DENR-7 to distribute over 5,000 land titles

CEBU, Philippines- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is targeting to distribute over 5,000 residential and agricultural titles to lot claimants in Central Visayas on November 30.

Dr. Isabelo Montejo, DENR-7 director, said they are gearing up to issue 3,290 and 1750 agricultural and residential patents, respectively.

He said this would complete this year’s total target of 10,000 agricultural patents and 2,580 residential patents.

“We have been doing our best to further intensify our efforts to fast track the processing and issuance of patents in Region 7, so that for this year we will be able to meet, if not exceed, our targets,” he said.

Based on the current data of DENR’s Technical Services, at least 6,710 titles were awarded to farmers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) covering 2,374.5 hectares of land. While for residential, 830 patents covering 24.24 hectares have been awarded.

Bohol province got the bulk of the patents with 5,172 and 393 for agricultural and residential, respectively.

On the other hand, at least 974 agricultural patents and 162 residential patents were benefited by Cebu residents. Others went to Negros Oriental with 360 for agricultural and 264 for residential patents; and Siquijor province, 204 agricultural patents and 11 residential patents.

The total issued titles constitute 67 percent of the total target this year.

Montejo said they will improve the productivity of idle lands in the region as well as “boost the economic prosperity in the countryside" with the completion of the cadastral survey last May.

A cadastral survey is intended to determine the administrative boundary of a city or a municipality and its component barangays as it identified administrative lots in alienable and disposable lands of the public domain for purposes of land titling. The survey commenced in 2003 and only concluded on May 30 this year.

Emiliano Hormachuelos, DENR’s geodetic engineer and chief of the surveys and mapping division, said each person applying for agricultural patent is given 12 hectareswhile at least 200 square meters per claimant for residential patent in an urbanized lot, depending on the classification of a local government unit.

 A free patent on residential land covers those in public alienable and disposable areas that are zoned by LGUs as residential, including town sites, public schools, municipal halls, public plazas or parks, delisted and abandoned military camps or reservations, as stipulated in the Public Land Act.

Agricultural patent, on the other hand, is confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles over alienable and disposable public agricultural lands through administrative procedures and also by virtue of their “open, continuous, exclusive and notorious” possession of their predecessors-in-interest.

Any Filipino citizen who is an actual occupant of a residential land for at least ten years with tax declaration and affidavit of two adjoining owners may apply for a free patent title.  (FREEMAN)