Source: http://lawlibrary.chanrobles.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=51667:gr-167707-2008&amp;catid=1510&amp;Itemid=566
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 21:59:42+00:00

Document:
THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES, THE REGIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DENR-REGION VI, REGIONAL TECHNICAL DIRECTOR FOR LANDS, LANDS MANAGEMENT BUREAU, REGION VI PROVINCIAL ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES OFFICER OF KALIBO, AKLAN, REGISTER OF DEEDS, DIRECTOR OF LAND REGISTRATION AUTHORITY, DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM SECRETARY, DIRECTOR OF PHILIPPINE TOURISM AUTHORITY, Petitioners, v. MAYOR JOSE S. YAP, LIBERTAD TALAPIAN, MILA Y. SUMNDAD, and ANICETO YAP, in their behalf and in behalf of all those similarly situated, Respondents.
DR. ORLANDO SACAY and WILFREDO GELITO, joined by THE LANDOWNERS OF BORACAY SIMILARLY SITUATED NAMED IN A LIST, ANNEX "A" OF THIS PETITION, Petitioners, v. THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES, THE REGIONAL TECHNICAL DIRECTOR FOR LANDS, LANDS MANAGEMENT BUREAU, REGION VI, PROVINCIAL ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES OFFICER, KALIBO, AKLAN, Respondents.
AT stake in these consolidated cases is the right of the present occupants of Boracay Island to secure titles over their occupied lands.
There are two consolidated petitions. The first is G.R. No. 167707, a Petition for Review on Certiorari of the Decision1 of the Court of Appeals (CA) affirming that2 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Kalibo, Aklan, which granted the petition for declaratory relief filed by respondents-claimants Mayor Jose Yap, et al. and ordered the survey of Boracay for titling purposes. The second is G.R. No. 173775, a petition for prohibition, mandamus, and nullification of Proclamation No. 1064 5"> issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo classifying Boracay into reserved forest and agricultural land.
On November 10, 1978, then President Ferdinand Marcos issued Proclamation No. 18018 declaring Boracay Island, among other islands, caves and peninsulas in the Philippines, as tourist zones and marine reserves under the administration of the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA). President Marcos later approved the issuance of PTA Circular 3-829 dated September 3, 1982, to implement Proclamation No. 1801.
Mayor Jose S. Yap, Jr., Libertad Talapian, Mila Y. Sumndad, and Aniceto Yap filed a petition for declaratory relief with the RTC in Kalibo, Aklan.
Respondents-claimants posited that Proclamation No. 1801 and its implementing Circular did not place Boracay beyond the commerce of man. Since the Island was classified as a tourist zone, it was susceptible of private ownership. Under Section 48(b) of Commonwealth Act (CA) No. 141, otherwise known as the Public Land Act, they had the right to have the lots registered in their names through judicial confirmation of imperfect titles.
The Republic, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), opposed the petition for declaratory relief. The OSG countered that Boracay Island was an unclassified land of the public domain. It formed part of the mass of lands classified as "public forest," which was not available for disposition pursuant to Section 3(a) of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 705 or the Revised Forestry Code,11 as amended.
The OSG maintained that respondents-claimants' reliance on PD No. 1801 and PTA Circular No. 3-82 was misplaced. Their right to judicial confirmation of title was governed by CA No. 141 and PD No. 705. Since Boracay Island had not been classified as alienable and disposable, whatever possession they had cannot ripen into ownership.
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the Court declares that Proclamation No. 1801 and PTA Circular No. 3-82 pose no legal obstacle to the petitioners and those similarly situated to acquire title to their lands in Boracay, in accordance with the applicable laws and in the manner prescribed therein; and to have their lands surveyed and approved by respondent Regional Technical Director of Lands as the approved survey does not in itself constitute a title to the land.
The OSG moved for reconsideration but its motion was denied.23 The Republic then appealed to the CA.
The CA held that respondents-claimants could not be prejudiced by a declaration that the lands they occupied since time immemorial were part of a forest reserve.
Again, the OSG sought reconsideration but it was similarly denied.25 Hence, the present petition under Rule 45.
On May 22, 2006, during the pendency of G.R. No. 167707, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Proclamation No. 106426 classifying Boracay Island into four hundred (400) hectares of reserved forest land (protection purposes) and six hundred twenty-eight and 96/100 (628.96) hectares of agricultural land (alienable and disposable). The Proclamation likewise provided for a fifteen-meter buffer zone on each side of the centerline of roads and trails, reserved for right-of-way and which shall form part of the area reserved for forest land protection purposes.
