to the date of his petition to dispossess the tenant
under this sub-section, file notice with the court and shall inform the tenant in writing in a language
Section 22. The provisions of this Act shall be applicable to all cases pending in any Court at the time
or dialect known to the latter of his intention to cultivate the land himself, either personally or
of the approval of this Act.
through the employment of mechanical implements: Provided, That in the latter case, the notice to
the tenant and to the court should be accompanied by a certification of the agricultural tenancy Section 23. If for any reason any section of provision of this Act shall be questioned in any Court,
commission that the land is suited for mechanization and by a certification by the manager of the and shall be held to be unconstitutional or invalid, no other section or provision of this Act shall be
national resettlement and rehabilitation administration that it will be able to provide immediate affected thereby.
resettlement to the tenants in case their dispossession is authorized by the court: Provided, further,
That in case any dispossessed tenant is not willing to be resettled, his possession shall not be Section 24. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
enforced until the lapse of one year from the date the decision becomes final: Provided, further,
That the dispossessed tenant and the members of the immediate household who were not resettled
shall be preferred in the employment of necessary laborers under the new set-up: Provided finally,
That a landholder may mechanize certain farm operations in a tenanted farm without ejecting any
tenant by filing a petition with the court accompanied by a certification of the farm operations applied
for will lower the cost of production and will improve the farm culture, in which case the increase in
the share of the landholder shall be fixed by the Court in proportion to the labor of the tenant that
will be displaced by the farm machine.
REPUBLIC ACT No. 3844
AN ACT TO ORDAIN THE AGRICULTURAL LAND REFORM CODE AND TO INSTITUTE LAND
REFORMS IN THE PHILIPPINES, INCLUDING THE ABOLITION OF TENANCY AND THE
CHANNELING OF CAPITAL INTO INDUSTRY, PROVIDE FOR THE NECESSARY IMPLEMENTING
AGENCIES, APPROPRIATE FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
PRELIMINARY CHAPTER
TITLE
DECLARATION OF POLICY AND COMPOSITION OF CODE
Section 1. Title - This Act shall be known as the Agricultural Land Reform Code.
Section 2. Declaration of Policy - It is the policy of the State:
(1) To establish owner-cultivatorship and the economic family-size farm as the basis of Philippine
agriculture and, as a consequence, divert landlord capital in agriculture to industrial development;
(2) To achieve a dignified existence for the small farmers free from pernicious institutional restraints
and practices;
(3) To create a truly viable social and economic structure in agriculture conducive to greater
productivity and higher farm incomes;
(4) To apply all labor laws equally and without discrimination to both industrial and agricultural wage
earners;
(5) To provide a more vigorous and systematic land resettlement program and public land
distribution; and
(6) To make the small farmers more independent, self-reliant and responsible citizens, and a source
of genuine strength in our democratic society.
Section 3. Composition of Code - In pursuance of the policy enunciated in Section two, the following
are established under this Code:
(1) An agricultural leasehold system to replace all existing share tenancy systems in agriculture;
(2) A declaration of rights for agricultural labor;
(3) An authority for the acquisition and equitable distribution of agricultural land;
(4) An institution to finance the acquisition and distribution of agricultural land;
(5) A machinery to extend credit and similar assistance to agriculture;
(6) A machinery to provide marketing, management, and other technical services to agriculture;
(7) A unified administration for formulating and implementing projects of land reform;
(8) An expanded program of land capability survey, classification, and registration; and
(9) A judicial system to decide issues arising under this Code and other related laws and regulations.
CHAPTER I
AGRICULTURAL LEASEHOLD SYSTEM
Section 4. Abolition of Agricultural Share Tenancy - Agricultural share tenancy, as herein defined, is
hereby declared to be contrary to public policy and shall be abolished: Provided, That existing share
tenancy contracts may continue in force and effect in any region or locality, to be governed in the
meantime by the pertinent provisions of Republic Act Numbered Eleven hundred and ninety-nine, as
amended, until the end of the agricultural year when the National Land Reform Council proclaims that
all the government machineries and agencies in that region or locality relating to leasehold envisioned
in this Code are operating, unless such contracts provide for a shorter period or the tenant sooner
exercise his option to elect the leasehold system: Provided, further, That in order not to jeopardize
international commitments, lands devoted to crops covered by marketing allotments shall be made
the subject of a separate proclamation that adequate provisions, such as the organization of
cooperatives, marketing agreements, or other similar workable arrangements, have been made to
insure efficient management on all matters requiring synchronization of the agricultural with the
processing phases of such crops: Provided, furthermore, That where the agricultural share tenancy
contract has ceased to be operative by virtue of this Code, or where such a tenancy contract has been
entered into in violation of the provisions of this Code and is, therefore, null and void, and the tenant
continues in possession of the land for cultivation, there shall be presumed to exist a leasehold
relationship under the provisions of this Code, without prejudice to the right of the landowner and the
former tenant to enter into any other lawful contract in relation to the land formerly under tenancy
contract, as long as in the interim the security of tenure of the former tenant under Republic Act
Numbered Eleven hundred and ninety-nine, as amended, and as provided in this Code, is not impaired:
Provided, finally, That if a lawful leasehold tenancy contract was entered into prior to the effectivity of
this Code, the rights and obligations arising therefrom shall continue to subsist until modified by the
parties in accordance with the provisions of this Code.
Section 5. Establishment of Agricultural Leasehold Relation - The agricultural leasehold relation shall
be established by operation of law in accordance with Section four of this Code and, in other cases,
either orally or in writing, expressly or impliedly.
Section 6. Parties to Agricultural Leasehold Relation - The agricultural leasehold relation shall be
limited to the person who furnishes the landholding, either as owner, civil law lessee, usufructuary, or
legal possessor, and the person who personally cultivates the same.
Section 7. Tenure of Agricultural Leasehold Relation - The agricultural leasehold relation once
established shall confer upon the agricultural lessee the right to continue working on the landholding
until such leasehold relation is extinguished. The agricultural lessee shall be entitled to security of
tenure on his landholding and cannot be ejected therefrom unless authorized by the Court for causes
herein provided.
Section 8. Extinguishment of Agricultural Leasehold Relation - The agricultural leasehold relation
established under this Code shall be extinguished by:
(1) Abandonment of the landholding without the knowledge of the agricultural lessor;
(2) Voluntary surrender of the landholding by the agricultural lessee, written notice of which shall
be served three months in advance; or
(3) Absence of the persons under Section nine to succeed to the lessee, in the event of death or
permanent incapacity of the lessee.
Section 9. Agricultural Leasehold Relation Not Extinguished by Death or Incapacity of the Parties - In
case of death or permanent incapacity of the agricultural lessee to work his landholding, the leasehold
shall continue between the agricultural lessor and the person who can cultivate the landholding
personally, chosen by the agricultural lessor within one month from such death or permanent
incapacity, from among the following: (a) the surviving spouse; (b) the eldest direct descendant by
consanguinity; or (c) the next eldest descendant or descendants in the order of their age: Provided,
That in case the death or permanent incapacity of the agricultural lessee occurs during the agricultural
year, such choice shall be exercised at the end of that agricultural year: Provided, further, That in the
event the agricultural lessor fails to exercise his choice within the periods herein provided, the priority
shall be in accordance with the order herein established.
In case of death or permanent incapacity of the agricultural lessor, the leasehold shall bind his legal
heirs.
Section 10. Agricultural Leasehold Relation Not Extinguished by Expiration of Period, etc. - The
agricultural leasehold relation under this Code shall not be extinguished by mere expiration of the
term or period in a leasehold contract nor by the sale, alienation or transfer of the legal possession of
the landholding. In case the agricultural lessor sells, alienates or transfers the legal possession of the
landholding, the purchaser or transferee thereof shall be subrogated to the rights and substituted to
the obligations of the agricultural lessor.
Section 11. Lessee's Right of Pre-emption - In case the agricultural lessor decides to sell the
landholding, the agricultural lessee shall have the preferential right to buy the same under reasonable
terms and conditions: Provided, That the entire landholding offered for sale must be pre-empted by
the Land Authority if the landowner so desires, unless the majority of the lessees object to such
acquisition: Provided, further, That where there are two or more agricultural lessees, each shall be
entitled to said preferential right only to the extent of the area actually cultivated by him. The right of
pre-emption under this Section may be exercised within ninety days from notice in writing which shall
be served by the owner on all lessees affected.
Section 12. Lessee's Right of Redemption - In case the landholding is sold to a third person without
the knowledge of the agricultural lessee, the latter shall have the right to redeem the same at a
reasonable price and consideration: Provided, That the entire landholding sold must be redeemed:
Provided, further, That where these are two or more agricultural lessees, each shall be entitled to said
right of redemption only to the extent of the area actually cultivated by him. The right of redemption
under this Section may be exercised within two years from the registration of the sale, and shall have
priority over any other right of legal redemption.
Section 13. Affidavit Required in Sale of Land Subject to Right of Pre-emption - No deed of sale of
agricultural land under cultivation by an agricultural lessee or lessees shall be recorded in the Registry
of Property unless accompanied by an affidavit of the vendor that he has given the written notice
required in Section eleven of this Chapter or that the land is not worked by an agricultural lessee.
Section 14. Right of Pre-emption and Redemption Not Applicable to Land to be Converted into
Residential, Industrial and Similar Purposes - The right of pre-emption and redemption granted under
Sections eleven and twelve of this Chapter cannot be exercised over landholdings suitably located
which the owner bought or holds for conversion into residential, commercial, industrial or other similar
non-agricultural purposes: Provided, however, That the conversion be in good faith and is substantially
carried out within one year from the date of sale. Should the owner fail to comply with the above
condition, the agricultural lessee shall have the right to repurchase under reasonable terms and
conditions said landholding from said owner within one year after the aforementioned period for
conversion has expired: Provided, however, That the tenure of one year shall cease to run from the
time the agricultural lessee petitions the Land Authority to acquire the land under the provisions of
paragraph 11 of Section fifty-one.
Section 15. Agricultural Leasehold Contract in General - The agricultural lessor and the agricultural
lessee shall be free to enter into any kind of terms, conditions or stipulations in a leasehold contract,
as long as they are not contrary to law, morals or public policy. A term, condition or stipulation in an
agricultural leasehold contract is considered contrary to law, morals or public policy:
(1) If the agricultural lessee is required to pay a rental in excess of that which is hereinafter provided
for in this Chapter;
(2) If the agricultural lessee is required to pay a consideration in excess of the fair rental value as
defined herein, for the use of work animals and/or farm implements belonging to the agricultural
lessor or to any other person; or
(3) If it is imposed as a condition in the agricultural leasehold contract: (a) that the agricultural
lessee is required to rent work animals or to hire farm implements from the agricultural lessor or a
third person, or to make use of any store or services operated by the agricultural lessor or a third
person; or (b) that the agricultural lessee is required to perform any work or render any service
other than his duties and obligations provided in this Chapter with or without compensation; or (c)
that the agricultural lessee is required to answer for any fine, deductions and/or assessments.
Any contract by which the agricultural lessee is required to accept a loan or to make payment therefor
in kind shall also be contrary to law, morals or public policy.
Section 16. Nature and Continuity of Conditions of Leasehold Contract - In the absence of any
agreement as to the period, the terms and conditions of a leasehold contract shall continue until
modified by the parties: Provided, That in no case shall any modification of its terms and conditions
prejudice the right of the agricultural lessee to the security of his tenure on the landholding: Provided,
further, That in case of a contract with a period an agricultural lessor may not, upon the expiration of
the period increase the rental except in accordance with the provisions of Section thirty-four.
Section 17. Form and Registration of Contract - Should the parties decide to reduce their agreement
into writing, the agricultural leasehold contract shall be drawn in quadruplicate in a language or dialect
known to the agricultural lessee and signed or thumb-marked both by the agricultural lessee personally
and by the agricultural lessor or his authorized representative, before two witnesses, to be chosen by
each party. If the agricultural lessee does not know how to read, the contents of the document shall
be read and explained to him by his witness. The contracting parties shall acknowledge the execution
of the contract before the justice of the peace of the municipality where the land is situated. No fees
or stamps of any kind shall be required in the preparation and acknowledgment of the instrument.
Each of the contracting parties shall retain a copy of the contract. The justice of the peace shall cause
the third copy to be delivered to the municipal treasurer of the municipality where the land is located
and the fourth copy to the Office of the Agrarian Counsel.
Except in case of mistake, violence, intimidation, undue influence, or fraud, an agricultural contract
reduced in writing and registered as hereinafter provided, shall be conclusive between the contracting
parties, if not denounced or impugned within thirty days after its registration.
Section 18. Registration of Leasehold Contract - The municipal treasurer shall, upon receipt of his
copy of the contract, require the agricultural lessee and agricultural lessor to present their respective
copies of the contract, and shall cause to be annotated thereon the date, time and place of registration
as well as its entry or registration number.
Section 19. Registry of Agricultural Leasehold Contracts - The Municipal Treasurer of the municipality
wherein the land is situated shall keep a record of all such contracts drawn and executed within his
jurisdiction, to be known as "Registry of Agricultural Leasehold Contracts". He shall keep this registry
together with a copy of each contract entered therein, and make annotations on said registry of all
subsequent acts relative to each contract, such as its renewal, novation, cancellation, etc. No
registration fees or documentary stamps shall be required in the registration of said contracts or of
any subsequent acts relative thereto.
Section 20. Memorandum of Loans - No obligation to pay money on account of loans including interest
thereon obtained by the agricultural lessee from the agricultural lessor or his representative shall be
enforceable unless the same or a memorandum thereof be in writing in a language or dialect known
to the agricultural lessee, and signed or thumb-marked by him, or by his agent.
Section 21. Exemption from Lien and/or Execution - The following shall be exempt from lien and/or
execution against the agricultural lessee:
(1) Twenty-five per centum of the entire produce of the land under cultivation; and
(2) Work animals and farm implements belonging to the agricultural lessee: Provided, That their
value does not exceed one thousand pesos. But no article or species of property mentioned in this
Section shall be exempt from execution issued upon a judgment recovered for its price or upon a
judgment of foreclosure of a mortgage thereon.
Section 22. Use of Accepted Standards of Weights and Measures - In all transactions entered into
between the agricultural lessee and the agricultural lessor concerning agricultural products the official
or, upon agreement of the parties, the accepted standards of weights and measures shall be used.
Section 23. Rights of Agricultural Lessee in General - It shall be the right of the agricultural lessee:
(1) To have possession and peaceful enjoyment of the land;
(2) To manage and work on the land in a manner and method of cultivation and harvest which
conform to proven farm practices;
(3) To mechanize all or any phase of his farm work; and
(4) To deal with millers and processors and attend to the issuance of quedans and warehouse
receipts for the produce due him.
Section 24. Right to a Home Lot - The agricultural lessee shall have the right to continue in the
exclusive possession and enjoyment of any home lot he may have occupied upon the effectivity of this
Code, which shall be considered as included in the leasehold.
Section 25. Right to be Indemnified for Labor - The agricultural lessee shall have the right to be
indemnified for the cost and expenses incurred in the cultivation, planting or harvesting and other
expenses incidental to the improvement of his crop in case he surrenders or abandons his landholding
for just cause or is ejected therefrom. In addition, he has the right to be indemnified for one-half of
the necessary and useful improvements made by him on the landholding: Provided, That these
improvements are tangible and have not yet lost their utility at the time of surrender and/or
abandonment of the landholding, at which time their value shall be determined for the purpose of the
indemnity for improvements.
Section 26. Obligations of the Lessee - It shall be the obligation of the agricultural lessee:
(1) To cultivate and take care of the farm, growing crops, and other improvements on the
landholding as a good father of a family and perform all the work therein in accordance with proven
farm practices;
(2) To inform the agricultural lessor within a reasonable time of any trespass committed by third
persons upon the farm, without prejudice to his direct action against the trespasser;
(3) To take reasonable care of the work animals and farm implements delivered to him by the
agricultural lessor and see that they are not used for purposes other than those intended or used by
another without the knowledge and consent of the agricultural lessor: Provided, however, That if
said work animals get lost or die, or said farm implements get lost or are destroyed, through the
negligence of the agricultural lessee, he shall be held responsible and made answerable therefor to
the extent of the value of the work animals and/or farm implements at the time of the loss, death
or destruction;
(4) To keep his farm and growing crops attended to during the work season. In case of unjustified
abandonment or neglect of his farm, any or all of his expected produce may, upon order of the
Court, be forfeited in favor of the agricultural lessor to the extent of the damage caused thereby;
(5) To notify the agricultural lessor at least three days before the date of harvesting or, whenever
applicable, of threshing; and
(6) To pay the lease rental to the agricultural lessor when it falls due.
Section 27. Prohibitions to Agricultural Lessee - It shall be unlawful for the agricultural lessee:
(1) To contract to work additional landholdings belonging to a different agricultural lessor or to
acquire and personally cultivate an economic family-size farm, without the knowledge and consent
of the agricultural lessor with whom he had entered first into household, if the first landholding is of
sufficient size to make him and the members of his immediate farm household fully occupied in its
cultivation; or
(2) To employ a sub-lessee on his landholding: Provided, however, That in case of illness or
temporary incapacity he may employ laborers whose services on his landholding shall be on his
account.
Section 28. Termination of Leasehold by Agricultural Lessee During Agricultural Year - The
agricultural lessee may terminate the leasehold during the agricultural year for any of the following
causes:
(1) Cruel, inhuman or offensive, treatment of the agricultural lessee or any member of his immediate
farm household by the agricultural lessor or his representative with the knowledge and consent of
the lessor;
(2) Non-compliance on the part of the agricultural lessor with any of the obligations imposed upon
him by the provisions of this Code or by his contact with the agricultural lessee;
(3) Compulsion of the agricultural lessee or any member of his immediate farm household by the
agricultural lessor to do any work or render any service not in any way connected with farm work or
even without compulsion if no compensation is paid;
(4) Commission of a crime by the agricultural lessor or his representative against the agricultural
lessee or any member of his immediate farm household; or
(5) Voluntary surrender due to circumstances more advantageous to him and his family.
Section 29. Rights of the Agricultural Lessor - It shall be the right of the agricultural lessor:
(1) To inspect and observe the extent of compliance with the terms and conditions of their contract
and the provisions of this Chapter;
(2) To propose a change in the use of the landholding to other agricultural purposes, or in the kind
of crops to be planted: Provided, That in case of disagreement as to the proposed change, the same
shall be settled by the Court according to the best interest of the parties concerned: Provided,
further, That in no case shall an agricultural lessee be ejected as a consequence of the conversion
of the land to some other agricultural purpose or because of a change in the crop to be planted;
 (3) To require the agricultural lessee, taking into consideration his financial capacity and the credit
facilities available to him, to adopt in his farm proven farm practices necessary to the conservation
of the land, improvement of its fertility and increase of its productivity: Provided, That in case of
disagreement as to what proven farm practice the lessee shall adopt, the same shall be settled by
the Court according to the best interest of the parties concerned; and
(4) To mortgage expected rentals.
Section 30. Obligations of the Agricultural Lessor - It shall be the obligation of the agricultural lessor:
(1) To keep the agricultural lessee in peaceful possession and cultivation of his landholding; and
(2) To keep intact such permanent useful improvements existing on the landholding at the start of
the leasehold relation as irrigation and drainage system and marketing allotments, which in the case
of sugar quotas shall refer both to domestic and export quotas, provisions of existing laws to the
contrary notwithstanding.
Section 31. Prohibitions to the Agricultural Lessor - It shall be unlawful for the agricultural lessor:
(1) To dispossess the agricultural lessee of his landholding except upon authorization by the Court
under Section thirty-six. Should the agricultural lessee be dispossessed of his landholding without
authorization from the Court, the agricultural lessor shall be liable for damages suffered by the
agricultural lessee in addition to the fine or imprisonment prescribed in this Code for unauthorized
dispossession;
(2) To require the agricultural lessee to assume, directly or indirectly, the payment of the taxes or
part thereof levied by the government on the landholding;
(3) To require the agricultural lessee to assume, directly or indirectly, any part of the rent, "canon"
or other consideration which the agricultural lessor is under obligation to pay to third persons for
the use of the land;
(4) To deal with millers or processors without written authorization of the lessee in cases where the
crop has to be sold in processed form before payment of the rental; or
(5) To discourage, directly or indirectly, the formation, maintenance or growth of unions or
organizations of agricultural lessees in his landholding, or to initiate, dominate, assist or interfere in
the formation or administration of any such union or organization.
