ACT No.
2874 CLASSIFICATION, DELIMITATION AND SURVEY OF LANDS OF
As amended by Acts Nos. 3164, 3219, 3346, and 3517
TO AMEND AND COMPILE THE LAWS RELATIVE TO LANDS OF
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by Senate and House of Representatives of
the Philippines in Legislature assembled and by the
authority of the same:
TITLE I
TITLE AND APPLICATION OF THE ACT, LANDS TO WHICH IT
REFERS, AND CLASSIFICATION, DELIMITATION, AND SURVEY
THEREOF FOR CONCESSION.
CHAPTER I.
SHORT TITLE OF THE ACT, LANDS TO WHICH IT APPLIES, AND
OFFICERS CHARGED WITH ITS EXECUTION.
Section 1. The short title of this Act shall be "The Public
Land Act."
Section 2. The provisions of this Act shall apply to the lands
of the public domain; but timber and mineral lands shall
be governed by special laws and nothing in this Act
provided shall be understood or construed to charge
or-modify the government and disposition of the lands
commonly called "friar lands" and those which, being
privately owned, have reverted to or become the
property of the Philippine Government, which
administration and disposition shall be governed by the
laws at present in force or which hereafter be enacted by
the Legislature.
Section 3. While title to lands of the public domain
remains in the Government, the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources shall be the executive officer
charged with carrying out the provisions of this Act,
through the Director of Lands, who shall act under his
immediate control.
Section 4. Subject to said control, the Director of Lands
shall have direct executive control of the survey,
classification lease, sale, or any other form of concession
or disposition and management of the lands of the public
domain, and his decisions as to questions of fact shall be
conclusive when approved by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Section 5. The Director of Lands, with the approval of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall
prepare and issue forms, instructions, rules and regulations
consistent with this Act, as may be necessary and proper
to carry into effect the provisions thereof and for the
conduct of proceedings arising under such provisions.
CHAPTER II.
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, FOR THE CONCESSION THEREOF
Section 6. The Governor-General, upon the
recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, shall from time to time classify the
lands of the public domain into —
(a) Alienable or disposable
(b) Timber and
(c) Mineral lands
and may it any time and in a like manner transfer such
lands from one class to another, for the purposes of their
government and disposition.
Section 7. For the purpose of the government and
disposition of alienable or disposable public lands, the
Governor-General, upon recommendation by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall from
time to time declare what lands are open to disposition or
concession under this, Act.
Section 8. Only those lands shall be declared open to
disposition or concession which have been officially
delimited and classified and, when practicable, surveyed,
and which have not been reserved for public or
quasi-public uses, not appropriated by the Government,
nor in any manner become private property, nor those on
which a private right authorized and recognized by this
Act or any other valid law may be claimed, or which,
having been reserved or appropriated, have ceased to
be so. However, the Governor-General may, for reasons
of public interest, declare lands of the public domain
open to disposition before the same have had their
boundaries established or been surveyed, or may, for the
same reasons, suspend their concession or disposition by
proclamation duly published or by Act of the Legislature.
Section 9. For the purposes of their government and
disposition, the lands of the public domain alienable or
open to disposition shall be classified, according to the
use or purposes to which such lands are destined, as
follows:
(a) Agricultural
(b) Commercial, industrial, or for similar productive
purposes.
(c) Educational, charitable, and other similar purposes.
(d) Reservations for town sites, and for public and
quasi-public uses.
The Governor-General, upon recommendation by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall from
time to time make the classification provided for in this
section, and may, at any time and in a similar manner,
transfer lands from one class to another.
Section 10. The words "alienation,'' "disposition," or
"Concession" as used in this Act, shall mean any of the
methods authorized by this Act for the acquisition, lease,
use or benefit of the lands of the public domain other
than timber or mineral lands.
TITLE II
AGRICULTURAL PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER III.
FORMS OF CONCESSION OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS
Section 11. Public lands suitable for agricultural purposes
can be disposed of only as follows, and not otherwise:
(1) For homestead settlement.
(2) By sale.
(3) By lease.
(4) By confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles.
(a) By judicial legalization.
(b) By administrative legalization (free patent)
CHAPTER IV.
HOMESTEADS
Section 12. Any citizen of the Philippine Islands or of the
United States, over the age of eighteen years, or the
head of a family, who does not own more than
twenty-four hectares of land in said Islands or has not had
the benefit of any gratuitous allotment of more than
twenty-four hectares of land since the occupation of the
Philippine Islands by the United States, may enter a
homestead or not exceeding twenty-four hectares of
agricultural land of the public domain.
Section 13. Upon the filing of an application for a
homestead, the Director of Lands, if he finds that the
application should be approved, shall do so and
authorize the applicant to take possession of the land
upon the payment of five pesos, Philippine currency, as
entry fee. Within six months from and after the date of the
approval of the application, the applicant shall begin to
work the homestead otherwise he shall lose his prior right
to the land. (As amended by section 1 of Act No. 3517.)
Section 14. No certificate shall be given or patent issued
for the land applied for until at least one-fourth of the
land has been improved and cultivated. The period
within which the land shall be cultivated shall not be less
than one nor more than five years, from and after the
date of the approval of the application. The applicant
shall, within the said period, notify the Director of Lands as
soon as he is ready to acquire the title. If at the date of
such notice or at any time within the two years next
following the expiration of said period, the applicant shall
prove to the satisfaction of the Director of lands by
affidavits of two credible witnesses, that he has resided in
the municipality in which the land is located, or in a
municipality adjacent to the same, and has cultivated at
least one-fourth of the land continuously since the
approval of the application, and shall make affidavit that
no part of said land has been alienated or encumbered,
and that he has complied with all the requirements of this
Act, then, upon the payment of five pesos, he shall be
entitled to a patent. (As amended by section 2 of Act No.
3517).
Section 15. At the option of the applicant, payment of
the fees required in this chapter may be made in annual
installments. These payments may be made to the
municipal treasurer of the locality, who, in turn, shall
forward them to the provincial treasurer. In case of the
delinquency of the applicant, the Director of Lands may,
sixty days after such delinquency has occurred, either
cancel the application or grant an extension of time not
to exceed one hundred and twenty days for the
payment of the sum due.
Section 16. If at any time before the expiration of the
period allowed by law for the making of final proof, it shall
be proved to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands,
after due notice to the homesteader, that the land
entered is not under the law subject to homestead entry,
or that the homesteader has actually changed his
residence, or voluntarily abandoned the land for more
than six months at any time during the years of residence
and occupation herein required or has otherwise failed to
comply with the requirements of this Act, the Director of
Lands may cancel the entry.
Section 17. Before the final proof shall be submitted by
any person claiming to have complied with the provisions
of this chapter, due notice, as prescribed by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be
given to the public of his intention to make such proof,
stating therein the name and address of the
homesteader, the description of the land, with its
boundaries and area, the names of the witnesses by
whom it is expected that the necessary facts will be
established, and the time and place at which, and the
name of the officer before whom, such proof will be
made.
Section 18. In case the homesteader shall suffer from
mental alienation, or shall for any other reason be
incapacitated for exercising his rights personally, the
person legally representing him may offer and submit the
final proof on behalf of such incapacitated person.
Section 19. Not more than one homestead shall be
allowed to any person; but if a homesteader has made
final proof as provided in this chapter and is occupying
and cultivating at least one-fourth of the land applied for
and the area thereof is less than twenty-four hectares, he
may apply successively for additional homesteads which
must lie in the same municipality or municipal district or in
an adjacent municipality or municipal district, until the
total area of said homesteads shall reach twenty-four
hectares, but not more, with the understanding that he
shall with regard to the new tracts or additional
homesteads comply with the same conditions as
prescribed by this Act for an original homestead entry. (As
amended by Sec. 1 of Act No, 3219 and Sec. 3 of Act No.
3517).
Section 20. The cancellation of a homestead entry not
due to any fault of the applicant shall not be a bar to his
applying for another homestead.
Section 21. If at any time after the approval of the
application and before the patent is issued, the applicant
shall prove to the satisfaction of the Director of lands that
he has complied with all the requirements of the law, but
can not continue with his homestead, through no fault of
his own, and there is a bona fide purchaser for the rights
and improvements of the applicant on the land, and that
the conveyance is not made for purposes of speculation,
then the applicant, with the previous approval of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, may
transfer his rights to the land and improvements to any
person legally qualified to apply for a. homestead, and
immediately after such transfer, the purchaser shall file a
homestead application to the land so acquired and shall
succeed the original homesteader in his rights and
obligations beginning with the date of the approval of
said application of the purchaser. Any person who has so
transferred his rights may once again apply for a new
homestead. Every transfer made without the previous
approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources shall be null and void and shall result in the
cancellation of the entry and the refusal of the patent.
Section 22. Any non-Christian native who has not applied
for a homestead, desiring to live upon or occupy land on
any of the reservations set aside for the so-called
non-Christian tribes may request a permit of occupation
for any tract of land of the public domain reserved for
said non-Christian tribes under this Act, the area of which
shall not exceed four hectares. It shall be an essential
condition that the applicant for the permit cultivate and
improve the land, and if such cultivation has not been
begun within six months from and after the date on which
the permit was received, the permit shall be canceled.
The permit shall be for a term of one year. If at the
expiration of this term or at any time therefor, the holder
of the permit shall apply for a homestead under the
provisions of this chapter, including the portion for which
a permit was granted to him, he shall have the priority,
otherwise the land shall be again open to disposition at
the expiration of the permit.
For each the sum of one peso shall be paid.
(As amended by Sec. 2 of Act 3219 and Sec. 4 of Act
3517).
CHAPTER V.
SALE
Section 23. Any citizen of lawful age of the Philippine
Islands or of the United States, and any such citizen not of
lawful age who is head of a family, and any corporation
or association of which at least sixty-one per centum of
the capital stock or of any interest in said capital stock
belongs wholly to citizens of the Philippine Islands or of the
United States or of any State thereof and authorized to
transact business in the Philippine Islands, and corporate
bodies organized in the Philippine Islands authorized
under their charters to do so, may purchase any tract of
public agricultural land disposable under this Act, not to
exceed one hundred and forty-four hectares in the case
of an individual and one thousand and twenty-four
hectares in that of a corporation or association, by
proceeding as prescribed in this chapter: PROVIDED, That
partnerships shall be entitled to purchase not to exceed
the one thousand and twenty-four hectares authorized in
this section for associations and corporations: PROVIDED,
further, That citizens of countries the laws of which grant
to citizens of the Philippine Islands the same right to
acquire public land as to their own citizens, may, while
such laws are in force, but not thereafter, with the express
authorization of the Legislature, purchase any parcel of
agricultural land, not in excess of one hundred and
forty-four hectares available under this Act, upon
complying with the requirements of this chapter. (As
amended by sec, 3 of Act No. 3219).
Section 24. No person, corporation, association, or
partnership other than those mentioned in the last
proceeding section may acquire or own agricultural
public land or land of any other denomination or
classification, not used for industrial or residence purposes,
that is at the time or was originally, really or presumptively,
of the public domain. or any permanent improvement
thereon, or any real right on such land and improvement:
PROVIDED, however, That persons, corporations,
associations, or partnerships which, at the date upon
which this Act shall take effect, hold agricultural public
lands or land of any other denomination not used for
industrial or residence purposes, that belonged originally,
really or presumptively, to the public domain, or
permanent improvements on such lands, or a real right
upon such lands and improvements, having acquired the
same under the laws and regulations in force at the date
of such acquisition, shall be authorized to continue
holding the same as if such persons, corporations,
associations, or partnerships were qualified under the last
preceding section; but they shall not encumber, convey,
or alienate the same to persons, associations,
corporations, or partnerships not included in section
twenty-three of this Act, except by reason or hereditary
succession, duly legalized and acknowledged by
competent courts.
Section 25. Lands sold under the provisions of this chapter
must be appraised in accordance with section one
hundred and fourteen of this Act. The Director of Lands
shall announce the sale thereof by publishing the proper
notice once a week for six consecutive weeks in the
Official Gazette and in two newspapers, one published in
Manila and the other published in the municipality or in
the province where the land is located, or in a
neighboring province, and the same notice shall be
posted on the bulletin board of the Bureau of Lands in
Manila, and in the most conspicuous place in the
provincial building and the municipal building of the
province and the municipality where the land is located,
and if practicable, on the land itself; but if the value of
the land does not exceed two hundred and forty pesos,
the publication in the Official Gazette and newspapers
may be omitted. The notices shall be published one in
English and the other in Spanish or in the local dialect,
and shall fix a date not earlier than sixty days after the
date of the notice upon which the land will be awarded
to the highest bidder, or public bids will be called for, or
other action will be taken as provided in this chapter. (As
amended by section 4 of Act No. 3219).
Section 26. All bids must be sealed and addressed to the
Director of Lands, and must have therewith cash or a
certified check or post-office money order payable to the
order of the Director Of Lands, for ten per centum of the
amount of the bid, which amount shall be retained in
case the bid is accepted, as part payment of the
purchase price: PROVIDED, That no bid shall be
considered the amount of which is less than the
appraised value of the land. (As amended by section 5 of
Act No. 3219).
Section 27. Upon the opening of the bids the land shall be
awarded to the highest bidder. If there are two or more
bids which are higher than other bids and are equal, and
one of such higher and equal bids is the bid of the
applicant, his bid shall be accepted. If, however, the bid
of the applicant is not one of such equal and higher bids,
the Director of Lands shall at once submit the land for
public bidding, and to the-person making the highest bid
on such public auction the land shall be awarded. In any
case the applicant, if any shall always have the option of
raising his bid to equal that of the highest bidder, and in
this case the land shall be awarded to him. No bid
received at such public auction shall be finally accepted
until the bidder shall have deposited ten per centum of
his bid, as required in section twenty-six of this Act. In case
none of the tracts of land that are offered for sale or the
purchase of which has been applied for, has an area in
excess of twenty-four hectares, the Director of Lands may
delegate to the Provincial treasurer concerned the
power of receiving bids, holding the auction, and
proceeding in accordance with the provisions of this Act,
but the provincial treasurer, in his capacity as delegate of
the Secretary of Agriculture and. Natural Resources shall
submit his recommendations to the Director of Lands for
the final decision of the latter in the case. (As amended
by section 6 of Act No. 3219).
Section 28. The purchase price shall be paid as follows:
The balance of the purchase price after deducting the
amount paid at the time of submitting the bid, may be
paid in full upon the making of the award, or in not more
than ten annual installments from the date of the award:
PROVIDED, That it shall be an inherent and essential
condition of the sale that the purchaser shall have not less
than one third of the land broken and cultivated within
five years after the date of the award. (As amended by
section 7 of Act No. 3219).
Section 29. After at least the second installment has been
paid and after the cultivation of the land has been
begun, the purchaser, with the approval of the Secretary
of Agriculture and Natural Resources, may convey or
encumber his rights to any person, corporation, or
association legally qualified under this Act to purchase
agricultural public lands, provided such conveyance or
encumbrance does not affect any right or interest of the
Government in the land. Any sale and encumbrance
made without the previous approval of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be null and void
and shall produce the effect of annulling the acquisition
and reverting the property and all rights thereto to the
Government, and all payments on the purchase price
theretofore made to the Government shall be forfeited
After the sale has been approved, the vendor shall not
lose his right to acquire agricultural public lands under the
provisions of this Act, provided he has the necessary
qualifications.
Section 30. Before any patent is issued, the purchaser
must show actual occupancy, cultivation, and
improvement of at least one-fourth of the land applied for
until the date on which final payment is made. (As
amended by section 5 of Act No. 3517).
Section 31. If at any time after the date of the award and
before the issuance of patent, it is proved to the
satisfaction of the Director of Lands, after due notice to
the purchaser, that the purchaser has voluntarily
abandoned the land for more than one year at any one
time, or has otherwise failed to comply with the
requirements of the law, then the land shall revert to the
Government and all prior payments of purchase money
shall be forfeited.
Section 32. No person, corporation, association, or
partnership shall be permitted, after the approval of this
Act, to acquire the title to or posses as owner any lands of
the public domain if such lands, added to other land
belonging to such person, corporation, association, or
partnership shall give a total area greater than the area
the acquisition of which by purchase is authorized under
this Act. Any excess in area over this maximum and all
right, title, interest, claim, or action held by any person,
corporation, association, or partnership resulting directly
or indirectly in such excess shall revert to the Government.
This section shall, however, not be construed to prohibit
any person, corporation, association, or partnership
authorized by this Act to acquire lands of the public
domain from making loans upon real estate security and
from purchasing real estate whenever necessary for the
recovery of such loans; but in this case, as soon as the
excess above referred to occurs, such person,
corporation, association, or partnership shall dispose of
such lands within five years, for the purpose of removing
the excess mentioned. Upon the land in excess of the limit
there shall be paid, so long as the same is not disposed of,
for the first year a surtax of fifty per centum additional to
the ordinary tax to which property shall be subject, and
for each succeeding year fifty per centum shall be
added to the last preceding annual tax rate, until the
property shall have been disposed of.
The person, corporation, association, or partnership
owning the land in excess of the limit established by this
Act shall determine the portion of the land to be
segregated.
At the request of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, the Attorney-General, or the officer acting in
his stead shall institute the necessary proceedings in the
proper court for the purpose of determining the excess
portion to be segregated, as well as the disposal of such
portion in the exclusive interest of the Government.