Petitioners-claimants contended that there is no need for a proclamation reclassifying Boracay into agricultural land. Being classified as neither mineral nor timber land, the island is deemed agricultural pursuant to the Philippine Bill of 1902 and Act No. 926, known as the first Public Land Act.32 Thus, their possession in the concept of owner for the required period entitled them to judicial confirmation of imperfect title.
Opposing the petition, the OSG argued that petitioners-claimants do not have a vested right over their occupied portions in the island. Boracay is an unclassified public forest land pursuant to Section 3(a) of PD No. 705. Being public forest, the claimed portions of the island are inalienable and cannot be the subject of judicial confirmation of imperfect title. It is only the executive department, not the courts, which has authority to reclassify lands of the public domain into alienable and disposable lands. There is a need for a positive government act in order to release the lots for disposition.
AT THE TIME OF THE ESTABLISHED POSSESSION OF PETITIONERS IN CONCEPT OF OWNER OVER THEIR RESPECTIVE AREAS IN BORACAY, SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL OR AT THE LATEST SINCE 30 YRS. PRIOR TO THE FILING OF THE PETITION FOR DECLARATORY RELIEF ON NOV. 19, 1997, WERE THE AREAS OCCUPIED BY THEM PUBLIC AGRICULTURAL LANDS AS DEFINED BY LAWS THEN ON JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF IMPERFECT TITLES OR PUBLIC FOREST AS DEFINED BY SEC. 3a, PD 705?
HAVE PETITIONERS OCCUPANTS ACQUIRED PRIOR VESTED RIGHT OF PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OVER THEIR OCCUPIED PORTIONS OF BORACAY LAND, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE NOT APPLIED YET FOR JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF IMPERFECT TITLE?
IS THE EXECUTIVE DECLARATION OF THEIR AREAS AS ALIENABLE AND DISPOSABLE UNDER SEC 6, CA 141 [AN] INDISPENSABLE PRE-REQUISITE FOR PETITIONERS TO OBTAIN TITLE UNDER THE TORRENS SYSTEM?
IS THE ISSUANCE OF PROCLAMATION 1064 ON MAY 22, 2006, VIOLATIVE OF THE PRIOR VESTED RIGHTS TO PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF PETITIONERS OVER THEIR LANDS IN BORACAY, PROTECTED BY THE DUE PROCESS CLAUSE OF THE CONSTITUTION OR IS PROCLAMATION 1064 CONTRARY TO SEC. 8, CA 141, OR SEC. 4(a) OF RA 6657.
In capsule, the main issue is whether private claimants (respondents-claimants in G.R. No. 167707 and petitioners-claimants in G.R. No. 173775) have a right to secure titles over their occupied portions in Boracay. The twin petitions pertain to their right, if any, to judicial confirmation of imperfect title under CA No. 141, as amended. They do not involve their right to secure title under other pertinent laws.
Private claimants rely on three (3) laws and executive acts in their bid for judicial confirmation of imperfect title, namely: (a) Philippine Bill of 190236 in relation to Act No. 926, later amended and/or superseded by Act No. 2874 and CA No. 141;37 (b) Proclamation No. 180138 issued by then President Marcos; and (c) Proclamation No. 106439 issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. We shall proceed to determine their rights to apply for judicial confirmation of imperfect title under these laws and executive acts.
But first, a peek at the Regalian principle and the power of the executive to reclassify lands of the public domain.
The 1935 Constitution classified lands of the public domain into agricultural, forest or timber.40 Meanwhile, the 1973 Constitution provided the following divisions: agricultural, industrial or commercial, residential, resettlement, mineral, timber or forest and grazing lands, and such other classes as may be provided by law,41 giving the government great leeway for classification.42 Then the 1987 Constitution reverted to the 1935 Constitution classification with one addition: national parks.43 Of these, only agricultural lands may be alienated.44 Prior to Proclamation No. 1064 of May 22, 2006, Boracay Island had never been expressly and administratively classified under any of these grand divisions. Boracay was an unclassified land of the public domain.
The issuance of PD No. 89275 on February 16, 1976 discontinued the use of Spanish titles as evidence in land registration proceedings.76 Under the decree, all holders of Spanish titles or grants should apply for registration of their lands under Act No. 496 within six (6) months from the effectivity of the decree on February 16, 1976. Thereafter, the recording of all unregistered lands77 shall be governed by Section 194 of the Revised Administrative Code, as amended by Act No. 3344.
