Executive Order No. 223




MALACAÑAN PALACE MANILA BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES [ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 223, June 14, 1949 ] AUTHORIZING THE ALLOTMENT OF VACANT AGRICULTURAL LANDS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN TO ALL INTERESTED CITIZENS DESIRING TO CULTIVATE THEM AND GRANTING SUCH CITIZENS THE OPTION TO ACQUIRE THE SAME BY HOMESTEAD OR PURCHASE, TO ACCELERATE THE PRODUCTION OF FOODSTUFFS AND OTHER PRIME COMMODITIES WHEREAS, vast tracts of agricultural lands of the public domain remain uncultivated, while on the other hand there is urgent need of intensifying the production of foods and other necessities of life; WHEREAS, it is the duty of the government to extend relief and assistance to all citizens through the acceleration of the production of foods and other prime commodities, the price of which up to the present is still beyond the reach of the masses; WHEREAS, it is the concern of the government to relieve unemployment by mobilizing idle manpower for food production; and WHEREAS, there are a great number of citizens who are desirous to engage in the production of foodstuffs and other prime commodities; NOW, THEREFORE, I, ELPIDIO QUIRINO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby authorize the Chairman of the President’s Action Committee on Social Amelioration (PACSA), in consultation with the Director of Lands, to allot unoccupied agricultural lands of the public domain not otherwise reserved for public or other purposes, to all interested citizens. The area to be allotted to each interested citizen shall not exceed 10 hectares according to his ability to cultivate the same. Each grantee shall cultivate his allotted area by planting it to food crops and other prime commodities and the produce harvested therein shall belong exclusively to him. Any grantee hereunder who fails to cultivate 1/5 of the area allotted to him for a period of one agricultural year, unless such failure is due to force majeure or other circumstances beyond his control, shall forfeit his right thereto. Each grantee shall have the option to file a homestead or sales application for the land allotted to him in accordance with the provisions of Commonwealth Act No. 141, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. The corresponding patent shall be issued only upon proof that the applicant has cultivated 1/5 of the area allotted to him and that he has complied with all of the other requirements of said law prior to the issuance of the patent. In the case of sale, the grantee shall be given 10 years within which to pay the purchase price of the land in accordance with the provisions of Commonwealth Act No. 141, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Entry upon an allotted area of a land belonging to the public domain pursuant to this order shall be subject to cancellation and reversion to the State upon the same grounds provided for in Commonwealth Act No. 141, as amended. The chairman of the President’s Action Committee on Social Amelioration shall issue, with the cooperation of the Director of Lands and approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the necessary rules and regulations to carry into effect the provisions of this order. In order to effectively carry out the purpose of this order and to hasten the subdivision survey of agricultural lands of the public domain being undertaken by the Bureau of Lands, the sum of ?200,000 is hereby transferred from the funds of the PACSA to the Bureau of Lands and said amount will be disbursed, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Done in the City of Manila, this 14th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-nine, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the third.1âшphi1 (SGD.) ELPIDIO QUIRINO President of the Philippines By the President: (SGD.) TEODORO EVANGELISTA Executive Secretary The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation