WHAT ARE THE MODES OF ACQUIRING REAL PROPERTY UNDER REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10752 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “THE RIGHT-OF-WAY ACT”

After reading What Are the Modes of Acquiring Real Property Under Republic Act No. 10752 Otherwise Known As “The Right-Of-Way Act”? read also On the Practice of Real Estate Service Under Republic Act No. 9646 or the “Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines

• Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation

• The government may acquire real property needed as right-of way site or location for national government infrastructure project

• A national government project involves underground works within a depth of fifty (50) meters from the surface

The 1987 Philippine Constitution states that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. In the case of Evergreen Manufacturing Corporation vs. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No.218628, September 6, 2017, just compensation has been defined as the fair and full equivalent of the loss.

The government, through Republic Act No. 10752 otherwise known as “The Right-of-Way-Act”, may acquire real property needed as right-of-way site or location for any national government infrastructure project through donation, negotiated sale, expropriation, or any other mode of acquisition as provided by law such as barter or easement of right-of-way among others.

In case of lands granted through Commonwealth Act No. 141, as amended, otherwise known as “The Public Land Act”, the implementing agency shall:

1. Follow the other modes of acquisition as mentioned above, if the landowner is not the original patent holder and any previous acquisition of said land is not through a gratuitous title; or

2. Follow the provisions under Commonwealth Act No. 141, as amended, regarding acquisition of right-of-way on patent lands, if the landowner is the original patent holder or the acquisition of the land from the original patent holder is through a gratuitous title.

The implementing agency may utilize donation or similar mode of acquisition if the landowner is a government-owned or government-controlled corporation. Please note that implementing agency refers to any department, bureau, office, commission, authority or agency of the national government, including any government-owned or controlled corporation or state college or university, authorized by law or its respective charter to undertake national government projects.

Moreover, when it is necessary to build, construct, or install on the subsurface or subterranean portion of private and government lands owned, occupied, or leased by other persons, such infrastructure as subways, tunnels, underpasses, waterways, floodways, or utility facilities as part of the government’s infrastructure and development project, the government or any of its authorized representatives shall not be prevented from entry into and use of the subsurface or subterranean portions of such private and government lands by surface owners or occupants, if such entry and use are made more than fifty (50) meters from the surface.

What if the national government project involves underground works within a depth of fifty (50) meters from the surface?

The law says:

If the national government project involves underground works within a depth of fifty (50) meters from the surface, the implementing agency may undertake the mode of acquisition in the following order:

1. Negotiate with the property owner a perpetual easement of right-of-way for the subterranean portions of his property required by the project; and

2. Offer to acquire from the property owner the affected portion of the land, including the affected structures, improvements, crops and trees.

To assist the implementing agency in determining the appropriate price offer for the perpetual easement of the right-of-way or the appropriate price offer for the entire affected land including structures, improvement, crops and trees, the implementing agency may engage the services of a Government Financial Institution or an Independent Property Appraiser.

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