Amendment to Act No. 2711 Re: Lease of Forest Land for Special Purposes

June 14, 1947

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 121

AN ACT TO FURTHER AMEND SECTION EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT OF ACT NUMBERED TWENTY-SEVEN HUNDRED AND ELEVEN, KNOWN AS THE REVISED ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, AS AMENDED BY ACT NUMBERED THIRTY-EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY AND COMMONWEALTH ACT NUMBERED ONE HUNDRED

SECTION 1. Section eighteen hundred and thirty-eight of Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and eleven, known as the Revised Administrative Code, as amended by Act Numbered Thirty-eight hundred and twenty and Commonwealth Act Numbered One hundred, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 1838. Leasing of forest land for special purposes. — The Director of Forestry with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, may, upon such terms as he may deem reasonable, lease or grant to any Filipino citizen or association of persons duly incorporated and authorized by the Constitution to acquire lands of the public domain, permits for the use of forest lands or vacant public lands not declared agricultural land, for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, for the establishment of sawmills, lumber yards, timber depots, logging camps, rights-of-way and plantations for the raising of nipa and/or other palms, bacauan, medicinal plants or trees of economic value, and for the construction of hotels, sanatoria, bathing establishments, residences, or camps, fishponds, saltworks pastures for large or small cattle or for other lawful purposes for an area not exceeding twenty-four hectares: Provided, That the maximum area shall not exceed two thousand hectares for pastures and plantations for the raising of medicinal plants or trees of economic value and two hundred hectares for fishponds, saltworks nipa and/or other palms or bacauan plantations, and rights-of-way.

"Any person or association of persons occupying or using any part of the forest land or vacant public land not declared agricultural land without permit or lease as above required shall be liable to the payment of twice the regular rentals now or hereafter provided for by regulations for such kind of use corresponding to such period that the area is illegally used or occupied. The holder of a permit or lease shall, upon his failure to pay the regular rental charges prescribed in the permit or lease, be liable to the payment of additional charges from ten to one hundred per centum of such regular rental charges now or hereafter provided for by regulations promulgated under this Act."

SECTION 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed. cd

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 14, 1947.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 43, No. 7, p. 2555 in July 1947