Private claimants' reliance on Ankron and De Aldecoa is misplaced. These cases did not have the effect of converting the whole of Boracay Island or portions of it into agricultural lands. It should be stressed that the Philippine Bill of 1902 and Act No. 926 merely provided the manner through which land registration courts would classify lands of the public domain. Whether the land would be classified as timber, mineral, or agricultural depended on proof presented in each case.
x x x Petitioners furthermore insist that a particular land need not be formally released by an act of the Executive before it can be deemed open to private ownership, citing the cases of Ramos v. Director of Lands and Ankron v. Government of the Philippine Islands.
But We cannot unduly expand the presumption in Ankron and De Aldecoa to an argument that all lands of the public domain had been automatically reclassified as disposable and alienable agricultural lands. By no stretch of imagination did the presumption convert all lands of the public domain into agricultural lands.
If We accept the position of private claimants, the Philippine Bill of 1902 and Act No. 926 would have automatically made all lands in the Philippines, except those already classified as timber or mineral land, alienable and disposable lands. That would take these lands out of State ownership and worse, would be utterly inconsistent with and totally repugnant to the long-entrenched Regalian doctrine.
The presumption in Ankron and De Aldecoa attaches only to land registration cases brought under the provisions of Act No. 926, or more specifically those cases dealing with judicial and administrative confirmation of imperfect titles. The presumption applies to an applicant for judicial or administrative conformation of imperfect title under Act No. 926. It certainly cannot apply to landowners, such as private claimants or their predecessors-in-interest, who failed to avail themselves of the benefits of Act No. 926. As to them, their land remained unclassified and, by virtue of the Regalian doctrine, continued to be owned by the State.
Here, private claimants, unlike the Heirs of Ciriaco Tirol who were issued their title in 1933,98 did not present a justiciable case for determination by the land registration court of the property's land classification. Simply put, there was no opportunity for the courts then to resolve if the land the Boracay occupants are now claiming were agricultural lands. When Act No. 926 was supplanted by Act No. 2874 in 1919, without an application for judicial confirmation having been filed by private claimants or their predecessors-in-interest, the courts were no longer authorized to determine the property's land classification. Hence, private claimants cannot bank on Act No. 926.
Krivenko, however, is not controlling here because it involved a totally different issue. The pertinent issue in Krivenko was whether residential lots were included in the general classification of agricultural lands; and if so, whether an alien could acquire a residential lot. This Court ruled that as an alien, Krivenko was prohibited by the 1935 Constitution104 from acquiring agricultural land, which included residential lots. Here, the issue is whether unclassified lands of the public domain are automatically deemed agricultural.
Notably, the definition of "agricultural public lands" mentioned in Krivenko relied on the old cases decided prior to the enactment of Act No. 2874, including Ankron and De Aldecoa.105 As We have already stated, those cases cannot apply here, since they were decided when the Executive did not have the authority to classify lands as agricultural, timber, or mineral.
Private claimants' continued possession under Act No. 926 does not create a presumption that the land is alienable. Private claimants also contend that their continued possession of portions of Boracay Island for the requisite period of ten (10) years under Act No. 926106 ipso facto converted the island into private ownership. Hence, they may apply for a title in their name.
"Act No. 926, the first Public Land Act, was passed in pursuance of the provisions of the Philippine Bill of 1902. The law governed the disposition of lands of the public domain. It prescribed rules and regulations for the homesteading, selling and leasing of portions of the public domain of the Philippine Islands, and prescribed the terms and conditions to enable persons to perfect their titles to public lands in the Islands. It also provided for the "issuance of patents to certain native settlers upon public lands," for the establishment of town sites and sale of lots therein, for the completion of imperfect titles, and for the cancellation or confirmation of Spanish concessions and grants in the Islands." In short, the Public Land Act operated on the assumption that title to public lands in the Philippine Islands remained in the government; and that the government's title to public land sprung from the Treaty of Paris and other subsequent treaties between Spain and the United States. The term "public land" referred to all lands of the public domain whose title still remained in the government and are thrown open to private appropriation and settlement, and excluded the patrimonial property of the government and the friar lands."
Except for lands already covered by existing titles, Boracay was an unclassified land of the public domain prior to Proclamation No. 1064. Such unclassified lands are considered public forest under PD No. 705. The DENR109 and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority110 certify that Boracay Island is an unclassified land of the public domain.
PD No. 705 issued by President Marcos categorized all unclassified lands of the public domain as public forest. Section 3(a) of PD No. 705 defines a public forest as "a mass of lands of the public domain which has not been the subject of the present system of classification for the determination of which lands are needed for forest purpose and which are not." Applying PD No. 705, all unclassified lands, including those in Boracay Island, are ipso facto considered public forests. PD No. 705, however, respects titles already existing prior to its effectivity.