Section 33. This chapter shall be held to authorize only
one purchase of the maximum amount of land hereunder
by the same person, corporation, association, or
partnership; and no corporation, association, or
partnership, any member of which shall have received
the benefits of this chapter or of any of the two preceding
chapters, either as an individual or as a member of any
other corporation, association, or partnership, shall
purchase any other lands of the public domain under this
chapter.
But any purchaser of public land, after having made the
last payment upon and cultivated at least one-fourth of
the land purchased, if the same shall be less than the
maximum allowed by this Act may purchase successively
additional agricultural public land adjacent to or not
distant from the land first purchased, until the total area of
such purchases shall reach the maximum established in
this chapter: PROVIDED, That in making such additional
purchase or purchases, the same conditions shall be
complied with as prescribed by this Act for the first
purchase. (As amended by sec. 6 of Act No. 3517).
CHAPTER VI.
LEASE
Section 34. All citizen of lawful age of the Philippine
Islands or of the United States and any corporation or
association of which at least sixty-one per centum of the
capital stock or of any interest in said capital stock
belongs wholly to citizens of the Philippine Islands or of the
United States, and which is organized and constituted
under the laws of the Philippine Islands or of the United
States or of any state thereof and authorized to transact
business in the Philippine Islands, may lease any tract of
agricultural public land available for lease under the
provisions of this Act, not exceeding a total of one
thousand and twenty-four hectares: PROVIDED, That no
member, stockholder or any corporation or association
holding or controlling under lease or otherwise agricultural
land in excess of one hundred and forty-four hectares
shall apply, directly or indirectly, for agricultural public
land except under the homestead and free patent
provisions of this Act: PROVIDED, further, That citizens of
countries the laws of which grant to citizens of the
Philippine Islands the same rights to lease public land as
to their own citizens, may, while such laws are in force, but
no thereafter, with the express authorization of the
Legislature, lease any parcel of agricultural land, not in
excess of one thousand and twenty-four hectares,
available for lease in accordance with this Act:
PROVIDED, finally, That no lease shall be permitted to
interfere with any prior claim by settlement occupation,
until the consent of the occupant or settler is first had, or
until such claim shall be legally extinguished, and no
person, corporation, or association, shall be permitted to
lease lands hereunder which are not reasonably
necessary to carry on his business in case of an individual,
or the business for which it was lawfully created and
which it may lawfully pursue in the Philippine Islands, if an
association or corporation.
Corporations or associations not having all and each of
the requirements established in the preceding paragraph
of this section may, with the express authorization of the
Legislature, lease agricultural public lands available for
lease the total area of which shall not exceed one
thousand and twenty-four hectares. (As amended by
section 7 of Act No. 3517).
Section 35. The Director Of Lands shall announce the
lease of lands under this chapter by publishing the proper
notice once a week for six consecutive weeks in the
Official Gazette and in two newspapers, one published in
Manila and the other published in the municipality or in
the province where the land is located, or in a
neighboring province, and the same notice shall be
posted on the bulletin board of the Bureau of Lands in
Manila, and in the most conspicuous place in the
provincial building and the municipal building of the
province and the municipality where the land is located,
and if practicable, on the land itself and if the value of
the land does not exceed two hundred and forty pesos,
the publication in the Official Gazette and newspapers
may be omitted. The notices shall be published one in
English and the other in Spanish or in the local dialect,
and shall fix a date not earlier than sixty days after the
date of the notice, upon which the land will be awarded
to the highest bidder, or public bids will be called for, or
other action will be taken as provided in this chapter.
All bids must be sealed and addressed to the Director of
Lands and must have enclosed therewith cash or a
certified check or post-office money order payable to the
order of the Director of Lands, for a sum equivalent to the
rental for the first three months of the lease: PROVIDED,
That no bid shall be considered in which the proposed
annual rental is less than three per centum of the value of
the land according to the appraisal or reappraisal
thereof made in conformity with section one hundred
and fourteen of Act Numbered Twenty-eight hundred
and seventy-four.
Upon the opening of the bids the land shall be awarded
to the highest bidder. If there are two or more bids which
are higher than the others and equal, and one of such
higher and equal bids is the bid of the applicant, his bid
shall be accepted. If, however, the bid of the applicant is
not one of such equal and higher bids, the Director of
Lands shall at once submit the land for public bidding,
and to the person making the highest bid on such public
auction the land shall be awarded. In any case the
applicant, if any, shall always have the option of raising
his bid to equal that of the highest bidder, and in this case
the land shall be awarded to him. No bid received at
such public auction shall be accepted until the bidder
shall have deposited the rental for the first three months of
the lease. (As amended by sec, 8 of Act No. 3219).
Section 36. The annual rental of the land leased shall not
be less than three per centum of the value of the land,
according to the appraisal and reappraisal made in
accordance with section one hundred and fourteen of
this Act. Every contract of lease under the provisions of
this chapter shall contain a clause to the effect that a
reappraisal of the land leased shall be made every ten
years from the date of the approval of the contract, if the
term of the same shall be in excess of ten years. In case
the lessee is not agreeable to the reappraisal and prefers
to give up his contract of lease, he shall notify the Director
of Lands of his desire within the six months next preceding
the date on which the reappraisal takes effect, and in
case his request is approved, the Director of Lands may, if
the lessee should so desire, proceed in accordance with
section ninety eight of this Act.
The rent, which shall be paid yearly in advance, shall
accrue from the date of the approval of the lease, and
the first payment thereof shall be made in the Bureau of
Lands on the date of the approval of the application. (As
amended by section 8 of Act No. 3517).
Section 37. Leases shall run for a period of not more than
twenty-five years, but may be renewed for another
period of not to exceed twenty-five years, at the option
of the lessee. In case the lessee shall have made
important improvements which, in the discretion of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, justify a
renewal of the lease, a further renewal for an additional
period not to exceed twenty-five years may be granted.
Upon final expiration of the lease, all buildings and other
permanent improvements made by lessee, his heirs,
executors, administrators, successors, or assigns shall
become the property of the Government, and the land
together with the said improvements shall be disposed of
in accordance with the provisions of chapter five of this
Act. It shall be an inherent and essential condition of the
lease that the lessee shall have not less than one-third of
the land broken and cultivated within five years after the
date of the approval of the lease and shall not assign,
encumber, or sublet his rights without the consent of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and that
the violation of this condition shall avoid the contract:
PROVIDED, That assignment, encumbrance, or subletting
for purposes of speculation shall not be permitted in any
case: PROVIDED, further, That nothing contained in this
section shall be understood or construed to permit the
assignment, encumbrance, or subletting of lands leased
under this Act, or under the Public Land Act, to persons,
corporations, or associations under this Act, are not
authorized to lease public lands, unless otherwise
provided by general or special legislations by the
Legislature. (As amended by section 9 of Act No. 3517).
Section 38. The lease of any lands under this chapter shall
not confer the right to remove or dispose of any valuable
timber except as provided in the regulations of the
Bureau of Forestry for cutting timber upon such lands. Nor
shall such lease confer the right to remove or dispose of
stone, oil, coal, salts, or other minerals, or medicinal
mineral waters existing upon the same. The lease as to the
part of the land which shall be mineral may be cancelled
by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
after notice to the lessee, whenever the said part of the
land is more valuable for mineral than for agricultural
purposes.
The commission of waste or the violation of the forestry
regulations by the lessee shall work a forfeiture of his
payment of rent and render him liable to immediate
dispossession and suit for damage.
Section 39. The lessee of agricultural public land, after
having made to or more payments of rent and improved
land leased, if the same is less than the maximum allowed
by law, may lease successively additional agricultural
public land adjacent to or near the land originally leased,
until the total area of such leases shall reach the
maximum established in this chapter: PROVIDED, That in
making such additional lease, the same conditions shall
be complied with as prescribed by this Act for the first
lease.(As amended by section 10 of Act. No. 3517).
Section 40. During the life of the lease, any lessee who
shall have complied with all the conditions thereof and
shall have the qualifications required by section
twenty-three, shall have the option of purchasing the
land leased subject to the restrictions of chapter five of
this act. (As amended by section 11 of Act No. 3517).
CHAPTER VII.
FREE PATENTS
Section 41. Any native of the Philippine Islands who is not
the owner of more than twenty-four hectares, and who
since July fourth, nineteen hundred and seven, or prior
thereto, has continuously occupied and cultivated, either
by himself or through his predecessors in interest, a tract or
tracts of agricultural public lands subject to disposition,
shall be entitled, under the provisions of this chapter, to
have a free patent issued to him for a tract or tracts of
such land not to exceed twenty-four hectares. (As
amended by section 1 of Act No. 3164.)
Section 42. The Governor-General, upon
recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources shall from time to time fix by
proclamation the period within which applications for
free patents may be filed in the district, province,
municipality, or region specified in such proclamation,
and upon the expiration of the period so designated,
unless the same be extended by the Governor-General,
all the land comprised within such district, province,
municipality, or region subject thereto under the
provisions of this chapter may be disposed of as
agricultural public land, without prejudice to the prior
right of the occupant and cultivator to acquire such land
under this Act by means other than free patent. The time
to be fixed in the entire Archipelago for the filing of
applications under this chapter shall not extend beyond
December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and thirty-eight.
The period fixed for any district, province, or municipality
shall begin to run thirty days after the publication of the
proclamation in the Official Gazette. A certified copy of
said proclamation shall be furnished to the Director of
Lands and to the provincial and municipal board or
council affected, and copies thereof shall be posted on
the bulletin board of the Bureau of Lands at Manila and
at conspicuous places in the provincial building and the
municipal building. It shall moreover, be announced by
crier in each of the barrios of the municipality. (As
amended by section 1 of Act No. 3346).
Section 43. If, after the filing of the application and the
investigation, the Director of Lands shall be satisfied of the
truth of the allegations contained in the application and
that the applicant comes within the provisions of this
chapter, he shall cause a patent to issue to the applicant
or his legal successor for the tract so occupied and
cultivated, provided its area does not exceed twenty-four
hectares: PROVIDED, That no application shall be finally
acted upon until notice thereof has been published in the
municipality and barrio in which the land is located and
adverse claimants have had in opportunity to present
their claim.
CHAPTER VIII.
JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF IMPERFECT OR INCOMPLETE
TITLES
Section 44. The persons specified in the next following
section are hereby granted time, not to extend beyond
December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and thirty-eight,
within which to take advantage of the benefits of this
chapter: PROVIDED, That the several periods of time
designated by the Governor-General in accordance with
section forty-two of this Act shall apply also to the lands
comprised in the provisions of this chapter; but this section
shall not be construed in the sense of prohibiting any of
said persons from acting under this chapter at any time
prior to the period fixed by the Governor-General. (As
amended by section 2 of Act 3346).
Section 45. The following described citizens of the
Philippine Islands and the United States, occupying lands
of the public domain or claiming to own any such lands
or an interest therein, but whose titles have not been
perfected or completed, may apply to the Court of First
Instance of the province where the land is located for
confirmation of their claims and the issuance of a
certificate of title therefor, under the Land Registration
Act, to wit:
(a) Those who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from
Spain to the United States have applied for the purchase,
composition or other form of grant of lands of the public
domain under the laws and royal decrees then in force
and have instituted had prosecuted the proceedings in
connection therewith, but have, with or without default
upon their part, or for any other cause, not received title
therefor, if such applicants or grantees and their heirs
have complied and cultivated said lands continuously
since the filing of their applications.
(b) Those who by themselves or through their
predecessors in interest have been in the open,
continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and
occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain,
under a bona fide claim of acquisition of ownership
except as against the Government, since July twenty-sixth,
eighteen hundred and ninety-four except when
prevented by war or force majeure. These shall be
conclusively presumed to have performed all the
conditions essential to a Government grant and shall be
entitled to a certificate of title under the provisions of this
chapter.
Section 46. No person claiming title to lands of the public
domain not in possession of the qualifications specified in
the last preceding section may apply for the benefits of
this chapter.
Section 47. Any person or persons, or their legal
representatives as successors in right, claiming any lands
or interest in lands under the provisions of this chapter,
must every case present an application to the proper
Court of First Instance, praying that the validity of the
alleged title or claim be inquired into and that a
certificate of title issue to them under the provisions of the
Land Registration Act.
The application shall conform is nearly as may be in its
material allegations to the requirements of an application
for registration under the Land Registration Act, and shall
be accompanied by a plan of the land and all
documents evidencing a right on the part of the
applicant to the land claimed. The application shall also
state the citizenship of the applicant and shall set forth
fully the nature of the claim, and when based upon
proceedings initiated under Spanish laws, it shall specify
as exactly as possible the date and form of the
application for purchase, composition or other form of
grant, the extent of the compliance with the conditions
required by the Spanish laws and royal decrees for the
acquisition of legal title, and if not fully complied with the
reason for such non-compliance, together with a
statement of the length of time such land or any portion
thereof has been actually occupied by the claimant or
his predecessors in interest; the use made of the land, and
the nature of the inclosure, if any.
The fees provided to be paid for the registration of lands
under the Land Registration Act shall be collected from
applicants under this chapter.
Section 48. Applications for registration under this chapter
shall be heard in the Court of First Instance in the same
manner and shall be subject to the same procedure as
established in the Land Registration Act for other
applications except that a notice of all such applications,
together with a plan of the lands claimed, shall be
immediately forwarded to the Director of Lands, who may
appear as a party in such cases: PROVIDED, That prior to
the publication for hearing, all of the papers in said case
shall be transmitted by the clerk of the Attorney-General
or officer acting in his stead, in order that he may, if he
deems it advisable for the interests of the Government,
investigate all of the alleged in the application or
otherwise brought to his attention. The Attorney-General
shall return such papers to the clerk as soon as
practicable within three months.
The final decree of the court shall in every case be the
basis for the original certificate of title in favor of the
person entitled to the property under the procedure
prescribed in section forty-one of the Land Registration
Act.
Section 49. In cadastral proceedings, instead of an
application an answer or claim may be filed with the
same effect as in the procedure provided in the last
preceding two sections.
Section 50. It shall be lawful for the Director of Lands,
whenever in the opinion of the Governor-General the
public interests shall require it, to cause to be filed in the
proper Court of First Instance, through the
Attorney-General or the officer acting in his stead, a
petition against the holder, claimant, possessor, or
occupant of any land who shall not have voluntary come
in under the provisions of this chapter or of the Land
Registration Act , stating in substance that the title of such
holder, claimant, possessor, or occupant is open to
discussion; or that the boundaries of any such land which
has not been brought into court as aforesaid are open to
question; or that it is advisable that the title to such lands
be settled and adjudicated, and praying that the title to
any such land or the boundaries thereof or the right to
occupancy thereof be settled and adjudicated. The
judicial proceedings under this section shall be in
accordance with the laws on adjudication of title in
cadastral proceedings.
Section 51. If in the hearing of any application arising
under this chapter the court shall find that more than one
person or claimant has an interest in the land such
conflicting interests shall be adjudicated by the court and
decree awarded in favor of the person or persons entitled
to the land according to the laws, but if none of said
persons is entitled to the land, or if the person who might
be entitled to the same lacks the qualifications required
by this Act for acquiring agricultural land of the public
domain, the decision shall be in favor of the Government.
Section 52. Whenever, in any proceedings under this
chapter to secure registration of an incomplete or
imperfect claim of title initiated prior to the transfer of
sovereignty from Spain to the United States, it shall
appear that had such claims been prosecuted to
completion under laws prevailing when instituted, and
under the conditions of the grant then contemplated, the
conveyance of such land to the applicant would not
have been gratuitous, but would have involved payment
therefor to the Government, then and in that event the
court shall, after decreeing in whom title should vest,
further determine the amount to be paid as a condition
for the registration of the land. Such judgment shall be
certified to the Director of Lands by the clerk of the court
for collection of the amount due from the person entitled
to conveyance.
Upon payment to the Director of Lands of the price
specified in the judgment, he shall so certify to the proper
Court of First Instance and said court shall forthwith order
the registration of the Land in favor of the competent
person entitled thereto. If said person shall fail to pay the
amount of money required by the decree within a
reasonable time fixed in the same, the court shall order
the proceeding to stand dismissed and the title to the
land shall then be in the Government free from claim of
the applicant.
Section 53. Whenever any judgment of confirmation or
other decree of the court under this chapter shall
become final, the clerk of the court concerned shall
certify that fact to the Director of Lands, with a certified
copy of the decree of confirmation or judgment of the
court and the plan and technical description of the land
involved in the decree of judgment of the court.
Section 54. No title to, or right or equity in, any lands of the
public domain may hereafter be acquired by prescription
or by adverse possession or occupancy, or under or by
virtue of any law in effect prior to American occupation,
except as expressly provided by laws enacted after said
occupation of the Philippine Islands by the United States.
TITLE III
LANDS FOR COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES AND
OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTIVE PURPOSES
CHAPTER IX.
CLASSIFICATION AND CONCESSION OF PUBLIC LANDS
SUITABLE FOR COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Section 55. Any tract of land of the public domain which,
being neither timber nor mineral land, shall be classified
as suitable for residential purposes or for commercial,
industrial, or other productive purposes or for commercial,
industrial, or other productive purposes other than
agricultural purposes, and shall be open to disposition or
concession, shall be disposed of under the provisions of
this chapter, and not otherwise.
