NATURAL RESOURCES MEMORY AID

Section118. CA 141 In the case of Republic v Herbieto the court held that
Except in favor of the Government or any of its possession prior to the land’s classification as alienable
branches, units, or institutions, and disposable shall not be counted for purposes of
lands acquired under FREE PATENT OR prescription. Hence, the classification of the agricultural
HOMESTEAD provisions shall not be subject to land as alienable and disposable must be from the time of
encumbrance or alienation possession and occupation of the land since June 12,
 FROM the date of the approval of the application 1945.
 AND for a term of five years FROM AND
AFTER the date of issuance of the patent or grant, In Republic v Naguit the court held that it is not required
 NOR shall they become liable to the satisfaction that the land be alienable and disposable on or before June
of any debt contracted prior to the expiration of 12, 1945 as it is sufficient that it be classified as A & D at
said period, the time of the application for confirmation of imperfect
title.
 BUT the improvements or crops on the land
may be mortgaged or pledged to
The SC reconciled the conflict in both cases in Malabanan
o qualified persons,
v Republic where it held that the principle used in the case
o associations, or
Naguit is controlling. The phrase “possession of
o corporations.
Alienable and Disposable land under a bona fide claim of
ownership since June 12, 1945” means that “Since June
No:
12,1945” only qualifies “possession” and not
1. alienation,
classification as alienable and disposable. Hence, it is
2. transfer, or
sufficient that the land is alienable and Disposable at the
3. conveyance
time of application for confirmation of title.
of any homestead AFTER five years AND BEFORE
twenty-five years after issuance of title shall be valid
without the approval of the DENR Secretary,
 which approval shall not be denied except on Classification of Lands
constitutional and legal grounds. Lands of Public Domain are classified as follows:
1. Under the 1935 Constitution
In this instance there is an implied allowance of such a. Agricultural lands
conveyance but with the consent of the DENR Secretary. b. Mineral Lands
Such prohibition is merely directory and conveyances c. Forest or Timber Lands
without the needed consent will not render the transfer 2. Under the 1977 Constitution
null and void. a. Agricultural Lands
b. Mineral Lands
There are also instances where the prohibitory period of c. Forest or Timber Lands
5 years is not applicable as held by the SC in prevailing d. Industrial Lands
jurisprudence. When the conveyance is made to e. Residential Lands
1. an immediate family member or to his heirs f. Resettlement
2. Or in an action for partition g. Grazing Lands
as these are not considered alienation for the purposes of 3. Under the 1987 Constitution
the prohibitory period. a. Agricultural lands
b. Mineral Lands
c. Forest or Timber Lands
Herbieto v Naguit
d. National Parks
The Conflict between Republic v Herbieto and that of
Republic v Naguit revolves around the interpretation of
Section 48(b) of CA 141 as to the question on: “Whether
or not possession prior to the land’s declaration as A & D
can be considered in the counting of the prescriptive
period.”

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 NATURAL RESOURCES MEMORY AID
Requisites for Judicial Confirmation of Land
1. by themselves or through their predecessors in
interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive,
and notorious possession and occupation
2. of alienable and disposable agricultural lands of
the public domain,
3. under a bona fide claim of acquisition or
ownership;
4. and that they have been in possession of the land
for an applicable period of time which depends
on the law effective as of the time of the filing of
the application
5. Application must be filed with the proper Court
LAW AND ITS AMENDMENTS
Section 48(b)
The law and its amendments to Section 48(b) of CA 141
are as follows:
1. CA 141 effective since July 12, 1984
2. RA 1942 effective June 22, 1975 which provides
for a 30-year period of possession
3. PD 1073 effective on January 25, 1977 which
provides for possession “Since June 12 1945”
4. PD 1529 effective on June 25, 1978 which has
the same period of “Since June 12, 1945” and
which allowes and extended judicial
confirmation of imperfect title and free patent
until December 31, 2020
The Applicable period for the requirement of possession
is determined by the statute upon filing of the application
and not on time of occupation.
Requisites for Section 48(b) CA 141
The Applicants must show the following:
1. by themselves or through their predecessors in
interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive,
and notorious possession and occupation
2. of alienable and disposable agricultural lands of
the public domain,
3. under a bona fide claim of acquisition or
ownership,
4. since 12 June 1945,
5. except when prevented by war or force majeure,
6. shall be conclusively presumed to have
performed all the conditions essential to a
Government grant.
7. At present, such applications for judicial
confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles
must be filed prior to 31 December 2020;
8. and must cover an area of up to 12 hectares only.
