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Land Titles Jurisprudence · Podcast Episode 2 · 15:38
Paano Magpatitulo ng Lupa: Sapat Na Ba ang Papel ng DENR?
To title land, you must prove that it is alienable and disposable. Is a certification from a DENR office enough?
A corporation applying for about 56 hectares in Batangas won in two courts with a CENRO certification and a DENR memorandum, then lost in the Supreme Court. Atty. Jeric Dave Gallardo and Sweet Zel Grace Porras walk through three decisions on proving that land is alienable and disposable, and the 2021 law that changed the proof required in judicial confirmation of title.
Three cases, two answers
Same question. Different facts. Different results.
The rule
Only the government classifies public land as alienable and disposable; certifications and survey-plan notations can only evidence that classification, not make it, and the applicant carries the burden of proving it.
For judicial confirmation of imperfect title, Sec. 7 of R.A. No. 11573 (2021) makes a duly signed certification by a duly designated DENR geodetic engineer, imprinted in the approved survey plan, sufficient proof that the land is alienable. In Republic vs. Pasig Rizal Co., Inc. (2022), the Supreme Court held that Sec. 7 supersedes the T.A.N. Properties requirements and applies to applications pending on September 1, 2021, and that the geodetic engineer must testify.
Recap
- The government declares land alienable and disposable; certifications only prove it.
- In T.A.N. Properties, a CENRO certification was not enough, and in Arbias, a notation on the survey plan was not enough.
- In judicial confirmation of title, since September 1, 2021, a sworn certification by a DENR geodetic engineer in the approved survey plan is sufficient, but the engineer must still testify.
Bar tip
When asked whether a CENRO certification alone is enough, check the date first. In judicial confirmation of title, if the application was still pending on September 1, 2021, or was filed after that date, Sec. 7 of R.A. No. 11573 and Republic vs. Pasig Rizal Co., Inc. govern.
The law
R.A. No. 11573 (approved July 16, 2021; took effect September 1, 2021)
“For purposes of judicial confirmation of imperfect titles filed under Presidential Decree No. 1529, a duly signed certification by a duly designated DENR geodetic engineer that the land is part of alienable and disposable agricultural lands of the public domain is sufficient proof that the land is alienable. Said certification shall be imprinted in the approved survey plan submitted by the applicant in the land registration court. The imprinted certification in the plan shall contain a sworn statement by the geodetic engineer that the land is within the alienable and disposable lands of the public domain and shall state the applicable Forestry Administrative Order, DENR Administrative Order, Executive Order, Proclamations and the Land Classification Project Map Number covering the subject land.”Sec. 7, first paragraph (Proof that the Land is Alienable and Disposable)
Chapters
- 0:00Cold open: is a CENRO certification enough?
- 1:08Titling land: who declares land alienable and disposable, and who only certifies?
- 2:27Case 1: Republic vs. T.A.N. Properties (CENRO certification)
- 5:47Case 2: Arbias vs. Republic (a notation on the survey plan, Estancia, Iloilo)
- 8:23The twist: R.A. No. 11573, Section 7 (2021)
- 9:51Case 3: Republic vs. Pasig Rizal Co. (2022, en banc)
- 13:10Why did the answers differ? Three questions
- 14:08Recap and bar tip
Cases cited
Each card opens the full text of the decision, or our case digest where we have written one.
Next episode
A rice field turned into a subdivision. Do you still need the DAR?
All 6 episodes of Land Titles Jurisprudence →
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