The Court notes that the classification of Boracay as a forest land under PD No. 705 may seem to be out of touch with the present realities in the island. Boracay, no doubt, has been partly stripped of its forest cover to pave the way for commercial developments. As a premier tourist destination for local and foreign tourists, Boracay appears more of a commercial island resort, rather than a forest land.
Nevertheless, that the occupants of Boracay have built multi-million peso beach resorts on the island;111 that the island has already been stripped of its forest cover; or that the implementation of Proclamation No. 1064 will destroy the island's tourism industry, do not negate its character as public forest.
There is a big difference between "forest" as defined in a dictionary and "forest or timber land" as a classification of lands of the public domain as appearing in our statutes. One is descriptive of what appears on the land while the other is a legal status, a classification for legal purposes.116 At any rate, the Court is tasked to determine the legal status of Boracay Island, and not look into its physical layout. Hence, even if its forest cover has been replaced by beach resorts, restaurants and other commercial establishments, it has not been automatically converted from public forest to alienable agricultural land.
Private claimants cannot rely on Proclamation No. 1801 as basis for judicial confirmation of imperfect title. The proclamation did not convert Boracay into an agricultural land. However, private claimants argue that Proclamation No. 1801 issued by then President Marcos in 1978 entitles them to judicial confirmation of imperfect title. The Proclamation classified Boracay, among other islands, as a tourist zone. Private claimants assert that, as a tourist spot, the island is susceptible of private ownership.
Subsistence farming, in areas declared as alienable and disposable by the Bureau of Forest Development.
Therefore, Proclamation No. 1801 cannot be deemed the positive act needed to classify Boracay Island as alienable and disposable land. If President Marcos intended to classify the island as alienable and disposable or forest, or both, he would have identified the specific limits of each, as President Arroyo did in Proclamation No. 1064. This was not done in Proclamation No. 1801.
More importantly, Proclamation No. 1801 covers not only Boracay Island, but sixty-four (64) other islands, coves, and peninsulas in the Philippines, such as Fortune and Verde Islands in Batangas, Port Galera in Oriental Mindoro, Panglao and Balicasag Islands in Bohol, Coron Island, Puerto Princesa and surrounding areas in Palawan, Camiguin Island in Cagayan de Oro, and Misamis Oriental, to name a few. If the designation of Boracay Island as tourist zone makes it alienable and disposable by virtue of Proclamation No. 1801, all the other areas mentioned would likewise be declared wide open for private disposition. That could not have been, and is clearly beyond, the intent of the proclamation.
Proclamation No. 1064 classifies Boracay into 400 hectares of reserved forest land and 628.96 hectares of agricultural land. The Proclamation likewise provides for a 15-meter buffer zone on each side of the center line of roads and trails, which are reserved for right of way and which shall form part of the area reserved for forest land protection purposes.
Contrary to private claimants' argument, there was nothing invalid or irregular, much less unconstitutional, about the classification of Boracay Island made by the President through Proclamation No. 1064. It was within her authority to make such classification, subject to existing vested rights.
SEC. 4. Scope. - The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 shall cover, regardless of tenurial arrangement and commodity produced, all public and private agricultural lands as provided in Proclamation No. 131 and Executive Order No. 229, including other lands of the public domain suitable for agriculture.
(a) All alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to or suitable for agriculture. No reclassification of forest or mineral lands to agricultural lands shall be undertaken after the approval of this Act until Congress, taking into account ecological, developmental and equity considerations, shall have determined by law, the specific limits of the public domain.
That Boracay Island was classified as a public forest under PD No. 705 did not bar the Executive from later converting it into agricultural land. Boracay Island still remained an unclassified land of the public domain despite PD No. 705.
In Heirs of the Late Spouses Pedro S. Palanca and Soterranea Rafols v. Republic,124 the Court stated that unclassified lands are public forests.
Indeed, the key word to the correct application of the prohibition in Section 4(a) is the word "reclassification." Where there has been no previous classification of public forest [referring, we repeat, to the mass of the public domain which has not been the subject of the present system of classification for purposes of determining which are needed for forest purposes and which are not] into permanent forest or forest reserves or some other forest uses under the Revised Forestry Code, there can be no "reclassification of forest lands" to speak of within the meaning of Section 4(a).
As discussed, the Philippine Bill of 1902, Act No. 926, and Proclamation No. 1801 did not convert portions of Boracay Island into an agricultural land. The island remained an unclassified land of the public domain and, applying the Regalian doctrine, is considered State property.
