In Republic v. Torres (G.R. No. 274498, April 8, 2026), the Supreme Court’s First Division held that where land was titled under the Public Land Act before 7 January 1975, the government’s reserved right of way is capped at 20 meters, not 60 — and that the 20 meters is measured from the centerline of the highway, not inward from the property boundary. The DPWH had taken 30 meters. It must pay full just compensation for the 10-meter excess, and damages for improvements within the 20 meters.
This case arises from an expropriation suit governed by Rule 67 of the Rules of Court. Read the rule itself: Rule 67, Section 1 — The complaint, with annotation and interpreting cases.
What the Court Actually Held
In May 2017 the Republic, through the Department of Public Works and Highways, filed an expropriation complaint with an urgent prayer for a writ of possession over land affected by the Agusan–Surigao national highway. The land had been granted as a homestead patent on 10 January 1940 and registered under an Original Certificate of Title on 13 February 1941. The Court of Appeals modified the trial court’s decision and sent the case back for commissioners to determine the width of the road-right-of-way and the proper just compensation. The Republic went to the Supreme Court. In a decision penned by Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando, the petition was denied and the Court of Appeals affirmed, with a modification on interest.
Twenty meters, not sixty. Section 112 of the Public Land Act originally subjected patented land to a right of way “not exceeding twenty meters”, with damages for improvements only. Presidential Decree No. 635 later raised that ceiling to sixty meters. DPWH Department Order No. 11, series of 2004, draws the line by the date the title was acquired: land titled before 7 January 1975, when PD 635 took effect, carries the 20-meter reservation; land titled on or after that date carries 60. Because this title dates from 1941, the 20-meter rule applies. The Republic had expropriated 30 meters.
Measured from the centerline. The more consequential fight was over where the 20 meters is measured from. The Republic argued it should run inward from the edge of the property line — a reading that would push the government’s free strip much deeper into private land. The owners argued for the centerline of the highway. The Court sided with the owners. It acknowledged that the statute fixes a maximum width without prescribing a method of measurement, and then looked to how the right of way is actually delineated in practice: DPWH Department Order No. 152, series of 2017, and the DPWH Right-of-Way Acquisition Manual, under which alignment and parcellary survey plans are prepared from the approved road centerline. The DPWH’s own licensed geodetic engineer had testified that the right of way in this case was located and measured from the centerline of the existing road.
What must be paid. The consequences follow arithmetically. Within the 20-meter reserved strip, the government pays for improvements only — and the Court agreed with the Court of Appeals that there must be a determination of what improvements stood there at the time of taking. For the 10 meters taken in excess of the 20-meter reservation, the government must pay full just compensation. On interest, the Court modified the disposition: 6% per annum on the difference between the final adjudged amount and the initial payment, running from the time of taking until finality; and 6% per annum on the total just compensation from finality until full payment.
What Changed, and What Didn’t
The statutory framework is not new, and the Court did not rewrite it. What the decision does is resolve two points that in practice decide how much a landowner actually receives.
The first is the cut-off date. It is easy to assume the current 60-meter figure applies to every patented parcel, and the effect of that assumption is severe: it treats 60 meters of a landowner’s frontage as compensable only as to improvements. The Court confirms that the applicable width is fixed by when the title was acquired, not by the width the DPWH happens to require today. For older homestead and free-patent titles — which are common across Mindanao and in rural areas generally — the ceiling is 20 meters.
The second is the baseline. The difference between measuring from the centerline and measuring from the property boundary is not academic; on a road that already occupies part of the corridor, it can move the compensable line by many meters along the entire frontage. By anchoring the measurement to the centerline, and grounding that in the DPWH’s own acquisition manual and survey practice, the Court closed a reading that would have systematically reduced what owners are paid.
What did not change is the burden of getting the facts established. The case was not resolved with a cheque; it went back for commissioners to determine improvements and value.
Who This Affects
Landowners along national highways whose titles trace back to a homestead or free patent — particularly those issued before 1975. For them the practical questions are now clear: what is the date of the title, where is the road centerline, and how much of the taking lies beyond 20 meters of it?
It also affects heirs and buyers of such land. The reservation runs with the property, so a buyer who never dealt with the DPWH can still find a strip of the frontage burdened. Anyone conducting due diligence on a highway-adjacent parcel should check the patent date and the survey plan, not just the certificate of title.
A limit worth stating plainly: this concerns land titled under the Public Land Act. Property with a different root of title is not governed by the Section 112 reservation at all, and the analysis there begins elsewhere.
What It Means in Practice
- Find the date the title was acquired. Before 7 January 1975 means a 20-meter reserved right of way; on or after that date means 60 meters under PD 635.
- The 20 meters runs from the centerline of the road, not inward from your boundary. Ask for the alignment and parcellary survey plans, which the DPWH prepares from the approved centerline.
- Anything taken beyond the reserved width must be paid as full just compensation — here, the 10 meters in excess of 20.
- Within the reserved strip you are still owed damages for improvements existing at the time of taking. Document them early; the valuation goes to commissioners.
- Interest matters. Expect 6% per annum on the shortfall from the time of taking to finality, and 6% on the total from finality until paid.
This commentary is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a licensed attorney.
If the DPWH has taken or is seeking to take part of your land, our firm is available to help. You may reach us via Viber or WhatsApp, call us at 0995 433 5550, or send an email to vivasnobles@gmail.com.