PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO.

27
(OCTOBER 21,1972)

Land Titles and Deeds

Arian Joseph G. Gonzales Joe Dennis A. Tagudin

BACKGROUND

Land reform in the Philippines traces its history at the beginning of the 20th
century. However, redistributive land reform which mandated landownership
ceiling on agricultural lands and distribution of lands in excess of the ceiling to
tenants became the core feature of the program only in the 1970s. The main
laws that governed this strategy are Presidential Decree 27 of 1972 and Republic
Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) of 1988. Both laws
implemented a nationwide land reform program but PD 27 covers only rice and
corn farms while CARL expanded coverage to all agriculture lands and included
beneficiary development as another component of land program.
 PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 27 October 21, 1972

DECREEING THE EMANCIPATION OF TENANTS FROM THE BONDAGE OF THE SOIL, TRANSFERRING TO THEM THE OWNERSHIP OF THE LAND THEY TILL AND
PROVIDING THE INSTRUMENTS AND MECHANISM THEREFOR

In as much as the old concept of land ownership by a few has spawned valid and legitimate grievances that gave rise to violent conflict and social tension,

The redress of such legitimate grievances being one of the fundamental objectives of the New Society,

Since Reformation must start with the emancipation of the tiller of the soil from his bondage,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief
of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1 dated September
22, 1972, as amended do hereby decree and order the emancipation of all tenant farmers as of this day, October 21, 1972:

This shall apply to tenant farmers of private agricultural lands primarily devoted to rice and corn under a system of sharecrop or lease-tenancy, whether
classified as landed estate or not;

The tenant farmer, whether in land classified as landed estate or not, shall be deemed owner of a portion constituting a family-size farm of five (5)
hectares if not irrigated and three (3) hectares if irrigated;

In all cases, the landowner may retain an area of not more than seven (7) hectares if such landowner is cultivating such area or will now cultivate it;

For the purpose of determining the cost of the land to be transferred to the tenant-farmer pursuant to this Decree, the value of the land shall be equivalent
to two and one-half (2 1/2) times the average harvest of three normal crop years immediately preceding the promulgation of this Decree;

The total cost of the land, including interest at the rate of six (6) per centum per annum, shall be paid by the tenant in fifteen (15) years of fifteen (15)
equal annual amortizations;

In case of default, the amortization due shall be paid by the farmers' cooperative in which the defaulting tenant-farmer is a member, with the cooperative
having a right of recourse against him;

The government shall guaranty such amortizations with shares of stock in government-owned and government-controlled corporations;

No title to the land owned by the tenant-farmers under this Decree shall be actually issued to a tenant-farmer unless and until the tenant-farmer has
become a full-fledged member of a duly recognized farmer's cooperative;

Title to land acquired pursuant to this Decree or the Land Reform Program of the Government shall not be transferable except by hereditary succession or
to the Government in accordance with the provisions of this Decree, the Code of Agrarian Reforms and other existing laws and regulations;

The Department of Agrarian Reform through its Secretary is hereby empowered to promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of this Decree.

All laws, executive orders, decrees and rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with this Decree are hereby repealed and or modified
accordingly.

Done in the City of Manila, this 21st day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-two.
REGALIAN DOCTRINE

 Regalian doctrine is anchored on the principle that State owns all lands and
waters of the public domain. The doctrine is the foundation of the principle
of land ownership that all lands that have not been acquired by purchase or
grant from the Government belong to the public domain. Property of public
dominion is that devoted to public use such as roads, canals, rivers, torrents,
ports and bridges constructed by the State, riverbanks, shores, roadsteads
and that of a similar character. Those which belong to the State, not devoted
to public use, and are intended for some public service or for the
development of the national wealth, are also classified as property of public
dominion. All other property of the State which is not of public dominion is
patrimonial. Also, property of public dominion, when no longer intended for
public use or public service, shall form part of the patrimonial property of the
State.
P.D No. 27 in relation to jure regalia

 It was clear that the Regalian Doctrine was incorporated within our
Constitution since time immemorial, though it does not negate the effects of
a native title, it effects fully the laws on land classification, distribution and
other things related thereto. The P.D No. 27 wasn’t excused from the grasp of
this Doctrine, though it was promulgated by the late Pres. Ferdinand E.
Marcos which aims to ameliorate the sad-plight of Filipino tenant farmers,
still its scope was limited to agricultural lands of public domain only (rice and
corn).
P.D No. 27 in relation to market value
 Government chose to fully subsidize land redistribution under PD 27 .
Conceptually, the subsidy comes in the following forms: (1) lower than market
price of land; (2) below market interest rate on credit; and (3) exemption
from payment of land transfer and titling costs including transfer fees. This
section provides an estimate of the value of this subsidy. Beneficiaries of
redistributive land reform pay for the cost of the land. This cost is simply the
purchase price of the land or the actual amount paid to landowners. Under
P.D 27, compensation to landowners was capped at 2.5 times the average
annual yield. This valuation implies that farmers pay a lower price for the
land than what they would have paid in the market. The price difference or
the cost of land subsidy is borne by the landowners who receive compensation
at lower than market.
Advantages:
 The Marcos land reform program succeeded in breaking down many of the
large haciendas (breaking-down of large landholdings).
 Ownership ceiling was pegged to 7 hectares per individual, a significant fall
from the 75-hectare ceiling in the 1960s. (prevent occurrence of large
landholdings).
 The law potentially placed the bulk of agriculture lands under land reform
except that the coverage of PD27 was limited to rice and corn farmlands (to
ensure increase in production on the main export products and provide
livelihood opportunities to the masses).
 The program had positive effects as land redistribution moved at a fast pace
in the initial years.
 The tenant farmers were given a chance to till their own lands even before
being granted absolute ownership. (issuance of OCT).
 They are given the chance to apply for a loan in the Landbank, which in turn
may help alleviate their needs.
 They, the tenant farmers under the benefit of P.D No. 27, were taught of
improved practices in farming to increase rate of production.
 They become members of a cooperative.
 They are given 15 year allowance to pay for the remaining land value.
 Transfer of ownership is only through hereditary succession, thus the land is
sure to be within the possession of the family only.
 The P.D No. 27, as the first major land reform, served as the backbone of
superseding land reforms and paved the way for its better implementation.