History of Land Laws

History of Land Laws
Method of granting or disposition of lands by the Government Method of acquiring title to lands by Spaniards, natives, foreigners
Method of Land grants & dispositions

Earliest form of land grants Law of the Indies (1680) Royal Cedula of October 15, 1754 Subsquent royal orders Royal Order of September 21, 1797 Decree of January 4, 1813 Modern method of land grants Royal decree of June 25, 1880 Supplementary Royal decree of December 26, 1884 Royal orders of August 31, 1881; September 7, 1888; October 20, 1888. Decree of June 22, 1882 Royal Decree of January 19, 1883 Spanish Mortgage Law
Earliest form of land grants

Law of the Indies (1680)
By Apportionment; the Founding of a town
Before proceeding to affect apportionment among the settlers, a plan for the setting up of a town is first carried out. Grants of residential lots, lands, peonias and caballerias

By grant of the town council;
Petition for land grant in a town filed with the cabildo or municipal council; Different levels of consideration:
Town council Viceroys and president
If favorable, all signed the grant in the presence of the clerk of the council and proceeding was recorded in the book of town council
By confirmation of long possession;

All lands without proper deeds of grant belonged to the Crown Natives were to be confirmed in the lands of which they were in possession at the time that apportionment of public lands in the founding of a new town took place;

By confirmation of defective or imperfect title;
For those in possession of lands covered by titles:
issued by officers not authorized by law to do so or issued not in accordance with procedure prescribed by law;
Confirmation by a King in council

Certificate of confirmation

By Compocision con el Estado (adjustment)
For those who had lands in excess of the limits fixed by law were allowed to make a moderate adjustment with respect to the excess and new titles were issued therefor.
By Sale

By Special grant
Under the law of the indies, Governor General had the power to make any grant of land, including tide lands for any purpose, except where there is express provision of law prohibiting him from doing so;

By Special grant
Jover v. Government of P.I. (40 Phil 1094)
Petition to the Court of Land Registration of the Philippine Islands for the registration of the title to a tract of land in the City of Manila, claimed to have been granted to Don Jose Camps, February 12, 1859, by a decree of the Governor General of the Phil. Islands Procedure: Made a petition to the Governor General soliciting a grant for a lowland which he fills at his expense on the lowlands situated along the northern wharf (Murallon del Norte) and on the north side thereof, on the right side of the mouth of the Pasig River

By Special grant
Procedure: Made a petition to the Governor General soliciting a grant for a lowland which he fills at his expense on the lowlands situated along the northern wharf (Murallon del Norte) and on the north side thereof, on the right side of the mouth of the Pasig River Granted by the Gov. General provided he comply with certain conditions I.e. Not building a house made of strong materials and only of 1 story that Camps shall leave a distance of 16 1/2 varas between the outside edge of the wharf and the intended building, which width is the one fixed for wharves;

By Special grant
Objection by the City of Manila and Insular Government: Grant was unauthorized and void because: the King of Spain was without power to make it, and so could not devolve that power upon the Governor General; [because the sea and its shore are among the things which belong in common to all men.] even if the King possessed that power, he had not devolved it upon the Governor General.

By Special grant
Ruling of the court: THE GRANT WAS MADE UPON ADEQUATE AUTHORITY The King possessed the power: "While it is true that Partida 3, Title 28, Laws 3 and 4, in determining what things are the common right of men, and how they may use them, enumerates as such, among other things, the sea and its shore, this is not to be taken in an absolutely literal manner, since a number of limitations to the general proposition have been recognized for the common benefit of the community as being conducive to the general welfare of the state, which latter may grant shore land for improvement where the same has not already lawfully come under private ownership."

By Special grant
Ruling of the court: The Kings power devolved upon the governor general: And we order that the governor and captain general of the said Islands and provinces, hold exclusively the superior government of the whole district of said audiencia in peace and war, and make in our royal name those sentences and grant those favors which, in conformity with the laws of this compilation and of these kingdoms of Castile, and with the instructions and power received from us, he may and ought to make "they shall do what they may think and consider to be suitable, and provide for everything we might do and provide for, of whatever quality and condition it may be, in the provinces under their charge as if the same were governed by ourselves, in all cases where no special prohibition exists."(Laws of the Indies)

By Special grant
Ruling of the court: The Kings power devolved upon the governor general: The court interpreted such order from the King as saying in Spanish standards that the Governor General of the Philippines was empowered thereby to do in that distant province whatever the King could do, if he were present, save where it was otherwise specially provided. But whatever the original meaning of the order may have been, the one suggested was adopted and adhered to by the successive governors general, and their action in that regard was acquiesced in, and therefore ratified, by the King.

