Improvements in land title confirmation process

Natural-born Filipinos not owning more than 12 hectares are entitled to free patents.
Must have continuously occupied and cultivated alienable and disposable agricultural lands for at least 20 years before the application.
Payment of real estate tax on land is required for eligibility.
The maximum land area for free patents is 12 hectares.

Applications must be filed at the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) or Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO).
CENRO or PENRO must process applications within 120 days, including notices and legal requirements.
Recommendations are sent according to land area: below 5 hectares to PENRO; 5 to 10 hectares to DENR Regional Director; 10 to 12 hectares to DENR Secretary.
Approval or disapproval must be decided within 5 days upon receipt of recommendations or processing completion.
Conflicting claims may seek administrative or judicial remedies.

Section 47 of Commonwealth Act No. 141, amended by Republic Act No. 7196, is repealed.

Filipino citizens occupying or claiming public domain lands with unperfected titles may file for confirmation.
Land area for confirmation capped at 12 hectares.
Categories for filing:
- Open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession under bona fide ownership claims for at least 20 years (except for war or force majeure).
- Ownership acquired by accession or accretion.
- Ownership obtained by other legal means.
Possessors for 20 years are conclusively presumed to have met conditions for government grant.

Application for registration to be filed with the Regional Trial Court where land is located.
Requirements for applicants:
- Open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession for at least 20 years under bona fide ownership claim.
- Ownership by accession or accretion.
- Acquisition by other lawful means.
Joint application required where land is co-owned.
Applications by vendors under pacto de retro allowed.
Trustees may apply for registration unless prohibited by trust instrument.

Certification by designated DENR geodetic engineer suffices to prove land is alienable and disposable.
Certification must be signed and imprinted on approved survey plans with a sworn statement.
Sworn statement should cite applicable Forestry Administrative Orders, DENR administrative orders, executive orders, proclamations, and relevant land classification project map numbers.
If no such orders available, reference to land classification map number and date, and declaration of map’s existence in NAMRIA records are acceptable.

Geodetic engineers who prepare defective or fraudulent projection maps, and DENR officials who certify such maps, face penalties.
Penalties include fines ranging from ₱100,000 to ₱500,000, imprisonment from 6 months to 6 years, or both.
Penalties are in addition to those under the Revised Penal Code and Philippine Geodetic Engineering Act of 1998.

Free patents issued under this act shall be governed by provisions of Republic Act No. 11231.

Secretary of DENR required to issue implementing rules and regulations within 60 days from the Act’s effectivity.

Declared invalid or unconstitutional provisions do not affect the validity of other provisions of the Act.

All laws, decrees, orders, and regulations inconsistent with this Act are repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

The Act takes effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.