Section 56. The lands disposable under this title shall be
classified as follows:
(a) Lands reclaimed by the Government by dredging,
filing, or other means;
(b) Foreshore
(c) Marshy lands or lands covered with water bordering
upon the shores or banks of navigable lakes or rivers
(d) Lands not included in any of the foregoing classes.
Section 57. Any tract of land comprised under this title
may be leased, or sold, as the case may be, to any
person, corporation, or association authorized to
purchase or lease public lands for agricultural purposes.
The area of the land so leased or sold shall be such as
shall, in the judgment of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, be reasonably necessary for the
purposes for which such sale or lease is requested, and
shall in no case exceed forty eight hectares: PROVIDED,
however, That this limitation shall not apply to grants,
donations, or transfers made to a province, municipality
or branch or subdivision of the Government for the
purposes deemed by said entities conducive to the
public interest; but the land so granted, donated, or
transferred to a province, municipality, or branch or
subdivision of the Government shall not be alienated,
encumbered, or otherwise disposed of in a manner
affecting its title, except, when authorized by the
Legislature: PROVIDED, further, That any person,
corporation, association or partnership disqualified from
purchasing public land for agricultural purposes under the
provisions of this Act, may purchase or lease land
included under this title suitable for industrial or residence
purposes, but the title or lease granted shall only be valid
while such land is used for the purposes referred to. (As
amended by section 10 of Act No. 3219).
Section 58. The lands comprised in classes (a), (b), and (c)
of section fifty-six shall be disposed of to private parties by
lease only and not otherwise, as soon as the
Governor-General, upon recommendation by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall
declare that the same are not necessary for the public
service and are open to disposition under this chapter.
The lands included in class (d) may be disposed of by sale
or lease under the provisions of this Act.
Section 59. The lands reclaimed by the Government by
dredging, filling, or otherwise shall be surveyed and may
with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, be divided by the Director of Lands
into lots and blocks, with the necessary streets and
alleyways between them, and said Director shall give
notice to the public, by publication in the Official Gazette
or by other means, that the lots or blocks not needed for
public purposes shall be leased for commercial or
industrial or other similar purposes. (As amended by
section 11 of Act 3219).
Section 60. Whenever it is decided that lands covered by
this chapter are not needed for public purposes, the
Director of Lands shall ask the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources for authority to dispose of the
same. Upon receipt of such authority, the Director of
Lands shall give notice by public advertisement in the
same manner as in the case of leases or sales of
agricultural public land, that the Government will lease or
sell, as the case may be, the lots or blocks specified in the
advertisement, for the purpose stated in the notice and
subject to the conditions specified in this chapter, (As
amended by section 12 of Act 3219 and section 12 of Act
3517).
Section 61. The leases executed under this chapter by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall,
among other conditions, contain the following:
(a) The rental shall not be less than three per centum of
the appraised and reappraised value of the lands and
one per centum of the appraised or reappraised value of
the improvement
(b) The land rented, or the improvements thereon, as the
case may be, shall be reappraised every ten years if the
term of the lease is in excess of that period.
(c) The term of the lease shall be as prescribed by section
thirty-seven of this Act.
(d) The lessee shall construct permanent improvements
appropriate for the purpose for which the lease is granted,
shall commence the construction thereof within six
months from the date of the award of the contract of
lease, and shall complete the said construction within
eighteen months from the date of the execution of the
contract.
(e) At the expiration of the lease or of any extension of
the same, all improvements made by the lessee, his heirs,
executors, administrators, successors, or assigns shall
become the property of the Government.
(f) The regulation of all rates and fees charged to the
public; and the annual submission to the Government for
approval of all tariffs of such rates and fees.
(g) The continuance of the easements of the coast place
and other easements reserved by existing law or by any
laws hereafter enacted by the Legislature.
(h) Subjection to all easements and other rights acquired
by the owners of lands bordering upon the foreshore or
marshy land.
The violation of one or any of the conditions specified in
the contract shall give rise to the rescission of said
contract. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources may, however, subject to such conditions as
he may prescribe, waive the rescission arising from a
violation of the conditions of subsection (d), or extend the
time without which the construction of the improvements
shall be commenced and completed. (As amended by
section 13 of Act 3517).
Section 62. The sale of the lands comprised in class (d) of
section fifty-six shall, among others, comprise the following
conditions:
(a) The purchaser shall make improvements of a
permanent character appropriate for the purpose for
which the land is purchased, shall commence work
thereon within six months from the receipt of the approval
of the purchase, and shall complete the construction of
said improvements within eighteen months from the date
of such approval or award; otherwise the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources may rescind the
contract.
(b) The purchase price shall be paid cash down or in
annual installments, not to exceed ten.
The contract of sale may contain other conditions not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. (As amended
by section 13 of Act 3219 and section 14 of Act 3517).
Section 63. The kind of improvements to be made by the
lessee or the purchaser, and the plans thereof, shall be
approved by the Secretary of Commerce and
Communications, in case they are constructions or
improvements which, if made by the Government, would
properly have to be executed under the supervision of
the Bureau of Public Works.
Section 64. The lease or sale shall be made through oral
bidding; and adjudication shall be made to the highest
bidder. However, where an applicant has made
improvements on the land by virtue of a permit issued to
him by competent authority, the sale or lease shall be
made by sealed bidding as prescribed in section
twenty-seven of this Act, the provisions of which shall be
applied wherever applicable. If all or part of the lots
remain unleased or unsold, the Director of Lands shall
from time to time announce in the official Gazette or
otherwise the lease or sale of those lots, if necessary. (As
amended by section 15 of .Act No. 3517).
Section 65. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources may grant temporary permission, upon
payment of a reasonable charge, for the use of any
portion of the lands covered by this chapter for any lawful
private purpose, subject to revocation at any time when,
in his judgment, the public interest shall require it. (As
amended by section 16 of Act No. 3517).
TITLE IV
LANDS FOR EDUCATIONAL, CHARITABLE, AND OTHER
SIMILAR PURPOSES
CHAPTER X.
CONCESSION OF LANDS FOR EDUCATIONAL, CHARITABLE,
AND OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES
Section 66. Whenever any province municipality, or other
branch or subdivision of the Government shall need any
portion of the land of the public domain open to
concession for educational, charitable, or other similar
purposes, the Governor-General, upon recommendation
by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
may execute contracts in favor of the same, in the form
of donation, sale, lease, exchange, or any other form,
under terms and conditions to be inserted in the contract;
but land so granted shall in no case be encumbered or
alienated, except when the public service requires their
being leased or exchanged, with the approval of the
Governor-General, for other lands belonging to private
parties, or if the Legislature disposes otherwise.
Section 67. Any tract of public land of the class covered
by this title may be sold or leased for the purpose of
founding a cemetery, church, college, school, university,
or other institution for educational, charitable, or
philanthropical purposes or scientific research, the area
to be such as may actually and reasonably be necessary
to carry out such purpose, but not to exceed ninety-six
hectares in any case. The sale or lease shall be made
subject to the same conditions as required for the sale
and lease of agricultural public land, but the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources may waive the
condition requiring cultivation. The Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, if he sees fit, may
order the sale to be made without public auction, at a
price to be fixed by said Secretary, or the lease to be
granted without the auction, at a rental to be fixed by
him. In either case it shall be a condition that the
purchaser or lessee or their successors or assigns shall not
sell, transfer, encumber or lease the land for the purposes
of speculation or use it for any purpose other than that
contemplated in the application, and that the violation
of this condition shall give rise to the immediate rescission
of the sale or lease, as the case may be, and to the
forfeiture to the Government of all existing improvements:
PROVIDED, That it shall in no case be sublet, encumbered
or resold under the conditions above set forth except with
the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources. (As amended by section 14 of Act No. 3219).
TITLE V
RESERVATIONS
CHAPTER XI.
TOWN SITE RESERVATIONS
Section 68. Whenever it shall be considered to be in the
public interest to found a new town, the Secretary of
Agriculture .and Natural Resources shall direct the
Director of Lands to have a survey made by his Bureau of
the exterior boundaries of the site on which such town is
to be established, and upon the completion of the survey
he shall send the same to said Secretary, with his
recommendations. (As amended by section 15 of Act No.
3219).
Section 69. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, if he approves the recommendations of the
Director of Lands, shall submit the matter to the
Governor-General to the end that the latter issue a
proclamation reserving the land surveyed, or such part
thereof as he may deem proper, as a town site, and a
certified copy of such proclamation shall be sent to the
Director of Lands and another to the register of deeds of
the province in which the surveyed land lies.
Section 70. It shall then be the duty of the Director of
Lands, after having recorded the proclamation of the
Governor-General and the survey accompanying, the
same, and having completed the legal proceedings
prescribed in chapter thirteen of this Act, to direct a
subdivision in accordance with the instructions of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, if there
shall be such instructions, and if there shall not be any,
then in the manner which may to the Director of Lands
seem best adapted to the convenience and interest of
the public and the residents of the future town.
Section 71. The plat of the subdivision shall designate
certain lots for commercial and industrial uses and the
remainder as residence lots, and shall also reserve and
note the lots owned by private individuals as evidenced
by record titles, or as possessed or claimed by them as
private property. Such lots, whether public or private, shall
be numbered upon a general plan or system.
The plat prepared by the Director of Lands shall be
submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources for consideration, modification, amendment,
or approval.
Section 72. Unless the necessary reservations are made in
the proclamation of the Governor-General, the Director
of Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources, shall reserve out of the land by
him to be subdivided lots of sufficient size and convenient
situation for public use, as well as the necessary avenue,
streets, alleyways, parks, and squares. The avenues,
streets, alleys parks plazas, and lots shall be laid out on the
plat as though the lands owned or claimed by private
persons were part of the public domain and part of the
reservation, with a view to the possible subsequent
purchase or condemnation thereof, if deemed necessary
by the proper authorities.
Section 73. At any time, after the subdivision has been
made, the Governor-General may, in case the public
interest requires it, reserve for public purposes any lot or
lots of the land so reserved and not disposed of.
Section 74. If, in order to carry out the provisions of this
chapter, it shall be necessary to condemn private lands
within the limits of the new town, the Governor-General
shall direct the Attorney-General or officer acting in his
stead to at once begin proceedings for condemnation,
in accordance with the provisions of existing law.
Section 75. When the plat of subdivision has been finally
approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, the Director of Lands shall record the same in
the records of his office and shall forward a certified copy
of such record to the register of deeds of the province in
which the land lies, to be by such register recorded in the
records of his office.
Section 76. All lots, except those claimed by or belonging
to private parties and those reserved for parks, buildings,
and other public uses, shall be sold, after due notice, at
public auction to the highest bidder, after the approval
and recording of the plat of subdivision as above
provided, but no bid shall be accepted that does not
equal at lease two-thirds of the appraised value, nor shall
bids be accepted from persons, corporations,
associations, or partnerships not authorized to purchase
public lands for commercial, residential or industrial
purposes under the provisions of this Act. The provisions of
section twenty-seven and sixty two of this Act shall be
observed in so far as they are applicable. Lots for which
satisfactory bids have not been received shall be again
offered for sale, under the same conditions as the first
time, and if they then remain unsold, the Director of Lands
shall be authorized to sell them at private sale for not less
than two-thirds of their appraised value. (As amended by
section 17 of Act No. 3517).
Section 77. All funds derived from the sale of lots shall be
covered into the Insular Treasury as part of the general
funds.
Section 78. Not more than two residence lots and two lots
for commercial and industrial uses in any one town site
shall be sold to any one person, corporation, or
association without the specific approval of the Secretary
of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Section 79. This Legislature shall have the power at any
time to modify, alter, rescind, repeal, annul, and cancel,
with or without conditions, limitations, exceptions, or
reservations, all and any dispositions made by the
executive branch of the Philippine Government by virtue
of this chapter, and the exercise of this power shall be
understood as reserved in all cases, as an inherent
condition thereof.
CHAPTER XII
RESERVATIONS FOR PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC PURPOSES
Section 80. Upon receipt of the order of the President of
the United States, the Governor-General shall, by
proclamation, designate such land as the President of the
United States may set aside for military, naval, or other
reservations for the use of the Government of the United
States.
Section 81. Upon the recommendation of the Secretary
of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the
Governor-General may designate by proclamation any
tract or tracts of land of the public domain as reservations
for the use of the Government of the Philippine Islands or
of any of its branches, or of the inhabitants thereof, in
accordance with regulations prescribed for this purpose,
or for quasi-public uses or purposes when the public
interest requires it, including reservations for highways,
rights of way for railroads, hydraulic power sites, irrigation
system, communal pastures or leguas communales,
public parks, public quarries, public fishponds, and other
improvements for the public benefit. (As amended by
section 16 of Act No. 3219).
Section 82. Upon the recommendation of the Secretary
of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the
Governor-General may, by proclamation, designate any
tract or tracts of the public domain for the exclusive use
of the non-Christian natives, including in the reservation, in
so far as practicable, the lands used or possessed by
them, and granting to each member not already the
owner, by title or gratuitous patent, of four or more
hectares of land, the use and benefit only of a tract of
land not to exceed four hectares for each male member
over eighteen years of age or the head of a family. As
soon as the Secretary of the Interior shall certify that the
majority of the non-Christian inhabitants of any given
reservation have advanced sufficiently in civilization, then
the Governor-General may order that the lands of the
public domain within such reservation be granted under
the general provisions of this Act to the said inhabitants,
and the subdivision and distribution of said lands as
above provided shall be taken into consideration in the
final disposition of the same. But any non-Christian
inhabitant may at any time apply for the general benefits
of this Act, provided the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources is satisfied that such inhabitant is
qualified to take advantage of the provisions of the same:
PROVIDED, That all grants, deeds, patents and other
instruments of conveyance of land or purporting to
convey or transfer rights of property, privileges, or
easements appertaining to or growing out of lands,
granted by sultans, datus, or other chiefs of the so-called
non-Christians tribes, without the authority of the Spanish
Government while the Philippine Islands were under the
sovereignty of Spain, or without the consent of the United
States Government or of the Philippine Government since
the sovereignty of the Archipelago was transferred from
Spain to the United States, and all deeds and other
documents executed or issued or based upon the deeds,
patents, and documents mentioned, are hereby
declared to illegal, void, and of no effect. (As amended
by section 18 of Act No. 3517).
PROVISIONS COMMON TO RESERVATIONS
Section 84. A certified copy of every proclamation of the
Governor-General issued under the provisions of this title
shall forward to the Director of Lands for record in his
office, and a copy of this record shall be forwarded to the
register of deeds of the province or city where the land
lies. Upon receipt of such certified copy, the Director of
Lands shall order the immediate survey of the proposed
reservation if the land has not yet been surveyed, and as
soon as the plat has been completed, he shall proceed in
accordance with the next following section.
Section 85. If all the lands included in the proclamation of
the Governor-General are not registered under the Land
Registration Act, the Attorney-General, if requested to do
so by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of
section fifty of this Act.
Section 86. The tract or tracts of land reserved under the
provisions of section eighty and eighty-one shall be
non-alienable and shall not be subject to occupation,
entry, sale, lease, or other disposition until again declared
alienable under the provisions of this Act or by
proclamation of the Governor-General. (As amended by
section 19 of Act No. 3715).
TITLE VI
GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER XIV.

Section 83. Upon recommendation by the Secretary of APPLICATIONS, PROCEDURE, CONCESSION OF LANDS,
Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Governor-General AND LEGAL RESTRICTIONS AND ENCUMBRANCES
may, by proclamation, designate any tract or tracts of
land of the public domain for establishment of Section 87. All proclamations filed under the provisions of
agricultural colonies; and although the disposition of the this Act shall be addressed to the Director of Lands.
lands to the colonists shall be made under the provisions
of this Act, yet while the Government shall have the
Section 88. Every application under the provisions of this
supervision and management of said colonies, the
Act shall be made under oath and shall set forth:
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may
make the necessary rules and regulations for the
(a) The name and post-office address of the applicant,
organization and internal administration of the same.
stating, in the case of an individual, his citizenship, and in
the case of a corporation, association, or partnership,
The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may
accompanying a copy of its articles of incorporation or
also, under conditions to be established by the Legislature,
partnership, and, if organized outside of the Philippine
turn over a colony so reserved to any person or
Islands also the documentary evidence necessary to
corporation, in order that such person or corporation may
show that such corporation, association, or partnership
clear, break, and prepare for cultivation the lands of said
has been organized in accordance with the requirements
colony and establish the necessary irrigation system and
of the laws of the country or state where it was
suitable roads and fences; but final disposition shall be
constituted, and that it is authorized to transact business
made of the land in accordance with the provisions of
in these Islands, and if not incorporated, data showing
this Act, subject, however, to such conditions as the
that its members possess individually the qualifications
Legislature may establish for the reimbursement of the
required by this Act.
expense incurred in putting such lands in condition for
cultivation: PROVIDED, That the Legislature may direct
(b) That the applicant has all the qualifications required
that such land so prepared for cultivation may be
by this Act in the case.
disposed of only by sale or lease.

(c) That he has none of the disqualifications mentioned

CHAPTER XIII.
herein.
