Short answer. Only after it has stopped being intended for public use or public service. At that point the Civil Code converts it into patrimonial property of the State, which may then be disposed of. Physical disuse alone does not do it — the withdrawal has to come from the government itself.
What the law says
Property of public dominion, when no longer intended for public use or for public service, shall form part of the patrimonial property of the State.
Civil Code, Article 422 — Conversion to Patrimonial Property. Read the full provision →
Conversion, not sale, is the first step
Article 422 provides that property of public dominion, when no longer intended for public use or for public service, shall form part of the patrimonial property of the State. The provision does not authorise a sale; it changes what kind of property the thing is. That order matters, because while land remains public dominion it is outside commerce and no deed touching it can be valid. Conversion is the gate. Once through it, the property has moved into a class the State may treat much as an ordinary owner treats his own land.
What patrimonial property means for a buyer
Patrimonial property is held by the State in a proprietary rather than a governmental capacity. It can be sold, leased or exchanged, it can answer for obligations, and possession of it can have legal consequences that possession of a public road never has. That is the practical prize behind every dispute over this article: a claimant who can show the land had already become patrimonial is arguing about an ordinary piece of real estate, while a claimant who cannot is arguing about something the law says belongs to everyone and therefore to no private person.
The assumption that costs people money
The word doing the work is intended. A road nobody drives on, a school lot that has been empty for twenty years, a pier that has fallen into the sea — none of these has converted itself by neglect. What ends the public character is a decision by the government that the property is no longer devoted to that purpose, expressed in an act you can point to. Buyers are regularly shown long occupation, tax declarations and a local official's assurance as if they proved the land was already private. They prove possession, not conversion.
What to establish before any money moves
Identify which government body actually holds the property and ask for the instrument that withdrew it from public use, with its date — that date is what everything downstream is measured from. Trace the title at the registry rather than through documents supplied by the seller, and be sceptical of a chain that begins with a possessor rather than with a grant. If the property adjoins a river, a shore or a road, have the boundaries surveyed, because portions of those remain public dominion no matter what the plan you were shown appears to include.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Republic of the Philippines vs. Science Park of the Philippines, Inc., rep. by its, G.R. No. 248306, June 28, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Republic of the Philippines vs. Pasig Rizal Co., Inc, G.R. No. 213207, February 15, 2022 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Heirs of Mario Malabanan vs. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. 179987, April 29, 2009 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- In re: apllication for land registration, Suprema T. Dumo vs. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. 218269, June 6, 2018 — read the decision on LawPhil →