Certificate of Land Transfer (CLT)

Key facts	Details
Legal basis	Presidential Decree (PD) 27 (21 Oct 1972) and PD 266 (2 Aug 1973)
Purpose	Interim proof that a tenant–farmer has been provisionally awarded ownership of a rice or corn landholding covered by PD 27 pending full payment of amortization to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
Issued by	Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) through the Municipal/Provincial Agrarian Reform Offices (MARO/PARO).
Rights conferred	(1) Exclusive cultivation and possession (2) Security of tenure (3) Right to amortize the land price over 15 years at 6 % p.a.
Restrictions	CLT land cannot be mortgaged, sold, or transferred except by hereditary succession and only to heirs who will personally cultivate.
Term	Valid until the farmer completes amortization and is issued an Emancipation Patent (EP) or, post-CARP, a Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA).

Core legal mechanics

Identification of beneficiaries – Field investigation, Farmer’s Undertaking (DAR Form CLOA-FUA), and Landowner’s Acceptance of Offer to Sell (AOS) under PD 27.
Land valuation – Fixed at ₱ 5,000/ha or actual net average harvest, whichever is lower, capitalized at 2.5 × the average of the latest three normal harvests.
Execution of CLT – DAR prepares the Certificate; LBP opens an amortization account; PARO registers the CLT in the Register of Deeds (ROD) “Primary Entry Book” (not in the Title Book because it is not a Torrens title).

Replacement Orders for CLT/EP/CLOA

1. Statutory and administrative authority


DAR Administrative Order No. 2-1994	“Guidelines on the Issuance of Duplicate Emancipation Patents/Certificates of Land Transfer/Certificates of Land Ownership Award”
DAR Memorandum Circular No. 11-1988	“Lost or Destroyed Certificates of Land Transfer”
Land Registration Authority (LRA) Circular 13-2004	Registration of DAR-issued titles and re-issuance procedure

2. When is a Replacement Order (RO) necessary?

Scenario	Documentary trigger
Lost CLT/EP/CLOA	Affidavit of Loss executed by holder + Barangay Captain certification + Police blotter extract
Mutilated or Illegible	Surrender of damaged original
Clerical error (e.g., misspelled name, wrong lot area)	DARAB or BARC investigation report confirming typographical mistake
Transfer to heir-beneficiary	Affidavit of Self-Adjudication (if sole heir) or Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement (multiple heirs) + updated tax declarations
Cancellation due to erroneous coverage	Order of Cancellation from DAR Secretary or DAR Adjudication Board (DARAB)

3. Procedural steps

Filing of petition. Beneficiary (or heir) files an application at the MARO with supporting proofs.
Investigation. MARO conducts ocular inspection and verifies the Municipal Agrarian Reform Program (MARP) master list.
DARPO review. Provincial agrarian legal officer (PALO) evaluates legal sufficiency.
Issuance of RO. Regional Director signs the Order; new duplicate CLT/EP/CLOA is printed with the word “Replacement” diagonally in red.
Registration. Duplicate is re-entered in the ROD with a new instrument number but cross-referenced to the original entry; annotations (liens, mortgages) are carried over.

Timeline: 60 calendar days (simple loss) to 180 days (cancellation/re-issuance after DARAB case).

Fees: ₱ 500 certification + ₱ 90 registration (Provincial Treas.) + ₱ 50 documentary stamp + actual ROD entry fee.

From CLT to EP and CLOA

Transition	Legal anchor	Salient effect
CLT → Emancipation Patent (EP)	PD 266; DAR AO 04-1982	Converts the farmer’s rights into a Torrens title (Original Certificate of Title – OCT) covering a maximum of 3 hectares.
CLT → CLOA (under RA 6657)	RA 6657 (CARP) & RA 9700; DAR AO Land Acquisition & Distribution Series	Broader commodity coverage (all agricultural lands); CLOA may be individual or collective; still carries 10-year alienation and 5-year mortgage prohibition.