Section 12 IPRA;
SECTION 12. Option to Secure Certificate of Title
Under Commonwealth Act 141, as amended, or the
Land Registration Act 496. —
Individual members of cultural communities,
with respect to their individually-owned ancestral lands
1. who, by themselves or through their
predecessors-in-interest,
2. have been in continuous possession and
occupation of the ancestral land
3. in the concept of owner
4. since time immemorial or for a period of not less
than thirty (30) years immediately preceding
the approval of RA 8371
5. and uncontested by the members of the same
ICCs/IPs
shall have the option to secure title to their ancestral
lands under the provisions of Commonwealth Act 141,
as amended, or the Land Registration Act 496.
For this purpose,
 said individually-owned ancestral lands,
 which are agricultural in character
 and actually used for
o agricultural,
o residential,
o pasture, and
o tree farming purposes,
 including those with a slope of eighteen percent
(18%) or more,
are hereby classified as alienable and disposable
agricultural lands. The option granted under Sec 12 Ra
8371 shall be exercised within twenty (20) years from the
approval of such Act.
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 NATURAL RESOURCES MEMORY AID
Disposition of Public Lands for Sale and Lease
CA 141 lays down the procedure for Sale and Lease
which are more or less similar with minor differences, one
of which is that there is no transfer of ownership in lease.
The General procedure is as follows:
1. Filing of pro-forma application for sale or lease
as the case may be;
2. Appraisal for the determination of the value of
the land
3. Publication AND Posting of notice of sale
which essentially fixes the date of the bidding;
4. Depending on whether it is a SALE or LEASE
SALE LEASE
Submission of Bids Annual Rent must
which is higher than not be less than 3% of
the appraised value of the appraised value of
the land and 10% of the land. It must be
the bid price is sealed enclosed therein a bid
or enclosed with cash amount equivalent to
or certified check at least 3 months
treasury warrant or worth of rent.
post office money
order.
5. Opening of bids and Award;
a. General Rule is that bid is awarded to
highest bidder
b. If there are 2 or more equal bids and one
belongs to an applicant then preference is
given to the applicant.
c. If applicant is not one of the bidders then
oral public bidding shall be had and the
award is granted to the highest bidder
d. In any case, the applicant shall always
have the option of raising bid to equal
that of highest bidder
e. No bid received at such public auction
shall be finally accepted until the bidder
shall have deposited ten per centum of his
bid
6. Payment of Price
f. Amount submitted with the bid 10% is
applied or credited to the price;
g. Balance
i. Can be paid in full at once
ii. Or in installment; must not be
more than 10 equal annual
installments
7. Cultivation requirements
h. At least 1/5 of the land is cultivated
within 5 years from the date of award
i. Before issuance of patent-purchaser must
show actual occupancy cultivation and
improvement of at least 1/5 of land
applied for until date on which final
payment is made.
8. Issuance of the patent
ADMINISTRATIVE CONFIRMATION
5 Requirements for the ADMINISTRATIVE
Confirmation of an imperfect title
Section 44, Chapter VII of the Public Land Act
provides that the applicant for administrative
confirmation of imperfect title must be
1. a natural born citizen of the Philippines who
2. is not the owner of more than 12 hectares and
3. who, for at least 30 years prior to the effectivity
of Republic Act No. 6940 amending the Public
Land Act,
o has continuously occupied and
cultivated,
o either by himself or through his
predecessor-in-interest,
o a tract or tracts of agricultural public land
subject to disposition,
4. who shall have paid the real estate tax thereon
5. while the same has not been occupied by any
person
shall be entitled to a free patent over such land/s not to
exceed 12 hectares.
What is a Citizen’s Suit?
Section 5 of
Rules Of Procedure For Environmental Cases;
AM No 09-6-8-SC April 29, 2010
Section 5. Citizen suit. —
Any Filipino citizen
 in representation of others,
 including minors or generations yet unborn,
may file an action to enforce rights or obligations
under environmental laws.
Upon the filing of a citizen suit, the court shall issue an
order which shall contain a brief description of the cause
of action and the reliefs prayed for, requiring all
interested parties to manifest their interest to intervene in
the case within fifteen (15) days from notice thereof. The
plaintiff may publish the order once in a newspaper of a
general circulation in the Philippines or furnish all
affected barangays copies of said order.
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 NATURAL RESOURCES MEMORY AID
Citizen suits filed under R.A. No. 8749 and R.A. No. 9003
shall be governed by their respective provisions.
Consent Decree
Consent decree refers to a judicially-approved
settlement
 between concerned parties
 based on public interest and public policy
 to protect and preserve the environment.