Neither may private claimants apply for judicial confirmation of imperfect title under Proclamation No. 1064, with respect to those lands which were classified as agricultural lands. Private claimants failed to prove the first element of open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession of their lands in Boracay since June 12, 1945.
We cannot sustain the CA and RTC conclusion in the petition for declaratory relief that private claimants complied with the requisite period of possession.
The tax declarations in the name of private claimants are insufficient to prove the first element of possession. We note that the earliest of the tax declarations in the name of private claimants were issued in 1993. Being of recent dates, the tax declarations are not sufficient to convince this Court that the period of possession and occupation commenced on June 12, 1945.
Private claimants insist that they have a vested right in Boracay, having been in possession of the island for a long time. They have invested millions of pesos in developing the island into a tourist spot. They say their continued possession and investments give them a vested right which cannot be unilaterally rescinded by Proclamation No. 1064.
The continued possession and considerable investment of private claimants do not automatically give them a vested right in Boracay. Nor do these give them a right to apply for a title to the land they are presently occupying. This Court is constitutionally bound to decide cases based on the evidence presented and the laws applicable. As the law and jurisprudence stand, private claimants are ineligible to apply for a judicial confirmation of title over their occupied portions in Boracay even with their continued possession and considerable investment in the island.
The Court is aware that millions of pesos have been invested for the development of Boracay Island, making it a by-word in the local and international tourism industry. The Court also notes that for a number of years, thousands of people have called the island their home. While the Court commiserates with private claimants' plight, We are bound to apply the law strictly and judiciously. This is the law and it should prevail. Ito ang batas at ito ang dapat umiral.
All is not lost, however, for private claimants. While they may not be eligible to apply for judicial confirmation of imperfect title under Section 48(b) of CA No. 141, as amended, this does not denote their automatic ouster from the residential, commercial, and other areas they possess now classified as agricultural. Neither will this mean the loss of their substantial investments on their occupied alienable lands. Lack of title does not necessarily mean lack of right to possess.
For one thing, those with lawful possession may claim good faith as builders of improvements. They can take steps to preserve or protect their possession. For another, they may look into other modes of applying for original registration of title, such as by homestead131 or sales patent,132 subject to the conditions imposed by law.
More realistically, Congress may enact a law to entitle private claimants to acquire title to their occupied lots or to exempt them from certain requirements under the present land laws. There is one such bill133 now pending in the House of Representatives. Whether that bill or a similar bill will become a law is for Congress to decide.
In issuing Proclamation No. 1064, the government has taken the step necessary to open up the island to private ownership. This gesture may not be sufficient to appease some sectors which view the classification of the island partially into a forest reserve as absurd. That the island is no longer overrun by trees, however, does not becloud the vision to protect its remaining forest cover and to strike a healthy balance between progress and ecology. Ecological conservation is as important as economic progress.
1. The Petition for Certiorariin G.R. No. 167707 is GRANTED and the Court of Appeals Decision in CA-G.R. CV No. 71118 REVERSED AND SET ASIDE.
2. The Petition for Certiorari in G.R. No. 173775 is DISMISSED for lack of merit.
** No part. Justice Nachura participated in the present case as Solicitor General.
1 Rollo (G.R. No. 167707), pp. 37-43. CA-G.R. CV No. 71118, promulgated on December 9, 2004. Penned by Associate Justice Isaias P. Dican, with Associate Justices Sesinando E. Villon and Ramon M. Bato, Jr., concurring.
2 Id. at 47-54; Annex "C." Spl. Civil Case No. 5403. Penned by Judge Niovady M. Marin, RTC, Kalibo, Branch 5.
3 Rollo (G.R. No. 173775), pp. 101-114. Annex "F." Classifying Boracay Island Situated in the Municipality of Malay, Province of Aklan Into Forestland (Protection Purposes) and Into Agricultural Land (Alienable and Disposable) Pursuant to Presidential Decreee No. 705 (Revised Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines). Issued on May 22, 2006.
4 As of the year 2000.
5 Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak.
6 Under Survey Plan No. NR-06-000001.
7 Rollo (G.R. No. 167707), p. 49.
8 Id. at 21-23; Annex "B." Declaring Certain Islands, Coves, and Peninsulas in the Philippines as Tourist Zones and Marine Reserves Under the Administration and Control of the Philippine Tourism Authority.
9 Id. at 24-27. Rules and Regulations Governing Activities at Boracay Island Tourist Zone.
10 Records, pp. 13-32; Annexes "A" to "A-18."
11 Issued on May 19, 1975.
14 Rules of Court, Rule 129, Sec. 2.
16 Id. at 177, 178.
17 Rollo (G.R. No. 167707), p. 54.
No trees in forested private lands may be cut without prior authority from the PTA. All forested areas in public lands are declared forest reserves.
