PRESCRIBING GUIDELINES FOR THE SYSTEMATIC DISPOSITION OF ALIENABLE AND DISPOSABLE RESIDENTIAL LANDS THROUGH MISCELLANEOUS SALES APPLICATION UNDER REPUBLIC ACT NO. 730.

Pursuant to Executive Order No. 192 series of 1987 granting the DENR
the authority to formulate policies and regulations for the effective
management, conservation and development of the country’s natural
resources and in further implementation of Republic Act 730 in relation
to Commonwealth Act 141 as amended, which reposes on the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources the primary responsibility to dispose
lands of the public domain primarily used for residential purposes
through a private sale under certain conditions, the following
regulations is hereby prescribed:

SECTION 1. OBJECTIVES – This Administrative Order is issued to achieve the following objectives:

1. To simplify systematic disposition of public alienable and disposable residential lands covered by RA 730;

2. To provide simplified guidelines for the affordable and reasonable appraisal of residential parcels for all applicants; and

3. To enhance economic growth by improving land tenure security
and fostering the development of an efficient land market in rural and
urban areas by fast tracking the titling and registration of residential
lands covered by RA 730;

SECTION 2. DEFINITION OF TERMS – As used in this Administrative Order, the following terms and phrases shall be defined and understood as follows:

a. Miscellaneous Sales – Sale of alienable and disposable
residential, commercial and industrial lands under Chapter IX of the
Public Land Act (Commonwealth Act 141). Disposition under
miscellaneous sales is subject to bidding.

b. Miscellaneous Sales Under Republic Act 730 – Sale of
alienable and disposable residential lands not more than 1,000 square
meters to qualified occupants as defined in Section 6 of this
Administrative Order.

c. Private Sale or Direct Sale – Sale of public lands to its
actual occupants. Disposition under direct or private sale is not
subject to bidding.

d. Appraisal – Process of determining the value of alienable and disposable land for sale or lease under the Public Land Act.

e. Mass Appraisal – Process of determining the value of all public land in a given locality than can be disposed under RA 730.

f. Appraisal Committee – A body created pursuant to Section 116
of the Public Land Act for the purpose of determining the value of
public land for sale or lease.

g. Systematic Adjudication or Disposition – is a
government-initiated process adjudicating land rights on a locality
basis and aiming to register all untitled land in the locality.

SECTION 3. COVERAGE – This Order shall apply to the
systematic adjudication and disposition of public land for residential
purposes at a private sale under Republic Act 730.

SECTION 4. PUBLIC NOTICE – A declaration and public
notice to inform the community of the area that will undergo the
systematic adjudication shall be made by the DENR and the Local
Government Unit during project preparation and before actual processing
of miscellaneous sales applications. For this purpose, a notice shall be
posted for a period of thirty (30) days at the Municipal Hall, Barangay
Hall and CENRO office of the area that will undergo systematic
adjudication. A certification of posting shall be prepared by the LGU
concerned and the CENRO and the same shall be attached to the area
appraisal report.

SECTION 5. LAND PARCELS THAT MAY BE ACQUIRED AND AREA LIMITATION.
– Land of the public domain of the Republic of the Philippines which
are non-timber or non-mineral suitable for residential purposes and are
not needed for public service, the area of which shall not exceed one
thousand square meters may be acquired through private sale.

SECTION 6. PERSONS ENTITLED TO A PRIVATE SALE. – Persons
who have the following qualifications may purchase public lands for
residential purposes through private or direct sale under Republic Act
730;

a) Filipino citizens;

b) Must be of legal age;

c) Do not own a home lot in the city or municipality where the land is located; and

d) Must occupy in good faith the land applied for, have constructed their houses thereon and reside therein,

SECTION 7. CERTIFICATION FROM THE LOCAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
– The concurrence of the local government unit’s Planning and
Development Office shall be secured by the DENR before commencement of
systematic adjudication under RA 730. For this purpose, the
certification from the Local Government Unit Planning Officer that the
residential lands within the systematic adjudication area are not needed
for any public improvements and that the actual use of the land is
residential shall be secured and the same shall be sufficient compliance
with the requirements under Section 63 of the Public Land Act. The said
office shall consider the respective LGU’s land use, zoning and road
improvement plans in issuing this certification.

