COMMONWEALTH ACT NO.

141

November 7, 1936
December 1, 1936

COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 141*

AN ACT TO AMEND AND COMPILE THE LAWS RELATIVE TO

LANDS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

TITLE I
TITLE AND APPLICATION OF THE ACT, LANDS TO WHICH
IT REFERS, AND CLASSIFICATION, DELIMITATION, AND
SURVEY THEREOF FOR CONCESSION

CHAPTER I
Short Title of the Act, Lands to Which it Applies, and Officers Charged
With Its Execution
SECTION 1. The short title of this Act shall be "The Public
Land Act.
SECTION 2. The provisions of this Act shall apply to the
lands of the public domain; but timber and mineral lands shall be
governed by special laws and nothing in this Act provided shall be
understood or construed to change or modify the administration and
disposition of the lands commonly called "friar lands'' and those which,
being privately owned, have reverted to or become the property of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines, which administration and disposition
shall be governed by the laws at present in force or which may hereafter
be enacted.
SECTION 3. The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce shall
be the executive officer charged with carrying out the provisions of this
Act through the Director of Lands, who shall act under his immediate
control.
SECTION 4. Subject to said control, the Director of Lands
shall have direct executive control of the survey, classification, lease, sale
or any other form of concession or disposition and management of the
lands of the public domain, and his decisions as to questions of fact shall
be conclusive when approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and
Commerce.
SECTION 5. The Director of Lands, with the approval of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce shall prepare and issue such
forms, instructions, rules, and regulations consistent with this Act, as
may be necessary and proper to carry into effect the provisions thereof
and for the conduct of proceedings arising under such provisions.
CHAPTER II
Classification, Delimitation, and Survey of Lands of the Public Domain,
for the Concession Thereof
SECTION 6. The President, upon the recommendation of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, shall from time to time classify
the lands of the public domain into

(a) Alienable or disposable;

(b) Timber, and

(c) Mineral lands,

and may at any time and in a like manner transfer such lands from one
class to another, for the purposes of their administration and disposition.
SECTION 7. For the purposes of the administration and
disposition of alienable or disposable public lands, the President, upon
recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, shall
from time to time declare what lands are open to disposition or
concession under this Act.
SECTION 8. Only those lands shall be declared open to
disposition or concession which have been officially delimited and
classified and, when practicable, surveyed, and which have not been
reserved for public or quasi-public uses, nor appropriated by the
Government, nor in any manner become private property, nor those on
which a private right authorized and recognized by this Act or any other
valid law may be claimed, or which, having been reserved or
appropriated, have ceased to be so However, the President may, for
reasons of public interest, declare lands of the public domain open to
disposition before the same have had their boundaries established or been
surveyed, or may, for the same reason, suspend their concession or
disposition until they are again declared open to concession or disposition
by proclamation duly published or by Act of the National Assembly.
SECTION 9. For the purpose of their administration and
disposition, the lands of the public domain alienable or open to
disposition shall be classified, according to the use or purposes to which
such lands are destined, as follows:

(a) Agricultural

(b) Residential commercial industrial or for similar

productive purposes

(c) Educational, charitable, or other similar purposes

(d) Reservations for town sites and for public and quasi-
public uses.

The President, upon recommendation by the Secretary of

Agriculture and Commerce, shall from time to time make the
classifications provided for in this section, and may, at any time and in a
similar manner, transfer lands from one class to another.
 SECTION 10. The words "alienation, "'disposition, or
"concession" as used in this Act, shall mean any of the methods
authorized by this Act for the acquisition, lease, use, or benefit of the
lands of the public domain other than timber or mineral lands.

TITLE II
Agricultural Public Lands

CHAPTER III
Forms of Concession of Agricultural Lands
SECTION 11. Public lands suitable for agricultural purposes
can be disposed of only as follows, and not otherwise:

(1) For homestead settlement

(2) By sale

(3) By lease

(4) By confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles:

(a) By judicial legalization

(b) By administrative legalization (free patent).

SECTION 12. Any citizen of the Philippines over the age of

eighteen years, or the head of a family, who does not own more than
twenty-four hectares of land in the Philippines or has not had the benefit
of any gratuitous allotment of more than twenty-four hectares of land
since the occupation of the Philippines by the United States, may enter a
homestead of not exceeding twenty-four hectares of agricultural land of
the public domain.
SECTION 13. Upon the filing of an application for a
homestead, the Director of Lands, if he finds that the application should
be approved, shall do so and authorize the applicant to take possession of
the land upon the payment of five pesos, Philippine currency, as entry
fee. Within six months from and after the date of the approval of the of
the application, the applicant shall begin to work the homestead,
otherwise he shall lose his prior right to the land.
SECTION 14. No certificate shall be given or patent issued for
the land applied for until at least one-fifth of the land has been improved
and cultivated. The period within which the land shall be cultivated shall
not be less than one or more than five years, from and after the date of
the approval of the application. The applicant shall, within the said
period, notify the Director of Lands as soon as he is ready to acquire the
title. If at the date of such notice, the applicant shall prove to the
satisfaction of the Director of Lands, that he has resided continuously for
at least one year in the municipality in which the land is located, or in a
municipality adjacent to the same, and has cultivated at least one-fifth of
the land continuously since the approval of the application, and shall
make affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated or
encumbered, and that he has complied with all the requirements of this
Act, then, upon the payment of five pesos, as final fee, he shall be
entitled to a patent.
SECTION 15. At the option of the applicant, payment of the
fees required in this chapter may be made to the municipal treasurer of
the locality, who, in turn, shall forward them to the provincial treasurer.
In case of delinquency of the applicant, the Director of Lands may, sixty
days after such delinquency has occurred, either cancel the application or
grant an extension of time not to exceed one hundred and twenty days for
the payment of the sum due.
SECTION 16. If at any time before the expiration of the period
allowed by law for the making of final proof, it shall be proven to the
satisfaction of the Director of Lands, after due notice to the homesteader,
that the land entered is under the law not subject to home-stead entry, or
that the homesteader has actually changed his residence, or voluntarily
abandoned the land for more than six months at any one time during the
years of residence and occupation herein required, or has otherwise failed
to comply with the requirements of this Act, the Director of Lands may
cancel the entry.
SECTION 17. Before final proof shall be submitted by any
person claiming to have complied with the provisions of this chapter, due
notice, as prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce shall
be given to the public of his intention to make such proof, stating therein
the name and address of the homesteader, the description of the land,
with its boundaries and area, the names of the witness by whom it is
expected that the necessary facts will be established, and the time and
place at which, and the name of the officer before whom, such proof will
be made.
SECTION 18. In case the homesteader shall suffer from mental
alienation, or shall for any other reason be incapacitated from exercising
his rights personally, the person legally representing him may offer and
submit the final proof on behalf of such incapacitated person.
SECTION 19. Not more than one homestead entry shall be
allowed to any one person, and no person to whom a homestead patent
has been issued by virtue of the provisions of this Act regardless of the
area of his original homestead, may again acquire a homestead; Provided,
however, That any previous homesteader who has been issued a patent
for less than twenty-four hectares and otherwise qualified to make a
homestead entry, may be allowed another homestead which, together
with his previous homestead shall not exceed an area of twenty-four
hectares.
SECTION 20. If at any time after the approval of the
application and before the patent is issued, the applicant shall prove to
the satisfaction of the Director of Lands that he has complied with all the
requirements of the law, but cannot continue with his homestead, through
no fault of his own, and there is a bona fide purchaser for the rights and
improvements of the applicant on the land, and that the conveyance is not
made for purposes of speculation, then the applicant, with the previous
approval of the Director of Lands may transfer his rights to the land and
improvements to any person legally qualified to apply for a homestead,
and immediately after such transfer, the purchaser shall file a homestead
application for the land so acquired and shall succeed the original
homesteader in his rights and obligations beginning with the date of the
approval of said application of the purchaser. Any person who has so
transferred his rights may not again apply for a new homestead. Every
transfer made without the previous approval of the Director of Lands
shall be null and void and shall result in the cancellation of the entry and
the refusal of the patent.
SECTION 21. Any non-Christian Filipino who has not applied
for a home-stead, desiring to live upon or occupy land on any of the
reservations set aside for the so-called "non-Christian tribes" may request
a permit of occupation for any tract of land of the public domain reserved
for said non-Christian tribes under this Act, the area of which shall not
exceed four hectares. It shall be an essential condition that the applicant
for the permit cultivate and improve the land, and if such cultivation has
not been begun within six months from and after the date on which the
permit was received, the permit shall be cancelled. The permit shall be
for a term of one year. If at the expiration of this term or at any time prior
thereto, the holder of the permit shall apply for a homestead under the
provisions of this chapter, including the portion for which a permit was
granted to him, he shall have the priority, otherwise the land shall be
again open to disposition at the expiration of the permit.
For each permit the sum of one peso shall be paid.

