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SEC. 12. Any citizen of the Philippine Islands or of the United States, over the age of eighteen years, or the head of a family, who does not own more than twenty-four hectares of land in said Islands or has not had the benefit of any gratuitous allotment of more than twenty-four hectares of land since the occupation of the Philippine Islands by the United States, may enter a homestead of not exceeding twenty-four hectares of agricultural land of the public domain.
SEC. 13. Upon the filing of an application for a homestead, the Director of Lands, if he finds that the application should be approved, shall do so and authorize the applicant to take possession of the land upon the payment of ten pesos, Philippine currency, as entry fee. Within six months from and after the date of the approval of the application, the applicant shall begin to work the homestead, otherwise he shall lose his prior right to the land.
SEC. 14. No certificate shall be given or patent issued for the land applied for until the land has been improved and cultivated. The period within which the land shall be cultivated shall not be less than two nor more than five years, from and after the date of the approval of the application. The applicant shall,, within the said period, notify the Director of Lands as soon as he is ready to acquire the title. If at the date of such notice or at any time within the two years next following the expiration of said period, the applicant shall prove to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands by affidavits of two credible witnesses, that he has resided in the municipality in which the land is located; or in a municipality adjacent to the same, and has cultivated the land continuously since the approval of the application, and shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated or encumbered, and that he has complied with all the requirements of this Act, then, upon the payment of ten pesos, he shall be entitled to a patent.
SEC. 15. At the option of the applicant, payment of the fees required in this chapter may be made in annual installments. These payments may be made to the municipal treasurer of the locality who in turn, shall forward them to the provincial treasurer. In case of the delinquency of the applicant, the Director of Lands may, sixty days after such delinquency has occurred, either cancel the application twenty days for the payment of the sum due.
SEC. 16. If at any time before the expiration of the period allowed by law for the making of final proof, it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands, after due notice to the homesteader that the land entered is not under the law subject to homestead entry, or that the homesteader has actually changed his residence, or voluntarily abandoned the land for more than six months at any one time during the years of residence and occupation herein required, or has otherwise failed to comply with the requirements of this Act, the Director of Lands may cancel the entry.
SEC. 17. Before final proof shall be submitted by any person claiming to have complied with the provisions of this chapter, due notice, as prescribed by the Secretary; of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall be given to the public of his intention to make such proof stating therein the name and address of the homesteader, the description of the land, with its boundaries and area, the names of the witnesses by whom it is expected that the necessary facts will be established, and the time and place at which, and the name the officer before whom, such proof will be made.
SEC. 18. In case the homesteader shall suffer from mental alienation, or shall for any other reason be incapacitated for exercising his rights personally, the person legally, representing him may offer and submit the final proof on behalf of such incapacitated person;
SEC. 19. Not more than one homestead shall be allowed to any person; but if a homesteader has made final proof as to provided in this chapter and is occupying and cultivating all the land applied for and the area thereof is less than twenty-four hectares, he may apply for an additional homestead on an adjacent tract of land, provided the total area of both parcels does not exceed twenty-four hectares, and with the understanding that he shall with regard to the new tract or additional homestead comply with the same conditions as prescribed by this Act for an original homestead entry.
SEC. 20. The cancellation of a homestead entry not due to any fault of the applicant shall not be a bar to his applying for another homestead.
SEC. 21. If at any time after the approval of the application and before the patent is issued, the applicant shall prove to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands that he has complied with all the requirements of the law, but can not continue with his homestead, through no fault of his own, and there is a bona fide purchaser for the rights and improvements of the applicant on the land, and that the conveyance is not made for purposes of speculation, then the applicant, with the previous approval of the Secretary, of Agriculture and Natural Resources, may transfer his rights to the land and improvements to any person legally, qualified to apply for a homestead, and immediately after such transfer, the purchaser shall file a homestead application to the land so acquired and shall succeed the original homesteader in his rights and obligations beginning with the date of the approval of said application of the purchaser. Any person who has so transferred his rights may once again apply for new a new homestead. Every transfer made without the previous approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be null and void and shall result in the can cellation of the entry and the refusal of the patent.
SEC. 22. Any non-Christian native desiring to live upon or occupy land on any of the reservations set aside for the so "non-Christian tribes" without applying for a homestead, may request a permit of occupation for any tract of and of the public domain open to homestead entry under this Act, the area of which shall not exceed ten hectare. It shall be an essential condition that the applicant for the permit cultivate and improve the land, and if such cultivation has not been begun within six months from and after the date on which the permit was granted, the permit shall ipso facto be canceled. The permit shall be for a term of five years. If at the expiration of this term or at any time theretofore, the holder of the permit shall apply for a homestead under the provisions of this chapter, including, the portion for which a permit was granted to him, he shall have the priority, otherwise the land shall be again open to disposition at the expiration of the five years. For each permit the sum of five pesos shall be paid, which may be done in annual installments.
Provisions on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).