December 13, 1996

DAR OPINION NO. 108-96

PARO NARCISO NIETO

DAR Provincial Office

San Fernando, Pampanga

Dear PARO Nieto:

This has reference to the letter of then PARO Renato B. Alano, concerning the dialogue conducted by his Office with the tenants of the landholdings of Mr. Ciriaco Reyes last June 8, 1994 at Pio Settlement Site, Porac, Pampanga, regarding the issuance of Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) to tenants actually tilling portion of said property.

It was stated that the tenants involved strongly opposed the issuance of CLOAs because according to them, the agreement between them and the government negotiator (DBM, TLRC, DAR, LGU) was that they will be issued Torrens Title; that your Municipal and Provincial Officers already exhausted efforts in convincing the tenants, but despite these, still they continue to turn down the CLOA issuance; that you believe that it would be futile to push through with CLOA issuance and you respectfully recommend for the amendment of the land use conversion order since that is what the tenant wants.

Excerpts from the minutes of the dialogue between the government negotiators and the FBs of the said estate reveals that the main purpose of the FB's in not accepting the CLOAs is that said CLOAs cannot be sold, nor mortgaged whereas if what was issued to them is a Torrens Certificate of Title such can be sold or mortgaged.

We would like to stress that agrarian reform program is founded on the right of farmers and regular farmworkers who are landless to own directly or collectively. the land they till coupled with a social responsibility in order to correct numerous defect in the country's agrarian structure which is the equal distribution of landholdings. The contention of the farmer beneficiaries is a clear circumvention of the intent and spirit of the agrarian reform law.

As regards the contention of the tenants that they be issued a Torrens Certificate of Title, Section 24 of R.A. 6657 provides in part that . . . "Ownership of the beneficiary shall be evidenced by a Certificate of Land Ownership Award, which shall contain the restrictions aced conditions provided in this Act, and shall be recorded in the Register of Deeds concerned and annotated on the Certificate of Title". Clear from the above quoted provision is the fact that ownership of land awarded to farmer beneficiaries pursuant to R.A. 6557 shall be evidenced by a Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA). The time-honored principle of "What the law does not include it excludes" shall be held to apply in this instant query.

Please be guided accordingly.

Very truly yours,

(SGD.) LORENZO R. REYES

OIC-Undersecretary
LAFMA

Copy furnished:

The MARO

DAR-Porac, Pampanga

Mr. Ciriaco A. Reyes

107 State Condo, IV, Ortigas Ave.,

Greenhills, San Juan, M.M.

The Regional Director

DAR Region III

San Fernando, Pampanga