CHAPTER IV
Sale
SECTION 22. Any citizen of lawful age of the Philippines, and
any such citizen not of lawful age who is a 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 belongs wholly to
citizens of the Philippines, and which is organized and constituted under
the laws of Philippines, and corporate bodies organized in the Philippines
authorized under their charters to do so; may purchase any tract of public
agricultural land disposable under this Act, not to exceed one hundred
and forty-four hectares in the case of an individual and one thousand and
twenty-four hectares in that of a corporation or association, by
proceeding as prescribed in this chapter: Provided, That partnerships
shall be entitled to purchase not to exceed one hundred and forty-four
hectares for each member thereof. but the total area so purchased shall in
no case exceed the one thousand and twenty-four hectares authorized in
this section for associations and corporations.
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: Provided,
however, That persons, corporations, associations or partnerships which,
at the date upon which the Philippine Constitution took effect, held
agricultural public lands or land of any other denomination, that belonged
originally, really or presumptively, to the public domain, or permanent
improvements on such lands, or a real right upon such lands and
Constitution took improvements, having acquired the same under the
laws and regulations in force at the date of such acquisition, shall be
authorized to continue holding the same as if such persons, corporations,
associations, or partnerships were qualified under the last preceding
section; but they shall not encumber, convey, or alienate the same to
persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships not included in
section twenty-two of this Act, except by reason of hereditary succession,
duly legalized and acknowledged by competent courts.
SECTION 24. Lands sold under the provisions of this chapter
must be appraised in accordance with section one hundred and sixteen of
this Act. The Director of Lands shall announce the sale thereof by
publishing the proper notice once a week for six consecutive weeks in the
Official Gazette, and in two newspapers one published in Manila and the
other published in the municipality or in the province where the lands are
located, or in a neighboring province, and the same notice shall be posted
on the bulletin board of the Bureau Of Lands in Manila, and in the most
conspicuous place in the provincial building and the municipal building
of the province and municipality, respectively, where the land is located,
and, if practicable, on the land itself; but if the value of the land does not
exceed two hundred and forty pesos, the publication in the Official
Gazette and newspapers may be omitted. The notices shall be published
one in English and the other in Spanish or in the local dialect, and shall
fix a date not earlier than sixty days after the date of the notice upon
which the land will be awarded to the highest bidder, or public bids will
be called for, or other action will be taken as provided in this chapter.
SECTION 25. Public agricultural lands which are not located
within ten (10) kilometers from the boundaries of the city proper in
chartered cities or within five (5) kilometers from the municipal hall or
town occupants plaza of any municipality may be sold to actual
occupants who do not own any parcel of land or whose total land
holdings do not exceed five hectares and who comply with the minimum
requirements of Commonwealth Act numbered one hundred forty-one, as
amended, and who have resided on the land applied for at least two years
prior to the date of the application.cdt

All bids must be sealed and addressed to the Director of Lands and
must have inclosed therewith cash or certified check, treasury warrant, or
post-office money order payable to the order of the Director of Lands for
ten per centum of the amount of the bid, which amount shall be retained
in case the bid is accepted as part payment of the purchase price:
Provided, That no bid shall be considered the amount of which is less
than the appraised value of the land.
In addition to existing publication requirements in section twenty-
four of Commonwealth Act Numbered one hundred forty-one, as
amended, notices and of applications shall be posted for a period of not
less than thirty days in at least three conspicuous places in the
municipality where the parcel of land is located, one of which shall be at
the municipal building, and other, in the barrio council building of the
barrio where the land is located.
SECTION 26. Upon the opening of the bids, the land shall be
awarded to the highest bidder. If there are two or more equal bids which
are higher than the others, and one of such equal bids is that of the
applicant, his bid shall be accepted. If, however, the bid of the applicant
is not one of such equal and higher bids, the Director of Lands shall at
once submit the land for public bidding, and to the person making the
highest bid on such public auction the land shall be awarded. In any case,
the applicant shall always have the option of raising his bid to equal that
of the highest bidder, and in this case the land shall be awarded to him.
No bid received at such public auction shall be finally accepted until the
bidder shall have deposited ten per centum of his bid, as required in
Section twenty-five of this Act. In case none of the tracts of land that are
offered for sale or the purchase of which has been applied for, has an area
in excess of twenty-four hectares, the Director of Lands may delegate to
the District Land Officer concerned the power of receiving bids, holding
the auction, and proceeding in accordance with the provisions of this Act,
but the District Land Officer shall submit his recommendation to the
Director of Lands, for the final decision of the latter in the case.
The District Land Officer shall accept and process any application
for the purchase of public lands not exceeding five hectares subject to the
approval of the Director of Lands within sixty days after receipt of the
recommendation of said District Land Officer.
SECTION 27. The purchase price shall be paid as follows: The
balance of the purchase price after deducting the amount paid at the time
of submitting the bid, may be paid in full upon the making of the award,
or in not more than ten equal annual installments from the date of the
award.
SECTION 28. The purchaser shall have not less than one-fifth
of the land broken and cultivated within five years after the date of the
award; and before any patent is issued, the purchaser must show of
occupancy, cultivation, and improvement of at least one-fifth of the land
applied for until the date on which final payment is made: Provided,
however, That in case land purchased is to be devoted to pasture, it shall
be sufficient compliance with this condition if the purchaser shall graze
on the land as many heads of his cattle as will occupy at least one-half of
the entire area at the rate of one head per hectare.
SECTION 29. After title has been granted, the purchaser may
not, within a period of ten years from such cultivation or grant, convey or
encumber or dispose said lands or rights thereon to any person,
corporation or association, without prejudice to any right or interest of
the Government in the land: Provided, That any sale and encumbrance
made in violation of the provisions of this section, shall be null and void
and shall produce the effect of annulling the acquisition and reverting the
property and all rights thereto to the State, and all payments on the
purchase price theretofore made to the Government shall be forfeited.
SECTION 30. If at any time after the date of the award and
before the issuance of patent, it is proved to the satisfaction of the
Director of Lands, after due notice to the purchaser, that the purchaser
has voluntarily abandoned the land for more than one year at any one
time, or has otherwise failed to comply with the requirements of the law,
then the land shall revert to the State, and all prior payments made by the
purchaser and all improvements existing on the land shall be forfeited.
SECTION 31. No person, corporation, association, or
partnership shall be permitted, after the approval of this Act, to acquire
the title to or possess as owner any lands of the public domain if such
lands, added to other lands belonging to such person, corporation,
association, or partnership shall give a total area greater than area the
acquisition of which by purchase is authorized under this Act. Any
excess in area over this maximum and all right, title, interest, claim or
action held by any person, corporation, association, or partnership
resulting directly or indirectly in such excess shall revert to the State.
This section shall, however, not be construed to prohibit any
person, corporation, association, or partnership authorized by this Act to
require lands of the public domain from making loans upon real
necessary for the recovery of such loans; but in this case, as soon as the
excess above referred to occurs, such person, corporation, association, or
partnership shall dispose of such lands within five years, for the purpose
of removing the excess mentioned. Upon the land in excess of the limit
there shall be paid, so long as the same is not disposed of, for the first
year a surtax of fifty per centum additional to the ordinary tax to which
such property shall be subject, and for each succeeding year fifty per
centum shall be added to the last preceding annual tax rate, until the
property shall have been disposed of.
The person, corporation, association, or partnership owning the
land in excess of the limit established by this Act shall determine the
portion of land to be segregated.
At the request of Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, the
Solicitor-General or the officer acting in his stead shall institute the
necessary proceedings in the proper court for the purpose of determining
the excess portion to be segregated, as well as the disposal of such
portion in the exclusive interest of the Government.
SECTION 32. This chapter shall be held to authorize only one
purchase of the maximum amount of land hereunder by the same person,
corporation, association, or partnership; and no corporation, association,
or partnership, any member of which shall have received the benefits of
this chapter or of the next following chapter, either as an individual or as
a member of any other corporation, association, or partnership, shall
purchase any other lands of the public domain under this chapter. But any
purchaser of public land, after having made the last payment upon and
cultivated at least one-fifth of the land purchased, if the same shall be less
than the maximum allowed by this Act, may purchase successively
additional agricultural public land adjacent to or not distant from the land
first purchased, until the total area of such purchases shall reach the
maximum established in this chapter: Provided, That in making such
additional purchase or purchases, the same conditions shall be complied
with as prescribed by this Act for the first purchase.

