Public Land Act: Land classification and disposition

Executive administration and powers

The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce is the executive officer charged with carrying out the Act through the Director of Lands under the Secretary’s immediate control (Section 3).
The Director of Lands has direct executive control—subject to the Secretary’s control—over survey, classification, lease, sale, concession, disposition, and management of public lands.
The Director’s factual decisions become conclusive only when approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce (Section 4).
The Director of Lands, with the Secretary’s approval, must prepare and issue forms, instructions, rules, and regulations consistent with the Act for conducting proceedings under it (Section 5).

Lands covered; timber/mineral carve-outs

The Act governs lands of the public domain but provides that timber and mineral lands are governed by special laws (Section 2).
Nothing in the Act changes or modifies the administration and disposition of “friar lands” and lands that are privately owned and have reverted to or become property of the Commonwealth, which remain governed by existing or later laws (Section 2).

Land classification; when lands open

The President, upon recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, must from time to time classify public lands into (a) Alienable or disposable; (b) Timber; and (c) Mineral lands, and may transfer lands between classes similarly (Section 6).
For alienable or disposable lands, the President, upon recommendation by the Secretary, must from time to time declare what lands are open to disposition or concession under the Act (Section 7).
Only lands that are officially delimited and classified, and when practicable surveyed, and that are not reserved, not appropriated by government, not become private property, and not subject to valid private rights claimed under valid law are eligible to be declared open (Section 8).
The President may, for reasons of public interest, declare lands open before boundaries are established or surveyed, or may suspend concession/disposition until they are again declared open by proclamation duly published or by Act of the National Assembly (Section 8).
Alienable or disposable lands open to disposition must be further classified by use/purpose into: (a) Agricultural; (b) Residential, commercial, industrial, or similar productive purposes; (c) Educational, charitable, or other similar purposes; and (d) Reservations for town sites and for public and quasi-public uses (Section 9).
The President may transfer lands from one class to another under the same recommendation method (Section 9).
The Act defines “alienation,” “disposition,” or “concession” to mean any method authorized by the Act for acquisition, lease, use, or benefit of public lands other than timber or mineral lands (Section 10).

Agricultural lands: authorized modes

Public lands suitable for agricultural purposes may be disposed of only through these methods and not otherwise: (1) Homestead settlement; (2) Sale; (3) Lease; (4) Confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles (Section 11).
Confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles may be through (a) Judicial legalization; (b) Administrative legalization (free patent) (Section 11).

Homestead settlement rules

A homestead entry may be made by any citizen of the Philippines over eighteen years or the head of a family, who does not own more than twenty-four hectares in the Philippines and has not had a gratuitous allotment of more than twenty-four hectares since U.S. occupation (Section 12).
The homestead must be not exceeding twenty-four hectares of agricultural land of the public domain (Section 12).
Upon filing, if the Director finds approval warranted, the Director must authorize possession upon payment of five pesos (Philippine currency) as the entry fee (Section 13).
The applicant must begin to work the homestead within six months from approval; failure causes loss of prior right (Section 13).
No certificate is given and no patent is issued until at least one-fifth of the land is improved and cultivated (Section 14).
Cultivation must occur within a period of not less than one and not more than five years from approval (Section 14).
The applicant must notify the Director when ready for title acquisition; at notice date, the applicant must prove: (1) continuous residence for at least one year in the municipality where located or an adjacent municipality; (2) cultivation of at least one-fifth continuously since approval; and (3) affidavit that no part has been alienated or encumbered and that all requirements are met (Section 14).
Upon the required proofs and payment of five pesos as final fee, the applicant is entitled to a patent (Section 14).

Homestead fees, delinquencies, cancellation

Fees required in the homestead chapter may be paid to the municipal treasurer of the locality, who must forward them to the provincial treasurer (Section 15).
If the applicant is delinquent, the Director of Lands may, sixty days after delinquency occurs, either cancel the application or grant an extension not exceeding one hundred and twenty days for payment (Section 15).
The Director may cancel an entry if, before final proof period expires, it is proven to the Director’s satisfaction after due notice that the land is not subject to homestead entry, the homesteader changed residence, voluntarily abandoned the land for more than six months at any one time during required residence and occupation years, or otherwise failed to comply (Section 16).

