FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 725 
INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Pursuant to Article XIII, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, 
Congress is mandated to give highest priority to the enactment of measures that 
reduce social, economic and political inequalities and cultural inequities by 
equitably diffusing wealth and political power. The State shall, to this end, 
regulate the acquisition, ownership, use and disposition of property and its 
increments. The 1987 Constitution, in the same article, likewise upholds the 
rights of farmers to own directly the lands they till, and of fishermen to the 
preferential use of both inland and offshore communal marine resources. 
However, 22 years after the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, the State 
has yet to fulfill this mandate. Land ownership continues to remain a dream for 
many landless farmers and fishermen. Thus, this bill proposes a mechanism that 
will ensure equitable access to and ownership of public lands by farmers and 
fisherfolk through a system of free patent. While the proposed measure extends 
the free patent system to qualified beneficiaries as defined, preferential right is 
given to (1) farmers and farm workers who have continuously occupied and 
cultivated either by themselves or their predecessors-in-interest a parcel of public 
land and (2) fisherfolk living along coastal areas and similar areas of the public 
domain near the fishing ground. As a safeguard for the qualified beneficiaries of 
the free patent system, any person who willfully obstructs or impedes the 
acquisition of a free patent by a qualified beneficiary, or who sells, transfers or 
acquires a land of public domain to circumvent the application of this bill, shall be 
. criminally liable and meted out a penalty of fine andlor imprisonment. 
The importance of land tenure security cannot be overstated. Ownership 
of land tenure facilitates transactions in land and enables land to be used as 
collateral for loans. More importantly, food security depends on land security 
tenure in direct and indirect ways - farmers and fishermen who are given security 
of land tenure contribute to food security though their own food production and 
through other economic activity using land as a resource. This bill thus provides 
hope not only for landless, marginalized farmers and fishermen but also to the 
general Filipino public. 
In view of the foregoing, early passage of this bill is earnestly requested. 


FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
,S E N AT E 
Senate Bill No. 725 
INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
AN ACT 
, \ ,: 
' 
PROVIDING A MECHANISM F9R THE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO AND 
OWNERSHIP OF PUBLIC LANDS BY FARMERS AND FISHERFOLK, 
MANDATING FOR THAT PURPOSE AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS FOR 
THE TITLING OF SUCH PUBLIC LANDS THROUGH THE ISSUANCE OF 
FREE PATENT AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Farmers' and 
Fisherfolk Free Patent Act of 2010." 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the 
State to give utmost priority to the right of farmers and fisherfolk to an equitable 
access to and ownership of land. Toward these ends, the State shall implement a 
mechanism for an expeditious and affordable land titling process, thereby 
providing farmers and farmworkers an opportunity to directly own land and 
acquire security of land tenure. Further, the State shall endeavor to protect the 
rights of fisherfolk and ensure their preferential use to communal marine and 
fishing resources, both inland and offshore. Moreover, the State shall craft and 
implement measures that will bring about the optimum use of land as a resource 
and ensure the sustainable use and management of lands. 
SEC. 3. Coverage. This Act shall cover only alienable and disposable 
lands of the public domain classified as such in accordance with law. 
SEC. 4. Qualified Beneficiaries. The provisions of any law, rules or 
regulations to the contrary notwithstanding, any natural-born citizen of the 
Philippines who is not a registered owner of more than twelve (12) hectares of 
alienable and disposable public land and who for ten (10) years or prior thereto, 
either by himself or through his bona fide predecessor-in-interest, has been 
actually residing on, and continuously possessing and occupying, under a bona 
fide claim of acquisition of ownership, a parcel of untitled land on the public 
domain classified as alienable and disposable, shall, upon application, be entitled 
to have a free patent issued to him for such parcel of land; Provided, That the 
land applied for is not needed for public service or public use and that no such 
free patent shall be issued for townsite reservations established under Chapter 
XI of the Public Land Act: Provided further, That none of the provisions of 
Presidential Decree No. 705, otherwise known as the Revised Forestry Code are 
violated by the issuance of such patent; Provided finally, That the land for which 


a free patent is applied for shall not be encumbered, sold, or converted into other 
uses by the applicant within five (5) years from the issuance of the free patent. 
SEC. 5. Preferential Right to Free Patent. " Except when ownership of a 
parcel of land has already been acquired through homestead patents, judicial 
confirmation of title, or other modes of acquisition of title recognized under 
Commonwealth Act No. 141, otherwise known as the Public Land Act, the 
following shall have preferential right to apply for a free patent covering the public 
land which they occupy: 
(1) Farmers and farmworkers who have continuously occupied and 
cultivated either by themselves or their predecessors-in-interest a parcel of public 
land; and 
(2) Fishermen and fisherfolk living along coastal areas and similar areas of 
the public domain near the fishing ground. 
For purposes of this Act, "farmer" shall refer to a natural person whose 
primary livelihood is cultivation of land or the production of agricultural crops 
either by himself or with the help of his immediate household, "farmworker" shall 
refer to a natural person who renders service for value as an employee or laborer 
in an agricultural enterprise or farm regardless of whether his compensation is 
paid on a daily, weekly, monthly br "pakyaw" basis and "fisherfolk" shall refer to 
any natural person directly or personally and physically engaged in taking and/or 
culturing and processing fishery and/or aquatic resources. 
SEC. 6. Jurisdiction. The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources 
Officer or City Environment and Natural Resources Officer of the DENR shall 
have exclusive original jurisdiction over all applications for the issuance of a free 
patent under this Act for all alienable and disposable public lands within their 
area of jurisdiction. All protest and opposition to any application for the issuance 
of a free patent shall likewise be adjudicated exclusively by the Provincial or City 
Environment and Natural Resources Officer; Provided, That, jurisdiction over all 
conflicts and cases arising from ownership of private lands shall remain with the 
regular courts. 
SEC. 7. Requirements. Every application under the provisions of this Act 
shall be made under oath and shall set forth 
(1) The name and address of the applicant; 
, 
(2) That the applicant has all the qualifications required by this Act; 
(3) That the application is made in good faith; 
(4) That the application is made for the exclusive benefit of the applicant 
and not, either directly or indirectly for the benefit of any other person, or 
persons, corporation, association, or partnership, 
(5) As accurate a description of the land as may be given, the city or 
municipality where it is located, and its limits and boundaries, specifying those 
having reference to accidents of the ground or permanent monuments, if any; 
and 
(6) That the land applied for shall not be encumbered, sold, or converted 
into other uses by the applicant within five (5) years from the issuance of the free 
patent. 


