1. Short answer

In almost all typical situations, it is not legally permissible to donate land covered by a Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) to a church in the Philippines.

A donation is a form of transfer or conveyance, and agrarian reform law strictly regulates — and in many cases prohibits — the transfer of CLOA land, especially to persons or entities who are not agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). A church, as a religious institution, almost never qualifies as an ARB.

There are a few very narrow, technical scenarios where land formerly under CLOA (with restrictions validly lifted and land validly converted) might eventually be conveyed to a church — but by that point it is no longer, in substance, “CLOA agrarian reform land” in the usual sense.

2. What exactly is CLOA land?

A Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) is the title issued to agrarian reform beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), originally under Republic Act No. 6657 and later amended (notably by RA 9700).

Key characteristics:

It is agricultural land redistributed to landless farmers / farmworkers.
The CLOA title typically carries statutory annotations such as:
- A prohibition on sale, transfer, or conveyance within a specified period.
- A requirement that the land be used for agricultural purposes.
- A requirement that the land be retained and worked by the farmer-beneficiary and/or their heirs.
These conditions are not mere suggestions; they are part of the social justice program of the Constitution and CARP.

Because of this, CLOA land is not like ordinary private property that can be freely sold, donated, or mortgaged.

3. The legal framework on transferring CLOA land

3.1. Constitutional backdrop

The 1987 Constitution (Article XIII – Social Justice and Human Rights, Agrarian Reform and Natural Resources) mandates agrarian reform to redistribute land to landless farmers and farm workers, who must be actual tillers of the soil.

This Constitutional policy means:

Agrarian reform land is intended primarily for natural persons who are actual farmers.
Transfer to other types of owners (e.g., corporations, religious institutions, commercial entities) runs against the spirit and often the letter of agrarian law, unless special lawful steps (like conversion and lifting of restrictions) have been completed.

3.2. Statutory restrictions: RA 6657 and amendments

Under CARP law and its amendments, CLOA land is governed by rules such as:

Non-transferability within a period (often 10 years)
- For a certain period from the award (commonly 10 years), the farmer-beneficiary may not sell, transfer, or convey the awarded land.
- During this period, transfers are generally allowed only:
  - By hereditary succession (to heirs); or
  - To the Government, Land Bank of the Philippines, or
  - To other qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries, through the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
Requirement of full payment and continued qualification
- Even after the lapse of the prohibitory period, land is usually transferable only when:
  - The beneficiary has fully paid government amortizations or obligations; and
  - The transferee is also a qualified beneficiary (a farmer actually tilling the land and within landholding limits).
DAR participation and approval
- Transfers that reallocate agrarian land typically require:
  - DAR clearance, and
  - Compliance with DAR administrative orders (e.g., on transferability, retention, and conversion).

Donation is considered a mode of “transfer” or “conveyance.” So when the law says “lands may not be sold, transferred, or conveyed,” it includes donation.

4. Donation under the Civil Code vs. Agrarian Reform law

The Civil Code sets general rules on donation:

A donation of immovable property (like land) must be in a public instrument.
The donation must be accepted by the donee (the church, represented by its proper officers).
The donor must not impair the legitime of compulsory heirs, among other limits.
Donations to religious institutions may be subject to specific tax rules.

However, the Civil Code is a general law, while CARP and agrarian statutes are special laws.

Principle:

Special law prevails over general law.

So even if a donation complies with the Civil Code (form, acceptance, etc.), it can still be invalid if it violates agrarian reform restrictions attached to the land.

5. Is a church a “qualified agrarian reform beneficiary”?

Ordinarily, no.

Agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) are typically:

Landless farmers or farmworkers, natural persons;
Filipino citizens;
Actually tilling or cultivating the land; and
Within retention/landholding limits.

While some juridical entities may qualify in special contexts (e.g., cooperatives of agricultural workers, farmers’ associations), a church:

Is a religious institution or corporation sole / religious corporation,
Whose primary purpose is religious or charitable, not agricultural production,
And is generally not an “agrarian reform beneficiary” as contemplated in CARP.

Therefore, even after the prohibitory period, a transfer of CLOA land by donation to a church would usually fail the requirement that the transferee be a qualified beneficiary.

6. Different stages and their legal implications

Let’s break down the issue by the status of the CLOA land and timing.

