Administration and leasing of Friar Lands

Government empowered to lease lands for up to three years and sell under prescribed terms.
Deferred payments must be made in currency used for bond repayments, bearing the same interest rate as bonds issued for the purchase.
Revenues from sales or leases constitute a trust and sinking fund for bond repayment.
Actual settlers and occupants at the time of land acquisition have preference rights to lease or purchase holdings within a reasonable period.

Not classified as public lands under the Public Land Act No. 926, hence cannot be acquired or leased under its provisions.
Requires separate administrative mechanisms to fulfill contractual and statutory obligations concerning administration, leasing, and selling.

The Civil Governor is tasked to commission comprehensive title examination by the law firm Del Pan, Ortigas and Fisher.
The Consulting Engineer must conduct precise land surveys to verify land quantities.
Reports from these examinations and surveys are submitted to the Civil Governor for further action.

Once title examinations and surveys confirm valid titles and land quantities, the Civil Governor directs payment to the sellers.
Payments are issued through government warrants funded by bond sales.

The Bureau of Public Lands assumes control and safekeeping of all contracts, deeds, and related documents.
Such instruments are registered with the respective registers of deeds in each province where the lands situate.

Bureau must identify bona fide settlers and occupants, documenting holdings and their desire to lease or purchase.
Occupants declining purchase but wishing to lease may enter leases with reasonable rentals, not exceeding three years.
Vacant lands are to be taken possession of by the Bureau and may be leased or sold.

If occupants refuse both lease and purchase, the Bureau initiates legal possession proceedings with the Court of Land Registration.
The Bureau has authority to sell properties except main hacienda houses and significant buildings, requiring Commission resolution.

Settlers may purchase their holdings at government cost with up to ten years to pay in equal annual installments.
Deferred payments accrue interest at 4% per annum.

The Bureau determines the value of each holding considering location, quality, and other factors.
Certificates specifying terms of sale and payment are issued to occupants.
Acceptance of certificates legally binds purchasers to the terms including installment payments and interest.

The Bureau collects rents, purchase installments, and interest, with proper receipts and records.
Government retains title until full payment, invalidating any sale or encumbrance by purchaser before that.

If a certificate holder dies before deed execution, widow or heirs may complete purchase and receive deed.
Certificate holders may assign rights through transfer recorded with the Bureau.

Failure to pay rent or installments allows the Bureau to declare lease forfeited or enforce payment via lawsuits.
Government can foreclose liens on the land, with purchaser at such sales acquiring good title.
Surplus proceeds after debts and costs are returned to the original purchaser.

All leases and sales under this Act require Secretary of the Interior approval.
Purchasers acquire no exclusive rights to irrigation works or water supply which remain government-controlled.
Lands subject to public servitudes similar to those under former Spanish sovereignty, including littoral and riparian rights.

The Civil Governor may reserve any tract for public use, rendering it non-alienable under this Act.
The Bureau must submit quarterly reports detailing leases, sales, revenues, and other relevant information to the Commission.

Funds from land disposition are deposited separately as a trust fund for bond principal and interest payment.
The fund serves as a sinking fund and may be reinvested in safe securities, with oversight from the Secretary of Finance and Justice.

The Bureau of Public Lands is authorized to issue necessary implementing regulations and forms.
Ten thousand pesos appropriated for special counsel’s salary, investigations, surveys, and administrative expenses.