Duterte signs law easing restrictions on free patents for agricultural lands
Credit to Author: CATHERINE S. VALENTE, TMT| Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2019 04:21:10 +0000
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a measure that would make agricultural land freely tradeable, thereby unlocking their value as capital assets.
Republic Act 11231 or the “Agricultural Free Patent Reform Act” was signed by the President on February 22, but was released to the media only on Thursday, March 14.
“It is the declared policy of the State to remove the restrictions on free patents to allow the efficient and effective utilization of these lands in order to contribute to wealth creation, entrepreneurship, and economic development,” the new law read.
RA 11231 removes the Commonwealth-era restrictions on agricultural free patents imposed under the Commonwealth Act 141 or the Public Land Act.
These restrictions prohibit land owners to sell and mortgage the land within the first five years of the patent grant and gives the option to the original owner of buying back the property within five years from the date of sale.
“Agricultural free patent shall now be considered as title in fee simple and shall not be subject to any restriction on encumbrances or alienation,” the law said.
The new law also has a “retroactive effect and any restrictions regarding acquisitions, encumbrances, conveyances, transfers or dispositions imposed on agricultural free patents issued under Section 44 of Commonwealth Act 141, as amended, before the effectivity this Act shall be removed and hereby immediately lifted.”
“If any provision or part of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect,” the law said.
“All laws, decrees, orders, rules, regulations, circulars and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly,” it added.
The new law will take effect 15 days from its publication in a newspaper of nationwide circulation.
Sen. Richard Gordon, who authored the bill in the Senate, had said that the measure would help boost development in the agricultural sector, as it was expected to “unleash about two to three million agri-free patents, equivalent to at least P387 billion up to P1 trillion worth of agricultural land.”
“More importantly, we will empower the farmer. We will give him options about what he can do with the land—options such as borrowing against the land to develop it, or selling the land to a more productive farmer,” he said.
Gordon said that the bill could also help attract younger generations of Filipinos back into farming, noting that according to the Department of Agriculture, the average age of farmers now is 57 years of age.
“Young people are turning away from farming because they do not see any future in it. It is not hard to see why. It is so hard for farmers to obtain credit. It is also hard for them to expand and buy more land if they are successful. If enacted into law, this bill will help solve the problems our young generations face with farming,” he added.
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