(d) That the application is made in good faith, for the
actual purpose of using the land for the object specified
in the application and for no other purpose, and that the
land is suitable for the purpose for which it is requested.
(e) That the application is made for the exclusive benefit
of the applicant and not, either directly or indirectly for
the benefit of any other person, or persons, corporation,
association, or partnership.
(f) As accurate a description of the land as may be given,
stating its nature, the province, municipality, barrio, and
sitio where it is located, and its limits and boundaries,
specifying those having reference to accidents of the
ground or permanent monuments, if any.
(g) Whether all or part of the land is occupied or
cultivated or improved, and by whom, giving his
post-office address, and whether the land has been
occupied or cultivated or improved by the applicant or
his ascendant, the name of the ascendant, the
relationship with him, the date and place of the death of
the ascendant, the date when the possession and
cultivation began, and a description of the improvements
made, accompanying satisfactory evidence and the
relationship of the applicant with the ascendant, and of
the death of the latter and the descendants left by him, in
case it is alleged that he occupied and cultivated the
land first; or whether there are indications of its having
been occupied, cultivated, or improved entirely or
partially, and if so, in what such indications consist,
whether he has made investigations as to when and by
whom such improvements were made, and if so, how
such investigations were made and what was the result
thereof; or whether the land is not occupied, improved,
or cultivated either entirely, or partially and there are no
indications of it having ever been occupied improved or
cultivated, and in this case, what is the condition of the
land.
(h) That the land applied for is neither timber nor mineral
land and does not contain guano or deposits of salts or
coal.
Section 89. The statements made in the application shall
be considered as essential conditions and parts of any
concession, title, or permit issued on the basis of such
application, and any false statement therein or omission
of facts altering, changing, or modifying the
consideration of the facts set forth in such statements,
and any subsequent modification, alteration, or change
of the material facts set forth in the application shall ipso
facto produce the cancellation of the concession, title, or
permit granted. It shall be the duty of the Director of
Lands, from time to time and whether he may deem it
advisable, to make the necessary investigations for the
purpose of ascertaining whether the material facts set out
in the application are true, or whether they continue to
exist and are maintained and preserved in good faith,
and for the purposes of such investigation, the Director of
Lands shall be empowered to issue subpoenas and
subpoenas duces tecum and, if necessary, to obtain
compulsory process from the courts. In every investigation
made in accordance with this section, the existence of
bad faith, fraud, concealment, or fraudulent and illegal
modification of essential facts shall be presumed if the
grantee or possessor of the land shall refuse or fail to obey
a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum lawfully issued by
the Director of Lands or his authorized delegates or
agents, or shall refuse or fail to give direct and specific
answers to pertinent questions, and on the basis of such
presumption, an order of cancellation may issue without
further proceedings.
Section 90. Although the maximum area of public land
that may be acquired is fixed, yet the spirit of this Act is
that the rule which must determine the real area to be
granted is the beneficial use of the land. The concession
or disposition shall be for less than the maximum area
authorized if at time of the issuance of the patent or of
the concession or disposition it shall appear that the
applicant is utilizing and is only able to utilize a smaller
area, even though the application is for a greater area.
For the purpose of this section, the Director of Lands is
authorized to determine the area that may be granted to
the applicant, and to deny or cancel or limit any
application for concession, purchase, or lease, if
convinced of the lack of means of the applicant for using
the land for the purpose for which he has requested it.
Section 91. Lands applied for under this Act shall conform
to the legal subdivisions and shall be contiguous if
comprising more than one subdivision. If subdivisions have
not been made on the date of the application, the lands
shall be rectangular in form so far as practicable, but it
shall be endeavored to make them conform to the legal
subdivision as soon as the same has been made,
provided the interests of the applicant or grantee are
protected; and the subdivision assigned to the applicant
or grantee shall, so far as practicable, include the land
improved or cultivated. The regulations to be issued for
the execution of the provisions of this section shall take
into account the legal subdivision to be made by the
Government and the inadvisability of granting the best
land at a given place to only one person.
Section 92. In case the legal subdivisions have already
been made at the time of the filing of the application, no
charge shall be made for the survey; but if the legal
subdivisions have not yet been made, the cost of the
survey shall be charged to the Government, except in the
following cases:
(a) In purchases under chapters five and ten of this Act;
the cost of the survey shall be charged to the purchaser if
the same is a corporation, association, or partnership; in
other purchases the purchaser, whoever it be, shall pay
the total cost of the survey.
(b) In leases, the cost of the survey shall be paid by the
lessee; but at any time after the first five years from the
approval of the lease, and during the life of the same, the
lessee shall be entitled to the reimbursement of one-half
of the cost of the survey, if he shows to the satisfaction of
the Director of Lands that he has occupied and improved
a sufficient area of the land or incurred sufficient expense
in connection therewith to warrant such reimbursement.
Section 93. If before the delimitation and survey of a tract
of public land the Governor-General shall declare the
same disposable or alienable and such land shall be
actually occupied by a person other than the applicant,
the Director of Lands shall inform the occupant of his prior
right to apply for the land and shall give him one hundred
and twenty days' time in which to file the application or
apply for the concession by any of the forms of disposition
authorized by this Act, if such occupant is qualified to
acquire a concession under this Act.
Section 94. As soon as any land of the public domain has
been surveyed, delimited, and classified, the
Governor-General may, in the order issued by him
declaring it open for disposition, designate a term within
which occupants with improvements but not entitled to
free patents may apply for the land occupied by them, if
they have the qualifications required by this Act.
Section 95. If in the case of the two last preceding
sections, the occupant or occupants have not made
application under any of the provisions of this Act at the
expiration of the time limit fixed, they shall lose any prior
right to the land recognized by this Act, and the
improvements on the land, if any, shall be forfeited to the
Government.
Section 96. (Missing portion in DENR file)
Section 97. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources may order such improvements and crops to be
appraised separately, for sale to the new applicant or
grantee, or may declare such land open only to sale or
lease.
Section 98. In case the cancellation is due to delinquency
on the part of the applicant or grantee, the same shall be
entitled to the reimbursement of the proceeds of the sale
of the improvements and crops, after deducting the total
amount of his indebtedness to the Government and the
expense incurred by it in the sale of the improvements or
crops and in the new concession of the land.
Section 99. All actions for the reversion to the Government
of lands of the public domain or improvements thereon
shall be instituted by the Attorney-General or the officer
acting in his stead, in the proper courts, in the name of
the Government of the Philippine Islands.
Section 100. Any person, corporation, or association may
file an objection under oath to any application or
concession under this Act, grounded on any reason
sufficient under this Act for the denial or cancellation of
the application or the denial of the patent or grant. If,
after the applicant or grantee has been given suitable
opportunity to be duly heard, the objection is found to be
well founded, the Director of Lands shall deny or cancel
the application or deny the patent or grant, and the
person objecting shall, if qualified, be granted a prior right
of entry for a term of sixty days from the date of the
notice.
Section 101. All the proofs, affidavits, and oaths of any
kind required or necessary under this Act may be made
before the justice of the peace or the municipality in
which the land lies, or before the judge or clerk of the
Court of First Instance of the province in which the land
lies, or before any justice of the peace or notary public of
the province in which the land lies, or before any officer
or employee of the Bureau of Lands authorized by law to
administer oaths.
The fees for the taking of final evidence before any of the
officials hereinbefore mentioned shall be as follows:
For each affidavit, fifty centavos.
For each deposition of the applicant or the witnesses, fifty
centavos.
Section 102. Any owner of uncultivated agricultural land
who knowingly permits application for the same to be
made to the Government and the land to be tilled and
improved by a bona fide grantee without protesting to
the Bureau of Lands within one year after cultivation has
begun, shall lose all right to the part of the land so
cultivated, and improved, unless he shall bring action in
the proper court before such action for recovery
prescribes and obtains favorable judgment therein, in
which case the court shall, upon its decision having
become final, order the payment to the grantee, within a
reasonable period, of the indemnity fixed by said court for
the cultivation and improvement.
Section 103. If at any time the applicant or grantee shall
die, before the issuance of the patent or the final grant of
the land, or during the life of the lease, or while the
applicant or grantee still has obligations pending towards
the Government, in accordance with this Act, he shall be
succeeded in his rights and obligations with respect to the
land applied for or granted or leased under this Act by his
heirs in law, who shall be entitled to have issued to them
the patent or final concession if they show that they have
complied with the requirements therefor, and who shall
be surrogated in all his rights and obligations for the
purposes of this Act. (As amended by section 20 of Act
No. 3517).
Section 104. If at any time after the approval of the
application and before the issuance of a patent or the
final concession of the land, or during the life of the lease,
or at any time when the applicant or grantee still has
obligations pending with the Government, in
accordance with this Act, it appears that the land
applied for is necessary, in the public interest, for the
protection of any source of water or for any work for the
public benefit that the Government wishes to undertake
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may
order the cancellation of the application or the
non-issuance of the patent or concession or the exclusion
from the land applied for of such portion as may be
required, upon payment of the value of the
improvements, if any.
Section 105. All patents or certificates for lands granted
under this Act shall be prepared in the Bureau of Lands
and shall issue in the name of the Government of the
Philippine Islands under the signature of
Governor-General, countersigned by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, but such patents or
certificates shall be effective only for the purposes
defined in section one hundred and twenty-two of the
Land Registration Act; and the actual conveyance of the
land shall be effected only as provided in said section.
Section 106. No patent shall issue nor shall any concession
or contract be finally approved unless the land has been
surveyed and an accurate plat made thereof by the
Bureau of Lands.
Section 107. In no case shall any land be granted under
the provisions of this Act when this affects injuriously the
use of any adjacent land or of the waters, rivers, creeks,
foreshore, roads, or roadsteads, or vests the grantee with
other valuable rights that may be detrimental to the
public interest.
Section 108. Patents or certificates issued under the
provisions of this Act shall not include nor convey the title
to any gold, silver, copper, iron, or other metals or
minerals, or other substances containing minerals, guano,
gums, precious stones, coal, or coal oil contained in lands
granted thereunder. These shall remain to be property of
the Government.
Section 109. All persons receiving title to lands under the
provisions of this Act, shall hold such lands subject to the
provisions hereof and to the same public servitudes as
exist upon lands owned by private persons, including
those with reference to the littoral of the sea and the
banks of navigable river or rivers upon which rafting may
be done.
Section 110. Said lands shall further be subject to a right of
way not over twenty meters in width for public highways,
railroads, irrigation ditches, aqueducts, telegraph and
telephone lines, and similar works as the Government or
any public or quasi-public service or enterprise, including
mining of forest concessionaires, may reasonably require
for carrying on their business, with damages for the
improvements only. (As amended by section 21 of Act No.
3517).
Section 111. The beneficial use of water shall be the basis,
the measure, and the limit of all rights thereto, and the
patents herein granted shall be subject to the right of the
Government to make such rules and regulations for the
use of water and the protection of the water supply, and
for other public purposes, as it may deem best for the
public good. Whenever, by priority of possession, rights to
the use of water for mining, agricultural, manufacturing,
or other purposes have vested and accrued, and the
same are recognized and acknowledged by the local
customs, or by the laws and decisions of the courts, the
possessors and owners of such vested rights shall be
maintained and protected in the same, and all patents
granted under this Act shall be subject to any vested and
accrued rights to ditches and reservoirs used in
connection with such water rights as may have been
acquired in the manner above described prior to April
eleven, eighteen hundred and ninety nine.
Section 112. There is hereby reserved from the operation
of all patents, certificates, entires, and grants by the
Government authorized under this Act, the right to use for
the purposes of power any flow of water in any stream
running through or by the land granted, the convertible
power from which at ordinary low water exceeds fifty
horse power. Where the convertible power in any stream
running through or by land granted under the authority of
this Act thus exceeds fifty horse power, and there is no
means of using such power except by the occupation of
a part of the land granted under authority of this Act,
then so much as is reasonably necessary for the mill site or
site for the power house, and for a suitable dam and site
for massing the water, is hereby excepted from such
grants, not exceeding four hectares, and a right of way to
the nearest public highway from the land thus excepted,
and also a right of way for the construction and
maintenance of such flumes, aqueducts, wires, poles, or
other conduits as may be needed in conveying the water
to the point of conversion to the point of use, is reserved
as a servitude or easement upon the land granted by
authority of this Act: PROVIDED, however, That when the
Government or any concessionaire of the Government
shall take possession of land under this section which a
grantee under this Act shall have paid for, supposing it to
be subject to grant under this Act, said grantee shall be
entitled to indemnity from the Government or the
concessionaire, as the case may be, for the amount, if
any, paid by him to the Government for the land taken
from him by virtue of this section: AND PROVIDED, FURTHER,
That with respect to the flow of water, except for
converting the same into power exceeding fifty horse
power, said grantee shall be entitled to the same use of
the water flowing through or along his land that other
private owners enjoy under the law, subject to the
governmental regulation provided in the previous section.
Water power privileges in which the convertible power at
ordinary low water shall exceed fifty horse power shall be
disposed of only upon terms established by Act of the
Legislature concerning the use, lease, or acquisition of
such water privilege.
Section 113. All the lands granted by virtue of this Act
except homestead upon which final proof has not been
made and approved, shall, even though, and while the
title remains in the Government, be subject to the
ordinary taxes which shall be paid by the grantee
beginning with the year next following the one in which
the application or concession has been approved or the
contract signed, as the case may be, on the basis of the
value fixed in such approval, concession or contract. (As
amended by section 17 of Act No. 3219).
Section 114. The appraisal or reappraisal of the lands or
improvements subject to concession or disposition under
this Act shall be made by the Director of Lands, with the
approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources. The Director of Lands may request the
assistance of the provincial treasurer of the province in
which the land lies or may appoint a committee for such
purpose in the province or in the municipality in which the
land lies. In no case shall the appraisal or reappraisal be
less than the expense incurred or which may be incurred
by the Government in connection with the application or
concession, nor shall any reappraisal be made with an
increase of more than one hundred per centum upon the
appraisal or reappraisal next preceding. (As amended by
sec. 22 of Act No. 3517).
Section 115. All sums due and payable to the
Government under this Act shall draw simple interest at
the rate of four per centum per annum from and after the
date in which the debtor shall become delinquent. The
Director of Lands may, however, remit such interest in the
case of applicants for homesteads if it shall appear that
the delinquency is due to no fault or neglect on their part.
(As amended by section 18 of Act. No. 3219).
Section 116. Except in favor of the Government or any of
its branches, units or institutions, or legally constituted
banking corporations, lands acquired under the free
patent or homestead provisions shall not be subject to
encumbrance or alienation from the date of the
approval of the application and for a term of five years
from and after the date of issuance of the patent or grant,
nor shall they become liable to the satisfaction of any
debt contracted prior to the expiration of said period; but
the improvements or crops on the land may be
mortgaged or pledged to qualified persons, associations,
or corporations. (As amended by section 23 of Act No.
3517).
Section 117. Every conveyance of land acquired under
the free patent or homestead provisions, when proper,
shall be subject to repurchase by the applicant, his
widow, or legal heirs, for a period of five years from the
date of the conveyance.
Section 118. Conveyance and encumbrance made by
persons belonging to the so-called "non-Christian tribes,"
when proper, shall not be valid unless duly approved by
the Director of the Bureau of non-Christian tribes.
Section 119. Except with the consent of the grantee and
the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, and solely for commercial, industrial,
educational, religious or charitable purposes or for a right
of way, no corporation, association, or partnership, may
acquire or have any right, title, interest, or property right
whatsoever to any land granted under the free patent,
homestead or individual sale provisions of this Act or to
any permanent improvement on such land. (As
amended by section 24 of Act. No. 3517).
Section 120. No land originally acquired in any manner
under the provisions of this Act, nor any permanent
improvement on such land, shall be encumbered,
alienated, or transferred, except to persons, corporations,
associations, or partnerships who may acquire lands of
the public domain under this Act; to corporations
organized in the Philippine Islands authorized therefor by
their charters, and upon express authorization by the
Philippine Legislature, to citizens of countries the laws of
which grant to citizens of the Philippine Islands the same
right to acquire, hold, lease, encumber, dispose of, or
alienate land, or permanent improvements thereon, or
any interest therein, as to their own citizens, only in the
manner and to the extent specified in such laws, and
while the same are in force, but not thereafter.
Section 121. No land originally acquired in any manner
under the provisions of the former Public Land Act or of
any other Act, ordinance, royal order, royal decree, or
any other provision of law formerly in force in the
Philippine Islands with regard to public lands, terrenos
baldios y realengos, or lands of any other denomination
that were actually or presumptively of the public domain,
or by royal grant or in any other form, nor any permanent
improvement on such land, shall be encumbered,
alienated, or conveyed, except to persons, corporations,
or associations who may acquire land of the public
domain under this Act; to corporate bodies organized in
the Philippine Islands whose charters may authorize them
to do so, and, upon express authorization by the
Philippine Legislature, to citizens of countries the laws of
which grant to citizens of the Philippine Islands the same
right to acquire, hold, lease, encumber, dispose of, or
alienate land or permanent improvements thereon or any
interest therein, as to their own citizens and only in the
manner and to the extent specified in such laws, and
while the same are in force, but not thereafter: PROVIDED,
however, That this prohibition shall not be applicable to
the conveyance or acquisition by reason of hereditary
succession duly acknowledged and legalized by
competent courts, nor to lands and improvements
acquired or held for industrial or residence purposes,
while used for such purposes: PROVIDED, further, That in
the event of the ownership of the lands and
improvements mentioned in this section and in the last
preceding section being transferred by judicial decree to
persons, corporations or associations not legally
capacitated to acquire the same under the provisions of
this Act, such persons, corporations, or associations shall
be obliged to alienate said lands or improvements to
others so capacitated within the precise period of five
years, under the penalty of such property reverting to the
Government in the contrary case.
