Section
1. Any citizen of the Philippines
or of the United States of America, who is more than eighteen years of
age and who does not own more than twenty-four hectares of land in the
Philippines, nor who shares in the benefits of any free distribution of
any public land since the occupation of the Philippines by the United
States,
may apply for the cultivation of a lot of agricultural land of the
public
domain, which is neither occupied nor reserved for public purposes,
having
an area of twenty-four hectares, and obtain free title to the same, as
provided for herein, giving preference to those who are indigents as
well
as those have any dependents to support.
Sec.
2. For the purposes of
this Act, the Director of Lands shall take steps for the classification
and survey of agricultural lands of the public domain, especially those
bordering on national highways. The lands thus classified shall be
subdivided
into lots of twenty-four hectares each, and in order to speed up the
survey
and subdivision work, the services of private surveyors duly qualified
may be employed, in which case the Director of Lands shall impose the
condition
that not more than five thousand hectares in superficial area shall be
assigned to a surveyor, nor more than ten thousand hectares to a
partnership
or group of surveyors. The survey work shall be given to the best
bidder
and same shall not be adjudicated until the surveyor or partnership or
group of surveyors shall have furnished a bond satisfactory to the
Director
of Lands in sum equivalent to thirty per centum, at least, of the total
value or amount agreed upon for the survey work, to answer for its
faithful
performance.
Sec.
3. The Government, under
the provision of this Act shall furnish every applicant with work
animals,
seeds and agricultural implements necessary for the clearing and
cultivation
of his lot, and the sum of thirty pesos monthly for expenses, payable
in
advance during the first six months in which the applicant has taken
possession
of his lot of lands; Provided, however, That if the applicant is in
position
to provide for himself all he needs for the clearing and cultivation of
his lot, he shall not be entitled to the aid provided for in this
section.
The cost of the work animals, seeds and agricultural implements,
together
with the sums of money advanced to the applicant, shall be paid to the
government without interest in ten annual installments, the first
installments
to be payable after the first year in which he has taken possession of
and cultivated the land.
Sec.
4. In order to carry out
the provisions of section 3 hereof, the President of the Philippines
shall
include in the appropriations for the following fiscal year after the
approval
of this Act, and in each successive year thereafter, an amount which
the
President may deem necessary, until such amounts reach a sum which the
President may consider sufficient for the creation of a revolving fund,
which shall be utilized by furnish capital to the applicants who are to
be benefited by this Act. The proceeds to the annual receipts derived
from
the payments made by the applicants to the Government for the advances
given to them shall form part of the revolving fund which shall be
known
as the "Revolving Fund of the Colonists.
Sec.
5. The "Revolving Fund
of the Colonists" mentioned in the preceding section and such
appropriations
as may be approved for advance to the applicants, shall be administered
by the Bureau of Lands under the control and supervision of the
Secretary
of Agriculture and Commerce, and the remaining unexpended balance of
the
funds at the end of the fiscal year shall be added to the revolving
fund.
As soon as the Auditor General shall have certified that all the sums
advanced
by the Government have been paid back and the purposes of this Act have
been accomplished, the revolving fund herein created shall revert to
the
General Funds of the National Treasury.
Sec.
6. The application for
the cultivation of a lot of agricultural land in accordance with this
Act
shall be filed with the Director of Lands who, if he finds that the
application
should be approved, shall do so and shall authorize the applicant to
take
possession of the land. Within six months from the date of approval of
the application, the applicant shall commence cultivation of the land;
otherwise, he shall forfeit his right of preference to the said land.
Sec.
7. No certificate whatever
shall be issued nor shall any deed of ownership of the land applied for
be extended until at least one-fourth of the land has been improved and
cultivated. The period in which cultivation of the said land shall be
made
shall not be less than one year nor more than five years, from the date
of approval of the application. The applicant, during that period,
shall
notify the Director of Lands as soon as the said applicant is in
readiness
to acquire the title. If on the date of said notification the applicant
proves to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands that he personally
or through a representative has cultivated continuously at least
one-fourth
of the land since the date of approval of the application, and
subscribes
to an affidavit that nor part of the said land has been transferred or
encumbered, and that he has fulfilled all the requisites set forth in
this
Act, he shall then be entitled to a free title to the said land.
Sec.
8. If within any time before
the expiration of the period allowed by law for the presentation of
definite
evidence it should be proved to the satisfaction of the Director of
Lands,
upon notification to the applicant, that said applicant has voluntarily
abandoned the land for more than six consecutive months during the
years
required of its occupation, or that he has violated or failed to comply
in any other manner with the terms set by this Act, the Director of
Lands
may cancel the application.
Sec.
9. Before any person claiming
to have complied with the provisions of this Act may present definite
evidence
as herein above set forth due notice shall be given to the public of
the
intention of said person to offer said proof, in the manner which the
Secretary
of Agriculture and Commerce may prescribe, and in said notice there
shall
be given the name and address of the applicant, the description of the
land as to its boundaries and area, the names of the witnesses through
whom it is proposed to justify the necessary facts, and the time, place
and name of the public official before whom said evidence is to be
presented
and who may be the justice of the peace of the municipality wherein the
land is located, or the judge or the clerk of the court of first
instance
of the province concerned, or any official or employee of the Bureau of
Lands who is authorized by law to administer oaths.
Sec.
10. In case the applicant
should suffer from mental, derangement, or for any reason whatever he
should
be incapacitated to exercise personally his rights, the person who may
legally represent him may offer and present the final evidence in
behalf
of the said incapacitated person.
Sec.
11. If at any time after
the approval of the application but before the title is issued, the
applicant
should prove, to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands, that the
said
applicant has complied with all the requirements of the law, but that
it
is impossible for him to continue with the cultivation of the land,
through
no fault of his, and that there exists a purchaser in good faith of the
rights to and improvements made by the applicant on said land, and that
the transfer is not being made for speculative purposes, the applicant,
upon approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, may
transfer
his rights to the land and improvements thereon to any person having
legal
qualification to apply for it; and immediately after the transfer is
made,
the purchaser shall file an application for the cultivation of the said
land, and he shall succeed into the rights and obligations of his
predecessor
from the date on which said application of the buyer is approved.
Whoever
has so transferred his rights cannot apply for the cultivation of a new
lot of land under this Act. Any transfer made without previous approval
of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce is null and void, and
shall
cause the cancellation of the application and the issuance of the title
shall be denied.
Sec.
12. Except in favor of
the Government or any of its instrumentalities, agencies, or
institutions,
the lands applied for under this Act shall not be subject to any lien
or
transfer from the date of approval of the application and during the
next
following five years from the date of issuance of the title or
concession,
nor shall they stand for the payment of any obligation contracted prior
to the termination of said period; they may, however, be encumbered to
competent persons, associations or corporations in so far as their
improvements
or crops are concerned.
Sec.
13. The provisions of the
Public Lands Act and regulations concerning public lands, which are not
inconsistent herewith, shall be understood as supplementing the
provisions
of this Act.
Sec.
14. Any provisions of law
to the contrary notwithstanding, the agricultural lands of the public
domain
which have been classified, surveyed and subdivided under previous
Acts,
so far not disposed of, as well as those lots of said lands which
having
been applied for or acquired as homesteads, or otherwise, had reverted
to the public domain in accordance with law, may be subdivided anew for
the purposes of this Act.
Sec.
15. There is hereby appropriated
out of any funds of the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
the
sum of five hundred thousand pesos or so much thereof as may be
necessary
to carry out the purposes of this Act.
Approved: October 15, 1945.
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