Pursuant to Executive Order No. 192 and consistent with the present thrust of the Department to accelerate land disposition activities in a coherent and uniform manner, improve the present system of administrative titling procedures, preserve the integrity of public land records and promote the stability of tenurial rights to complement the food security program of the government, the following guidelines are hereby prescribed for the guidance and compliance of all concerned:

A.        Survey Examination

1.      Re-examine all approved cadastral maps and ascertain whether all Land Classification (LC) maps and or reservations were properly projected therein to ascertain that lots for disposition fall specifically within the alienable and disposable (A and D) areas.

2.      Cadastral lots and other legally approved surveys, if any, found within timberlands shall be treated separately for issuance of appropriate tenurial instruments while those found within protected areas shall be treated in accordance with the NIPAS Act.

3.      The CENR Officer shall review all pertinent documents prior to the issuance of Survey Authority for the subdivision of any cadastral lot.

4.      The Regional Surveys Division shall regularly update the cadastral maps to reflect subsequent surveys. All PENROs and CENROs shall be regularly furnished copies of approved cadastral maps and isolated survey plans. The same shall be reflected in the Unified Projection Maps and Base/Control maps at the CENRO/PENRO levels, respectively.

B.        Filing of Applications

1.    All applications to be filed after the effectivity of this Order shall use the new Public Land Application Form in Annex A of this Order for all patent applications.

2.    The application shall be filed personally by the applicant or by his duly authorized representative before the CENR Office concerned.

3.    Determine whether the applicant is the survey claimant as listed in the alphabetical or numerical list of survey claimants and by verifying the same in the sketch and survey record card and lot allocation book. If the applicant is not the survey claimant, the applicant must show proof how that land has been acquired from the said survey claimant.

4.    Prior to receipt of application, the Records Officer of the CENR Office shall ascertain compliance with all requirements for the application. Applications with incomplete requirement/s shall not be accepted.

5.    The accepted application, which has complied in form and substance, shall then be forwarded by the Records Officer to the CENR Officer who shall assign the said application to the Land Management Officer who in turn shall immediately refer or assign the same to the land inspector for appropriate field inspection and shall conduct the field inspection/verification within fifteen (15) days upon receipt of the referral and who shall submit the corresponding report five (5) days after the field inspection.

C.        Application Processing

1.      The land inspectors/land investigators, within thirty (30) days from the last day of posting of notice of homestead patent or any public land application shall conduct the necessary field inspection. Thereafter, the land inspectors/land investigators shall prepare and submit within five (5) days the inspection report under oath to the CENRO or the action taken by them on the application and the status thereof. Consequently, the Land Management Officer shall monitor these applications and submit monthly reports for this purpose.

2.      The application shall be given due course if found in order. However, upon discovery of any false, fraudulent, inaccurate, and falsified material information in the preliminary examination, the application shall be rejected immediately, based on the following grounds: 1) the land is not alienable and disposable land of the public domain; 2) the land is covered by a proclamation or reservation or by NIPAS Law; 3) the land overlaps with any other lot with an approved survey plan; 4) the application lacks the required supporting documents. The application must be accompanied by a certification of the CENR Officer concerned duly annotated on the isolated survey plan itself or on the BL Form V-37 for approved cadastral lots and under oath that the land is within alienable and disposable land. However, in the NCR and regions of similar situation where the CENR Offices' functions have been absorbed by the RED, the required certification shall be issued by the ARED for Operations.

3.      No transfer of rights during its pendency shall be allowed except for homestead applications and in cases of hereditary succession with prior approval of the office concerned.

4.      No application shall be given due course unless all existing rules and regulations are fully complied with, including but not limited to the publication requirements and submission of required certifications from concerned government agencies.

5.      Within ten (10) days upon receipt of the report as submitted by land inspectors/land investigators on the applications, the CENR Officer shall prepare and issue orders approving, cancelling and/or rejecting the application stating the reasons or grounds thereof, unless it is protested, in which case procedures should be followed for the issuance of an investigation order. All public land applications shall be acted with dispatch.

D.        Land Records Management

1.    All records shall at all times be filed in the Records Room and shall only be accessed upon request and prior approval by the CENR Officer. The control and management of DENR land records shall be strictly in accordance with the Operation Manual on the New DENR Records Management System pursuant to DENR Administrative Order No. 36, Series of 1993.

2.    The Records Officer shall submit a report in tabulated form to the PENR Officer through the CENR Officer twice a month on the applications received and the actions taken thereon.

3.    The PENR Officer shall likewise submit a similar consolidated monthly report to the Regional Executive Director (RED).   ADCETI

4.    The RED shall submit the region-wide report to the Secretary on a quarterly basis.

5.    The Records Officer shall immediately report to the CENR Officer any missing record, copy furnished the PENR Officer, the RED, and the Secretary.

6.    There shall be continuous training of personnel on records management to upgrade their knowledge and skills on the latest development trends on records and information management to include the latest digital technology.

E.        Penal Provision - Administrative and criminal sanctions shall be imposed on personnel and officials, after due process, who have participated in the commission of misrepresentation and other infractions relative to this Order.

F.         Repealing Clause - All orders, rules and regulations or any part thereof which are inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

G.        Effectivity - This Order shall take effect upon acknowledgment from the U.P. Law Center and after fifteen (15) days from the date of publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Adopted: 01 Sept. 2000

(SGD.) ANTONIO H. CERILLES
Secretary