Homestead proof procedures and notices

Before final proof is submitted, public notice must be given of the intention to make such proof, stating: homesteader name/address; land description with boundaries/area; witness names expected to establish required facts; and the time/place and officer before whom proof will be made (Section 17).
Due notice is required in the manner prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce (Section 17).
If the homesteader suffers mental alienation or is incapacitated from exercising rights personally, the legally representing person may offer and submit final proof on the homesteader’s behalf (Section 18).

Homestead limits and transfer restrictions

Only one homestead entry is allowed per person (Section 19).
No person to whom a homestead patent has been issued may again acquire a homestead, regardless of original homestead area; an exception allows a previous homesteader who received a patent for less than twenty-four hectares and otherwise qualifies to enter another homestead such that the combined area does not exceed twenty-four hectares (Section 19).
Prior to patent issuance, an applicant who cannot continue his homestead through no fault of his own, and has bona fide purchaser for rights and improvements, may—upon Director’s approval—transfer rights and improvements to a qualified person who must file a new homestead application; the purchaser succeeds in rights/obligations from the purchaser’s application approval date (Section 20).
Any transfer without the Director’s prior approval is null and void, results in cancellation of the entry, and refusal of the patent (Section 20).

Non-Christian tribe reservation permits

Any non-Christian Filipino who has not applied for homestead and desires to occupy land in reservations for “non-Christian tribes” may request a permit of occupation for a tract not exceeding four hectares (Section 21).
The applicant must cultivate and improve the land; if cultivation is not begun within six months after receiving the permit, the permit is cancelled (Section 21).
The permit term is one year (Section 21).
If the permit holder applies for a homestead before term expiration or at expiration, including the permitted portion, the holder has priority; otherwise the land opens to disposition at expiration (Section 21).
Each permit requires payment of one peso (Section 21).

Sale of agricultural public lands

Citizens of lawful age, certain heads of families below lawful age, qualifying Filipino-owned corporations/associations, and authorized Philippine corporate bodies may purchase agricultural public lands disposable under the Act not exceeding: one hundred and forty-four hectares for an individual, and one thousand and twenty-four hectares for a corporation or association (Section 22).
Partnerships may purchase not exceeding one hundred and forty-four hectares for each member and the total purchase area may not exceed one thousand and twenty-four hectares for associations and corporations (Section 22).
Persons/corporations/associations/partnerships other than those in Section 22 may not acquire or own agricultural public land or other public-domain lands or permanent improvements, or real rights on them (Section 23).
Existing holders at the time the Philippine Constitution took effect may continue holding land if they acquired it under laws and regulations in force at acquisition, subject to restrictions: they may not encumber, convey, or alienate to persons/entities not in Section 22 except by hereditary succession duly legalized and acknowledged by competent courts (Section 23).
Lands sold must be appraised in accordance with Section 116 (Section 24).
Sale notices must be published weekly for six consecutive weeks in the Official Gazette and in two newspapers (one in Manila; one in the municipality/province where located or neighboring province), and posted on Bureau of Lands bulletin board in Manila and in conspicuous places in provincial and municipal buildings; if practicable, posting on the land itself (Section 24).
If the land’s value does not exceed two hundred and forty pesos, publication in the Official Gazette and newspapers may be omitted (Section 24).
Notices must be published in English and Spanish (or local dialect) and must set a date not earlier than sixty days after notice for award to highest bidder, calling for public bids, or other action under the chapter (Section 24).

Sale to actual occupants (distance rules)

Public agricultural lands not located within ten (10) kilometers from city proper boundaries in chartered cities or within five (5) kilometers from the municipal hall or town plaza may be sold to actual occupants who: (1) have no parcel of land or total holdings not exceeding five hectares; (2) comply with the minimum requirements of Commonwealth Act numbered one hundred forty-one, as amended; and (3) have resided on the land applied for at least two years before application (Section 25).
Sealed bids must be addressed to the Director of Lands and must enclose cash/certified check/treasury warrant/post-office money order payable to Director of Lands for ten per centum of the bid amount, retained if accepted as part payment (Section 25).
No bid is considered if amount is less than appraised value of the land (Section 25).
In addition to publication requirements, notices and applications must be posted for at least thirty days in at least three conspicuous places in the municipality where the parcel is located, including municipal building and the barrio council building where land is located (Section 25).

