A.

Definitions

1. Natural Resources
- Material objects of economic value and utility to man produced by nature. They
constitute the patrimony of the nation.
2. Territorial sea
- That part of the sea extending 12 nautical miles from the baselines.
3. Jura Regalia
- All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other
mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife,
flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State.
4. Imperium
- Government authority possessed by the State which is appropriately embraced
in the concept of sovereignty.
5. Dominium
- The State's capacity to own or acquire property.
6. Agricultural lands
- Lands devoted principally to the raising of crops such as rice, sugar, tobacco,
coconut, etc., or for farming.
7. Forest and timber land
- A large tract of land covered with a natural growth of trees and underbrush.
- Land producing wood or able to produce wood.
8. Mineral lands
- Those lands in which minerals exist in sufficient quantity and grade to justify the

necessary expenditures in extracting and utilizing such minerals.

- Any area where mineral resources are found.
9. Mineral oil
- A distillation product of petroleum, especially one used as a lubricant,
moisturizer or laxative
10. National parks
- Any land declared by the law as a national park. (According to Comsor)
- Land maintained by the national government as a place of beauty or of public
recreation, or forested land reserved from settlement and maintained in its natural
state for public use, or as wildlife refuge
11. Public Lands
- Such lands of the public domain as are subject to alienation and disposal by the
State.
12. Private lands
- Land belonging to and owned by the State as a private individual, without being
devoted for public use, public service or to the development of the national
wealth.
13. Ancestral domains
- Areas generally belonging to indigenous cultural communities, including
ancestral lands, forests, pasture, residential and agricultural lands, hunting
grounds, worship areas and lands no longer occupied exclusively by ICCs but to
which they had traditional access, particularly the home ranges of ICCs who are
still nomadic or shifting cultivators. Ancestral domains also include inland waters,
coastal waters and natural resources therein.
14. Ancestral lands
- Lands occupied by individuals, families, and clans who are members of ICCs

including residential lots, rice terraces or paddies, private forests, swidden farms
and tree lots. These lands are requires to have been occupied, possessed and
utilized by them or through their ancestors since time immemorial.
15. National heritage
- "Heritage zone" shall refer to historical, anthropological, archaeological, artistic
geographical areas and settings that are culturally significant to the country, as
declared by the National Museum and/or the National Historical Institute.

B. Essay/Enumerations
1. General Economic Policy (Art. XII, Sec. 1)
- The goals of the national economy are a more equitable distribution of
opportunities, income, and wealth; a sustained increase in the amount of goods
and services produced by the nation for the benefit of the people; and an
expanding productivity as the key raising the quality of life for all, especially the
underprivileged.
2. Classification of public lands (Art. XII, Sec. 3)
- Lands of the public domain are classified into agricultural, forest or timber,
mineral lands, and national parks.
3. Exploration, Development and Utilization (Art. XII, Sec. 2)
- The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be

under the full control and supervision of the State. The State may directly
undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or
production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or
associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens.
Such agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable
for not more than twenty-five years, and under such terms and conditions as may
be provided by law. In cases of water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries,
or industrial uses other than the development of water power, beneficial use may
be the measure and limit of the grant.
4. Authority of the president to enter into executive agreements (Art. XII,
Sec. 2)
- The President may enter into agreements with foreign-owned corporations
involving either technical of financial assistance for large-scale exploration,
development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum, and other mineral oils
according to the general terms and conditions provided by law, based on real
contributions to the economic growth and general welfare of the country. In such
agreements, the State shall promote the development and use of local scientific
and technical resources.
5. Disposition of public lands (Art. XII, Sec. 3)
- Alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to agricultural lands.
Private corporations or associations may not hold such alienable lands of the
public domain except by lease, for a period not exceeding twenty-five years,
renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and not to exceed one thousand
hectares in area. Citizens of the Philippines may lease not more than five
hundred hectares, or acquire not more than twelve hectares thereof by purchase,
homestead, or grant.
6. Discretion of Congress in the development of alienable lands (Art. XII,

Sec. 3)
- Taking

into

account

the

requirements

of conservation,

ecology,

and

development, and subject to the requirements of agrarian reform, the Congress

shall determine, by law, the size of lands of the public domain which may be
acquired, developed, held, or leased and the conditions therefor.

