Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 947)
The main purpose of Republic Act No. 947 is to make it unlawful for any person, corporation, or association to forcibly enter or occupy public agricultural lands and to penalize violations of such acts.
Section 1 prohibits entering or occupying public agricultural land by force, intimidation, threat, strategy, or stealth, including lands granted to private individuals under the Public Land Act or other disposal laws even if the title is not yet transferred from the government.
RA No. 947 applies only to public agricultural lands, including those granted to private individuals under proper applications but not yet titled in their names.
Any person, corporation, or association who forcibly enters or occupies public agricultural lands, as well as those who instigate, induce, or force others to commit such acts, can be held liable. For corporations or associations, the president, director, manager, or managing partner may be held criminally liable.
The criminal action for violation of RA No. 947 must be instituted within one year from the time the cause of action arises.
Violations can be punished with a fine not exceeding one thousand pesos, imprisonment for not more than one year, or both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.
If the offender is insolvent, he or she shall suffer subsidiary imprisonment, which will be computed in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Penal Code.
Yes, if the offender is a corporation or association, the president, director, manager, or managing partner thereof shall be held criminally liable.
Republic Act No. 947 took effect upon its approval on June 20, 1953.
Yes, the law protects public agricultural lands that are subject to duly filed applications under the Public Land Act or other laws, even if the title has not yet been transferred from the government.