Sale bidding, awards, installments, conditions

Upon opening bids, land is awarded to the highest bidder (Section 26).
If two or more equal bids are higher than others, and one is that of the applicant, the applicant’s bid is accepted (Section 26).
If the applicant is not among equal highest bids, the Director submits the land for public bidding and awards to the highest bidder at that auction (Section 26).
The applicant always has the option of raising his bid to equal the highest bidder; if he exercises this, the land is awarded to him (Section 26).
No bid is finally accepted until the bidder deposits ten per centum of the bid as required in Section 25 (Section 26).
For tracts not exceeding twenty-four hectares, the Director may delegate receiving bids, holding auction, and proceeding as prescribed, with recommendation to the Director for final decision (Section 26).
The District Land Officer must accept and process applications for purchase of public lands not exceeding five hectares, subject to Director approval within sixty days after receipt of recommendation (Section 26).
Purchase price balance may be paid in full upon award or in not more than ten equal annual installments from award date (Section 27).
The purchaser must break and cultivate at least one-fifth of the land within five years from award; before any patent issues, occupancy/cultivation/improvement of at least one-fifth must be shown up to final payment (Section 28).
For pasture land, compliance is satisfied by grazing cattle occupying at least one-half of entire area at one head per hectare (Section 28).
After title is granted, the purchaser may not convey/encumber/dispose within ten years from cultivation or grant without prejudice to government interest; violating sales/encumbrances are null and void, annul acquisition, revert land and rights to the State, and forfeit payments made (Section 29).
Before patent issuance, if Director proves after due notice that purchaser voluntarily abandoned land for more than one year at any one time or otherwise failed requirements, land reverts to the State and all prior payments and improvements are forfeited (Section 30).
No person/entity may acquire/possess in addition to other lands such that total area exceeds purchase limits authorized in the Act; excess land and related rights revert to the State (Section 31).
Loans secured by real property are allowed; when excess occurs, the owner must dispose of the excess within five years to remove it.
Excess land carries a surtax of fifty per centum additional to ordinary tax for the first year; then fifty per centum is added to the last preceding annual tax rate each succeeding year until disposed (Section 31).
The owner must segregate the excess portion; upon request of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, the Solicitor-General (or acting officer) institutes court proceedings to determine excess portion and disposal for exclusive government interest (Section 31).
The chapter authorizes only one purchase of the maximum amount by the same person/entity.
No corporation/association whose member received benefits under this chapter (or the next following chapter) as an individual or member may purchase other public lands under this chapter (Section 32).
A purchaser who has made the last payment and cultivated at least one-fifth, if land purchased is less than the Act maximum, may purchase additional adjacent agricultural public land successively until reaching maximum, complying with conditions for the first purchase (Section 32).

Lease of agricultural public lands

Filipino citizens of lawful age, and Filipino-owned corporations/associations (citizens wholly owning at least sixty per centum of capital stock/interest), may lease agricultural public land available for lease under the Act not exceeding one thousand and twenty-four hectares in total (Section 33).
Grazing-adapted lands may have an area not exceeding two thousand hectares (Section 33).
Members, stockholders, officers, representatives, attorneys, agents, employees, or bondholders of corporations/associations holding or controlling agricultural public land may not apply for agricultural public land except under homestead and free patent provisions (Section 33).
No lease is permitted to interfere with prior claims by settlement or occupation until consent of occupant/settler is obtained, or until such claim is legally extinguished (Section 33).
Individuals may not lease lands not reasonably necessary to carry on their business; corporations/associations may not lease beyond what is reasonably necessary for the lawful business the entity may pursue in the Philippines (Section 33).