7. Congress' power to prohibit logging (Art. XII, Sec. 4)

- The Congress shall, as soon as possible, determine by law the specific limits of
forest lands and national parks, marking clearly their boundaries on the ground.
Thereafter, such forest lands and national parks shall be conserved and may not
be increased nor diminished, except by law. The Congress shall provide, for such
period as it may determine, measures to prohibit logging in endangered forests
and watershed areas.
8. Eligible individuals to own private lands (Art. XII, Secs. 7-8)
- SECTION 7. Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be
transferred or conveyed except to individuals, corporations, or associations
qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain.
SECTION 8. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 7 of this Article, a naturalborn citizen of the Philippines who has lost his Philippine citizenship may be a
transferee of private lands, subject to limitations provided by law.

9. Recognized rights of the people under the Clean Air Act

(a) The right to breathe clean air;
(b) The right to utilize and enjoy all natural resources according to the principles

of sustainable development;
(c) The right to participate in the formulation, planning, implementation and
monitoring of environmental policies and programs and in the decision-making
process;
(d) The right to participate in the decision-making process concerning
development policies, plans and programs projects or activities that may have
adverse impact on the environment and public health;
(e) The right to be informed of the nature and extent of the potential hazard of
any activity, undertaking or project and to be served timely notice of any
significant rise in the level of pollution and the accidental or deliberate release
into the atmosphere of harmful or hazardous substances;
(f) The right of access to public records which a citizen may need to exercise his
or her rights effectively under this Act;
(g) The right to bring action in court or quasi-judicial bodies to enjoin all activities
in violation of environmental laws and regulations, to compel the rehabilitation
and cleanup of affected area, and to seek the imposition of penal sanctions
against violators of environmental laws; and
(h) The right to bring action in court for compensation of personal damages
resulting from the adverse environmental and public health impact of a project or
activity.

C. Cases
Carino vs. Insular Government
Facts:
An Igorot applied for the registration of a certain land. He and his ancestors had
held the land as owners for more than 50 years, which he inherited under Igorot
customs. There was no document of title issued for the land when he applied for
registration. The government contends that the land in question belonged to the
state. Under the Spanish Law, all lands belonged to the Spanish Crown except
those with permit private titles. Moreover, there is no prescription against the
Crown.
Issue:
WON the land in question belonged to the Spanish Crown under the Regalian
Doctrine.
Held:
No. Law and justice require that the applicant should be granted title to his land.
The United States Supreme Court, through Justice Holmes declared:
It might perhaps, be proper and sufficient to say that when, as far as testimony
or memory goes, the land has been held by individuals under a claim of private
ownership, it will be presumed to have been held in the same way from before
the Spanish conquest, and never to have been public land.
There is an existence of native title to land, or ownership of land by Filipinos by
virtue of possession under a claim of ownership since time immemorial and
independent of any grant from the Spanish Crown, as an exception to the theory
of jura regalia.

Meralco vs. Castro-Bartolome

FACTS:
The Manila Electric Company purchased two lots (165 sqm.) at Tanay, Rizal

on August 13, 1976 from Piguing spouses. After acquisition, they subsequently
filed for judicial confirmation of imperfect title on Dec. 1, 1976. However, the court
denied the petition and the corresponding appeal was likewise rejected. It
elevates its appeal with the following arguments; firstly, the land in question had
essentially been converted to private land by virtue of acquisitive prescription as
a result of open, continuous and notorious possession and occupation for more
than thirty years by the original owner, Olimpia Ramos and his predecessor in
interest, Piguing spouses, from whom Meralco acquired the disputed land; and
finally, the substantial rights acquired by Ramos spouses and Piguing spouses
for judicial confirmation of imperfect title, extend to Meralco by virtue of the
provision of the Public Land Law.
ISSUE:
Whether or not the conversion of the land in question is recognized.
HELD:
No. As between the State and the Meralco, the said land is still public land.
It would cease to he public land only upon the issuance of the certificate of title to
any Filipino citizen claiming it under section 48(b), Because it is still public land
and the Meralco, as a juridical person, is disqualified to apply for its registration
under section 48(b), Meralcos application cannot be given due course or has to
be dismissed.
That means that until the certificate of title is issued, a piece of land, over
which an imperfect title is sought to be confirmed, remains public land.

