Article 19p. 19

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS STATUTES and IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS

less than two hundred nor more than five thousand

pesos or by imprisonment for not less than two months

nor more than five years, or both, in the discretion of the

court; and the application shall be cancelled.

SECTION

133.

Any person who, without having the

qualifications required by this Act, shall by deceit or

fraud acquire or attempt to acquire lands of the public

domain or other real property or any right, title or

interest, or property right of any class to the same, and

any person aiding and abetting him therein or serving as

a means or tool therefor, shall, upon conviction, be

punished by a fine of not more than five thousand

pesos, or by the imprisonment for not more than five

years, or both, in the discretion of the court.

TITLE VII Final Provisions

CHAPTER XVII Effectiveness of this Act

SECTION 134. If, for any reason, any section or provision

of this Act is challenged in a competent court and is held

to be unconstitutional, none of the other sections or

provisions thereof shall be affected thereby and such

other sections and provisions shall continue to govern as

if the section or provisions so annulled, disapproved, or

repealed had never been incorporated in this Act, and in

lieu of the section or provision so annulled, disapproved,

or repealed, the provisions of law on the subject thereof

in force prior to the approval of this Act shall govern until

the Assembly shall otherwise provide in the premises.

SECTION 135. All laws and regulations, or parts thereof,

inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby

repealed.

SECTION 136. This Act shall take effect on December first,

nineteen hundred and thirty-six unless the President

shall, in the proclamation announcing its effectiveness,

designate a prior date, in which case this Act shall take

effect on the date so designated.

Approved: November 7, 1936

The

Public

Land

Act,

Commonwealth

Act

No.

141,

[November 7, 1936]

RA No 10023 | An Act Authorizing the

Issuance of Free Patents to Residential

Lands

March 9, 2010

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF FREE PATENTS

TO RESIDENTIAL LANDS

➔

See IRR here

Be

it

enacted

by

the

Senate

and

House

of

Representatives

of

the

Philippines

in

Congress

assembled:

Section 1. Qualifications. - Any Filipino citizen who is an

actual occupant of a residential land may apply for a

Free Patent Title under this Act: Provided; That in highly

urbanized

cities,

the

land

should

not

exceed

two

hundred (200) square meters; in other cities, it should

not exceed five hundred (500) square meters; in first

class and second class municipalities, it should not

exceed seven hundred fifty (750) square meters; and in

all

other

municipalities,

it

should

not

exceed

one

thousand (1,000) square meters; Provided, further, That

the land applied for is not needed for public service

and/or public use.

Section 2. Coverage. - This Act shall cover all lands that

are zoned as residential areas, including townsites as

defined under the Public Land Act; Provided, That none

of the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 705 shall be

violated.

Zoned residential areas located inside a delisted military

reservation or abandoned military camp, and those of

local

government

units

(LGUs)

or

townsites

which

preceded

Republic

Act

No.

7586

or

the

National

Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) law, shall also

be covered by this Act.

Section 3. Application. - The application on the land

applied for shall be supported by a map based on an

actual survey conducted by a licensed geodetic engineer

and approved by the Department of Environment and

Natural Resources (DENR) and a technical description of

the land applied for together with supporting affidavit of

two (2) disinterested persons who are residing in the

barangay of the city or municipality where the land is

located, attesting to the truth of the facts contained in

the application to the effect that the applicant thereof

has,

either

by

himself

or

through

his

predecessor-in-interest,

actually

resided

on

and

continuously possessed and occupied, under a bona fide

claim of acquisition of ownership, the land applied for at

least

ten

(10)

years

and

has

complied

with

the

requirements prescribed in Section 1 hereof.

Section

4.

Special

Patents.

-

Notwithstanding

any

provision of law to the contrary and subject to private

rights, if any, public land actually occupied and used for

public schools, municipal halls, public plazas or parks

and other government institutions for public use or

purpose may be issued special patents under the name

of the national agency or LGU concerned: Provided, That

all lands titled under this section shall not be disposed of

unless sanctioned by Congress if owned by the national

agency or sanctioned by the sanggunian concerned

through an approved ordinance if owned by the LGU.

Section 5. Removal of Restrictions. - The restrictions

regarding

encumbrances,

conveyances,

transfers

or

dispositions imposed in Sections 118, 119,121, 122 and 123 of

Chapter XII, Title VI of Commonwealth Act No. 141 as

amended, shall not apply to patents issued under this

Act.

Section 6. Period for Application. - All applications shall

be filed immediately after the effectivity of this Act

before

the

Community

Environment

and

Natural

Resources Office (CENRO) of the DENR. The CENRO is

mandated

to

process

the

application

within

one

hundred and twenty (120) days to include compliance

with the required notices and other legal requirements,

and forward this recommendation to the Provincial

Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO),

who shall have five (5) days to approve or disapprove the

patent. In case of approval, patent shall be issued; in case

of conflicting claims among different claimants, the

parties may seek the proper judicial remedies.1avvphi1

Section 7. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The

Director

of

the

Land

Management

Bureau

of

the

Department

of

Environment and Natural Resources

(DENR) shall promulgate rules and regulations to carry

out the provisions of this Act, and shall see to it that such

are gender responsive.

Section 8. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive

order, executive issuance's or letters of instruction, rules

and regulations or any part thereof inconsistent with or

contrary to the provisions of this Act are hereby deemed

repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

© 2018 Compiled by RGL

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