04/02/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly taking of the CMU land which had been segregated for educational purposes for distribution to yet uncertain beneficiaries is a gross misinterpretation of the authority and jurisdiction granted by law to the DARAB. The decision in this case is of far-reaching significance as far as it concerns state colleges and universities whose resources and research facilities may be gradually eroded by misconstruing the exemptions from the CARP. These state colleges and universities are the main vehicles for our scientific and technological advancement in the field of agriculture, so vital to the existence, growth and development of this country.[8] It did not matter that it was President Arroyo who, in this case, attempted by proclamation to appropriate the lands for distribution to indigenous peoples and cultural communities. As already stated, the lands by their character have become inalienable from the moment President Garcia dedicated them for CMU's use in scientific and technological research in the field of agriculture. They have ceased to be alienable public lands. Besides, when Congress enacted the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA) or Republic Act 8371[9] in 1997, it provided in Section 56 that "property rights within the ancestral domains already existing and/or vested" upon its effectivity "shall be recognized and respected." In this case, ownership over the subject lands had been vested in CMU as early as 1958. Consequently, transferring the lands in 2003 to the indigenous peoples around the area is not in accord with the IPRA. Furthermore, the land registration court considered the claims of several tribes belonging to the area's cultural communities in the course of the proceedings for the titling of the lands in CMU's name. Indeed, eventually, only 3,080 hectares were titled in CMU's name under OCTs 0-160, 0-161 and 0-162. More than 300 hectares were acknowledged to be in the possession of and subject to the claims of those tribes. WHEREFORE, the Court GRANTS the petition, SETS ASIDE the March 14, 2008 decision and September 22, 2008 resolution of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP 85456, and DECLARES Presidential Proclamation 310 as null and void for being contrary to law and public policy. SO ORDERED. Corona, C.J., Carpio, Carpio Morales, Peralta, Bersamin, Del Castillo, Villarama, Jr., and Perez, JJ., concur. Velasco, Jr., Nachura, Leonardo-De Castro, Brion, and Mendoza, JJ., on official leave. Sereno, J., on leave. [1] Pursuant to Republic Act 4498, "An Act to Convert Mindanao Agricultural College into Central Mindanao University and to Authorize the Appropriation of Additional Funds Therefor." elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/54430 5/6