FAST TRACK LAND TITLING FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, ORDERS PAJE
May, 2015
Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje instructed the Land Management Bureau (LMB) to fast track the titling of lands occupied by public schools across the country.
The order came after the DENR has issued the guidelines through Administrative Order No. 2015-01 signed by Paje on March 5 which is designed to speed up the processing and issuance of special patents. Initially, special patents for around 2,200 school sites will be issued within the year.
“Providing our public schools with a solid legal basis for land ownership is central to government’s effort to improve our public education system,” Paje said.
The environment chief noted that thousands of sites nationwide have been continuously occupied for decades by public elementary and secondary schools without appropriate land titles.
“This has been a nagging problem for decades and this must be resolved soonest as no less than the very existence of these schools is threatened,” he pointed out.
Paje said that titling of public schools will protect them from encroachment, segregation, illegal occupation and adverse claims of ownership by other individuals or parties.
The Department of Education (DepEd) had earlier submitted to the DENR a list consisting of 15,581 school sites that have yet to secure title deeds for the lands on which they are erected.
With this latest development, LMB has been reviewing the list to determine which of the schools fall under public domain, occupying private lands or covered by deed of
donations. Only properties classified as “alienable and disposable lands” will be issued with special patents under the name of the Republic – DepEd, pursuant to Republic Act No. 10023 or the Residential Free Patent Act of 2010.
Under the new guidelines, Superintendents of division schools and other authorized representatives may apply for special patents with the concerned Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO), who has 120 days from date of receipt to process the verification and endorsement of the application to the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources officer (PENRO).
The 120-day period may be interrupted in case an opposition is filed as the CENRO is given another 30 days to resolve the same or make a recommendation.
The PENRO, in turn, is given five (5) days from receipt of the CENRO’s transmittal of the application to approve or disapprove the request for special patent.
Upon approval of the special patent, the PENRO will transmit the patent to the Registry of Deeds for registration and will inform the DepEd of the transmittal.
School sites in Metro Manila may file their application to the DENR National Capital Region office in Quezon City.
In a latest development, the LMB have completed the series of roll-out orientation on the implementation of the guidelines for the processing and issuance of special patents for public school sites among Land Management Officers, concerned PENROs and concerned accountants in all DENR Regional Offices nationwide; DepEd and Legal Officers involved in the dispensation of land titling of public school sites.(lmm)