6.1. Scenario A: Within the prohibitory period / before full payment

Facts:

CLOA land still within the 10-year (or applicable) non-transfer period, or
Beneficiary has not yet fully paid the amortizations.

Legal consequences of donation to a church:

Donation is a prohibited transfer.
The donation is typically void or inexistent as it violates mandatory provisions of agrarian law.
The Registry of Deeds should refuse registration if the title is annotated with non-transferability and the transferee is not qualified.
DAR may:
- Declare the transfer invalid,
- Cancel or reallocate the land to another qualified beneficiary,
- Or impose administrative sanctions on officials who facilitated the transaction.

Bottom line: In this stage, donation to a church is clearly illegal.

6.2. Scenario B: After prohibitory period but still agricultural and CLOA-restricted

Facts:

More than 10 years have passed from issuance of CLOA (or applicable period).
The beneficiary may have fully paid the land, but:
- The land remains agricultural, and
- Its status as agrarian reform land continues, with conditions/annotations.

Key points:

Even after 10 years and full payment, agrarian intent remains. The law doesn’t suddenly convert CLOA land into fully unrestricted ordinary private land.
Transfers are often still limited to:
- Qualified agrarian beneficiaries, and
- Subject to DAR regulations and clearances.

Since a church is not a qualified ARB:

A donation to a church remains inconsistent with the agrarian reform framework.
If somehow registered, it may later be challenged and voided, and may expose parties to administrative or even criminal liability.

6.3. Scenario C: After lawful conversion and lifting of agrarian restrictions

This is the only situation where a church might eventually own land that was once CLOA land — but by then it is no longer “CLOA agrarian land” in the strict sense.

Steps (in very general terms):

Land use conversion
- Apply to DAR for conversion of the agricultural land to non-agricultural use (e.g., institutional, residential).
- Strict procedural requirements, environmental and zoning considerations, and conversion fees.
Approval and annotation
- If DAR approves, the conversion and any lifting of restrictions must appear as annotations on the title.
- Sometimes further processes are required (e.g., with LGUs, HLURB / local planning bodies, DENR, etc.).
Post-conversion status
- Once fully and validly converted and agrarian restrictions are lifted, the land may cease to be agrarian reform land.
- At this point, the land can, in principle, be subject to ordinary civil transactions, including donation, subject to:
  - Civil Code,
  - Local zoning,
  - National land laws and landholding limits,
  - Tax rules.

If all of that happens correctly, then a donation to a church could be legally recognized. But observe:

This is a long, technical, and regulated process.
Until that process is properly completed, donation to a church remains legally risky or invalid.

7. What happens if someone “just donates” CLOA land to a church anyway?

Common real-world pattern:

A farmer-beneficiary executes a Deed of Donation in favor of the church.
The parties may or may not attempt to register it.
Sometimes it is not registered (for fear DAR will object), and the church just “possesses” the land informally.

Possible consequences:

Unregistered donation
- As far as third persons and the government are concerned, ownership in the title remains with the CLOA holder.
- The church’s rights are extremely weak; the deed of donation can be:
  - Challenged as void, and
  - Ignored by DAR in implementing agrarian law.
Attempted registration
- The Registry of Deeds may refuse registration if:
  - The title bears agrarian restrictions, and
  - DAR clearance is absent, or
  - The transferee is not a qualified beneficiary.
- If it is mistakenly registered:
  - The registration does not cure the underlying illegality.
  - DAR or interested parties may seek cancellation or reconveyance.
DAR action
- DAR can:
  - Declare the transfer null and void,
  - Cancel the CLOA and issue a new one to another qualified beneficiary,
  - Possibly seek sanctions against officials who abetted the circumvention.
For the church
- It risks spending money and effort on land it does not validly own.
- It may be compelled to vacate or surrender the land if DAR enforces the law.

8. Tax and constitutional issues for church-owned land (if transfer were valid)

If — after proper conversion and lifting of agrarian restrictions — a church validly acquires land, then:

Under the Constitution, properties actually, directly, and exclusively used for:
- religious, charitable, or educational purposes may be exempt from real property tax.
Under the tax code, donations to qualified religious or charitable institutions for exclusive use in their work may be:
- Exempt from donor’s tax or subject to preferential treatment.

However, these tax benefits do not legalize an otherwise illegal donation of CLOA land. They apply only when the underlying transfer is valid under all applicable laws, including agrarian reform laws.

