Lesson 1.

2:
The Public
Land Act (CA
141)
CHAPTER I-IV

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Guide Questions:
• How are the lands in the Philippines
classified according to CA 141?
• Who may apply to the different
forms of concession of agricultural
lands?
• What are the conditions in each
form of concession?
 Its provisions apply to the lands of
Commonwealth Act No. 141 the public domain, specifically
of 1936 or commonly known agricultural lands. Other lands of
as “The Public Land the public domain such as the
Act” was approved on
timber and mineral lands are
November 7, 1936.
governed by special laws as well as
the so-called “friar lands”
(Section 2, CA 141).

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The officer-in-charge to
carry out the provisions
of this Act is the
Secretary of Agriculture
and Commerce through
the Director of Lands
(Section 3, CA 141).

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 Alienable and
Disposable Lands

Classification of Dog

lands of the Timber Lands

public domain
Mineral Lands
The lands declared open to disposition and
concession are those officially delimited,
classified, and surveyed. They should have not
been reserved for public or quasi-public uses or
appropriated by the government or owned
privately by an individual. (Section 8, CA 141)
Open to concession or disposition
Agricultural

Residential, commercial, industrial, or for similar productive purposes

Educational, charitable, or other similar purposes

Reservations for town sites and for public and quasi-public uses.
The different forms of
concession of agricultural
lands that a “natural”
(individual) or a “juridical”
person can apply to.
CHAPTER III

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 Different forms of
concession as follows:

• For homestead settlement

• By sale
• By lease
• By confirmation of imperfect or
incomplete titles:
a) By judicial legalization
b) By administrative
legalization (free patent)
Homestead means the
dwelling house and its
adjoining land where a
family resides.
Citizens over 18 years old or
family head, without owning
Homestead
more than 24 hectares of land or
having any gratuitous land
Settlement
allocation since the occupation of
the Philippines by the US, can
enter a homestead of 24 hectares
of public domain agricultural
land.
The Director of Lands approves
an application, allowing the
applicant to take possession of
the land upon payment of the
Homestead
entry fee, provided they start
working the homestead within
Settlement
six months.
 To obtain a patent, the
applicant must prove
continuous residence for
at least one year,
cultivation of at least Homestead
one-fifth of the land, no
alienation or Settlement
encumbrance, and
. compliance with the Act
requirements..
 If found out that a
homesteader has changed his
residency or voluntarily
abandoned the land for more
than six months, or has not
complied with the
requirements before the Homestead
expiration of the period
allowed by law, the Director
Settlement
of Lands may cancel the
application .
.
(Section 16, CA 141).
Can a person apply for two or more
homestead entry?
Homestead Entry
CANNOT APPLY IF…
A person is not allowed to make
more than one homestead entry, or
whom a homestead patent has
been issued, may again acquire a
homestead.
CAN APPLY IF…
However, if the previously issued
patent is less than twenty-four
hectares, and he is qualified for
another entry, he may be allowed for
another homestead provided that,
together with his previous homestead
and the next entry will not exceed to
twenty-four hectares (section 19, CA 141).
 If a homesteader cannot continue
their homestead without fault and a
bona fide purchaser is present, they
can transfer their rights to any Homestead
legally qualified person with the
Director of Lands' approval, after
Settlement
. completing the application and
proving compliance.
 The purchaser must file a
homestead application for
the acquired land and
assume the rights and Homestead
obligations of the original
. homesteader from the date
Settlement
of approval.
 Transferring rights without
prior approval from the
Director of Lands is null
and void, leading to the
Homestead
cancellation of entry and Settlement
patent refusal.
.
 A non-Christian Filipino who
desires to live upon or occupy
land on any of the reservations
set aside for the so-called "non-
Christian tribes", but has not Homestead
applied for a homestead, may
request a permit of occupation
Settlement
for an area not exceeding four
hectares for a term of one year.
.
 The applicant shall cultivate and
improve the land, and if such
cultivation has not begun within
six months after the date on which
the permit was received, the
permit will be canceled.
Homestead
Upon the expiration of the permit, Settlement
. the holder of the said permit shall
apply for a homestead or he shall
have the priority in applying for a
homestead, otherwise, the land
shall be again open to disposition
at the expiration of the permit.
(Section 21, CA 141).
SALE
CHAPTER IV