CHAPTER V
Lease
SECTION 33. Any citizen of lawful age of the Philippines, and
any corporation or association of which at least sixty per centum of the
capital stock or of any interest in said capital stock belongs wholly to
citizens of the Philippines, and which is organized and constituted under
the laws of the Philippines, may lease any tract of agricultural public land
available for lease under the provisions of this Act, not exceeding a total
of one thousand and twenty-four hectares. If the land leased is adapted to
and be devoted for grazing purposes, an area not exceeding two thousand
hectares may be granted. No member, stockholder, of officer,
representative, attorney, agent, employee or bondholder of any
corporation or association holding or controlling agricultural public land
shall apply, directly or indirectly, for agricultural public land except
under the homestead and free patent provisions of this Act: Provided,
That no lease shall be permitted to interfere with any prior claim by
settlement or occupation, until the consent of the occupant or settler is
first had, or until such claim shall be legally extinguished, and no person,
corporation, or association shall be permitted to lease lands hereunder
which are not reasonably necessary to carry on his business in case of an
individual, or the business for which it was lawfully created and which it
may lawfully pursue in the Philippines, if an association or corporation.
SECTION 34. A notice of the date and place of the auction of
the right to lease the land shall be published and announced in the same
manner as that prescribed for the publication and announcement of the
notice of sale, in section twenty-four of this Act.
SECTION 35. All bids must be sealed and addressed to the
Director of Lands and must have enclosed therewith cash or a certified
check, Treasury warrant, or post-office money order payable to the order
of the Director of Lands, for a sum equivalent to the rental for at least,
the first three months of the lease: Provided, That no bid shall be
considered in which the proposed annual rental is less than three per
centum of the value of the land according to the appraisal made in
conformity with section one hundred and sixteen of this Act.
SECTION 36. The auction of the right to lease the land shall be
conducted under the same procedure as that prescribed for the auction
sale of agricultural lands as described in section twenty-six of this Act:
Provided, That no bid shall be accepted until the bidder shall have
deposited the rental for at least the first three months of the lease.
SECTION 37. The annual rental of the land leased shall not be
less than three per centum of the value of the land, according to the
appraisal and reappraisal made in accordance with section one hundred
sixteen of this Act; except for lands reclaimed by the Government, which
shall not be less than four per centum of the appraised and reappraised
value of the land: Provided, That one-fourth of the annual rental of these
lands reclaimed prior to the approval of this Act shall accrue to the
construction and improvement portion of the Portworks Funds: And
provided, further, That the annual rental of not less than four per centum
of the appraised and reappraised value of the lands reclaimed using the
Portworks Fund after the approval of this Act shall all accrue to the
construction and improvement portion of the Portworks Fund. But if the
land leased is adapted to and be devoted for granting purposes, the annual
rental shall be not less than two per centum of-the appraised and
reappraised value thereof- Every contract of lease under the provisions of
this chapter shall contain a cause to the effect that are appraisal of the
land leased shall be made every ten years from the date of the approval of
the lease, if the term of the same shall be in excess of ten years. In case
the lessee is not agreeable to the reappraisal and prefers to give up his
contract of lease, he shall notify the Director of Lands of his desire within
the six months next preceding the date on which the reappraisal takes
effect, and in case his request is approved, the Director of Lands may, if
the lessee should so desire, proceed in accordance with section one
hundred of this Act.
SECTION 38. Leases shall run for a period of not more than
twenty-five years, but may be renewed once for another period of not to
exceed twenty-five years, in case the lessee shall have made important
improvements which, in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture
and Commerce justify a renewal. Upon the final expiration of the lease,
all buildings and other permanent improvements made by the lessee, his
heirs, executors, administrators, successors, or assigns shall become the
property of the Government, and the land together with the said
improvements shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of
chapter five of this Act.
SECTION 39. It shall be an inherent and essential condition of
the lease that the lessee shall have not less than one-third of the land
broken and cultivated within five years after the date of the approval of
the lease: Provided, however, That in case the land leased is to be
devoted to pasture, it shall be sufficient compliance with this condition if
the lessee shall graze on the land as many heads of cattle as will occupy
at least one-half of the entire area at the rate of one head per hectare.
SECTION 40. The lessee shall not assign, encumber, or sublet
his rights without the consent of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Commerce, and the violation of this condition shall avoid the contract:
Provided, That assignment, encumbrance, or subletting for purposes of
speculation shall not be permitted in any case: Provided, further, That
nothing contained in this section shall be understood or construed to
permit the assignment, encumbrance, or subletting of lands leased under
this Act, or under any previous Act, to persons, corporations, or
associations which under this Act, are not authorized to lease public
lands.
SECTION 41. The lease of any lands under this chapter shall
not confer the right to remove or dispose of any valuable timber except as
provided in the regulations of the Bureau of Forestry for cutting timber
upon such lands. Nor shall such lease confer the right to remove or
dispose of stone, oil, coal, salts. or other minerals, or medicinal mineral
waters existing upon the same. The lease as to the part of the land which
shall be mineral may be canceled by the Secretary of Agriculture and
Commerce, after notice to the lessee, whenever the said part of the land is
more valuable for agricultural purposes.
The commission of waste or violation of the forestry regulations
by the lessee shall work a forfeiture of his last payment of rent and render
him liable to immediate dispossession and suit for damage.
SECTION 42. After having paid rent for at least the first two
years of the lease, and having complied with the requirements prescribed
in section thirty nine, the lessee of agricultural public land with an area
than the maximum allowed by law, may lease successively additional
agricultural public land adjacent to or near the land originally leased until
the total- area of such leases shall reach the maximum established in this
chapter: Provided, That in making such additional lease, the same
conditions shall be complied with as prescribed by this Act for the first
lease.
SECTION 43. During the life of the lease, any lessee who shall
have complied with all the conditions thereof and shall have the
qualifications required by section twenty-two, shall have the option of
purchasing the land leased subject to the restrictions of chapter five of
this Act.

CHAPTER VI
Free Patents
SECTION 44. Any natural-born citizen of the Philippines who
is not the owner of more than twenty-four hectares and who since July
fourth, nineteen hundred and twenty-six or prior thereto, has
continuously occupied and cultivated, either by himself or through his
predecessors-in-interest, a tract or tracts of agricultural public lands
subject to disposition, or who shall have paid the real estate tax thereon
while same has not been occupied by any person shall be entitled, under
the provisions of this chapter, to have a free patent issued to him for such
tract or tracts of such land not to exceed twenty-four hectares.
A member of the national cultural minorities who has continuously
occupied and cultivated, either by himself or through his predecessors-in-
interest, a tract or tracts of land, whether disposable or not since July 4,
1955, shall be entitled to the right granted in the preceding paragraph of
this section: Provided, That at the time he files his free patent application
he is not the owner of any real property secured or disposable under this
provision of the Public Land Law
SECTION 45. The President of the Philippines (Prime
Minister), upon recommendation of the Secretary of Natural Resources,
shall from time to time fix by proclamation the period which applications
for Proclamation free patents may be filed in the district, chartered city,
of period province, municipality or region specified in such
proclamation, and upon the expiration of the period so designated, unless
the same be extended by the President (Prime Minister) all the land
comprised within such district, chartered city, province, municipality or
region subject thereto under the provisions of this chapter may be
disposed of as agricultural public land without prejudice to the prior right
of the occupant and cultivator to acquire such land under this Act by
means other than free patent. The time to be fixed in the entire
Archipelago for the filing of applications under this Chapter shall not
extend beyond December 31, 1987, except in the provinces of Agusan
del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Cotabato, South Cotabato, Bukidnon, Lanao
del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao
Oriental, Sulu, Mt. Province, Benguet, Kalinga-Apayao, and Ifugao
where the President of the Philippines, upon recommendation of the
Secretary of Natural Resources, shall determine or fix the time beyond
which the filing of applications under this Chapter shall not extend. The
period fixed for any district, chartered city, province, or municipality
shall begin to run thirty days after the publication of the proclamation in
the Official Gazette and if available in one newspaper of general
circulation in the city, province or municipality concerned. A certified
copy of said proclamation shall be furnished by the Secretary of Natural
Resources within 30 days counted from the date of the presidential
proclamation to the Director of Lands and to the provincial board, the
municipal board or city council and barangay council affected, and
copies thereof shall be posted on the bulletin board of the Bureau of
Lands at Manila and at conspicuous places in the provincial building and
at the municipal building and barangay hall or meeting place. It shall
moreover, be announced by government radio whenever available, in
each of the barrios of the municipality.
SECTION 46. If, after the filing of the application and the
investigation, the Director of Lands shall be satisfied of the truth of the
allegations contained the application and that the applicant comes within
the provisions chapter, he shall cause a patent to issue to the applicant or
his legal successor for the tract so occupied and cultivated, provided its
area does not exceed twenty-four hectares: Provided, That no application
shall be finally acted upon until notice thereof has been published in the
municipality and barrio in which the land is located and adverse
claimants have had an opportunity to present their claims.

CHAPTER VII
Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect or Incomplete Titles
SECTION 47. The persons specified in the next following
section are hereby granted time, not to extend beyond December 31,
1987 within which to take advantage of the benefit of this chapter:
Provided, That this extension shall apply only where the area applied for
does not exceed 144 hectares. Provided, further, That the several periods
of time designated by the President in accordance with section forty-five
of this Act shall apply also to the lands comprised in the provisions of
this chapter, but this section shall not be construed as prohibiting any of
said persons from acting under this chapter at any time prior to the period
fixed by the President.
SECTION 48. The following-described citizens of the
Philippines, occupying lands of the public domain or claiming to own
any such lands or an interest therein, but whose titles have not been
perfected or completed, may apply to the Court of First Instance of the
province where the land is located for confirmation of their claims and
the issuance of a certificate of title therefor, under the Land Registration
Act , to wit:

(a) Those who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain

to the prior United States have applied for the purchase,
composition or other form of grant of lands of the public domain
under the laws and royal decrees then in force and have instituted
and prosecuted the proceedings in connection therewith, but have
with or without default upon their part, or for any other cause, not
received title therefor, if such applicants or grantees and their
heirs have occupied and cultivated said lands continuously since
the filing of their applications.

(b) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors

in interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive, and
notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the
 public domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisition or
ownership, for at least thirty years immediately preceding the
filing of the application for confirmation of title except when
prevented by war or force majeure. These shall be conclusively
presumed to have performed all the conditions essential to a
Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title
under the provisions of this chapter.

(c) Members of the national cultural minorities who by

themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in
open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and
occupation of lands of the public domain suitable to agriculture,
whether disposable or not, under a bona fide claim of ownership
for at least 30 years shall be entitled to the rights granted in sub-
section (b) hereof.

