18% SLOPE EXEMPTION TEMPLATE
I. INTRODUCTION
This template serves as a guide to the decision maker in resolving issues pertaining to cases where the main issue is whether the subject landholding is exempted on the ground that it is 18% slope or over and is undeveloped.
II. CHECKLIST OF DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS
[ ] Sworn Application for CARP Exemption or Exclusion duly accomplished;
INDIVIDUAL Applicant:
[ ] If represented, original and current SPA (dated within one year from presentation of SPA if the applicant is not the registered owner)
1. If the registered owner is a resident abroad — authenticated SPA by the Philippine consulate office where he is a resident;
2. If the registered owner is a resident of the Philippines — notarized.
CORPORATION
[ ] Notarized Secretary's Certificate authorizing representative to file CARP exemption if applicant is a juridical entity.
[ ] True copy of the OCT or TCT certified by the ROD not earlier than 30 days prior to application filing date;
[ ] If land is UNTITLED, the following documents are required:
(1) Certification from the DENR Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) that the landholding has been classified as alienable and disposable, and
(2) Certification from the DENR CENRO (for administrative confirmation of imperfect title) or the Clerk of Court (for judicial confirmation of imperfect title) that the titling process/proceedings has commenced and there are no adverse claimants;
[ ] Certification from the DENR/CENRO survey decision that the area is 18% slope or over;
[ ] Joint DAR, DA, LBP, DENR Ocular Inspection Report. (Basis: Pasco vs. Pison-Arceo Agricultural and Development Corporation, (G.R. No. 165501, March 28, 2006)
[ ] Topographical Map of the subject area duly certified by NAMRIA and/or DENR-Survey Division;
In case of conflict between the opinions of NAMRIA and the DENR Survey Division, the opinion of NAMRIA shall prevail.
[ ] Prior Forest Reclassification of the land (Basis: Revised Forestry Code);
[ ] Photographs of the landholding accompanied with an affidavit of the person who took the same.
[ ] Certification from the MARO or PARO on whether or not a Notice of Coverage has already been issued over the property.
III. JURISDICTION
Section 7. — The Regional Director shall exercise primary jurisdiction over all agrarian law implementation cases.
Section 8 (b) — Applications for exemption shall continue to be under the jurisdiction of the DAR officials identified under AO No. 13 Series of 1990 and MC NO. 34 Series of 1997 except those involving five (5) hectares and below in the provinces of CALABARZON, the Regional Director shall exercise primary jurisdiction over the same.
Memorandum Circular No. 34 Series of 1997 — For lands subject of VOS and CA of lands unsuitable for agricultural purposes
The Regional Director shall exercise primary jurisdiction over application for exemption through the recommendation of the PARO.
Regional Director has primary jurisdiction to approve or disapprove application for exemption for all land sizes.
Regional Director has primary jurisdiction to approve or disapprove application for exemption from CARP coverage for lands five (5) hectares and below.
For lands exceeding five (5) hectares, the Undersecretary for Legal Affairs shall have jurisdiction to approve or disapprove the application.
For lands exceeding fifty (50) hectares, the Secretary.
IV. STANDING
Landowner or person duly authorized by the landowner may apply for exemption.
V. TIMELINESS
Under AO 3, Series of 2003
• Without or prior to Notice of Coverage — commencement of the action upon the filing of the application for exemption.
• After issuance of Notice of Coverage — 60 days from receipt of notice of coverage.
Under Paragraph 13, Subsection A, Section IV of AO 2, Series of 2009, the landowner is given thirty (30) days from receipt of the Notice of Coverage to apply for exemption/protest from coverage.
• If the application is filed within 30 days from the time the applicant received the Notice of Coverage, proceed with the hearing of the application for exemption/protest from coverage.
• If the application is filed beyond the 30 day period, dismiss the case.
VI. GROUND AND DECISION
1. GROUND
A. That the subject landholding is 18% slope or over, and
B. That the same is undeveloped.
Definition of developed: Presence of agricultural activity. Agricultural activity is defined under Section 3 (b), R.A. 6657 as the cultivation of the soil, planting of crops, growing of fruit trees, raising of livestock, poultry or fish, including the harvesting of such farm products, and other farm activities and practices performed by a farmer in conjunction with such farming operations done by person whether natural or juridical. Therefore, the kind of crops and the value of the income raised are not controlling.
2. DECISION
A. Land is 18% slope or over and undeveloped — GRANT the application
"[A]s a general rule, lands which are above 18% slope are exempt from CARP, but their land use should be compatible with the underlying basis for exemption, meaning reforestation and soil conservation. Therefore, as a general rule also, these areas should not be converted to uses other than agro-forestry, reforestation, or other environmentally sustainable uses." (Reyes vs. Fil-Estate Corp.)
B. Land is 18% slope or over and the same is developed — DENY the application
VII. APPEALS
1. APPEAL TO THE SECRETARY (Rule IV of DAR AO No. 03, Series of 2003)
A. When to appeal (Sec. 27)
• Within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the adverse decision pursuant to Section 51 of RA 6657.
B. Where to appeal (Sec. 28)
• Appeals from the decision of the Regional Director shall be made by filing in the same regional office which issued the adverse decision, a notice of appeal with proof of payment of the requisite appeal fee. Official cashiers of any DAR office may receive payment of the requisite appeal fee. Non-perfection of the appeal within the reglementary period merits dismissal of the appeal.
