REGISTRATION OF LAND ACQUIRED BY PRESCRIPTION

Dear PAO,

We have been occupying a certain land here in Rizal Province since 2007. The land is owned by the local
government. At the onset, we knew that we do not have any right over the said property but somebody
advised us to continue occupying the land for ten years and after which we will process the registration
of such land. Can we now apply for the registration of the said land since ten years have already
elapsed? Please guide me on this matter.

Madeline

Dear Madeline,

The law governing registration of land is found under Section 14 of Presidential Decree 1529, or
otherwise known as the “Property Registration Decree”:

“The following persons may file in the proper Court of First Instance an application for registration of
title to land, whether personally or through their duly authorized representatives:

(1) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous,
exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of alienable and disposable lands of the public
domain under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, or earlier.

(2) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands by prescription under the provision of existing
laws.

(3) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned river beds by right of accession
or accretion under the existing laws.

(4) Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other manner provided for by law.”

It appears that you want to register a land owned by the government and which you have occupied for
10 years. This situation falls within the purview of paragraph 2 of the abovementioned provision of law.
For your information, only patrimonial property can be acquired by prescription. This finds support in
the case entitled, Heirs of Malabanan vs. Republic of thePhilippines(G.R. No. 179987, April 29, 2009),
where Honorable former Associate Justice Dante O. Tinga stated:

“In complying with Section 14(2) of the Property Registration Decree, consider that under the Civil Code,
prescription is recognized as a mode of acquiring ownership of patrimonial property. However, public
domain lands become only patrimonial property not only with a declaration that these are alienable or
disposable. There must also be an express government manifestation that the property is already
patrimonial or no longer retained for public service or the development of national wealth, under Article
422 of the Civil Code. And only when the property has become patrimonial can the prescriptive period
for the acquisition of property of the public dominion begin to run.”
The requisites needed for registration of land acquired through prescription are also enumerated in the
case of Republic of the Philippines vs. Zurbaran Realty and Development Corporation (G.R. No. 164408,
March 24, 2014), where the Supreme Court through Honorable Associate Justice Lucas P. Bersamin
stated:

“An application for registration based on Section 14(2) of P.D. 1529 must, therefore, establish the
following requisites, to wit: (a) the land is an alienable and disposable, and patrimonial property of the
public domain; (b) the applicant and its predecessors-in-interest have been in possession of the land for
at least 10 years, in good faith and with just title, or for at least 30 years, regardless of good faith or just
title; and (c) the land had already been converted to or declared as patrimonial property of the State at
the beginning of the said 10-year or 30-year period of possession.”

Applying the above cited decisions in your situation, your possession of the land for 10 or 30 years alone
is not sufficient so that the land will be registered. It is also essential to prove that the same is alienable
and disposable and you have to present an express government manifestation that the land has already
been converted into a patrimonial property (no longer intended for public use/service or development
of national wealth) when you started to occupy the same.