SECTION 49. No person claiming title to lands of the public

domain not possession of the qualifications specified in the last preceding
section may apply for the benefits of this chapter.
SECTION 50. Any person or persons, or their legal
representatives or successors in right, claiming any lands or interest in
lands under the provisions of this chapter, must in every case present an
application to the proper Court of First Instance, praying that the validity
of the alleged title or claim be inquired into and that a certificate of title
be issued to them under the provisions of the Land Registration Act.
The application shall conform as nearly as may be in its material
allegations to the requirements of an application for registration under the
Land Registration Act, and shall be accompanied by a plan of the land
and all documents evidencing a right on the part of the applicant to the
land claimed. The application shall also state the citizenship of the
applicant and shall set forth fully the nature of the claim and when based
upon proceeding initiated under Spanish laws, it shall specify as exactly
as possible the date and form of application for purchase composition or
other form of grant, the extent of the compliance with the conditions
required by the Spanish laws and royal decrees for the acquisition of
legal title, and if not fully complied with, the reason for such
noncompliance, together with a statement of the length of time such land
or any portion thereof has been actually occupied by the claimant or his
predecessors in interest; the use made of the land, and the nature of the
inclosure, if any. The fees provided to be paid for the registration of lands
under the Land Registration Act shall be collected from applicants under
this chapter.
SECTION 51. Applications for registration under this chapter
shall be heard in the Court of First Instance in the same manner and shall
be subject to the same procedure as established in the Land Registration
Act for other applications, except that a notice of all such applications,
together with a plan of the lands claimed, shall be immediately forwarded
to the Director of Lands, who may appear as a party in such cases:
Provided, That prior to the publication for hearing, all of the papers in
said case shall be transmitted papers by the clerk to the Solicitor General
or officer acting in his stead, in order that he may, if he deems it
advisable for the interests of the Government, investigate all of the facts
alleged in the application or otherwise brought to his attention. The
Solicitor-General shall return such papers to the clerk as soon as
practicable within three months.
The final decree of the court shall in every case be the basis for the
original certificate of title in favor of the person entitled to the property
under the procedure prescribed in section forty-one of the Land
Registration Act.
SECTION 52. In cadastral proceedings, instead of an
application, an answer or claim may be filed with the same effect as in
the procedure provided in the last preceding two sections.
SECTION 53. It shall be lawful for the Director of Lands,
whenever in the opinion of the President the public interests shall require
it, to cause to be filed in the proper Court of First Instance, through the
Solicitor-General or the officer acting in his stead, a petition against the
holder, claimant, possessor, or occupant of any land who shall not have
voluntarily come in under the provisions of this chapter or of the Land
Registration Act, stating in substance that the title of such holder,
claimant, possessor, or occupant is open to discussion; or that the
boundaries of any such land which has not been brought into court as
aforesaid are open to question; or that it is advisable that the title to such
lands be settled and adjudicated, and praying that the title to any such
land or the boundaries thereof or the right to occupancy thereof be settled
and adjudicated. The judicial proceedings under this section shall be in
accordance with the laws on adjudication of title in cadastral
proceedings.
SECTION 54. If in the hearing of any application arising under
this chapter the court shall find that more than one person or claimant has
an interest in the land, such conflicting interests shall be adjudicated by
the court and decree awarded in favor of the person or persons entitled to
the land according to the laws, but if none of said person is entitled to the
land, or if the person who might be entitled to the same lacks the
qualifications required by this Act for acquiring agricultural land of the
public domain, the decision shall be in favor of the Government.
SECTION 55. Whenever, in any proceedings under this chapter
to secure registration of an incomplete or imperfect claim of title initiated
prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States, it
shall appear that had such claims been prosecuted to completion under
the laws prevailing when instituted, and under the conditions of the grant
then contemplated, the conveyance of such land to the applicant would
not have been gratuitous, but would have involved payment therefor to
the Government, then and in that event the court shall, after decreeing in
whom title should vest, further determine the amount to be paid as a
condition for the registration of the land. Such judgment shall be certified
to the Director of Lands by the clerk of the court for collection of the
amount due from the person entitled to conveyance.
Upon payment to the Director of Lands of the price specified in the
judgment, he shall so certify to the proper Court of First Instance and said
court shall forthwith order the registration of the land in favor of the
competent person entitled thereto. If said person shall fail to pay the
amount of money required by the decree within a reasonable time fixed
in the same, the court shall order the proceeding to stand dismissed and
the title to the land shall then be in the State free from any claim of the
applicant.
SECTION 56. Whenever any judgment of confirmation or other
decree of the court under this chapter shall become final, the clerk of the
court concerned shall certify that fact to the Director of Lands, with a
certified copy of the decree of confirmation or judgment of the court and
the plan and technical description of the land involved in the decree or
judgment of the court.
SECTION 57. No title or right to, or equity in, any lands of the
public domain may hereafter be acquired by prescription or by adverse
possession or occupancy, or under or by virtue of any law in effect prior
to American occupation, except as expressly provided by laws enacted
after said occupation of the Philippines by the United States.

TITLE III
Lands for Residential, Commercial or Industrial Purposes and Other
Similar Purposes

CHAPTER VIII
Classification and Concession of Public Lands Suitable for Residence,
Commerce and Industry
SECTION 58. Any tract of land of the public domain which,
being neither timber nor mineral land, is intended to be used for
residential purposes or for commercial, industrial, or other productive
purposes other than agricultural, and is open to disposition or concession,
shall be disposed of under the pro-visions of this chapter and not
otherwise.
SECTION 59. The lands disposable under this title shall be
classified as follows:

(a) Lands reclaimed by the Government by dredging, filing,

or other means;

(b) Foreshore;

(c) Marshy lands or lands covered with water bordering

upon the shores or banks of navigable lakes or rivers;

(d) Lands not included in any of the foregoing classes.

SECTION 60. Any tract of land comprised under this title may
be leased or sold, as the case may be, to any person, corporation, or
association authorized to purchase or lease public lands for agricultural
purposes. The area of the land so leased or sold shall be such as shall, in
the judgment of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, be
reasonably necessary for the purposes for which such sale or lease is
requested, and shall in no case exceed one hundred and forty-four
hectares: Provided, however, That this limitation shall not apply to
grants, donations, transfers made to a province, municipality or branch or
subdivision of the Government for the purposes deemed by said entities
conducive to the public interest; but the land so granted donated, or
transferred to a province, municipality, or branch or subdivision of the
Government shall not be alienated, encumbered, or otherwise disposed of
in a manner affecting its title, except when authorized by Congress:
Provided, further, That any person, corporation, association or
partnership disqualified from purchasing public land for agricultural
purposes under the provisions of this Act, may lease land included under
this title suitable for industrial or residential purposes, but the lease
granted shall only-be valid while such land is used for the purposes
referred to.
SECTION 61. The lands comprised in classes (a), (b), and (c) of
section fifty-nine shall be disposed of to private parties by lease only and
not otherwise, as soon as the President, upon recommendation by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce. shall declare that the same are
not necessary for the public service and are open to disposition under this
chapter. The lands included in class (d) may be disposed of by sale or
lease under the provisions of this Act.
SECTION 62. The lands reclaimed by the Government by
dredging, filling or otherwise shall be surveyed and may, with the
approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, be divided by
the Director of Lands into lots and blocks, with the necessary streets and
alley-ways between them, and said Director shall give notice to the
public by publication in the Official Gazette or by other means, that the
lots or blocks not needed for public purposes shall be leased for
commercial or industrial or other similar purposes.
SECTION 63. Whenever it is decided that lands covered by this
chapter are not needed for public purposes, the Director of Lands shall
ask the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce for authority to dispose
of the same. Upon receipt of such authority, the Director of Lands shall
give notice by public advertisement in the same manner as in the case of
leases or sales of agricultural public land, that the Government will lease
or sell, as the case may be, the lots or blocks specified in the
advertisement, for the purpose stated in the notice and subject to the
conditions specified in this chapter.
SECTION 64. The leases executed under this chapter by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce shall, among other conditions,
contain the following:

(a) The rental shall not be less than three per centum of the
appraised or reappraised value of the land plus one per centum of
the appraised or reappraised value of the improvements, except
for lands reclaimed by the Government which shall not be less
than four per centum of the appraised or reappraised value of the
land plus two per centum of the appraised or reappraised value of
the improvements thereon: Provided, That twenty-five per centum
of the total annual rental on all lands reclaimed prior to the
approval of this Act and one per centum of the appraised or
reappraised value of improvements shall accrue to the
construction and improvement portion of the Portworks Fund:
And provided, further, That the annual rental on lands reclaimed
using the Portworks Fund together with the fee due on account of
the improvement thereon after the effectivity of this Act shall all
 accrue to the construction and improvement portion of the
Portworks Fund.

(b) The land rented and the improvements thereon shall be

reappraised every ten years if the term of the lease is in excess of
that period.

(c) The term of the lease shall be as prescribed by section

thirty-eight of this Act.

(d) The lessee shall construct permanent improvements

appropriate for the purpose for which the lease is granted, shall
commence the construction thereof within six months from the
date of the award of the right to lease the land, and shall complete
the said construction within eighteen months from said date.

(e) At the expiration of the lease or of any extension of the

same, all improvements made by the lessee, his heirs, executors,
administrators, successors, or assigns shall become the property
of the Government.

