September 17, 1999
DAR OPINION NO. 44-99
Atty. Rolando L. Acido
DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Office
Government Center, Dahican
Mati, Davao Oriental
Dear Atty. Acido:
This refers to your letter of 2 August 1999 inquiring on whether or not a guideline, relative to land transactions made before the effectivity of CARL (15 June 1988) which were registered after the lapse of three (3) months from said date, has already been formulated pursuant to the agreement made during a conference held in Davao City on 22 June 1999.
You stated that there are about eight (8) parcels of registered lands which were the subject of transfers prior to 15 June 1988 but have not been registered within the 3-month period required by law. As such, you are now faced with the problem on how to cover them absent any guideline in this regard.
We wish to state that pending issuance of the guideline relative to your query, we should not deviate from the provisions of Section 6 (4th paragraph) of R.A. No. 6657 as implemented by DAR Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1989 generally declaring as null and void all transactions made before 15 June 1988 which were not registered within 3 months from the effectivity of CARL. The only exception is where the properties in issue are voluntarily offered for sale to the government through the DAR for purposes of CARP coverage (DOJ Opinion No. 141, Series of 1992).
In the instant case, since the transactions do not appear to fall within the abovementioned exception, no legal impediment exists for us to cover subject eight (8) parcels of land for distribution to qualified beneficiaries. It shall, however, be without prejudice to the landowners' right of retention and award to their children, if qualified, pursuant to the same Section 6 of R.A. No. 6657 and related guidelines. On the same vein, the mandate of law that the security of tenure of the farmers and farmworkers, if any, shall be respected in all cases.
Please be guided accordingly.
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) DANILO T. LARA
Undersecretary for Legal Affairs, and Policy and Planning
Copy furnished:
Director Martha Carmel C. Salcedo
Policy and Strategic Research Service
This Department