Procedures in the Implementation of Systematic Adjudication in Support to the Land Titling Program of the DENR

2018

LMB TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 01-18

PROCEDURES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SYSTEMATIC ADJUDICATION IN SUPPORT TO THE LAND TITLING PROGRAM OF THE DENR

This Technical Bulletin aims to provide and harmonize procedures in the implementation of Systematic Adjudication (SA) in support to the land titling program of the DENR consistent with Module 3.1 of the DENR-Local Government Partnership Handbook and LAMP Field Operations Manual (FOM).

1. Users of the Technical Bulletin

The users of this Technical Bulletin are personnel of the DENR Regional and Field Offices, Land Management Bureau (LMB) and partner LGUs who are primarily involved in the implementation of Systematic Adjudication (SA).

2. Scope and Coverage

The Systematic Adjudication shall be implemented nationwide on a per municipality level, progressing barangay by barangay.

3. Terminologies

a. Consolidated Cadastral Map (CCM) — is a lot parcel map that shows all approved surveys in a selected area, color-coded according to Lot Disposition status.

b. Core Management Team (CMT) — is a group created through Regional Special Orders to support DENR-LGU Partnership composed of ARD for Technical Services as head, and Heads of Licenses, Patents and Deeds Division (LPDD), Regional Public Affairs Office (RPAO), Patents and Deeds Section (PDS) and Representatives from PENROs as members.

c. Initial Land Tenure Profile (ILTP) — a form containing initial information of a specific lot prepared by the DENR which will be used as guide in the house to house approach of interviewing key informants and shall be validated afterwards.

d. Inventory of Lot Disposition Status — is a table produced by CENROs through their Records Officers, summarizing the count of lots based on disposition of data, for survey projects conducted within the CENRO's area of responsibility, sorted by Municipality/City/Barangay.

e. Land Tenure Profile (LTP) — a form containing information generated after the validation of ILTP during Barangay Assembly.

f. Rapid Land Tenure Appraisal (RLTA) — the process to obtain a clear picture of the land tenure situation on the ground before land titling operations are entered into the area. It is intended to determine the approximate workable lots in a particular area.

g. Systematic Adjudication — the process of defining the parcel subject of a titling application and examining of the validity of the claim for absolute ownership on a locality basis, progressing barangay by barangay and aiming to register all untitled land in the locality.

4. Creation and Structure of the Systematic Adjudication Team

A Systematic Adjudication Team (SAT) shall be created per PENR Office composed of the IEC Group and SA Group which shall be headed by the PENRO or his/her designated representative with the following structure:

For the IEC group per PENRO:

a. Development Management Officer III from PENRO — Team Leader

b. Designated Information Officer from CENRO — member

c. Deputy Public Land Investigator from CENRO — member

d. Representative from the RPAO — member

For the SA group per CENRO broken down into RLTA, Adjudicating and PLA Processing teams:

a. CENR Officer — Team Leader

b. Land Management Officer III of the CENRO — Assistant Team Leader

RLTA Team

c. (1) Community Development Assistant (CDA) per municipality — member

d. (4) Enumerators per municipality — member (it may come from partner LGUs)

Adjudicating Team

e. Enumerator/DPLI — member (it may come from LGU)

PLA Processing Team

f. DPLI from CENRO

* Note:

The team for the processing of Public Land Applications (PLAs) is not included in the SA and IEC teams. Aside from the regular personnel who are processing PLAs in the CENRO, a team composed of six (6) personnel shall be hired to facilitate the processing of applications. These include examiner, verifier, records officer assistant, Technical Description researcher, encoder of order of approval, encoder of Judicial Forms.

5. Roles and Function of the SA Team

The SA Team shall have the following roles and functions:

a. IEC Group

 The IEC group headed by the DMO III from the PENRO shall be responsible in all the partnership building activities with the LGU and community such as but not limited to IEC campaigns, encouragement and management of LGUs involvement in titling activities and secure the support of LGUs through forging of MOPA and other activities which shall facilitate the cooperation and participation of the target participants.

b. SA Group, broken down into RLTA, Adjudicating and PLA Processing teams

 The SA group headed by the CENRO shall be responsible in the conduct Rapid Land Tenure Appraisal activities in coordination with Municipal/City and Barangay officials and monitoring of the RLTA progress and implementation per municipality/barangay for the RLTA group, while the FPA processing group shall be in charge in the field interview, ocular inspection, acceptance and processing of FPAs.

c. The Researcher/Encoder lodged at the Regional Office shall be responsible in the collection/gathering of all data on patented/titled lots from the CENRO's Allocation Books, Regional Maps and Surveys Division, Regional Licenses, Patents and Deeds Division (LPDD), Local Government Units (LGUs), DAR, NCIP, and ROD and the production of Initial Land Tenure Profile (ILTP) and CCM which will be used in the RLTA activities.