(f) The regulation of all rates and fees charged to the public;
and the annual submission to the Government for approval of all
tariffs of such rates and fees.

(g) The continuance of the easements of the coast police and

other easements reserved by existing law or by any laws hereafter
enacted.

(h) Subjection to all easements and other rights acquired by

the owners of lands bordering upon the foreshore or marshy land.

The violation of one or any of the conditions specified in the

contract shall give rise to the rescission of said contract. The Secretary of
Agriculture and Commerce may, however, subject to such conditions as
he may prescribe, waive the rescission arising from a violation of the
conditions of subsection (d), or extend the time within which the
construction of the improvements shall be commenced and completed.
SECTION 65. The sale of the lands comprised in classes (c) and
(d) of section fifty-nine shall, among others, comprise the following
conditions:

(a) The purchaser shall make improvements of a permanent

character appropriate for the purpose for which the land is
purchased, shall commence work thereon within six months from
the receipt of the order of award, and shall complete the
construction of said improvements within eighteen months from
the date of such award; otherwise the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources may rescind the contract.

(b) The purchase price shall be paid in cash or in equal

annual installments, not to exceed ten.
 The contract of sale may contain other conditions not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act.
SECTION 66. The kind of improvements to be made by the
lessee or the purchaser, and the plans thereof, shall be subject to the
approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, in case
they are constructions or improvements which if by the Government,
would properly have to be executed under the supervision of the Bureau
of Public Works.
SECTION 67. The lease or sale shall be made through oral
bidding; and adjudication shall be made to the highest bidder. However,
where an applicant has made improvements on the land by virtue of a
permit issued to him by competent authority, the sale or lease shall be
made by sealed bidding as prescribed in section twenty-six of this Act,
the provisions of which shall be applied wherever applicable. If all or
part of the lots remain unleased or unsold, the Director of Lands shall
from time to time announce in the Official Gazette or in any other
newspapers of general circulation, the lease or sale of those lots, if
necessary
SECTION 68. The Secretary of Agricultural and Commerce
may grant to qualified persons temporary permission, upon payment of a
reasonable charge, for the use of any portion of the lands covered by this
chapter for any lawful private purpose, subject to revocation at any time
when, in his judgment, the public interest shall require it.

TITLE IV
Lands for Educational, Charitable, and Other Similar Purposes

CHAPTER IX
Concession of Lands for Educational, Charitable, and Other Similar
Purposes
SECTION 69. Whenever any province, municipality, or other
branch or subdivision of the Government shall need any portion of the
land of the public domain open to concession for educational, charitable
or other similar purposes, the President, upon recommendation by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, may execute contracts in favor
of the same. in the form of donation, sale, lease, exchange, or any other
form, under terms and conditions to be inserted in the contract; but land
so granted shall in no case 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
National Assembly disposes otherwise.
SECTION 70. Any tract of public land of the class covered by
this title maybe sold or leased for the purpose of founding a cemetery,
church, college, school, university, or other institutions for educational,
charitable or philanthropical purposes or scientific research, the area to
be such as may actually and reasonably be necessary to carry out such
purpose, but not to exceed ninety-six hectares in any case. The sale or
lease shall be made subject to the same conditions as required for the sale
and lease of agricultural public land, but the Secretary of Agriculture and
Commerce may waive the conditions requiring cultivation. The Secretary
of Agriculture and Commerce, if conveyance he sees fit, may order the
sale to be made without public auction, at a price to be fixed by said
Secretary, or the lease to be granted without auction, at a rental to be
fixed by him. In either case it shall be a condition that the purchaser or
lessee or their successors or assigns shall not sell transfer, encumber or
lease the land for the purposes of speculation or use it for any purpose
other than that contemplated in the application, and that the violation of
this condition shall give rise to the immediate rescission of the sale or
lease, as the case may be, and to the forfeiture to the Government of all
existing improvements: Provided, That it shall in no case be sublet,
encumbered or resold under the conditions above set forth except with
the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce.

TITLE V
Reservations

CHAPTER X
Town Site Reservations
SECTION 71. Whenever it shall be considered to be in the
public interest to found a new town. the Secretary of Agriculture and
Commerce shall direct the Director of Lands to have a survey made by
his Bureau of the exterior boundaries of the site on which such town is to
be established, and upon the completion of the survey he shall send the
same to said Secretary, with his recommendations.
SECTION 72. The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, if
he approves the recommendations of the Director of Lands, shall submit
the matter to the President to the end that the latter may issue a
proclamation reserving the land surveyed, or such part thereof as he may
deem proper, as a town site, and a certified copy of such proclamation
shall be sent to the Director of Lands and another to the register of deeds
of the province in which the surveyed land lies.
SECTION 73. It shall then be the duty of the Director of Lands,
after having recorded the proclamation of the President and the survey
accompanying the same, and having completed the legal proceedings
prescribed in chapter thirteen of this Act, to direct a subdivision in
accordance with the instructions of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Commerce, if there shall be such instructions, and if there shall not be
any, then in the manner which may to the Director of Lands seem best
adapted to the convenience and interest of the public and the residents of
the future town.
SECTION 74. The plat of the subdivision shall designate certain
lots for commercial and industrial uses and the remainder as residence
lots, and shall also reserve and note the lots owned by private individuals
as evidenced by record titles, or possessed or claimed by them as private
property. Such lots, whether public or private, shall be numbered upon a
general plan or system.
 The plat prepared by the Director of Lands shall be submitted to
the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce for consideration,
modification, amendment, or approval.
SECTION 75. Unless the necessary reservations are made in the
proclamation of the President, the Director of Lands, with the approval of
the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, shall reserve out of the land
by him to be subdivided lots of sufficient size and convenient situation
for public use, as well as the necessary avenues, streets, alleyways, parks,
and squares. The avenues, streets, alleys, parks, plazas, and lots shall be
laid out on the plat as though the lands owned or claimed by private
persons were part of the public domain and part of the reservation, with a
view to the possible subsequent purchase or condemnation thereof, if
deemed necessary by the proper authorities.
SECTION 76. At any time after the subdivision has been made,
the President may, in case the public interest requires it, reserve for
public purposes any lot or lots of the land so reserved and not disposed
of.
SECTION 77. If, in order to carry out the provisions of this
chapter, it shall be necessary to condemn private lands within the limits
of the new town, the President shall direct the Solicitor-General or officer
acting in his stead to at once begin proceedings for condemnation, in
accordance with the provisions of existing law.
SECTION 78. When the plat of subdivision has been finally
approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, the Director of
Lands shall record the same in the records of his office and shall forward
a certified copy of such record to the register of deeds of the province in
which the land lies, to be by such register recorded in the records of his
office
SECTION 79. All lots, except those claimed by or belonging to
private parties and those reserved for parks, buildings, and other public
uses, shall be sold, after due notice, at public auction to the highest
bidder, after the approval and recording of the plat of subdivision as
above provided, but no bid shall be accepted that does not equal at least
two-thirds of the appraised value, nor shall bids be accepted from
persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships not authorized to
purchase public lands for commercial, residential or industrial purposes
under the provisions of this Act. The provisions of sections twenty-six
and sixty-five of this Act shall be observed in so far as they are
applicable. Lots for which satisfactory bids have not been received shall
be again offered for sale, under the same conditions as the first time, and
if they then remain unsold, the Director of Lands shall be authorized to
sell them at private sale for not less than two-thirds of their appraised
value.
SECTION 80. All funds derived from the sale of lots shall be
covered into the Philippine Treasury as part of the general funds.
SECTION 81. Not more than two residence lots and two lots for
commercial and industrial uses in any one town site shall be sold to any
one person, corporation, or association without the specific approval of
the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce.
 SECTION 82. The Assembly shall have the power at any time
to modify, alter, rescind, repeal, annul, and cancel, with or without
conditions, limitation, exceptions, or reservations, all and any
dispositions made by the executive branch of the Philippine Government
by virtue of this chapter, and the exercise of this power shall be
understood as reserved in all cases, as an inherent condition thereof.

