Enumeration of Properties of the State for “Public Use”
abandonment by the owner
Roads- national highways and roads constructed and
maintained by the national government
Canal- is usually an artificial waterway, drainage,
irrigation or navigation. canals constructed by private
persons within their private lands and devoted
exclusively for private use must be of private ownership
Under Art. 420, canals constructed by the State and
devoted to use are of public ownership. Conversely,
canals constructed by private persons within private
lands and devoted exclusively for private use must be of
private ownership
River- composite term which includes (1) the running
waters, (2) the bed, and (3) the banks
Supreme Court has held that if a river is navigable, it is
of public dominion
a stream, generally, is only a creek, and not a river as
contemplated under Art. 420 of the Civil Code. It
concluded that it is only after the stream has been
declared a PUBLIC STREAM by the COURTS, that a
private person, claiming ownership thereof, may be
held liable for maintaining an obstruction thereon.
Rivers are not subject to private appropriation. The law
of prescription does not apply to them.
1. Natural bed- property of the public dominion
2. Extent of river or bed- the ground covered by its
waters during the highest floods.
3. Riverbanks- lateral lines or strips reached by the
waters when the river is at high tide
4.Accretion on river banks- belong to the owner of
lands adjoining the banks provided that the deposit is
due to the effects of the current of the river
5.Ports- seaports and airports
6. Shores- that space which is alternately covered and
uncovered by water with the movements of the tides
natural expropriation- process whereby private
property is converted into property for public use
through the natural action of the sea and the
Shores are properties of the public domain intended for
public use therefore not registerable.
Torrent — that amount of water which in case of heavy
rains gathers in deep places or canals where it is
supposed to flow afterwards
Characteristics of Properties of Public Dominion
1. They are outside the commerce of man, and cannot
be leased, donated, sold, or be the object of any
contract except insofar as they may be the object of
repairs or improvements and other incidental things of
similar character.
2. They cannot be acquired by prescription; no matter
how long the possession of the properties has been,
“there can be no prescription against the State
regarding property of the public domain.”
3. They cannot be registered under the Land
Registration Law and be the subject of a Torrens Title
4. They, as well as their usufruct, cannot be levied upon
by execution, nor can they be attached.
5. In general, they can be used by everybody.
6. They may be either real or personal property, for it
will be noted that the law here makes no distinction.
GR: streets and plazas are outside the commerce of
man, since they are properties for public use therefore
cannot be object of lease
XPN: While in case of war or during an emergency, town
plazas may be temporarily occupied by private
individuals, still, when the emergency ceases, the
temporary occupation or use must also cease.
The Torrens system of registration is not a means of
acquiring ownership over private or public land; it
merely confirms and registers whatever right or title
may already be possessed or had by the applicant.
Forest lands as such cannot be registered
right that is of public character and could not be bought but which is not devoted to public use, public service, or
at an auction sale. the development of the national wealth. It is wealth
owned by the State in its private, as distinguished from
The land produced by the action of the sea is of public its public, capacity
ownership and cannot therefore be acquired by any
private person or entity inasmuch as same belongs to Other Examples of Patrimonial Property
the state.
(a) Friar lands
The canal should be opened. While the use and
enjoyment of the waters could have been acquired by Patrimonial properties may be acquired by private
prescription, still when he allowed others to use the individuals or corporations thru prescription
canal, he lost the exclusive right to use the same.
Moreover, although the hacienda is registered under his
name under the Torrens System, this does not confer
upon him any right to the river or creek since these are
properties of public dominion, and cannot be
registered.

Secretary of Public Works and Communications can

order the removal of constructions on navigable rivers
or streams EXCEPT those which had been constructed in
GOOD FAITH and would not impede free passage on the
river or cause the inundation of agricultural areas

Land within which the unclassified forest zone is

incapable of private appropriation, a forest land cannot
be owned by private persons, and possession thereof,
no matter how long, does not ripen into a registrable
title.

Public Lands- used to describe so much of the national

domain under the Legislative Power of Congress as has
not been subjected to private right or devoted to public
use …

Among the public lands are mining, forest, and

agricultural lands.

“Public agricultural lands’’ may be defined as those

alienable portions of the public domain which are
neither timber nor mineral lands.

Art. 421. All other property of the State, which is not of

the character stated in the preceding article, is
patrimonial property.

Patrimonial property of the State is the property it owns