Resolving Location Discrepancies in Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) Titles
A comprehensive guide for practitioners, landowners, and government officers in the Philippines
1. Overview
A Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) is issued by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to agrarian‐reform beneficiaries (ARBs) under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP, R.A. 6657, as amended by R.A. 9700). Although CLOAs are registrable titles under P.D. 1529 (Property Registration Decree), they follow a sui generis issuance and registration pathway that involves DAR, DENR, the Land Registration Authority (LRA) and the Register of Deeds (ROD).
Because CLOAs are generated from large collective estates, mapped piecemeal over several decades and sometimes based on rudimentary sketches, location discrepancies—mismatches between the title’s technical description and the land’s actual position on the ground—are common. Left unresolved, they spawn overlapping titles, taxation errors, disqualification from support services, and expensive litigation.
This article consolidates the full Philippine legal, technical and procedural landscape on how to identify, classify and cure location discrepancies in CLOA titles.
2. Governing Law and Policy Instruments
| Tier | Key Issuances | Salient Provisions |
|---|---|---|
| Constitution | 1987 Constitution, Art. XII §8 | Mandates agrarian reform and land titling to farmers. |
| Statutes | R.A. 6657 (CARP); R.A. 9700 (CARPER); P.D. 1529; R.A. 6732; R.A. 9358 | Define CLOA nature, registration, correction, and reconstitution. |
| Administrative | DAR A.O. 2-2014 (Land Tenure Improvement Guidelines); DAR-DENR-LRA JAO 2-2012 (copy-furnished plans); LRA Circular 35-2008 (Sec 108 petitions); DENR DAO 2007-29 (Cadastral survey manual) | Provide step-by-step technical and documentary requirements. |
| Jurisprudence | DAR v. Deloso, Heirs of Malate v. Gamboa, Republic v. CA (Quintos), DARAB v. Luzon | Clarify jurisdictional boundaries and standards of proof. |
3. Nature and Limitations of a CLOA
Torrens status but encumbered. Once entered in the Book of Registry, a CLOA enjoys indefeasibility except for:
- A ten-year prohibition on alienation (CARP §27).
- Reservational lien in favor of the Land Bank.
- Mandatory annotation that the land is subject to agrarian laws.
Collective vs. individual CLOA. Collective titles cover an entire estate; individual titles follow after parcelization (A.O. 3-2017). Discrepancies often arise during this transition.
4. Why Discrepancies Occur
| Source | Typical Manifestation |
|---|---|
| Survey error | Wrong bearing/distance, swapped lot numbers, unclosed traverse. |
| Clerical lapse | Misspelled barangay or municipality, mis-typed boundary calls. |
| Mosaic mapping | Successive approval of plans using local datum or outdated maps. |
| Natural causes | River avulsion, shoreline accretion, seismic grid shift (Luzon 1911 vs. PRS92). |
| Policy interaction | Overlap with timberland, ancestral domain, or exempted homestead titles. |
5. Classifying Errors: Clerical vs. Substantial
| Criterion | Clerical (Sec 108, P.D. 1529) | Substantial (Sec 107; ordinary civil action) |
|---|---|---|
| Effect on boundaries | None or de minimis (e.g., “Lot 5” should be “Lot 6”) | Alters identity, area, or rights of third parties |
| Notice required | Ex parte (ROD-LRA) | Jurisdictional notice and publication |
| Remedy | Petition for administrative correction | Petition for cancellation/re-issuance; reconveyance; quieting of title |
6. Administrative Pathways
6.1 Verification & Relocation Survey
- Engage a Licensed Geodetic Engineer (LGE).
- Secure Survey Authority from DENR Regional Surveys Division.
- Conduct ground survey using PRS92 and prepare a Relocation Survey Plan (RSP).
- Submit RSP with field notes to DENR for verification and approval.
6.2 Petition for Administrative Correction (Sec 108, P.D. 1529)
Filed with the Register of Deeds but routed to the LRA Central Office.
| Documentary Set (typical) | Notes |
|---|---|
| Verified petition (Form 108-A) | Cite clerical nature. |
| Owner’s duplicate CLOA | Both front and back pages. |
| Approved Plan & Technical Description | Must carry new survey number (e.g., PSU-06-xxxxx). |
| DENR Certification of non-overlap | Confirms land is Alienable & Disposable. |
| DAR Endorsement | Required because CLOA is a special patent. |
| Affidavit of Non-Adverse Claim | Executed by adjoining owners. |
Average processing time: 4–6 months, barring oppositions.
6.3 DAR “Memorandum of Correction” (A.O. 1-2019)
For purely internal errors made before issuance/registration, DAR Provincial Office may recall the anomalous CLOA, cancel it administratively, and generate a corrected title en masse—expediting parcelization projects.
