Guidelines Governing the Processing of Requests for Proclamations and Issuance of Special Patents over Agricultural Lands

June 30, 2016

DENR ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 021-16

 

Pursuant to Chapters X, XI, XII and XIII of Commonwealth Act 141 or the Public Land Act, Section 14 (par. 1), Chapter 4 (Book III) of the Revised Administrative Code of 1987, and Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10023 entitled, "An Act Authorizing the Issuance of Free Patents to Residential Lands" dated March 9, 2010, the following guidelines prescribing the standard procedures in the processing of requests for Proclamations and in the issuance of Special Patents over agricultural lands is hereby issued for the guidance and compliance of all concerned.

SECTION 1. Basic Policy. — It is the policy of the State to ensure that public lands are administered and managed efficiently and effectively and are disposed of judiciously in favor of authorized beneficiaries, in accordance with the recognized purposes under existing laws.

SECTION 2. Objective. — This guidelines aims to prescribe rational and streamlined procedures and requirements in the processing of requests for Proclamations and issuance of Special Patents over agricultural lands for various purposes stated herein.

SECTION 3. Scope and Coverage. — This guidelines shall cover all agricultural lands granted by the State in favor of the grantee by virtue of a law or a Proclamation by the President of the Philippines.

Issuance of Special Patents involving public school sites shall be governed by DAO 2015-01 dated March 4, 2015 entitled, "Guidelines for the Processing and Issuance of Special Patents for Public School Sites under Republic Act No. 10023".

SECTION 4. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Order, the following terms shall be construed to mean as follows:

4.1 Agency of the Government — refers to any of the various units of the Government, including a department, bureau, office, instrumentality, or government-owned or controlled corporation, or a local government or a distinct unit therein. CAIHTE

4.2 Agricultural land (alienable and disposable land) — refers to such lands of the public domain subject to alienation and disposition by the State in accordance with the Public Land Act, as amended, and other related laws.

4.3 Approved plan — refers to a survey plan showing the metes and bounds of a parcel of agricultural land and other pertinent information, verified and approved by proper authority.

4.4 Branches of Government — refers to the executive, legislative and judicial arms of the government.

4.5 Instrumentality — refers to any agency of the National Government, not integrated within the department framework, vested with special functions or jurisdiction by law, endowed with some if not all corporate powers, administering special funds, and enjoying operational autonomy, usually through a charter. This term includes regulatory agencies, chartered institutions and government-owned or controlled corporations.

4.6 LAMS (Land Administration and Management System) — a system enhanced land record management facility that ensures integrity of and access to land information such as cadastral maps, isolated survey plans, public land applications, patents and titles, and also to perform quick processing of land transactions and updating of land records as well as the tracking of applications undergoing processing. This is supported by a digital cadastral database that provides a spatial reference.

4.7. Local Government — refers to the political subdivisions established by or in accordance with the Constitution.

4.8 National Government — refers to the entire machinery of the central government, as distinguished from the different forms of local governments.

4.9 Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) — refers to systematic classification and coding of geographic areas of the Philippines. It is based on the four well-established hierarchical levels of geographical-political subdivisions of the country such as the administrative region, the province, the municipality/city and the barangay.

4.10 Proclamation — an act of the President reserving any tract/s of land of the public domain for government use or any of its branches or instrumentalities or of the inhabitants thereof, for public or quasi-public uses or purposes.

4.11 Public use or public purposes — utilization of parcels of land exclusively by the government or any of its instrumentalities in providing services to the general public, such as, but not limited to, market places; town, city, provincial, or barangay halls; hospitals, clinics and health centers; police stations; outposts; jails; and the like. It shall also refer to the utilization of parcels of land for structures which are open to general public, including, but not limited to, public plazas, parks, resorts, roadways, recreational facilities, libraries, meeting places, playgrounds, public parking lots, and the like.