Section 122. Any acquisition, conveyance, alienation,
transfer, or other contract made or executed in violation
of any of the provisions of sections one hundred and
sixteen, one hundred and eighteen, one hundred
nineteen, one hundred and twenty, and one hundred
and twenty-one of this act shall be unlawful and null and
void from its execution and shall produce the effect of
annulling and canceling the grant, title, patent, or permit
originally issued, recognized, or confirmed, actually or
presumptively, and cause the reversion of the property
and its improvements to the Government.
Section 122(A). The provisions of sections twenty three,
twenty four, thirty four, fifty seven, one hundred and
twenty, and one hundred and twenty-one of this Act, and
any other provisions or provisions restricting or tending to
restrict the right of persons, corporations, or associations
to acquire, hold, lease, encumber, dispose of, or alienate
land in the Philippines, or permanent improvements
thereon, or any interest therein, shall not be applied in
cases in which the right to acquire, hold or dispose of
such land, permanent improvements thereon or interests
therein in the Philippine Islands is recognized by existing
treaties in favor of citizens or subjects of foreign nations
and corporations or associations organized and
constituted by the same, which right in so far as it exists
under such treatise, shall continue and subsist in the
manner and to the extent stipulated in said treaties, and
only while these are in force, but not thereafter.
CHAPTER XV.
PENAL PROVISIONS
Section 123. Any person who presents or causes to be
presented, or cooperates in the presentation of, any false
application, declaration, or evidence, or makes or causes
to be made or cooperates in the making of a false
affidavit in support of any petition, claim, or objection
respecting lands of the public domain, shall be deemed
guilty of perjury and punished accordingly.
Section 124. Any person who voluntarily and maliciously
prevents or hinders or attempts to prevent or hinder the
presentation of any application for public land under this
Act, or who in any manner attempts to execute or
executes acts intended to dissuade or discourage, or aid
to dissuade or discharge, the acquisition of public lands,
shall be deemed guilty of coercion and to be punished
accordingly.
Section 125. Any person who sells forms issued and
distributed gratuitously under this Act or who, being an
officer charged with distributing them, refuses or fails,
without sufficient reason, to furnish the same, shall be
punished for each offense by a fine of not more than one
hundred pesos or by imprisonment for not more than
three months, or both, in the discretion of the court.
Section 125(A). Any person, corporation, association or
partnership not qualified or no longer authorized to apply
for public land under the provisions of this Act who files or
induces or knowingly permits another person, corporation,
association or partnership to file an application in his or its
behalf or for his or its interest, benefit or advantage, shall
be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred or
more than five thousand pesos or by imprisonment for not
less than two months nor more than five years, or both, in
the discretion of the court, and the cancellation of the
application.
Section 126. Any person who, without having the
qualifications required by this Act, shall by deceit or fraud
acquire or attempt to acquire lands of the public domain
or other real property, or any right, title, or interest, or
property right of any class to the same, and any person
aiding and abetting him therein or serving as a means or
tool therefor, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a
fine of not more than five thousand pesos, or by
imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, in the
discretion of the court.
TITLE VII
FINAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER XVI.
EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS ACT
Section 127. If, for any reason, any section or provision of
this Act is challenged in a competent court and is held to
be unconstitutional or invalid or if, for any reason, the
President of the United States excepts from his approval
or the United States Congress repeals or declares invalid,
any section or provisions of this Act, none of the other
sections or provisions thereof shall be affected thereby
and such other section and provisions shall continue to
govern as if the section or provisions so annulled,
disapproved, or repealed had never been incorporated
in this Act, and lieu of the section or provision so annulled,
disapproved, or repealed, the provisions of the law on the
subject thereof in force prior to the approval of this Act
shall govern until the Legislature shall other wise provide in
the premises.
In case the President of the United States should have any
objection to any provision or provisions of this Act, these
shall not take effect, notwithstanding the approval of this
Act by the President, and in the meantime the provisions
of law on the subject thereof in force prior to the approval
of this Act shall continue to govern instead of the section
or provision objected. The Philippine Legislature shall, in
view of the objections of the President, take such action
as it may see fit at the next regular session held after the
action of the President, and whatever action the
Legislature may then take shall be submitted to the
President, for his final sanction.
Section 128. Act Numbered Nine hundred and twenty six
known as the "Public Land Act," and all acts and
regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed.
Section 129. This Act shall take effect on July first, nineteen,
hundred and nineteen, unless the Governor-General shall,
in the proclamation announcing its effectiveness,
designate a date prior to July first, nineteen hundred and
nineteen, but posterior to the date of the approval of this
Act by the Philippine Legislature, in which case this Act
shall take effect on the date so designated.
 Fourteenth Congress
Third Regular Session
Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the
twenty-seventh day of July, two thousand nine.
REPUBLIC ACT No. 10023
AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF FREE PATENTS TO
RESIDENTAL LANDS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the Philippine Congress Assembled:
Section 1. Qualifications. - Any Filipino citizen who is an
actual occupant of a residential land may apply for a
Free Patent Title under this Act: Provided; That in highly
urbanized cities, the land should not exceed two hundred
(200) square meters; in other cities, it should not exceed
five hundred (500) square meters; in first class and second
class municipalities, it should not exceed seven hundred
fifty (750) square meters; and in all other municipalities, it
should not exceed one thousand (1,000) square
meters; Provided, further, That the land applied for is not
needed for public service and/or public use.
Section 2. Coverage. - This Act shall cover all lands that
are zoned as residential areas, including townsites as
defined under the Public Land Act; Provided, That none
of the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 705 shall be
violated.
Zoned residential areas located inside a delisted military
reservation or abandoned military camp, and those of
local government units (LGUs) or townsites which
preceded Republic Act No. 7586 or the National
Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) law, shall also
be covered by this Act.
Section 3. Application. - The application on the land
applied for shall be supported by a map based on an
actual survey conducted by a licensed geodetic
engineer and approved by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and a
technical description of the land applied for together
with supporting affidavit of two (2) disinterested persons
who are residing in the barangay of the city or
municipality where the land is located, attesting to the
truth of the facts contained in the application to the
effect that the applicant thereof has, either by himself or
through his predecessor-in-interest, actually resided on
and continuously possessed and occupied, under a bona
fide claim of acquisition of ownership, the land applied
for at least ten (10) years and has complied with the
requirements prescribed in Section 1 hereof.
Section 4. Special Patents. - Notwithstanding any
provision of law to the contrary and subject to private
rights, if any, public land actually occupied and used for
public schools, municipal halls, public plazas or parks and
other government institutions for public use or purpose
may be issued special patents under the name of the
national agency or LGU concerned: Provided, That all
lands titled under this section shall not be disposed of
unless sanctioned by Congress if owned by the national
agency or sanctioned by the sanggunian concerned
through an approved ordinance if owned by the LGU.
Section 5. Removal of Restrictions. - The restrictions
regarding encumbrances, conveyances, transfers or
dispositions imposed in Sections 118, 119,121, 122 and 123
of Chapter XII, Title VI of Commonwealth Act No. 141 as
amended, shall not apply to patents issued under this
Act.
Section 6. Period for Application. - All applications shall be
filed immediately after the effectivity of this Act before
the Community Environment and Natural Resources
Office (CENRO) of the DENR. The CENRO is mandated to
process the application within one hundred and twenty
(120) days to include compliance with the required
notices and other legal requirements, and forward this
recommendation to the Provincial Environment and
Natural Resources Office (PENRO), who shall have five (5)
days to approve or disapprove the patent. In case of
approval, patent shall be issued; in case of conflicting
claims among different claimants, the parties may seek
the proper judicial remedies.1avvphi1
Section 7. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The
Director of the Land Management Bureau of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
shall promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the
provisions of this Act, and shall see to it that such are
gender responsive.
Section 8. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees,
executive order, executive issuance's or letters of
instruction, rules and regulations or any part thereof
inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act
are hereby deemed repealed, amended or modified
accordingly.
Section 9. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason or
reasons, any part or parts of this Act shall be declared
unconstitutional or invalid by any competent court, other
parts of this Act shall be thereby shall continue to be in full
force and effect.
Section 10. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect
fifteen days (15) after its publication in two (2) national
newspapers of general education.
Approved
(Sgd.) JUAN PONCE (Sgd.) PROSPERO C.
ENRILE NOGRALES
President of the Senate Speaker of the House of
Representatives
This Act which is a consolidation of House Bill No. 5618 and
Senate Bill No. 3429 was finally passed by the House of
Representatives and Senate on December 18, 2009.
(Sgd.) EMMA LIRIO-REYES (Sgd.) MARILYN B.
Secretary of Senate BARUA-YAP
Secretary General
House of Representatives
Approved: March 9, 2010
(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Philippines
Republic Act No. 8371
October 29, 1997
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES
METRO MANILA
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8371
AN ACT TO RECOGNIZE, PROTECT AND PROMOTE THE
RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS CULTURAL
COMMUNITIES/INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, CREATING A
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES,
ESTABLISHING IMPLEMENTING MECHANISMS,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
CHAPTER I
General Provisions
SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as
“The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997”.
SECTION 2. Declaration of State Policies. — The
State shall recognize and promote all the rights of
Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples
(ICCs/IPs) hereunder enumerated within the framework of
the Constitution:
a) The State shall recognize and promote the
rights of ICCs/IPs within the framework of national unity
and development;
b) The State shall protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to
their ancestral domains to ensure their economic, social
and cultural well being and shall recognize the
applicability of customary laws governing property rights
or relations in determining the ownership and extent of
ancestral domain;
c) The State shall recognize, respect and protect
the rights of ICCs/IPs to preserve and develop their
cultures, traditions and institutions. It shall consider these
rights in the formulation of national laws and policies;
d) The State shall guarantee that members of the
ICCs/IPs regardless of sex, shall equally enjoy the full
measure of human rights and freedoms without
distinction or discrimination;
e) The State shall take measures, with the
participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned, to protect their
rights and guarantee respect for their cultural integrity,
and to ensure that members of the ICCs/IPs benefit on an
equal footing from the rights and opportunities which
national laws and regulations grant to other members of
the population; and
f) The State recognizes its obligations to respond
to the strong expression of the ICCs/IPs for cultural
integrity by assuring maximum ICC/IP participation in the
direction of education, health, as well as other services of
ICCs/IPs, in order to render such services more responsive
to the needs and desires of these communities.
Towards these ends, the State shall institute and establish
the necessary mechanisms to enforce and guarantee the
realization of these rights, taking into consideration their
customs, traditions, values, beliefs, interests and institutions,
and to adopt and implement measures to protect their
rights to their ancestral domains.
CHAPTER II
Definition of Terms
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. — For purposes of
this Act, the following terms shall mean:
a) Ancestral Domains — Subject to Section 56
hereof, refer to all areas generally belonging to ICCs/IPs
comprising lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and
natural resources therein, held under a claim of
ownership, occupied or possessed by ICCs/IPs, by
themselves or through their ancestors, communally or
individually since time immemorial, continuously to the
present except when interrupted by war, force majeure
or displacement by force, deceit, stealth or as a
consequence of government projects or any other
voluntary dealings entered into by government and
private individuals/corporations, and which are necessary
to ensure their economic, social and cultural welfare. It
shall include ancestral lands, forests, pasture, residential,
agricultural, and other lands individually owned whether
alienable and disposable or otherwise, hunting grounds,
burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, mineral
and other natural resources, and lands which may no
longer be exclusively occupied by ICCs/IPs but from
which they traditionally had access to for their
subsistence and traditional activities, particularly the
home ranges of ICCs/IPs who are still nomadic and/or
shifting cultivators;
b) Ancestral Lands — Subject to Section 56 hereof,
refers to land occupied, possessed and utilized by
individuals, families and clans who are members of the
ICCs/IPs since time immemorial, by themselves or through
their predecessors-in-interest, under claims of individual or
traditional group ownership, continuously, to the present
except when interrupted by war, force majeure or
displacement by force, deceit, stealth, or as a
consequence of government projects and other
voluntary dealings entered into by government and
private individuals/corporations, including, but not limited
to, residential lots, rice terraces or paddies, private forests,
swidden farms and tree lots;
c) Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title — refers to
a title formally recognizing the rights of possession and
ownership of ICCs/IPs over their ancestral domains
identified and delineated in accordance with this law;
d) Certificate of Ancestral Lands Title — refers to a
title formally recognizing the rights of ICCs/IPs over their
ancestral lands;
e) Communal Claims — refer to claims on land,
resources and rights thereon, belonging to the whole
community within a defined territory;
f) Customary Laws — refer to a body of written
and/or unwritten rules, usages, customs and practices
traditionally and continually recognized, accepted and
observed by respective ICCs/IPs;
g) Free and Prior Informed Consent — as used in
this Act shall mean the consensus of all members of the
ICCs/IPs to be determined in accordance with their
respective customary laws and practices, free from any
external manipulation, interference and coercion, and
obtained after fully disclosing the intent and scope of the
activity, in a language and process understandable to
the community;
h) Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous
Peoples — refer to a group of people or homogenous
societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by
others, who have continuously lived as organized
community on communally bounded and defined
territory, and who have, under claims of ownership since
time immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such
territories, sharing common bonds of language, customs,
traditions and other distinctive cultural traits, or who have,
through resistance to political, social and cultural inroads
of colonization, non-indigenous religions and cultures,
became historically differentiated from the majority of
Filipinos. ICCs/IPs shall likewise include peoples who are
regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from
the populations which inhabited the country, at the time
of conquest or colonization, or at the time of inroads of
non-indigenous religions and cultures, or the
establishment of present state boundaries, who retain
some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and
political institutions, but who may have been displaced
from their traditional domains or who may have resettled
outside their ancestral domains;
i) Indigenous Political Structures — refer to
organizational and cultural leadership systems, institutions,
relationships, patterns and processes for decision-making
and participation, identified by ICCs/IPs such as, but not
limited to, Council of Elders, Council of Timuays, Bodong
Holders, or any other tribunal or body of similar nature;
j) Individual Claims — refer to claims on land and
rights thereon which have been devolved to individuals,
families and clans including, but not limited to, residential
lots, rice terraces or paddies and tree lots;
k) National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
(NCIP) — refers to the office created under this Act, which
shall be under the Office of the President, and which shall
be the primary government agency responsible for the
formulation and implementation of policies, plans and
programs to recognize, protect and promote the rights of
ICCs/IPs;
l) Native Title — refers to pre-conquest rights to
lands and domains which, as far back as memory
reaches, have been held under a claim of private
ownership by ICCs/IPs, have never been public lands and
are thus indisputably presumed to have been held that
way since before the Spanish Conquest;
m) Nongovernment Organization — refers to a
private, nonprofit voluntary organization that has been
organized primarily for the delivery of various services to
the ICCs/IPs and has an established track record for
effectiveness and acceptability in the community where
it serves;
n) People’s Organization — refers to a private,
nonprofit voluntary organization of members of an ICC/IP
which is accepted as representative of such ICCs/IPs;
o) Sustainable Traditional Resource Rights — refer
to the rights of ICCs/IPs to sustainably use, manage,
protect and conserve a) land, air, water, and minerals; b)
plants, animals and other organisms; c) collecting, fishing
and hunting grounds; d) sacred sites; and e) other areas
of economic, ceremonial and aesthetic value in
accordance with their indigenous knowledge, beliefs,
systems and practices; and
p) Time Immemorial — refers to a period of time
when as far back as memory can go, certain ICCs/IPs are
known to have occupied, possessed in the concept of
owner, and utilized a defined territory devolved to them,
by operation of customary law or inherited from their
ancestors, in accordance with their customs and
traditions.
CHAPTER III
Rights to Ancestral Domains
SECTION 4. Concept of Ancestral Lands/Domains.
— Ancestral lands/domains shall include such concepts
of territories which cover not only the physical
environment but the total environment including the
spiritual and cultural bonds to the areas which the
ICCs/IPs possess, occupy and use and to which they have
claims of ownership.
SECTION 5. Indigenous Concept of Ownership. —
Indigenous concept of ownership sustains the view that
ancestral domains and all resources found therein shall
serve as the material bases of their cultural integrity. The
indigenous concept of ownership generally holds that
ancestral domains are the ICC’s/IP’s private but
community property which belongs to all generations
and therefore cannot be sold, disposed or destroyed. It
likewise covers sustainable traditional resource rights.
SECTION 6. Composition of Ancestral
Lands/Domains. — Ancestral lands and domains shall
consist of all areas generally belonging to ICCs/IPs as
referred under Sec. 3, items (a) and (b) of this Act.
SECTION 7. Rights to Ancestral Domains. — The
rights of ownership and possession of ICCs/IPs to their
ancestral domains shall be recognized and protected.
