January 28, 1997
DAR OPINION NO. 10-97
Atty. Christine P. Marrero
Legal Assistance Division
DAR — CAR
Baguio City
Dear Atty. Marrero:
This refers to your request for legal opinion regarding CLOA No. 000026753 containing an area of 18,504 sq. m. located at Residence Section "J" of Brgy. Loakan, Baguio City, in the name of one Fermin Paule, Sr., subject of a request for issuance of clearance for registration.
Your letter state that no records regarding the generation and/or documentation of CLOA No. 000026753 exists in your Office thus showing the apparent infraction of existing standard operating procedures of this Department on CLOA documentation and generation, and that request for the issuance of DAR clearance for registration of subject CLOA was made by Mr. Paule but the same was denied by your Office on the ground that lands within the Baguio Townsite Reservation are public lands.
At the outset, we wish to stress that only regularly generated/documented, CLOAs may be indorsed for registration with the Register of Deeds.
We concur with your stand. Aside from the seemingly irregular documentation/generation of the subject CLOA, the same covers a parcel of land within the Baguio Townsite Reservation which is considered as belonging to the category of "public lands" and no longer registrable under the Land Registration Act, pursuant to Civil Registration Case No. 1, G.L.R.O. Record No. 221, as supplemented by P.D. 1271. The law, R.A. 6657, covers only agricultural lands. The land described in CLOA No. 000026753 being within the Residential Section "J" of Baguio City does not come within the scope of agrarian reform program it being a non-agricultural land. Hence, denial of the request for issuance of DAR clearance for registration is meritorious.
Considering the foregoing, please conduct further investigation on the anomalous issuance of subject CLOA, and thereafter assist your Regional Director to cause the immediate cancellation/recall (administrative) of said CLOA as well as the other CLOAs that might have been issued for lands within the Baguio Townsite Reservation.
For compliance.
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) ARTEMIO A. ADASA, JR.
Undersecretary for Legal Affairs, and Policy and Planning
Copy furnished:
Dir. Angelito Castillo
DAR — CAR
Baguio City
The Chief
Legal Assistance Division
Department of Agrarian Reform
La Trinidad, Benguet Province