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Any citizen of lawful age of the
Philippines, and any such citizen
not of lawful age who is the head of
a family, and any corporation or
association of which at least sixty
per centum of the capital stock or
of any interest in said capital stock
belongs wholly to citizens of the By Sale
Philippines, 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
Individuals, corporations, associations,
or partnerships can acquire agricultural
public land or other land of any
denomination if it was originally public
domain. However, they cannot
encumber, convey, or alienate the land to By Sale
others not included in the Act, except for
hereditary succession, which must be
legalized and acknowledged by
competent courts.
Public agricultural lands not within
ten kilometers of city boundaries or
five kilometers from municipal halls
or plazas can be sold to actual
occupants who do not own land,
By Sale
meet CA 141 requirements, and have
lived on the land for two years.
All bids must be sealed and
addressed to the Director of
Lands. No bid shall be
considered the amount of By Sale
which is less than the
appraised value of the land
(Section 25, CA 141).
To whom is the land be awarded?
 To whom is the land be awarded?
The land will be awarded to the
highest bidder. If there are two or
more equal bids that are higher
than the others, and one of such
equal bids is that of the applicant,
his bid shall be accepted.
However, if 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 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 By Sale
shall be finally accepted until the
bidder shall have deposited ten per
centum of his bid.
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 over twenty-four hectares, the
Director of Lands may delegate to
the District Land Officer concerned
the power of receiving bids, holding By Sale
the auction, and proceeding
following the provisions of this Act,
but the District Land Officer shall
submit his recommendation to the
Director of Lands, for the final
decision of the latter is the case.
If the area applied for does
not exceed five hectares, the
District Land Officer can
accept and process the
application subject to the
approval of the Director of
By Sale
Lands within sixty days after
receipt of the
recommendation of said
District Land Officer.
The purchase price can be paid
by making full payment of the
balance of the purchase price
after deducting the amount By Sale
paid at the time of submitting
the bid, or in not more than ten
equal annual installments from
the date of the award.
What are the conditions imposed in the
sale?
Before the purchaser will be
issued a patent, he shall first
cultivate at least one-fifth of
the land within five years
after the date of the award.
He must also show
By Sale
occupancy, cultivation, and
improvement of at least one-
fifth of the land applied for
until the date on which final
payment is made.
In case the land is to be devoted to
pasture, the purchaser shall graze on
the land as many heads of his cattle
as will occupy at least one-half of the
entire area at the rate of one head per
By Sale
hectare
(Section 28, CA 141).
After the title has been granted, the
purchaser is not allowed to convey,
encumber or dispose of said lands or
rights thereon to any person, corporation,
or association within ten years from such
By Sale
cultivation or grant.
Any sale or encumbrance made in
violation will be considered as null and
void and will annul the acquisition and
reverting the property and all rights to
the State and all payments to the
By Sale
purchase price made to the Government
will be forfeited
(Section 29, CA 141).
If 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 By Sale
State, and all prior payments made by the
purchaser and all improvements existing
on the land shall be forfeited
(Section 30, CA 141).
Owning more than the allowable
maximum area for persons, corporations,
or associations is not allowed. Any
excess in the area will be reverted to the
State. The person, corporation, By Sale
association, or partnership owning the
land above the limit established by this
Act shall determine the portion of land to
be segregated.
The Solicitor-General or the officer
acting in his stead shall institute the
necessary proceedings in the proper court
to determine the excess portion to be
segregated, as well as the disposal of
By Sale
such portion in the exclusive interest of
the Government
(Section 31, CA 141).
Only one purchase shall be made by any person,
corporation, or association. However, an
additional purchase can be granted if the
previous purchase has not yet reached the
maximum limit for any person, corporation, or
association. An additional purchase will be
allowed if the previous purchased has been paid
and that one-fifth of the land is already broken By Sale
or cultivated. Also, the additional purchase will
be allowed if it is adjacent or not distant to the
previous purchase. Additional purchases are
allowed until the total area of such purchases
will reach the maximum established in this
chapter
(Section 32, CA 141).
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