Such rights shall include:
a) Right of Ownership. — The right to claim
ownership over lands, bodies of water traditionally and
actually occupied by ICCs/IPs, sacred places, traditional
hunting and fishing grounds, and all improvements made
by them at any time within the domains;
b) Right to Develop Lands and Natural Resources.
— Subject to Section 56 hereof, right to develop, control
and use lands and territories traditionally occupied,
owned, or used; to manage and conserve natural
resources within the territories and uphold the
responsibilities for future generations; to benefit and share
the profits from allocation and utilization of the natural
resources found therein; the right to negotiate the terms
and conditions for the exploration of natural resources in
the areas for the purpose of ensuring ecological,
environmental protection and the conservation measures,
pursuant to national and customary laws; the right to an
informed and intelligent participation in the formulation
and implementation of any project, government or
private, that will affect or impact upon the ancestral
domains and to receive just and fair compensation for
any damages which they may sustain as a result of the
project; and the right to effective measures by the
government to prevent any interference with, alienation
and encroachment upon these rights;
c) Right to Stay in the Territories. — The right to
stay in the territory and not to be removed therefrom. No
ICCs/IPs will be relocated without their free and prior
informed consent, nor through any means other than
eminent domain. Where relocation is considered
necessary as an exceptional measure, such relocation
shall take place only with the free and prior informed
consent of the ICCs/IPs concerned and whenever
possible, they shall be guaranteed the right to return to
their ancestral domains, as soon as the grounds for
relocation cease to exist. When such return is not possible,
as determined by agreement or through appropriate
procedures, ICCs/IPs shall be provided in all possible
cases with lands of quality and legal status at least equal
to that of the land previously occupied by them, suitable
to provide for their present needs and future
development. Persons thus relocated shall likewise be fully
compensated for any resulting loss or injury;
d) Right in Case of Displacement. — In case
displacement occurs as a result of natural catastrophes,
the State shall endeavor to resettle the displaced ICCs/IPs
in suitable areas where they can have temporary life
support systems: Provided, That the displaced ICCs/IPs
shall have the right to return to their abandoned lands
until such time that the normalcy and safety of such lands
shall be determined: Provided, further, That should their
ancestral domain cease to exist and normalcy and safety
of the previous settlements are not possible, displaced
ICCs/IPs shall enjoy security of tenure over lands to which
they have been resettled: Provided, furthermore, That
basic services and livelihood shall be provided to them to
ensure that their needs are adequately addressed;
e) Right to Regulate Entry of Migrants. — Right to
regulate the entry of migrant settlers and organizations
into the domains;
f) Right to Safe and Clean Air and Water. — For
this purpose, the ICCs/IPs shall have access to integrated
systems for the management of their inland waters and
air space;
g) Right to Claim Parts of Reservations. — The right
to claim parts of the ancestral domains which have been
reserved for various purposes, except those reserved and
intended for common public welfare and service; and
h) Right to Resolve Conflict. — Right to resolve
land conflicts in accordance with customary laws of the
area where the land is located, and only in default
thereof shall the complaints be submitted to amicable
settlement and to the Courts of Justice whenever
necessary.
SECTION 8. Rights to Ancestral Lands. — The right of
ownership and possession of the ICCs/IPs to their
ancestral lands shall be recognized and protected.
a) Right to transfer land/property. — Such right
shall include the right to transfer land or property rights
to/among members of the same ICCs/IPs, subject to
customary laws and traditions of the community
concerned.
b) Right to Redemption. — In cases where it is
shown that the transfer of land/property rights by virtue of
any agreement or devise, to a non-member of the
concerned ICCs/IPs is tainted by the vitiated consent of
the ICCs/IPs, or is transferred for an unconscionable
consideration or price, the transferor ICC/IP shall have the
right to redeem the same within a period not exceeding
fifteen (15) years from the date of transfer.
SECTION 9. Responsibilities of ICCs/IPs to their
Ancestral Domains. — ICCs/IPs occupying a duly certified
ancestral domain shall have the following responsibilities:
a) Maintain Ecological Balance. — To preserve,
restore, and maintain a balanced ecology in the
ancestral domain by protecting the flora and fauna,
watershed areas, and other reserves;
b) Restore Denuded Areas. — To actively initiate,
undertake and participate in the reforestation of
denuded areas and other development programs and
projects subject to just and reasonable remuneration;
and
c) Observe Laws. — To observe and comply with
the provisions of this Act and the rules and regulations for
its effective implementation.
SECTION 10. Unauthorized and Unlawful Intrusion. —
Unauthorized and unlawful intrusion upon, or use of any
portion of the ancestral domain, or any violation of the
rights hereinbefore enumerated, shall be punishable
under this law. Furthermore, the Government shall take
measures to prevent non-ICCs/IPs from taking advantage
of the ICCs/IPs customs or lack of understanding of laws
to secure ownership, possession of land belonging to said
ICCs/IPs.
SECTION 11. Recognition of Ancestral Domain Rights.
— The rights of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains by
virtue of Native Title shall be recognized and respected.
Formal recognition, when solicited by ICCs/IPs concerned,
shall be embodied in a Certificate of Ancestral Domain
Title (CADT), which shall recognize the title of the
concerned ICCs/IPs over the territories identified and
delineated.
SECTION 12. Option to Secure Certificate of Title
Under Commonwealth Act 141, as amended, or the Land
Registration Act 496. — Individual members of cultural
communities, with respect to their individually-owned
ancestral lands who, by themselves or through their
predecessors-in-interest, have been in continuous
possession and occupation of the same in the concept of
owner since time immemorial or for a period of not less
than thirty (30) years immediately preceding the approval
of this Act and uncontested by the members of the same
ICCs/IPs shall have the option to secure title to their
ancestral lands under the provisions of Commonwealth
Act 141, as amended, or the Land Registration Act 496.
For this purpose, said individually-owned ancestral lands,
which are agricultural in character and actually used for
agricultural, residential, pasture, and tree farming
purposes, including those with a slope of eighteen
percent (18%) or more, are hereby classified as alienable
and disposable agricultural lands.
The option granted under this section shall be exercised
within twenty (20) years from the approval of this Act.
CHAPTER IV
Right to Self-Governance and Empowerment
SECTION 13. Self-Governance. — The State
recognizes the inherent right of ICCs/IPs to
self-governance and self-determination and respects the
integrity of their values, practices and institutions.
Consequently, the State shall guarantee the right of
ICCs/IPs to freely pursue their economic, social and
cultural development.
SECTION 14. Support for Autonomous Regions. — The
State shall continue to strengthen and support the
autonomous regions created under the Constitution as
they may require or need. The State shall likewise
encourage other ICCs/IPs not included or outside Muslim
Mindanao and the Cordilleras to use the form and
content of their ways of life as may be compatible with
the fundamental rights defined in the Constitution of the
Republic of the Philippines and other internationally
recognized human rights.
SECTION 15. Justice System, Conflict Resolution
Institutions, and Peace Building Processes. — The ICCs/IPs
shall have the right to use their own commonly accepted
justice systems, conflict resolution institutions, peace
building processes or mechanisms and other customary
laws and practices within their respective communities
and as may be compatible with the national legal system
and with internationally recognized human rights.
SECTION 16. Right to Participate in Decision-Making.
— ICCs/IPs have the right to participate fully, if they so
choose, at all levels of decision-making in matters which
may affect their rights, lives and destinies through
procedures determined by them as well as to maintain
and develop their own indigenous political structures.
Consequently, the State shall ensure that the ICCs/IPs
shall be given mandatory representation in policy-making
bodies and other local legislative councils.
SECTION 17. Right to Determine and Decide Priorities
for Development. — The ICCs/IPs shall have the right to
determine and decide their own priorities for
development affecting their lives, beliefs, institutions,
spiritual well-being, and the lands they own, occupy or
use. They shall participate in the formulation,
implementation and evaluation of policies, plans and
programs for national, regional and local development
which may directly affect them.
SECTION 18. Tribal Barangays. — The ICCs/IPs living in
contiguous areas or communities where they form the
predominant population but which are located in
municipalities, provinces or cities where they do not
constitute the majority of the population, may form or
constitute a separate barangay in accordance with the
Local Government Code on the creation of tribal
barangays.
SECTION 19. Role of Peoples Organizations. — The
State shall recognize and respect the role of independent
ICCs/IPs organizations to enable the ICCs/IPs to pursue
and protect their legitimate and collective interests and
aspirations through peaceful and lawful means.
SECTION 20. Means for Development/Empowerment
of ICCs/IPs. — The Government shall establish the means
for the full development/empowerment of the ICCs/IPs
own institutions and initiatives and, where necessary,
provide the resources needed therefor.
CHAPTER V
Social Justice and Human Rights
SECTION 21. Equal Protection and
Non-discrimination of ICCs/IPs. — Consistent with the
equal protection clause of the Constitution of the
Republic of the Philippines, the Charter of the United
Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
including the Convention on the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women and International Human
Rights Law, the State shall, with due recognition of their
distinct characteristics and identity, accord to the
members of the ICCs/IPs the rights, protections and
privileges enjoyed by the rest of the citizenry. It shall
extend to them the same employment rights,
opportunities, basic services, educational and other rights
and privileges available to every member of the society.
Accordingly, the State shall likewise ensure that the
employment of any form of force or coercion against
ICCs/IPs shall be dealt with by law.
The State shall ensure that the fundamental human rights
and freedoms as enshrined in the Constitution and
relevant international instruments are guaranteed also to
indigenous women. Towards this end, no provision in this
Act shall be interpreted so as to result in the diminution of
rights and privileges already recognized and accorded
to women under existing laws of general application.
SECTION 22. Rights During Armed Conflict. —
ICCs/IPs have the right to special protection and security
in periods of armed conflict. The State shall observe
international standards, in particular, the Fourth Geneva
Convention of 1949, for the protection of civilian
populations in circumstances of emergency and armed
conflict, and shall not recruit members of the ICCs/IPs
against their will into the armed forces, and in particular,
for use against other ICCs/IPs; nor recruit children of
ICCs/IPs into the armed forces under any circumstance;
nor force indigenous individuals to abandon their lands,
territories and means of subsistence, or relocate them in
special centers for military purposes under any
discriminatory condition.
SECTION 23. Freedom from Discrimination and Right
to Equal Opportunity and Treatment. — It shall be the
right of the ICCs/IPs to be free from any form of
discrimination, with respect to recruitment and conditions
of employment, such that they may enjoy equal
opportunities for admission to employment, medical and
social assistance, safety as well as other
occupationally-related benefits, informed of their rights
under existing labor legislation and of means available to
them for redress, not subject to any coercive recruitment
systems, including bonded labor and other forms of debt
servitude; and equal treatment in employment for men
and women, including the protection from sexual
harassment.
Towards this end, the State shall, within the framework of
national laws and regulations, and in cooperation with
the ICCs/IPs concerned, adopt special measures to
ensure the effective protection with regard to the
recruitment and conditions of employment of persons
belonging to these communities, to the extent that they
are not effectively protected by laws applicable to
workers in general.
ICCs/IPs shall have the right to association and freedom
for all trade union activities and the right to conclude
collective bargaining agreements with employers’
organizations. They shall likewise have the right not to be
subject to working conditions hazardous to their health,
particularly through exposure to pesticides and other
toxic substances.
SECTION 24. Unlawful Acts Pertaining to Employment.
— It shall be unlawful for any person:
a) To discriminate against any ICC/IP with respect
to the terms and conditions of employment on account
of their descent. Equal remuneration shall be paid to
ICC/IP and non-ICC/IP for work of equal value; and
b) To deny any ICC/IP employee any right or
benefit herein provided for or to discharge them for the
purpose of preventing them from enjoying any of the
rights or benefits provided under this Act.
SECTION 25. Basic Services. — The ICCs/IPs have the
right to special measures for the immediate, effective
and continuing improvement of their economic and
social conditions, including in the areas of employment,
vocational training and retraining, housing, sanitation,
health and social security. Particular attention shall be
paid to the rights and special needs of indigenous
women, elderly, youth, children and differently-abled
persons. Accordingly, the State shall guarantee the right
of ICCs/IPs to government’s basic services which shall
include, but not limited to, water and electrical facilities,
education, health, and infrastructure.
SECTION 26. Women. — ICC/IP women shall enjoy
equal rights and opportunities with men, as regards the
social, economic, political and cultural spheres of life. The
participation of indigenous women in the
decision-making process in all levels, as well as in the
development of society, shall be given due respect and
recognition.
The State shall provide full access to education, maternal
and child care, health and nutrition, and housing services
to indigenous women. Vocational, technical, professional
and other forms of training shall be provided to enable
these women to fully participate in all aspects of social life.
As far as possible, the State shall ensure that indigenous
women have access to all services in their own
languages.
SECTION 27. Children and Youth. — The State shall
recognize the vital role of the children and youth of
ICCs/IPs in nation-building and shall promote and protect
their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social
well-being. Towards this end, the State shall support all
government programs intended for the development
and rearing of the children and youth of ICCs/IPs for civic
efficiency and establish such mechanisms as may be
necessary for the protection of the rights of the
indigenous children and youth.
SECTION 28. Integrated System of Education. — The
State shall, through the NCIP, provide a complete,
adequate and integrated system of education, relevant
to the needs of the children and young people of
ICCs/IPs.
CHAPTER VI
Cultural Integrity
SECTION 29. Protection of Indigenous Culture,
Traditions and Institutions. — The State shall respect,
recognize and protect the right of ICCs/IPs to preserve
and protect their culture, traditions and institutions. It shall
consider these rights in the formulation and application of
national plans and policies.
SECTION 30. Educational Systems. — The State shall
provide equal access to various cultural opportunities to
the ICCs/IPs through the educational system, public or
private cultural entities, scholarships, grants and other
incentives without prejudice to their right to establish and
control their educational systems and institutions by
providing education in their own language, in a manner
appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and
learning. Indigenous children/youth shall have the right to
all levels and forms of education of the State.
SECTION 31. Recognition of Cultural Diversity. — The
State shall endeavor to have the dignity and diversity of
the cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations of the
ICCs/IPs appropriately reflected in all forms of education,
public information and cultural-educational exchange.
Consequently, the State shall take effective measures, in
consultation with ICCs/IPs concerned, to eliminate
prejudice and discrimination and to promote tolerance,
understanding and good relations among ICCs/IPs and
all segments of society. Furthermore, the Government
shall take effective measures to ensure that the
State-owned media duly reflect indigenous cultural
diversity. The State shall likewise ensure the participation
of appropriate indigenous leaders in schools,
communities and international cooperative undertakings
like festivals, conferences, seminars and workshops to
promote and enhance their distinctive heritage and
values.
SECTION 32. Community Intellectual Rights. —
ICCs/IPs have the right to practice and revitalize their own
cultural traditions and customs. The State shall preserve,
protect and develop the past, present and future
manifestations of their cultures as well as the right to the
restitution of cultural, intellectual, religious, and spiritual
property taken without their free and prior informed
consent or in violation of their laws, traditions and
customs.
SECTION 33. Rights to Religious, Cultural Sites and
Ceremonies. — ICCs/IPs shall have the right to manifest,
practice, develop, and teach their spiritual and religious
traditions, customs and ceremonies; the right to maintain,
protect and have access to their religious and cultural
sites; the right to use and control of ceremonial objects;
and, the right to the repatriation of human remains.
Accordingly, the State shall take effective measures, in
cooperation with the ICCs/IPs concerned, to ensure that
indigenous sacred places, including burial sites, be
preserved, respected and protected. To achieve this
purpose, it shall be unlawful to:
a) Explore, excavate or make diggings on
archeological sites of the ICCs/IPs for the purpose of
obtaining materials of cultural values without the free and
prior informed consent of the community concerned; and
b) Deface, remove or otherwise destroy artifacts
which are of great importance to the ICCs/IPs for the
preservation of their cultural heritage.
SECTION 34. Right to Indigenous Knowledge Systems
and Practices and to Develop own Sciences and
Technologies. — ICCs/IPs are entitled to the recognition
of the full ownership and control and protection of their
cultural and intellectual rights. They shall have the right to
special measures to control, develop and protect their
sciences, technologies and cultural manifestations,
including human and other genetic resources, seeds,
including derivatives of these resources, traditional
medicines and health practices, vital medicinal plants,
animals and minerals, indigenous knowledge systems and
practices, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora,
oral traditions, literature, designs, and visual and
performing arts.
SECTION 35. Access to Biological and Genetic
Resources. — Access to biological and genetic resources
and to indigenous knowledge related to the conservation,
utilization and enhancement of these resources, shall be
allowed within ancestral lands and domains of the
ICCs/IPs only with a free and prior informed consent of
such communities, obtained in accordance with
customary laws of the concerned community.
SECTION 36. Sustainable Agro-Technical
Development. — The State shall recognize the right of
ICCs/IPs to a sustainable agro-technological
development and shall formulate and implement
programs of action for its effective implementation. The
State shall likewise promote the bio-genetic and resource
management systems among the ICCs/IPs and shall
encourage cooperation among government agencies to
ensure the successful sustainable development of
ICCs/IPs.
SECTION 37. Funds for Archeological and Historical
Sites. — The ICCs/IPs shall have the right to receive from
the national government all funds especially earmarked
or allocated for the management and preservation of
their archeological and historical sites and artifacts with
the financial and technical support of the national
government agencies.
