LAND TITLES AND DEEDS (1/30) renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and under such
renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and under such terms and
Classification of Lands
Commonwealth Act 141 (Public Land Act)
 Governed the disposition of lands of the public domain;
 Prescribed rules and regulations for the homesteading, selling, and leasing
portions of the public domain;
 Prescribed the terms and conditions to enable persons to perfect their
titles to public lands;
 Provided for the issuance of patents to certain native settlers upon public
lands for the establishment of town sites and sale of lots therein, for the
completion of imperfect titles.
 In short, this Act worked on the assumption that title to public lands
remained in the government and that the government’s title to public land
sprung from the Treaty of Paris.
Application of CA 141
 Applies to all lands of public domain which have been declared open to
disposition or concession and officially delimited and classified;
 Provisions on the different modes of government grant homesteads,
patents, sales, and reservations for public and semi-public purpose;
 Has a chapter on judicial confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles
based on acquisitive prescription.
Public Land
 All land of the public domain whose title still remained in the government
and are thrown open to private appropriation and settlement and
excluded the patrimonial property of the government and friar lands.
1987 Constitution (National Economy and Patrimony
 Sec. 2 – all lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum,
and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or
timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by
the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural
resources shall not be alienated. The exploration, development, and
utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and
supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities,
or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing
agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least
sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens. Such
agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years,
conditions as may be provided by law. In cases of water rights for irrigation,
water supply fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of
water power, beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the grant."
 The abovementioned provision provides that except for agricultural lands
for public domain which alone may be alienated, forest or timber, and
mineral lands, as well as all other natural resources must remain with the
State, the exploration, development and utilization of which shall be
subject to its full control and supervision albeit allowing it to enter into co-
production, joint venture or production-sharing agreements, or into
agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving technical or
financial assistance for large-scale exploration, development, and
utilization.
1973 Constitution
 Sec. 8 - All lands of public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum and
other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, wildlife, and
other natural resources of the Philippines belong to the State. With the
exception of agricultural, industrial or commercial, residential, or
resettlement lands of the public domain, natural resources shall not be
alienated, and no license, concession, or lease for the exploration, or
utilization of any of the natural resources shall be granted for a period
exceeding twenty- five years, except as to water rights for irrigation, water
supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than development of water
power, in which cases, beneficial use may by the measure and the limit of
the grant.
1935 Constitution
 All agricultural timber, and mineral lands of the public domain, waters,
minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential
energy and other natural resources of the Philippines belong to the State,
and their disposition, exploitation, development, or utilization shall be
limited to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations at
least sixty per centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens,
subject to any existing right, grant, lease, or concession at the time of the
inauguration of the Government established under this Constitution.
Natural resources, with the exception of public agricultural land, shall not
be alienated, and no license, concession, or lease for the exploitation,
development, or utilization of any of the natural resources shall be granted
for a period exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for another twenty-
five years, except as to water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries,
 or industrial uses other than the development of water power, in which
cases beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the grant.

Reclaimed Lands

 Reclaimed lands are reserved lands for public use. Ownership of reclaimed
lands remains with the State unless withdrawn by law or presidential
proclamation from public use.
 Land that was under the sea or was in a very poor condition but has been
improved so that it can be used for farming or building.

Friar Lands

 Purchased by the government for sale to actual occupants under Act 1120
or the Friar Lands Act.
 These lands are not public lands. They are the private and patrimonial
lands of the government.
 Land Management Bureau shall first issue a certificate stating that the
government has agreed to sell the land to such occupant.
 The occupant shall then accept the certificate and agree to pay the
purchase price.
 The conveyance or certificate of sale executed in favor of a buyer is a
conveyance of ownership of the property, subject only to the resolutory
condition that the sale may be cancelled if the price is not paid in full.

Ancestral Lands

 Ancestral domain or ancestral lands are lands, territories, and resources of

indigenous people.
 Referred to in the Constitution and the right of indigenous people to their
lands.
 RA 8371 – Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997