4.12 Quasi-public use — those which belong to the State, without being for public use, intended for some public service or for the development of the National Wealth. DETACa

4.13 Sketch plan — plan showing the metes and bounds of the area subject of the request for proclamation.

4.14 Special Patent — a public instrument issued by the government confirming the grant by the State of the ownership over a parcel of agricultural land in favor of the grantee by virtue of a Law or a Proclamation by the President of the Philippines for purposes authorized under Section 5 hereof.

SECTION 5. Purposes for Issuance of Special Patent. — Special Patents shall only be issued for the following purposes:

5.1. charitable or other similar purposes run or administered by the government or any of its branches or instrumentalities;

5.2 public cemetery, municipal halls, public plazas or parks and other government institutions for public use or public purpose;

5.3 other similar public purposes that may be identified.

SECTION 6. To Whom Special Patent is Issued. — Special Patents shall be issued only in favor of the following:

6.1 Republic of the Philippines, its agencies, branches and instrumentalities;

6.2 Local Government Units (LGUs) such as provinces, cities and municipalities.

SECTION 7. Requirements. — The requirements for the processing and issuance of Proclamation and/or Special Patent over a parcel of land are as follows:

7.1 In cases when the land is not yet reserved and/or subject of a Proclamation, the following documents shall be required:

7.1.1 For the Applicant

a. Written request from the authorized official of the proponent supported by the following:

a.1 Survey plan of the land to be reserved duly approved by proper authority or sketch plan prepared by a private Geodetic Engineer and noted by the Chief, Surveys and Mapping Division in case of unsurveyed areas (in which case an actual survey shall be required by the proclamation subject to vested rights);

a.2 Verified and certified correct technical descriptions of the approved plan issued by the concerned Chief, Surveys and Mapping Division; and

a.3 Recent geotagged photographs showing the panoramic view of the area subject of the proposed proclamation as well as adjacent areas/vicinities, improvements introduced, landmarks, identifying features, settlements, if any, etc. submitted by the requesting Party and validated by the Land Investigator from CENRO. aDSIHc

a.4 Certification of no pending land registration case over the proposed area issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC)/Land Registration Authority (LRA) having jurisdiction over the land;

7.1.2 For the DENR

a. Certification of status of land classification issued by the concerned CENR Officer;

b. Comment and recommendation of the following:

b.1 Provincial Health Officer duly concurred or recommended by the Regional Director of the Department of Health (DOH) in case of settlement, school, hospital, and other proclamation when it may affect the health of the people;

b.2 District Engineer, duly concurred or recommended by the Regional Director of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH);

b.3 Schools Division Superintendent of the Department of Education (DepEd) in case of school sites;

b.4 Provincial Commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in case of military reservations;

b.5 Provincial Manager of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) in case the land abuts on the sea, lake or navigable river.

7.2 In cases when the land is already reserved or subject of a Proclamation, the following documents shall be submitted:

7.2.1 For the Applicant

a. Photo copy of Proclamation stating that the reservee/grantee is granted ownership of the land through the issuance of a Special Patent;

b. Verified and certified correct technical descriptions and approved plan or Cadastral map issued by the concerned Chief, Surveys and Mapping Division;

c. Certification of no pending land registration case over the proposed area issued by the RTC/LRA having jurisdiction over the land.

d. Investigation report on the status of the land supported by geotagged photographs, in cases when the request for issuance of Special Patent was made after three (3) years or more from the date of the issuance of Proclamation;

7.2.2 For the DENR

a. Certification of status of land classification issued by the concerned CENR Officer;

7.3 In cases of lands actually occupied and used for municipal halls, public plazas or parks and other government institutions for public use or purpose under Section 4, R.A. 10023, there is no need to proclaim the land and a Special Patent shall be issued directly. The following documents shall be submitted: ETHIDa

7.3.1 For the Applicant

a. Written request by the requesting Party endorsed by concerned Head of government entities/LGU for the issuance of Special Patent;

b. Cadastral map or Survey plan of the land duly approved by the concerned DENR official;

c. Verified and certified correct Technical Descriptions issued by the concerned Chief, Surveys and Mapping Division;

d. Recent (not more than 6 months) geotagged photographs showing the panoramic view of the area subject of the proposed proclamation as well as adjacent areas/vicinities, improvements introduced, landmarks, identifying features, settlements, if any, etc. submitted by the requesting Party and validated by the Land Investigator from CENRO.

e. Certification of no pending land registration case over the proposed area issued by the RTC/LRA having jurisdiction over the land.