20 Sec. 87. If all the lands included in the proclamation of the President are not registered under the Land Registration Act, the Solicitor-General, if requested to do so by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of section fifty-three of this Act.
21 Sec. 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 land 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.
22 Rollo (G.R. No. 167707), p. 51.
27 Owner of Waling-Waling Beach Resort and Chairman of the Board of Boracay Foundation, Inc.
28 Owner of Willy's Beach Resort.
29 Rollo (G.R. No. 173775), p. 20; Annex "A."
30 Petitioners in G.R. No. 173775 claim that they are also petitioners in the declaratory case filed in November 1997 before the RTC in Kalibo, Aklan, docketed as Sp. Civil Case No. 5403 and now before this Court as G.R. No. 167707.
31 Rollo (G.R No. 173775), pp. 4-5.
34 Rollo (G.R. No. 167707), p. 26.
35 Rollo (G.R. No. 173775), pp. 280-281.
36 An Act Temporarily to Provide for the Administration of the Affairs of Civil Government in the Philippine Islands, and for Other Purposes. Issued on July 1, 1902.
37 An Act to Amend and Compile the Laws Relative to Lands of the Public Domain. Approved on December 1, 1936.
40 Constitution (1935), Art. XIII, Sec. 1.
41 Constitution (1973), Art. XIV, Sec. 10.
42 Bernas, S.J., The Intent of the 1986 Constitution Writers, 1995 ed., p. 830.
43 Constitution (1987), Art. XII, Sec. 3.
45 Zarate v. Director of Lands, G.R. No. 131501, July 14, 2004, 434 SCRA 322; Reyes v. Court of Appeals, 356 Phil. 606, 624 (1998).
46 Chavez v. Public Estates Authority, G.R. No. 133250, July 9, 2002, 384 SCRA 152.
47 Zarate v. Director of Lands, supra; Collado v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 107764, October 4, 2002, 390 SCRA 343; Director of Lands v. Intermediate Appellate Court, G.R. No. 73246, March 2, 1993, 219 SCRA 339.
48 Republic v. Estonilo, G.R. No. 157306, November 25, 2005, 476 SCRA 265; Zarate v. Director of Lands, supra.
49 De los Reyes v. Ramolete, G.R. No. L-47331, June 21, 1983, 122 SCRA 652, citing Gonzaga v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. L-27455, June 28, 1973, 51 SCRA 381.
50 Collado v. Court of Appeals, supra, citing Chavez v. Public Estates Authority, supra.
51 Id., citing separate opinion of then Justice Reynato S. Puno in Cruz v. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, G.R. No. 135385, December 6, 2000, 347 SCRA 128, and Chavez v. Public Estates Authority, supra note 46.
52 Collado v. Court of Appeals, supra note 47.
53 Effective February 13, 1894.
54 De Aldecoa v. The Insular Government, 13 Phil. 159 (1909).
55 A valid title based upon adverse possession or a valid title based upon prescription. Noblejas, A.H. and Noblejas, E.H., Registration of Land Titles and Deeds, 1986 ed., p. 39, citing Cruz v. De Leon, 21 Phil. 199 (1912).
56 Ten (10) years, according to Archbishop of Manila v. Arnedo, 30 Phil. 593 (1915).
57 Noblejas, A.H. and Noblejas, E.H., Registration of Land Titles and Deeds, supra at 8.
58 Id. at 9; Director of Forest Administration v. Fernandez, G.R. NOS. 36827, 56622 & 70076, December 10, 1990, 192 SCRA 121, 137.
61 Director of Forestry v. Villareal, G.R. No. L-32266, February 27, 1989, 170 SCRA 598, 601.
62 Noblejas, A.H. and Noblejas, E.H., Registration of Land Titles and Deeds, supra note 55, at 347.
Sec. 13. That the Government of the Philippine Islands, subject to the provisions of this Act and except as herein provided, shall classify according to its agricultural character and productiveness, and shall immediately make rules and regulations for the lease, sale, or other disposition of the public lands other than timber or mineral lands, but such rules and regulations shall not go into effect or have the force of law until they have received the approval of the President, and when approved by the President they shall be submitted by him to Congress at the beginning of the next ensuing session thereof and unless disapproved or amended by Congress at said session they shall at the close of such period have the force and effect of law in the Philippine Islands: Provided, That a single homestead entry shall not exceed sixteen hectares in extent.