CHAPTER XI
Reservations for Public and Semi-Public Purposes
SECTION 83. Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Commerce, the President may designate by proclamation
any tract or tracts of land of the public domain as reservations for the use
of the Commonwealth of the Philippines or of any of its branches, or of
the inhabitants thereof, in accordance with regulations prescribed for this
purpose, or for quasi-public uses or purposes when the public interest
requires it, including reservations for highways, rights of way for
railroads, hydraulic power sites, irrigation systems, communal pastures or
leguas comunales, public parks, public quarries, public fishponds,
workingmen's village and other improvements for the public benefit.
SECTION 84. Upon recommendation of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Commerce, the President, may by proclamation,
designate any tract or tracts of the public domain for the exclusive use of
the non-Christian Filipinos, including in the reservation, in so far as
practicable, the lands used or possessed by them, and granting to each
member not already the owner, by title or gratuitous patent, of four or
more hectares of land, the use and benefit only of a tract of land not to
exceed four hectares for each male member over eighteen years of age or
the head of a family. As soon as the Secretary of the Interior shall certify
that the majority of the non-Christian inhabitants of any given reservation
have advanced sufficiently in civilization, then the President may order
that the lands of the public domain within such reservation be granted
under the general provisions of this Act to the said inhabitants, and the
subdivision and distribution of said lands as above provided shall be
taken into consideration in the final disposition of the same. But any non-
Christian inhabitant may at any time apply for the general benefits of this
Act provided the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce is satisfied that
such inhabitant is qualified to take advantage of the provisions of the
same: Provided, That all grants, deeds, patents and other instruments of
conveyance of land or purporting to convey or transfer rights of property,
privileges, or easements appertaining to or growing out of lands, granted
by sultans, datus, or other chiefs of the so-called non-Christian tribes,
without the authority of the Spanish Government while the Philippines
were under the sovereignty of Spain, or without the consent of the United
States Government or of the Philippine Government since the
sovereignty over the Archipelago was transferred from Spain to the
United States, and all deeds and other documents executed or issued or
based upon the deeds, patents, and documents mentioned, are hereby
declared to be illegal, void, and of no effect.
SECTION 85. Upon recommendation by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Commerce, the President may, by proclamation
designate any tract or tracts of land of the public domain for the
establishment of agricultural colonies; and although the disposition of the
lands to the colonists shall be made under the provisions of this Act, yet,
while the Government shall have the supervision and management of said
colonies, the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce may make the
necessary rules and regulations for the organization and internal
administration of the same. The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce
may also, under conditions to be established by the Assembly, turn over a
colony so reserved to any person or corporation, in order that such person
or corporation may clear, break, and prepare for cultivation the lands of
said colony and establish the necessary irrigation system and suitable
roads and fences; but final disposition shall be made of the land in
accordance with the provisions of this Act, subject, however, to such
conditions as the National Assembly may establish for the reimbursement
of the expense incurred in putting such lands in condition for cultivation:
Provided, That the National Assembly may direct that such land so
prepared for cultivation may be disposed of only by sale or lease.

CHAPTER XII
Provisions Common to Reservations
SECTION 86. A certified copy of every proclamation of the
President issued under the provisions of this title shall be forwarded to
the Director of Lands for record in his office, and a copy of this record
shall be forwarded to the register of deeds of the province or city where
the land lies. Upon receipt of such certified copy, the Director of Lands
shall order the immediate survey of the proposed reservation if the land
has not yet been surveyed, and as soon as the plat has been completed, he
shall proceed in accordance with the next following section.
SECTION 87. If all the lands included in the proclamation of
the President are not registered under the Land Registration Act, the
Solicitor-General, if requested to do so by the Secretary of Agriculture
and Commerce, shall proceed in accordance with the provision of section
fifty-three of this Act.
SECTION 88. The tract or tracts of land reserved under the
provisions of section eighty-three shall be non-alienable and shall not be
subject to occupation, entry, sale, lease, or other disposition until again
declared alienable under the provisions of this Act or by proclamation of
the President.

TITLE VI
General Provisions

CHAPTER XIII
Applications: Procedure, Concession of Lands, and Legal Restrictions
and Encumbrances
SECTION 89. All applications filed under the provisions of this
Act shall be addressed to the Director of Lands.
SECTION 90. Every application under the provisions of this
Act shall be made under oath and shall set forth:
(a) The full name of applicant, his age, place of birth,
citizenship, civil status, and post-office address. In case the
applicant is a corporation, association or copartnership, the
application shall be accompanied with a certified copy of its
articles of incorporation, association or copartnership together
with an affidavit of its President, manager, or other responsible
officer, giving the names of the stockholders or members, their
citizenship, and the number of shares subscribed by each.

(b) That the applicant has all the qualifications required by

this Act in the case.

(c) That he has none of the disqualifications mentioned

herein.

(d) That the application is made in good faith, for the actual
purpose of using the land for the object specified in the
application and for no other purpose, and that the land is suitable
for the purpose to which it is to be devoted.

(e) That the application is made for the exclusive benefit of

the application and not, either directly or indirectly, for the benefit
of any other person or persons, corporation, association, or
partnership.

(f) As accurate a description of the land as may be given,

stating its nature the province, municipality, barrio, and sitio
where it is located, and its limits and boundaries, specifying those
having reference to accidents of the ground or permanent
monuments, if any.

(g) Whether all or part of the land is occupied or cultivated

or improved, and by whom, giving his post-office address, and
whether the land has been occupied or cultivated or improved by
the applicant or his ascendant, the name of the ascendant, the
relationship with him, the date and place of the death of the
ascendant, the date when the possession and cultivation began,
and description of the improvements made, accompanying
satisfactory evidence of the relationship of the applicant with the
ascendant, and of the death of the latter and the descendants left
by him, in case it is alleged that he occupied and cultivated the
land first; or whether there are indications of its having been
occupied, cultivated, or improved entirely or partially, and if so,
in what such indications consist, whether he has made
investigations as to when and by whom such improvements were
made, and if so, how such investigations were made and what was
the result thereof; or whether the land is not occupied, improved,
or cultivated either entirely or partially, and there are no
indications of it having ever been occupied, improved, or
cultivated, and in this case, what is the condition of the land.

(h) That the land applied for is neither timber nor mineral
land and does not contain guano or deposits of salts or coal.
 (i) That the applicant agrees that a strip forty meters wide
starting from the bank on each side of any river or stream that
may be found on the land applied for, shall be demarcated and
preserved as permanent timberland to be planted exclusively to
trees of known economic value, and that he shall not make any
clearing thereon or utilize the same for ordinary farming purposes
even after patent shall have been issued to him or a contract of
lease shall have been executed in his favor. 68

SECTION 91. The statements made in the application shall be

considered as essential conditions and parts of any concession, title, or
permit issued on the basis of such application, and any false statements
therein or omission of facts altering, changing, or modifying the
consideration of the facts set forth in such statements, and any subsequent
modification, alteration, or change of the material facts set forth in the
application shall ipso facto produce the cancellation of the concession,
title, or permit granted. It shall be the duty of the Director of Lands, from
time to time and whenever he may deem it advisable, to make the
necessary investigations for the purpose of ascertaining whether the
material facts set out in the application are true, or whether they continue
to exist and are maintained and preserved in good faith, and for the
purposes of such investigation, the Director of Lands is hereby
empowered to issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum and, if
necessary, to obtain compulsory process from the courts. In every
investigation made in accordance with this section, the existence of bad
faith, fraud, concealment, or fraudulent and illegal modification of
essential facts shall be presumed if the grantee or possessor of the land
shall refuse or fail to obey a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum lawfully
issued by the Director of Lands or his authorized delegates or agents, or
shall refuse or fail to give direct and specific answers to pertinent
questions, and on the basis of such presumption, an order of cancellation
may issue without further proceedings.
SECTION 92. Although the maximum area of public land that
may be acquired is fixed, yet the spirit of this Act is that the rule which
must deter-mine the real area to be granted is the beneficial use of the
land. The concession or disposition shall be for less than the maximum
area authorized if, at the time of the issuance of the patent or of the
concession or disposition, it shall appear that the applicant is utilizing and
is only able to utilize a smaller area, even though the application is for a
greater area. For the purposes of this section, the Director of Lands is
authorized to determine the area that may be granted to the applicant, and
to deny or cancel or limit any application for concession, purchase, or
lease if convinced of the lack of means of the applicant for using the land
for the purpose for which he has requested it.
SECTION 93. Lands applied for under this Act shall conform to
the legal subdivisions and shall be contiguous if comprising more than
one subdivision. If subdivisions have not been made on the date of the
application, the lands shall be rectangular in form so far as practicable,
but it shall be endeavored to make them conform to the legal subdivision
as soon as the same has been made, provided the interests of the applicant
or grantee are protected; and the subdivision assigned to the applicant or
grantee shall, so far as practicable, include the land improved or
cultivated. The regulations to be issued for the execution of the
provisions of this section shall take into account the legal subdivision to
be made by the Government and the inadvisability of granting the best
land at a given place to only one person. cd i

SECTION 94. In case the legal subdivisions have already been

made at the time of the filing of the application, no charge shall be made
for the survey; but if the legal subdivisions have not yet been made, the
cost of the survey shall be charged to the Government, except in the
following cases:

(a) In purchases under chapters five and ten of this Act, the
cost of the survey shall be charged to the purchaser if the same is
a corporation, association, or partnership; in other purchases the
purchases, whoever it be, shall pay the total cost of the survey.

(b) In leases, the cost of the survey shall be paid by the

lessee; but at any time after the first five years from the approval
of the lease, and during Cost of the life of the same, the lessee
shall be entitled to the reimbursement of one-half of the cost of
the survey, if he shows to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands
that he has occupied and improved a sufficient area of the land or
incurred sufficient expenses in connection therewith to warrant
such reimbursement.