Garcia vs. J. G. Summit

FACTS:
JG Summit Petrochemical Corp. (JG Summit) was registered by the BOI as
a new domestic producer of polyethylene and polypropylene resins. In May 1994,
it has manifested that it will established its plant in Negros Oriental but two (2)
years later, had advised the BOI that it will locate in Batangas City.
Garcia objected to the Batangas plant site, citing as basis the 1990
decision of this Court in Garcia vs. Board of Investments, which annulled the
Boards approval of the change of plant site from Bataan to Batangas, and of
feedstock from naphtha only to naphtha and/or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

He argued that by the said decision, this Court declared the

Bataan petrochemical zone as the only possible site for petrochemical plants as
provided for under P.D. Nos. 949 and 1803.
ISSUE:
Whether or not P.D. Nos. 949 and 1830 mandates the establishment of
petrochemical plant only in Limay, Bataan.
HELD:
If only to lay the matter finally to rest, this Court now reiterates that P.D.
Nos. 949 and 1830 do not prohibit the establishment of a petrochemical plant
outside of Limay, Bataan. A meticulous perusal of the two decrees reveals that
nowhere in their provisions is it stated or can it be inferred that all petrochemical
plants must be established in Limay, Bataan or, stated differently, that Bataan is
intended to be the only site for all petrochemical plants.
What is clear then is that the law reserved an area for a petrochemical
industrial zone in Bataan and that PNOC was to operate, manage and develop
it. There is, however, nothing further in the law to indicate that the choice of
Limay, Bataan as a petrochemical zone was exclusive. On the contrary, the use
of the word may in the proviso of Section 2 runs counter to the exclusivity of
the Bataan site because it makes it merely directory, rather than mandatory, for
the PNOC to lease, sell and/or convey portions of the petrochemical industrial
zone to private entities or persons locating their plants therein.

Chavez vs. Public Estates Authority

FACTS:
The Public Estates Authority (PEA) is the central implementing agency
tasked to undertake reclamation projects nationwide. It took over the leasing and
selling functions of the DENR (Department of Environmental and Natural
Resources) insofar as reclaimed or about to be reclaimed foreshore lands are
concerned.
PEA sought the transfer to the Amari Coastal Bay and Development Corporation,
a private corporation, of the ownership of 77.34 hectares of the Freedom Islands.
PEA also sought to have 290.156 hectares of submerged areas of Manila Bay to

Amari.
ISSUE:
Whether or not the transfer is valid.
HELD:
No. To allow vast areas of reclaimed lands of the public domain to be
transferred to Amari as private lands will sanction a gross violation of the
constitutional ban on private corporations from acquiring any kind of alienable
land of the public domain.
The Supreme Court affirmed that the 157.84 hectares of reclaimed lands
comprising the Freedom Islands, now covered by certificates of title in the name
of PEA, are alienable lands of the public domain. The 592.15 hectares of
submerged areas of Manila Bay remain inalienable natural resources of
the public domain. The transfer (as embodied in a joint venture agreement) to
AMARI, a private corporation, ownership of 77.34 hectares of the Freedom
Islands, is void for being contrary to Section 3, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution
which prohibits private corporations from acquiring any kind of alienable land of
the public domain. Furthermore, since the Amended JVA also seeks to transfer to
Amari ownership of 290.156 hectares of still submerged areas of Manila Bay,
such transfer is void for being contrary to Section 2, Article XII of the 1987
Constitution which prohibits the alienation of natural resources other than
agricultural lands of the public domain.