9. Practical alternatives for parishes and farmer-beneficiaries

Often the pastoral goal is simple: build a chapel or church facility serving the farming community. There may be less legally risky alternatives:

Building a chapel while keeping land in the farmer’s name
- The farmer-beneficiary may allow a small portion of land to be used for a chapel while:
  - Remaining the registered owner, and
  - Remaining an agrarian reform beneficiary.
- This must still respect agrarian laws (e.g., land still broadly agricultural, no unauthorized conversion), but is less problematic than a full transfer of ownership.
Usufruct or other limited real rights
- Instead of donating ownership, the farmer may grant the church a right of use (e.g., usufruct, commodatum).
- Such rights must still be crafted carefully so as not to be treated as prohibited transfers or conversions.
Using non-CLOA or non-agrarian land
- When possible, a church may look for a site that is not under agrarian reform, or whose status has already been properly converted.
Consulting DAR and local authorities early
- Before any documentation is signed, parties should consult:
  - DAR (municipal/provincial office),
  - The LGU (for zoning and land use),
  - A Philippine lawyer experienced in agrarian and land law.
- This can help identify a structure that serves the pastoral aim without violating agrarian law.

10. Frequently asked questions

Q1: “We are more than 10 years from the CLOA issuance. Can we now donate to the church?”

Not automatically. The 10-year period is not a blanket green light for unrestricted transfer. Transfers often remain limited to qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries, and the church is not one. Unless the land has been validly converted and agrarian restrictions lifted, a donation to a church remains legally vulnerable.

Q2: “The farmer doesn’t use the land anymore. Isn’t it better that the church uses it?”

Under agrarian law, if a beneficiary abandons or ceases to cultivate the land, the remedy is typically for DAR to redistribute to another qualified farmer, not for the land to be transferred to an institution outside the ARB system.

Q3: “What if the church is only receiving a small portion of the land?”

The size doesn’t fundamentally change the legal issue: transferring ownership of any part of CLOA land to a non-qualified entity is still generally prohibited. The law doesn’t say “you can donate a little but not too much”; instead, it restricts conveyance in principle.

Q4: “Can the donation be made in secret, not registered, and just ‘understood’?”

An unregistered deed of donation:

Does not change the registered ownership, and
Still violates agrarian law in spirit and possibly in fact.

Such an arrangement is legally fragile and can be undone by DAR action. It may also create pastoral problems later if expectations differ or leadership changes.

Q5: “Has anyone ever successfully given CLOA land to a church?”

In practice, you may hear stories of CLOA lands ending up in the hands of churches or other institutions. However:

Some of those may later face legal challenges or DAR investigations.
Some may have gone through proper conversion and lifting of restrictions, so they are no longer agrarian reform lands in the strict sense.
Anecdote or local practice does not override national agrarian law.

11. Key takeaways

Donation of CLOA agrarian reform land to a church is generally illegal
- It is a prohibited form of transfer or conveyance under agrarian law, especially when:
  - Within the prohibitory period or before full payment, and
  - When the church is not a qualified agrarian reform beneficiary.
Even after 10 years and full payment, restrictions remain
- CLOA land does not automatically become ordinary private land.
- Transfers typically remain confined to qualified beneficiaries and subject to DAR regulation.
Only after proper conversion and lifting of restrictions could a church potentially own the land lawfully
- But by then, you are no longer dealing with “CLOA agrarian land” in the ordinary sense; it has changed its legal character.
Civil Code rules on donation and tax benefits do not override agrarian reform law
- Compliance with form and tax rules is not enough if agrarian restrictions are violated.
Safer alternatives often exist
- Allowing use of land without transfer of ownership,
- Granting limited real rights (carefully structured),
- Or using non-agrarian land.

12. Final reminder

Agrarian reform law in the Philippines is technical and highly policy-driven, and specific outcomes can depend on details like:

The exact wording and annotations on the CLOA,
Timing (date of issuance, payment status),
The status of any conversion applications,
Local DAR and LGU actions.

Anyone seriously considering donating, accepting, or structuring the use of CLOA land for a church should consult a Philippine lawyer familiar with agrarian reform and also coordinate with the local DAR office and LGU. This is the best way to serve both legal compliance and the pastoral or community goals involved.