CHAPTER VII
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)
SECTION 38. National Commission on Indigenous
Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). — To
carry out the policies herein set forth, there shall be
created the National Commission on ICCs/IPs (NCIP),
which shall be the primary government agency
responsible for the formulation and implementation of
policies, plans and programs to promote and protect the
rights and well-being of the ICCs/IPs and the recognition
of their ancestral domains as well as the rights thereto.
SECTION 39. Mandate. — The NCIP shall protect and
promote the interest and well-being of the ICCs/IPs with
due regard to their beliefs, customs, traditions and
institutions.
SECTION 40. Composition. — The NCIP shall be an
independent agency under the Office of the President
and shall be composed of seven (7) Commissioners
belonging to ICCs/IPs, one (1) of whom shall be the
Chairperson. The Commissioners shall be appointed by
the President of the Philippines from a list of
recommendees submitted by authentic ICCs/IPs:
Provided, That the seven (7) Commissioners shall be
appointed specifically from each of the following
ethnographic areas: Region I and the Cordilleras; Region
II; the rest of Luzon; Island Groups including Mindoro,
Palawan, Romblon, Panay and the rest of the Visayas;
Northern and Western Mindanao; Southern and Eastern
Mindanao; and Central Mindanao: Provided, That at
least two (2) of the seven (7) Commissioners shall be
women.
SECTION 41. Qualifications, Tenure, Compensation.
— The Chairperson and the six (6) Commissioners must be
natural born Filipino citizens, bona fide members of the
ICCs/IPs as certified by his/her tribe, experienced in ethnic
affairs and who have worked for at least ten (10) years
with an ICC/IP community and/or any government
agency involved in ICC/IP, at least 35 years of age at the
time of appointment, and must be of proven honesty and
integrity: Provided, That at least two (2) of the seven (7)
Commissioners shall be members of the Philippine Bar:
Provided, further, That the members of the NCIP shall hold
office for a period of three (3) years, and may be subject
to re-appointment for another term: Provided,
furthermore, That no person shall serve for more than two
(2) terms. Appointment to any vacancy shall only be for
the unexpired term of the predecessor and in no case
shall a member be appointed or designated in a
temporary or acting capacity: Provided, finally, That the
Chairperson and the Commissioners shall be entitled to
compensation in accordance with the Salary
Standardization Law.
SECTION 42. Removal from Office. — Any member of
the NCIP may be removed from office by the President,
on his own initiative or upon recommendation by any
indigenous community, before the expiration of his term
for cause and after complying with due process
requirement of law.
SECTION 43. Appointment of Commissioners. — The
President shall appoint the seven (7) Commissioners of the
NCIP within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act.
SECTION 44. Powers and Functions. — To accomplish
its mandate, the NCIP shall have the following powers,
jurisdiction and function:
a) To serve as the primary government agency
through which ICCs/IPs can seek government assistance
and as the medium, through which such assistance may
be extended;
b) To review and assess the conditions of ICCs/IPs
including existing laws and policies pertinent thereto and
to propose relevant laws and policies to address their role
in national development;
c) To formulate and implement policies, plans,
programs and projects for the economic, social and
cultural development of the ICCs/IPs and to monitor the
implementation thereof;
d) To request and engage the services and
support of experts from other agencies of government or
employ private experts and consultants as may be
required in the pursuit of its objectives;
e) To issue certificate of ancestral land/domain
title;
f) Subject to existing laws, to enter into contracts,
agreements, or arrangement, with government or private
agencies or entities as may be necessary to attain the
objectives of this Act, and subject to the approval of the
President, to obtain loans from government lending
institutions and other lending institutions to finance its
programs;
g) To negotiate for funds and to accept grants,
donations, gifts and/or properties in whatever form and
from whatever source, local and international, subject to
the approval of the President of the Philippines, for the
benefit of ICCs/IPs and administer the same in
accordance with the terms thereof; or in the absence of
any condition, in such manner consistent with the interest
of ICCs/IPs as well as existing laws;
h) To coordinate development programs and
projects for the advancement of the ICCs/IPs and to
oversee the proper implementation thereof;
i) To convene periodic conventions or assemblies
of IPs to review, assess as well as propose policies or plans;
j) To advise the President of the Philippines on all
matters relating to the ICCs/IPs and to submit within sixty
(60) days after the close of each calendar year, a report
of its operations and achievements;
k) To submit to Congress appropriate legislative
proposals intended to carry out the policies under this
Act;
l) To prepare and submit the appropriate budget
to the Office of the President;
m) To issue appropriate certification as a
pre-condition to the grant of permit, lease, grant, or any
other similar authority for the disposition, utilization,
management and appropriation by any private
individual, corporate entity or any government agency,
corporation or subdivision thereof on any part or portion
of the ancestral domain taking into consideration the
consensus approval of the ICCs/IPs concerned;
n) To decide all appeals from the decisions and
acts of all the various offices within the Commission;
o) To promulgate the necessary rules and
regulations for the implementation of this Act;
p) To exercise such other powers and functions as
may be directed by the President of the Republic of the
Philippines; and
q) To represent the Philippine ICCs/IPs in all
international conferences and conventions dealing with
indigenous peoples and other related concerns.
SECTION 45. Accessibility and Transparency. —
Subject to such limitations as may be provided by law or
by rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto,
all official records, documents and papers pertaining to
official acts, transactions or decisions, as well as research
data used as basis for policy development of the
Commission shall be made accessible to the public.
SECTION 46. Offices within the NCIP. — The NCIP shall
have the following offices which shall be responsible for
the implementation of the policies hereinafter provided:
a) Ancestral Domains Office — The Ancestral
Domain Office shall be responsible for the identification,
delineation and recognition of ancestral lands/domains.
It shall also be responsible for the management of
ancestral lands/domains in accordance with a master
plan as well as the implementation of the ancestral
domain rights of the ICCs/IPs as provided in Chapter III of
this Act. It shall also issue, upon the free and prior
informed consent of the ICCs/IPs concerned, certification
prior to the grant of any license, lease or permit for the
exploitation of natural resources affecting the interests of
ICCs/IPs or their ancestral domains and to assist the
ICCs/IPs in protecting the territorial integrity of all
ancestral domains. It shall likewise perform such other
functions as the Commission may deem appropriate and
necessary;
b) Office on Policy, Planning and Research — The
Office on Policy, Planning and Research shall be
responsible for the formulation of appropriate policies
and programs for ICCs/IPs such as, but not limited to, the
development of a Five-Year Master Plan for the ICCs/IPs.
Such plan shall undergo a process such that every five
years, the Commission shall endeavor to assess the plan
and make ramifications in accordance with the
changing situations. The Office shall also undertake the
documentation of customary law and shall establish and
maintain a Research Center that would serve as a
depository of ethnographic information for monitoring,
evaluation and policy formulation. It shall assist the
legislative branch of the national government in the
formulation of appropriate legislation benefiting ICCs/IPs;
c) Office of Education, Culture and Health — The
Office on Culture, Education and Health shall be
responsible for the effective implementation of the
education, cultural and related rights as provided in this
Act. It shall assist, promote and support community
schools, both formal and non-formal, for the benefit of the
local indigenous community, especially in areas where
existing educational facilities are not accessible to
members of the indigenous group. It shall administer all
scholarship programs and other educational rights
intended for ICC/IP beneficiaries in coordination with the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports and the
Commission on Higher Education. It shall undertake,
within the limits of available appropriation, a special
program which includes language and vocational
training, public health and family assistance program and
related subjects.
It shall also identify ICCs/IPs with potential training in the
health profession and encourage and assist them to
enroll in schools of medicine, nursing, physical therapy
and other allied courses pertaining to the health
profession.
Towards this end, the NCIP shall deploy a representative
in each of the said offices who shall personally perform
the foregoing task and who shall receive complaints from
the ICCs/IPs and compel action from appropriate
agency. It shall also monitor the activities of the National
Museum and other similar government agencies
generally intended to manage and preserve historical
and archeological artifacts of the ICCs/IPs and shall be
responsible for the implementation of such other functions
as the NCIP may deem appropriate and necessary;
d) Office on Socio-Economic Services and
Special Concerns — The Office on Socio-Economic
Services and Special Concerns shall serve as the Office
through which the NCIP shall coordinate with pertinent
government agencies specially charged with the
implementation of various basic socio-economic services,
policies, plans and programs affecting the ICCs/IPs to
ensure that the same are properly and directly enjoyed
by them. It shall also be responsible for such other
functions as the NCIP may deem appropriate and
necessary;
e) Office of Empowerment and Human Rights —
The Office of Empowerment and Human Rights shall
ensure that indigenous socio-political, cultural and
economic rights are respected and recognized. It shall
ensure that capacity building mechanisms are instituted
and ICCs/IPs are afforded every opportunity, if they so
choose, to participate in all levels of decision-making. It
shall likewise ensure that the basic human rights, and such
other rights as the NCIP may determine, subject to existing
laws, rules and regulations, are protected and promoted;
f) Administrative Office — The Administrative
Office shall provide the NCIP with economical, efficient
and effective services pertaining to personnel, finance,
records, equipment, security, supplies and related
services. It shall also administer the Ancestral Domains
Fund; and
g) Legal Affairs Office — There shall be a Legal
Affairs Office which shall advice the NCIP on all legal
matters concerning ICCs/IPs and which shall be
responsible for providing ICCs/IPs with legal assistance in
litigation involving community interest. It shall conduct
preliminary investigation on the basis of complaints filed
by the ICCs/IPs against a natural or juridical person
believed to have violated ICCs/IPs rights. On the basis of
its findings, it shall initiate the filing of appropriate legal or
administrative action to the NCIP.
SECTION 47. Other Offices. — The NCIP shall have
the power to create additional offices as it may deem
necessary subject to existing rules and regulations.
SECTION 48. Regional and Field Offices. — Existing
regional and field offices shall remain to function under
the strengthened organizational structure of the NCIP.
Other field offices shall be created wherever appropriate
and the staffing pattern thereof shall be determined by
the NCIP: Provided, That in provinces where there are
ICCs/IPs but without field offices, the NCIP shall establish
field offices in said provinces.
SECTION 49. Office of the Executive Director. — The
NCIP shall create the Office of the Executive Director
which shall serve as its secretariat. The Office shall be
headed by an Executive Director who shall be appointed
by the President of the Republic of the Philippines upon
recommendation of the NCIP on a permanent basis. The
staffing pattern of the office shall be determined by the
NCIP subject to the existing rules and regulations.
SECTION 50. Consultative Body. — A body consisting
of the traditional leaders, elders and representatives from
the women and youth sectors of the different ICCs/IPs
shall be constituted by the NCIP from time to time to
advise it on matters relating to the problems, aspirations
and interests of the ICCs/IPs.
CHAPTER VIII
Delineation and Recognition of Ancestral Domains
SECTION 51. Delineation and Recognition of
Ancestral Domains. — Self-delineation shall be the
guiding principle in the identification and delineation of
ancestral domains. As such, the ICCs/IPs concerned shall
have a decisive role in all the activities pertinent thereto.
The Sworn Statement of the Elders as to the scope of the
territories and agreements/pacts made with neighboring
ICCs/IPs, if any, will be essential to the determination of
these traditional territories. The Government shall take the
necessary steps to identify lands which the ICCs/IPs
concerned traditionally occupy and guarantee effective
protection of their rights of ownership and possession
thereto. Measures shall be taken in appropriate cases to
safeguard the right of the ICCs/IPs concerned to land
which may no longer be exclusively occupied by them,
but to which they have traditionally had access for their
subsistence and traditional activities, particularly of
ICCs/IPs who are still nomadic and/or shifting cultivators.
SECTION 52. Delineation Process. — The
identification and delineation of ancestral domains shall
be done in accordance with the following procedures:
a) Ancestral Domains Delineated Prior to this Act.
— The provisions hereunder shall not apply to ancestral
domains/lands already delineated according to DENR
Administrative Order No. 2, series of 1993, nor to ancestral
lands and domains delineated under any other
community/ancestral domain program prior to the
enactment of this law. ICCs/IPs whose ancestral
lands/domains were officially delineated prior to the
enactment of this law shall have the right to apply for the
issuance of a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT)
over the area without going through the process outlined
hereunder;
b) Petition for Delineation. — The process of
delineating a specific perimeter may be initiated by the
NCIP with the consent of the ICC/IP concerned, or
through a Petition for Delineation filed with the NCIP, by a
majority of the members of the ICCs/IPs;
c) Delineation Proper. — The official delineation
of ancestral domain boundaries including census of all
community members therein, shall be immediately
undertaken by the Ancestral Domains Office upon filing
of the application by the ICCs/IPs concerned. Delineation
will be done in coordination with the community
concerned and shall at all times include genuine
involvement and participation by the members of the
communities concerned;
d) Proof Required. — Proof of Ancestral Domain
Claims shall include the testimony of elders or community
under oath, and other documents directly or indirectly
attesting to the possession or occupation of the area
since time immemorial by such ICCs/IPs in the concept of
owners which shall be any one (1) of the following
authentic documents:
1) Written accounts of the ICCs/IPs customs and
traditions;
2) Written accounts of the ICCs/IPs political
structure and institution;
3) Pictures showing long term occupation such as
those of old improvements, burial grounds, sacred places
and old villages;
4) Historical accounts, including pacts and
agreements concerning boundaries entered into by the
ICCs/IPs concerned with other ICCs/IPs;
5) Survey plans and sketch maps;
6) Anthropological data;
7) Genealogical surveys;
8) Pictures and descriptive histories of traditional
communal forests and hunting grounds;
9) Pictures and descriptive histories of traditional
landmarks such as mountains, rivers, creeks, ridges, hills,
terraces and the like; and
10) Write-ups of names and places derived from
the native dialect of the community.
e) Preparation of Maps. — On the basis of such
investigation and the findings of fact based thereon, the
Ancestral Domains Office of the NCIP shall prepare a
perimeter map, complete with technical descriptions,
and a description of the natural features and landmarks
embraced therein;
f) Report of Investigation and Other Documents.
— A complete copy of the preliminary census and a
report of investigation, shall be prepared by the Ancestral
Domains Office of the NCIP;
g) Notice and Publication. — A copy of each
document, including a translation in the native language
of the ICCs/IPs concerned shall be posted in a prominent
place therein for at least fifteen (15) days. A copy of the
document shall also be posted at the local, provincial
and regional offices of the NCIP, and shall be published in
a newspaper of general circulation once a week for two
(2) consecutive weeks to allow other claimants to file
opposition thereto within fifteen (15) days from date of
such publication: Provided, That in areas where no such
newspaper exists, broadcasting in a radio station will be a
valid substitute: Provided, further, That mere posting shall
be deemed sufficient if both newspaper and radio station
are not available;
h) Endorsement to NCIP. — Within fifteen (15)
days from publication, and of the inspection process, the
Ancestral Domains Office shall prepare a report to the
NCIP endorsing a favorable action upon a claim that is
deemed to have sufficient proof. However, if the proof is
deemed insufficient, the Ancestral Domains Office shall
require the submission of additional evidence: Provided,
That the Ancestral Domains Office shall reject any claim
that is deemed patently false or fraudulent after
inspection and verification: Provided, further, That in case
of rejection, the Ancestral Domains Office shall give the
applicant due notice, copy furnished all concerned,
containing the grounds for denial. The denial shall be
appealable to the NCIP: Provided, furthermore, That in
cases where there are conflicting claims among ICCs/IPs
on the boundaries of ancestral domain claims, the
Ancestral Domains Office shall cause the contending
parties to meet and assist them in coming up with a
preliminary resolution of the conflict, without prejudice to
its full adjudication according to the section below.
i) Turnover of Areas Within Ancestral Domains
Managed by Other Government Agencies. — The
Chairperson of the NCIP shall certify that the area
covered is an ancestral domain. The secretaries of the
Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, Department of the
Interior and Local Government, and Department of
Justice, the Commissioner of the National Development
Corporation, and any other government agency
claiming jurisdiction over the area shall be notified thereof.
Such notification shall terminate any legal basis for the
jurisdiction previously claimed;
j) Issuance of CADT . — ICCs/IPs whose ancestral
domains have been officially delineated and determined
by the NCIP shall be issued a CADT in the name of the
community concerned, containing a list of all those
identified in the census; and
k) Registration of CADTs. — The NCIP shall register
issued certificates of ancestral domain titles and
certificates of ancestral lands titles before the Register of
Deeds in the place where the property is situated.
