LAND REGISTRATION AND RELATED PROCEEDINGS

by AMADO D. AQUINO
2007 4th edition
PAGE 161
4.
Emancipation patents; conditions for issuance
Presidential Decree No. 27 (Emancipation Decree) decreed, as of October
21, 1972, that tenants-farmers of private agricultural lands primarily
devoted to rice and corn x x x shall be deemed owner of a portion
constituting a family-size farm of five (5) hectares if not irrigated and three
(3) hectares if irrigated. In implementation of this emancipation of tenants
from the bondage of the soil, the Department of Agrarian Reform shall
issue in duplicate a Certifi- cate of Land Transfer for every land brought
under Operation Land Transfer, the original of which shall be kept by the
tenant-farmer and the duplicate in the Registry of Decree (Sec. 105, P.D.
No. 1529). For the purpose of keeping said certificate, the Registry of
Deeds maintains a special registry book known as Provincial Register of
Documents, under P.D. No. 27.
After the tenant-farmer shall have paid the total cost of the land, in 15
years of 15 equal annual amortization, has become a full- fledged member
of a duly recognized farmers cooperation, and has complied with other
related obligations, an Emancipation Patent, which may cover previously
titled or untitled property, is issued to him by the Department of Agrarian
Reform.44 Thereafter, the Register
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of Deeds and said Department are, by the same Section 105 of the
Decree, required to do or act as follows:
The Register of Deeds shall complete the entries on the aforementioned
Emancipation Patent and shall assign an origi- nal certificate of title
number in case of unregistered land, and in case of registered property,
shall issue the corresponding transfer certificate of title without requiring
the surrender of the owners duplicate of the title to be cancelled.
In case of death of the grantee, the Department of Agrar- ian Reform shall
determine his heirs or successor-in-interest and shall notify the Register of
Deeds accordingly.
In case of subsequent transfer of property covered by an Emancipation

Patent or a Certificate of Title emanating from an Emancipation Patent, the

Register of Deeds shall effect the transfer only upon receipt of the
supporting papers from the Department of Agrarian Reform.
No fee, premium, or tax of any kind shall be charged or imposed in
connection with the issuance of an original Eman- cipation Patent and for
the registration of related documents.
A. Restriction on the patent
P.D. No. 27 expressly provides that title to land acquired pur- suant to this
Decree or the Land Reform Program of the Govern- ment shall not be
transferable except by hereditary succession or to the Government in
accordance with the provisions of this Decree, Code of Agrarian Reforms
and other existing laws and regulations. This is to ensure that the
beneficial effects of land ownership by ten- ant-farmers are not defeated,
that they may not once again be shack- led by the bondage of the soil.
B. Subsequent dealings on lands covered by Emancipa- tion Patents
Section 106 of P.D. No. 1529 provides:
SEC. 106. Sale of agricultural land; affidavit. No voluntary deed or
instrument purporting to be a subdivision, mortgage, lease, sale or any
other mode of encumbrance or con- veyance of private agricultural land
principally devoted to rice or corn or any portion thereof shall be registered
unless
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accompanied by an affidavit of the vendor or executor stating that the land
involved is not tenanted, or if tenanted, the same is not primarily devoted
to the production of rice and/or corn.
If only a portion of the land is primarily devoted to the production of rice
and/or corn, and such area so devoted is ten- anted, no such deed or
instrument shall be registered unless accompanied by an affidavit stating
the area (size) or the por- tion which is tenanted and primarily devoted to
rice and/or corn, and stating further that the deeds or instrument covers
only the untenanted portion or that which is not primarily devoted to the
production or rice and/or corn. A memorandum of said affidavit shall be
annotated on the certificate of title. The Reg- ister of Deeds shall cause a
copy of the registered deed or instrument, together with the affidavit, to be
furnished the Department of Agrarian Reform Regional Office where the
land is located. The affidavit provided in this section shall not be required in
the case of tenant-farmer who deals with his Cer- tificate of Land Transfer
or Emancipation Patent in accordance with law.

The requisite of the affidavit is evidently to complement the restriction

against transfer of title to the lands acquired under the Emancipation
Decree.

SECTION 106, PD 1529

Section 106. Sale of agricultural land; affidavit. No voluntary deed or
instrument purporting to be a subdivision, mortgage, lease, sale or any
other mode of encumbrance or conveyance of private agricultural land
principally devoted to rice or corn or any portion thereof shall be registered
unless accompanied by an affidavit of the vendor or executor stating that
the land involved is not tenanted, or if tenanted, the same is not primarily
devoted to the production of rice and/or corn.
If only a portion of the land is primarily devoted to the production of rice
and/or corn, and such area so devoted is tenanted, no such deed or
instrument shall be registered unless accompanied by an affidavit stating
the area (size) of the portion which is tenanted and primarily devoted to
rice and/or corn, and stating further that the deed or instrument covers only
the untenanted portion or that which is not primarily devoted to the
production of rice and/or corn. A memorandum of said affidavit shall be
annotated on the certificate of title. The Register of Deeds shall cause a
copy of the registered deed or instrument, together with the affidavit, to be
furnished the Department of Agrarian Reform Regional Office where the
land is located. The affidavit provided in this section shall not be required in
the case of a tenant-farmer who deals with his Certificate of Land Transfer
or Emancipation Patent in accordance with law.

G.R. No. 100894 January 26, 1993

JOSE R. GUEVARRA, petitioner,
vs.
THE HON. COURT OF APPEALS, and LUCIA VDA. DE GUEVARRA,
respondents.

http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1993/jan1993/gr_100894_1993.html
Plaintiff demanded that the defendant vacate the premises. For
refusal to desist from farming and occupancy and to leave the
one-half portion of the land, plaintiff filed a complaint on June
11, 1986 to permanently restrain defendant from performing acts
of dispossession and to enforce the provisions of P.D. No. 27,
P.D. No. 316 and Memorandum Circular No. 29 of DAR (now
MAR) to protect plaintiff's rights.
Defendant claimed the rights of a tenant of the subject
landholding for having been in possession and for cultivating
said land immediately after the death of their father, Constancio
Guevarra in 1972.
It was established that from 1976 to 1980, plaintiff's husband,
Raymundo Guevarra, cultivated the landholding as his own with
defendant Jose Guevarra working merely as a farm laborer. In
1980, Raymundo stopped planting rice and converted the land
into a mango orchard. Because of this shift in principal crop,
defendant ceased to work as a farm laborer until 1986 when
defendant intruded on the 1/2 portion to farm it. (pp. 4952, Rollo.)
Plaintiff demanded that the defendant vacate the premises. For
refusal to desist from farming and occupancy and to leave the
one-half portion of the land, plaintiff filed a complaint on June
11, 1986 to permanently restrain defendant from performing acts
of dispossession and to enforce the provisions of P.D. No. 27,
P.D. No. 316 and Memorandum Circular No. 29 of DAR (now
MAR) to protect plaintiff's rights.
Defendant claimed the rights of a tenant of the subject
landholding for having been in possession and for cultivating
said land immediately after the death of their father, Constancio
Guevarra in 1972.
It was established that from 1976 to 1980, plaintiff's husband,
Raymundo Guevarra, cultivated the landholding as his own with
defendant Jose Guevarra working merely as a farm laborer. In

1980, Raymundo stopped planting rice and converted the land

into a mango orchard. Because of this shift in principal crop,
defendant ceased to work as a farm laborer until 1986 when
defendant intruded on the 1/2 portion to farm it. (pp. 4952, Rollo.)