SECTION 8. APPRAISAL AND AUTHORITY TO SELL.

a. APPRAISAL COMMITTEE – Creation and Composition. – An Appraisal
Committee charged to appraise public residential lands within an LGU
area shall be created by the Regional Executive Director, and shall be
composed of the following:

1. The Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer or the
Land Management Officer when duly authorized by the CENRO; Chairman
2. Local Assessor or his/her duly authorized representatives; Member
3. Local Planning Officer or his/her duly authorized representative; Member

b. AREA APPRAISAL – In order to increase efficiency and to provide
prospective applicants with a clear understanding of the cost of
titling, the area appraisal of residential lands in each area is hereby
mandated. Area appraisal should be made before or during community
mobilization and prior to systematic adjudication/acceptance of
application. In order to maximize the efficiency of processing of
appraisals, area appraisal can be made on the whole municipality/city,
on a whole barangay or group of barangays, sitio and/or settlement.

c. GUIDELINES IN APPRAISAL – In conducting the appraisal under RA
730, due consideration should be given to the over-all objective of the
government of enhancing economic growth by improving land tenure
security and fostering the development of an efficient land markets in
rural and urban areas by fast tracking of titling and registration of
residential lands.

To this end, the following factors should be considered by the appraisal committee:

1. Assessed value of the land from the local assessor’s office;
2. Cadastral/Survey Costs incurred by the government;
3. Estimated administrative and/or budget cost of titling; and
4. Socio-economic data of the target area as may be provided by the LGU

The capacity to pay of the prospective applicants should be given
important consideration in the final determination of the cost of the
land in order to make the sale affordable and to increase participation
provided, however, that the appraisal should not be lower than the cost
that will be incurred or may be incurred by the government in
connection with the application.

d. APPRAISAL REPORT – After conducting the appraisal, the
Committee shall prepare and submit an Appraisal Report containing its
findings and recommendations and the reasons and/or justification in
support thereof to the Regional Executive Director of the DENR which
should include:

1. Estimated cost that the government will incur in processing the MSA
2. Minimum price per parcel
3. The cost/price of the land per square meter.

The report shall likewise contain a request for authority to sell
all residential lands in the area under consideration that qualifies for
disposition under RA 730.

e. APPROVAL OF APPRAISAL AND AUTHORITY TO SELL. – The approval of
the area appraisal and the issuance of the Authority to Sell under this
administrative order is hereby delegated to the Regional Executive
Director.

f. LOT COST – Individual lots for disposition under RA 730 within
the area covered by the mass or area appraisal shall be appraised by a
simple computation of the land area applied for and the appraised price
per square meters provided that the cost shall not be lower than the
minimum price per parcel. Appraisal approval and authorization from the
RED to sell each individual lot is no longer necessary; it is sufficient
that the CENRO approves the computation.

SECTION 8. FILING AND PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS – Filing
and processing of Miscellaneous Sales Application in areas covered by
systematic adjudication shall be at the CENRO/PENRO, LGU and/or such
other office designated as receiving and/or processing office.

SECTION 9. NOTICE – Before the sales contract or an
order of the awards is issued to an applicant, a notice of the private
sale shall be posted for a period of thirty (30) days in a conspicuous
place in the land itself, on the bulletin board of the Barangay Hall,
the Municipal /City Hall and the CENRO. A certification of posting shall
be prepared by the Local Government Units aforementioned and the CENRO
Land Investigator at the end of said period attesting to the fact of
compliance with this posting requirement.

SECTION 10. PAYMENT OF PURCHASE PRICE AND ISSUANCE OF PATENT –
a down payment of ten per centum (10%) of the appraised value of the
lot shall be collected before the Order of Award may be made in favor of
the purchaser. The balance of the purchase price may be paid in full at
the time of the award or in not more than ten (10) equal annual
installments from the date of the award. All over due installments shall
bear interest of four (4%) percent per annum. The applicant shall be
entitled to the issuance of patent upon completion of payment.

SECTION 11. AUTHORITY TO ISSUE PATENT – The PENRO is authorized to sign all patents issued pursuant to disposition of residential lands under RA 730.

SECTION 12. RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS – Claims and
conflicts arising from disposition under this Administrative Order shall
be resolved in accordance with existing rules and procedures.

SECTION 13. REPEALING CLAUSE. – All orders, circulars, memoranda and other issuances inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed and/or amended accordingly.

SECTION 14. EFFECTIVITY – This Order shall take effect
fifteen (15) days after the publication thereof in a newspaper of
general circulation and acknowledgement of receipt of a copy from the
Office of the National Administrative Register (ONAR).

Adopted: 21 April 2009

(SGD.) JOSE L. ATIENZA, JR.
Secretary