CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — The City Government of Cagayan de Oro obtained special patents from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-10, resulting in the land titling of several parcels under city government ownership.
Republic Act No. 10023, Section 4, permits the issuance of special patents under the name of the relevant national agency or local government unit (LGU) for public land actually occupied and used for public schools, municipal halls, public plazas or parks, and other government institutions.
These lands cannot be disposed of unless sanctioned by Congress if owned by the national agency or by the sanggunian concerned through an approved ordinance if owned by the LGU.
“We availed the special patent. Mao kani katong mga property sa siyudad na for so long wa nato matitulohi pa. Primary example is ang city hall nato that was titled last May 2022, then ang atong City Central School nga nag-celebrate sa iyahang centennial anniversary sa pagka-eskwelahan but wala pa matitulohi nga last 2022 pa gihapon natitulohan, and other school sites na under the city government. All in all, we availed mga 23 special patents as of June 2024,” Land Management Office Acting Division Chief Reuben Bona-oy said.
(We obtained the special patent. These are properties in the city that, for so long, we have not yet titled. A primary example is our city hall, titled in May 2022, and our city central school, which celebrated its centennial anniversary as a school but received its title only in 2022. We have also granted title to other school sites under the jurisdiction of the city government. All in all, we had about 23 special patents as of June 2024.)
Bona-oy also shared that the city government and DENR-10 entered into a Memorandum of Partnership Agreement in 2018 to fast-track the processing of the remaining land parcels under the city government. With this memorandum, the processing of special patents began in 2019, and the application process to the environment department took only 90–120 days, with an average of 3–4 titles released annually by DENR-10 to the City Government of Cagayan de Oro.
The Cagayan de Oro City Land Management Office is thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with DENR-10 regarding the titling of untitled or unregistered land parcels that belong to the city government. Currently, their office is targeting at least five special patent applications processed per year.
From 2022 until the first quarter of 2024, DENR-10 has issued a total of 5,312 patents throughout the region. (JAKA/PIA-10)
