QuestionsQuestions (Act No. 1120)
It provided for the administration, temporary leasing, and eventual sale of certain haciendas and land parcels known as Friar Lands, to implement government contracts for their purchase and to comply with the U.S. Act provisions authorizing leasing and sale after acquisition.
Section 65 of the U.S. Act (“temporarily to provide for the administration of the affairs of civil government…”) empowered the government to lease the lands after acquisition for a period not exceeding three years.
The Civil Governor was directed to have careful examination of titles to the contracted lands. The firm of Del Pan, Ortigas and Fisher (Manila) was employed to examine titles and perform legal services; their compensation was set at $5,500 per annum, payable monthly for the needed period.
He was directed to conduct careful surveys to ascertain with accuracy the amount of land in each tract specified in the contracts. The purpose was to verify whether the quantity matched and to support proper administration and valuation.
After title examination, the firm had to report results to the Civil Governor and, under his direction, supervise the final deeds of conveyance of the lands from the corporations to the government.
If titles were found perfect and indefeasible and instruments of conveyance were tendered, the Civil Governor could direct payment of the agreed sums to the corporations and draw government warrants upon the sum realized from the sale of the bonds authorized under Act No. 1034.
The lands and documents were placed under the immediate control and direction of the Bureau of Public Lands. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands received, preserved, and later transmitted title deeds to the register of deeds for registration.
Actual settlers and occupants at the time of acquisition had preference over others to lease, purchase, or acquire their holdings within a reasonable time as determined by the government. The Act implements this through provisions requiring identification of occupants and giving them opportunities to lease or buy.
If an occupant does not desire to purchase but desires to lease, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands must require a proper attorneyship to the government and enter into a lease with usual covenants. The occupant pays a reasonable rental fixed by the Chief, and the lease cannot exceed three years.
He may take possession and charge the vacant lands, and may either (1) lease them for a term not exceeding three years, or (2) offer them for sale, proceeding as provided in Chapter Two of the Public Land Act.
The Chief must take possession if he can do so peaceably; otherwise, he must begin proper legal proceedings in the Court of Land Registration to settle title and oust them. If adjudicated in favor of the government, he takes possession as if the land were vacant. Large hacienda houses cannot be sold without a Commission resolution authorizing it.
An actual and bona fide settler/occupant who desires to purchase can buy the land occupied at the actual cost to the government, payable in up to ten years in equal annual installments, with deferred payments bearing 4% interest. The Chief issues a certificate fixing the price/terms; acceptance of the certificate creates an obligation (debtor relation) to pay.
Failure is treated as refusal to purchase. The occupant can then be ousted as provided in the Act, and the holding may be leased or sold as in the case of unoccupied lands.
If a lessee or purchaser fails to pay rent or installments (including interest), the Chief must protect the government. For leases, he may declare forfeiture, make the proper entry, notify the tenant, enter and take possession, and sue for unpaid rent. For purchasers, he may sue to recover past-due installments with interest and enforce the government’s lien via foreclosure procedures under Act No. 190.
The government reserves title to each sold parcel until full payment of all installments and interest. Any sale or encumbrance by the purchaser is invalid against the government and the purchaser is subordinate to the government’s prior claim.
No. All canal, ditch, reservoir, and dependent water supply remain under exclusive government control and are administered for the common benefit of dependent interests. The government may levy an equitable contribution/tax for maintenance based on benefits, and land remains subject to existing/future right of way for irrigation works.
Section 20 provides that title holders hold land subject to the same public servitudes as under Spanish sovereignty (e.g., littoral of the sea and banks of navigable rivers). Section 21 allows the Civil Governor, authorized by resolution of the Commission, to proclaim certain tracts nonalienable and reserve them for public use, preventing sale or lease under the Act.