Conversion is a common law tort.

A conversion is a voluntary act by one person inconsistent with the

ownership rights of another.[1] It is a tort of strict liability in the United Kingdom.[2] Its criminal counterpart is
not typically theft but rather criminal conversion, which differs from theft in the lack of intent to deprive the
owner of possession of the property.
Examples are seen in cases where trees are cut down and the lumber hauled from the land by someone
not having clear ownership; or removing furniture belonging to another from a cohabited dwelling, placing
it in storage and not telling the owner of the whereabouts. In medieval times, a conversion would occur
when bolts of cloth were bailed for safe keeping, and the bailee or a third party took them and made
clothes for their own use or for sale. (See below)
Many questions concerning joint ownership in enterprises such as a partnership belong in equity, and do
not rise to the level of a conversion. Traditionally, a conversion occurs when some chattel is lost, then
found by another who appropriates it to his own use without legal authority to do so. It has also applied in
cases where chattels were bailed for safe keeping, then misused or misappropriated by the bailee or a
third party.
Conversion, as a purely civil wrong, is distinguishable from both theft and unjust enrichment. Theft is
obviously an act inconsistent with another's rights, and theft will also be conversion. But not all
conversions are thefts because conversion requires no element of dishonesty. Conversion is also different
from unjust enrichment. If one claims an unjust enrichment, the person who has another's property may
always raise a change of position defense, to say they have unwittingly used up the assets they were
transferred. For conversion, there always must be an element of voluntarily dealing with another's
property, inconsistently with their rights

DAR Warns vs Illegal Land Conversions in Bikol

ARTICLE | JULY 12, 2010 - 1:22AM | BY DANNY O. CALLEJA

LEGAZPI CITY, July 9 - Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) field offices across the Bikol region have
been alerted over the massive conversion of lands from agricultural uses to non-agricultural as a way for
landowners to escape the coverage of the extended agrarian reform program.
"We are now in total war against this practice and those who will be proven committing offensesagainst
the provisions of Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) of 1988 that
provides criminal liabilities for illegal land conversions will be prosecuted," DAR Regional Director Maria
Celestina Tam warned on Friday.
Section 73 of the CARL provides that "the conversion by any landowner of his agricultural landinto any
non-agricultural use with intent to avoid the application of this Act to his landholdings and to dispossess
his tenant farmers of the land tilled by them shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than one
month to not more than three years or a fine of not less than P1,000.00 and not more than P15,000.00, or
both, at the discretion of the court."

"Premature conversion of agricultural land is also prevented, and that the DAR will be looking into these
cases more vigorously within the five year extension period of CARP," Tam said
She explained that premature conversion refers to the undertaking of any development activity, the result
of which may change the physical characteristics of the agricultural land as would render it suitable for
non-agricultural purposes without an approved Conversion Order from the DAR.
In Sorsogon, illegal and pre-mature land conversions have been also reported rampant particularly in the
municipality of Irosin.
Irosin Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer (PARO) Renato Gacias in a report to Tam said, "ricelands along
the highway particularly before the entrance of Irosin's town proper is one of the most beautiful local
sceneries indicating fresh air, but, unfortunately there are landowners trying to convert the place into
commercial use."
Gacias said conversion of irrigated riceland is non-negotiable and because Irosin serves as the rice
granary of Sorsogon, it is important for the local government to be careful in issuing permits to develop
these areas.
Conserving agricultural land is not a responsibility of the DAR alone but also of LGUs and other sectors
concerned with agriculture, he said adding that development planners should be cautious in putting up
any public works project or development at an agricultural land.
The DAR in Bikol is distributing within five years ending June 30, 2014 about 205,770 of
agricultural land under Republic Act 9700 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with Reforms
(CARPER) Law.
This area is part of the over one million hectares in the entire country that the DAR had to complete
the Land Acquisition and Distribution (LAD) before the end of the five-year extension period granted last
year by Congress to the implementation of the CARPER earmarked with P150 billion which the new
administration of President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino should provide.
The 205,770-hectare land covered by CARPER in Bicol is distributed among its six provinces with
Camarines Sur having the biggest that is 69,974 has., followed by Masbate, 59,638 has.; Albay, 26,895
has.; Sorsogon, 23,065; Camarines Norte, 17,394 and Catanduanes, 8,804.
The types of lands covered whose LAD are divided into five phases in which phase one includes all
private agricultural lands (PAL) with aggregate landholdings in excess of 50 has. that have already been
subjected to a Notice of Coverage (NOC) issued on or before December 10, 2008.
Implementation of this phase started on July 1, 2009 and to end June 30, 2012, Tam said.
Also covered by this phase are rice and corn lands under P.D. 27; all idle and abandoned lands; all lands
voluntarily offered by landowners; Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT) lands submitted on or before June 30,
2009; all lands foreclosed by government financial institutions; all lands acquired by the Presidential
Commission on Good Government (PCGG); all lands owned by the government.
Phase 2A whose implementation started July 1, 2009 until June 30, 2012 covers all PALs
withaggregate of above 24 has. up to 50 has. with NOC issued on or before Dec. 10, 2008; and all lands
covered by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) under CARPER.
Phase 2B that is due for implementation between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013 are all remaining PALs
with aggregate of more than 24 has. regardless as to whether these have been subjected to NOC or not.

Phase 3A, for implementation July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013) are PALs with aggregate of above 10 has.
up to 24 has. in so far as the excess hectarage above 10 has. is concerned; and Phase 3B (July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014) are PALs with aggregate landholdings from the retention limit of 5 hectares, up to 10 has.,
Tam said.
"Apart from racing with the time to catch up with the deadline of completing the LAD, we are also racing
with unscrupulous landowners doing illegal conversions, making DAR's functions more tedious this time.
Double time is the focus of our works to meet the deadline," she added. (PNA)