January 13, 2004

DAR OPINION NO. 01-04

Teodoro D. Anudon
PARCCOM Executive Officer and PARO II
DAR Provincial Office
Lamut, Ifugao

Dear PARO Anudon:

 This refers to your letter addressed to the Secretary indorsed to us by HEA Oscar V. Robes, Office of the Secretary, inquiring on the legal implications brought about by the issuance of individual Certificates of land Ownership Award (CLOAs) which were generated from a previously issued mother CLOA.   HSCATc

Specifically, you seek to be clarified on which date of issuance, that is, between the mother CLOA and the individual CLOAs, should prevail within the context of the 10 year prohibitory period provided for by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL).

In your letter, you stated that subdivision of lands under CARP were not done immediately during their coverage due to insufficiency of survey funds, thus, to fast-track land acquisition and distribution, these lands were issued with collective CLOAs and later re-issued with individual CLOAs; and that the prohibitory period is about to end in the collective CLOA.

Pertinent to your query are Sections 24 and 27 of R.A. No. 6657, to wit:

A.         Section 24, R.A. No. 6657

"SECTION 24.         Award to Beneficiaries. — The rights and responsibilities of the beneficiary shall commence from the time the DAR makes an award of the land to him. . . . Ownership of the beneficiary shall be evidenced by a Certificate of Land Ownership Award, which shall contain the restrictions and conditions provided for in this Act, and shall be recorded in the Register of Deeds concerned and annotated on the Certificate of Title." (emphasis supplied)   EICSTa

B.         Section 27, R.A. No. 6657

"SECTION 27.         Transferability of Awarded Lands. — Lands acquired by beneficiaries under this Act may not be sold, transferred or conveyed except through hereditary succession, or to the government, or to the LBP, or to other qualified beneficiaries for a period of ten (10) years." (emphasis supplied)

Given the aforequoted provisions of law, it could inferred that if the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) who were first issued a collective CLOA are the same persons later issued with individual CLOAs, then the reckoning date of the 10-year prohibitory period should be the issuance of the collective CLOA which is the time when the rights and responsibilities of the ARBs commenced.

We hope to have clarified the matter.

Very truly yours,

(SGD.) RICARDO S. ARLANZA
Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Legal Affairs Office