Section 32. Cost of Irrigation System - The cost of construction of a permanent irrigation system,
including distributory canals, may be borne exclusively by the agricultural lessor who shall be entitled
to an increase in rental proportionate to the resultant increase in production: Provided, That if the
agricultural lessor refuses to bear the expenses of construction the agricultural lessee or lessees may
shoulder the same, in which case the former shall not be entitled to an increase in rental and shall,
upon the termination of the relationship, pay the lessee or his heir the reasonable value of the
improvement at the time of the termination: Provided, further, That if the irrigation system constructed
does not work, it shall not be considered as an improvement within the meaning of this Section.
Section 33. Manner, Time and Place of Rental Payment - The consideration for the lease of the land
shall be paid in an amount certain in money or in produce, or both, payable at the place agreed upon
by the parties immediately after threshing or processing if the consideration is in kind, or within a
reasonable time thereafter, if not in kind.
In no case shall the agricultural lessor require the agricultural lessee to file a bond, make a deposit or
pay the rental in advance, in money or in kind or in both, but a special and preferential lien is hereby
created in favor of the agricultural lessor over such portion of the gross harvest necessary for the
payment of the rental due in his favor.
Section 34. Consideration for the Lease of Riceland and Lands Devoted to Other Crops - The
consideration for the lease of riceland and lands devoted to other crops shall not be more than the
equivalent of twenty-five per centum of the average normal harvest during the three agricultural years
immediately preceding the date the leasehold was established after deducting the amount used for
seeds and the cost of harvesting, threshing, loading, hauling and processing, whichever are applicable:
Provided, That if the land has been cultivated for a period of less than three years, the initial
consideration shall be based on the average normal harvest during the preceding years when the land
was actually cultivated, or on the harvest of the first year in the case of newly-cultivated lands, if that
harvest is normal: Provided, further, That after the lapse of the first three normal harvests, the final
consideration shall be based on the average normal harvest during these three preceding agricultural
years: Provided, furthermore, That in the absence of any agreement between the parties as to the
rental, the maximum allowed herein shall apply: Provided, finally, That if capital improvements are
introduced on the farm not by the lessee to increase its productivity, the rental shall be increased
proportionately to the consequent increase in production due to said improvements. In case of
disagreement, the Court shall determine the reasonable increase in rental.
Section 35. Exemption from Leasehold of Other Kinds of Lands - Notwithstanding the provisions of
the preceding Sections, in the case of fishponds, saltbeds, and lands principally planted to citrus,
coconuts, cacao, coffee, durian, and other similar permanent trees at the time of the approval of this
Code, the consideration, as well as the tenancy system prevailing, shall be governed by the provisions
of Republic Act Numbered Eleven hundred and ninety-nine, as amended.
Section 36. Possession of Landholding; Exceptions - Notwithstanding any agreement as to the period
or future surrender, of the land, an agricultural lessee shall continue in the enjoyment and possession
of his landholding except when his dispossession has been authorized by the Court in a judgment that
is final and executory if after due hearing it is shown that:
(1) The agricultural lessor-owner or a member of his immediate family will personally cultivate the
landholding or will convert the landholding, if suitably located, into residential, factory, hospital or
school site or other useful non-agricultural purposes: Provided; That the agricultural lessee shall be
entitled to disturbance compensation equivalent to five years rental on his landholding in addition
to his rights under Sections twenty-five and thirty-four, except when the land owned and leased by
the agricultural lessor, is not more than five hectares, in which case instead of disturbance
compensation the lessee may be entitled to an advanced notice of at least one agricultural year
before ejectment proceedings are filed against him: Provided, further, That should the landholder
not cultivate the land himself for three years or fail to substantially carry out such conversion within
one year after the dispossession of the tenant, it shall be presumed that he acted in bad faith and
the tenant shall have the right to demand possession of the land and recover damages for any loss
incurred by him because of said dispossessions.
(2) The agricultural lessee failed to substantially comply with any of the terms and conditions of the
contract or any of the provisions of this Code unless his failure is caused by fortuitous event or force
majeure;
(3) The agricultural lessee planted crops or used the landholding for a purpose other than what had
been previously agreed upon;
 (4) The agricultural lessee failed to adopt proven farm practices as determined under paragraph 3
of Section twenty-nine;
(5) The land or other substantial permanent improvement thereon is substantially damaged or
destroyed or has unreasonably deteriorated through the fault or negligence of the agricultural
lessee;
(6) The agricultural lessee does not pay the lease rental when it falls due: Provided, That if the non-
payment of the rental shall be due to crop failure to the extent of seventy-five per centum as a
result of a fortuitous event, the non-payment shall not be a ground for dispossession, although the
obligation to pay the rental due that particular crop is not thereby extinguished; or
(7) The lessee employed a sub-lessee on his landholding in violation of the terms of paragraph 2 of
Section twenty-seven.
Section 37. Burden of Proof - The burden of proof to show the existence of a lawful cause for the
ejectment of an agricultural lessee shall rest upon the agricultural lessor.
Section 38. Statute of Limitations - An action to enforce any cause of action under this Code shall be
barred if not commenced within three years after such cause of action accrued.
REPUBLIC ACT No. 1199 August 30, 1954
AN ACT TO GOVERN THE RELATIONS BETWEEN LANDHOLDERS AND TENANTS OF
AGRICULTURAL LANDS (LEASEHOLDS AND SHARE TENANCY)
Section 4. Systems of Agricultural Tenancy; Their Definitions. - Agricultural tenancy is classified into
leasehold tenancy and share tenancy.
Share tenancy exists whenever two persons agree on a joint undertaking for agricultural production
wherein one party furnishes the land and the other his labor, with either or both contributing any one
or several of the items of production, the tenant cultivating the land personally with the aid of labor
available from members of his immediate farm household, and the produce thereof to be divided
between the landholder and the tenant in proportion to their respective contributions.
Leasehold tenancy exists when a person who, either personally or with the aid of labor available from
members of his immediate farm household, undertakes to cultivate a piece of agricultural land
susceptible of cultivation by a single person together with members of his immediate farm household,
belonging to or legally possessed by, another in consideration of a price certain or ascertainable to be
paid by the person cultivating the land either in percentage of the production or in a fixed amount in
money, or in both.
REPUBLIC ACT No. 9700 August 7, 2009
AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM PROGRAM (CARP),
EXTENDING THE ACQUISITION AND DISTRIBUTION OF ALL AGRICULTURAL LANDS,
INSTITUTING NECESSARY REFORMS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE CERTAIN PROVISIONS
OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6657, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN
REFORM LAW OF 1988, AS AMENDED, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled::
Section1. Section 2 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, otherwise known as the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law of 1988, is hereby further amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 2. Declaration of Principles and Policies. - It is the policy of the State to pursue a
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The welfare of the landless farmers and
farmworkers will receive the highest consideration to promote social justice and to move the nation
toward sound rural development and industrialization, and the establishment of owner cultivatorship
of economic-size farms as the basis of Philippine agriculture.
"The State shall promote industrialization and full employment based on sound agricultural
development and agrarian reform, through industries that make full and efficient use of human and
natural resources, and which are competitive in both domestic and foreign markets: Provided, That
the conversion of agricultural lands into industrial, commercial or residential lands shall take into
account, tillers' rights and national food security. Further, the State shall protect Filipino enterprises
against unfair foreign competition and trade practices.
"The State recognizes that there is not enough agricultural land to be divided and distributed to each
farmer and regular farmworker so that each one can own his/her economic-size family farm. This
being the case, a meaningful agrarian reform program to uplift the lives and economic status of the
farmer and his/her children can only be achieved through simultaneous industrialization aimed at
developing a self-reliant and independent national economy effectively controlled by Filipinos.
"To this end, the State may, in the interest of national welfare or defense, establish and operate
vital industries.
"A more equitable distribution and ownership of land, with due regard to the rights of landowners to
just compensation, retention rights under Section 6 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, and to
the ecological needs of the nation, shall be undertaken to provide farmers and farmworkers with the
opportunity to enhance their dignity and improve the quality of their lives through greater
productivity of agricultural lands.
"The agrarian reform program is founded on the right of farmers and regular farmworkers, who are
landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till or, in the case of other farmworkers, 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 the priorities and retention limits set forth in this
Act, taking into account ecological, developmental, and equity considerations, and subject to the
payment of just compensation. The State shall respect the right of small landowners, and shall
provide incentive for voluntary land-sharing.
 "As much as practicable, the implementation of the program shall be community-based to assure,
among others, that the farmers shall have greater control of farmgate prices, and easier access to
credit.
"The State shall recognize the right of farmers, farmworkers and landowners, as well as cooperatives
and other independent farmers’ organizations, to participate in the planning, organization, and
management of the program, and shall provide support to agriculture through appropriate
technology and research, and adequate financial, production, marketing and other support services.
"The State shall recognize and enforce, consistent with existing laws, the rights of rural women to
own and control land, taking into consideration the substantive equality between men and women
as qualified beneficiaries, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof, and to be represented in
advisory or appropriate decision-making bodies. These rights shall be independent of their male
relatives and of their civil status.
"The State shall apply the principles of agrarian reform, or stewardship, whenever applicable, in
accordance with law, in the disposition or utilization of other natural resources, including lands of
the public domain, under lease or concession, suitable to agriculture, subject to prior rights,
homestead rights of small settlers and the rights of indigenous communities to their ancestral lands.
"The State may resettle landless farmers and farm workers in its own agricultural estates, which
shall be distributed to them in the manner provided by law.
"By means of appropriate incentives, the State shall encourage the formation and maintenance of
economic-size family farms to be constituted by individual beneficiaries and small landowners.
"The State shall protect the rights of subsistence fishermen, especially of local communities, to the
preferential use of communal marine and fishing resources, both inland and offshore. It shall provide
support to such fishermen through appropriate technology and research, adequate financial,
production and marketing assistance and other services. The State shall also protect, develop and
conserve such resources. The protection shall extend to offshore fishing grounds of subsistence
fishermen against foreign intrusion. Fishworkers shall receive a just share from their labor in the
utilization of marine and fishing resources.
"The State shall be guided by the principles that land has a social function and land ownership has
a social responsibility. Owners of agricultural land have the obligation to cultivate directly or through
labor administration the lands they own and thereby make the land productive.
"The State shall provide incentives to landowners to invest the proceeds of the agrarian reform
program to promote industrialization, employment and privatization of public sector enterprises.
Financial instruments used as payment for lands shall contain features that shall enhance
negotiability and acceptability in the marketplace.
"The State may lease undeveloped lands of the public domain to qualified entities for the
development of capital-intensive farms, and traditional and pioneering crops especially those for
exports subject to the prior rights of the beneficiaries under this Act."
Section 2. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 3. Definitions. - For the purpose of this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise:
"(f) Farmer refers to a natural person whose primary livelihood is cultivation of land or the production
of agricultural crops, livestock and/or fisheries either by himself/herself, or primarily with the
assistance of his/her immediate farm household, whether the land is owned by him/her, or by
another person under a leasehold or share tenancy agreement or arrangement with the owner
thereof.
"(1) Rural women refer to women who are engaged directly or indirectly in farming and/or fishing
as their source of livelihood, whether paid or unpaid, regular or seasonal, or in food preparation,
managing the household, caring for the children, and other similar activities."
Section 3. Section 4 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 4.Scope. -The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 shall cover, regardless of tenurial
arrangement and commodity produced, all public and private agricultural lands as provided in
Proclamation No. 131 and Executive Order No. 229, including other lands of the public domain
suitable for agriculture: Provided, That landholdings of landowners with a total area of five (5)
hectares and below shall not be covered for acquisition and distribution to qualified beneficiaries.
"More specifically, the following lands are covered by the CARP:
"(a) All alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to or suitable for agriculture.
No reclassification of forest or mineral lands to agricultural lands shall be undertaken after the
approval of this Act until Congress, taking into account ecological, developmental and equity
considerations, shall have determined by law, the specific limits of the public domain;
"(b) All lands of the public domain in excess of the specific limits as determined by Congress in
the preceding paragraph;
"(c) All other lands owned by the Government devoted to or suitable for agriculture; and
"(d) All private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture regardless of the agricultural products
raised or that can be raised thereon.
"A comprehensive inventory system in consonance with the national land use plan shall be instituted
by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), in accordance with the Local Government Code, for
the purpose of properly identifying and classifying farmlands within one (1)year from effectivity of
this Act, without prejudice to the implementation of the land acquisition and distribution."
Section 4. There shall be incorporated after Section 6 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, new
sections to read as follows:
"SEC. 6-A. Exception to Retention Limits. - Provincial, city and municipal government ,units acquiring
private agricultural lands by expropriation or other modes of acquisition to be used for actual, direct
and exclusive public purposes, such as roads and bridges, public markets, school sites, resettlement
sites, local government facilities, public parks and barangay plazas or squares, consistent with the
approved local comprehensive land use plan, shall not be subject to the five (5)-hectare retention
limit under this Section and Sections 70 and 73(a) of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended: Provided,
That lands subject to CARP shall first undergo the land acquisition and distribution process of the
program: Provided, further, That when these lands have been subjected to expropriation, the
agrarian reform beneficiaries therein shall be paid just compensation."
 "SEC. 6-B. Review of Limits of Land Size. - Within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act, the
DAR shall submit a comprehensive study on the land size appropriate for each type of crop to
Congress for a possible review of limits of land sizes provided in this Act."
Section 5. Section 7 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 7. Priorities. - The DAR, in coordination with the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC)
shall plan and program the final acquisition and distribution of all remaining unacquired and
undistributed agricultural lands from the effectivity of this Act until June 30, 2014. Lands shall be
acquired and distributed as follows:
"Phase One: During the five (5)-year extension period hereafter all remaining lands above fifty (50)
hectares shall be covered for purposes of agrarian reform upon the effectivity of this Act. All private
agricultural lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings in excess of fifty (50) hectares which
have already been subjected to a notice of coverage issued on or before December 10, 2008; rice
and corn lands under Presidential Decree No. 27; all idle or abandoned lands; all private lands
voluntarily offered by the owners for agrarian reform: Provided, That with respect to voluntary land
transfer, only those submitted by June 30, 2009 shall be allowed Provided, further, That after June
30, 2009, the modes of acquisition shall be limited to voluntary offer to sell and compulsory
acquisition: Provided, furthermore, That all previously acquired lands wherein valuation is subject
to challenge by landowners shall be completed and finally resolved pursuant to Section 17 of
Republic Act No. 6657, as amended: Provided, finally, as mandated by the Constitution, Republic
Act No. 6657, as amended, and Republic Act No. 3844,as amended, only farmers (tenants or lessees)
and regular farmworkers actually tilling the lands, as certified under oath by the Barangay Agrarian
Reform Council (BARC) and attested under oath by the landowners, are the qualified beneficiaries.
The intended beneficiary shall state under oath before the judge of the city or municipal court that
he/she is willing to work on the land to make it productive and to assume the obligation of paying
the amortization for the compensation of the land and the land taxes thereon; all lands foreclosed
by government financial institutions; all lands acquired by the Presidential Commission on Good
Government (PCGG); and all other lands owned by the government devoted to or suitable for
agriculture, which shall be acquired and distributed immediately upon the effectivity of this Act, with
the implementation to be completed by June 30, 2012;
"Phase Two: (a) Lands twenty-four (24) hectares up to fifty (50) hectares shall likewise be covered
for purposes of agrarian reform upon the effectivity of this Act. All alienable and disposable public
agricultural lands; all arable public agricultural lands under agro-forest, pasture and agricultural
leases already cultivated and planted to crops in accordance with Section 6, Article XIII of the
Constitution; all public agricultural lands which are to be opened for new development and
resettlement: and all private agricultural lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings above
twenty-four (24) hectares up to fifty (50) hectares which have already been subjected to a notice
of coverage issued on or before December 1O, 2008, to implement principally the rights of farmers
and regular farmworkers, who are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till, which
shall be distributed immediately upon the effectivity of this Act, with the implementation to be
completed by June 30, 2012; and
"(b) All remaining private agricultural lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings in excess of
twenty-four (24) hectares, regardless as to whether these have been subjected to notices of
coverage or not, with the implementation to begin on July 1, 2012 and to be completed by June 30,
2013;
"Phase Three: All other private agricultural lands commencing with large landholdings and
proceeding to medium and small landholdings under the following schedule:
"(a) Lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings above ten (10) hectares up to twenty- four
(24)hectares, insofar as the excess hectarage above ten (10) hectares is concerned, to begin on
July 1,2012 and to be completed by June 30, 2013; and
"(b) Lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings from the retention limit up to ten (10)
hectares, to begin on July 1, 2013 and to be completed by June 30, 2014; to implement principally
the right of farmers and regular farmworkers who are landless, to own directly or collectively the
lands they till.
"The schedule of acquisition and redistribution of all agricultural lands covered by this program shall
be made in accordance with the above order o f priority, which shall be provided in the implementing
rules to be prepared by the PARC, taking into consideration the following: the landholdings wherein
the farmers are organized and understand ,the meaning and obligations of farmland ownership; the
distribution of lands to the tillers at the earliest practicable time; the enhancement of agricultural
productivity; and the availability of funds and resources to implement and support the program:
Provided, That the PARC shall design and conduct seminars, symposia, information campaigns, and
other similar programs for farmers who are not organized or not covered by any landholdings.
Completion by these farmers of the aforementioned seminars, symposia, and other similar programs
shall be encouraged in the implementation of this Act particularly the provisions of this Section.
"Land acquisition and distribution shall be completed by June 30, 2014 on a province-by- province
basis. In any case, the PARC or the PARC Executive Committee (PARC EXCOM), upon
recommendation by the Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM), may
declare certain provinces as priority land reform areas, in which case the acquisition and distribution
of private agricultural lands therein under advanced phases may be implemented ahead of the above
schedules on the condition that prior phases in these provinces have been completed: Provided,
That notwithstanding the above schedules, phase three (b) shall not be implemented in a particular
province until at least ninety percent (90%) of the provincial balance of that particular province as
of January 1, 2009 under Phase One, Phase Two (a), Phase Two (b),,and Phase Three (a), excluding
lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), have
been successfully completed.
"The PARC shall establish guidelines to implement the above priorities and distribution scheme,
including the determination of who are qualified beneficiaries: Provided, That an owner-tiller may
be a beneficiary of the land he/she does not own but is actually cultivating to the extent of the
difference between the area of the land he/she owns and the award ceiling of three (3) hectares:
Provided, further, That collective ownership by the farmer beneficiaries shall be subject to Section
25 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended: Provided, furthermore, That rural women shall be given
the opportunity t o participate in the development planning and implementation of this Act: Provided,
finally, That in no case should the agrarian reform beneficiaries' sex, economic, religious, social,
cultural and political attributes adversely affect the distribution of lands."
Section 6. The title of Section 16of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended
to read as follows:
"SEC. 16. Procedure for Acquisition and Distribution of Private Lands."
Section 7. Section 17of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
 "SEC. 17. Determination of Just Compensation. - In determining just compensation, the cost of
acquisition of the land, the value of the standing crop, the current: value of like properties, its
nature, actual use and income, the sworn valuation by the owner, the tax declarations, the
assessment made by government assessors, and seventy percent (70%) of the zonal valuation of
the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), translated into a basic formula by the DAR shall be considered,
subject to the final decision of the proper court. The social and economic benefits contributed by the
farmers and the farmworkers and by the Government t o the property as well as the nonpayment
of taxes or loans secured from any government financing institution on the said land shall be
considered as additional factors to determine its valuation."
Section 8. There shall be incorporated after Section 22 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, a new
section to read as follows:
"SEC. 22-A. Order of Priority. - A landholding of a landowner shall be distributed first to qualified
beneficiaries under Section 22, subparagraphs (a) and (b) of that same landholding up to a
maximum of three (3) hectares each. Only when these beneficiaries have all received three (3)
hectares each, shall the remaining portion of the landholding, if any, be distributed to other
beneficiaries under Section 22, subparagraphs (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g)."
Section 9. Section 24 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 24. Award to Beneficiaries. - The rights and responsibilities of the beneficiaries shall
commence from their receipt of a duly registered emancipation patent or certificate of land
ownership award and their actual physical possession of the awarded land. Such award shall be
completed in not more than one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of registration of the title
in the name of the Republic of the Philippines: Provided, That the emancipation patents, the
certificates of land ownership award, and other titles issued under any agrarian reform program
shall be indefeasible and imprescriptible after one (1) year from its registration with the Office of
the Registry of Deeds, subject to the conditions, limitations and qualifications of this Act, the
property registration decree, and other pertinent laws. The emancipation patents or the certificates
of land ownership award being titles brought under the operation of the torrens system, are
conferred with the same indefeasibility and security afforded to all titles under the said system, as
provided for by Presidential Decree No. 1529, as amended by Republic Act No. 6732.