7. Judicial Remedies
| Mode | Forum | Typical Grounds |
|---|---|---|
| Action for Cancellation & Reissuance | RTC acting as Land Registration Court | Overlap affects third-party titles; gross survey error; double sale. |
| Reconveyance / Annulment of Title | Agrarian Court (DARAB) if dispute is agrarian; ordinary RTC otherwise | Fraud, concealed tenancy, or unlawful inclusion/exclusion of area. |
| Quieting of Title | RTC | Conflicting occupation arising from ambiguous boundaries. |
Procedural highlight: A Sec 108 petition is summary; any genuine dispute of ownership converts the case into a contentious proceeding, shifting it to a formal consulta before the LRA or a full-blown RTC trial.
8. Special Land Regimes
- Timberland/Forestland Intrusion. DENR can recommend cancellation; DAR must segregate recoverable A&D land before re-titling.
- Indigenous Peoples’ Ancestral Domains (IPRA, R.A. 8371). NCIP Certification Precondition is required; conflicting CLOA may be invalidated if ancestral claim predates issuance (Sec 56, IPRA).
- Agricultural Free Patents under R.A. 11573. Overlaps now resolved through an inter-agency One-Stop-Shop chaired by LRA.
9. Time Bars and Prescription
| Cause of Action | Period | Computed From |
|---|---|---|
| Annulment of void title | Imprescriptible | N/A |
| Reconveyance (voidable) | 4 years from discovery; absolute 10 years | Registration date |
| Action to recover possession | 30 years (real actions) | Entry/occupation |
Note: The ten-year non-alienation lock on CLOA (§27, CARP) does not bar an ARB from filing corrective actions within that period.
10. Evidentiary Best Practices
- Bundle hard originals: certified ROD copy of CLOA, LRA-certified technical description, approved survey plan.
- GIS overlay: Print satellite-survey overlay with geotags; courts now accept them as demonstrative evidence when authenticated by the LGE.
- Chain of custody: For collective CLOAs, attach parcelization order, list of ARBs, and Memorandum of Transfer of Obligation (MTO) to show standing.
11. Inter-Agency Coordination Blueprint
flowchart LR
A[ARB / Landowner] -->|Survey Request| B[DENR-LGU CENRO]
B --> C[DENR RSD]
C -->|Approved Plan| D[ DAR Provincial Office ]
D -->|Endorsement| E[Register of Deeds]
E --> F[LRA Central Office]
F -->|Corrected Title| G[Register of Deeds]
G --> H[ARB receives new CLOA]12. Tax, Support-Service, and Financing Implications
- Real Property Tax (RPT). Corrected technical description must be copied to the LGU Assessor to re-index the Tax Declaration, else double assessments arise.
- Land Bank Mortgage Release. If the loan relies on area, a reduction or increase requires recomputation and amended Mortgage Deed.
- DA Support Services. Mislocated parcels are often excluded from farm‐to‐market road or irrigation projects; timely correction reinstates eligibility.
13. Illustrative Jurisprudence
| Case | G.R. No. & Date | Key Doctrine |
|---|---|---|
| DAR v. Deloso | G.R. 200423, 01 Feb 2017 | DAR retains primary jurisdiction in administrative correction of CLOA errors before registration. |
| Heirs of Malate v. Gamboa | G.R. 195253, 22 Jan 2014 | Collective CLOA overlapping existing residential titles; jurisdiction with RTC, not DARAB, because dispute is ownership, not tenancy. |
| Republic v. CA (Quintos) | G.R. 151877, 21 July 2014 | Misdescription that changes boundary is substantial; remedy is reconveyance, not Sec 108 petition. |
14. Practical Checklist for Counsel
- Determine error type. Clerical or substantial?
- Secure geodetic proof. Always start with a relocation survey.
- Choose proper forum. DAR (pre-registration); ROD-LRA (clerical); RTC/LRA (substantial); DARAB (agrarian in nature).
- File within time. Observe prescriptive periods.
- Notify stakeholders. Adjacent owners, co-ARB, LGU Assessor, Land Bank.
- Trace support services. Confirm that DAR/DA databases reflect corrected location.
15. Conclusion
CLOA location discrepancies epitomize the tension between speedy land redistribution and precise land registration. Fortunately, the Philippine legal system offers a graduated menu of administrative and judicial tools—ranging from DAR’s internal memoranda through Sec 108 correction up to full-scale reconveyance—to harmonize the official record with ground reality. Mastery of the survey science, documentary nuances, and jurisdictional lines ensures that agrarian beneficiaries retain secure, transferable land tenure while government avoids overlapping titles and policy deadlock.
Early detection, technical rigor, and the right remedy in the right forum remain the cornerstones of an efficient resolution strategy.
Prepared June 2025. For academic discussion only; not a substitute for individualized legal advice.