SECTION 95. If before the delimitation and survey of a tract of

public land the President shall declare the same disposable or alienable
and such land shall be actually occupied by a person other than the
applicant, the Director of Lands shall inform the occupant of his prior
right to apply for the land and shall give him one hundred and twenty
days time in which to file the application or apply for the concession by
any of the forms of disposition authorized by this Act, if such occupant is
qualified to acquire a concession under this Act.
SECTION 96. As soon as any land of the public domain has
been surveyed, delimited, and classified, the President may, in the order
issued by him declaring it open for disposition, designate a term within
which occupants with improvements but not entitled to free patents may
apply for the land occupied by them, if they have the qualifications
required by this Act.
SECTION 97. If in the case of the two last preceding sections,
the occupant or occupants have not made application under any of the
provisions of this Act at the expiration of the time limit fixed, they shall
lose any prior right to the land recognized by this Act, and the
improvements on the land, if any, shall be forfeited to the Government.
SECTION 98. All rights in and interest to, and the
improvements and crops upon, land for which an application has been
denied or canceled or a patent or grant refused, or a contract or
concession rescinded or annulled, shall also be forfeited to the
Government.
SECTION 99. The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce may
order such improvements and crops to be appraised separately, for sale to
the new applicant or grantee, or may declare such land open only to sale
or lease.
 SECTION 100. In case the cancellation is due to delinquency on
the part of the applicant or grantee, the same shall be entitled to the
reimbursement of the proceeds of the sale of the improvements and
crops, after deducting the total amount of his indebtedness to the
Government and the expense incurred by it in the sale of the
improvements or crops and in the new concession of the land.
SECTION 101. All actions for the reversion to the Government
of lands of the public domain or improvements thereon shall be instituted
by the Solicitor-General or the officer acting in his stead, in the proper
courts, in the name of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
SECTION 102. Any person, corporation, or association may file
an objection under oath to any application or concession under this Act,
grounded on any reason sufficient under this Act for the denial or
cancellation of the application or the denial of the patent or grant. If, after
the applicant or grantee has been given suitable opportunity to be duly
heard, the objection is found to be well founded, the Director of Lands
shall deny or cancel the application or deny patent or grant, and the
person objecting shall, if qualified, be granted a prior right of entry for a
term of sixty days from the date of the notice.
SECTION 103. All the proofs, affidavits, and oaths of any kind
required or necessary under this Act may be made before the justice of
the peace 71 of the municipality in which the land lies, or before the judge
or clerk of the Court of First Instance of the province in which the land
lies, or before any justice of the peace or chargeable notary public of the
province in which the land lies, or before any officer or employee of the
Bureau of Lands authorized by law to administer oaths.
The fees for the taking of final evidence before any of the officials
herein-before mentioned shall be as follows:
For each affidavit, fifty centavos.
For each deposition of the applicant or the witness, fifty centavos.
SECTION 104. Any owner of uncultivated agricultural land who
knowingly permits application for the same to be made to the
Government and the land to be tilled and improved by a bona fide
grantee without protesting to the Bureau of Lands within one year after
cultivation has begun, shall lose all to the part of the land so cultivated
and improved, unless he shall bring action in the proper court before such
action for recovery prescribes and obtains favorable judgment therein, in
which case the court shall, upon its decision becoming final, order the
payment to the grantee, within a reasonable period, of the indemnity
fixed by said court for the cultivation and improvement.
SECTION 105. If at any time the applicant or grantee shall die
before the issuance of the patent or the final grant of the land, or during
the life of the lease, or while the applicant or grantee still has obligations
pending towards the Government, in accordance with this Act, he shall
be succeeded in his rights and obligations with respect to the land applied
for or granted or leased under this Act by his heirs in law, who shall be
entitled to have issued to them the patent or final concession if they show
that they have complied with the requirements therefor, and who shall be
subrogated in all his rights and obligations for the purposes of this Act.
 SECTION 106. If at any time after the approval of the
application and before the issuance of a patent or the final concession of
the land, or during the life of the lease, or at any time when the applicant
or grantee still has obligations pending with the Government, in
accordance with this Act, it appears that the land applied for is necessary,
in the public interest, for the protection of any source of water or for any
work for the public benefit that the Government wishes to undertake, the
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce may order the cancellation of the
application or the non issuance of the patent or concession or the
exclusion from the land applied for of such portion as may be required,
upon payment of the value of the improvements, if any.
SECTION 107. All patents or certificates for land granted under
this Act shall be prepared in the Bureau of Lands and shall be issued in
the name of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines under the
signature of the President of the Philippines: Provided, however, That the
President of the Philippines may delegate to the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources 74 and/or the Under secretary for Natural
Resources 74 the power to sign patents or certificates covering lands not
exceeding one hundred forty-four hectares in area, and to the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources 75 the power to sign patents or
certificates covering lands exceeding one hundred forty-four hectares in
area: Provided, further, That District Land Officers in every province are
hereby empowered to sign patents or certificates covering lands not
exceeding five hectares in area when the office of the District Land
Officer is properly equipped to carry out the purposes of this Act:
Provided, That no applicant shall be permitted to split the area applied for
by him in excess of the area fixed in this section among his relatives
within the sixth degree of consanguinity or affinity excepting the
applicant's married children who are actually occupying the land:
Provided, finally, That copies of said patents issued shall be furnished to
the Bureau of Lands for record purposes. No patent or certificate shall be
issued by the District Land Officer unless the survey of the land covered
by such patent or certificate, whether made by the Bureau of Lands or by
a private surveyor, has been approved by the Director of Lands. The
Director of Lands shall promptly act upon all surveys submitted to him
for approval and return the same to the District Land Officer within
ninety days after receipt of such surveys by his office. In case of
disapproval, the Director of Lands shall state the reasons therefor. Any
person aggrieved by the decision or action of the District Land Officer
may, within thirty days from receipt of the copy of the said decision,
appeal to the Director of Lands. Such patents or certificates shall be
effective only for the purposes defined in Section one hundred and
twenty-two of the land Registration Act, and actual conveyance of the
land shall be effected only as provided in said section.
All surveys pending approval by the Director of Lands at the time
this Act takes effect shall be acted upon by him within ninety days from
the effectivity of this Act.
SECTION 108. No patent shall issue nor shall any concession or
contract be finally approved unless the land has been surveyed and an
accurate plat made thereof by the Bureau of Lands.
SECTION 109. In no case shall any land be granted under the
provisions of this Act when this affects injuriously the use of any
adjacent land or of the waters, rivers, creeks, foreshore, roads, or
roadsteads, or vest the grantee with other valuable rights that may be
detrimental to the public interest.
SECTION 110. Patents or certificates issued under the provisions
of this Act shall not include nor convey the title to any gold, silver,
copper, iron, or other metals or minerals, or other substances containing
minerals, guano, gums, precious stones, coal, or coal oil contained in
lands granted thereunder. These shall remain to be property of the State.
SECTION 111. All persons receiving title to lands under the
provisions of this Act shall hold such lands subject to the provisions
hereof and to the same public servitudes as exist upon lands owned by
private persons, including those with reference to the littoral of the sea
and the banks of navigable rivers or rivers upon which rafting may be
done.
SECTION 112. Said land shall further be subject to a right-of-
way not exceeding sixty (60) meters in width for public highways,
railroads, irrigation ditches, aqueducts, telegraph and telephone lines and
similar works as the Government or any public or quasi-public service or
enterprise, including mining or forest concessionaires, may reasonably
require for carrying on their business, with damages for the
improvements only. 77
SECTION 113. The beneficial use of water shall be the basis, the
measure, and the limit of all rights thereto, and the patents herein granted
shall be subject to the right of the Government to make such rules and
regulations for the use of water and the protection of the water supply,
and for other public purposes, as it may deem best for the public good.
Whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the use of water for
mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes have vested and
accrued, and the same are recognized and acknowledged by the local
customs, or by the laws and decisions of the courts, the possessors and
owners of such vested rights shall be maintained and protected in the
same, and all patents granted under this Act shall be subject to any vested
and accrued rights to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such
water rights as may have been acquired in the manner above described
prior to April eleven, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.
SECTION 114. There is hereby reserved from the operation of all
patents, certificates, entries, and grants by the Government authorized
under this Act the right to use for the purposes of power any flow of
water in any stream running through or by the land granted, the
convertible power from which at ordinary low water exceeds fifty horse
power. Where the convertible power in any stream running through or by
land granted under the authority of this Act thus exceeds fifty
horsepower, and there is no means of using such power except by the
occupation of a part of the land granted under authority of this Act, then
so much land as is reasonably necessary for the mill site or site for the
power house, and for a suitable dam and site for massing the water, is
hereby excepted from such grants, not exceeding four hectares, and a
right of way to the nearest public highway from the land thus excepted,
and also a right of way for the construction and maintenance of such
flumes, aqueducts, wires, poles, o r order conduits as may be needed in
conveying the water to the point where its fall will yield the greatest
power, or the power from the point of conversion to the point of use, is
reserved as a servitude or easement upon the land granted by authority of
this Act: Provided, however, That when the Government or any
concessionaire of the Government shall take possession of the land under
this section which a grantee under this Act shall have paid for, supposing
it to be subject to grant under this Act, said grantee shall be entitled to
indemnity from the Government or the concessionaire, as the case may
be, in the amount, if any, paid by him to the Government for the land
taken from him by virtue of this section: And provided, further, That
with respect to the flow of water, except for converting the same into
power exceeding fifty horse power, said grantee shall be entitled to the
same use of the water flowing through or along his land that other private
owners enjoy under the law, subject to the governmental regulation
provided in the previous section. Water power privileges in which the
convertible power at ordinary low water shall exceed fifty horse power
shall be disposed of only upon terms established by an Act of the
Assembly concerning the use, lease or acquisition of such water
privilege.
SECTION 115. All lands granted by virtue of this Act, including
homesteads upon which final proof has not been made or approved, shall,
even though and while the title remains in the State, be subject to the
ordinary taxes, which shall be paid by the grantee or the applicant,
beginning with the year next following the one in which the homestead
application has been filed, or the concession has been approved, or the
contract has been signed, as the case may be, on the basis of the value
fixed in such filing, approval or signing of the application, concession or
contract.
SECTION 116. The appraisal or reappraisal of the lands or
improvements subject to concession or disposition under this Act shall be
made by the Director of Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Commerce. The Director of Lands may request the
assistance of the provincial treasurer of the province in which the land
lies or may appoint a committee for such purpose in the province or in
the municipality in which the land lies. In no case shall the appraisal or
reappraisal be less than the expense incurred or which may be incurred
by the Government in connection with the application or concession, nor
shall any reappraisal be made with an increase of more than one hundred
per centum upon the appraisal or reappraisal next preceding.
SECTION 117. All sums due and payable to the Government
under this Act, except homestead fees, shall draw simple interest at the
rate of four per centum per annum from and after the date in which the
debtor shall become delinquent.
SECTION 118. Except in favor of the Government or any of its
branches, units, or institutions, lands acquired under free patent or
homestead provisions shall not be subject to encumbrance or alienation
from the date of the approval of the application and for a term of five
years from and after the date of issuance of the patent or grant, nor shall
they become liable to the satisfaction of any debt contracted prior to the
expiration of said period, but the improvements or crops on the land may
be mortgaged or pledged to qualified persons, associations, or
corporations.
 No alienation, transfer, or conveyance of any homestead after five
years and before twenty-five years after issuance of title shall be valid
without the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce,
which approval shall not be denied except on constitutional and legal
grounds.
SECTION 119. Every conveyance of land acquired under the free
patent or homestead provisions, when proper, shall be subject to
repurchase by the applicant, his widow, or legal heirs, within a period of
five years from the date of the conveyance.
SECTION 120. Conveyance and encumbrance made by persons
belonging to the so-called "non-Christian Filipinos" or national cultural
minorities, when proper, shall be valid if the person making the
conveyance or encumbrance is able to read and can understand the
language in which the instrument or conveyance or encumbrances is
written. Conveyances and encumbrances made by illiterate non-Christian
or literate non-Christians where the instrument of conveyance or
encumbrance is in a language not understood by the said literate non-
Christians shall not be valid unless duly approved by the Chairman of the
Commission on National Integration.
SECTION 121. Except with the consent of the grantee and the
approval of the Secretary of Natural Resources, and solely for
commercial, industrial, educational, religious or charitable purposes or
for a right of way, no corporation, association, or partnership may acquire
or have any right, title, interest, or property right whatsoever to any land
granted under the free patent, homestead, or individual sale provisions of
this Act or to any permanent improvement on such land.
The provisions of Section 124 of this Act to the contrary
notwithstanding, any acquisition of such land, rights thereto or
improvements thereon by a corporation, association, or partnership prior
to the promulgation of this Decree for the purposes herein stated is
deemed valid and binding; Provided, That no final decision of reversion
of such land to the State has been rendered by a court; And Provided,
further, That such acquisition is approved by the Secretary of Natural
Resources within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Decree.
SECTION 122. No land originally acquired in any manner under
the provisions of this Act, nor any permanent improvement on such land,
shall encumbered, alienated, or transferred, except to persons,
corporations, associations, or partnerships who may acquire lands of the
public domain under this Act or to corporations organized in the
Philippines authorized therefor by their charters.
Except in cases of hereditary succession, no land or any portion
thereof originally acquired under the free patent, homestead, or
individual sale provisions of this Act, or any permanent improvement on
such land, shall be transferred or assigned to any individual, nor shall
such land or any permanent improvement thereon be leased to such
individual, when the area of said land, added to that of his own, shall
exceed one hundred and forty-four hectares. Any transfer, assignment, or
lease made in violation hereof, shall be null and void.
SECTION 123. No land originally acquired in any manner under
the pro-visions of any previous Act, ordinance, royal order, royal decree,
or any other provision of law formerly in force in the Philippines with
regard to public lands, terrenos baldios y realengos, or lands of any other
denomination that were actually or presumptively of the public domain,
or by royal grant or in any other form, nor any permanent improvement
on such land, shall be encumbered, alienated, or conveyed, except to
persons, corporations or associations who may acquire land of the public
domain under this Act or to corporate bodies organized in the Philippines
whose charters authorize them to do so: Provided, however, That this
prohibition shall not be applicable to the conveyance or acquisition by
reason of hereditary succession duly acknowledged and legalized by
competent courts; Provided, further, That in the event of the ownership
of the lands and improvements mentioned in this section and in the last
preceding section being transferred by judicial decree to persons,
corporations or associations not legally capacitated to acquire the same
under the provisions of this Act, such persons, corporations, or
associations shall be obliged to alienate said lands or improvements to
others so capacitated within the precise period of five years; otherwise,
such property shall revert to the Government.
SECTION 124. Any acquisition, conveyance, alienation, transfer,
or other contract made or executed in violation of any of the provisions
of sections one hundred and eighteen, one hundred and twenty, one-one
hundred and twenty-one, one hundred and twenty two, and one hundred
and twenty-three of this Act shall be unlawful and null and void from its
execution and shall produce the effect of annulling and cancelling the
grant, title, patent, or permit originally issued, recognized or confirmed,
actually or presumptively, and cause the reversion of the property and its
improvements to the State.
SECTION 125. The provisions of sections twenty-two, twenty-
three, thirty-three, one hundred and twenty-two, and one hundred and
twenty-three of this Act, and any other provision or provisions restricting
or tending to restrict the right of persons, corporations, or associations to
acquire, hold, lease, encumber, dispose of, or alienate land in the
Philippines, or permanent improvements thereon, or any interest therein,
shall not be applied in cases in which the right to acquire, hold or dispose
of such land, permanent improvements thereon or interests therein in the
Philippines is recognized by existing treaties in favor of citizens or
subjects of foreign nations and corporations or associations organized
and constituted by the same, which right, in so far as it exists under such
treaties, shall continue and subsist in the manner and to the extent
stipulated in said treaties, and only while these are in force, but not
thereafter.
SECTION 126. All public auctions provided for in the foregoing
chapters in the disposition of public lands shall be held, wherever
possible, in the province where the land is located, or, in the office of the
Bureau of Lands in Manila