"It is the ministerial duty of the Registry of Deeds to register the title of the land in the name of the
Republic of the Philippines, after the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) has certified that the
necessary deposit in the name of the landowner constituting full payment in cash or in bond with
due notice to the landowner and the registration of the certificate of land ownership award issued to
the beneficiaries, and to cancel previous titles pertaining thereto.
"Identified and qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries, based on Section 22 of Republic Act No. 6657,
as, amended, shall have usufructuary rights over the awarded land as soon as the DAR takes
possession of such land, and such right shall not be diminished even pending the awarding of the
emancipation patent or the certificate of land ownership award.
"All cases involving the cancellation of registered emancipation patents, certificates of land
ownership award, and other titles issued under any agrarian reform program are within the exclusive
and original jurisdiction of the Secretary of the DAR."
Section 10. Section 25 of Republic Act So. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC.25. Award Ceilings for Beneficiaries. - Beneficiaries shall be awarded an area not exceeding
three (3) hectares, which may cover a contiguous tract of land or several parcels of land cumulated
up to the prescribed award limits. The determination of the size of the land for distribution shall
consider crop type, ,soil type, weather patterns and other pertinent variables or factors which are
deemed critical for the success of the beneficiaries.
"For purposes of this Act, a landless beneficiary is one who owns less than three (3) hectares of
agricultural land.
"Whenever appropriate, the DAR shall encourage the agrarian reform beneficiaries to form or join
farmers' cooperatives for purposes of affiliating with existing cooperative banks in their respective
provinces or localities, as well as forming blocs of agrarian reform beneficiaries, corporations, and
partnerships and joining other farmers' collective organizations, including irrigators' associations:
Provided, That the agrarian reform beneficiaries shall be assured of corresponding shares in the
corporation, seats in the board of directors, and an equitable share in the profit.
"In general, the land awarded to a farmer- beneficiary should be in the form of an individual title,
covering one (1)contiguous tract or several parcels of land cumulated up to a maximum of three (3)
hectares.
"The beneficiaries may opt for collective ownership, such as co-workers or farmers cooperative or
some other form of collective organization and for the issuance of collective ownership titles:
Provided, That the total area that may be awarded shall not exceed the total number of co-owners
or members of the cooperative or collective organization multiplied by the award limit above
prescribed, except in meritorious cases as determined by the PARC.
"The conditions for the issuance of collective titles are as follows:
"(a) The current farm management system of the land covered by CARP will not be appropriate
for individual farming of farm parcels;
"(b) The farm labor system is specialized, where the farmworkers are organized by functions and
not by specific parcels such as spraying, weeding, packing and other similar functions;
"(c) The potential beneficiaries are currently not farming individual parcels hut collectively work
on large contiguous areas; and
"(d) The farm consists of multiple crops being farmed in an integrated manner or includes non-
crop production areas that are necessary for the viability of farm operations, such as packing
plants, storage areas, dikes, and other similar facilities that cannot be subdivided or assigned to
individual farmers.
"For idle and abandoned lands or underdeveloped agricultural lands to be covered by CARP, collective
ownership shall be allowed only if the beneficiaries opt for it and there is a clear development plan
that would require collective farming or integrated farm operations exhibiting the conditions
described above. Otherwise, the land awarded to a farmer-beneficiary should be in the form of a n
individual title, covering one (1) contiguous tract or several parcels of land cumulated up to a
maximum of three (3) hectares.
"In case of collective ownership, title to the property shall be issued in the name of the co- owners
or the cooperative or collective organization as the case may be. If the certificates of land ownership
award are given to cooperatives then the names of the beneficiaries must also be listed in the same
certificate of land ownership award.
 "With regard to existing collective certificates of land ownership award, the DAR should immediately
undertake the parcelization of said certificates of land ownership award, particularly those that do
not exhibit the conditions for collective ownership outlined above. The DAR shall conduct a review
and redocumentation of all the collective certificates of land ownership award. The DAR shall prepare
a prioritized list of certificates of land ownership award to be parcelized. The parcelization shall
commence immediately upon approval of this Act and shall not exceed a period of three (3) years.
Only those existing certificates of land ownership award that are collectively farmed or are operated
in an integrated manner shall remain as collective."
Section 11. Section 26 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 26. Payment by Beneficiaries. - Lands awarded pursuant to this Act shall be paid for by the
beneficiaries to the LBP in thirty (30) annual amortizations at six percent (6%) interest per annum.
The annual amortization shall start one (1) year from the date of the certificate of land ownership
award registration. However, if the occupancy took place after the certificate of land ownership
award registration, the amortization shall start one (1) year from actual occupancy. The payments
for the first three (3) years after the award shall be at reduced amounts as established by the PARC:
Provided, That the first five (5) annual payments may not be more than five percent (5%) of the
value of the annual gross production as established by the DAR. Should the scheduled annual
payments after the fifth (5th) year exceed ten percent (10%) of the annual gross production and
the failure to produce accordingly is not due to the beneficiary's fault, the LBP shall reduce the
interest rate and/or reduce the principal obligation to make the repayment affordable.
"The LBP shall have a lien by way of mortgage on the land awarded to the beneficiary; and this
mortgage may be foreclosed by the LBP for non-payment of an aggregate of three (3) annual
amortizations. The LBP shall advise the DAR of such proceedings and the latter shall subsequently
award the forfeited landholding to other qualified beneficiaries. A beneficiary whose land, as provided
herein, has been foreclosed shall thereafter be permanently disqualified from becoming a beneficiary
under this Act."
Section 12. Section 27 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 27. Transferability of Awarded Lands. - Lands acquired by beneficiaries under this Act or other
agrarian reform laws shall not be sold, transferred or conveyed except through hereditary
succession, or to the government, or to the LBP, or to other qualified beneficiaries through the DAR
for a period of ten (10) years: Provided, however, That the children or the spouse of the transferor
shall have a right to repurchase the land from the government or LBP within a period of two (2)
years. Due notice of the availability of the land shall be given by the LBP to the BARC of the barangay
where the land is situated. The PARCCOM, as herein provided, shall, in turn, be given due notice
thereof by the BARC.
"The title of the land awarded under the agrarian reform must indicate that it is an emancipation
patent or a certificate of land ownership award and the subsequent transfer title must also indicate
that it is an emancipation patent or a certificate of land ownership award.
"If the land has not yet been fully paid by the beneficiary, the rights to the land may be transferred
or conveyed, with prior approval of the DAR, to any heir of the beneficiary or to any other beneficiary
who, as a condition for such transfer or conveyance, shall cultivate the land himself/herself. Failing
compliance herewith, the land shall be transferred to the LBP which shall give due notice of the
availability of the land in the manner specified in the immediately preceding paragraph.
"In the event of such transfer to the LBP, the latter shall compensate the beneficiary in one lump
sump for the amounts the latter has already paid, together with the value of improvements he/she
has made on the land."
Section 13. Section 36 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 36. Funding for Support Services. - In order to cover the expenses and cost of support
services, at least forty percent (40%) of all appropriations for agrarian reform during the five (5)
year extension period shall be immediately set aside and made available for this purpose: Provided,
That the DAR shall pursue integrated land acquisition and distribution and support services strategy
requiring a plan to be developed parallel to the land acquisition and distribution process. The
planning and implementation for land acquisition and distribution shall be hand-in-hand with support
services delivery: Provided, further, That for the next five (5) years, as far as practicable, a minimum
of two (2) Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) shall be established by the DAR, in coordination
with the local government units, non-governmental organizations, 'community-based cooperatives
and people's organizations in each legislative district with a predominant agricultural
population: Provided, furthermore, That the areas in which the ARCS are to be established shall
have been substantially covered under the provisions of this Act and other agrarian or land reform
laws: Provided, finally, That a complementary support services delivery strategy for existing
agrarian reform beneficiaries that are not in barangays within the ARCs shall be adopted by the DAR.
"For this purpose, an Agrarian Reform Community is composed and managed by agrarian reform
beneficiaries who shall be willing to be organized and to undertake the integrated development of
an area and/or their organizations/ cooperatives. In each community, the DAR, together with the
agencies and organizations abovementioned, shall identify the farmers' association, cooperative or
their respective federations approved by the farmers- beneficiaries that shall take the lead in the
agricultural development of the area. In addition, the DAR, in close coordination with the
congressional oversight committee created herein, with due notice to the concerned representative
of the legislative district prior to implementation shall be authorized to package proposals and
receive grants, aids and other forms of financial assistance from any source"
Section 14. Section 37 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 37. Support Services for the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries. - The State shall adopt the
integrated policy of support services delivery to agrarian reform beneficiaries. To this end, the DAR,
the Department of Finance, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shall institute reforms to
liberalize access to credit by agrarian reform beneficiaries. The PARC shall ensure that support
services for agrarian reform beneficiaries are provided, such as:
"(a) Land surveys and titling;
"(b) Socialized terms on agricultural credit facilities;
"Thirty percent (30%) of all appropriations for support services referred to in Section 36 of
Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, shall be immediately set aside and made available for
agricultural credit facilities: Provided, That one-third (1/3) of this segregated appropriation shall
 be specifically allocated for subsidies to support the initial capitalization for agricultural production
to new agrarian reform beneficiaries upon the awarding of the emancipation patent or the
certificate of land ownership award and the remaining two-thirds (2/3) shall be allocated to provide
access to socialized credit to existing agrarian reform beneficiaries, including the
leaseholders: Provided, further, the LBP and other concerned government financial institutions,
accredited savings and credit cooperatives, financial service cooperatives and accredited
cooperative banks shall provide the delivery system for disbursement of the above financial
assistance to individual agrarian reform beneficiaries, holders of collective titles and cooperatives.
"For this purpose, all financing institutions may accept as collateral for loans the purchase orders,
marketing agreements or expected harvests: Provided, That loans obtained shall be used in the
improvement or development of the farm holding of the agrarian reform beneficiary or the
establishment of facilities which shall enhance production or marketing of agricultural products of
increase farm income therefrom: Provided, further, That of the remaining seventy percent (70%)
for the support services, fifteen percent (15%) shall be earmarked for farm inputs as requested
by the duly accredited agrarian reform beneficiaries' organizations, such as, but not limited to: (1)
seeds, seedlings and/or planting materials; (2) organic fertilizers; (3) pesticides; (4)herbicides;
and (5) farm animals, implements/'machineries; and five percent (5%) for seminars, trainings
and the like to help empower agrarian reform beneficiaries.
"(c) Extension services by way of planting, cropping, production and post-harvest technology
transfer, as well as marketing and management assistance and support to cooperatives and
farmers' organizations;
"(d) Infrastructure such as, but not limited to, access trails, mini-dams, public utilities, marketing
and storage facilities;
"(e) Research, production and use of organic fertilizers and other local substances necessary in
farming and cultivation; and
"(f) Direct and active DAR assistance in the education and organization of actual and potential
agrarian reform beneficiaries, at the barangay, municipal, city, provincial, and national levels,
towards helping them understand their rights and responsibilities as owner-cultivators developing
farm- related trust relationships among themselves and their neighbors, and increasing farm
production and profitability with the ultimate end of empowering them to chart their own destiny.
The representatives of the agrarian reform beneficiaries to the PARC shall be chosen from the
'nominees of the duly accredited agrarian reform beneficiaries' organizations, or in its absence,
from organizations of actual and potential agrarian reform beneficiaries as forwarded to and
processed by the PARC EXCOM.
"The PARC shall formulate policies to ensure that support services for agrarian reform beneficiaries
shall be provided at all stages of the program implementation with the concurrence of the concerned
agrarian reform beneficiaries.
"The PARC shall likewise adopt, implement, and monitor policies and programs to ensure the
fundamental equality of women and men in the agrarian reform program as well as respect for the
human rights, social protection, and decent working conditions of both paid and unpaid men and
women farmer-beneficiaries.
"The Bagong Kilusang Kabuhayan sa Kaunlaran (BKKK) Secretariat shall be transferred and attached
t o the LBP, for its supervision including all its applicable and existing funds, personnel, properties,
equipment and records.
"Misuse or diversion of the financial and support services herein provided shall result in sanctions
against the beneficiary guilty thereof, including the forfeiture of the land transferred to him/her or
lesser sanctions as may be provided by the PARC, without prejudice to criminal prosecution."
Section 15. There shall be incorporated after Section 37 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, a
new section to read as follows:
"SEC. 37-A. Equal Support Services for Rural Women. - Support services shall be extended equally
to women and men agrarian reform beneficiaries.
"The PARC shall ensure that these support services, as provided for in this Act, integrate the specific
needs and well-being of women farmer- beneficiaries taking into account the specific requirements
of female family members of farmer- beneficiaries.
"The PARC shall also ensure that rural women will be able to participate in all community activities.
To this effect, rural women are entitled to self-organization in order to obtain equal access to
economic opportunities and to have access to agricultural credit and loans, marketing facilities and
technology, and other support services, and equal treatment in land reform and resettlement
schemes.
"The DAR shall establish and maintain a women's desk, which will be primarily responsible for
formulating and implementing programs and activities related to the protection and promotion of
women's rights, as well as providing an avenue where women can register their complaints and
grievances principally related t o their rural activities."
Section 16. Section 38 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 38. Support Services for Landowners. - The PARC, with the assistance of such other
government agencies and instrumentalities as it may direct, shall provide landowners affected by
the CARP and prior agrarian reform programs with the following services:
"(a) Investment information, financial and counseling assistance, particularly investment
information on government-owned and/or -controlled corporations and disposable assets of the
government in pursuit of national industrialization and economic independence:
"(b) Facilities, programs and schemes for the conversion or exchange of bonds issued for payment
of the lands acquired with stocks and bonds issued by the National Government, the BSP and other
government institutions and instrumentalities;
"(c) Marketing of agrarian reform bonds, as well as promoting the marketability of said bonds in
traditional and non-traditional financial markets and stock exchanges: and/or
"(d) Other services designed t o utilize productively the proceeds of the sale of such lands for rural
industrialization.
 "A landowner who invests in rural-based industries shall be entitled to the incentives granted to a
registered enterprise engaged in a pioneer or preferred area of investment as provided for in the
Omnibus Investment Code of 1987,or to such other incentives as the PARC, the LBP, or other
government financial institutions shall provide.
"The LBP shall redeem a landowner's agrarian reform bonds at face value as an incentive: Provided,
That at least fifty percent (50%) of the proceeds thereof shall be invested in a Board of Investments
(BOI)-registered company or in any agri-business or agro-industrial enterprise in the region where
the CARP-covered landholding is located. An additional incentive of two percent (2%) in cash shall
be paid to a landowner who maintains his/her enterprise as a going concern for five (5) years or
keeps his/her investments in a BOI- registered firm for the same period: Provided, further, That the
rights of the agrarian reform beneficiaries are not, in any way, prejudiced or impaired thereby.
"The DAR, the LBP and the Department of Trade and Industry shall jointly formulate the program to
carry out these provisions under the supervision of the PARC: Provided, That in no case shall the
landowners' sex, economic, religious, social, cultural and political attributes exclude them from
accessing these support services."
Section 17. Section 41 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 41. The Presidential Agrarian Reform Council. - The Presidential Agrarian Reform Council
(PARC) shall be composed of the President of the Philippines as Chairperson, the Secretary of
Agrarian Reform as Vice-Chairperson and the following as members: Secretaries of the Departments
of Agriculture; Environment and Natural Resources; Budget and Management; Interior and Local
Government; Public Works and Highways; Trade and Industry; Finance; and Labor and Employment;
Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority; President, Land Bank of the
Philippines; Administrator, National Irrigation Administration; Administrator, Land Registration
Authority; and six (6) representatives of affected landowners to represent Luzon, Visayas and
Mindanao; six (6) representatives of agrarian reform beneficiaries, two (2) each from Luzon, Visayas
and Mindanao: Provided, That at least one (1) of them shall be from the indigenous
peoples: Provided, further, That at least one (1)of them shall come from a duly recognized national
organization of rural women or a national organization of agrarian reform beneficiaries with a
substantial number of women members: Provided, finally, That at least twenty percent (20%) of the
members of the PARC shall be women but in no case shall they be less than two (Z)."
Section 18. Section 50 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 50. Quasi-Judicial Powers of the DAR. - The DAR is hereby vested with primary jurisdiction to
determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters and shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over
all matters involving the implementation of agrarian reform, except those falling under the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the DENR.
"It shall not be bound by technical rules of procedure and evidence but shall proceed to hear and
decide all cases, disputes or controversies in a most expeditious manner, employing all reasonable
means to ascertain the facts of every case in accordance with justice and equity and the merits of
the case. Toward this end, it shall adopt a uniform rule of procedure to achieve a just, expeditious
and inexpensive determination of every action or proceeding before it.
"It shall have the power to summon witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, require submission
of reports, compel the production of books and documents and answers to interrogatories and
issue subpoena, and subpoena duces tecum and to enforce its writs through sheriffs or other duly
deputized officers. It shall likewise have the power to punish direct and indirect contempts in the
same manner and subject to the same penalties as provided in the Rules of Court.
"Responsible farmer leaders shall be allowed to represent themselves, their fellow farmers, or their
organizations in any proceedings before the DAR Provided, however, That when there are two or
more representatives for any individual or group, the representatives should choose only one among
themselves to represent such party or group before any DAB proceedings.
"Notwithstanding an appeal to the Court of Appeals, the decision of the DAR shall be immediately
executory except a decision or a portion thereof involving solely the issue of just compensation."
Section 19. Section 50 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended by adding
Section 50-A to read as follows:
"SEC. 50-A. Exclusive Jurisdiction on Agrarian Dispute. - No court or prosecutor's office shall take
cognizance of cases pertaining to the implementation of the CARP except those provided under
Section 57 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended. If there is an allegation from any of the parties
that the case is agrarian in nature and one of the parties is a farmer, farmworker, or tenant, the
case shall be automatically referred by the judge or the prosecutor to the DAR which shall determine
and certify within fifteen (15) days from referral whether an agrarian dispute exists: Provided, That
from the determination of the DAR, an aggrieved party shall have judicial recourse. In cases referred
by the municipal trial court and the prosecutor's office, the appeal shall be with the proper regional
trial court, and in cases referred by the regional trial court, the appeal shall be to the Court of
Appeals.
"In cases where regular courts or quasi-judicial bodies have competent jurisdiction, agrarian reform
beneficiaries or identified beneficiaries and/or their associations shall have legal standing and
interest to intervene concerning their individual or collective rights and/or interests under the CARP.
"The fact of non-registration of such associations with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or
Cooperative Development Authority, or any concerned government agency shall not be used against
them to deny the existence of their legal standing and interest in a case filed before such courts and
quasi-judicial bodies."
Section 20. Section 55 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 55. No Restraining Order or Preliminary Injunction. -Except for the Supreme Court, no court
in the Philippines shall have jurisdiction to issue any restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction
against the PARC, the DAR, or any of its duly authorized or designated agencies in any case, dispute
or controversy arising from, necessary to, or in connection with the application, implementation,
enforcement, or interpretation of this Act and other pertinent laws on agrarian reform."
Section 21. Section 63 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 63. Funding Source. - The amount needed to further implement the CARP as provided in this
Act, until June 30, 2014, upon expiration of funding under Republic Act No. 8532 and other pertinent
laws, shall be funded from the Agrarian Reform Fund and other funding sources in the amount of at
least One hundred fifty billion pesos (P150,000,000,000.00).
 "Additional amounts are hereby authorized to be appropriated as and when needed to augment the
Agrarian Reform Fund in order to fully implement the provisions of this Act during the five (5)-year
extension period.
"Sources of funding or appropriations shall include the following:
"(a) Proceeds of the sales of the Privatization and Management Office (PMO);
"e)All receipts from assets recovered and from sales of ill-gotten wealth recovered through the
PCGG excluding the amount appropriated for compensation to victims of human rights violations
under the applicable law;
"(c) Proceeds of the disposition and development of the properties of the Government in foreign
countries, for the specific purposes of financing production credits, infrastructure and other
support services required by this Act;
"(d) All income and, collections of whatever form and nature arising from the agrarian reform
operations, projects and programs of the DAR and other CARP implementing agencies;
"(e) Portion of amounts accruing to the Philippines from all sources of official foreign. aid grants
and concessional financing from all countries, to be used for the specific purposes of financing
productions, credits, infrastructures, and other support services required by this Act:
"(f) Yearly appropriations of no less than Five billion pesos (P5,000,000,000.00) from the General
Appropriations Act;
"(g) Gratuitous financial assistance from legitimate sources; and
"(h) Other government funds not otherwise appropriated.