By Prescription: NO!
It is not the intention of the law that mere possession for a length of time should make the possessors the owners of the lands possessed by them without any action on the part of the authorities. In other words, the the title of the Spanish Government to alienable public lands in the Philippines could not be divested under the Spanish land laws by adverse possession alone no matter how long it might have extended.

Royal Cedula of October 15, 1754 (after publication of the law indies-1700)
By Sale and adjournment
Appointment of subdelegates ministers to take charge of the sale and adjustment of public lands. Notices were published requiring all persons, who since the year 1700 up to the date of publication said cedula had occupied royal lands To appear and exhibit to said subdelegates the title to their lands. Failure to do so at the appointed time -> Eviction from the lands and the same granted to others. Upon presentation -> Notation of compliance with obligation to prove their claims

By Confirmation of Imperfect Titles
For those in possession of royal lands by virtue of sale or adjustment proceedings conducted by subdelegates prior to 1700-1754 but unconfirmed by the King or by the viceroys or presidents were entitled to confirmation and to be left in peaceful possession of their lands.

By Confirmation of Imperfect Titles
Procedure: By petition
WHERE: courts of the districts where the lands were situated (and to other officials empowered to receive such petition) CONTENTS: Asking for confirmation of their sale or adjustment titles; Survey and appraisal of the land is conducted and after completion, The court, minister who had authority to do so, and fiscal examine the records and if everything is in order -> certificate of confirmation upon paying media anata.

By Confirmation of Ancient Possession or Prescription
For those possessors of royal lands who were unable to produce a title deed Allowed to prove ancient possession as a valid title by prescription and have the same confirmed,
If the lands are not cultivated, then there is a requirement that they (possessor) must cultivate the lands within 3 months
Failure on their part to do so caused the reversion of the lands to the royal domain.

By Confirmation of Ancient Possession or Prescription
For those possessors of royal lands who were unable to produce a title deed Allowed to prove ancient possession as a valid title by prescription and have the same confirmed,
If the lands are not cultivated, then there is a requirement that they (possessor) must cultivate the lands within 3 months
Failure on their part to do so caused the reversion of the lands to the royal domain.

Royal order of September 21, 1797
Privilege of natives to enjoy the use of lands, waters and pastures was limited to the lands which were adjacent to the towns in which they were residing. Lands beyond such are realengos which could be disposed of by sale and adjustment in favor of the Spaniards and other castes who did not enjoy such privileges.

Decree of January 4, 1813 by the Cortes of Cadiz
By sale and gratuitous grant
To promote agriculture and industry; Disposition of uncultivated royal lands, propios and arbitrios by means of sale or suertes (gratuitous grants/lands distributed by lot) Conducted by the local board subject to the approval of provincial board. of royal lands was reserved for the guaranty of national debt were given to: Officers and soldiers on account of old age; Civilians who had contributed to national defense; Those who became invalid by reason of joining the colonial wars

Decree of January 4, 1813 by the Cortes of Cadiz
By sale and gratuitous grant
Limitation
No alienation/encumbrance of the same until after expiration of 4 years from the date of the grant. Failure to pay fees for 2 consecutive years would justify the State in disposing of their lands in favour of other residents who had no lands.
Modern methods of land grant

Royal decree of June 25, 1880
Definition of terrenos realengos: lands which, on the promulgation of said decree
had no legal owners, or which had not yet passed into private ownership by virtue of gratuitous or onerous concession by competent authorities Except:
Those lying within the boundaries of leguas communales, or the lands belonging to towns for the common use of the inhabitants thereof.

By adjustment title
All those who were in possession of royal lands on June 25, 1880 who could not exhibit title deeds from the government were wrongfully withholding the same Recourse is to seek for an adjustment and obtain a title deed within 1 year from the publication of the said decree. Failure to do so -> Government will recover the land and dispose of them by sale.