Lease bidding; rental floors; improvements

Notices of auction of the right to lease must be published/announced in the same manner as sale notices under Section 24 (Section 34).
Bids must be sealed, addressed to Director of Lands, and include cash/certified check/treasury warrant/post-office money order payable to Director for an amount equivalent to rental for at least the first three months of the lease (Section 35).
No bid is considered if proposed annual rental is less than three per centum of the value of the land per appraisal under Section 116 (Section 35).
The auction procedure for the lease right follows the same procedure as auction sale under Section 26, except bids are accepted only after depositing rental for at least the first three months (Section 36).
Annual rental must be at least three per centum of the value of the land per appraisal and reappraisal under Section 116.
For lands reclaimed by the Government, annual rental must be at least four per centum of appraised and reappraised value (Section 37).
For reclaimed lands before the Act, one-fourth of annual rental accrues to the construction and improvement portion of the Portworks Funds (Section 37).
For reclaimed lands using the Portworks Fund after the Act approval, at least four per centum of annual rental accrues to the construction and improvement portion of the Portworks Fund (Section 37).
If the leased land is adapted and devoted to grazing, annual rental is at least two per centum of appraised and reappraised value (Section 37).
Lease contracts must include that the leased land appraisal is made every ten years if the lease term exceeds ten years (Section 37).
If lessee disagrees with reappraisal, the lessee must notify the Director within the six months next preceding the reappraisal effective date; if approved and if lessee desires, the Director may proceed under Section 100 (Section 37).

Lease term, cultivation requirement, assignability limits

Agricultural leases may run for not more than twenty-five years and may be renewed once for another period not exceeding twenty-five years if lessee made important improvements that justify renewal at Secretary discretion (Section 38).
On final expiration, buildings and permanent improvements made by the lessee and successors become property of the Government; the land and improvements are disposed of under Chapter V (Section 38).
Leases have an inherent essential condition: lessee must break and cultivate at least one-third of the land within five years from lease approval; if devoted to pasture, grazing that occupies at least one-half of entire area at one head per hectare satisfies the condition (Section 39).
Lessee may not assign, encumber, or sublet rights without consent of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce; violation avoids the contract (Section 40).
Assignment/encumbrance/subletting for purposes of speculation is not permitted in any case (Section 40).
Consent limits do not authorize assignment/encumbrance/subletting to persons/entities not authorized to lease public lands under the Act (Section 40).

Timber/forestry/mine constraints; forfeiture triggers

A lease does not confer right to remove or dispose of valuable timber except as provided by Bureau of Forestry regulations on cutting timber on such lands (Section 41).
A lease does not confer right to remove/dispose stone, oil, coal, salts, other minerals, or medicinal mineral waters on the land (Section 41).
The lease as to the mineral part may be cancelled by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce after notice to the lessee whenever that part is more valuable for agricultural purposes (Section 41).
Commission of waste or violation of forestry regulations results in forfeiture of the lessee’s last rent payment and renders the lessee liable to immediate dispossession and suit for damages (Section 41).

Successive leases; purchase option

After paying rent for at least the first two years and complying with the one-third cultivation requirement, a lessee with area beyond the legal maximum may lease successively additional adjacent agricultural public land until reaching the maximum in this chapter, complying with conditions for the first lease (Section 42).
During the lease’s life, a qualified and compliant lessee may have the option of purchasing the leased land, subject to restrictions in Chapter Five (Section 43).

Free patents: eligibility and timelines

Free patents may be granted to natural-born citizens of the Philippines who do not own more than twenty-four hectares and who since July fourth, nineteen hundred and twenty-six or prior thereto have continuously occupied and cultivated agricultural public lands subject to disposition, either personally or through predecessors-in-interest, not exceeding twenty-four hectares (Section 44).
Members of national cultural minorities who continuously occupied and cultivated, either themselves or through predecessors-in-interest, land whether disposable or not since July 4, 1955, may avail of the rights if at filing they do not own any real property secured or disposable under the Public Land Law (Section 44).

