May 8, 1979

MEMORANDUM

TO                :     All Regional Directors
                          District Officers
                          Team Leaders and All Fieldmen
                          All Concerned:

For your information and guidance, quoted hereunder is the texts of Ministry of Justice Circular No. 14 dated March 15, 1979, to wit:   HcTEaA

TO                :     All Registers of Deeds and Branch Registers of Deeds

This Ministry has been informed that despite circulars issued by the Ministry of Agrarian Reform and the Land Registration Commission enjoining compliance with the prohibition against transactions involving private agricultural lands covered by Presidential Decree No. 27, such transactions are still entered into and this invariably has generated problems that complicate the implementation of said Decree.

To obviate the occurrence of similar problems and ensure the smooth and effective implementation of P.D. No. 27, you are hereby enjoined to require every registrant of a voluntary deed or instrument purporting to be a subdivision, mortgage, sale or any other mode of encumbrance or conveyance of private agricultural lands or portions thereof, to present, in addition to the affidavit of non-tenancy required under Circular 13 dated April 2, 1975, of this Office, a certification from the Ministry of Agrarian Reform to the effect that the land subject of the transaction is not covered by Operation Land Transfer pursuant to P.D. No. 27.

This Circular takes effect immediately and is suppletory to Circular No. 13, series of 1975, supra.

March 15, 1979.

                                                                  "(SGD.) CATALINO MACARAIG, JR.
                                       Acting Minister of Justice"

In the issuance of the certification required under the aforementioned Circular, the following guidelines are hereby issued:

1.         A written request, in triplicate, shall be filed by the applicant with the MAR Team Office in whose area of coverage the land subject of the transaction is located, attaching thereto the following documents:

a)         Deed or instrument to be registered (1 duplicate original and 2 copies);

b)        OCT/TCT or Tax Declaration if land is not covered by a certificate of title (3 copies);

c)         Affidavit required pursuant to Circular No. 13 of the Ministry of Justice dated April 2, 1975, "to the effect that the land involved is not tenanted, or if tenanted, the same is not primarily devoted to the production of rice and/or corn as of 21 October 1972 and on or about the date of registration." (3 copies). True copy of LRC Circular No. 268 quoting Ministry of Justice Circular No. 13 attached for ready reference.   SHDAEC

d)        Affidavit, also in triplicate, on the aggregated area of landholdings in the name of the applicant and his/her spouse as of October 21, 1972, specifying the area, location, crop or crops to which the landholdings are primarily devoted, and whether or not they are tenanted in whole or in part. This requirement also applies to juridical persons.

In the case of banking institutions, aside from the requirements in sub-paragraphs a, b and c above, the following information shall be required:

a.         Date of acquisition and name of previous owner(s) from whom the property subject of transaction was acquired;

b.         Certificate of title number in the name of such owner(s) or the tax declaration number if the land is not covered by certificate of title.

Verification should be made by MAR field office if said property has already been subjected to land transfer while still in the name of previous owner(s). Ocular inspection.

Upon receipt of the formal request, copies of the documents attached thereto shall be compared with duplicate original copy of the deed or instrument sought to be registered as regards ownership and technical description. If the copies are verified to be faithful reproductions of the duplicate original documents, verification of records shall immediately be made to determine whether or not the land subject of the transaction has been subjected to Operation Land Transfer (OLT) pursuant to P.D. 27 as of the date of the request. In case the land subject of the transaction is verified from records not to have been subjected to OLT, a certification shall be prepared by the Team Leader concerned, using for the purpose the form hereto attached as Annex "A" to be signed by the District Officer.

On the other hand, where the records show that the land subject of the transaction has already been subjected to OLT or that from investigation conducted by the Team Office concerned, it is evident that the land is within the coverage of P.D. 27, the request shall be denied, using for this purpose the form hereto attached as Annex "B" to be signed by the District Officer.

The request, together with the proposed action thereon, shall immediately be forwarded to the District Officer concerned for final action. The Team Office shall retain for record purposes a copy of the formal request and a copy each of the attachments thereto.   SDAcaT

2.         Upon receipt of the papers/documents, together with the proposed action to be taken thereon from the Team Leader concerned, the District Officer shall, before affixing his signature, cause to be made a verification as to the propriety and correctness of the proposed action.

3.         The formal request, together with the official action taken thereon by the District Officer concerned, shall be returned to the applicant immediately thereafter, retaining for record purposes copy each of the request and all papers/documents attached thereto, and furnishing the Ministry of Agrarian Reform, Attn.: Center for Operation Land Transfer (COLT), Diliman, Quezon City, the MAR Regional Director and the Register of Deeds concerned copies of the official action taken.

Please be guided accordingly.

(SGD.) CONRADO F. ESTRELLA
Minister