PUBLIC LAND ACT

CA 141
 LAND
CLASSIFICATION
Surallah E. Reyes-Abeto
Faculty, Geodetic Engineering
College of Engineering
St. John Paul II College of Davao
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LAND CLASSIFICATION
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
 GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
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a. Lands of the PUBLIC DOMAIN

i. Alienable
ii. Inalienable

b. Lands of the PRIVATE DOMAIN

 GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
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Lands of the PRIVATE DOMAIN – “land

belonging to and owned by the State as a private
individual, without being devoted for public use,
public service or the development of the national
wealth”
 GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
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CIVIL CODE classification:

a. Properties of the public dominion

i. Those intended for public use, such as roads, canals, rivers,

torrents, ports and bridges constructed by the State, banks,
shores, roadsteads and other similar character; or
 GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
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CIVIL CODE classification:

ii. Those which belong to the State, without being for public use,
intended for some public service;

iii. Those intended for the development of the national wealth.

 GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
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CIVIL CODE classification:

b. Patrimonial properties of the State – former

properties of the public dominion that are no longer
intended for public use or public service
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LAND CLASSIFICATION
Under the CONSTITUTION
 CLASSIFICATION under the 1987 CONSTITUTION
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Under the 1987 Constitution, lands of the public domain are classified into four
(4) categories, namely:

(a) agricultural,
(b) forest or timber,
(c) mineral lands, and
(d) national parks.

Only agricultural lands, which may be further classified according to the uses or
purposes to which they are destined, may be disposed of in accordance with law.
 Section 3, Article XII, 1987 CONSTITUTION
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Section 3. Lands of the public domain are classified into agricultural, forest or timber,
mineral lands and national parks. Agricultural lands of the public domain may be further
classified by law according to the uses to which they may be devoted. Alienable lands of the
public domain shall be limited to agricultural lands. Private corporations or associations
may not hold such alienable lands of the public domain except by lease, for a period not
exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and not to
exceed one thousand hectares in area. Citizens of the Philippines may lease not more than
five hundred hectares, or acquire not more than twelve hectares thereof, by purchase,
homestead, or grant.

Taking into account the requirements of conservation, ecology, and development, and
subject to the requirements of agrarian reform, the Congress shall determine, by law, the size
of lands of the public domain which may be acquired, developed, held, or leased and the
conditions therefor.
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The Public Land Act, as amended, governs lands of the public
domain, but timber and mineral lands are governed by special
laws.

The administration and disposition of "friar land “ those lands

which, being privately owned, have reverted to or become the
property of the State, are governed by laws presently in force.
 Section 6, Public Land Act provides:
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 The prerogative of classifying and reclassifying lands of the

public domain, i.e., from forest or mineral or vice versa,
belongs to the executive branch of the government – not the
court.

 ONUS to overturn, by incontrovertible evidence, the

presumption that the land subject of an application for
registration is alienable or disposable rest with the applicant.
[Republic v. Naguiat, G.R. No. 134209, January 24, 2006]
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LAND CLASSIFICATION
Under the PUBLIC LAND ACT
 Section 7, Public Land Act provides:
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 For the purposes of the administration and

disposition of alienable and disposable public lands,
the PRESIDENT, upon recommendation of the
Secretary of the ENR, shall from time to time declare
what lands are open to disposition or concession
under the Act.
 Section 6, Public Land Act provides:
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 That lands of the public domain are classified into:

a. Alienable and disposable;

b. Timber; and
c. Mineral lands

The PRESIDENT may at ANY TIME and in a like manner transfer

such land from one class to another, for the purposes of their
administration and disposition.
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LAND CLASSIFICATION
Public Lands OPEN TO DISPOSITION
 Section 9, Public Land Act provides:
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For purposes of their administration and disposition, lands of the public

domain which are inalienable or open to disposition may be FURTHER
classified according to the USE or PURPOSES, to which such land are
destined:

a. Agricultural;
b. Residential, commercial, industrial, or for similar productive purposes;
c. Educational, charitable, or other similar purposes;
d. Reservation for town sites and for public or quasi-public uses
 Section 9, Public Land Act provides:
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 The PRESIDENT, upon recommendation of the

Secretary of the ENR, shall from time to time make
the classifications provided for in this section, and
may at any time, in a similar manner, transfer lands
from one class to another.
 Section 9, Public Land Act
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“Public agricultural lands” used in the Constitution means

alienable lands of the public domain and is equivalent to the lands
classified by CA 141 as alienable or disposable.

The classification provided for under this Section is only for

purposes of administration and disposition, according to the
purposes to which lands are especially adapted.
 Section 9, Public Land Act
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Not withstanding the classification under Section 9, PLA, ALL of

said lands are ESSENTIALLY agricultural public lands.

 Only agricultural public lands are subject to ALIENATION

and DISPOSITION under SECTION 2, Article XII, 1987
Constitution.
 Section 9, Public Land Act
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CONCLUSION:

 Public agricultural land is defined as those alienable portions of the

public domain which are neither timber nor mineral lands. Thus, the
term includes residential, commercial, and industrial lands FOR THE
REASON THAT THESE LANDS are neither timber nor mineral
lands.
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LAND CLASSIFICATION
An EXECUTIVE PREROGATIVE
 Executive Prerogative – PRESIDENT of the Philippines
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1. Official classification of the public lands of the public domain to A and

D before alienation and disposition of the same.
2. Official declaration them open to disposition or concession.

Note: NO LAW existing that reserves the land for public or quasi-public
uses.
 Executive Prerogative – PRESIDENT of the Philippines
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“It bears emphasizing that a positive act of the government is needed to

declassify land which is classified as forest and convert it into alienable or
disposable land for agricultural or other purposes.” [Republic vs. Animas,
56SCRA499 as cited in Director of Lands vs. Courts of Appeals and
Bisnar, G.R. No. 83609, October 26, 1989]

“Unless and until the classified as forest is released in an official

proclamation to that effect so that it may form part of the disposable
agricultural lands of the public domain, the rules on confirmation of
imperfect title do not apply. [Amunategui vs. Director of Forestry, 126
SCRA 69]
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LAND CLASSIFICATION
Public Lands vs. Government Lands
 Public Lands vs. Government Lands
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In Montano vs. Insular Government [G.R. No. 3714, January 26, 1909], it
was held that the phrase public lands is equivalent to public domain, does
not by any means include all lands of government ownership, but ONLY so
much of said lands as are thrown open to private appropriation and
settlement by homestead and other like general laws. Accordingly,
government land and public land are not synonymous terms; the first
includes not only the second, but also other lands of the government
ALREADY RESERVED or DEVOTED to public use or subject to private
right. In other words, the government owns real estate which is part of the
“public lands” and other real estate which is not part thereof.
THANK YOU!
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