Article 10p. 10

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS STATUTES and IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS

twenty-four hectares: Provided, That no application shall

be finally acted upon until notice thereof has been

published in the municipality and barrio in which the

land is located and adverse claimants have had an

opportunity to present their claims.

CHAPTER

VIII

Judicial

Confirmation

of

Imperfect or Incomplete Titles

SECTION 47. The persons specified in the next following

section are hereby granted time, not to extend beyond

December 31, 2020 within which to avail of the benefits

of this Chapter: Provided, That this period shall apply

only where the area applied for does not exceed twelve

(12) hectares: Provided, further, That the several periods

of time designated by the President in accordance with

Section Forty-Five of this Act shall apply also to the lands

comprised in the provisions of this Chapter, but this

Section shall not be construed as prohibiting any said

persons from acting under this Chapter at any time prior

to

the

period

fixed

by

the

President.

(as

further

amended by Republic Act No. 9176, November 13, 2002)

SECTION 48. The following described citizens of the

Philippines, occupying lands of the public domain or

claiming to own any such lands or an interest therein,

but whose titles have not been perfected or completed,

may apply to the Court of First Instance of the province

where the land is located for confirmation of their claims

and the issuance of a certificate of title therefor, under

the Land Registration Act, to wit:

(a) Those who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from

Spain to the United States have applied for the purchase,

composition or other form of grant of lands of the public

domain under the laws and royal decrees then in force

and have instituted and prosecuted the proceedings in

connection therewith, but have, with or without default

upon their part, or for any other cause, not received title

therefor, if such applicants or grantees and their heirs

have occupied and cultivated said lands continuously

since the filing of their applications.

(b)

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 of ownership, for at least thirty

years immediately preceding the filing of the application

for confirmation of title except when prevented by war

or force majeure. These shall be conclusively presumed

to have performed all the conditions essential to a

Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of

title under the provisions of this chapter. (Amending C.A.

No. 141 (Public Land Act), Republic Act No. 1942, [June 22,

1957])

(c) Members of the national cultural minorities who by

themselves

or

through their predecessors-in-interest

have been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious

possession and occupation of lands of the public domain

suitable to agriculture, whether disposable or not, under

a bona fide claim of ownership for at least 30 years shall

be entitled to the rights granted in sub-section (b)

hereof. (Amendments to C.A. No. 141 (Public Land Act),

Republic Act No. 3872, [June 18, 1964])

SECTION 49. No person claiming title to lands of the

public domain not in possession of the qualifications

specified in the last preceding section may apply for the

benefits of this chapter.

SECTION

50.

Any person or persons, or their legal

representatives or successors in right, claiming any lands

or interest in lands under the provisions of this chapter,

must in every case present an application to the proper

Court of First Instance, praying that the validity of the

alleged

title

or

claim be inquired into and that a

certificate of title be issued to them under the provisions

of the Land Registration Act.

The application shall conform as nearly as may be in its

material

allegations

to

the

requirements

of

an

application for registration under the Land Registration

Act, and shall be accompanied by a plan of the land and

all documents evidencing a right on the part of the

applicant to the land claimed. The application shall also

state the citizenship of the applicant and shall set forth

fully the nature of the claim, and when based upon

proceedings initiated under Spanish laws, it shall specify

as exactly as possible the date and form of application

for purchase, composition or other form of grant, the

extent of the compliance with the conditions required by

the Spanish laws and royal decrees for the acquisition of

legal title, and if not fully complied with, the reason for

such non-compliance, together with a statement of the

length of time such land or any portion thereof has been

actually occupied by the claimant or his predecessors in

interest; the use made of the land, and the nature of the

inclosure, if any.

The fees provided to be paid for the registration of lands

under the Land Registration Act shall be collected from

applicants under this chapter.

SECTION

51. Applications for registration under this

chapter shall be heard in the Court of First Instance in

the same manner and shall be subject to the same

procedure as established in the Land Registration Act for

other applications, except that a notice of all such

applications, together with a plan of the lands claimed,

shall be immediately forwarded to the Director of Lands,

who may appear as a party in such cases: Provided, That

prior to the publication for hearing, all of the papers in

said case shall be transmitted by the clerk to the Solicitor

General or officer acting in his stead, in order that he

may, if he deems it advisable for the interests of the

Government, investigate all of the facts alleged in the

application or otherwise brought to his attention. The

Solicitor-General shall return such papers to the clerk as

soon as practicable within three months.

The final decree of the court shall in every case be the

basis for the original certificate of title in favor of the

persons entitled to the property under the procedure

prescribed in section forty-one of the Land Registration

Act.

SECTION 52. In cadastral proceedings, instead of an

application, an answer or claim may be filed with the

same effect as in the procedure provided in the last

preceding two sections.

SECTION 53. It shall be lawful for the Director of Lands,

whenever in the opinion of the President the public

interests shall require it, to cause to be filed in the proper

Court of First Instance, through the Solicitor-General or

the officer acting in his stead, a petition against the

holder, claimant, possessor, or occupant of any land who

shall not have voluntarily come in under the provisions of

this chapter or of the Land Registration Act, stating in

substance

that

the

title

of

such

holder,

claimant,

possessor, or occupant is open to discussion; or that the

boundaries

of

any

such

land

which has not been

brought into court as aforesaid are open to question; or

that it is advisable that the title to such lands be settled

and adjudicated, and praying that the title to any such

land or the boundaries thereof or the right to occupancy

thereof

be

settled

and

adjudicated.

The

judicial

proceedings under this section shall be in accordance

with

the

laws

on adjudication of title in cadastral

proceedings.

SECTION 54. If in the hearing of any application arising

under this chapter the court shall find that more than

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