7.3.2 For the DENR

f. Certification of status of land classification issued by the concerned CENR Officer.

SECTION 8. Procedures. — All applications for Proclamations and/or Special Patents shall be encoded and updated at all stages using the Land Administration and Management System (LAMS). The following procedures shall be followed in the processing of requests for issuance of Proclamation and/or Special Patent:

8.1 For lands not yet reserved and/or subject of a Proclamation;

8.1.1 The proponent shall file with the CENRO a written request with the attached requirements stated in Section 7.1 hereof. The request shall be assigned an Entry Number pursuant to Section 9 hereof;

8.1.2 Upon receipt of the request, the CENRO shall conduct a preliminary evaluation to determine the completeness of the supporting documents. The CENRO shall request the comments or recommendations of other government agencies/offices concerned at their level as enumerated in Section 7.1.2 (b.1 up to b.5). The CENRO shall conduct an ocular inspection/investigation of the land subject of the request;

8.1.3 If the land sought to be reserved is not yet surveyed, the proponent shall cause the survey or sketching of the land and submit the survey returns or sketch plan to the concerned Regional Office for verification and approval;

8.1.4 The application request shall be processed at the CENRO level within thirty (30) days upon satisfactorily complying with all the requirements. The CENRO shall prepare the Completed Staff Work (CSW) and together with the request and the pertinent papers, shall then be forwarded to the PENRO together with a recommendation for issuance of Proclamation;

8.1.5 If after evaluation, the PENRO finds the request to be in order, he shall make a proper recommendation and forward the request and the pertinent papers to the Office of the Regional Director (RD) within five (5) days from receipt of the documents from CENRO;

8.1.6 The RD shall make the final evaluation, review, comments and recommendations, as well as the draft Proclamation, pursuant to the guidelines on CSW under OP Memorandum Circular (M.C.) No. 68 dated September 17, 2004 and shall forward the same to LMB within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the documents from PENRO; cSEDTC

8.1.7 The LMB shall then make a validation of the technical descriptions and draft the final version of the Proclamation. If all the requirements have been satisfactorily complied with, the LMB shall forward the pertinent papers to the Office of the Secretary, through channels, together with the favorable recommendation and draft Proclamation for transmittal to the Office of the President (OP). The Proclamation shall be in the name of "Republic of the Philippines — name of agency, LGU, etc." and

8.1.8 The signed Proclamation in favor of the requesting party, once returned to DENR, shall be transmitted to LMB. If the Proclamation expressly states that a Special Patent shall be issued, then LMB shall prepare the same in accordance with the requirements under Section 7.1 hereof, and forward it to the Office of the Secretary for the signature of the Secretary. The SP to be issued shall be in the name of the "Republic of the Philippines — name of GA< LGU, etc." The flowchart for this procedure is attached as Appendix A.

8.2. For lands covered by proclamation

8.2.1 The grantee shall file with the CENRO a written request for the issuance of Special Patent with the attached requirements stated in Section 7.2 hereof. The request shall be assigned an Entry Number pursuant to Section 9 hereof.

8.2.2 In cases when the request for issuance of Special Patent was made after three (3) years or more from the date of the Proclamation, the CENRO shall conduct an investigation on the land to determine its current status. The CENRO shall submit its report and recommendation in accordance with the requirements stated in Section 7.2. The request shall be processed at the CENRO level within fifteen (15) days. The PENRO shall review and endorse it to the RD within five (5) days from receipt of documents from CENRO.

8.2.3 The RD shall forward it to LMB for the preparation of the Special Patent within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the documents from PENRO.

