After reading Application for Agricultural Free Patents, read also Proving claims in land ownership disputes
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A free patent is a mode of disposition of public agricultural land
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Only natural-born citizens of the Philippines may apply for agricultural free patents
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All applications for agricultural free patent shall be limited to twelve (12) hectares
A free patent is a mode of disposition of public agricultural land where an incomplete and imperfect title over a parcel of land is legalized.
Who may apply for agricultural free patents?
The law says:
Republic Act No. 11573 (An Act Improving the Confirmation Process for Imperfect Land Titles, amending for the purpose Commonwealth Act No. 141, as amended, Otherwise known as “The Public Land Act,” and Presidential Decree No. 1529, as amended, otherwise known as the “Property Registration Decree”) which was approved by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on July 16, 2021 and which will took effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation, provides that only natural-born citizens of the Philippines may apply for agricultural free patents.
To be specific, any natural-born citizen of the Philippines who is not the owner of more than twelve (12) hectares of land, and who, for at least twenty (20) years prior to the filing of an application for agricultural free patent, has continuously occupied and cultivated, either personally or through a predecessor-in-interest, a tract or tracts of alienable and disposable agricultural public lands subject to disposition, and who shall have paid the real estate tax due on the said property shall be entitled to have a free patent issued for such trac or tracts of such land not to exceed twelve (12) hectares.
Where should the applications for agricultural free patents be filed?
The law says:
All applications for agricultural free patents shall be filed before the Community Environment and natural Resources Office (CENRO) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). For provinces with no CENRO, the application shall be filed with the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO).
The CENRO or the PENRO, as the case may be, is mandated to process the application within one hundred and twenty (120) days from filing, including compliance with the required notices and other legal requirements.
In case of conflicting claims among different claimants, the parties may seek the proper administrative and judicial remedies.
It is also important to note that Section 5 of Republic Act No. 11573 (RA 11573) amended Section 48 of Commonwealth Act No. 141, as amended, otherwise known as “The Public Land Act.” Section 48 of the Public Land Act now provides that the following-described citizens of the Philippines, occupying lands of the public domain or claiming to own any such lands or an interest in said lands, but whose titles have not been perfected or completed, may file a petition at any time, whether personally or through their duly authorized representatives, in the Regional Trial Court of the province where the land is located, for confirmation of their claims and the issuance of a certificate of title to land not exceeding twelve (12) hectares:
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Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisition or ownership, for at least twenty (20) years immediately preceding the filing of the application for confirmation of title except when prevented by war or force majeure. They shall be conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions essential to a Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title.
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Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned riverbeds by right of accession or accretion under the provision of existing laws; and
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Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other manner provided by law.
In addition, Section 6 of RA 11573 also amended Section 14 of Presidential Decree No. 1529, otherwise known as the “Property Registration Decree”. Section 14 of the Property Registration Decree now provides that the following persons may file at anytime, in the proper Regional Trial Court in the province where the land is located, an application for registration of title to land, not exceeding twelve (12) hectares, whether personally or through his duly authorized representatives:
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Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain not covered by existing certificates of title or patents under a bona fide claim of ownership for at least twenty (20) years immediately preceding the filing of the application for confirmation of title except when prevented by war or force majeure. The shall all be conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions essential to Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title.
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Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned riverbeds by right of accession or accretion under the provision of existing laws; and
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Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other manner provided by law.
Where the land is owned in common, all the co-owners shall file the application jointly.
What is the proof that the land is alienable and disposable?
The law says:
For purposes of judicial (court) confirmation of imperfect titles filed under the Property Registration Decree, a duly signed certification by a duly designated DENR geodetic engineer that the land is part of alienable and disposable agricultural lands of the public domain is sufficient proof that the land is alienable.
What if the geodetic engineer prepared a certification or projection map that contains false or incomplete data of information?
The law says:
A geodetic engineer who shall prepare willfully or through gross inexcusable negligence, a projection map that contains false, fraudulent, or incomplete date or information, and the DENR official who shall certify and approve such projection may, shall be penalized with a fine of not less than One Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 100,000.00) but not more than Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 500,000.00), or imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but not exceeding six (6) years, or both at the discretion of the court.
Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/0917-5772207.
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