6. Support from the Core Management Team

The existing Core Management Teams (CMTs) of the Regions shall support the SA Team and shall perform the following functions:

a. Assists the SAT in establishing/strengthening partnerships with LGUs;

b. Assists in the conduct of training and RLTA activities; and

c. Facilitates the coordination of CENRO, PENRO and Regional officials working on Systematic Adjudication.

d. Monitors the overall implementation of SA particularly the RLTA activities in the Region.

7. Preliminary Procedures

The following are the preliminary procedures before proceeding to the Systematic Adjudication:

a. Inventory of Lot Disposition Status. In order to identify municipalities where there is relatively high potential for titling, the Assistant Regional Director (ARD) for Technical Services, working with the CMT, shall coordinate with the CENROs and their Records Officers to research on the status of lot disposition per Municipality or Survey Project in their respective areas of responsibility. The research shall take into account local conditions that affect the probability of titling for lots that are still not titled, including but not limited to titling programs by other National Government Agencies. Using the form appended herein as Annex A, the following details shall be filled out:

i. Survey Number

ii. Type of Survey (Cad, PLS, GSS)

iii. Total number of lots per Municipality or Survey Project

ii. n Number of Lots Titled or Patented by DENR

iii. Number of Lots with application (with on-going applications or with claims or conflicts, missing records)

iv. Number of Lots that cannot be titled (lots allocated for other uses such as road lots, military reservations, proclamations, lots turned over to DAR or claimed by NCIP)

v. Number of Potential lots for titling

 A sample inventory of the status of lot disposition is appended herein as Annex B.

b. Prioritization of Municipalities per CENRO. Based on the inventory of land disposition status, the Region shall select one municipality per CENRO to undergo the systematic adjudication process taking into consideration the following factors:

- high potential for titling based on the Inventory of the Status of Lot Disposition

- with existing Memorandum of Partnership Agreement (MOPA) and strong LGU cooperation and commitment

- municipalities not covered by the suspension of titling

- with old approved Cadastral Survey

- preferably those municipalities with complete data encoded in LAMS

- other conditions that may be identified as relevant in the selection such as but not limited to the peace and order situation and quality and availability of land records

c. Securing and Revisiting of the MOPA. If the selected municipality has no existing MOPA, the DENR through the SAT-IEC group, shall meet with the Local Government Unit (LGU) concerned to secure their engagement on the land titling of DENR and build partnership arrangements pursuant to DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2011-06. They shall conduct initial meeting to orient and present to the key LGU officers their important role and ability to provide invaluable assistance on the land titling activity of the DENR in terms of resources, logistics and general knowledge on the existing conditions within their area of jurisdiction. Through this, a resolution or ordinance allowing the Municipal Mayor to enter into a MOPA with DENR shall be issued. All other activities pertaining to the preparation of MOPA shall be in accordance with the DENR LGU Partnership Handbook (Module 2).

 On the other hand, for those municipalities with already existing MOPA, the DENR through the SAT IEC group shall revisit the conditions stated therein and conduct courtesy call with the LGU Officers concerned to inform them of the land titling activity of the DENR.

8. Systematic Adjudication Procedures

Upon the completion of the preliminary procedures, the SAT shall now proceed to the SA activities as follows:

a. Data Gathering and Integration. Once the selection of municipality and the issuance of MOPA is secured, the gathering of data shall proceed. A Researcher/Encoder shall be hired by the DENR to do this activity who shall be lodged at the Regional Office. He/she shall focus on the retrieval and researching of land related data from other agencies such as the Municipal Local Government Unit (MLGU) through the Municipal Assessor's Office, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Land Registration Authority (LRA)/Registry of Deeds (RoD), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and even within the DENR. These data are the following:

 

OFFICE	TYPE OF RECORD
DENR Regional Office	Approved Survey Plans with Technical Description
Approved Cadastral Maps (this will be used for plotting to determine the corner of the lot and form the map of the municipality)
List of Claimants
Lot Data Computation (TD, survey claimant, lot number, area)
DENR CENRO	Lot Status from the Allocation Book (lot status if titled, untitled, pending, patented, area covered by NCIP and DAR)
Land Classification Map
LRA	Judicial Decrees
RoD	Copies of Original Certificate of Title
Assessor's Office	Tax Declaration
Tax Map Control Roll (TMCR)
DAR	Emancipation Patent (EP)
Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA)
NCIP	CADT, CALC

 

 Security of land records shall be observed by the concerned personnel of the DENR to prevent loss or other unforeseen events. They shall assist the Researcher/Encoder in its data gathering works,

 In case where the approved survey was found to be erroneous (20% error) upon gathering of data, a survey validation shall be conducted by the CDA Enumerator and Survey Aide before proceeding to the production of CCM.

b. Production of the Initial Land Tenure Profile (ILTP) and Consolidated Cadastral Map (CCM). Using the data gathered from different agencies, the Researcher/Encoder shall continue with the encoding of initial information such as the lot number, survey claimant and tax declarant to produce the ILTP appended herein as Annex B. This form shall be used by the Barangay officials in the actual house to house interview per Barangay.