C. Grounds (Sec. 25)
• No appeal shall be given due course unless the decision of the Regional Director is final, disposing of the case on the merits, and only on the following grounds:
(a) Serious errors in the findings of fact or conclusion of law which may cause grave and irreparable damage or injury to the appellant; or
(b) Coercion, fraud, or clear graft and corruption in the issuance of a decision.
VIII. APPLICABLE LAWS, RULES, POLICIES, JURISPRUDENCE
1. LAWS
a. Section 10 (c) Republic Act 6657, as amended by R.A. 7881
(c) Lands actually, directly and exclusively used and found to be necessary for national defense, school sites and campuses, including experimental farm stations operated by public or private schools for educational purposes, seeds and seedlings research and pilot production center, church sites and convents appurtenant thereto, mosque sites and Islamic centers appurtenant thereto, communal burial grounds and cemeteries, penal colonies and penal farms actually worked by the inmates, government and private research and quarantine centers and all lands with eighteen percent (18%) slope and over, except those already developed, shall be exempt from the coverage of this Act. (As amended by R.A. 7881).
b. Revised Forestry Code (P.D. 705) Section 15 (Topography)
No land of the public domain eighteen per cent (18%) in slope or over shall be classified as alienable and disposable, nor any forest land fifty per cent (50%) in slope or over, as grazing land.
Lands eighteen percent (18%) in slope or over which have already been declared as alienable and disposable shall be reverted to the classification of forest lands by the Department Head, to form part of the forest reserves, unless they are already covered by existing titles approved public land application, or actually occupied openly, continuously, adversely and publicly for a period of not less than thirty (30) years as of the effectivity of this Code, where the occupant is qualified for a free patent under the Public Land Act: Provided, That said lands, which are not yet part of a well-established communities, shall be kept in a vegetative condition sufficient to prevent erosion and adverse effects on the lowlands and streams: Provided, further, That when public interest so requires, steps shall be taken to expropriate, cancel defective titles, reject public land application, or eject occupants thereof.
c. Section 3 (b) of R.A. 6657
(b) Agriculture, Agricultural Enterprise or Agricultural Activity means the cultivation of the soil, planting of crops, growing of fruit trees, raising of livestock, poultry or fish, including the harvesting of such farm products, and other farm activities and practices performed by a farmer in conjunction with such farming operations done by person whether natural or juridical.
2. IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS
a. DAR Administrative Order No. 3, Series of 2003 — 2003 Rules for Agrarian Implementation Cases (Date of Effectivity — February 8, 2003)
b. DAR Administrative Order No. 6, Series of 2000 — Rules of Procedure of Agrarian Law Implementation Cases (Date of Effectivity — September 15, 2000)
c. Memorandum Circular No. 34, Series of 1997 — For lands subject of VOS and CA of lands unsuitable for agricultural purposes (Date of Effectivity — January 1, 1998)
d. DAR Administrative Order No. 10, Series of 1994 — Amending Administrative Order (A.O) No 13, Series of 1990 Entitled "Rules and Procedures Governing Exemption of Lands From CARP Coverage Under Section 10, RA 6657", to Authorize All Regional Directors to Hear and Decide Applications for Exemption for All Land Sizes (Date of Effectivity — September 30, 1994)
e. DAR Administrative Order No. 13, Series of 1990 — Rules and Procedures Governing Exemption of Lands From CARP Coverage Under Section 10, RA 6657 (Issued August 30, 1990, Effectivity Date — 10 days after publication)
3. JURISPRUDENCE
a. Paulino Reyes, et al. vs. Fil-Estate Properties and CA, G.R. No. 148967, February 9, 2007
One of the reasons why petitioners are objecting to the cancellation of their CLOAs and the exclusion of the ten parcels of land from CARP coverage is because these lots are agricultural and developed. While it is true that the DAR officials have generally found the lots to have an average slope of 18%, the contention that the same have been cultivated and are actually agriculturally developed so as to make them subject to CARP is a factual matter that must be looked into.
The facts, as stated, shows that not all of the portions of the properties leased to Monterey Farms Corp. were devoted to, or actually, directly, exclusively used for, allegedly, as a cattle feed lot/nor for the raising of livestock. In fact, the landholding covered by TCT-6930 is presently owned by another juridical person, the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Marble, Inc. The Field Investigation Report dated June 3, 1993 by the Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer and [the] Land Bank of the Philippines on Lot 3, TCT T-3543, provides that it is predominantly cultivated, below 18% slope with only 44.2470 hectares above 18% slope. The area is planted to corn, coconut and other crops.
c. Guerrero v. CA, 142 SCRA 136 (1986)
The definition of cultivation is not limited to the tilling, plowing or harrowing of the land. It includes the promotion of growth and the care of the plants, or husbanding the ground to forward the products of the earth by general industry.
Should there be a variance between the findings of the DAR and the LBP as to whether the land be placed under agrarian reform, the land's suitability to agriculture, the degree or development of the slope, etc., the conflict shall be resolved by a composite team of the DAR, LBP, DENR and DA which shall jointly conduct further investigation.