Republic of the Philippines

PROVINCE OF ILOCOS NORTE

PROVINCIAL LEGAL SERVICES

Erme S. Labayog
Provincial Legal Officer

November 28, 2022

ATTY. SAUL PAULO A. LAZO

Chairman, Committee on Landed Estates and Assessments
Sangguniang Panlalawigan

Dear Hon. Lazo:

This has reference to His Honor’s letter requesting our

opinion/findings/comments/recommendation pertaining to City Ordinance No. 2022-005 of the
Municipality of Bacarra entitled “AN ORDINANCE RECLASSIFYIMG LOT NO. 9321
CONTAINING AN AREA OF 20, 470.00 SQUARE METERS SITUATED AT BRGY. #21
LIBTONG, BACARRA, ILOCOS NORTE COVERED BY TAX DECLARARTION NO. 20-
030-00899 FROM AGRICULTURAL TO COMMERCIAL/SPECIAL USE (CEMETERY)”.

Pertinent to the above is the Republic Act (R.A.) 7160 which provides:

SECTION 20. Reclassification of Lands. – (a) A city or

municipality may, through an ordinance passed by the
sanggunian after conducting public hearings for the purpose,
authorize the reclassification of agricultural lands and provide
for the manner of their utilization or disposition in the
following cases: (1) when the land ceases to be economically
feasible and sound for agricultural purposes as determined by
the Department of Agriculture or (2) where the land shall have
substantially greater economic value for residential,
commercial, or industrial purposes, as determined by the
sanggunian concerned: xxxxx

The Sangguniang Bayan, thus, has the power to reclassify Lot No. 9321
containing an area of 20, 470.00 square meters siatuated at Brgy. Libtong, Bacarra,
Ilocos Norte.
In CHAMBER OF REAL ESTATE AND BUILDERS ASSOCIATIONS, INC.
(CREBA) vs. THE SECRETARY OF AGRARIAN REFORM, G.R. No. 183409, June 18,
2010, it bears stressing that the act of reclassifying agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses

Provincial Capitol, Barangay 10 J. P. Rizal St., Laoag City 2900

Tel. No.: (077) 772-1211 to 19 * Fax No. : (077) 770-3966
email: erme@ilocosnorte.gov.ph * website: www.ilocosnorte.gov.ph
simply specifies how agricultural lands shall be utilized for non-agricultural uses and does not
automatically convert agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses or for other purposes.

As explained in DAR Memorandum Circular No. 7, Series of 1994, cited in the 2009
case of Roxas & Company, Inc. v. DAMBA-NFSW and the Department of Agrarian
Reform, reclassification of lands denotes their allocation into some specific use and providing
for the manner of their utilization and disposition or the act of specifying how agricultural lands
shall be utilized for non-agricultural uses such as residential, industrial, or commercial, as
embodied in the land use plan.

In addition, Memorandum Circular No. 54, s. 1993 dictates that:

Section 2:
xxxxx
(d) Reclassification of agricultural lands may be authorized
through an ordinance enacted by the sangguniang panlungsod
or sangguniang bayan, as the case may be, after conducting
public hearings for the purpose.
Xxxxx
The provisions of the ordinance do not run counter to the tests for a valid ordinance as
elucidated by the Honorable Supreme Court in the City of Manila v. Laguio, Jr., G.R. No.
118127, April 12, 2005.

Finally, the Certificate of Public Hearing as well as the required voting profile were
complied with, thus, we respectfully opine Municipal Ordinance No. 2022-005 of the
Municipality of Bacarra is VALID.

We however submit to His Honor’s sound judgment and discretion.

Very truly yours,