By adjustment title
Those required to apply for adjustment title:
Those who can obtain by gratuitous concession; Prove that they have possessed their lands without interruption for 10 years in good faith & by virtue of a just title; Those without title: Prove possession for 20 years if land is cultivated; or 30 years if the land is not cultivated; Both period should be without interruption. Occupants of land within legua comunal which were under cultivation Show that they have acquired from their predecessors in interest have acquired their holdings by means of sale or donation.

By adjustment title
Those required to apply for adjustment title:
Those who can obtain by onerous concession; Possession of land in excess in excess of what was mentioned in the title deed. Price varied depending on whether or not the land was cultivated.

By adjustment title
Procedure:
File and application together with plan of the land with Director General de Administracion Civil. Survey of the property under supervision of the gobernadorcillo and 2 prominent citizens in town -> Expenses of survey and fixing of boundaries were borne by the applicant. After survey, director is the one who issues the title to the applicant upon payment.

By adjustment title
Procedure:
File and application together with plan of the land with Director General de Administracion Civil. Survey of the property under supervision of the gobernadorcillo and 2 prominent citizens in town -> Expenses of survey and fixing of boundaries were borne by the applicant. After survey, director is the one who issues the title to the applicant upon payment.

By Sale
Procedure:
Application for sale filed with the Intendencia General de Hacienda Latter indorsed the same to Administracion Central de Rentas Estancadas which prepared the terms of the sale and afterwards forwarded the same to Intendencia. Intendencia would order publication of the date and time of the sale with the Official Gazette. Sale is conducted in Manila. Records of the sale sent to Intendencia for action for approval. If sale is approved, purchaser has to pay the price of the deed of the land with 30 days from the date of award. Upon payment, deed of sale issued by Administracion Central de Rentas Estancadas

Royal decree of January 19, 1883
By Sale
Decree classified the public lands into disposable & nondisposable lands and prescribed rules for the sale of such lands. Alienable or disposable those appropriate for permanent agricultural purposes; Reservados those which belong to the forest zone which should be left covered with forest; Legas comunales were excepted from these. Provided that sale of public lands to foreigners was subject to the condition that they were residents of the Philippines; And that if they go to another country they were required to sell the land to a resident of the Philippines. Foreign associations prohibited from acquiring public lands.

By Sale
Procedure:
Application for sale filed with the Intendencia General de Hacienda Intendencia, upon receipt, would publish a notice of the date and time of the sale Sale is conducted in Manila. Survey is done by the Forestry Office

By allotment of Leguas Comunales (common land outside poblacion) By gratuitous grant for agricultural colony.
Gratuitous title from the government of 200 hectares for starting an agricultural colony provided he could establish the agricultural colony thereon within 3 years from the date of concession and that he complied with the conditions imposed upon him by the Government.

Spanish Mortgage Law
Aside from registration, provided for a possessory information proceeding Art. 390:
Any owner of land Who did not have a recorded title of ownership No matter at what period acquisition took place Is permitted to record his right by previously proving his possession before the Judge of CFI of the province where said property was located. To record absolute ownership -> consent of fiscal and adjoining property owners is needed.

By information processory proceeding
Petition for admission of the information
Land (N.L.A.B.E) Name of the person from whom property was acquired; Period of possession Reason for not possessing a written title
Petitioner had to prove possession:

by the testimony of at least 2 landowners of the town the fact that he had been in possession of the land in his own name; Certificate of the municipal treasurer that he had been paying the taxes therefor.

To oppose proceeding:
File a declaratory suit in the court;
If no opposition:
Court ordered possession of the petitioner be recorded in the registry without prejudice to a 3rd person having a better claim.
Conversion of a record of possession to a record of ownership requires:

Petition with municipal judge of the place where property is located with certificate of registrar that 20 years have elapsed from the date of record of the possession. After proceeding and no opposition, a certified copy of the record of proceedings is given to petitioner. Such is then presented to the registrar who makes a marginal note in the record book of such conversion.

Strictly not a mode of land grant, it is nonetheless true that conversion of the possessory title into an absolute record of ownership, segregates the land from the public domain.

Royal decree of February 13, 1894
Most important decree governing disposal of public lands toward the end of the Spanish regime. Article 1 thereof defined what were considered disposable royal lands:
All lands, soil, ground not under cultivation, and forests in the Phil. Islands, not included in the following exceptions:
1.) Private dominion, 2.) Belong to forest zones, 3.) included within leguas comunales, 4.) Those that could be the subject of private appropriation by adjustment or possessory information proceeding.

