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Re: Regalian [d]octrine (Jura Regalia)
Pursuant to the Regalian [d]octrine (Jura Regalia), a legal concept first introduced into the country from the West by Spain through the Laws of the Indies and the Royal Cedulas, all lands of the public domain belong to the State.
"This means that the State is the source of any asserted right to ownership of land, and is charged with the conservation of such patrimony."
All lands not appearing to be clearly under private ownership are presumed to belong to the State. Also, public lands remain part of the inalienable land of the public domain unless the State is shown to have reclassified or alienated them to private persons.
[ G.R. No. 213207. February 15, 2022 ]
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, PETITIONER, VS. PASIG RIZAL CO., INC.,* RESPONDENT
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At present, the Regalian doctrine remains enshrined in Section 2, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution, which reads:
SECTION 2. All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated. The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens. Such agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and under such terms and conditions as may be provided by law. In cases of water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of water power, beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the grant. (Emphasis supplied)
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In addition, the 1987 Constitution further states that only lands classified as agricultural shall be alienable, and thus, susceptible of private ownership.
Based on the foregoing, I submit that the Regalian doctrine remains the basic foundation of the State's property regime under the present Constitution.
The Regalian doctrine espouses that all lands of the public domain belong to the State, and that the State is the source of any asserted right to ownership of land. Accordingly, all lands not otherwise appearing to be clearly within private ownership are presumed to belong to the State. Unless land is shown to have been reclassified as agricultural (and thus, alienable), such land remains part of the inalienable land of the public domain.8
As pointedly discussed by the ponencia, an exception to the general presumption that "all lands are part of public domain" had been crafted by the United States Supreme Court (U.S. Supreme Court) in the 1909 case of Carińo v. Insular Government9 (Carińo)
[ G.R. No. 247866, September 15, 2020 ]
FEDERATION OF CORON, BUSUANGA,et al vs.
THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES (DENR) AND THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM (DAR), RESPONDENTS.
CONCURRING OPINION
CAGUIOA, J.
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Suggested answer in Political Law & International Law Read here
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