CHAPTER XIV
Transitory Provisions
SECTION 127. During the existence and continuance of the
Commonwealth and before the Republic of the Philippines is finally
established, citizens and corporations of the United States shall enjoy the
same rights granted to citizens and corporations of the Philippines under
this Act.
SECTION 128. During the period specified in the next preceding
section, the President of the Philippines, upon receipt of the order of the
President of the United States, shall, by proclamation, designate such
land as the latter may set aside for military, naval or other reservations
for use of the Government of the United States.

CHAPTER XV
Penal Provisions
SECTION 129. Any person who presents or causes to be
presented, or cooperates in the presentation of, any false application,
declaration, or evidence, or makes or causes to be made or cooperates in
the making of a false affidavit in support of any petition, claim, or
objection respecting lands of the public domain, shall be deemed guilty
of perjury and punished accordingly.
SECTION 130. Any person who voluntarily and maliciously
prevents or hinders or attempts to prevent or hinder the presentation of
any application for public land under this Act, or who in any manner
attempts to execute or executes acts intended to dissuade or discourage,
or aid to dissuade or discourage, the acquisition of public lands, shall be
deemed guilty of coercion and be punished accordingly.
SECTION 131. Any person who sells forms issued and distributed
gratuitously under this Act or who, being an officer charged with
distributing them, refuses or fails, without sufficient reason, to furnish the
same, shall be punished for each offense by a fine of not more than one
hundred pesos or by imprisonment for not more than three months, or
both, in the discretion of the court.
SECTION 132. Any person, corporation, association or
partnership which, not being qualified or no longer authorized to apply
for public land under the provisions of this Act, files or induces or
knowingly permits another person, corporation, association or
partnership to file an application in his or its behalf or for his or its
interest, benefit or advantage, shall be punished by a fine of not less than
two hundred nor more than five thousand pesos or by imprisonment for
not less than two months nor more than five years, or both, in the
discretion of the court; and the application shall be cancelled.
SECTION 133. Any person who, without having the
qualifications required by this Act, shall by deceit or fraud acquire or
attempt to acquire lands of the public domain or other real property or
any right, title or interest, or property right of any class to the same, and
any person aiding and abetting him therein or serving as a means or tool
therefor, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than
five thousands pesos, or by the imprisonment for not more than five
years, or both, in the discretion of the court.

TITLE VII
Final Provisions
 CHAPTER XVI
Effectiveness of this Act
SECTION 134. If, for any reason, any section or provision of this
Act is challenged in a competent court and is held to be unconstitutional,
none of the other sections or provisions thereof shall be affected thereby
and such other sections and provisions shall continue to govern as if the
section or provisions so annulled, disapproved, or repealed had never
been incorporated in this Act, and in lieu of the section or provision so
annulled, disapproved, or repealed, the provisions of law on the subject
thereof in force prior to the approval of this Act shall govern until the
Assembly shall otherwise provide in the premises.
SECTION 135. All laws and regulations, or parts thereof,
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed.
SECTION 136. This Act shall take effect on December first,
nineteen hundred and thirty-six unless the President shall, in the
proclamation announcing its effectiveness, designate a prior date, in
which case this Act shall take effect on the date so designated.
Approved: November 7, 1936