Question & AnswerQ&A (DAR ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 1)
Any such transaction executed after the effectivity of R.A. 6657 shall be null and void. Transactions executed prior to the Act's effectivity are valid only if registered with the Register of Deeds within three months from the Act's effectivity.
Transferees must submit an affidavit to the Register of Deeds and the Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC) stating that their total landholdings inclusive of the land acquired do not exceed the landholding ceilings of R.A. 6657. The Register of Deeds will not register the transfer without such affidavit and proof of service to the BARC.
No, the sale, transfer, conveyance, or change in the nature of such lands outside urban centers after R.A. 6657 took effect is prohibited except as allowed under DAR Administrative Order No. 15, Series of 1988.
Beneficiaries may not sell, transfer, or convey the awarded lands within ten years except through hereditary succession, or transfer to DAR, Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), or other qualified beneficiaries.
If the land has not been fully paid, the beneficiary may transfer with prior DAR approval to an heir or another qualified beneficiary provided the transferee will cultivate the land themselves.
Banks and financial institutions authorized by law may acquire titles upon foreclosure regardless of land area, subject to existing laws on compulsory transfer and acquisition under Section 16 of R.A. 6657.
Valid transactions include those executed by original landowners in favor of qualified beneficiaries certified by DAR, transactions in favor of government, DAR or LBP, transfers involving retention lands within landholding ceilings, and sales by beneficiaries after ten years from land award registration.
Transactions are invalid if they involve sales/exchanges exceeding five-hectare limits without DAR approval, sales by beneficiaries within ten years of award, sales to unqualified persons, sales or transfers of lands outside urban centers without DAR clearance, and transfer of usufructuary rights to circumvent the law.
The Register of Deeds must receive a clearance issued by the DAR through the Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer (PARO) after verification and recommendation, including an affidavit of the transferee and compliance with landholding ceilings, among other requirements.
Tenants or lessees have the right of preemption – they must be offered the land first on reasonable terms. If sold without their knowledge, they have a right of redemption to reclaim the land at a reasonable price as provided under R.A. 3844.