SECTION 53. Identification, Delineation and
Certification of Ancestral Lands. —
a) The allocation of lands within any ancestral
domain to individual or indigenous corporate (family or
clan) claimants shall be left to the ICCs/IPs concerned to
decide in accordance with customs and traditions;
b) Individual and indigenous corporate claimants
of ancestral lands which are not within ancestral domains,
may have their claims officially established by filing
applications for the identification and delineation of their
claims with the Ancestral Domains Office. An individual or
recognized head of a family or clan may file such
application in his behalf or in behalf of his family or clan,
respectively;
c) Proofs of such claims shall accompany the
application form which shall include the testimony under
oath of elders of the community and other documents
directly or indirectly attesting to the possession or
occupation of the areas since time immemorial by the
individual or corporate claimants in the concept of
owners which shall be any of the authentic documents
enumerated under Sec. 52 (d) of this Act, including tax
declarations and proofs of payment of taxes;
d) The Ancestral Domains Office may require
from each ancestral claimant the submission of such
other documents, Sworn Statements and the like, which in
its opinion, may shed light on the veracity of the contents
of the application/claim;
e) Upon receipt of the applications for
delineation and recognition of ancestral land claims, the
Ancestral Domains Office shall cause the publication of
the application and a copy of each document submitted
including a translation in the native language of the
ICCs/IPs concerned in a prominent place therein for at
least fifteen (15) days. A copy of the document shall also
be posted at the local, provincial, and regional offices of
the NCIP and shall be published in a newspaper of
general circulation once a week for two (2) consecutive
weeks to allow other claimants to file opposition thereto
within fifteen (15) days from the date of such publication:
Provided, That in areas where no such newspaper exists,
broadcasting in a radio station will be a valid substitute:
Provided, further, That mere posting shall be deemed
sufficient if both newspapers and radio station are not
available;
f) Fifteen (15) days after such publication, the
Ancestral Domains Office shall investigate and inspect
each application, and if found to be meritorious, shall
cause a parcellary survey of the area being claimed. The
Ancestral Domains Office shall reject any claim that is
deemed patently false or fraudulent after inspection and
verification. In case of rejection, the Ancestral Domains
Office shall give the applicant due notice, copy furnished
all concerned, containing the grounds for denial. The
denial shall be appealable to the NCIP. In case of
conflicting claims among individuals or indigenous
corporate claimants, the Ancestral Domains Office shall
cause the contending parties to meet and assist them in
coming up with a preliminary resolution of the conflict,
without prejudice to its full adjudication according to Sec.
62 of this Act. In all proceedings for the identification or
delineation of the ancestral domains as herein provided,
the Director of Lands shall represent the interest of the
Republic of the Philippines; and
g) The Ancestral Domains Office shall prepare
and submit a report on each and every application
surveyed and delineated to the NCIP, which shall, in turn,
evaluate the report submitted. If the NCIP finds such claim
meritorious, it shall issue a certificate of ancestral land,
declaring and certifying the claim of each individual or
corporate (family or clan) claimant over ancestral lands.
SECTION 54. Fraudulent Claims. — The Ancestral
Domains Office may, upon written request from the
ICCs/IPs, review existing claims which have been
fraudulently acquired by any person or community. Any
claim found to be fraudulently acquired by, and issued to,
any person or community may be cancelled by the NCIP
after due notice and hearing of all parties concerned.
SECTION 55. Communal Rights. — Subject to Section
56 hereof, areas within the ancestral domains, whether
delineated or not, shall be presumed to be communally
held: Provided, That communal rights under this Act shall
not be construed as co-ownership as provided in
Republic Act No. 386, otherwise known as the New Civil
Code.
SECTION 56. Existing Property Rights Regimes. —
Property rights within the ancestral domains already
existing and/or vested upon effectivity of this Act, shall be
recognized and respected.
SECTION 57. Natural Resources within Ancestral
Domains. — The ICCs/IPs shall have priority rights in the
harvesting, extraction, development or exploitation of
any natural resources within the ancestral domains. A
non-member of the ICCs/IPs concerned may be allowed
to take part in the development and utilization of the
natural resources for a period of not exceeding
twenty-five (25) years renewable for not more than
twenty-five (25) years: Provided, That a formal and written
agreement is entered into with the ICCs/IPs concerned or
that the community, pursuant to its own decision making
process, has agreed to allow such operation: Provided,
finally, That the NCIP may exercise visitorial powers and
take appropriate action to safeguard the rights of the
ICCs/IPs under the same contract.
SECTION 58. Environmental Considerations. —
Ancestral domains or portions thereof, which are found to
be necessary for critical watersheds, mangroves, wildlife
sanctuaries, wilderness, protected areas, forest cover, or
reforestation as determined by appropriate agencies
with the full participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned shall
be maintained, managed and developed for such
purposes. The ICCs/IPs concerned shall be given the
responsibility to maintain, develop, protect and conserve
such areas with the full and effective assistance of
government agencies. Should the ICCs/IPs decide to
transfer the responsibility over the areas, said decision
must be made in writing. The consent of the ICCs/IPs
should be arrived at in accordance with its customary
laws without prejudice to the basic requirements of
existing laws on free and prior informed consent: Provided,
That the transfer shall be temporary and will ultimately
revert to the ICCs/IPs in accordance with a program for
technology transfer: Provided, further, That no ICCs/IPs
shall be displaced or relocated for the purpose
enumerated under this section without the written
consent of the specific persons authorized to give
consent.
SECTION 59. Certification Precondition. — All
departments and other governmental agencies shall
henceforth be strictly enjoined from issuing, renewing, or
granting any concession, license or lease, or entering into
any production-sharing agreement, without prior
certification from the NCIP that the area affected does
not overlap with any ancestral domain. Such certification
shall only be issued after a field-based investigation is
conducted by the Ancestral Domains Office of the area
concerned: Provided, That no certification shall be issued
by the NCIP without the free and prior informed and
written consent of ICCs/IPs concerned: Provided, further,
That no department, government agency or
government-owned or -controlled corporation may issue
new concession, license, lease, or production sharing
agreement while there is a pending application for a
CADT: Provided, finally, That the ICCs/IPs shall have the
right to stop or suspend, in accordance with this Act, any
project that has not satisfied the requirement of this
consultation process.
SECTION 60. Exemption from Taxes. — All lands
certified to be ancestral domains shall be exempt from
real property taxes, special levies, and other forms of
exaction except such portion of the ancestral domains as
are actually used for large-scale agriculture, commercial
forest plantation and residential purposes or upon titling
by private persons: Provided, That all exactions shall be
used to facilitate the development and improvement of
the ancestral domains.
SECTION 61. Temporary Requisition Powers. — Prior to
the establishment of an institutional surveying capacity
whereby it can effectively fulfill its mandate, but in no
case beyond three (3) years after its creation, the NCIP is
hereby authorized to request the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) survey teams
as well as other equally capable private survey teams,
through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), to
delineate ancestral domain perimeters. The DENR
Secretary shall accommodate any such request within
one (1) month of its issuance: Provided, That the
Memorandum of Agreement shall stipulate, among
others, a provision for technology transfer to the NCIP.
SECTION 62. Resolution of Conflicts. — In cases of
conflicting interest, where there are adverse claims within
the ancestral domains as delineated in the survey plan,
and which can not be resolved, the NCIP shall hear and
decide, after notice to the proper parties, the disputes
arising from the delineation of such ancestral domains:
Provided, That if the dispute is between and/or among
ICCs/IPs regarding the traditional boundaries of their
respective ancestral domains, customary process shall be
followed. The NCIP shall promulgate the necessary rules
and regulations to carry out its adjudicatory functions:
Provided, further, That any decision, order, award or ruling
of the NCIP on any ancestral domain dispute or on any
matter pertaining to the application, implementation,
enforcement and interpretation of this Act may be
brought for Petition for Review to the Court of Appeals
within fifteen (15) days from receipt of a copy thereof.
SECTION 63. Applicable Laws. — Customary laws,
traditions and practices of the ICCs/IPs of the land where
the conflict arises shall be applied first with respect to
property rights, claims and ownerships, hereditary
succession and settlement of land disputes. Any doubt or
ambiguity in the application and interpretation of laws
shall be resolved in favor of the ICCs/IPs.
SECTION 64. Remedial Measures. — Expropriation
may be resorted to in the resolution of conflicts of interest
following the principle of the “common good”. The NCIP
shall take appropriate legal action for the cancellation of
officially documented titles which were acquired illegally:
Provided, That such procedure shall ensure that the rights
of possessors in good faith shall be respected: Provided,
further, That the action for cancellation shall be initiated
within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act:
Provided, finally, That the action for reconveyance shall
be within a period of ten (10) years in accordance with
existing laws.
CHAPTER IX
Jurisdiction and Procedures for Enforcement of Rights
SECTION 65. Primacy of Customary Laws and
Practices. — When disputes involve ICCs/IPs, customary
laws and practices shall be used to resolve the dispute.
SECTION 66. Jurisdiction of the NCIP. — The NCIP,
through its regional offices, shall have jurisdiction over all
claims and disputes involving rights of ICCs/IPs: Provided,
however, That no such dispute shall be brought to the
NCIP unless the parties have exhausted all remedies
provided under their customary laws. For this purpose, a
certification shall be issued by the Council of
Elders/Leaders who participated in the attempt to settle
the dispute that the same has not been resolved, which
certification shall be a condition precedent to the filing of
a petition with the NCIP.
SECTION 67. Appeals to the Court of Appeals. —
Decisions of the NCIP shall be appealable to the Court of
Appeals by way of a petition for review.
SECTION 68. Execution of Decisions, Awards, Orders.
— Upon expiration of the period herein provided and no
appeal is perfected by any of the contending parties, the
Hearing Officer of the NCIP, on its own initiative or upon
motion by the prevailing party, shall issue a writ of
execution requiring the sheriff or the proper officer to
execute final decisions, orders or awards of the Regional
Hearing Officer of the NCIP.
SECTION 69. Quasi-Judicial Powers of the NCIP. —
The NCIP shall have the power and authority:
a) To promulgate rules and regulations governing
the hearing and disposition of cases filed before it as well
as those pertaining to its internal functions and such rules
and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the
purposes of this Act;
b) To administer oaths, summon the parties to a
controversy, issue subpoenas requiring the attendance
and testimony of witnesses or the production of such
books, papers, contracts, records, agreements and other
document of similar nature as may be material to a just
determination of the matter under investigation or
hearing conducted in pursuance of this Act;
c) To hold any person in contempt, directly or
indirectly, and impose appropriate penalties therefor;
and
d) To enjoin any or all acts involving or arising from
any case pending before it which, if not restrained
forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable damage to
any of the parties to the case or seriously affect social or
economic activity.
SECTION 70. No Restraining Order or Preliminary
Injunction. — No inferior court of the Philippines shall have
jurisdiction to issue any restraining order or writ of
preliminary injunction against the NCIP or any of its duly
authorized or designated offices in any case, dispute or
controversy arising from, necessary to, or interpretation of
this Act and other pertinent laws relating to ICCs/IPs and
ancestral domains.
CHAPTER X
Ancestral Domains Fund
SECTION 71. Ancestral Domains Fund. — There is
hereby created a special fund, to be known as the
Ancestral Domains Fund, an initial amount of One
hundred thirty million pesos (P130,000,000) to cover
compensation for expropriated lands, delineation and
development of ancestral domains. An amount of Fifty
million pesos (P50,000,000) shall be sourced from the gross
income of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office
(PCSO) from its lotto operation, Ten million pesos
(P10,000,000) from the gross receipts of the travel tax of
the preceding year, the fund of the Social Reform Council
intended for survey and delineation of ancestral
lands/domains, and such other source as the government
may deem appropriate. Thereafter, such amount shall be
included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
Foreign as well as local funds which are made available
for the ICCs/IPs through the government of the Philippines
shall be coursed through the NCIP. The NCIP may also
solicit and receive donations, endowments and grants in
the form of contributions, and such endowments shall be
exempted from income or gift taxes and all other taxes,
charges or fees imposed by the government or any
political subdivision or instrumentality thereof.
CHAPTER XI
Penalties
SECTION 72. Punishable Acts and Applicable
Penalties. — Any person who commits violation of any of
the provisions of this Act, such as, but not limited to,
unauthorized and/or unlawful intrusion upon any
ancestral lands or domains as stated in Sec. 10, Chapter III,
or shall commit any of the prohibited acts mentioned in
Sections 21 and 24, Chapter V, Section 33, Chapter VI
hereof, shall be punished in accordance with the
customary laws of the ICCs/IPs concerned: Provided, That
no such penalty shall be cruel, degrading or inhuman
punishment: Provided, further, That neither shall the death
penalty or excessive fines be imposed. This provision shall
be without prejudice to the right of any ICCs/IPs to avail
of the protection of existing laws. In which case, any
person who violates any provision of this Act shall, upon
conviction, be punished by imprisonment of not less than
nine (9) months but not more than twelve (12) years or a
fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos
(P100,000) nor more than Five hundred thousand pesos
(P500,000) or both such fine and imprisonment upon the
discretion of the court. In addition, he shall be obliged to
pay to the ICCs/IPs concerned whatever damage may
have been suffered by the latter as a consequence of
the unlawful act.
SECTION 73. Persons Subject to Punishment. — If the
offender is a juridical person, all officers such as, but not
limited to, its president, manager, or head of office
responsible for their unlawful act shall be criminally liable
therefor, in addition to the cancellation of certificates of
their registration and/or license: Provided, That if the
offender is a public official, the penalty shall include
perpetual disqualification to hold public office.
CHAPTER XII
Merger of the Office for Northern Cultural Communities
(ONCC) and the Office for Southern Cultural Communities
(OSCC)
SECTION 74. Merger of ONCC/OSCC. — The Office
for Northern Cultural Communities (ONCC) and the Office
of Southern Cultural Communities (OSCC), created under
Executive Order Nos. 122-B and 122-C respectively, are
hereby merged as organic offices of the NCIP and shall
continue to function under a revitalized and
strengthened structures to achieve the objectives of the
NCIP: Provided, That the positions of Staff Directors,
Bureau Directors, Deputy Executive Directors and
Executive Directors, except positions of Regional Directors
and below, are hereby phased-out upon the effectivity of
this Act: Provided, further, That officials and employees of
the phased-out offices who may be qualified may apply
for reappointment with the NCIP and may be given prior
rights in the filling up of the newly created positions of
NCIP, subject to the qualifications set by the Placement
Committee: Provided, furthermore, That in the case
where an indigenous person and a non-indigenous
person with similar qualifications apply for the same
position, priority shall be given to the former. Officers and
employees who are to be phased-out as a result of the
merger of their offices shall be entitled to gratuity a rate
equivalent to one and a half (1 ½) months salary for every
year of continuous and satisfactory service rendered or
the equivalent nearest fraction thereof favorable to them
on the basis of the highest salary received. If they are
already entitled to retirement or gratuity, they shall have
the option to select either such retirement benefits or the
gratuity herein provided. Officers and employees who
may be reinstated shall refund such retirement benefits or
gratuity received: Provided, finally, That absorbed
personnel must still meet the qualifications and standards
set by the Civil Service and the Placement Committee
herein created.
SECTION 75. Transition Period. — The ONCC/OSCC
shall have a period of six (6) months from the effectivity of
this Act within which to wind up its affairs and to conduct
audit of its finances.
SECTION 76. Transfer of Assets/Properties. — All real
and personal properties which are vested in, or belonging
to, the merged offices as aforestated shall be transferred
to the NCIP without further need of conveyance, transfer
or assignment and shall be held for the same purpose as
they were held by the former offices: Provided, That all
contracts, records and documents relating to the
operations of the merged offices shall be transferred to
the NCIP. All agreements and contracts entered into by
the merged offices shall remain in full force and effect
unless otherwise terminated, modified or amended by
the NCIP.
SECTION 77. Placement Committee. — Subject to
rules on government reorganization, a Placement
Committee shall be created by the NCIP, in coordination
with the Civil Service Commission, which shall assist in the
judicious selection and placement of personnel in order
that the best qualified and most deserving persons shall
be appointed in the reorganized agency. The Placement
Committee shall be composed of seven (7)
commissioners and an ICCs’/IPs’ representative from
each of the first and second level employees association
in the Offices for Northern and Southern Cultural
Communities (ONCC/OSCC), nongovernment
organizations (NGOs) who have served the community
for at least five (5) years and peoples organizations (POs)
with at least five (5) years of existence. They shall be
guided by the criteria of retention and appointment to
be prepared by the consultative body and by the
pertinent provisions of the civil service law.
CHAPTER XIII
Final Provisions
SECTION 78. Special Provision. — The City of Baguio
shall remain to be governed by its Charter and all lands
proclaimed as part of its townsite reservation shall remain
as such until otherwise reclassified by appropriate
legislation: Provided, That prior land rights and titles
recognized and/or acquired through any judicial,
administrative or other processes before the effectivity of
this Act shall remain valid: Provided, further, That this
provision shall not apply to any territory which becomes
part of the City of Baguio after the effectivity of this Act.
SECTION 79. Appropriations. — The amount
necessary to finance the initial implementation of this Act
shall be charged against the current year’s appropriation
of the ONCC and the OSCC. Thereafter, such sums as
may be necessary for its continued implementation shall
be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
SECTION 80. Implementing Rules and Regulations. —
Within sixty (60) days immediately after appointment, the
NCIP shall issue the necessary rules and regulations, in
consultation with the Committees on National Cultural
Communities of the House of Representatives and the
Senate, for the effective implementation of this Act.
SECTION 81. Saving Clause. — This Act will not in any
manner adversely affect the rights and benefits of the
ICCs/IPs under other conventions, recommendations,
international treaties, national laws, awards, customs and
agreements.
SECTION 82. Separability Clause. — In case any
provision of this Act or any portion thereof is declared
unconstitutional by a competent court, other provisions
shall not be affected thereby.
SECTION 83. Repealing Clause. — Presidential
Decree No. 410, Executive Order Nos. 122-B and 122-C,
and all other laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations
or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.
SECTION 84. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect
fifteen (15) days upon its publication in the Official
Gazette or in any two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.
Approved: October 29, 1997