8.2.4 LMB shall prepare the Special Patent in the name of the grantee upon receipt of the documents. If all the requirements have been satisfactorily complied with, it shall prepare a CSW and forward the request and the pertinent papers to the Office of the Secretary together with the prepared Special Patent for the Secretary's signature or transmittal to the Office of the President for the President's signature, as the case may be, within fifteen (15) days from receipt of documents from the Region. The report shall be pursuant to the guidelines on CSW under OP MC 68 dated September 17, 2004. The flowchart for this procedure is attached as Appendix B.

8.3 For lands actually occupied and used for municipal halls, public plazas or parks and other government institutions for public use or purpose under Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10023.

8.3.1 The requesting party shall file with the CENRO concerned a Request Form for the issuance of Special Patent with the requirements stated in Section 7.3 hereof. The request shall be assigned with a reference number pursuant to Section 9 hereof. The Request Form is attached as Appendix C.

8.3.2 Posting of Notices. Upon receipt of the request, the CENR Office concerned shall cause the posting of notice for fifteen (15) days in three (3) public places such as in the Provincial, Municipal or City Hall, Barangay Hall, CENRO, PENR Office or the premises of the public land being applied for. The CENR Office shall issue the certificate of posting of notice after the 15-day period has elapsed. SDAaTC

8.3.3 The CENR Office is required to process the request, within a period of one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of filing of the request. The 120-day period starts upon filing of an accomplished request for Special Patent. The period for verification with DENR records (e.g., to determine whether or not a patent had already been issued for the parcel in question) shall be included in the 120-day period.

8.3.4 In case the land has no approved survey, the CENR Office shall issue a Survey Authority/Order to requesting party or DENR Survey Unit for the survey of the parcel. In such a case, the survey and investigation under the next preceding section shall as far as practicable be accomplished simultaneously. However, the period for approval of surveys shall not be included in the 120-day period.

8.3.5 The designated land investigator shall conduct an ocular inspection on the subject land. He/she shall determine the eligibility of the land under the provisions of RA 10023 as well as verify the claims of the requesting party on the land. The land investigator shall acknowledge the receipt of all documents pertaining to the request for the issuance of a Special Patent.

8.3.6 The investigation report shall contain, among others, that the land is alienable and disposable and that the land is actually possessed, occupied and used by requesting government entity for public purpose or public use. A statement as to the geo-hazard or environmental condition of the land shall, as much as practicable, be included in said report. In case an opposition is filed, the 120-day period for processing shall be deemed interrupted. Only oppositions based on a Certificate of Title duly issued to the oppositor over the same parcel shall be given due course. The CENR Office shall refrain from entertaining oppositions based on frivolous claims.

8.3.7 The CENR Officer shall fast track the resolution of all oppositions arising from the Special Patent requests through the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms. The CENR Officer shall resolve the opposition or make a recommendation within 30 days from the filing of such opposition.

8.3.8 Upon approval of the CENR Officer, the request and the complete records of the Special Patent shall be forwarded to the PENR Officer for his/her approval and signature.

 The Special Patent to be issued shall be in the name of the "Republic of the Philippines-name of LGU (city or municipality)/agencies, branches and instrumentalities".

8.3.9 The PENR Officer shall have five (5) days from the receipt of the transmittal from the CENR Officer to approve or disapprove the Special Patent request. In the NCR, the Regional Director shall approve and sign the Special Patent.

8.3.10 In case of disapproval of the request, the same is without prejudice to the refiling thereof. The flowchart for this procedure is attached as Appendix D.

8.4 The original copies of the Special Patent shall be transmitted to the concerned Register of Deeds (ROD) for registration, copy furnished the concerned RD, CENRO, LMB and the patentee of the transmittal thereof within five (5) days from receipt of the signed Special Patents.

8.5 In case of the DENR-National Capital Region (NCR) where there is no PENR and CENR Offices, the filing of requests for issuance of Special Patents, investigation of the land and the processing of the requests shall be done at the Regional Office.