 This is usually entered into during pre-trial
conference with presence of judge
Writ of Kalikasan
Rules Of Procedure For Environmental Cases;
AM No 09-6-8-SC April 29, 2010
RULE 7 Section 1. Nature of the writ. –
The writ is a remedy
available to
 a natural or juridical person,
 entity authorized by law,
 people’s organization,
 non-governmental organization,
 or any public interest group
o accredited by or registered with any
government agency,
on behalf of persons whose constitutional right to a
balanced and healthful ecology is violated, or
threatened with violation
by an unlawful act or omission of a
 public official or employee,
 or private individual or entity,
involving environmental damage of such magnitude as
to prejudice the LIFE, HEALTH OR PROPERTY of
inhabitants in two or more cities or provinces.
Writ of Continuing Mandamus
(c) Continuing mandamus is
 a writ issued by a court in an environmental case
 directing any agency or instrumentality of the
government or officer thereof
 to perform an act or series of acts decreed by final
judgment
 which shall remain effective until judgment is fully
satisfied.
RULE 8
WRIT OF CONTINUING MANDAMUS
Section 1. Petition for continuing mandamus. –
Issued when any
 agency or instrumentality of the government
 or officer thereof
unlawfully neglects the performance of an act which
the law specifically enjoins as a duty resulting from
 an office,
 trust or
 station
in connection with the enforcement or violation of an
environmental law rule or regulation or a right therein,
or unlawfully excludes another from the use or
enjoyment of such right
 and there is no other plain, speedy and adequate
remedy in the ordinary course of law,
 the person aggrieved thereby may file a verified
petition in the proper court,
o alleging the facts with certainty,
o attaching thereto supporting evidence,
o specifying that the petition concerns an
environmental law, rule or regulation,
o and praying that judgment be rendered
commanding the respondent to do an act or
series of acts until the judgment is fully
satisfied,
o and to pay damages sustained by the
petitioner by reason of the malicious neglect
to perform the duties of the respondent,
under the law, rules or regulations.
o The petition shall also contain a sworn
certification of non-forum shopping.
o The petition shall be filed with the Regional
Trial Court exercising jurisdiction over the
territory where the actionable neglect or
omission occurred or with the Court of
Appeals or the Supreme Court.
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 NATURAL RESOURCES MEMORY AID
Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation
SLAPP
Section 1. Strategic lawsuit against public participation
(SLAPP). –
 refers to an action whether civil, criminal or
administrative,
 brought against any person, institution or any
government agency or local government unit or
its officials and employees,
 with the intent to harass, vex, exert undue
pressure or stifle any legal recourse that such
person, institution or government agency has
taken or may take in the enforcement of
a. environmental laws,
b. protection of the environment
c. or assertion of environmental rights.
OR
 A legal action
 filed to harass, vex, exert undue pressure or
stifle
 any legal recourse that any person, institution or
the government
o has taken
o or may take in the:
 enforcement of environmental
laws,
 protection of the environment or
 assertion of environmental rights
 shall be treated as a SLAPP and shall be governed
by these Rules.
Pre-Cautionary Principle
Precautionary principle states that
 when human activities
 may lead to threats of serious and irreversible damage
to the environment that is scientifically plausible but
uncertain,
 actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that
threat.
RULE 20
PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE
Section 1. Applicability. - When there is a lack of full
scientific certainty in establishing a causal link between
human activity and environmental effect, the court shall
apply the precautionary principle in resolving the case
before it.
The constitutional right of the people to a balanced and
healthful ecology shall be given the benefit of the doubt.
Section 2. Standards for application. - In applying the
precautionary principle, the following factors, among
others, may be considered:
1. threats to human life or health;
2. inequity to present or future generations; or
3. prejudice to the environment without legal
consideration of the environmental rights of those
affected.
Question as to definition of Forest Lands
Heirs of Amunategui v Director of Forestry
A forested area classified as forest land of the public
domain does not lose such classification simply because
loggers or settlers may have stripped it of its forest
cover. "Forest lands" do not have to be on mountains
or in out of the way places. Swampy areas covered by
mangrove trees, nipa palms, and other tress growing in
brackish or sea water may also be classified as forest
land; further that possession of forest lands, no matter
how long, cannot ripen into private ownership.
How did the Rules of Procedure for Environmental
Cases Modify the Remedial Law concept of Legal
Standing
The Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases Liberalized
Locus Standi / Legal Standing because of the presentation of the
citizen’s suit. (Section 5)
Section 5. Citizen suit. —
Any Filipino citizen
 in representation of others,
 including minors or generations yet unborn,
may file an action to enforce rights or obligations
under environmental laws.
Upon the filing of a citizen suit, the court shall issue an
order which shall contain a brief description of the cause
of action and the reliefs prayed for, requiring all
interested parties to manifest their interest to intervene in
the case within fifteen (15) days from notice thereof. The
plaintiff may publish the order once in a newspaper of a
general circulation in the Philippines or furnish all
affected barangays copies of said order.
Citizen suits filed under R.A. No. 8749 and R.A. No. 9003
shall be governed by their respective provisions.
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