Public Land Act

Case Overview and Summary

COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 141 - THE PUBLIC LAND ACT

Summary:

Title I: Title and Application of the Act, Lands to Which It Refers, and Classification, Delimitation, and Survey Thereof for Concession
- Defines the scope and coverage of the Act, including the lands it applies to and the officers responsible for its execution. (Sections 1-5)
- Provides for the classification of public lands into alienable or disposable, timber, and mineral lands, and the process for delimitation and survey. (Sections 6-10)

Title II: Agricultural Public Lands

Chapter III: Forms of Concession of Agricultural Lands
- Agricultural lands can be disposed of through: (1) homestead settlement, (2) sale, (3) lease, and (4) confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles. (Section 11)
- Outlines the requirements and procedures for homestead settlement, including qualifications, application process, cultivation requirements, and issuance of patents. (Sections 12-21)
- Provides for the sale of agricultural lands, including qualifications, application process, bidding procedures, payment terms, and cultivation requirements. (Sections 22-32)
- Regulates the lease of agricultural lands, including qualifications, application process, bidding procedures, rental rates, and cultivation requirements. (Sections 33-43)

Chapter VI: Free Patents
- Allows natural-born Filipino citizens who have continuously occupied and cultivated agricultural public lands since July 4, 1926, or earlier, to obtain free patents for up to 24 hectares. (Section 44)
- Provides for the issuance of free patents to members of national cultural minorities who have continuously occupied and cultivated lands since July 4, 1955. (Section 44)
- Outlines the process for applying for and obtaining free patents, including publication requirements and procedures for handling adverse claims. (Sections 45-46)

Chapter VII: Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect or Incomplete Titles
- Grants time until December 31, 1987, for certain citizens to apply for confirmation of their claims and issuance of certificates of title for lands they have occupied or claimed ownership of. (Sections 47-48)
- Specifies the qualifications and procedures for judicial confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles, including application requirements, court proceedings, and issuance of certificates of title. (Sections 49-57)

Title III: Lands for Residential, Commercial or Industrial Purposes and Other Similar Purposes

Chapter VIII: Classification and Concession of Public Lands Suitable for Residence, Commerce and Industry
- Provides for the disposition of public lands intended for residential, commercial, industrial, or other productive purposes through sale or lease. (Sections 58-60)
- Outlines the classification of lands for disposition, including reclaimed lands, foreshore, marshy lands, and other lands. (Section 59)
- Regulates the lease of certain classes of lands, including rental rates, lease terms, construction requirements, and conditions for renewal. (Sections 61-64)
- Governs the sale of certain classes of lands, including payment terms, construction requirements, and conditions for rescission. (Section 65)
- Requires approval of improvement plans by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications for certain constructions. (Section 66)
- Establishes procedures for bidding, awarding, and announcing the lease or sale of lands. (Sections 67-68)

Title IV: Lands for Educational, Charitable, and Other Similar Purposes

Chapter IX: Concession of Lands for Educational, Charitable, and Other Similar Purposes
- Allows the President to execute contracts for the donation, sale, lease, exchange, or other forms of concession of public lands to provinces, municipalities, or other government entities for educational, charitable, or similar purposes. (Section 69)
- Permits the sale or lease of public lands for founding cemeteries, churches, colleges, schools, universities, or other educational, charitable, philanthropic, or scientific research institutions, subject to certain conditions and limitations. (Section 70)

Title V: Reservations

Chapter X: Town Site Reservations
- Outlines the process for establishing new town sites, including survey, proclamation, subdivision, reservation of lots and public spaces, and disposition of lots through public auction. (Sections 71-82)

Chapter XI: Reservations for Public and Semi-Public Purposes
- Allows the President to designate public lands as reservations for the use of the government, its branches, or inhabitants, including highways, rights of way, power sites, irrigation systems, communal pastures, public parks, quarries, fishponds, and other public improvements. (Section 83)
- Provides for the designation of reservations for the exclusive use of non-Christian Filipinos (national cultural minorities), including the granting of land use rights. (Section 84)
- Allows for the establishment of agricultural colonies on reserved lands, subject to rules and regulations for organization and administration. (Section 85)

Chapter XII: Provisions Common to Reservations
- Requires the recording and surveying of proclaimed reservations and provides for judicial proceedings to settle titles and boundaries. (Sections 86-87)
- Prohibits the alienation or occupation of reserved lands until declared alienable by the President. (Section 88)

