Establishment of a Forest Reservation Within the Province of Tarlac

April 18, 1984

PROCLAMATION NO. 2351

PROCLAIMING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FOREST RESERVATION WITHIN THE PROVINCE OF TARLAC FOR INDUSTRIAL TREE PLANTATION AND TREE FARMING PURPOSES

WHEREAS, it is the avowed policy of the State to undertake and pursue forest conservation and renewal programs to the end that a healthy ecological system shall be attained for the lasting benefit of our generation and our prosperity;

WHEREAS, it is likewise a declared policy of the State to harness and utilize our forest lands towards national productivity and the advancement of science, technology and the public welfare;

WHEREAS, the provincial government and the various municipalities of Tarlac have identified certain denuded or inadequately timbered areas and brushlands in said province, which are suitable for the establishment of industrial tree plantations and tree farms;

WHEREAS, the establishment of an agro-forest reservation in the aforesaid identified areas in Tarlac shall support the national forest renewal programs of Government, enhance our forest technology, and encourage public participation in income generating agro-forest activities in line with the Kilusang Sariling Sikap Program. cd i

WHEREAS, it has been determined that the identified denuded, inadequately timbered and brushland areas in the Municipality of Tarlac, Province of Tarlac shall produce optimum benefits to, and shall enhance the development and progress of, the Province of Tarlac and the nation when such areas are established as a forest reservation devoted to industrial tree plantation and tree-farming purposes;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, do hereby order and proclaim that:

SECTION 1. Pursuant to Sec. 18 of Presidential Decree No. 705, the Revised Forestry Code, as amended, and finding the exercise of the presidential prerogative to be required by national interest, I do hereby proclaim that the brushlands and the denuded, logged-over, and inadequately stocked areas located in Barrio Maamot, Municipality of Tarlac, Province of Tarlac with a total land area of approximately Nine Thousand Five Hundred Ninety Seven and 50/100 (9,597.50) Hectares, the boundaries of which are delineated in Attachment "A" to this Proclamation, are hereby established as forest reservation to be solely utilized as industrial tree plantations and/or tree farms of the seventeen (17) municipalities of the Province of Tarlac.

SECTION 2. The Director of the Bureau of Forest Development is hereby directed and authorized to apportion said forest reservation among the seventeen (17) municipalities of the Province of Tarlac; provided however that, the municipalities of Camiling, Gerona, Moncada, Paniqiu, and Tarlac shall each be entitled to Eight Hundred Seventy-Two (872) Hectares and the remaining areas shall be divided equitably among the other municipalities, namely: Anao, Bamban, Capaz, Concepcion, La Paz, Mayontoc, Pura, Ramos, San Clemente, San Manuel, Santa Ignacia and Victoria.

SECTION 3. The Minister of Natural Resources is hereby directed and authorized to enter into appropriate lease agreements for a period of twenty five (25) years (renewable for another period of twenty five (25) years) with the municipalities concerned over their respective areas to enable them or their assigns to occupy, possess, and utilize their respective leased areas; to undertake therein industrial tree plantation and/or tree farm projects; and thereafter to harvest, cut, gather, remove therefrom, and market the fruits and other forest products.

Provided finally, that the lease agreements shall impose upon the municipalities and their assigns, the obligation to develop, protect, and rehabilitate their respective leased areas.

SECTION 4. The municipalities shall develop and utilize their leased areas as industrial tree plantations and/or tree farms pursuant to Section 1 hereof. For this purpose, each Municipality, with the concurrence of the Provincial Government, may enter into, singly or collectively, service contracts or joint venture agreements with any person, association, corporation, or entity for the development of the leased areas and may assign its respective lease contracts to the joint venture entity as its contribution to the equity therein. The terms and conditions of the joint venture agreement and the assignment of the lease contract shall be determined jointly by the Municipality and the Provincial Government of Tarlac. A copy of any such assignment of lease contract shall be submitted to the Minister of Natural Resources for his information.

The Provincial Government of Tarlac shall coordinate with the different municipalities in order to insure that the whole forest reservation shall be economically exploited and developed as an integrated unit.

SECTION 5. The lessees or their assigns shall be entitled to harvest, gather, cut, remove and market the fruits, timber and other forest products from their respective leased areas without need of any prior permit, license, clearance or agreement of any government entity or office.

SECTION 6. To encourage investment in the contemplated industrial tree planting and/or tree farming, the lessees or their assigns are granted the incentives provided for under Section 36 of Presidential Decree 705. In addition, no charges or levies of any kind shall be collected on all trees, fruits and/or forest products removed from the industrial tree plantations and/or tree farms.

SECTION 7. After the expiration of the term of the lease agreements, and any extensions thereof, the lessees or their assigns shall be given priority in the further utilization of the leased areas. In case of cancellation of the lease, for whatever reason or cause, the lessor shall reimburse all necessary and useful expenses for permanent improvements made on the leased area and shall compensate the lessees or their assigns for consequential and liquidated damages suffered by the latter by reason of the cancellation of the lease contracts, which in no case shall be less than the expected production from the leased area for the unexpired portion of the term of the lease agreement cancelled. The lessees or assigns shall have the right to retain possession of the leased areas until the lessees or assigns shall have been fully compensated by the lessor.

SECTION 8. To provide further support, the Ministry of Public Works and Highways shall include in its program, the construction and maintenance of the required infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, for the development of the areas and shall extend such assistance as may be required by the Provincial and Municipal Governments. aisa dc

SECTION 9. Should any provisions herein be subsequently held invalid, the same shall not affect the validity or the legality of the other provisions.

SECTION 10. This proclamation shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 18th day of April, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Four.