8.6 Pending Special Patent applications or request for proclamations on lands actually used and occupied by the government agencies/entities under Section 6 hereof shall be automatically converted to request for issuance of Special Patent under RA 10023 unless otherwise disqualified from the provisions of the law and this Order. acEHCD

 The land investigator concerned shall see to it that the application is amended accordingly and updated to comply with the requirements under RA 10023 and this Order. The CENRO shall also notify the requesting party of the new procedure for the issuance of the Special Patent.

SECTION 9. Application Numbering. — Applications for issuance of Proclamations or Special Patents filed at the CENR Office shall be accepted and numbered in the following manner:

Each application shall have a prefix representing Proclamation (P)/Special Patent (SP); followed by the name of the Local Government Unit (LGU), National Government Agencies (NGA), Constitutional Commission (COM), Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), Legislative Branch (LEG) or Judiciary (JUD), then a six-digit rurban code and a three-digit sequential number beginning with 001 for every municipality/city. The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) published by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shall be used as reference for the rurban codes.

Example 1: Entry No. SP-LGU-083719-001

Rurban Code:

08 — code number for Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)

37 — code number for Province of Leyte

19 — code number for Municipality/City Hilongos

001 — sequence number of application received

Example 2: Entry No. SP-NGA-137404-001

Rurban Code:

13 — code number for NCR

74 — code number for second district EcTCAD

04 — code number for Quezon City

001 — sequence number of application received

SECTION 10. Patent Numbering. — The PENR Office shall assign a unique number for every Special Patent approved and signed by him pursuant to Section 8.3.9 hereof. Such number shall have a prefix representing Special Patent (SP); LGU (LGU), NGA (NGA), Constitutional Commission (COM), Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) Legislative branch (LEG) or judiciary (JUD); a three-letter provincial code (ex. Abra-ABR) and a four-digit sequential number beginning with 0001 for every province. The list of the three-letter provincial code is attached in this Order as Appendix E.

Ex. Special Patent No. SP-LGU-ABR-0001 for the first Special Patent for LGUs issued in the province of Abra under this Order.

For the cities and municipalities in the National Capital Region, the three letter code shall be NCR.

Ex. Special Patent No. SP-GOCC-NCR-0001 for the first Special Patent for GOCC issued in the NCR under this Order.

SECTION 11. National Database of Proclamations/Special Patents Issued. — All applications for Proclamations and/or Special Patents shall form part of the database of the Land Administration and Management System (LAMS) of the Regional Offices. The LMB shall maintain an integrated national database of all patents through LAMS.

SECTION 12. Limitations and Restrictions. — All lands that were titled through Special Patent under Section 4 of RA 10023 and Section 8.3 hereof shall not be disposed of unless sanctioned by Congress if owned by the National Agency, or sanctioned by the Sanggunian concerned through an approved ordinance, if owned by the local government unit.

Special Patents issued under Sections 69 and 83 of the Public Land Act and Sections 8.1 and 8.2 hereof shall not be encumbered or alienated except when the public service requires their being leased or exchanged, with the approval of the President, for other lands belonging to private parties, or if the Congress disposes otherwise.

If proclaimed lands are not used pursuant to the purpose of the Proclamation, titling through Special Patent shall not proceed.

SECTION 13. Monitoring and Validation of Special Patent. — A monitoring mechanism shall be developed by DENR in coordination with Congress, Local Government Units (LGUs), and other Stakeholders. This is to ensure that the lands granted under this Order shall not be used for any purpose other than for which it was issued.

SECTION 14. Forms for Special Patent. — The Judicial Forms to be used for Special Patent are hereto attached as Appendix F (under CA 141) and Appendix F1 (under RA 10023).

SECTION 15. Separability Clause. — If for any reason or reasons, any part or parts of this Order shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, other parts or provisions thereof not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SECTION 16. Repealing Clause. — All orders and other issuances inconsistent herewith are hereby superseded, repealed and/or modified accordingly.

SECTION 17. Effectivity. — This Order takes effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in any newspaper of general circulation and upon receipt of a copy hereof by the Office of the National Administrative Register (ONAR).

