Mr. Masahiro Ishikawa

December 7, 1988 Mr. Masahiro Ishikawa c/o Naka Police Station, Aichi-pref. 23-18, Chiyoda 2-chome Naka-ku, Nagoya City Japan Dear Mr. Ishikawa : Your letter addressed to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Manila, Philippines, was referred to this Commission for appropriate action. cdll In reply, please be informed that a Japanese national cannot own a piece of land in the Philippines. Section 7, Article XII Philippine Constitution reads thus: "Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands be transferred or conveyed except to individuals, corporations or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain." Corollary thereto, Sections 22 and 23 of Chapter V (Sale) Public Land Act prescribe as follows: SECTION 22. Any citizen of lawful age of the Philippines any such citizen not of lawful age who is head of a family, and any corporation or association of which at least sixty per centum of the capital stock or of any interest in said capital stock belong wholly to citizens of the Philippines, and which is organized and constituted under the laws of the Philippines, and corporate bodies organized in the Philippines under their charters to do so, may purchase any tract of public agricultural land disposable under this Act, . . .." "SECTION 23. No person, corporation, association, or partnership other than those mentioned in the last preceding section, may acquire or own agricultural public land or land of any other denomination or classification, which is at the time or was originally really or presumptively, of the public domain, or any permanent improvement thereon, or any real right on such land and improvement. . . .". Conformably to your request, we are enclosing herewith a xeroxed copy each of the pertinent provisions of the Philippine Constitution and CA #141, otherwise known as the "Public Land Act". Very truly yours, (SGD.) JULIO A. SULIT, JR. Chairman