"All funds appropriated to implement the provisions of this Act shall be considered continuing
appropriations during the period of its implementation: Provided, That if the need arises, specific
amounts for bond redemptions, interest payments and other existing obligations arising from the
implementation of the program shall be included in the annual General Appropriations
Act: Provided, further, That all just compensation payments to landowners, including execution of
judgments therefore, shall only be sourced from the Agrarian Reform Fund: Provided, however, That
just compensation payments that cannot be covered within the approved annual budget of the
program shall be chargeable against the debt service program of the national government, or any
unprogrammed item in the General Appropriations Act: Provided, finally, That after the completion
of the land acquisition and distribution component of the CARP, the yearly appropriation shall be
allocated fully to support services, agrarian justice delivery and operational requirements of the DAR
and the other CARP implementing agencies."
Section 22. Section 65 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 65. Conversion of Lands. - After the lapse of five (5) years from its award, when the land
ceases to be economically feasible and sound for agricultural purposes, or the locality has become
urbanized and the land will have a greater economic value for residential, commercial or industrial
purposes, the DAR, upon application of the beneficiary or the landowner with respect only to his/her
retained area which is tenanted, with due notice to the affected parties, and subject to existing laws,
may authorize the reclassification or conversion of the land and its disposition: Provided, That if the
applicant is a beneficiary under agrarian laws and the land sought to be converted is the land
awarded to him/her or any portion thereof, the applicant, after the conversion is granted, shall invest
at least ten percent (10%)of the proceeds coming from the conversion in government
securities: Provided, further, That the applicant upon conversion shall fully pay the price of the
land: Provided, furthermore, That irrigated and irrigable lands, shall not be subject to
conversion: Provided, finally, That the National Irrigation Administration shall submit a consolidated
data on the location nationwide of all irrigable lands within one (1)year from the effectivity of this
Act.
"Failure to implement the conversion plan within five (5) years from the approval of such conversion
plan or any violation of the conditions of the conversion order due to the fault of the applicant shall
cause the land to automatically be covered by CARP."
Section 23. Section 68 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 68. Immunity of Government Agencies from Undue Interference. - In cases falling within their
jurisdiction, no injunction, restraining order, prohibition or mandamus shall be issued by the regional
trial courts, municipal trial courts, municipal circuit trial courts, and metropolitan trial courts against
the DAR, the DA, the DENR, and the Department of Justice in their implementation of the program."
Section 24. Section 73 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 73. Prohibited Acts and Omissions. - The following are prohibited:
"(a) The ownership or possession, for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this Act, of
agricultural lands in excess of the total retention limits or award ceilings by any person, natural or
juridical, except those under collective ownership by farmer-beneficiaries;
"(b) The forcible entry or illegal detainer by persons who are not qualified beneficiaries under this
Act to avail themselves of the rights and benefits of the Agrarian Reform Program:
"(c) Any conversion by , any landowner of his/her agricultural' land into any non-agricultural use
with intent to avoid the application of this Act to his/her landholdings and to dispossess his/her
bonafide tenant farmers:
"(d) The malicious and willful prevention or obstruction by any person, association or entity of the
implementation of the CARP;
"(e) The sale, transfer, conveyance or change of the nature of lands outside of urban centers and
city limits either in whole or in part after the effectivity of this Act, except after final completion of
the appropriate conversion under Section 65 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended. The date of
the registration of the deed of conveyance in the Register of Deeds with respect to titled lands and
the date of the issuance of the tax declaration to the transferee of the property with respect to
unregistered lands, as the case may be, shall be conclusive for the purpose of this Act;
"(f) The sale, transfer or conveyance by a beneficiary of the right to use or any other usufructuary
right over the land he/she acquired by virtue of being a beneficiary, in order to circumvent the
provisions of this Act;
"(g) The unjustified, willful, and malicious act by a responsible officer or officers of the government
through the following:
"(1) The denial of notice and/or reply to landowners;
"(2) The deprivation of retention rights;
"(3) The undue or inordinate delay in the preparation of claim folders; or
"(4) Any undue delay, refusal or failure in the payment of just compensation;
"(h) The undue delay or unjustified failure of the DAR, the LBP, the PARC, the PARCCOM, and any
concerned government agency or any government official or employee to submit the required
 report, data and/or other official document involving the implementation of the provisions of this
Act, as required by the parties or the government, including the House of Representatives and the
Senate of the Philippines as well as their respective committees, and the congressional oversight
committee created herein;
"(i) The undue delay in the compliance with the obligation to certify or attest and/or falsification
of the certification or attestation as required under Section 7 of Republic Act No. 6657, as
amended; and
"(j) Any other culpable neglect or willful violations of the provisions of this Act.
"In the case of government officials and employees, a conviction under this Act is without prejudice
to any civil case and/or appropriate administrative proceedings under civil service law, rules and
regulations. "Any person convicted under this Act shall not be entitled to any benefit provided for in
any agrarian reform law or program."
Section 25. Section 74 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 74. Penalties. - Any person who knowingly or willfully violates the provisions of this Act shall
be punished by imprisonment of not less than one (1) month to not more than three (3) years or a
fine of not less than One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) and not more than Fifteen thousand pesos
(P15,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court: Provided, That the following corresponding
penalties shall be imposed for the specific violations hereunder:
"(a) Imprisonment of three (3) years and one (1) day to six (6) years or a fine of not less than
Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00)and not more than One hundred fifty thousand pesos
(P150,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court upon any person who violates Section 73,
subparagraphs (a), (b), (f), (g), and (h) of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended; and
"(b) Imprisonment of six (6) years and one (1) day to twelve (12) years or a fine of not less than
Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00) and not more than One million pesos
(P1,000,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court upon any person who violates Section 73,
subparagraphs (c), (d), (e), and (i) of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended.
"If the offender is a corporation or association, the officer responsible therefor shall be criminally
liable."
Section 26. Congressional Oversight Committee. - A Congressional Oversight Committee on
Agrarian Reform (COCAR) is hereby created to oversee and monitor the implementation of this Act. It
shall be composed of the Chairpersons of the Committee on Agrarian Reform of both Houses of
Congress, three (3) Members of the House of Representatives, and three (3) Members of the Senate
of the Philippines, to be designated respectively by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and
the President of the Senate of the Philippines.
The Chairpersons of the Committees on Agrarian Reform of the House of Representatives and of the
Senate of the Philippines shall be the Chairpersons of the COCAR. The Members shall receive no
compensation; however, traveling and other necessary expenses shall be allowed.
In order to carry out the objectives of this Act, the COCAR shall be provided with the necessary
appropriations for its operation. An initial amount of Twenty-five million pesos (P25,000,000.00) is
hereby appropriated for the COCAR for the first year of its operation and the same amount shall be
appropriated every year thereafter.
The term of the COCAR shall end six (6) months after the expiration of the extended period of five (5)
years.
Section 27. Powers and Functions of the COCAR. - The COCAR shall have the following powers
and functions:
(a) Prescribe and adopt guidelines which shall govern its work;
(b) Hold hearings and consultations, receive testimonies and reports pertinent to its specified
concerns;
(c) Secure from any department, bureau, office or instrumentality of the government such assistance
as may be needed, including technical information, preparation and production of reports and
submission of recommendations or plans as it may require, particularly a yearly report of the record
or performance of each agrarian reform beneficiary as provided under Section 22 of Republic Act
No. 6657, as amended;
(d) Secure from the DAR or the LBP information on the amount of just compensation determined to
be paid or which has been paid to any landowner;
(e) Secure from the DAR or the LBP quarterly reports on the disbursement of funds for the agrarian
reform program;
(f) Oversee and monitor, in such a manner as it may deem necessary, the actual implementation of
the program and projects by the DAR;
(g) Summon by subpoena any public or private citizen to testify before it, or require by subpoena
duces tecum to produce before it such records, reports, or other documents as may be necessary in
the performance of its functions;
(h) Engage the services of resource persons from the public and private sectors as well as civil
society including the various agrarian reform groups or organizations in the different regions of the
country as may be needed;
(i) Approve the budget for the work of the Committee and all disbursements therefrom, including
compensation of all personnel;
(j) Organize its staff and hire and appoint such employees and personnel whether temporary,
contractual or on constancy subject to applicable rules; and
(k) Exercise all the powers necessary and incidental to attain the purposes for which it is created.
Section 28. Periodic Reports. - The COCAR shall submit to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and to the President of the Senate of the Philippines periodic reports on its findings
and recommendations on actions to be undertaken by both Houses of Congress, the DAR, and the
PARC.
Section 29. Access to Information. - Notwithstanding the provisions of Republic Act No. 1405 and
other pertinent laws, information on the amount of just compensation paid to any landowner under
Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, and other agrarian reform laws shall be deemed public
information.
Section 30. Resolution of Case. - Any case and/or proceeding involving the implementation of the
provisions of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, which may remain pending on June 30, 2014 shall
be allowed to proceed to its finality and be executed even beyond such date.
Section 31. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The PARC and the DAR shall provide the
necessary implementing rules and regulations within thirty (30) days upon the approval of this Act.
Such rules and regulations shall take effect on July 1, 2009 and it shall be published in at least two
(2) newspapers of general circulation.
Section 32. Repealing Clause. - Section 53 of Republic Act No. 3844, otherwise known as the
Agricultural Land Reform Code, is hereby repealed and all other laws, decrees, executive orders,
issuances, rules and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby likewise
repealed or amended accordingly.
Section 33. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full
force and effect.
Section 34. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect on July 1,2009 and it shall be published
in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
DAR ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 03-12
SUBJECT : Amendments to the Revised Rules and Procedures Governing the Acquisition and
Distribution of Private Agricultural Lands under Republic Act (R.A.) No. 6657, as Amended
PREFATORY STATEMENT
On 30 September 2011, Administrative Order (A.O.) No. 7, Series of 2011, otherwise known as
"The Revised Rules and Procedures Governing the Acquisition and Distribution of Private Agricultural
Lands under Republic Act (R.A.) No. 6657, as amended", was issued pursuant to Section 49 of Republic
Act (R.A.) No. 6657, as amended, and the overall mandate of the Department of Agrarian Reform
(DAR) to implement the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and other agrarian reform
laws.
The said A.O. introduced crucial reforms for the purpose of streamlining the Land Acquisition and
Distribution (LAD) process of the CARP, guaranteeing the inviolability of the right to due process of all
stakeholders of the agrarian reform program and ensuring the consummation of the CARP by 2014 in
accordance with the legislative fiat of R.A. No. 6657, as amended by R.A. No. 9700.
Contemporary developments in the operations of the DAR, however, necessitate the further
incorporation of amendments which will greatly streamline the LAD process as well as the introduction
of key provisions that remain faithful the spirit of the law on agrarian reform.
Keeping in mind the solemn duty of the DAR to implement agrarian reform laws with full conformity
to the constitutional dictates of due process, equal protection, just compensation, and social justice,
the following amendments to A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 are hereby issued:
SECTION 1. Section 1 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 1. Applicability. — These rules and procedures shall govern the acquisition and distribution
of all private agricultural lands covered under Section 4 of R.A. No. 6657, as amended, including all
private agricultural lands already issued with Notices of Coverage (NOCs) prior to the effectivity of this
A.O., provided that the validity of any and all acts already undertaken in accordance with prior rules
and procedures on land acquisition and distribution of private agricultural lands shall still be governed
by the rules and procedures governing at the time the said acts were undertaken."
SECTION 2. Section 2 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 2. Definition of Terms. — For purposes of these Rules, the following terms are defined as
follows:
"P. Segregation Survey refers to survey work done on a lot, which is embraced by a Notice of
Coverage, segregating the CARP-coverable portion from the non-coverable areas, such as, among
others, the retention area of the land owner, public roads, and public irrigations. CIAHDT
"R. Subdivision survey refers to survey work in which a CARP-covered lot deemed coverable is
divided into sub-lots for the individual ARBs."
SECTION 3. Section 6 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 6. Phase of a Co-Owned Landholding. —
"i. if the landholding is co-owned due to the non-settlement of the estate of a deceased
LO who died on or after 15 June 1988: the phase shall be based on the aggregate size of all
the landholdings of the deceased LO;
 "ii. if the landholding is co-owned due to other reasons, insofar as the landholding
became co-owned before 15 June 1988:
SECTION 4. Section 15 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 15. Issuance of Notice of Coverage. —
"The NOC must state the periods for the LO to file a protest on coverage, nomination of preferred
beneficiary/ies, manifestation for exemption/exclusion, and manifestation to exercise the right of
retention, as well as to submit a list of the agricultural lessees, regular and seasonal farmers, and/or
tenants in his/her/its landholding. The NOC must explicitly warn the LO that failure on the latter's part
to exercise the aforementioned rights during the said periods shall be regarded as a waiver to exercise
these."
SECTION 5. Section 16 of A.O. No. 07, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 16. Service of NOC. —
"a. Personal Service: The NOC shall be served primarily by personally handing a copy thereof
to the "person authorized to receive" as enumerated under Section 17 hereof. Personal service is
effected when the person authorized to receive affixes his signature or thumb mark on the
receiving copy of the NOC in the presence of a witness who also affixes his signature.
"Personal service of the NOC shall be done by the Bureau of Land Acquisition and
Distribution (BLAD) in the DAR Central Office if the last known address of the person authorized
to receive is within Metro Manila, or the MARO who has jurisdiction over the last known address
of the person authorized to receive, if living in a province outside Metro Manila. The Director of
the BLAD or the MARO, as the case may be, may authorize in writing any DAR personnel in their
respective office to serve the said NOC.
"b. Substituted Service: If the "person authorized to receive" is not present in his/her last
known address, or refuses to receive the NOC, the person personally serving the NOC shall
immediately avail of substituted service and serve the NOC by leaving a copy of the NOC at the
residence of the person authorized to receive with some person of suitable age and discretion
residing therein, or by leaving a copy of the NOC at the RLO's office or regular place of business
with some competent person in charge thereof.
"d. Immediate Publication: If the address of the person authorized to receive is unknown, or
substituted service is not available or fails, the MARO who has jurisdiction over the subject
landholding shall immediately file a written report as to the investigation made and the failure to
determine the address of the LO to the PARO, and the latter shall send a copy of the NOC to the
BLAD. The BLAD shall thereafter cause the publication of the NOC. TIaEDC
SECTION 6. Section 18 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 18. Publication of NOC. —
"5. The period for the LO to nominate his/her preferred beneficiary/ies, submit a list of the
agricultural lessees, regular and seasonal farmers, and/or tenants in his/her/its landholding, file a
manifestation to exercise the right of retention, file a protest on coverage, and file a manifestation
for exemption/exclusion, as well as the consequences of the failure to exercise these rights during
the prescribed period."
SECTION 7. Section 19 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 19. Posting of the NOC. — In cases when the NOC requires publication under Section 18
hereof, the MARO or any authorized DAR Personnel shall post a copy of the NOC at a conspicuous
place at or near the subject landholding, and ensure that the notice is clearly visible. The posting of
the NOC shall not be necessary in cases where the NOC does not need to be published in accordance
under Section 18 hereof.
For this purpose, waterproof and environmentally-friendly materials, measuring two (2) by three (3)
feet, shall be used. The BARC Chairman or his authorized representative shall thereafter issue the
corresponding Certification of Posting Compliance.
"Additionally, a certified true copy of the NOC shall also be posted for seven (7) days at the bulletin
board of the Municipal/City Hall and the Barangay Hall where the land covered is located. The
appropriate local government official of the Municipal/City and the Barangay shall thereupon issue
their corresponding Certification of Posting Compliance."
SECTION 8. Section 25 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 25. When Shifting from CA to VOS Allowed. —
"An LO who shifts to VOS who fails to nominate a preferred beneficiary and to submit a list of
the agricultural lessees, regular and seasonal farmers, and/or tenants in his/her/its
landholding, if any, during the thirty (30) day period from receipt of NOC is disqualified to
nominate one."
SECTION 9. Section 29 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 29. Petition for Protest of Coverage and/or Petition for Exemption or Exclusion Not Bar to
Continue LAD Process. — Despite the pendency of a protest against coverage or a petition for
exemption or exclusion, the land acquisition process shall nevertheless continue until the issuance of
the Memorandum of Valuation (MOV) with the attached Land Valuation Worksheet (LVW) by the LBP,
unless otherwise suspended sooner through a Cease and Desist Order (CDO) by the RD or the
Secretary.
"Notwithstanding a Petition for Certiorari filed with the courts, the PARO shall issue and serve the
Notice of Land Valuation and Acquisition (NLVA) and proceed with the rest of the land acquisition and
distribution process thereafter as soon as the protest against coverage or petition for exemption or
exclusion has been denied by the RD, or if appealed, by the Secretary, or if further appealed, by the
President of the Republic of the Philippines, unless otherwise ordered suspended by the Supreme
Court.
"The submission of the Manifestation for Exemption or Exclusion alone, without the
Application/Petition, shall not affect the land acquisition process as provided in this A.O., nor give
ground for the issuance of a CDO by the RD or the Secretary.
"Pursuant to Section 30 of R.A. No. 9700, the LAD process on a specific landholding which is delayed
by the filing of a protest against coverage or a petition for exemption or exclusion may still proceed
even beyond 30 June 2014."
SECTION 10. Section 35 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as
follows: HTCAED
"Section 35. Retention Under Commonwealth Act No. 141. — Landholdings covered by homestead
grants issued pursuant to Commonwealth Act No. 141 still owned by the original grantees or their
direct compulsory heirs shall be retained by them as long as they were cultivating the said landholdings
and continue to cultivate the same."
 SECTION 11. Section 50 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 50. Period to Prepare and Submit a List of Tenants, Lessees and/or Regular Farmworkers. —
Within a non-extendible period of thirty (30) days from receipt of the NOC, the LO must submit to the
MARO, furnishing a copy to the PARO, a list of all his/her tenants, agricultural lessees, and regular and
seasonal farm workers, in his/her landholding at the time of the issuance of the NOC.
"The LO must make a sworn attestation whether or not the subject landholding is a subject of a civil
law lease. If it is, the list must contain both his/her/its regular and seasonal farmworkers and those
of his/her/its civil law lessees.
"The MARO shall conduct the initial determination of who the qualified ARBs are for the pertinent
landholding in case the LO fails to submit the list and the sworn statement during the abovementioned
reglementary periods.
"Furthermore, the LO's failure or refusal to submit the list shall not, in any way, delay the LAD process."
SECTION 12. Section 53 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 53. Preliminary List of Potential ARBs For Non-Commercial Farms/Plantations Which Are Not
Fully Tenanted. — Within three (3) working days from his receipt of the LO's list of lessees, tenants
and/or regular and seasonal farmworkers or after the lapse of the thirty (30)-day period for the
submission of said list, the MARO together with the BARC shall prepare the preliminary list of potential
qualified ARBs of the subject landholding, clearly stating therein whether a qualified ARB is classified
as a lessee, tenant, regular farmworker, seasonal farmworker, other farmworker, actual tiller or
occupant of public land (only insofar as untitled private agricultural landholdings are concerned), or
others directly working on the land. The MARO shall post the preliminary list of potential ARBs for
seven (7) days at the subject landholding and ensure that the list is clearly visible to general public.
For this purpose, waterproof and environmentally-friendly materials, measuring two (2) by three (3)
feet, unless a larger one is deemed necessary, shall be used.
The MARO or such other authorized DAR personnel shall include in the CF a report stating the fact and
date and time of the posting thereof at the bulletin boards of the Municipal/City Hall and at the
Barangay Hall, as well as at the premises, which report shall be accompanied by a certificate of posting
(containing, among others, the date when the notice was posted at said bulletin boards and premises)
to be executed by the appropriate Municipal/City and Barangay officer, respectively, and the BARC
concerned.
SECTION 13. There shall be incorporated after Section 53 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 a new
Section to read, as follows:
"Section 53-A. Preliminary List of Potential ARBs for Fully-Tenanted Non-Commercial
Farms/Plantations. — Within three (3) working days from his receipt of the LO's list of agricultural
lessees and/or tenants, or after the lapse of the thirty (30)-day period for the submission of said list,
the MARO together the BARC shall prepare the preliminary list of potential qualified ARBs of the subject
landholding, clearly stating therein that the qualified ARBs are classified as agricultural lessees or
tenants. The MARO shall serve the said list to the ARBs via personal or substituted service.
The MARO or such other authorized DAR personnel shall include in the CF a report stating the fact and
date and time of the service thereof.
Within seven (7) days from the service of the list, the potential ARB whose names appear on said
preliminary list must submit essential documents, such as, among others, a copy of the formal lease
agreement, to prove his/her qualification as an ARB as provided in Section 43 of this A.O. The potential
ARBs are as responsible as the DARMO in proving their own qualification. The preliminary list of
potential ARBs must also state instructions as to the submission of written requests and other
documentary proof.
