10/07/2026
๐ก ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ? ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐.
A viral claim keeps making the rounds: "DAR Clearance is no longer required because of a new law." Landowners holding agricultural free patent titles are especially excited about this one. But is it actually true, or is a real law being stretched way beyond what it actually says?
๐ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ญ ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ
Republic Act No. 11231, the Agricultural Free Patent Reform Act (signed February 22, 2019), removed the old 5-year restriction under Sections 118, 119, and 121 of the Public Land Act (Commonwealth Act No. 141). Before this law, land under an agricultural free patent couldn't be sold, mortgaged, or transferred within 5 years of the patent's issuance. RA 11231 lifted that ban and made it retroactive โ meaning even old transfers made within that 5-year window are no longer void for that reason. Free patent land is now treated as a title in ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ, free from that specific restriction.
โ ๏ธ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ
Here's the part many miss: RA 11231 ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ Republic Act No. 6657, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARP). If your land is agricultural and covered by CARP, DAR Clearance is ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ before any sale, mortgage, or transfer โ to enforce the 5-hectare retention and ownership ceiling and protect tenants' rights. Without it, the Register of Deeds can refuse to register the transaction, and the sale itself can be declared void.
๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ
So no, DAR Clearance is ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ. What actually changed is narrower: the 5-year free patent lock-in is gone, but CARP-related DAR Clearance requirements are very much alive for land still covered by agrarian reform. Before assuming your title is clear, check with your local DAR office first.
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐
โข Republic Act No. 11231, Agricultural Free Patent Reform Act (2019)
โข Republic Act No. 6657, Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, Sections 6, 27, 65, 73
โข Philippines v. Tanduay Lumber, Inc., G.R. No. 223822, October 16, 2019
โข Department of Agrarian Reform v. Igmidio D. Robles, G.R. No. 190482, December 9, 2015