 Aside from the ILTP, the CCM shall also be prepared by the Researcher/Encoder. Data gathered from the different agencies shall be encoded to produce the CCM which shall serve as the reference and guide in the conduct of the SA process and shall be an indicative map which will show the number of titled and potential lots for titling. The detailed procedure in the preparation of CCM can be cited in the DENR-LGU Partnership Handbook (Module 3. Systematic Adjudication, Sub-module 3.2). Other options or strategies in the production of CCM may be explored by the Regions.

c. Municipal/Barangay Entry. Upon the completion of the ILTP and CCM, the SAT-IEC group together with the CDA and Enumerators shall now coordinate and request for meeting with the LGU officers of the selected Municipality. They shall explain and orient the LGU officers on the purpose of the titling activity that will be undertaken in their area of jurisdiction. The meeting will also aim to seek the support of the LGU with the activity of the DENR.

d. Rapid Land Tenure Appraisal (RLTA). RLTA is an activity which focuses on the untitled lots to determine the potential lots before titling operations are entered into. The result of this activity shall be used to prioritize barangays based on the number of workable lots with the following procedures:

1. RLTA Orientation and Operations Planning

 The SAT IEC group with the CDA and Enumerators shall orient the Barangay Local Government Unit (BLGU) officers concerned of the rationale and objectives for undertaking the RLTA and discuss on how to use the CCM and ILTP. Operations planning shall also be conducted in the orientation where they can strategize on what barangay to prioritize first based on the CCM with factors such as the geographical location of the barangay within the municipality, barangay with the highest number of untitled lots, and duration of the actual gathering of data per barangay may be considered. The schedule of the next meeting for the collection of output and validation may also be tackled and agreed during the operations planning.

2. Actual Gathering of Data for the ILTP

 The Enumerators with the BLGU officials shall conduct the actual gathering of data in their assigned barangay through a house to house approach. Using the ILTP form, they shall interview the land claimants to further filled in the vital information in the said form. A specific period of time per barangay shall be set for the Enumerators and BLGU to complete the activity and submit back the form to CDA. Data gathered shall be encoded by the CDA to update the ILTP.

3. Validation of the Initial Claimant and the ILTP

 After the house to house interview, a validation shall be conducted to determine the accuracy of the data gathered by the Enumerators and BLGU. Claimant of the A&D land as well as the non-claimant who have stake in the land (i.e., tenants, leaseholders, etc.,) shall be confirmed. This may be done through a Barangay Assembly with the BLGU and said claimants. The CDA shall explain the objective of the activity and request the active participation of the community members. Ground validation is optional and may also be conducted to determine the correctness of the data gathered.

 Simultaneous acceptance of public land applications (PLAs) can also be done in the Barangay Assembly if the initial claimant is validated to be the actual occupant and the tax declarant. Said claimant shall be informed of the requirements and supporting documents which need to be prepared and submitted on the next Barangay Assembly.

4. Encoding of data in the Land Tenure Profile (LTP).

 The result of the validated data in the ILTP shall be encoded by the CDA in order to come up with the LTP which is appended herein as Annex C. Based on the LTP, the workable lots can now be determined by the DENR which will serve as the basis for titling.

e. Operations Planning for Barangay Assembly and Systematic Adjudication with the BLGUs. Based on the LTP, the SA team and BLGU shall now plan for the mobilization in the barangay in preparation for the systematic adjudication. This operations planning shall discuss and come up with the schedule of the Barangay Assembly and the distribution and sending of notices to the community to participate in the adjudication. They may disseminate and inform the community by using other mediums such as radio announcements, announcements during mass, posting of notices in all conspicuous places in the barangay hall, sari-sari stores, waiting shed, bulletin boards, etc. in order to ensure that non-residents of the barangay who are land claimants are also informed. It must also be agreed during the planning, the responsible person per activity during the field interview and ocular inspection and their assigned territory in the barangay.

f. Barangay Assembly and Scheduling of the Field Interview and Ocular Inspection. The Barangay Assembly marks the end of the pre-adjudication process and the beginning of the adjudication in the barangay. The Assembly aims to orient and inform the community of the systematic adjudication process and organize the schedule of the field interview and ocular inspection and inform the applicants on the requirements for the titling.