Sec. 14. That the Government of the Philippine Islands is hereby authorized and empowered to enact rules and regulations and to prescribe terms and conditions to enable persons to perfect their title to public lands in said Islands, who, prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States, had fulfilled all or some of the conditions required by the Spanish laws and royal decrees of the Kingdom of Spain for the acquisition of legal title thereto, yet failed to secure conveyance of title; and the Philippine Commission is authorized to issue patents, without compensation, to any native of said Islands, conveying title to any tract of land not more than sixteen hectares in extent, which were public lands and had been actually occupied by such native or his ancestors prior to and on the thirteenth of August, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight.
Sec. 15. That the Government of the Philippine Islands is hereby authorized and empowered, on such terms as it may prescribe, by general legislation, to provide for the granting or sale and conveyance to actual occupants and settlers and other citizens of said Islands such parts and portions of the public domain, other than timber and mineral lands, of the United States in said Islands as it may deem wise, not exceeding sixteen hectares to any one person and for the sale and conveyance of not more than one thousand and twenty-four hectares to any corporation or association of persons: Provided, That the grant or sale of such lands, whether the purchase price be paid at once or in partial payments, shall be conditioned upon actual and continued occupancy, improvement, and cultivation of the premises sold for a period of not less than five years, during which time the purchaser or grantee can not alienate or encumber said land or the title thereto; but such restriction shall not apply to transfers of rights and title of inheritance under the laws for the distribution of the estates of decedents.
64 10 Phil. 175 (1908).
66 Collado v. Court of Appeals, supra note 47.
67 Noblejas, A.H. and Noblejas, E.H., Registration of Land Titles and Deeds, supra note 55.
68 Sec. 54, par. 6.
69 Sec. 45(b); Public Estates Authority v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 112172, November 20, 2000, 345 SCRA 96; Director of Lands v. Buyco, G.R. No. 91189, November 27, 1992, 216 SCRA 78.
70 Collado v. Court of Appeals, supra note 47, see separate opinion of Justice Puno in Cruz v. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, supra note 51, and Chavez v. Public Estates Authority, supra note 46.
72 An Act to Amend Subsection (b) of Section Forty-Eight of Commonwealth Act Numbered One Hundred Forty-One, Otherwise Known as the Public Land Act. Approved on June 22, 1957.
73 Extending the Period of Filing Applications for Administrative Legislation (Free Patent) and Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect and Incomplete Titles to Alienable and Disposable Lands in the Public Domain Under Chapter VII and Chapter VIII of Commonwealth Act No. 141, As Amended, For Eleven (11) Years Commencing January 1, 1977. Approved on January 25, 1977.
74 Republic v. Doldol, G.R. No. 132963, September 10, 1998, 295 SCRA 359.
75 Discontinuance of the Spanish Mortgage System of Registration and of the Use of Spanish Titles as Evidence in Land Registration Proceedings (Issued - February 16, 1976).
76 Director of Forest Administration v. Fernandez, supra note 58, citing Director of Lands v. Rivas, G.R. No. L-61539, February 14, 1986, 141 SCRA 329.
77 Lands which were not recorded under the Maura Law and were not yet covered by Torrens titles.
78 Presidential Decree No. 1529, Preamble; Director of Lands v. Intermediate Appellate Court, supra note 47.
79 PeÃ±a, N. and PeÃ±a, Jr., N., Registration of Land Titles and Deeds, 1988 ed., p. 9.
80 Republic v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 48227, August 21, 1991, 201 SCRA 1; Director of Lands v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 83609, October 26, 1989, 178 SCRA 708.
81 Heirs of the Late Spouses Pedro S. Palanca and Soterranea Rafols Vda. De Palanca v. Republic, G.R. No. 151312, August 30, 2006, 500 SCRA 209; Director of Lands v. Intermediate Appellate Court, supra note 47, citing Director of Lands v. Aquino, G.R. No. 31688, December 17, 1990, 192 SCRA 296.
82 Chavez v. Public Estates Authority, supra note 46.
83 Republic v. Lao, G.R. No. 150413, July 1, 2003; 405 SCRA 291; Director of Lands v. Intermediate Appellate Court, supra note 47, citing Director of Lands v. Aquino, supra.
84 Republic v. Lao, supra; Pagkatipunan v. Court of Appeals, 429 Phil. 377, 389-390 (2002).
85 Republic of the Philippines v. MuÃ±oz, G.R. No. 151910, October 15, 2007.
86 Heirs of the Late Spouses Pedro S. Palanca and Soterranea Rafols Vda. De Palanca v. Republic, supra; Gutierrez Hermanos v. Court of Appeals, G.R. NOS. 54472-77, September 28, 1989, 178 SCRA 37.