SEC. 8. Publication. All applications for a free patent filed under the 
provisions of this Act shall be posted in the Provincial or City Environment and 
Natural Resources Office and in the provincial capitol or city hall of the province 
or city where the land subject of the application is situated. 
SEC. 9. Registration of Title. If, after having duly complied with the 
posting requirement, without any objection or opposition having been filed 
thereto, the land is determined to be an alienable and disposable land of the 
public domain and the applicant is. a qualified beneficiary under the provisions of 
this Act, an order for the approval of application and issuance of a free patent 
shall be signed and issued by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources 
Officer or the City Environment and Natural Resources Officer. 
The duly-signed free patent shall be transmitted to the Register of Deeds 
of the province or city where the land subject of application is situated within five 
(5) working days from the time of its issuance for registration and the issuance of 
the· corresponding certificate of title, in accordance with Section 103 of 
Presidential Decree 1529. It shall be the duty of the Register of Deeds to register 
the free patent within five (5) days from receipt thereof, whereupon a certificate of 
title shall be entered as in other cases of registered lands, and an owner's 
duplicate certificate of title be issued to the grantee. 
SEC. 10. Remedies. Any person may file an objection or opposition under 
oath to any application on the grounds that the applicant is not qualified under 
the provisions of this Act, or that the land subject of the application is needed for 
public use and purposes. 
The City Environment and Natural Resources Officer or the Provincial 
Environment and Natural Officer shall resolve the matter raised by the opposition 
in accordance with the existing mechanism and procedure for Settlement of Land 
Disputes. 
SEC. 11. Bar Against Conversions. - Any land whose title is secured 
under the provisions of this Act for the benefit of farmers/ farm workers and/or 
fishermen/ fisherfolk shall not be allowed for any large-scale conversions whether 
for residential, industrial or commercial purposes for a period of twenty (20) years 
beginning from the date of issuance of the title. This twenty year bar against land 
conversions, as provided in this Section, shall be expressly noted in the land title 
issued under this Act. 
SEC. 12. Mandatory Support from Government Agencies. - Any land 
whose title is secured under the provisions of this Act for the benefit of farmers/ 
farm workers and/or fishermen/fisherfolk shall be promptly given the adequate 
support from any government agency, particularly from the Departments of Trade 
and Industry, Agriculture and Environment and Natural Resources, which shall 
include such adequate entrepreneurial training, financial access programs, and 
such other administrative support services necessary to ensure that these lands 
and its use are maximized for the benefit of the farmers/fisherfolk and 
fishermen/fisherfolks. 
SEC. 13. Penalties. Any person who, without having the qualifications 
required by this Act, shall by deceit or fraud secures or attempts to secure a 
certificate of title through a free patent, or induces or knowingly permits another 
to do the same, and any person aiding and abetting him therein shall, upon 
conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than 10% of the fair market value of 
the land applied for as determined by the local government unit or by 


imprisonment of prision mayor, or both, in the discretion of the court; Provided, 
That if the offender is a public official, the penalty shall include removal from 
office, forfeiture of all retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification to hold 
any other appointive or elective positions. 
Any person who willfully prevents or obstructs the acquisition of a free 
patent by a qualified beneficiary, or sells, transfers, acquires a land of the public 
domain for purposes of circumventing the provisions of this Act shall, upon 
conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than 20% of the fair market value of 
the land applied for as determined by the local government unit or by 
imprisonment of reclusion temporal, or both, in the discretion of the court; 
Provided, That if the offender is a public official, the penalty shall include removal 
from office, forfeiture of all retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification to 
hold any other appointive or elective positions. 
Any violation of Section 11 of this Act shall be punishable by imprisonment 
of prision mayor, or both, in th~ discretion of the court; provided that, if the 
offender is a public official, the penalty shall include removal from office, 
forfeiture of all retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification to hold any other 
appointive or elective positions. 
SEC. 14. Separabilly Clause. If, for any reason or reasons, any part or 
parts of this Act shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid by any competent 
court, other parts or provisions thereof not affected thereby shall continue to be in 
full force and effect. 
SEC. 15. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, executive orders, 
executive issuances 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. 
SEC. 16. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
after its publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,