Note: A Replacement Order may also be sought for EPs and CLOAs; the same evidentiary rules apply, but registration is under the Torrens system, so the ROD issues a Judicial Form No. 96 (Owner’s Duplicate) when reconstituting destroyed titles (Land Registration Act §109 / Property Registration Decree §109).

Practical consequences of replacement

Continuity of tenure. A lost certificate does not divest the beneficiary; possession plus DAR records prevail.
Credit access. Rural banks demand the physical duplicate; an RO is thus crucial for crop-lien or production-loan contracts.
Estate settlement. Probate courts require the duplicate certificate or a duly issued RO before ordering partition.
Tax declarations. The Municipal Assessor updates the ARP (Assessment Roll of Property) only upon presentation of the replacement certificate.

Cancellation vs. Replacement

Cancellation	Replacement
Requires adversarial proceedings (DARAB, ROD reversion, or Special Agrarian Court)	Administrative, ex parte
Grounds: misrepresentation, non-compliance with amortization, voluntary offer to resell	Grounds: loss, destruction, minor error
Results in revocation of agrarian rights and potential redistribution	Maintains continuity of rights

Jurisprudence

Case	G.R. No.	Doctrine
Heirs of Malate v. Gamboa (21 Jan 2015)	195 160	CLT is inchoate; full ownership vests only upon issuance of EP.
Spouses Gonzales v. Heirs of Cruz (26 Jun 2019)	226 935	Mortal loss of EP does not defeat indefeasibility; reconstitution available under RA 26.
DAR v. De-los Reyes (14 Oct 2009)	160 351	DAR retains jurisdiction to correct clerical errors in CLOA via administrative amendment, not judicial re-titling.
LBP v. Spouses Banal (17 Aug 2022)	231 673	Payment of just compensation does not await replacement of lost CLT; valuation proceeds on DAR records.

Common documentary checklist for an RO petition

Affidavit of Loss / Damage (notarized)
Police blotter or Barangay certification (dated within 30 days)
Two recent government-issued IDs of petitioner
Certified True Copy of original ROD Entry (if any)
DARMO Certification of beneficiary status & occupancy
LBP statement of amortization (if EP not yet issued)
Latest real-property tax receipt or tax declaration
Sketch plan or BLLM-tie point survey (only if boundary dispute alleged)

Policy trends

Since 2021 DAR pilots, CLT-to-CLOA conversions are being digitized: RO applications are lodged in the DAR e-Title App; QR-coded duplicates reduce fraud.
RA 11953 (New Agrarian Emancipation Act, 2023) condoned ₱ 57 billion of unpaid amortizations; beneficiaries with pending CLTs may now leapfrog directly to CLOAs, shortening the need for replacements.
A proposed 2025 DAR AO aims to merge the RO process for all agrarian titles into a single “e-Duplicate” module with ROD interoperability (PhilSys-based ID authentication).

Practical tips for practitioners

Always secure certified photocopies of the CLT/EP/CLOA immediately after issuance; these serve as stop-gap evidence of title.
Advise clients that surrendering an original with erasures/staple holes may still qualify as “mutilated” and entitle them to an RO.
Check DARIS database first; if a digital scan exists, petition may be resolved motu proprio by DARPO without a field inspection.
Watch the 3-month prescriptive window under AO 2-1994 for appealing a denial of RO; appeal lies to the DAR Regional Director, then to the Secretary, before resort to certiorari at the Court of Appeals.

Conclusion

A Certificate of Land Transfer is the foundational yet transitional proof of agrarian reform ownership in the Philippines. Replacement Orders, though seemingly routine, are critical to safeguarding a farmer-beneficiary’s tenure, access to credit, and eventual conversion to full ownership under EPs or CLOAs. Mastery of the administrative nuances—documentary requirements, jurisdictional layers, and registration mechanics—ensures both lawful issuance and protection against fraudulent dispossession.