Title VI: General Provisions

Chapter XIII: Applications: Procedure, Concession of Lands, and Legal Restrictions and Encumbrances
- Establishes requirements and procedures for filing applications for public lands, including oath, qualifications, disqualifications, land description, and other information. (Sections 89-90)
- Authorizes the Director of Lands to investigate and cancel applications based on false statements or non-compliance with conditions. (Section 91)
- Provides for the determination of the area to be granted based on the beneficial use of the land. (Section 92)
- Regulates the form and contiguity of lands granted, and requires conformity with legal subdivisions. (Section 93)
- Governs the payment of survey costs by applicants or grantees. (Section 94)
- Grants prior rights to occupants of public lands before delimitation and survey, and establishes procedures for handling such cases. (Sections 95-97)
- Provides for the forfeiture of improvements and crops on denied, canceled, or rescinded applications or grants. (Sections 98-100)
- Authorizes legal actions for the reversion of public lands or improvements to the government. (Section 101)
- Allows for objections to applications or concessions and grants prior rights to qualified objectors. (Section 102)
- Specifies officials authorized to administer oaths and fees for taking final evidence. (Section 103)
- Protects the rights of occupants and cultivators of uncultivated agricultural lands against owners who fail to protest within one year. (Section 104)
- Provides for the succession of rights and obligations to heirs in case of the applicant's or grantee's death. (Section 105)
- Allows for the cancellation of applications or exclusion of lands needed for public works or protection of water sources, with payment of improvements. (Section 106)
- Regulates the issuance of patents or certificates, including delegation of authority and limitations on splitting applications. (Section 107)
- Requires the survey and plat of lands before issuance of patents or concessions. (Section 108)
- Prohibits the granting of lands that may injuriously affect adjacent lands, waters, roads, or other public interests. (Section 109)
- Reserves mineral rights and other substances to the State in granted lands. (Section 110)
- Subjects granted lands to public servitudes and rights-of-way for public purposes. (Sections 111-112)
- Regulates the use of water on granted lands and reserves rights for power generation. (Sections 113-114)
- Requires payment of ordinary taxes on granted lands, even before issuance of title. (Section 115)
- Governs the appraisal and reappraisal of lands and improvements subject to concession or disposition. (Section 116)
- Imposes interest on sums due and payable to the government under the Act. (Section 117)
- Restricts the encumbrance or alienation of lands acquired under free patent or homestead for specified periods and requires approval for certain conveyances. (Sections 118-119)
- Regulates conveyances and encumbrances by non-Christian Filipinos or national cultural minorities. (Section 120)
- Prohibits corporations, associations, or partnerships from acquiring rights to lands granted under free patent, homestead, or individual sale provisions, except for certain purposes and with approval. (Section 121)
- Restricts the encumbrance, alienation, or conveyance of lands originally acquired under previous laws, except to qualified persons or entities. (Sections 122-123)
- Declares acquisitions, conveyances, or contracts in violation of certain provisions as unlawful and null, and causes the reversion of the property to the State. (Section 124)
- Provides for the recognition of treaty rights of foreign nationals and corporations to acquire, hold, or dispose of lands in the Philippines. (Section 125)
- Requires public auctions for the disposition of public lands to be held in the province where the land is located or at the Bureau of Lands in Manila. (Section 126)

Chapter XIV: Transitory Provisions
- Grants citizens and corporations of the United States the same rights as citizens and corporations of the Philippines during the existence of the Commonwealth and before the establishment of the Republic of the Philippines. (Section 127)
- Allows the President of the Philippines to designate lands for military, naval, or other reservations for the use of the United States government upon order of the President of the United States. (Section 128)

Chapter XV: Penal Provisions
- Imposes penalties for presenting false applications, declarations, or evidence, or making false affidavits related to public lands. (Section 129)
- Penalizes acts of coercion or discouragement in the acquisition of public lands. (Section 130)
- Imposes fines or imprisonment for selling or refusing to furnish gratuitously distributed forms. (Section 131)
- Penalizes unqualified persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships for filing applications or inducing others to file on their behalf, with cancellation of the application. (Section 132)
- Imposes fines or imprisonment for acquiring or attempting to acquire public lands or rights thereto through deceit or fraud, and for aiding and abetting such acts. (Section 133)

Title VII: Final Provisions

Chapter XVI: Effectiveness of This Act
- Provides for the severability of the Act's provisions if any section is held unconstitutional. (Section 134)
- Repeals all laws and regulations inconsistent with the provisions of the Act. (Section 135)
- Specifies the effective date of the Act, either December 1, 1936, or an earlier date designated by the President. (Section 136)