Free patent filing period by proclamation

The President (Prime Minister) upon recommendation of the Secretary of Natural Resources must from time to time fix by proclamation the period for filing free patent applications in the specified district/chartered city/province/municipality/region (Section 45).
After the period ends, unless extended, land in the covered area may be disposed of as agricultural public land without prejudice to prior occupant/cultivator right to acquire the land by means other than free patent (Section 45).
The time for filing in the entire archipelago must not extend beyond December 31, 1987, except that the President may determine time beyond which filing shall not extend in specified provinces (Section 45).
The period for a district/chartered city/province/municipality begins thirty days after publication of the proclamation in the Official Gazette and, if available, a newspaper of general circulation in the concerned area (Section 45).
A certified copy of the proclamation must be furnished within 30 days from the presidential proclamation date to the Director of Lands and to the provincial board, municipal board or city council, and barangay council affected, and must be posted on the Bureau of Lands bulletin board in Manila and conspicuous places in the provincial building, municipal building, and barangay hall/meeting place.
Government radio announcements are required whenever available in each barrio (Section 45).

Free patent processing and adverse claims

After filing and investigation, if the Director of Lands is satisfied of the truth of allegations and that the applicant qualifies, the Director must cause issuance of the patent to the applicant or legal successor for the occupied and cultivated tract not exceeding twenty-four hectares (Section 46).
No application is finally acted upon until notice of the application is published in the municipality and barrio where the land is located and adverse claimants have an opportunity to present claims (Section 46).

Judicial confirmation of imperfect titles

Judicial confirmation for imperfect or incomplete titles is available to persons covered under succeeding provisions, with a time benefit not extending beyond December 31, 1987, and only where the area applied for does not exceed 144 hectares (Section 47).
President-designated periods under Section 45 also apply to lands in this chapter, without preventing covered persons from acting under the chapter before the President-fixed period (Section 47).
Covered Filipino applicants occupying lands of the public domain or claiming interests with unperfected titles may apply to the Court of First Instance of the province where land is located for confirmation and issuance of certificate of title under the Land Registration Act (Section 48).
Eligible applicants include those who, prior to transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the prior United States, applied for purchase/composition/grant of public lands under then-applicable laws and prosecuted proceedings but did not receive title, provided they and heirs occupied and cultivated continuously since filing (Section 48(a)).
Eligible applicants also include those in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural public domain lands under bona fide claim of acquisition/ownership for at least thirty years immediately preceding filing, except when prevented by war or force majeure; such applicants are conclusively presumed to have performed all conditions essential to a Government grant and are entitled to certificate of title (Section 48(b)).
Members of national cultural minorities with open, continuous, exclusive, notorious possession and occupation for at least 30 years of public domain lands suitable to agriculture, whether disposable or not, under bona fide ownership claim, are entitled to the same rights as in Section 48(b) (Section 48(c)).
A person without the possession qualifications specified cannot apply for chapter benefits (Section 49).
Every applicant must present an application to the proper Court of First Instance to inquire into validity of the alleged title or claim and seek a certificate of title under the Land Registration Act; the application must conform with Land Registration Act registration application requirements.
Applications must include: citizenship; full nature of claim; detailed statements where based on Spanish-law proceedings (date/form of application for grant/purchase/composition, extent of compliance and reasons for noncompliance, and length of actual occupation); use of land; and nature of enclosure if any; and must include a plan and documents evidencing the right to the land claimed.
Registration fees under the Land Registration Act must be collected from applicants under this chapter (Section 50).
The Court of First Instance hears applications under the same manner/procedure as Land Registration Act applications, but notice and plan must be immediately forwarded to the Director of Lands, who may appear as a party.
Before publication for hearing, all papers must be transmitted to the Solicitor General (or acting officer) to investigate for Government interests, and the Solicitor General must return papers within three months.
Final decree is the basis for original certificate of title under the Land Registration Act procedure in Section 41 of that Act (Section 51).
In cadastral proceedings, instead of application, an answer or claim may be filed with the same effect as under preceding sections (Section 52).
The Director of Lands may file through the Solicitor General a petition in proper Court of First Instance in public interest to challenge titles/occupancy/claimed boundaries of holders/claimants/occupants who did not voluntarily come in under this chapter or the Land Registration Act, praying settlement and adjudication per cadastral adjudication laws (Section 53).
If conflicting interests exist, the court adjudicates and decrees entitlement according to law; if none is entitled or if a potentially entitled party lacks qualification for acquiring agricultural land of the public domain, the decision is for the Government (Section 54).