(SGD.) RAMON J.P. PAJESecretary

APPENDIX A

Process Flow for Lands not yet Reserved and/or Subject of a Proclamation

APPENDIX B

Process Flow for Lands Covered by Proclamation

APPENDIX C

Republic of the PhilippinesDepartment of Environment and Natural Resources

Request for Issuance of

Entry No. ____________

Request No: __________

Name of Local/National Government Institution: __________________________________

Location: _________________________________________________________________

Authorized Officer: _________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________

Contact no: ______________________________ e-mail: ___________________________

Lot No. __________________________ Pls. ___________________________

Cad. ___________________________

Area ____________________________

___________________

Authorized Officer

Attachments:

_______ Historical background of possession/occupation

_______ Recent photographs with panoramic view and improvements

_______ Court or LRA certification of no pending land registration case

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me this ________________ day of _______________ at ___________________.

____________________

Officer Authorized to

APPENDIX D

Process Flow for Lands Under Section 8.3

APPENDIX E

List of Provincial Codes

 

	Province	Code
1.	Abra	ABR
2.	Agusan del Norte	AGN
3.	Agusan del Sur	AGS
4.	Aklan	AKL
5.	Albay	ALB
6.	Antique	ANT
7.	Apayao	APA
8.	Aurora	AUR
9.	Basilan	BAS
10.	Bataan	BAN
11.	Batanes	BTN
12.	Batangas	BTG
13.	Benguet	BEN
14.	Biliran	BIL
15.	Bohol	BOH
16.	Bukidnon	BUK
17.	Bulacan	BUL
18.	Cagayan	CAG
19.	Camarines Norte	CAN
20	Camarines Sur	CAS
21.	Camiguin	CAM
22.	Capiz	CAP
23.	Catanduanes	CAT
24.	Cavite	CAV
25.	Cebu	CEB
26.	Compostela Valley	COM
27.	Cotabato	NCO
28.	Davao del Norte	DAV
29.	Davao del Sur	DAS
30.	Davao Oriental	DAO
31.	Dinagat Island	DIN
32.	Eastern Samar	EAS
33.	Guimaras	GUI
34.	Ifugao	IFU
35.	Ilocos Norte	ILN
36.	Ilocos Sur	ILS
37.	Iloilo	ILI
38.	Isabela	ISA
39.	Kalinga	KAL
40.	La Union	LUN
41.	Laguna	LAG
42.	Lanao del Norte	LAN
43.	Lanao del Sur	LAS
44.	Leyte	LEY
45.	Maguindanao	MAG
46.	Marinduque	MAD
47.	Masbate	MAS
48.	Mindoro Occidental	MDC
49.	Mindoro Oriental	MDR
50.	Misamis Occidental	MSC
51.	Misamis Oriental	MSR
52.	Mountain Province	MOU
53.	National Capital Region	NCR
54.	Negros Occidental	NEC
55.	Negros Oriental	NER
56.	Northern Samar	NSA
57.	Nueva Ecija	NUE
58.	Nueva Vizcaya	NUV
59.	Palawan	PLW
60.	Pampanga	PAM
61.	Pangasinan	PAN
62.	Quezon	QUE
63.	Quirino	QUI
64.	Rizal	RIZ
65.	Romblon	ROM
66.	Samar (Western Samar)	WSA
67.	Sarangani	SAR
68.	Siquijor	SIG
69.	Sorsogon	SOR
70.	South Cotabato	SCO
71.	Southern Leyte	SLE
72.	Sultan Kudarat	SUK
73.	Sulu	SLU
74.	Surigao del Norte	SUN
75.	Surigao del Sur	SUR
76.	Tarlac	TAR
77.	Tawi-Tawi	TAW
78.	Zambales	ZMB
79.	Zamboanga del Norte	ZAN
80.	Zamboanga del Sur	ZAS
81.	Zamboanga Sibugay	ZSI
* Codes based on International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

 

 

APPENDIX F

Original Certificate of Title

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX F1

Original Certificate of Title

 

Published in Malaya on July 8, 2016.