Aside from the documents submitted by a potential ARB, the DARMO shall use available documentary
evidence at hand, if any, and exhaust all efforts to gather the necessary information/evidence as bases
in the evaluation of the potential ARB's qualifications and inclusion in the said list. cSIADa
The preliminary list must also include instructions to farmers and farm workers not listed in the
preliminary list as to how they can prove that they are qualified. Such farmers and farm workers who
believe that they are qualified ARBs, but whose names are not included in the preliminary list must
signify their intent to be included and submit documentary requirements within seven (7) days from
their receipt of the list."
SECTION 14. Section 54 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 54. Screening and Selection of Qualified Beneficiaries for Non-Commercial
Farms/Plantations. — Upon receipt of the application and documentary requirements, the MARO
together with the BARC shall screen and select qualified beneficiaries pursuant to Section 22 of R.A.
No. 6657, as amended, in a particular landholding. The BARC, or if there is no BARC, the Barangay
Council, shall certify the Master List under oath within five (5) days after the screening and selection."
SECTION 15. There shall be incorporated after Section 54 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 a new
Section to read, as follows:
"Section 54-A. LO's Attestation. — The Master List certified by the BARC or the Barangay Council
shall be served to the LO not later than fifteen (15) days from the said certification.
"If the LO was served with the NOC through personal or substituted service, or, regardless of the type
of service, in case the LO has already corresponded with the DAR in relation to the landholding after
the publication of the NOC, the certified Master List shall be served to the LO by Registered Mail. The
registered mail envelope shall be marked "Deliver to Addressee Only" and "Return to Sender" based
on the possibilities that the LO has moved out, the address is erroneous or insufficient, or the LO
refuses to accept or receive the mailed list.
"If the NOC was not served through personal or substituted service, and the LO has yet to correspond
with the DAR, or if the registered mail was sent back to the PARO or remained unserved for fifteen
(15) days or more, the PARO shall effect the publication of the certified Master List in a newspaper
locally circulating within the locality both where the subject landholding is located and the last known
address of the LO.
"The LO shall have fifteen (15) days from receipt of the BARC-certified Master List to either attest to
its veracity or to file a written protest. The PARO shall conduct compulsory arbitration within ten (10)
days from receipt of said protest to resolve the same. The PARO's decision shall be final insofar as the
Master List is concerned, copy of which shall be furnished to the parties concerned.
"The failure of the LO to submit an attestation or to file a protest within the given period shall be
construed as a waiver of his right to attest to the said list."
SECTION 16. Section 55 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 55. Service and Posting of the Master List. — The Master List attested by the LO or decided
by the PARO, whichever is applicable, shall be served by the MARO or any DAR personnel authorized
by the PARO, personally or by registered mail, to all those named therein and to all persons listed in
the preliminary list but who are not included in the approved master list. The Master List shall clearly
state whether a qualified ARB is classified as a lessee, tenant, regular farmworker, seasonal
farmworker, other farmworker, actual tiller or occupant of public land (only insofar as untitled private
agricultural landholdings are concerned), or others directly working on the land. It shall also provide
the length of service or tenure, in days, of each of the said qualified ARBs.
SECTION 17. Section 56 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 56. Compulsory Arbitration. — Any of the potential beneficiaries may file a written protest
within fifteen (15) days after the posting of the Master List. The parties concerned, especially the
persons to be excluded, shall be duly notified by the PARO of the proceedings and the decision. The
PARO shall conduct compulsory arbitration within ten (10) days from receipt of said protest to resolve
the same. The PARO's decision shall be final insofar as the Master List is concerned, copy of which
shall be furnished to the parties concerned. DHSaCA
SECTION 18. Section 57 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 57. PARO's Authority on Inclusion/Exclusion Protest. — The Master List of qualified ARBs
becomes final after the lapse of fifteen (15) days from issuance of the PARO's decision on the protest
and receipt of the same by the parties.
SECTION 19. There shall be incorporated after Section 60 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 a new
Section to read, as follows:
"Section 60-A. Amendment of the Master List of ARBs. — Qualified ARBs who failed to take the
required oath before a judge and therefore failed to completely execute the APFU within the given
period shall be removed from the Master List of ARBs. The amended Master List of ARBs, if any, shall
be attached to the CF after the last day the last qualified ARB who has yet to execute the ARB can file
it."
SECTION 20. Section 65 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 65. Survey Activities Before Field Investigation. — The conduct of the segregation survey
as defined in Section 2 hereof and the survey to determine land use shall be undertaken prior to the
conduct of the Field Investigation (FI). The PARO shall ensure that these field survey activities shall
be completed before or together with the conduct of FI. A licensed geodetic engineer must participate
in the survey."
SECTION 21. Section 68 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 68. Conduct of the Field Investigation. — The DARPO shall, within three (3) working days
from the accomplishment of the segregation survey, submit a request for the conduct of an FI of the
landholding to the LBP. Attached to the request shall be the PLUM and the segregation survey plan.
"In all cases, the DARPO shall identify, notify, and invite the LO, through a Notice, to the conduct of
the FI. The Notice must be served by the MARO no later than (15) days prior to the scheduled date of
the conduct of the FI. Proof of service shall be included in the CF. The failure of the LO or the identified
ARB to participate in the FI, despite being notified, shall be a waiver on their part to question the
findings thereof.
"As a rule, there should be at least three (3) concrete cylindrical monuments (also referred to as
"Mojon") and/or natural boundary points remaining at the landholding at the time of the said
investigation. This is to ensure that the landholding being investigated is the same as that indicated
in the survey plan. In such case, the FI may be conducted even in the absence of a geodetic engineer.
In the event, however, that there are less than three (3) monuments and/or natural boundary points
remaining at the site, then the FI may not be conducted unless it is done with the participation of a
licensed geodetic engineer."
SECTION 22. Section 69 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 69. Preparation and Transmittal of the CF. — After the execution of the Field Investigation
Report (FIR), the DARMO shall transmit the CF to the DARPO. The CF must be submitted within three
(3) working days after its completion, which may not be later than fifteen (15) days after the execution
of the FIR. The PARO shall then endorse and transmit the CF to the DAR-LBP Pre-Processing Unit
(PPU). The PPU shall have three (3) working days to verify the contents of the CF after which it shall
transmit the same to the LBP.
"The segregation survey plan shall be included in the CF in lieu of the ASP, if the said ASP is not yet
available. The LBP may thereafter begin its process of determining the value of just compensation, on
the basis of the ASP, or, in its absence, the segregation survey plan. EaHATD
"The minimum contents necessary for the CF to be submitted to the PPU and processed for valuation
shall be the proof of proper service of the NOC to the RLO, the segregation survey plan, and the FIR.
The CF may be submitted to the PPU for processing of the valuation even though the process of the
identification of agrarian reform beneficiaries is still on going."
SECTION 23. There shall be incorporated after Section 69 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 a new
Section to read, as follows:
"Section 69-A. Submission of Survey Plan for Approval. — The DARPO shall submit the survey
plan to the proper government body for its approval after the conduct of the:
"a. segregation survey, if the beneficiaries opt for a single collective CLOA in accordance with
Sections 96, 97, and 98 hereof, or
b. subdivision survey, if the beneficiaries opt for either individual CLOAs or more than one
(1) collective CLOAs, or a combination of both.
"In no case, however, may the survey plan be submitted to the appropriate government body for
approval until the FIR has been issued, and until it has been ascertained that there is no discrepancy
between the survey plan and the FIR. If the survey plan is different from the findings in the FIR, a
resurvey shall be conducted to correct the discrepancy."
SECTION 24. There shall be incorporated after Section 69 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 a new
Section to read, as follows:
"Section 69-B. Conduct of Field Investigation and Land Valuation May Proceed Pending FB
Identification and Conduct of Segregation Survey. — The conduct of Field Investigation, the
submission of the CF to the LBP for land valuation, and the land valuation appraisal of the LBP until
before the issuance of the Memorandum of Valuation may proceed simultaneously with the conduct of
the FB Identification and the conduct of the subdivision survey. As such, the valuation of the
landholding may begin upon the submission of the proof of proper service of the NOC to the RLO, the
segregation survey plan, and the FIR."
SECTION 25. Section 71 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 71. Submission of the Approved Survey Plan, Masterlist, and APFU. — The PARO shall submit
the ASP to the LBP within three (3) working days from its receipt thereof. If the ASP's total area is not
different from the survey plan included in the CF, then the LBP may determine the initial valuation of
the covered landholding. If the ASP is different from the findings in the FIR, resurvey must be
conducted to correct the discrepancy.
"The PARO shall also submit to the LBP the Masterlist of ARBs, the APFUs, and the Land Distribution
and Information Schedule (LDIS) within three (3) working days from the execution of the APFUs."
"No MOV shall be issued by the LBP prior to its receipt of the ASP, the Masterlist of ARBs, the APFUs,
and the LDIS."
SECTION 26. Section 74 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 74. Service of NLVA. — If the LO was served with the NOC through personal or substituted
service, or, regardless of the type of service, in case the LO has already corresponded with the DAR
in relation to the landholding after the publication of the NOC, the NLVA and MOV with the LVW shall
be served to the LO by Registered Mail. The registered mail envelope shall be marked "Deliver to
Addressee Only" and "Return to Sender" based on the possibilities that the LO has moved out, the
address is erroneous or insufficient, or the LO refuses to accept or receive the mailed NLVA.
"If the NOC was not served through personal or substituted service, and the LO has yet to correspond
with the DAR, or if the registered mail was sent back to the PARO or remained unserved for fifteen
(15) days or more, the PARO shall effect the publication of a Notice in a newspaper of national
circulation. The Notice shall state the name of the LO, the location of the landholding, the fact that the
landholding has been valued and is to be acquired, a notice that the LO may inspect and obtain a copy
of the NLVA from the PARO and the BLAD, and that the LO has thirty (30) days from the date of
publication to accept or reject the valuation, otherwise the same shall be deemed rejected. The address
of the PARO and the BLAD shall be indicated in the same Notice." EHTADa
SECTION 27. Section 75 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 75. Notice of Land Acquisition to be Posted at the Site of the Land Holding, the Barangay,
and the Municipal/City Hall. —
"The appropriate Barangay and Municipal/City officer, respectively, shall thereupon issue the
corresponding Certification of Posting Compliance.
SECTION 28. Section 76 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 76. Acceptance, Rejection, or Failure to Reply by the LO. —
"In case the valuation was rejected by the LO, or there was no written letter of acceptance or rejection
filed within the thirty (30) day reglementary period, the valuation shall be resolved administratively
by the DARAB or Adjudicator concerned in accordance with its rules, without prejudice to the right of
the LO to question the valuation of the DAR and LBP with the proper Special Agrarian Court (SAC). As
such, the PARO shall, within three (3) working days from receipt of the rejection letter or from the
lapse of the thirty (30) day reglementary period, advise the DARAB/Adjudicator to conduct
administrative proceedings by transmitting a Certified True Copy of the contents of the CF related to
the land valuation, together with either a copy of the rejection letter or a Memorandum stating that
no reply was received from the LO within the thirty (30) day period, whichever is applicable, to the
appropriate Adjudicator or the DARAB, indicating in a transmittal letter that the valuation has been
rejected by the LO."
SECTION 29. Section 77 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 77. Transmittal of the Order to Deposit Landowner Compensation. — The PARO shall, at the
same day of its transmittal of the NLVA to the MARO concerned, transmit its Order to Deposit
Landowner's Compensation to the LBP. The delay of the posting of the Notice provided by Section 75
of this A.O. shall not suspend the transmittal of the Order to Deposit Landowner's Compensation to
the LBP and any other procedure hereof.
"The LBP shall issue to the PARO a COD upon its receipt of the Order to Deposit Landowner's
Compensation."
SECTION 30. Section 78 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 78. Service of the COD and Request for Registration. — Within ten (10) days from the
PARO's receipt from the LBP of a copy of the COD, he/she shall immediately transmit the COD, together
with a copy of the ASP and a written request for the issuance of a TCT in the name of the Republic of
the Philippines (RP Title), to the ROD.
"This provision shall not apply with respect to the acquisition and distribution process of untitled private
agricultural lands, in which case, the PARO shall transmit to the ROD the COD and the copy of the ASP
at the same time that it transmits to it the OCT-CLOAs for registration."
SECTION 31. Section 83 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 83. Accelerated ALI Case Resolution for Pipeline Cases. — Notwithstanding the pendency of
an ALI case involving a landholding being processed under these Rules, its acquisition and distribution
shall continue, subject to Section 29 hereof. If there is an ALI or DARAB case involving said land and
its pendency is prejudicial to the acquisition or distribution process, the PARO shall recommend to the
Regional Director, if the case is pending with him, or to the Head Executive Assistant of the Office of
the Secretary, if the case is pending with the Office of the Secretary, the Legal Affairs Office, the
DARAB, or the Center for Land Use Policy, Planning, and Implementation, as the case may be, that
the case be certified as urgent and its resolution be accelerated." IcCEDA
SECTION 32. Section 88 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 88. Pending Land Valuation Cases. — All previously acquired lands where valuation is
subject to challenge by LOs shall be completed and finally resolved pursuant to Section 17 of R.A. No.
6657, as amended by R.A. No. 9700."
SECTION 33. Section 106 of A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011 is hereby amended to read, as follows:
"Section 106. Ministerial Duty of ROD in CARP Implementation. —
"1. Issue the title of the land in the name of the Republic of the Philippines, after the LBP has
certified that the claim proceeds have been deposited in the name of the LO constituting full
payment in cash and bonds, with due notice to the LO, except with respect to untitled private
agricultural lands which do not require an RP Title;
SECTION 34. Retroactive Application. — These amendments shall apply to all landholdings covered
by A.O. No. 7, Series of 2011, provided that they shall not invalidate any acts already validly made
pursuant to the aforementioned A.O.
SECTION 35. Repealing Clause. — All A.O.s and other DAR issuances inconsistent herewith are
hereby accordingly repealed, modified, and/or amended.
SECTION 36. Separability Clause. — Any judicial pronouncement declaring as unconstitutional any
provision of this A.O. shall have no effect on the validity of the other provisions not affected thereby.
SECTION 37. Effectivity Clause. — These Rules shall take effect ten (10) days after its publication
in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 141* - AN ACT TO AMEND AND COMPILE THE LAWS RELATIVE
TO LANDS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
TITLE I: TITLE AND APPLICATION OF THE ACT, LANDS TO WHICH IT REFERS, AND
CLASSIFICATION, DELIMITATION, AND SURVEY — THEREOF FOR CONCESSION
CHAPTER I: SHORT TITLE OF THE ACT, LANDS TO WHICH IT APPLIES, AND OFFICERS
CHARGED WITH ITS EXECUTION
Section 1. The short title of this Act shall be "The Public Land Act.
Section2. The provisions of this Act shall apply to the lands of the public domain; but timber and
mineral lands shall be governed by special laws and nothing in this Act provided shall be understood
or construed to change or modify the administration and disposition of the lands commonly called
"friar lands'' and those which, being privately owned, have reverted to or become the property of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines, which administration and disposition shall be governed by the laws
at present in force or which may hereafter be enacted.
Section3. The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce shall be the executive officer charged with
carrying out the provisions of this Act through the Director of Lands, who shall act under his immediate
control.
Section4. Subject to said control, the Director of Lands shall have direct executive control of the
survey, classification, lease, sale or any other form of concession or disposition and management of
the lands of the public domain, and his decisions as to questions of fact shall be conclusive when
approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce.
Section5. The Director of Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce shall
prepare and issue such forms, instructions, rules, and regulations consistent with this Act, as may be
necessary and proper to carry into effect the provisions thereof and for the conduct of proceedings
arising under such provisions.
CHAPTER II: CLASSIFICATION, DELIMITATION, AND SURVEY OF LANDS OF THE PUBLIC
DOMAIN, FOR THE CONCESSION THEREOF
Section6. The President, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce,
shall from time to time classify the lands of the public domain into —
(a) Alienable or disposable;
(b) Timber, and
(c) Mineral lands,
and 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.
Section7. For the purposes of the administration and disposition of alienable or disposable public lands,
the President, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, shall from time
to time declare what lands are open to disposition or concession under this Act.
Section8. Only those lands shall be declared open to disposition or concession which have been
officially delimited and classified and, when practicable, surveyed, and which have not been reserved
for public or quasi-public uses, nor appropriated by the Government, nor in any manner become
private property, nor those on which a private right authorized and recognized by this Act or any other
valid law may be claimed, or which, having been reserved or appropriated, have ceased to be so
However, the President may, for reasons of public interest, declare lands of the public domain open to
disposition before the same have had their boundaries established or been surveyed, or may, for the
same reason, suspend their concession or disposition until they are again declared open to concession
or disposition by proclamation duly published or by Act of the National Assembly.
Section9. For the purpose of their administration and disposition, the lands of the public domain
alienable or open to disposition shall be classified, according to the use or purposes to which such
lands are destined, as follows:
(a) Agricultural
(b) Residential commercial industrial or for similar productive purposes
(c) Educational, charitable, or other similar purposes
(d) Reservations for town sites and for public and quasi-public uses.
The President, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, shall from time
to time make the classifications provided for in this section, and may, at any time and in a similar
manner, transfer lands from one class to another.
Section10. The words "alienation, "'disposition, or "concession" as used in this Act, shall mean any of
the methods authorized by this Act for the acquisition, lease, use, or benefit of the lands of the public
domain other than timber or mineral lands.
TITLE II: AGRICULTURAL PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER III: FORMS OF CONCESSION OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS
Section11. Public lands suitable for agricultural purposes can be disposed of only as follows, and not
otherwise:
(1) For homestead settlement
(2) By sale
(3) By lease
(4) By confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles:
(a) By judicial legalization
(b) By administrative legalization (free patent).
Section12. Any citizen of the Philippines over the age of eighteen years, or the head of a family, who
does not own more than twenty-four hectares of land in the Philippines or has not had the benefit of
any gratuitous allotment of more than twenty-four hectares of land since the occupation of the
Philippines by the United States, may enter a homestead of not exceeding twenty-four hectares of
agricultural land of the public domain.
Section13. Upon the filing of an application for a homestead, the Director of Lands, if he finds that the
application should be approved, shall do so and authorize the applicant to take possession of the land
upon the payment of five pesos, Philippine currency, as entry fee. Within six months from and after
the date of the approval of the application, the applicant shall begin to work the homestead, otherwise
he shall lose his prior right to the land.
Section14. No certificate shall be given or patent issued for the land applied for until at least one-fifth
of the land has been improved and cultivated. The period within which the land shall be cultivated
shall not be less than one or more than five years, from and after the date of the approval of the
application. The applicant shall, within the said period, notify the Director of Lands as soon as he is
ready to acquire the title. If at the date of such notice, the applicant shall prove to the satisfaction of
the Director of Lands, that he has resided continuously for at least one year in the municipality in
which the land is located, or in a municipality adjacent to the same, and has cultivated at least one-
fifth of the land continuously since the approval of the application, and shall make affidavit that no
part of said land has been alienated or encumbered, and that he has complied with all the requirements
of this Act, then, upon the payment of five pesos, as final fee, he shall be entitled to a patent.
Section15. At the option of the applicant, payment of the fees required in this chapter may be made
to the municipal treasurer of the locality, who, in turn, shall forward them to the provincial treasurer.
In case of delinquency of the applicant, the Director of Lands may, sixty days after such delinquency
has occurred, either cancel the application or grant an extension of time not to exceed one hundred
and twenty days for the payment of the sum due.
Section16. If at any time before the expiration of the period allowed by law for the making of final
proof, it shall be proven to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands, after due notice to the
homesteader, that the land entered is under the law not subject to home-stead entry, or that the
homesteader has actually changed his residence, or voluntarily abandoned the land for more than six
months at any one time during the years of residence and occupation herein required, or has otherwise
failed to comply with the requirements of this Act, the Director of Lands may cancel the entry.
Section17. Before final proof shall be submitted by any person claiming to have complied with the
provisions of this chapter, due notice, as prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce
shall be given to the public of his intention to make such proof, stating therein the name and address
of the homesteader, the description of the land, with its boundaries and area, the names of the witness
by whom it is expected that the necessary facts will be established, and the time and place at which,
and the name of the officer before whom, such proof will be made.
Section18. In case the homesteader shall suffer from mental alienation, or shall for any other reason
be incapacitated from exercising his rights personally, the person legally representing him may offer
and submit the final proof on behalf of such incapacitated person.