By sale
Procedure for disposal:
Petition of any person Order of the government
Filed with Direccion General de Administracion Civil Survey & Investigation After record of survey and investigation is received, Direccion General orders publication of notice in Official Gazette and in the newspapers of the province. Depending on the number of prospective purchaser:
1 puchaser: sold directly without further proceedings 2 o more: public auction
Receipt of proof of payment by D.G. -> Issues title of ownership

By possessory information proceedings

Decree of January 11, 1897
By gratuitous grant to ex-soldiers
Those who enlisted in the voluntary corps for the suppression of Filipino insurrection might apply for a gratuitous grant of public land of not more than 5 hectares each at a time Extended to those who were wounded during military operations or while fighting
American Period
Methods of acquiring/disposal of lands
Public Land Act
Homestead patents Sales patents and leases Free patents Confirmation of imperfect/incomplete titles
Public Land Act

Homestead patents
Encouraged the cultivation of uncultivated land; migration onto public domain. Who is entitled?
Any citizen of Phil. Islands/US, over 18 y/o or the head of the family
What?
Eligible to homestead up to 40 acres (24 hectares) of previously unoccupied, unreserved and unappropriated agricultural public land.
Public Land Act

Homestead patents
Requisites:
Application form with the Bureau of Public Lands/local land officer Pay application fee (P10) If application is approved, homesteader can legally occupy the land In order to get a homestead patent:
Subsequent proof of 5 years occupancy Cultivated of the land Affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated or encumbered Payment of 10 more pesos
Patent can only be issued upon completion of a survey under the direction of the chief of Bureau of Public Lands
Public Land Act

Sales patents
Concerned sales by auction of unoccupied, nonmineral agricultural land What?
40 acres/16 hectares for an individual 2,500 acres/1,024 hectares for a corporation
Who is entitled?
Any citizen of Phil. Islands/US, over 18 y/o or the head of the family Corporations
Public Land Act

Sales patents
Procedure:
Prospective purchasers obliged to file an application in the Bureau of Public Lands Bureau would appraise the area covered; Appraisal shall not be less than P10/hectare; Notice of prospective sale published in 2 newspapers of general circulation, including, if possible, one published near the land applied for.
Public Land Act

Free patents
The closest Congress came to providing for a right of preemption in the colony Provides for gratuitous issuance of free patents up to 16 hectares to those labeled as native settlers Who is entitled?
Native of the Philippines who is not the owner of more than twenty-four hectares who since August 1, 1898, 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
Public Land Act

Free patents
Requisites:
Application for registration must be made before a deadline of January 1, 1907 Applications under oath in the Bureau of Public Lands Includes a statement as to when the applicant or his or her ancestor entered into the land and began cultivation. If first occupation & cultivation is claimed through an ancestor -> applicant must file satisfactory evidence of the date of the place of the ancestors death and burial. Once application is accepted -> investigation, survey, and publication of notice ensured
Public Land Act

Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect & Incomplete Land Titles
Who is entitled? First,
Those who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the 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 Have instituted 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 complied and cultivated said lands continuously since the filing of their applications.
Public Land Act

Who is entitled? Second,
Those who by themselves or through their predecessors in interest have been in the open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisition of ownership except as against the Government, since July 26, 1894
except when prevented by war or force majeure.
Public Land Act

Requisities:
Application with CFI praying that the validity of the alleged title or claim be inquired into and that a certificate of title issue to them under the provisions of the Land Registration Act. Application contents:
plan of the land All documents evidencing a right on the part of the applicant to the land claimed. citizenship of the applicant shall set forth fully the nature of the claim, when based upon proceedings initiated under Spanish laws, it shall specify as exactly as possible the date and form of the 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 non-compliance 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.
Public Land Act

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.

History of Land Laws - Arrha

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Method of Land grants & dispositions

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

By confirmation of long possession;

Earliest form of land grants

Confirmation by a King in council

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Earliest form of land grants

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Petitioner had to prove possession:

Modern methods of land grant

Conversion of a record of possession to a record of ownership requires:

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Receipt of proof of payment by D.G. -> Issues title of ownership

Modern methods of land grant

Modern methods of land grant

Public Land Act

Public Land Act

Public Land Act

Public Land Act

Public Land Act

Public Land Act

Public Land Act

Public Land Act

Public Land Act

Public Land Act

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