87 Republic v. Naguiat, G.R. No. 134209, January 24, 2006, 479 SCRA 585.
88 40 Phil. 10 (1919).
90 Ankron v. Government of the Philippine Islands, supra at 16.
91 Heirs of the Late Spouses Pedro S. Palanca and Soterranea Rafols Vda. De Palanca v. Republic, supra note 81.
94 Ankron v. Government of the Philippine Islands, supra note 88, at 16.
96 Act No. 2874, Sec. 8; Republic v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 155450, August 6, 2008; Republic v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 127245, January 30, 2001.
96-a Bureau of Forestry v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. L-37995, August 31, 1987, 153 SCRA 351, 357.
97 Heirs of the Late Spouses Pedro S. Palanca and Soterranea Rafols Vda. De Palanca v. Republic, supra note 81.
98 The records do not show the manner in which title was issued to the Heirs of Ciriaco Tirol.
100 79 Phil. 461 (1947).
104 Art. XIII, Sec. 1.
105 Krivenko v. Register of Deeds of Manila, supra note 100, at 468-469.
(6) All persons who by themselves or their predecessors in interest have been in the open, continuous exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural public lands, as defined by said Act of Congress of July first, nineteen hundred and two, under a bona fide claim of ownership except as against the Government, for a period of ten years next preceding the taking effect of this act, except when prevented by war, or force majeure, shall be conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions essential to a Government grant and to have received the same, and shall be entitled to a certificate of title to such land under the provisions of this chapter.
107-a G.R. No. 135385, December 6, 2000, 347 SCRA 128.
108 Collado v. Court of Appeals, id. at 356.
109 Records, p. 101; Annex "A."
110 Id. at 106; Exhibit "1-a."
111 Rollo (G.R. No. 173775), p. 5.
112 Constitution (1987), Art. XII, Sec. 3; Constitution (1973), Art. XIV, Sec. 10, as amended; and Constitution (1935), Art. XIII, Sec. 1.
113 Republic v. Naguiat, supra note 87.
114 G.R. No. L-27873, November 29, 1983, 126 SCRA 69.
115 Heirs of Amunategui v. Director of Forestry, id. at 75.
116 Republic v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. L-56948, September 30, 1987, 154 SCRA 476, 482-483.
Establishment of or low-density human settlements in private lands, or subdivisions, if any, subject to prior approval by the Ministry of Human Settlements, PTA and local building officials; Provided, that no structures shall be constructed within 30 meters from the shorelines.
And may at any time and in a like manner transfer such lands from one class to another, for the purposes of their administration and disposition.
SEC. 7. For the purposes of administration and disposition of alienable or disposable public lands, the President, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce (now the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources), shall from time to time declare what lands are open to disposition or concession under this Act.
121 Director of Lands v. Intermediate Appellate Court, supra note 47; Manalo v. Intermediate Appellate Court, G.R. No. 64753, April 26, 1989, 172 SCRA 795.
122 Republic v. Register of Deeds of Quezon, G.R. No. 73974, May 31, 1995, 244 SCRA 537; Director of Lands v. Intermediate Appellate Court, supra note 47.
123 Director of Lands v. Intermediate Appellate Court, supra note 47, citing Yngson v. Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, G.R. No. L-36847, July 20, 1983, 123 SCRA 441; Republic v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. L-45202, September 11, 1980, 99 SCRA 742.
125 Heirs of the Late Spouses Pedro S. Palanca and Soterranea Rafols Vda. De Palanca v. Republic, id. at 222-223.
126 Reconsideration of DOJ Opinion No. 169, s. 1993, on the DOJ affirmative stand on whether the prohibition against the reclassification of forest lands applies to "unclassified public forest."
127 Rollo (G.R. No. 173775), p. 139.
128 Del Rosario-Igtiben v. Republic, G.R. No. 158449, October 22, 2004, 441 SCRA 188; Republic v. Lao, supra note 83.
129 Public Land Act, Sec. 48(b).
130 Public Estates Authority v. Court of Appeals, supra note 69.
131 Commonwealth Act No. 141, Chapter IV.
133 House Bill No. 1109. Declaring Certain Parcels of the Public Domain Within Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan as Agricultural Land Open to Disposition.
134 G.R. No. L-24796, June 28, 1968, 23 SCRA 1183, cited in Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company v. Dumyung, G.R. NOS. L-31666-68, April 30, 1979, 89 SCRA 532.
135 Director of Forestry v. MuÃ±oz, id. at 1214.

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