Section19. Not more than one homestead entry shall be allowed to any one person, and no person to
whom a homestead patent has been issued by virtue of the provisions of this Act regardless of the
area of his original homestead, may again acquire a homestead; Provided, however, That any previous
homesteader who has been issued a patent for less than twenty-four hectares and otherwise qualified
to make a homestead entry, may be allowed another homestead which, together with his previous
homestead shall not exceed an area of twenty-four hectares.
Section20. If at any time after the approval of the application and before the patent is issued, the
applicant shall prove to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands that he has complied with all the
requirements of the law, but cannot continue with his homestead, through no fault of his own, and
there is a bona fide purchaser for the rights and improvements of the applicant on the land, and that
the conveyance is not made for purposes of speculation, then the applicant, with the previous approval
of the Director of Lands may transfer his rights to the land and improvements to any person legally
qualified to apply for a homestead, and immediately after such transfer, the purchaser shall file a
homestead application for the land so acquired and shall succeed the original homesteader in his rights
and obligations beginning with the date of the approval of said application of the purchaser. Any person
who has so transferred his rights may not again apply for a new homestead. Every transfer made
without the previous approval of the Director of Lands shall be null and void and shall result in the
cancellation of the entry and the refusal of the patent.
Section21. Any non-Christian Filipino who has not applied for a home-stead, desiring to live upon or
occupy land on any of the reservations set aside for the so-called "non-Christian tribes" may request
a permit of occupation for any tract of land of the public domain reserved for said non-Christian tribes
under this Act, the area of which shall not exceed four hectares. It shall be an essential condition that
the applicant for the permit cultivate and improve the land, and if such cultivation has not been begun
within six months from and after the date on which the permit was received, the permit shall be
cancelled. The permit shall be for a term of one year. If at the expiration of this term or at any time
prior thereto, the holder of the permit shall apply for a homestead under the provisions of this chapter,
including the portion for which a permit was granted to him, he shall have the priority, otherwise the
land shall be again open to disposition at the expiration of the permit.
For each permit the sum of one peso shall be paid.
CHAPTER IV: SALE
Section22. Any citizen of lawful age of the Philippines, and any such citizen not of lawful age who is a
head of a family, and any corporation or association of which at least sixty per centum of the capital
stock or of any interest in said capital stock belongs wholly to citizens of the Philippines, and which is
organized and constituted under the laws of Philippines, and corporate bodies organized in the
Philippines authorized under their charters to do so; may purchase any tract of public agricultural land
disposable under this Act, not to exceed one hundred and forty-four hectares in the case of an
individual and one thousand and twenty-four hectares in that of a corporation or association, by
proceeding as prescribed in this chapter: Provided, That partnerships shall be entitled to purchase not
to exceed one hundred and forty-four hectares for each member thereof. But the total area so
purchased shall in no case exceed the one thousand and twenty-four hectares authorized in this section
for associations and corporations.
Section23. No person, corporation, association, or partnership other than those mentioned in the last
preceding section may acquire or own agricultural public land or land of any other denomination or
classification, which is at the time or was originally, really or presumptively, of the public domain, or
any permanent improvement thereon, or any real right on such land and improvement: Provided,
however, That persons, corporations, associations or partnerships which, at the date upon which the
Philippine Constitution took effect, held agricultural public lands or land of any other denomination,
that belonged originally, really or presumptively, to the public domain, or permanent improvements
on such lands, or a real right upon such lands and Constitution took improvements, having acquired
the same under the laws and regulations in force at the date of such acquisition, shall be authorized
to continue holding the same as if such persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships were
qualified under the last preceding section; but they shall not encumber, convey, or alienate the same
to persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships not included in section twenty-two of this Act,
except by reason of hereditary succession, duly legalized and acknowledged by competent courts.
Section24. Lands sold under the provisions of this chapter must be appraised in accordance with
section one hundred and sixteen of this Act. The Director of Lands shall announce the sale thereof by
publishing the proper notice once a week for six consecutive weeks in the Official Gazette, and in two
newspapers one published in Manila and the other published in the municipality or in the province
where the lands are located, or in a neighboring province, and the same notice shall be posted on the
bulletin board of the Bureau Of Lands in Manila, and in the most conspicuous place in the provincial
building and the municipal building of the province and municipality, respectively, where the land is
located, and, if practicable, on the land itself; but if the value of the land does not exceed two hundred
and forty pesos, the publication in the Official Gazette and newspapers may be omitted. The notices
shall be published one in English and the other in Spanish or in the local dialect, and shall fix a date
not earlier than sixty days after the date of the notice upon which the land will be awarded to the
highest bidder, or public bids will be called for, or other action will be taken as provided in this chapter.
Section25. Public agricultural lands which are not located within ten (10) kilometers from the
boundaries of the city proper in chartered cities or within five (5) kilometers from the municipal hall
or town occupants plaza of any municipality may be sold to actual occupants who do not own any
parcel of land or whose total land holdings do not exceed five hectares and who comply with the
minimum requirements of Commonwealth Act numbered one hundred forty-one, as amended, and
who have resided on the land applied for at least two years prior to the date of the application.
All bids must be sealed and addressed to the Director of Lands and must have enclosed therewith cash
or certified check, treasury warrant, or post-office money order payable to the order of the Director of
Lands for ten per centum of the amount of the bid, which amount shall be retained in case the bid is
accepted as part payment of the purchase price: Provided, That no bid shall be considered the amount
of which is less than the appraised value of the land.
In addition to existing publication requirements in section twenty-four of Commonwealth Act
Numbered one hundred forty-one, as amended, notices and of applications shall be posted for a period
of not less than thirty days in at least three conspicuous places in the municipality where the parcel
of land is located, one of which shall be at the municipal building, and other, in the barrio council
building of the barrio where the land is located.
Section26. Upon the opening of the bids, the land shall be awarded to the highest bidder. If there are
two or more equal bids which are higher than the others, and one of such equal bids is that of the
applicant, his bid shall be accepted. If, however, the bid of the applicant is not one of such equal and
higher bids, the Director of Lands shall at once submit the land for public bidding, and to the person
making the highest bid on such public auction the land shall be awarded. In any case, the applicant
shall always have the option of raising his bid to equal that of the highest bidder, and in this case the
land shall be awarded to him. No bid received at such public auction shall be finally accepted until the
bidder shall have deposited ten per centum of his bid, as required in Section twenty-five of this Act.
In case none of the tracts of land that are offered for sale or the purchase of which has been applied
for, has an area in excess of twenty-four hectares, the Director of Lands may delegate to the District
Land Officer concerned the power of receiving bids, holding the auction, and proceeding in accordance
with the provisions of this Act, but the District Land Officer shall submit his recommendation to the
Director of Lands, for the final decision of the latter in the case.
The District Land Officer shall accept and process any application for the purchase of public lands not
exceeding five hectares subject to the approval of the Director of Lands within sixty days after receipt
of the recommendation of said District Land Officer.
Section27. The purchase price shall be paid as follows: The balance of the purchase price after
deducting the amount paid at the time of submitting the bid, may be paid in full upon the making of
the award, or in not more than ten equal annual installments from the date of the award.
Section28. The purchaser shall have not less than one-fifth of the land broken and cultivated within
five years after the date of the award; and before any patent is issued, the purchaser must show of
occupancy, cultivation, and improvement of at least one-fifth of the land applied for until the date on
which final payment is made: Provided, however, That in case land purchased is to be devoted to
pasture, it shall be sufficient compliance with this condition if the purchaser shall graze on the land as
many heads of his cattle as will occupy at least one-half of the entire area at the rate of one head per
hectare.
Section29. After title has been granted, the purchaser may not, within a period of ten years from such
cultivation or grant, convey or encumber or dispose said lands or rights thereon to any person,
corporation or association, without prejudice to any right or interest of the Government in the land:
Provided, That any sale and encumbrance made in violation of the provisions of this section, shall be
null and void and shall produce the effect of annulling the acquisition and reverting the property and
all rights thereto to the State, and all payments on the purchase price theretofore made to the
Government shall be forfeited.
Section30. If at any time after the date of the award and before the issuance of patent, it is proved to
the satisfaction of the Director of Lands, after due notice to the purchaser, that the purchaser has
voluntarily abandoned the land for more than one year at any one time, or has otherwise failed to
comply with the requirements of the law, then the land shall revert to the State, and all prior payments
made by the purchaser and all improvements existing on the land shall be forfeited.
Section31. No person, corporation, association, or partnership shall be permitted, after the approval
of this Act, to acquire the title to or possess as owner any lands of the public domain if such lands,
added to other lands belonging to such person, corporation, association, or partnership shall give a
total area greater than area the acquisition of which by purchase is authorized under this Act. Any
excess in area over this maximum and all right, title, interest, claim or action held by any person,
corporation, association, or partnership resulting directly or indirectly in such excess shall revert to
the State.
This section shall, however, not be construed to prohibit any person, corporation, association, or
partnership authorized by this Act to require lands of the public domain from making loans upon real
necessary for the recovery of such loans; but in this case, as soon as the excess above referred to
occurs, such person, corporation, association, or partnership shall dispose of such lands within five
years, for the purpose of removing the excess mentioned. Upon the land in excess of the limit there
shall be paid, so long as the same is not disposed of, for the first year a surtax of fifty per centum
additional to the ordinary tax to which such property shall be subject, and for each succeeding year
fifty per centum shall be added to the last preceding annual tax rate, until the property shall have
been disposed of.
The person, corporation, association, or partnership owning the land in excess of the limit established
by this Act shall determine the portion of land to be segregated.
At the request of Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, the Solicitor-General or the officer acting in
his stead shall institute the necessary proceedings in the proper court for the purpose of determining
the excess portion to be segregated, as well as the disposal of such portion in the exclusive interest
of the Government.
Section32. This chapter shall be held to authorize only one purchase of the maximum amount of land
hereunder by the same person, corporation, association, or partnership; and no corporation,
association, or partnership, any member of which shall have received the benefits of this chapter or
of the next following chapter, either as an individual or as a member of any other corporation,
association, or partnership, shall purchase any other lands of the public domain under this chapter.
But any purchaser of public land, after having made the last payment upon and cultivated at least
one-fifth of the land purchased, if the same shall be less than the maximum allowed by this Act, may
purchase successively additional agricultural public land adjacent to or not distant from the land first
purchased, until the total area of such purchases shall reach the maximum established in this chapter:
Provided, That in making such additional purchase or purchases, the same conditions shall be complied
with as prescribed by this Act for the first purchase.
CHAPTER V: LEASE
Section33. Any citizen of lawful age of the Philippines, and any corporation or association of which at
least sixty per centum of the capital stock or of any interest in said capital stock belongs wholly to
citizens of the Philippines, and which is organized and constituted under the laws of the Philippines,
may lease any tract of agricultural public land available for lease under the provisions of this Act, not
exceeding a total of one thousand and twenty-four hectares. If the land leased is adapted to and be
devoted for grazing purposes, an area not exceeding two thousand hectares may be granted. No
member, stockholder, of officer, representative, attorney, agent, employee or bondholder of any
corporation or association holding or controlling agricultural public land shall apply, directly or
indirectly, for agricultural public land except under the homestead and free patent provisions of this
Act: Provided, That no lease shall be permitted to interfere with any prior claim by settlement or
occupation, until the consent of the occupant or settler is first had, or until such claim shall be legally
extinguished, and no person, corporation, or association shall be permitted to lease lands here-under
which are not reasonably necessary to carry on his business in case of an individual, or the business
for which it was lawfully created and which it may lawfully pursue in the Philippines, if an association
or corporation.
Section34. A notice of the date and place of the auction of the right to lease the land shall be published
and announced in the same manner as that prescribed for the publication and announcement of the
notice of sale, in section twenty-four of this Act.
Section35. All bids must be sealed and addressed to the Director of Lands and must have enclosed
therewith cash or a certified check, Treasury warrant, or post-office money order payable to the order
of the Director of Lands, for a sum equivalent to the rental for at least, the first three months of the
lease: Provided, That no bid shall be considered in which the proposed annual rental is less than three
per centum of the value of the land according to the appraisal made in conformity with section one
hundred and sixteen of this Act.
Section36. The auction of the right to lease the land shall be conducted under the same procedure as
that prescribed for the auction sale of agricultural lands as described in section twenty-six of this Act:
Provided, That no bid shall be accepted until the bidder shall have deposited the rental for at least the
first three months of the lease.
Section37. The annual rental of the land leased shall not be less than three per centum of the value
of the land, according to the appraisal and reappraisal made in accordance with section one hundred
sixteen of this Act; except for lands reclaimed by the Government, which shall not be less than four
per centum of the appraised and reappraised value of the land: Provided, That one-fourth of the annual
rental of these lands reclaimed prior to the approval of this Act shall accrue to the construction and
improvement portion of the Portworks Funds: And provided, further, That the annual rental of not
less than four per centum of the appraised and reappraised value of the lands reclaimed using the
Portworks Fund after the approval of this Act shall all accrue to the construction and improvement
portion of the Portworks Fund. But if the land leased is adapted to and be devoted for granting
purposes, the annual rental shall be not less than two per centum of-the appraised and reappraised
value thereof- Every contract of lease under the provisions of this chapter shall contain a cause to the
effect that are appraisal of the land leased shall be made every ten years from the date of the approval
of the lease, if the term of the same shall be in excess of ten years. In case the lessee is not agreeable
to the reappraisal and prefers to give up his contract of lease, he shall notify the Director of Lands of
his desire within the six months next preceding the date on which the reappraisal takes effect, and in
case his request is approved, the Director of Lands may, if the lessee should so desire, proceed in
accordance with section one hundred of this Act.
Section38. Leases shall run for a period of not more than twenty-five years, but may be renewed once
for another period of not to exceed twenty-five years, in case the lessee shall have made important
improvements which, in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce justify a renewal.
Upon the final expiration of the lease, all buildings and other permanent improvements made by the
lessee, his heirs, executors, administrators, successors, or assigns shall become the property of the
Government, and the land together with the said improvements shall be disposed of in accordance
with the provisions of chapter five of this Act.
Section39. It shall be an inherent and essential condition of the lease that the lessee shall have not
less than one-third of the land broken and cultivated within five years after the date of the approval
of the lease: Provided, however, That in case the land leased is to be devoted to pasture, it shall be
sufficient compliance with this condition if the lessee shall graze on the land as many heads of cattle
as will occupy at least one-half of the entire area at the rate of one head per hectare.
Section40. The lessee shall not assign, encumber, or sublet his rights without the consent of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, and the violation of this condition shall avoid the contract:
Provided, That assignment, encumbrance, or subletting for purposes of speculation shall not be
permitted in any case: Provided, further, That nothing contained in this section shall be understood or
construed to permit the assignment, encumbrance, or subletting of lands leased under this Act, or
under any previous Act, to persons, corporations, or associations which under this Act, are not
authorized to lease public lands.
Section41. The lease of any lands under this chapter shall not confer the right to remove or dispose
of any valuable timber except as provided in the regulations of the Bureau of Forestry for cutting
timber upon such lands. Nor shall such lease confer the right to remove or dispose of stone, oil, coal,
salts. or other minerals, or medicinal mineral waters existing upon the same. The lease as to the part
of the land which shall be mineral may be canceled by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce,
after notice to the lessee, whenever the said part of the land is more valuable for agricultural purposes.
The commission of waste or violation of the forestry regulations by the lessee shall work a forfeiture
of his last payment of rent and render him liable to immediate dispossession and suit for damage.
Section42. After having paid rent for at least the first two years of the lease, and having complied with
the requirements prescribed in section thirty nine, the lessee of agricultural public land with an area
than the maximum allowed by law, may lease successively additional agricultural public land adjacent
to or near the land originally leased until the total- area of such leases shall reach the maximum
established in this chapter: Provided, That in making such additional lease, the same conditions shall
be complied with as prescribed by this Act for the first lease.
Section43. During the life of the lease, any lessee who shall have complied with all the conditions
thereof and shall have the qualifications required by section twenty-two, shall have the option of
purchasing the land leased subject to the restrictions of chapter five of this Act.
CHAPTER VI: FREE PATENTS
Section44. Any natural-born citizen of the Philippines who is not the owner of more than twenty-four
hectares and who since July fourth, nineteen hundred and twenty-six or prior thereto, 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, or who shall have paid the real estate tax thereon while
same has not 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 twenty-four
hectares.
A member of the national cultural minorities who has continuously occupied and cultivated, either by
himself or through his predecessors-in-interest, a tract or tracts of land, whether disposable or not
since July 4, 1955, shall be entitled to the right granted in the preceding paragraph of this section:
Provided, That at the time he files his free patent application he is not the owner of any real property
secured or disposable under this provision of the Public Land Law
Section45. The President of the Philippines (Prime Minister), upon recommendation of the Secretary
of Natural Resources, shall from time to time fix by proclamation the period which applications for
Proclamation free patents may be filed in the district, chartered city, of period province, municipality
or region specified in such proclamation, and upon the expiration of the period so designated, unless
the same be extended by the President (Prime Minister) all the land comprised within such district,
chartered city, province, municipality or region subject thereto under the provisions of this chapter
may be disposed of as agricultural public land without prejudice to the prior right of the occupant and
cultivator to acquire such land under this Act by means other than free patent. The time to be fixed in
the entire Archipelago for the filing of applications under this Chapter shall not extend beyond
December 31, 1987, except in the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Cotabato, South
Cotabato, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental,
Sulu, Mt. Province, Benguet, Kalinga-Apayao, and Ifugao where the President of the Philippines, upon
recommendation of the Secretary of Natural Resources, shall determine or fix the time beyond which
the filing of applications under this Chapter shall not extend. The period fixed for any district, chartered
city, province, or municipality shall begin to run thirty days after the publication of the proclamation
in the Official Gazette and if available in one newspaper of general circulation in the city, province or
municipality concerned. A certified copy of said proclamation shall be furnished by the Secretary of
Natural Resources within 30 days counted from the date of the presidential proclamation to the
Director of Lands and to the provincial board, the municipal board or city council and barangay council
affected, and copies thereof shall be posted on the bulletin board of the Bureau of Lands at Manila and
at conspicuous places in the provincial building and at the municipal building and barangay hall or
meeting place. It shall moreover, be announced by government radio whenever available, in each of
the barrios of the municipality.
Section46. If, after the filing of the application and the investigation, the Director of Lands shall be
satisfied of the truth of the allegations contained the application and that the applicant comes within
the provisions chapter, he shall cause a patent to issue to the applicant or his legal successor for the
tract so occupied and cultivated, provided its area does not exceed twenty-four hectares: Provided,
That no application shall be finally acted upon until notice thereof has been published in the
municipality and barrio in which the land is located and adverse claimants have had an opportunity to
present their claims.
CHAPTER VII: JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF IMPERFECT OR INCOMPLETE TITLES
Section47. The persons specified in the next following section are hereby granted time, not to extend
beyond December 31, 1987 within which to take advantage of the benefit of this chapter: Provided,
That this extension shall apply only where the area applied for does not exceed 144 hectares. Provided,
further, That the several periods of time designated by the President in accordance with section forty-
five of this Act shall apply also to the lands comprised in the provisions of this chapter, but this section
shall not be construed as prohibiting any of said persons from acting under this chapter at any time
prior to the period fixed by the President.
Section48. 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:
(a) Those who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the prior United States have applied
for the purchase, composition or other form of grant of lands of the public domain under the laws and
royal decrees then in force and have instituted and prosecuted the proceedings in connection
therewith, but have with or without default upon their part, or for any other cause, not received title
therefor, if such applicants or grantees and their heirs have occupied and cultivated said lands
continuously since the filing of their applications.
(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.
(c) Members of the national cultural minorities who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-
interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of lands
of the public domain suitable to agriculture, whether disposable or not, under a bona fide claim of
ownership for at least 30 years shall be entitled to the rights granted in sub-section (b) hereof.
Section49. No person claiming title to lands of the public domain not possession of the qualifications
specified in the last preceding section may apply for the benefits of this chapter.
Section50. Any person or persons, or their legal representatives or successors in right, claiming any
lands or interest in lands under the provisions of this chapter, must in every case present an application
to the proper Court of First Instance, praying that the validity of the alleged title or claim be inquired
into and that a certificate of title be issued to them under the provisions of the Land Registration Act.
The application shall conform as nearly as may be in its material allegations to the requirements of an
application for registration under the Land Registration Act, and shall be accompanied by a plan of the
land and all documents evidencing a right on the part of the applicant to the land claimed. The
application shall also state the citizenship of the applicant and shall set forth fully the nature of the
claim and when based upon proceeding initiated under Spanish laws, it shall specify as exactly as
possible the date and form of application for purchase composition or other form of grant, the extent
of the compliance with the conditions required by the Spanish laws and royal decrees for the acquisition
of legal title, and if not fully complied with, the reason for such noncompliance, together with a
statement of the length of time such land or any portion thereof has been actually occupied by the
claimant or his predecessors in interest; the use made of the land, and the nature of the enclosure, if
any. The fees provided to be paid for the registration of lands under the Land Registration Act shall be
collected from applicants under this chapter.
