DAR welcomes ruling on CLOA as proof of ownership

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) welcomed a recent Supreme Court (SC) ruling that declared Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) as sufficient proof of land ownership.

In a decision promulgated in October and obtained by journalists this month, the SC said a CLOA is a document that proves the ownership of the land granted or awarded to a beneficiary by the DAR.

“The CLOA contains the restrictions and conditions provided for in the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) and other applicable laws,” the SC said.

Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones said the ruling upheld the authority and jurisdiction of the DAR over cases involving the issuance, recall or cancellation of CLOAs.

“We salute the justices for deciding in favor of the department. This motivates us to continue with our work. We cannot be hampered by any action that would delay the delivery of advocacies, such as land for the landless, agrarian justice and support services to our farmers,” Castriciones said.

The ruling reversed a decision handed down by the high tribunal in 2016, which declared the CLOAs as not equivalent to a Torrens certificate of title.

The 2016 decision made the CLOAs voidable.

In its appeal, the DAR said the 2016 ruling relegated the CLOAs and the Emancipation Patents (EPs) to the status of the certificate of land transfer, which is merely one of the requirements in the issuance of a certificate of title.

In the recent ruling, the SC cited a provision under the CARL, which states that CLOAs, EPs and other titles issued under any agrarian reform program cannot be voided after these were recorded with the Office of the Registry of Deeds for a year.

The same decision validated DAR’s policy on landowner’s right of retention.

The agency said the previous ruling impeded the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and disrupted procedures.

“Although constitutionally guaranteed, the exercise of a landowner’s right of retention should not be done without due regard to other considerations, which may affect the implementation of the agrarian reform program,” the decision read.