Article 9p. 9

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS STATUTES and IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS

shall be not less than two per centum of the appraised

and reappraised value thereof. Every contract of lease

under the provisions of this chapter shall contain a

clause to the effect that a reappraisal of the land leased

shall be made every ten years from the date of the

approval of the lease, if the term of the same shall be in

excess of ten years. In case the lessee is not agreeable to

the reappraisal and prefers to give up his contract of

lease, he shall notify the Director of Lands of his desire

within the six months next preceding the date on which

the reappraisal takes effect, and in case his request is

approved, the Director of Lands may, if the lessee should

so

desire,

proceed in accordance with section one

hundred of this Act. (Amending C.A. No. 141 Re: Land

Rentals, Republic Act No. 2694, [June 18, 1960])

The rent, which shall be paid yearly in advance, shall

accrue from the date of the approval of the lease, and

the full payment for the year shall be made in the

Bureau of Lands before the execution of the contract.

SECTION 38. Leases shall run for a period of not more

than twenty-five years, but may be renewed once for

another period of not to exceed twenty-five years, in case

the lessee shall have made important improvements

which, in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture

and

Commerce,

justify

a

renewal.

Upon

the

final

expiration

of

the

lease,

all

buildings

and

other

permanent improvements made by the lessee, his heirs,

executors, administrators, successors, or assigns shall

become the property of the Government, and the land

together with the said improvements shall be disposed

of in accordance with the provisions of chapter five of

this Act.

SECTION

39.

It

shall

be

an inherent and essential

condition of the lease that the lessee shall have not less

than one-third of the land broken and cultivated within

five years after the date of the approval of the lease:

Provided, however, That in case the land leased is to be

devoted to pasture, it shall be sufficient compliance with

this condition if the lessee shall graze on the land as

many heads of cattle as will occupy at least one-half of

the entire area at the rate of one head per hectare.

SECTION 40. The lessee shall not assign, encumber, or

sublet his rights without the consent of the Secretary of

Agriculture and Commerce, and the violation of this

condition

shall

avoid

the

contract:

Provided,

That

assignment, encumbrance, or subletting for purposes of

speculation shall not be permitted in any case: Provided,

further, That nothing contained in this section shall be

understood or construed to permit the assignment,

encumbrance, or subletting of lands leased under this

Act, or under any previous Act, to persons, corporations,

or associations which under this Act, are not authorized

to lease public lands.

SECTION 41. The lease of any lands under this chapter

shall not confer the right to remove or dispose of any

valuable timber except as provided in the regulations of

the Bureau of Forestry for cutting timber upon such

lands. Nor shall such lease confer the right to remove or

dispose of stone, oil, coal, salts, or other minerals, or

medicinal mineral waters existing upon the same. The

lease as to the part of the land which shall be mineral

may be cancelled by the Secretary of Agriculture and

Commerce, after notice to the lessee, whenever the said

part of the land is more valuable for mineral than for

agricultural purposes.

The commission of waste or the violation of the forestry

regulations by the lessee shall work a forfeiture of his last

payment of rent and render him liable to immediate

dispossession and suit for damage.

SECTION 42. After having paid rent for at least the first

two years of the lease, and having complied with the

requirements

prescribed

in

section

thirty-nine,

the

lessee of agricultural public land with an area less than

the maximum allowed by law, may lease successively

additional agricultural public land adjacent to or near

the land originally leased until the total area of such

leases shall reach the maximum established in this

chapter: Provided, That in making such lease, the same

conditions shall be complied with as prescribed by this

Act for the first lease.

SECTION 43. During the life of the lease, any lessee who

shall have complied with all the conditions thereof and

shall

have

the

qualifications

required

by

section

twenty-two, shall have the option of purchasing the land

leased subject to the restrictions of chapter five of this

Act.

CHAPTER VII Free Patents

SECTION 44. Any natural-born citizen of the Philippines

who is not the owner of more than twelve (12) hectares

and who, for at least thirty (30) years prior to the

effectivity of this amendatory Act, has continuously

occupied and cultivated, either by himself or through his

predecessors-in-interest a tract or tracts of agricultural

public lands subject to disposition, who shall have paid

the real estate tax thereon while the same has not been

occupied by any person shall be entitled, under the

provisions of this Chapter, to have a free patent issued to

him for such tract or tracts of such land not to exceed

twelve (12) hectares. ( as amended by Republic Act No.

6940, March 28, 1990 )

SECTION 45. The President of the Philippines, upon

recommendation of the Secretary of Environment and

Natural

Resources,

shall

from

time

to

time fix by

proclamation the period within which applications for

free

patents

may

be

filed

in

the

Community

Environment and Natural Resources Office or region

specified in such proclamation, and upon the expiration

of

the

period

so

designated,

unless

the

same

be

extended by the President, all the lands comprised

within such district, chartered city, province, municipality

or region subject thereto under the provisions of this

chapter may be disposed of as agricultural public land

without prejudice to the prior right of the occupant and

cultivator to acquire such land under this Act by means

other than free patent. The time to be fixed in the entire

Archipelago for the filing of applications under this

Chapter shall not extend beyond 31 December 2020:

Provided, that the period shall apply only when the area

applied for does not exceed twelve (12) hectares. The

period fixed for any district, chartered city, province or

municipality shall take effect thirty (30) days after the

publication of the proclamation in one (1) newspaper of

general circulation in the city, province or municipality

concerned. A certified copy of said proclamation shall be

furnished by the Secretary of Environment and Natural

Resources within thirty (30) days counted from the date

of the presidential proclamation to the Community

Environment and natural Resources office and to the

provincial board and municipal board or city council and

barangay council affected, and copies thereof shall be

posted

on

the

bulletin

board

of

the

Community

Environment and Natural Resources Office and at such

conspicuous places in the provincial capitol. It shall

moreover be announced and aired over the government

station in the concerned local area. (as further amended

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

SECTION 46. If, after the filing of the application and the

investigation, the Director of Lands shall be satisfied of

the truth of the allegations contained in the application

and that the applicant comes within the provisions of

this chapter, he shall cause a patent to issue to the

applicant or his legal successor for the tract so occupied

and

cultivated,

provided

its

area

does

not

exceed

© 2018 Compiled by RGL

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