Section51. Applications for registration under this chapter shall be heard in the Court of First Instance
in the same manner and shall be subject to the same procedure as established in the Land Registration
Act for other applications, except that a 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 a party in
such cases: Provided, That prior to the publication for hearing, all of the papers in said case shall be
transmitted papers by the clerk to the Solicitor General or officer acting in his stead, in order that he
may, if he deems it advisable for the interests of the Government, investigate all of the facts alleged
in the application or otherwise brought to his attention. The Solicitor-General shall return such papers
to the clerk as soon as practicable within three months.
The final decree of the court shall in every case be the basis for the original certificate of title in favor
of the person entitled to the property under the procedure prescribed in section forty-one of the Land
Registration Act.
Section52. In cadastral proceedings, instead of an application, an answer or claim may be filed with
the same effect as in the procedure provided in the last preceding two sections.
Section53. It shall be lawful for the Director of Lands, whenever in the opinion of the President the
public interests shall require it, to cause to be filed in the proper Court of First Instance, through the
Solicitor-General or the officer acting in his stead, a petition against the holder, claimant, possessor,
or occupant of any land who shall not have voluntarily come in under the provisions of this chapter or
of the Land Registration Act, stating in substance that the title of such holder, claimant, possessor, or
occupant is open to discussion; or that the boundaries of any such land which has not been brought
into court as aforesaid are open to question; or that it is advisable that the title to such lands be
settled and adjudicated, and praying that the title to any such land or the boundaries thereof or the
right to occupancy thereof be settled and adjudicated. The judicial proceedings under this section shall
be in accordance with the laws on adjudication of title in cadastral proceedings.
Section54. If in the hearing of any application arising under this chapter the court shall find that more
than one person or claimant has an interest in the land, such conflicting interests shall be adjudicated
by the court and decree awarded in favor of the person or persons entitled to the land according to
the laws, but if none of said person is entitled to the land, or if the person who might be entitled to
the same lacks the qualifications required by this Act for acquiring agricultural land of the public
domain, the decision shall be in favor of the Government.
Section55. Whenever, in any proceedings under this chapter to secure registration of an incomplete
or imperfect claim of title initiated prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States,
it shall appear that had such claims been prosecuted to completion under the laws prevailing when
instituted, and under the conditions of the grant then contemplated, the conveyance of such land to
the applicant would not have been gratuitous, but would have involved payment therefor to the
Government, then and in that event the court shall, after decreeing in whom title should vest, further
determine the amount to be paid as a condition for the registration of the land. Such judgment shall
be certified to the Director of Lands by the clerk of the court for collection of the amount due from the
person entitled to conveyance.
Upon payment to the Director of Lands of the price specified in the judgment, he shall so certify to the
proper Court of First Instance and said court shall forthwith order the registration of the land in favor
of the competent person entitled thereto. If said person shall fail to pay the amount of money required
by the decree within a reasonable time fixed in the same, the court shall order the proceeding to stand
dismissed and the title to the land shall then be in the State free from any claim of the applicant.
Section56. Whenever any judgment of confirmation or other decree of the court under this chapter
shall become final, the clerk of the court concerned shall certify that fact to the Director of Lands, with
a certified copy of the decree of confirmation or judgment of the court and the plan and technical
description of the land involved in the decree or judgment of the court.
Section57. No title or right to, or equity in, any lands of the public domain may hereafter be acquired
by prescription or by adverse possession or occupancy, or under or by virtue of any law in effect prior
to American occupation, except as expressly provided by laws enacted after said occupation of the
Philippines by the United States.
TITLE III: LANDS FOR RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES AND OTHER
SIMILAR PURPOSES
CHAPTER VIII: CLASSIFICATION AND CONCESSION OF PUBLIC LANDS SUITABLE FOR
RESIDENCE, COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Section58. 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 this chapter and not otherwise.
Section59. The lands disposable under this title shall be classified as follows:
(a) Lands reclaimed by the Government by dredging, filing, or other means;
(b) Foreshore;
(c) Marshy lands or lands covered with water bordering upon the shores or banks of navigable lakes
or rivers;
(d) Lands not included in any of the foregoing classes.
Section60. Any tract of land comprised under this title may be leased or sold, as the case may be, to
any person, corporation, or association authorized to purchase or lease public lands for agricultural
purposes. The area of the land so leased or sold shall be such as shall, in the judgment of the Secretary
of Agriculture and Natural Resources, be reasonably necessary for the purposes for which such sale or
lease is requested, and shall in no case exceed one hundred and forty-four hectares: Provided,
however, That this limitation shall not apply to grants, donations, transfers made to a province,
municipality or branch or subdivision of the Government for the purposes deemed by said entities
conducive to the public interest; but the land so granted donated, or transferred to a province,
municipality, or branch or subdivision of the Government shall not be alienated, encumbered, or
otherwise disposed of in a manner affecting its title, except when authorized by Congress: Provided,
further, That any person, corporation, association or partnership disqualified from purchasing public
land for agricultural purposes under the provisions of this Act, may lease land included under this title
suitable for industrial or residential purposes, but the lease granted shall only-be valid while such land
is used for the purposes referred to.
Section61. The lands comprised in classes (a), (b), and (c) of section fifty-nine shall be disposed of
to private parties by lease only and not otherwise, as soon as the President, upon recommendation by
the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce shall declare that the same are not necessary for the public
service and are open to disposition under this chapter. The lands included in class (d) may be disposed
of by sale or lease under the provisions of this Act.
Section62. The lands reclaimed by the Government by dredging, filling or otherwise shall be surveyed
and may, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, be divided by the Director
of Lands into lots and blocks, with the necessary streets and alley-ways between them, and said
Director shall give notice to the public by publication in the Official Gazette or by other means, that
the lots or blocks not needed for public purposes shall be leased for commercial or industrial or other
similar purposes.
Section63. Whenever it is decided that lands covered by this chapter are not needed for public
purposes, the Director of Lands shall ask the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce for authority to
dispose of the same. Upon receipt of such authority, the Director of Lands shall give notice by public
advertisement in the same manner as in the case of leases or sales of agricultural public land, that
the Government will lease or sell, as the case may be, the lots or blocks specified in the advertisement,
for the purpose stated in the notice and subject to the conditions specified in this chapter.
Section64. The leases executed under this chapter by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce
shall, among other conditions, contain the following:
(a) The rental shall not be less than three per centum of the appraised or reappraised value of the
land plus one per centum of the appraised or reappraised value of the improvements, except for
lands reclaimed by the Government which shall not be less than four per centum of the appraised
or reappraised value of the land plus two per centum of the appraised or reappraised value of the
improvements thereon: Provided, That twenty-five per centum of the total annual rental on all lands
reclaimed prior to the approval of this Act and one per centum of the appraised or reappraised value
of improvements shall accrue to the construction and improvement portion of the Portworks Fund:
And provided, further, That the annual rental on lands reclaimed using the Portworks Fund together
with the fee due on account of the improvement thereon after the effectivity of this Act shall all
accrue to the construction and improvement portion of the Portworks Fund.
(b) The land rented and the improvements thereon shall be reappraised every ten years if the term
of the lease is in excess of that period.
(c) The term of the lease shall be as prescribed by section thirty-eight of this Act.
(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 eighteen 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.
(f) The regulation of all rates and fees charged to the public; and the annual submission to the
Government for approval of all tariffs of such rates and fees.
(g) The continuance of the easements of the coast police and other easements reserved by existing
law or by any laws hereafter enacted.
(h) Subjection to all easements and other rights acquired by the owners of lands bordering upon the
foreshore or marshy land.
The violation of one or any of the conditions specified in the contract shall give rise to the rescission
of said contract. The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce may, however, subject to such conditions
as he may prescribe, waive the rescission arising from a violation of the conditions of subsection (d),
or extend the time within which the construction of the improvements shall be commenced and
completed.
Section65. The sale of the lands comprised in classes (c) and (d) of section fifty-nine shall, 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 eighteen
months from the date of such award; otherwise the Secretary of Agriculture 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.
The contract of sale may contain other conditions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.
Section66. The kind of improvements to be made by the lessee or the purchaser, and the plans
thereof, shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, in case
they are constructions or improvements which if by the Government, would properly have to be
executed under the supervision of the Bureau of Public Works.
Section67. The lease or sale shall be made through oral bidding; and adjudication shall be made to
the highest bidder. However, where an applicant has made improvements on the land by virtue of a
permit issued to him by competent authority, the sale or lease shall be made by sealed bidding as
prescribed in section twenty-six of this Act, the provisions of which shall be applied wherever
applicable. If all or part of the lots remain unleased or unsold, the Director of Lands shall from time to
time announce in the Official Gazette or in any other newspapers of general circulation, the lease or
sale of those lots, if necessary
Section68. The Secretary of Agricultural and Commerce may grant to qualified persons temporary
permission, upon payment of a reasonable charge, for the use of any portion of the lands covered by
this chapter for any lawful private purpose, subject to revocation at any time when, in his judgment,
the public interest shall require it.
TITLE IV: LANDS FOR EDUCATIONAL, CHARITABLE, AND OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES
CHAPTER IX: CONCESSION OF LANDS FOR EDUCATIONAL, CHARITABLE, AND OTHER
SIMILAR PURPOSES
Section69. 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, the President, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture and
Commerce, may execute contracts in favor of the same. in the form of donation, sale, lease, exchange,
or any other form, under terms and conditions to be inserted in the contract; but land so granted shall
in no case be encumbered or alienated, except when the public service requires their being leased or
exchanged, with the approval of the President, for other lands belonging to private parties, or if the
National Assembly disposes otherwise.
Section70. Any tract of public land of the class covered by this title may be sold or leased for the
purpose of founding a cemetery, church, college, school, university, or other institutions for
educational, charitable or philanthropical purposes or scientific research, the area to be such as may
actually and reasonably be necessary to carry out such purpose, but not to exceed ninety-six hectares
in any case. The sale or lease shall be made subject to the same conditions as required for the sale
and lease of agricultural public land, but the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce may waive the
conditions requiring cultivation. The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, if conveyance he sees
fit, may order the sale to be made without public auction, at a price to be fixed by said Secretary, or
the lease to be granted without auction, at a rental to be fixed by him. In either case it shall be a
condition that the purchaser or lessee or their successors or assigns shall not sell transfer, encumber
or lease the land for the purposes of speculation or use it for any purpose other than that contemplated
in the application, and that the violation of this condition shall give rise to the immediate rescission of
the sale or lease, as the case may be, and to the forfeiture to the Government of all existing
improvements: Provided, That it shall in no case be sublet, encumbered or resold under the conditions
above set forth except with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce.
TITLE V: RESERVATIONS
CHAPTER X: TOWN SITE RESERVATIONS
Section71. Whenever it shall be considered to be in the public interest to found a new town. The
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce shall direct the Director of Lands to have a survey made by
his Bureau of the exterior boundaries of the site on which such town is to be established, and upon
the completion of the survey he shall send the same to said Secretary, with his recommendations.
Section72. The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, if he approves the recommendations of the
Director of Lands, shall submit the matter to the President to the end that the latter may issue a
proclamation reserving the land surveyed, or such part thereof as he may deem proper, as a town
site, and a certified copy of such proclamation shall be sent to the Director of Lands and another to
the register of deeds of the province in which the surveyed land lies.
Section73. It shall then be the duty of the Director of Lands, after having recorded the proclamation
of the President and the survey accompanying the same, and having completed the legal proceedings
prescribed in chapter thirteen of this Act, to direct a subdivision in accordance with the instructions of
the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, if there shall be such instructions, and if there shall not
be any, then in the manner which may to the Director of Lands seem best adapted to the convenience
and interest of the public and the residents of the future town.
Section74. The plat of the subdivision shall designate certain lots for commercial and industrial uses
and the remainder as residence lots, and shall also reserve and note the lots owned by private
individuals as evidenced by record titles, or possessed or claimed by them as private property. Such
lots, whether public or private, shall be numbered upon a general plan or system.
The plat prepared by the Director of Lands shall be submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture and
Commerce for consideration, modification, amendment, or approval.
Section75. Unless the necessary reservations are made in the proclamation of the President, the
Director of Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, shall reserve out
of the land by him to be subdivided lots of sufficient size and convenient situation for public use, as
well as the necessary avenues, streets, alleyways, parks, and squares. The avenues, streets, alleys,
parks, plazas, and lots shall be laid out on the plat as though the lands owned or claimed by private
persons were part of the public domain and part of the reservation, with a view to the possible
subsequent purchase or condemnation thereof, if deemed necessary by the proper authorities.
Section76. At any time after the subdivision has been made, the President may, in case the public
interest requires it, reserve for public purposes any lot or lots of the land so reserved and not disposed
of.
Section77. If, in order to carry out the provisions of this chapter, it shall be necessary to condemn
private lands within the limits of the new town, the President shall direct the Solicitor-General or officer
acting in his stead to at once begin proceedings for condemnation, in accordance with the provisions
of existing law.
Section78. When the plat of subdivision has been finally approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and
Commerce, the Director of Lands shall record the same in the records of his office and shall forward a
certified copy of such record to the register of deeds of the province in which the land lies, to be by
such register recorded in the records of his office
Section79. All lots, except those claimed by or belonging to private parties and those reserved for
parks, buildings, and other public uses, shall be sold, after due notice, at public auction to the highest
bidder, after the approval and recording of the plat of subdivision as above provided, but no bid shall
be accepted that does not equal at least two-thirds of the appraised value, nor shall bids be accepted
from persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships not authorized to purchase public lands for
commercial, residential or industrial purposes under the provisions of this Act. The provisions of
sections twenty-six and sixty-five of this Act shall be observed in so far as they are applicable. Lots
for which satisfactory bids have not been received shall be again offered for sale, under the same
conditions as the first time, and if they then remain unsold, the Director of Lands shall be authorized
to sell them at private sale for not less than two-thirds of their appraised value.
Section80. All funds derived from the sale of lots shall be covered into the Philippine Treasury as part
of the general funds.
Section81. Not more than two residence lots and two lots for commercial and industrial uses in any
one town site shall be sold to any one person, corporation, or association without the specific approval
of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce.
Section82. The Assembly shall have the power at any time to modify, alter, rescind, repeal, annul,
and cancel, with or without conditions, limitation, exceptions, or reservations, all and any dispositions
made by the executive branch of the Philippine Government by virtue of this chapter, and the exercise
of this power shall be understood as reserved in all cases, as an inherent condition thereof.
CHAPTER XI: RESERVATIONS FOR PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC PURPOSES
Section83. Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, the President
may designate by proclamation any tract or tracts of land of the public domain as reservations for the
use of the Commonwealth of the Philippines or of any of its branches, or of the inhabitants thereof, in
accordance with regulations prescribed for this purpose, or for quasi-public uses or purposes when the
public interest requires it, including reservations for highways, rights of way for railroads, hydraulic
power sites, irrigation systems, communal pastures or leguas comunales, public parks, public quarries,
public fishponds, workingmen's village and other improvements for the public benefit.
Section84. Upon recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, the President, may
by proclamation, designate any tract or tracts of the public domain for the exclusive use of the non-
Christian Filipinos, including in the reservation, in so far as practicable, the lands used or possessed
by them, and granting to each member not already the owner, by title or gratuitous patent, of four or
more hectares of land, the use and benefit only of a tract of land not to exceed four hectares for each
male member over eighteen years of age or the head of a family. As soon as the Secretary of the
Interior shall certify that the majority of the non-Christian inhabitants of any given reservation have
advanced sufficiently in civilization, then the President may order that the lands of the public domain
within such reservation be granted under the general provisions of this Act to the said inhabitants,
and the subdivision and distribution of said lands as above provided shall be taken into consideration
in the final disposition of the same. But any non-Christian inhabitant may at any time apply for the
general benefits of this Act provided the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce is satisfied that such
inhabitant is qualified to take advantage of the provisions of the same: Provided, That all grants,
deeds, patents and other instruments of conveyance of land or purporting to convey or transfer rights
of property, privileges, or easements appertaining to or growing out of lands, granted by sultans,
datus, or other chiefs of the so-called non-Christian tribes, without the authority of the Spanish
Government while the Philippines were under the sovereignty of Spain, or without the consent of the
United States Government or of the Philippine Government since the sovereignty over the Archipelago
was transferred from Spain to the United States, and all deeds and other documents executed or
issued or based upon the deeds, patents, and documents mentioned, are hereby declared to be illegal,
void, and of no effect.
Section85. Upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, the President may,
by proclamation designate any tract or tracts of land of the public domain for the establishment of
agricultural colonies; and although the disposition of the lands to the colonists shall be made under
the provisions of this Act, yet, while the Government shall have the supervision and management of
said colonies, the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce may make the necessary rules and
regulations for the organization and internal administration of the same. The Secretary of Agriculture
and Commerce may also, under conditions to be established by the Assembly, turn over a colony so
reserved to any person or corporation, in order that such person or corporation may clear, break, and
prepare for cultivation the lands of said colony and establish the necessary irrigation system and
suitable roads and fences; but final disposition shall be made of the land in accordance with the
provisions of this Act, subject, however, to such conditions as the National Assembly may establish
for the reimbursement of the expense incurred in putting such lands in condition for cultivation:
Provided, That the National Assembly may direct that such land so prepared for cultivation may be
disposed of only by sale or lease.
CHAPTER XII: ROVISIONS COMMON TO RESERVATIONS
Section86. A certified copy of every proclamation of the President issued under the provisions of this
title shall be forwarded to the Director of Lands for record in his office, and a copy of this record shall
be forwarded to the register of deeds of the province or city where the land lies. Upon receipt of such
certified copy, the Director of Lands shall order the immediate survey of the proposed reservation if
the land has not yet been surveyed, and as soon as the plat has been completed, he shall proceed in
accordance with the next following section.
Section87. If all the lands included in the proclamation of the President are not registered under the
Land Registration Act, the Solicitor-General, if requested to do so by the Secretary of Agriculture and
Commerce, shall proceed in accordance with the provision of section fifty-three of this Act.
Section88. The tract or tracts of land reserved under the provisions of section eighty-three shall be
non-alienable and shall not be subject to occupation, entry, sale, lease, or other disposition until again
declared alienable under the provisions of this Act or by proclamation of the President.
TITLE VI: GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER XIII: APPLICATIONS: PROCEDURE, CONCESSION OF LANDS, AND LEGAL
RESTRICTIONS AND ENCUMBRANCES
Section89. All applications filed under the provisions of this Act shall be addressed to the Director of
Lands.
Section90. Every application under the provisions of this Act shall be made under oath and shall set
forth:
(a) The full name of applicant, his age, place of birth, citizenship, civil status, and post-office address.
In case the applicant is a corporation, association or co-partnership, the application shall be
accompanied with a certified copy of its articles of incorporation, association or co-partnership
together with an affidavit of its President, manager, or other responsible officer, giving the names
of the stockholders or members, their citizenship, and the number of shares subscribed by each.
(b) That the applicant has all the qualifications required by this Act in the case.
(c) That he has none of the disqualifications mentioned herein.
(d) That the application is made in good faith, for the actual purpose of using the land for the object
specified in the application and for no other purpose, and that the land is suitable for the purpose to
which it is to be devoted.
(e) That the application is made for the exclusive benefit of the application and not, either directly
or indirectly, for the benefit of any other person or persons, corporation, association, or partnership.
(f) As accurate a description of the land as may be given, stating its nature the province,
municipality, barrio, and sitio where it is located, and its limits and boundaries, specifying those
having reference to accidents of the ground or permanent monuments, if any.
(g) Whether all or part of the land is occupied or cultivated or improved, and by whom, giving his
post-office address, and whether the land has been occupied or cultivated or improved by the
applicant or his ascendant, the name of the ascendant, the relationship with him, the date and place
of the death of the ascendant, the date when the possession and cultivation began, and description
of the improvements made, accompanying satisfactory evidence of the relationship of the applicant
with the ascendant, and of the death of the latter and the descendants left by him, in case it is
alleged that he occupied and cultivated the land first; or whether there are indications of its having
been occupied, cultivated, or improved entirely or partially, and if so, in what such indications
consist, whether he has made investigations as to when and by whom such improvements were
made, and if so, how such investigations were made and what was the result thereof; or whether
the land is not occupied, improved, or cultivated either entirely or partially, and there are no
indications of it having ever been occupied, improved, or cultivated, and in this case, what is the
condition of the land.
