Limitasyon ng pagmamay-ari ng lupain sa ‘Pinas

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta @Magtanong Kay Attorney | Pebrero 7, 2023

Dear Chief Acosta,

Ako ay isang natural-born Filipino citizen, ngunit sa kasalukuyan ay isa nang Canadian citizen.

Hindi ako nakapag-elect ng dual citizenship. Gusto kong malaman kung maaari ko bang bilhin ang lupa rito sa Pilipinas na ipinagbibili ng aking pinsan? –Greg

Dear Greg,

Ang mga batas na sasaklaw tungkol sa iyong katanungan ay ang Batas Pambansa (BP) Blg. 185, at ang Republic Act (R.A.) No. 7042 (as amended by R.A. No. 8179) o mas kilala bilang “Foreign Investments Act of 1991”. Nakasaad sa BP Blg. 185 na:

“Section 2. Any natural-born citizen of the Philippines who has lost his Philippine citizenship and who has the legal capacity to enter into a contract under Philippine laws may be a transferee of a private land up to a maximum area of one thousand square meters, in the case of urban land, or one hectare in the case of rural land, to be used by him as his residence. In the case of married couples, one of them may avail of the privilege herein granted; Provided, That if both shall avail of the same, the total area acquired shall not exceed the maximum herein fixed.

In case the transferee already owns urban or rural lands for residential purposes, he shall still be entitled to be a transferee of additional urban or rural lands for residential purposes which, when added to those already owned by him, shall not exceed the maximum areas herein authorized.”

Kaugnay nito, ang karapatan ng isang natural-born Filipino citizen na nagkaroon na ng ibang citizenship at magmay-ari ng lupain sa Pilipinas ay pinalawig ng R.A. No. 7042 (as amended by R.A. No. 8179). Nakasaad sa Section 10 ng nabanggit na batas na:

“SEC. 10. Other Rights of Natural Born Citizen Pursuant to the Provisions of Article XII, Section 8 of the Constitution. – Any natural born citizen who has lost his Philippine citizenship and who has the legal capacity to enter into a contract under Philippine laws may be a transferee of a private land up to a maximum area of five thousand (5,000) square meters in the case of urban land or three (3) hectares in the case of rural land to be used by him for business or other purposes.

In the case of married couples, one of them may avail of the privilege herein granted: Provided, That if both shall avail of the same, the total area acquired shall not exceed the maximum herein fixed.

In case the transferee already owns urban or rural land for business or other purposes, he shall still be entitled to be a transferee of additional urban or rural land for business or other purposes which when added to those already owned by him shall not exceed the maximum areas herein authorized.”

Alinsunod sa mga nabanggit na probisyon ng batas, ang isang natural-born Filipino citizen na nagkaroon na ng ibang citizenship, liban lamang kung siya ay dual-citizen, ay may karapatang magmay-ari ng lupa sa Pilipinas na hindi hihigit sa sukat na limang libong (5,000) metro kwadrado kung ito ay nasa urban area, at hindi hihigit sa tatlong (3) ektarya kung ito ay nasa rural area. Ang mga nasabing lupain ay maaaring gamitin bilang tahanan, negosyo o sa ibang layunin. Sa pagkakataon na siya ay mayroon nang lupain sa Pilipinas, siya ay maaari pa ring magmay-ari ng lupain, ngunit ito ay marapat na hindi lumagpas sa limitasyong itinakda ng batas.

Ibig sabihin, bilang dating Pilipino, maaari ka pa ring magmay-ari ng lupain dito sa Pilipinas.

Kailangan lamang ay hindi hihigit ang sukat nito sa mga itinakda ng batas.

Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang iyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na iyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng iyong salaysay.

Maraming salamat sa inyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.