 The claimants may be grouped per Barangay/territory to facilitate the scheduling of their field interview and ocular inspection. For practical reasons, the adjudicator may conduct initial interview with the claimant and the ocular inspection shall follow.

 In case of no show or the claimant failed to attend the assembly, it is the duty of the CDA to reach out to them and ensure the submission of complete requirements. The output of this activity is the final schedule of field interview and ocular inspection with the assigned person per territory/barangay.

g. Mobilization of Adjudication Team. The adjudicators shall proceed to their designated sites to conduct the field interview and ocular inspection.

h. Field Interview and Ocular Inspection. This activity shall serve as assistance on the filing of Free Patent Application by a lot claimant and a possible next round of schedule for interview and inspection of the lot being applied for. This is done to gather more data and validate information by interviewing the claimant and claimants of the adjacent lots. Actual ground verification of the lot is also conducted.

 Part of the information which shall be collected by the adjudicator is the history of the lot including the family tree if it was acquired through succession and the relationship between and among the tax declarant, survey claimant and the current claimant,

i. Completion of Documents and Requirements. Once the field interview and ocular inspection are done, the adjudicator shall assist the applicant on the submission and completion of requirements before it can be transmitted to the CENRO for processing. The 120-day period of processing for Residential Free Patent (RFP) shall commence once the documents and requirements are completed and the application form for RFP with attachments) are submitted to the CENRO. In case of Agricultural Free Patent, the procedures and requirements under CA 141, as amended, shall be implemented.

j. Posting of Notice of Application for Free Patent. After the application has been filed with the CENRO, the applicant interviewed, and the lot inspected, the CENRO through the DPLI prepares the Notice of Free Patent Application of the lot being applied. Copies of the Notice are posted at the Barangay Hall and Municipal Hall for a period of at least 15 consecutive days. If no adverse claim is made or tic complaint is received by the CENRO/BLGU on the application, it may now undergo processing at the CENRO. If there is an adverse claim or a complaint made, the application is put on hold pending the resolution of the protest made by the adverse party. This pending application shall now enter the procedures of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) under DENR Administrative Order No. 2016-30.

k. Processing and Approval of Free Patent Applications (FPAs) in the CENRO. Processing of AFP and RFP must be consistent with the procedures under CA 141, as amended, and RA No. 10023 and its IRR, respectively. A designated LGU special lane for the processing of free patent applications shall be lodged at the CENRO with six (6) personnel to be hired who will only focus on the processing of FPAs.

l. Updating of the Land Tenure Profile. After the transmittal of patents to RoD, the LTP shall be updated by the CDA. A copy of the LTP shall be given to the Barangay upon completion of the SA and to the Regional Office for the updating of the CCM.

10. n Applicability of DAO No. 2016-30 and DAO No. 2016-31

Whenever relevant, the pertinent provisions of DAO No. 2016-30 or the Guidelines in the Conduct of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) In Land Management and Disposition and DAO No. 2016-31 or the Procedure in the Investigation and Resolution of Land Claims and Conflicts Cases will apply.

11. Monitoring and Evaluation

The LMB, through its Land Management Division (LMD) and Land Policy and Planning Division (LPPD), shall monitor the implementation of RLTA activities in the Region. They shall constantly coordinate with the CMT to determine the progress of the implementation. The LMB may devise forms to be used by the Regions for monitoring the accomplishment and progress of the RLTA.

At the Regional level, the Core Management Team (CMT) shall be in-charge in the overall monitoring of the development of said activities. They shall closely coordinate with the SAT to determine the status of the RLTA activities in the municipality.

12. Capacity Building

A nationwide training shall be conducted prior to start of LTA implementation. The training and other capability buildings shall be headed and facilitated by the experts from the LAMP pilot sites in Leyte, Bohol and Bukidnon including the selected immersion sites in Negros Oriental, Agusan del Sur and Cebu.

13. Funding

All SA-related activities shall be funded under the approved General Appropriations Act (GAA).

 

ANNEX A

Inventory of the Status of Lot Disposition

Region __________

Province _________

 

 

Prepared and Reviewed by:		Approved by:
CENRO Records Officer		CENRO

ANNEX B

Sample Inventory of Lot Disposition Status

Region 7

Province of Cebu

 

 

Prepared and Reviewed by:		Approved by:
CENRO Records Officer		CENRO

 

ANNEX C

Initial Land Tenure Profile (ILTP)

ANNEX D

Land Tenure Profile

 

n Note from the Publisher: Copied verbatim from the official copy.

n Note from the Publisher: Copied verbatim from the official copy. Irregular numerical sequence.