(h) That the land applied for is neither timber nor mineral land and does not contain guano or
deposits of salts or coal.
(i) That the applicant agrees that a strip forty meters wide starting from the bank on each side of
any river or stream that may be found on the land applied for, shall be demarcated and preserved
as permanent timberland to be planted exclusively to trees of known economic value, and that he
shall not make any clearing thereon or utilize the same for ordinary farming purposes even after
patent shall have been issued to him or a contract of lease shall have been executed in his favor.
68
Section91. The statements made in the application shall be considered as essential conditions and
parts of any concession, title, or permit issued on the basis of such application, and any false
statements therein or omission of facts altering, changing, or modifying the consideration of the facts
set forth in such statements, and any subsequent modification, alteration, or change of the material
facts set forth in the application shall ipso facto produce the cancellation of the concession, title, or
permit granted. It shall be the duty of the Director of Lands, from time to time and whenever he may
deem it advisable, to make the necessary investigations for the purpose of ascertaining whether the
material facts set out in the application are true, or whether they continue to exist and are maintained
and preserved in good faith, and for the purposes of such investigation, the Director of Lands is hereby
empowered to issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum and, if necessary, to obtain compulsory
process from the courts. In every investigation made in accordance with this section, the existence of
bad faith, fraud, concealment, or fraudulent and illegal modification of essential facts shall be
presumed if the grantee or possessor of the land shall refuse or fail to obey a subpoena or subpoena
duces tecum lawfully issued by the Director of Lands or his authorized delegates or agents, or shall
refuse or fail to give direct and specific answers to pertinent questions, and on the basis of such
presumption, an order of cancellation may issue without further proceedings.
Section92. Although the maximum area of public land that may be acquired is fixed, yet the spirit of
this Act is that the rule which must determine the real area to be granted is the beneficial use of the
land. The concession or disposition shall be for less than the maximum area authorized if, at the time
of the issuance of the patent or of the concession or disposition, it shall appear that the applicant is
utilizing and is only able to utilize a smaller area, even though the application is for a greater area.
For the purposes of this section, the Director of Lands is authorized to determine the area that may
be granted to the applicant, and to deny or cancel or limit any application for concession, purchase,
or lease if convinced of the lack of means of the applicant for using the land for the purpose for which
he has requested it.
Section93. Lands applied for under this Act shall conform to the legal subdivisions and shall be
contiguous if comprising more than one subdivision. If subdivisions have not been made on the date
of the application, the lands shall be rectangular in form so far as practicable, but it shall be endeavored
to make them conform to the legal subdivision as soon as the same has been made, provided the
interests of the applicant or grantee are protected; and the subdivision assigned to the applicant or
grantee shall, so far as practicable, include the land improved or cultivated. The regulations to be
issued for the execution of the provisions of this section shall take into account the legal subdivision
to be made by the Government and the inadvisability of granting the best land at a given place to only
one person.
Section94. In case the legal subdivisions have already been made at the time of the filing of the
application, no charge shall be made for the survey; but if the legal subdivisions have not yet been
made, the cost of the survey shall be charged to the Government, except in the following cases:
(a) In purchases under chapters five and ten of this Act, the cost of the survey shall be charged to
the purchaser if the same is a corporation, association, or partnership; in other purchases the
purchases, whoever it be, shall pay the total cost of the survey.
(b) In leases, the cost of the survey shall be paid by the lessee; but at any time after the first five
years from the approval of the lease, and during Cost of the life of the same, the lessee shall be
entitled to the reimbursement of one-half of the cost of the survey, if he shows to the satisfaction
of the Director of Lands that he has occupied and improved a sufficient area of the land or incurred
sufficient expenses in connection therewith to warrant such reimbursement.
Section95. If before the delimitation and survey of a tract of public land the President shall declare
the same disposable or alienable and such land shall be actually occupied by a person other than the
applicant, the Director of Lands shall inform the occupant of his prior right to apply for the land and
shall give him one hundred and twenty days time in which to file the application or apply for the
concession by any of the forms of disposition authorized by this Act, if such occupant is qualified to
acquire a concession under this Act.
Section96. As soon as any land of the public domain has been surveyed, delimited, and classified, the
President may, in the order issued by him declaring it open for disposition, designate a term within
which occupants with improvements but not entitled to free patents may apply for the land occupied
by them, if they have the qualifications required by this Act.
Section97. If in the case of the two last preceding sections, the occupant or occupants have not made
application under any of the provisions of this Act at the expiration of the time limit fixed, they shall
lose any prior right to the land recognized by this Act, and the improvements on the land, if any, shall
be forfeited to the Government.
Section98. All rights in and interest to, and the improvements and crops upon, land for which an
application has been denied or canceled or a patent or grant refused, or a contract or concession
rescinded or annulled, shall also be forfeited to the Government.
Section99. The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce may order such improvements and crops to
be appraised separately, for sale to the new applicant or grantee, or may declare such land open only
to sale or lease.
Section100. In case the cancellation is due to delinquency on the part of the applicant or grantee, the
same shall be entitled to the reimbursement of the proceeds of the sale of the improvements and
crops, after deducting the total amount of his indebtedness to the Government and the expense
incurred by it in the sale of the improvements or crops and in the new concession of the land.
Section101. All actions for the reversion to the Government of lands of the public domain or
improvements thereon shall be instituted by the Solicitor-General or the officer acting in his stead, in
the proper courts, in the name of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
Section102. Any person, corporation, or association may file an objection under oath to any application
or concession under this Act, grounded on any reason sufficient under this Act for the denial or
cancellation of the application or the denial of the patent or grant. If, after the applicant or grantee
has been given suitable opportunity to be duly heard, the objection is found to be well founded, the
Director of Lands shall deny or cancel the application or deny patent or grant, and the person objecting
shall, if qualified, be granted a prior right of entry for a term of sixty days from the date of the notice.
Section103. All the proofs, affidavits, and oaths of any kind required or necessary under this Act may
be made before the justice of the peace 71 of the municipality in which the land lies, or before the
judge or clerk of the Court of First Instance of the province in which the land lies, or before any justice
of the peace or chargeable notary public of the province in which the land lies, or before any officer or
employee of the Bureau of Lands authorized by law to administer oaths.
The fees for the taking of final evidence before any of the officials herein-before mentioned shall be
as follows:
For each affidavit, fifty centavos.
For each deposition of the applicant or the witness, fifty centavos.
Section104. Any owner of uncultivated agricultural land who knowingly permits application for the
same to be made to the Government and the land to be tilled and improved by a bona fide grantee
without protesting to the Bureau of Lands within one year after cultivation has begun, shall lose all to
the part of the land so cultivated and improved, unless he shall bring action in the proper court before
such action for recovery prescribes and obtains favorable judgment therein, in which case the court
shall, upon its decision becoming final, order the payment to the grantee, within a reasonable period,
of the indemnity fixed by said court for the cultivation and improvement.
Section105. If at any time the applicant or grantee shall die before the issuance of the patent or the
final grant of the land, or during the life of the lease, or while the applicant or grantee still has
obligations pending towards the Government, in accordance with this Act, he shall be succeeded in his
rights and obligations with respect to the land applied for or granted or leased under this Act by his
heirs in law, who shall be entitled to have issued to them the patent or final concession if they show
that they have complied with the requirements therefor, and who shall be subrogated in all his rights
and obligations for the purposes of this Act.
Section106. If at any time after the approval of the application and before the issuance of a patent or
the final concession of the land, or during the life of the lease, or at any time when the applicant or
grantee still has obligations pending with the Government, in accordance with this Act, it appears that
the land applied for is necessary, in the public interest, for the protection of any source of water or for
any work for the public benefit that the Government wishes to undertake, the Secretary of Agriculture
and Commerce may order the cancellation of the application or the non issuance of the patent or
concession or the exclusion from the land applied for of such portion as may be required, upon
payment of the value of the improvements, if any.
Section107. All patents or certificates for land granted under this Act shall be prepared in the Bureau
of Lands and shall be issued in the name of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines under
the signature of the President of the Philippines: Provided, however, That the President of the
Philippines may delegate to the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources 74 and/or the Under
secretary for Natural Resources 74 the power to sign patents or certificates covering lands not
exceeding one hundred forty-four hectares in area, and to the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources 75 the power to sign patents or certificates covering lands exceeding one hundred forty-
four hectares in area: Provided, further, That District Land Officers in every province are hereby
empowered to sign patents or certificates covering lands not exceeding five hectares in area when the
office of the District Land Officer is properly equipped to carry out the purposes of this Act: Provided,
That no applicant shall be permitted to split the area applied for by him in excess of the area fixed in
this section among his relatives within the sixth degree of consanguinity or affinity excepting the
applicant's married children who are actually occupying the land: Provided, finally, That copies of said
patents issued shall be furnished to the Bureau of Lands for record purposes. No patent or certificate
shall be issued by the District Land Officer unless the survey of the land covered by such patent or
certificate, whether made by the Bureau of Lands or by a private surveyor, has been approved by the
Director of Lands. The Director of Lands shall promptly act upon all surveys submitted to him for
approval and return the same to the District Land Officer within ninety days after receipt of such
surveys by his office. In case of disapproval, the Director of Lands shall state the reasons therefor.
Any person aggrieved by the decision or action of the District Land Officer may, within thirty days from
receipt of the copy of the said decision, appeal to the Director of Lands. Such patents or certificates
shall be effective only for the purposes defined in Section one hundred and twenty-two of the land
Registration Act, and actual conveyance of the land shall be effected only as provided in said section.
All surveys pending approval by the Director of Lands at the time this Act takes effect shall be acted
upon by him within ninety days from the effectivity of this Act.
Section108. No patent shall issue nor shall any concession or contract be finally approved unless the
land has been surveyed and an accurate plat made thereof by the Bureau of Lands.
Section109. In no case shall any land be granted under the provisions of this Act when this affects
injuriously the use of any adjacent land or of the waters, rivers, creeks, foreshore, roads, or
roadsteads, or vest the grantee with other valuable rights that may be detrimental to the public
interest.
Section110. Patents or certificates issued under the provisions of this Act shall not include nor convey
the title to any gold, silver, copper, iron, or other metals or minerals, or other substances containing
minerals, guano, gums, precious stones, coal, or coal oil contained in lands granted thereunder. These
shall remain to be property of the State.
Section111. All persons receiving title to lands under the provisions of this Act shall hold such lands
subject to the provisions hereof and to the same public servitudes as exist upon lands owned by private
persons, including those with reference to the littoral of the sea and the banks of navigable rivers or
rivers upon which rafting may be done.
Section112. Said land shall further be subject to a right-of-way not exceeding sixty (60) meters in
width for public highways, railroads, irrigation ditches, aqueducts, telegraph and telephone lines and
similar works as the Government or any public or quasi-public service or enterprise, including mining
or forest concessionaires, may reasonably require for carrying on their business, with damages for the
improvements only.
Section113. The beneficial use of water shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of all rights
thereto, and the patents herein granted shall be subject to the right of the Government to make such
rules and regulations for the use of water and the protection of the water supply, and for other public
purposes, as it may deem best for the public good. Whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the
use of water for mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes have vested and accrued, and
the same are recognized and acknowledged by the local customs, or by the laws and decisions of the
courts, the possessors and owners of such vested rights shall be maintained and protected in the
same, and all patents granted under this Act shall be subject to any vested and accrued rights to
ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such water rights as may have been acquired in the
manner above described prior to April eleven, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.
Section114. There is hereby reserved from the operation of all patents, certificates, entries, and grants
by the Government authorized under this Act the right to use for the purposes of power any flow of
water in any stream running through or by the land granted, the convertible power from which at
ordinary low water exceeds fifty horse power. Where the convertible power in any stream running
through or by land granted under the authority of this Act thus exceeds fifty horsepower, and there is
no means of using such power except by the occupation of a part of the land granted under authority
of this Act, then so much land as is reasonably necessary for the mill site or site for the power house,
and for a suitable dam and site for massing the water, is hereby excepted from such grants, not
exceeding four hectares, and a right of way to the nearest public highway from the land thus excepted,
and also a right of way for the construction and maintenance of such flumes, aqueducts, wires, poles,
or order conduits as may be needed in conveying the water to the point where its fall will yield the
greatest power, or the power from the point of conversion to the point of use, is reserved as a servitude
or easement upon the land granted by authority of this Act: Provided, however, That when the
Government or any concessionaire of the Government shall take possession of the land under this
section which a grantee under this Act shall have paid for, supposing it to be subject to grant under
this Act, said grantee shall be entitled to indemnity from the Government or the concessionaire, as
the case may be, in the amount, if any, paid by him to the Government for the land taken from him
by virtue of this section: And provided, further, That with respect to the flow of water, except for
converting the same into power exceeding fifty horse power, said grantee shall be entitled to the same
use of the water flowing through or along his land that other private owners enjoy under the law,
subject to the governmental regulation provided in the previous section. Water power privileges in
which the convertible power at ordinary low water shall exceed fifty horse power shall be disposed of
only upon terms established by an Act of the Assembly concerning the use, lease or acquisition of such
water privilege.
Section115. All lands granted by virtue of this Act, including homesteads upon which final proof has
not been made or approved, shall, even though and while the title remains in the State, be subject to
the ordinary taxes, which shall be paid by the grantee or the applicant, beginning with the year next
following the one in which the homestead application has been filed, or the concession has been
approved, or the contract has been signed, as the case may be, on the basis of the value fixed in such
filing, approval or signing of the application, concession or contract.
Section116. The appraisal or reappraisal of the lands or improvements subject to concession or
disposition under this Act shall be made by the Director of Lands, with the approval of the Secretary
of Agriculture and Commerce. The Director of Lands may request the assistance of the provincial
treasurer of the province in which the land lies or may appoint a committee for such purpose in the
province or in the municipality in which the land lies. In no case shall the appraisal or reappraisal be
less than the expense incurred or which may be incurred by the Government in connection with the
application or concession, nor shall any reappraisal be made with an increase of more than one
hundred per centum upon the appraisal or reappraisal next preceding.
Section117. All sums due and payable to the Government under this Act, except homestead fees, shall
draw simple interest at the rate of four per centum per annum from and after the date in which the
debtor shall become delinquent.
Section118. Except in favor of the Government or any of its branches, units, or institutions, lands
acquired under 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.
No alienation, transfer, or conveyance of any homestead after five years and before twenty-five years
after issuance of title shall be valid without the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce,
which approval shall not be denied except on constitutional and legal grounds.
Section119. 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.
Section120. Conveyance and encumbrance made by persons belonging to the so-called "non-Christian
Filipinos" or national cultural minorities, when proper, shall be valid if the person making the
conveyance or encumbrance is able to read and can understand the language in which the instrument
or conveyance or encumbrances is written. Conveyances and encumbrances made by illiterate non-
Christian or literate non-Christians where the instrument of conveyance or encumbrance is in a
language not understood by the said literate non-Christians shall not be valid unless duly approved by
the Chairman of the Commission on National Integration.
Section121. Except with the consent of the grantee and the approval of the Secretary of 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.
The provisions of Section 124 of this Act to the contrary notwithstanding, any acquisition of such land,
rights thereto or improvements thereon by a corporation, association, or partnership prior to the
promulgation of this Decree for the purposes herein stated is deemed valid and binding; Provided,
That no final decision of reversion of such land to the State has been rendered by a court; And
Provided, further, That such acquisition is approved by the Secretary of Natural Resources within six
(6) months from the effectivity of this Decree.
Section122. No land originally acquired in any manner under the provisions of this Act, nor any
permanent improvement on such land, shall encumbered, alienated, or transferred, except to persons,
corporations, associations, or partnerships who may acquire lands of the public domain under this Act
or to corporations organized in the Philippines authorized therefor by their charters.
Except in cases of hereditary succession, no land or any portion thereof originally acquired under the
free patent, homestead, or individual sale provisions of this Act, or any permanent improvement on
such land, shall be transferred or assigned to any individual, nor shall such land or any permanent
improvement thereon be leased to such individual, when the area of said land, added to that of his
own, shall exceed one hundred and forty-four hectares. Any transfer, assignment, or lease made in
violation hereof, shall be null and void.
Section123. No land originally acquired in any manner under the provisions of any previous Act,
ordinance, royal order, royal decree, or any other provision of law formerly in force in the Philippines
with regard to public lands, terrenos baldios y realengos, or lands of any other denomination that were
actually or presumptively of the public domain, or by royal grant or in any other form, nor any
permanent improvement on such land, shall be encumbered, alienated, or conveyed, except to
persons, corporations or associations who may acquire land of the public domain under this Act or to
corporate bodies organized in the Philippines whose charters authorize them to do so: Provided,
however, That this prohibition shall not be applicable to the conveyance or acquisition by reason of
hereditary succession duly acknowledged and legalized by competent courts; Provided, further, That
in the event of the ownership of the lands and improvements mentioned in this section and in the last
preceding section being transferred by judicial decree to persons, corporations or associations not
legally capacitated to acquire the same under the provisions of this Act, such persons, corporations,
or associations shall be obliged to alienate said lands or improvements to others so capacitated within
the precise period of five years; otherwise, such property shall revert to the Government.
Section124. Any acquisition, conveyance, alienation, transfer, or other contract made or executed in
violation of any of the provisions of sections one hundred and eighteen, one hundred and twenty, one
hundred and twenty-one, one hundred and twenty two, and one hundred and twenty-three 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.
Section125. The provisions of sections twenty-two, twenty-three, thirty-three, one hundred and
twenty-two, and one hundred and twenty-three of this Act, and any other provision 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 Philippines 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 treaties, 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.
Section126. All public auctions provided for in the foregoing chapters in the disposition of public lands
shall be held, wherever possible, in the province where the land is located, or, in the office of the
Bureau of Lands in Manila
CHAPTER XIV: TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
Section127. During the existence and continuance of the Commonwealth and before the Republic of
the Philippines is finally established, citizens and corporations of the United States shall enjoy the
same rights granted to citizens and corporations of the Philippines under this Act.
Section128. During the period specified in the next preceding section, the President of the Philippines,
upon receipt of the order of the President of the United States, shall, by proclamation, designate such
land as the latter may set aside for military, naval or other reservations for use of the Government of
the United States.
CHAPTER XV: PENAL PROVISIONS
Section129. Any person who presents or causes to be presented, or cooperates in the presentation of,
any false application, declaration, or evidence, or makes or causes to be made or cooperates in the
making of a false affidavit in support of any petition, claim, or objection respecting lands of the public
domain, shall be deemed guilty of perjury and punished accordingly.
Section130. Any person who voluntarily and maliciously prevents or hinders or attempts to prevent or
hinder the presentation of any application for public land under this Act, or who in any manner
attempts to execute or executes acts intended to dissuade or discourage, or aid to dissuade or
discourage, the acquisition of public lands, shall be deemed guilty of coercion and be punished
accordingly.
Section131. Any person who sells forms issued and distributed gratuitously under this Act or who,
being an officer charged with distributing them, refuses or fails, without sufficient reason, to furnish
the same, shall be punished for each offense by a fine of not more than one hundred pesos or by
imprisonment for not more than three months, or both, in the discretion of the court.
Section132. Any person, corporation, association or partnership which, not being qualified or no longer
authorized to apply for public land under the provisions of this Act, files or induces or knowingly permits
another person, corporation, association or partnership to file an application in his or its behalf or for
his or its interest, benefit or advantage, shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred nor
more than five thousand pesos or by imprisonment for not less than two months nor more than five
years, or both, in the discretion of the court; and the application shall be cancelled.
Section133. Any person who, without having the qualifications required by this Act, shall by deceit or
fraud acquire or attempt to acquire lands of the public domain or other real property or any right, title
or interest, or property right of any class to the same, and any person aiding and abetting him therein
or serving as a means or tool therefor, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than
five thousands pesos, or by the imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, in the discretion
of the court.
TITLE VII: FINAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER XVI: EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS ACT
Section134. If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is challenged in a competent court and is held to be
unconstitutional, none of the other sections or provisions thereof shall be affected thereby and such other sections and
provisions shall continue to govern as if the section or provisions so annulled, disapproved, or repealed had never been
incorporated in this Act, and in lieu of the section or provision so annulled, disapproved, or repealed, the provisions of
law on the subject thereof in force prior to the approval of this Act shall govern until the Assembly shall otherwise
provide in the premises.
Section135. All laws and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed.
Section136. This Act shall take effect on December first, nineteen hundred and thirty-six unless the President shall, in
the proclamation announcing its effectiveness, designate a prior date, in which case this Act shall take effect on the
date so designated.