Section 1. Coal-bearing lands of the public domain in the
Philippine Islands shall not be disposed of in any matter except as
provided in this Act.
The Government shall be understood to reserve its right to any coal
deposits on land of the public domain reserved for provincial,
municipal or school purposed, or granted in any manner to provinces or
municipalities, or the usufruct of which has been granted to private
corporations, and likewise on lands of the public domain or granted
under the provisions of the Public Land Act, if at the time of the
disposition thereof the Government was not aware of the existence of
such coal deposits.
Sec. 2. Any unreserved, unappropriated
coal-bearing public land may be leased by the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources in blocks or tracks of not less than four hundred
nor more than twelve hundred hectares each, in such manner as may, in
the opinion of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
allow the economic exploitation of the coal. The lease may be granted
to any person above the age of twenty-one years who is a citizen of the
Philippine Islands or of the United States, or to any association of
such persons, of to any corporation organized under the laws of the
Philippine Islands: Provided, That a majority of the stock of such
corporation shall at all times be owned and held by citizens of the
United States of the Philippine Islands: And provided further, That any
person, association, or corporation qualified to become a lessee under
this Act, and owning any located or patented claim to any coal lands in
the Philippine Islands, may, within one year from the passage of this
Act, enter into an arrangement with the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources whereby such claim shall be fully relinquished to the
Government as a condition precedent to acquiring a lease under the
provisions of this Act, said owner, in consideration of such
relinquishments, being given the preference in applications for leasing
contiguous tracts. The Department of Secretaries, acting jointly, are
authorized to pay a compensation in exchange for such a relinquishment
if they see fit.
Sec. 3. Leases under the provisions of this Act
shall be issued upon publication, in the manner and subject to the
rules prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
for periods of not more than fifty years each, subject to renewal on
such terms and conditions as may be authorized by law at the time of
such renewal, and no such lease shall be assigned or sublet except with
the consent of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and
in this case only to persons and associations of persons or
corporations having the qualifications required of lessees. Every lease
shall contain a clause by which the lessee shall bind himself to comply
with the rules and regulations issued by the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources for the purpose of insuring the exercise of
reasonable diligence, skill and care in the operation of said property
and for the prevention of undue waste, together with such other rules
and regulations as the said Secretary may make for the protection of
the interests of the Government and for the promotion of the public
welfare. For the privilege of mining, extracting, and disposing of the
coal in the lands covered by this lease, the lessee shall pay to the
Government of the Philippine Islands, through the Collector of Internal
Revenue, such royalties as may be specified in the lease, which shall
not be less than ten centavos per ton of one thousand and sixteen
kilos, said royalties to be due and payable at the end of each month
succeeding that of the shipment of the coal from the mine, and an
annual rental, payable in advance on the date of the approval of the
lease and thereafter at the beginning of each year, on the lands
covered by such lease, at the rate of two pesos and fifty centavos per
hectare for the first year and five pesos per hectare for each and
every year thereafter during the continuance of the lease: Provided,
That such rental for any year shall be credited against the royalties
as they accrue for that year.
Sec. 4. Any person, association, or corporation
holding a lease of coal lands under this Act may, with the approval of
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources and through the same
procedure and upon the same terms and conditions as in the case of an
original lease under this Act, secure a further or new lease covering
additional lands contiguous to those embraced in the original lease,
but in no event shall the total area embraced in such original and new
leases exceed in the aggregate twelve hundred hectares: Provided, That
upon satisfactory showing by the lessee that all of the workable
deposits of coal within the limits of the land leased will be exhausted
or removed within three years thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources may, within his discretion, lessee to such lessee
an additional tract of land or coal deposits, which, including the coal
area remaining in the original lease, shall not exceed twelve hundred
hectares, through the same procedure and subject to the same
requirements as in case of the original lease.
Sec. 5. Subject to the approval of the Secretary
of Agriculture and Natural Resources, lessees holding under leases
small blocks or areas may consolidate their said leases or holdings so
as to include in a single holding a total of not to exceed twelve
hundred hectares, provided all leases have at the time of such
consolidation complied individually with all their obligations towards
the Government.
Sec. 6. Each lease shall be for such leasing block
or tract of land as may be offered or applied for, not exceeding an
area of twelve hundred hectares of land, and no person, association, or
corporation, except as hereinafter provided, shall be permitted to take
or hold any interest as a stock holder or otherwise in more than one
such lease under this Act, and any interest held in violation of this
proviso shall be forfeited to the Government by appropriate proceedings
instituted by the Attorney-General for that purpose in any court of
competent jurisdiction, except that any such ownership and interest
hereby forbidden which may be acquired by descent, will, judgment, or
decree may be held for two years, and not longer, after its
acquisition.
Sec. 7. Any person who shall purchase, acquire, or
hold any interest in two or more such leases, except as herein
provided, or who shall knowingly purchase, acquire, or hold any
interest in two or more such leases, except as herein provided, or who
shall knowingly purchase, acquire, or hold any stock in a corporation
having an interest in two or more such leases, or who shall knowingly
sell or transfer to one disqualified to purchase, or, except as in this
Act specifically provided, disqualified to acquire, any such interest,
shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be
punished by imprisonment for not more than three years and by a fine
not exceeding two thousand pesos: Provided, That any such ownership and
interest hereby forbidden which may be acquired by descent, will,
judgment, or decree may be held two years after its acquisition and not
longer, and in case of minority or other disability, during such
minority or disability and for two years after majority has been
reached or the disability disappeared.
Sec. 8. Any director, trustee, officer, or agent
of any corporation holding any interest in such a lease, who shall, on
behalf of such corporation, act in the purchase of any interest in
another lease, or who shall knowingly act on behalf of such corporation
in the sale or transfer of any such interest in any lease held by such
corporation to any corporation or individual holding any interest in
any such a lease, except as herein provided, shall be guilty of a
felony and shall be subject to imprisonment for a term of not exceeding
three years and a fine of not exceeding two thousand pesos.
Sec. 9. If any of the lands or deposits leased
under the provisions of this Act shall be subleased, trusteed,
possessed or controlled by any device permanently, temporarily,
directly, indirectly, tacitly, or in any manner whatsoever, so that
they form part of or are in anywise controlled by any combination in
the form of an unlawful trust, with consent of lessee or from the
subject of any contract or conspiracy in restraint of trade in the
mining or selling of coal, entered into by the lessee, or of any
holding of such lands by any individual, partnership, association,
corporation, or control, in excess of twelve hundred hectares, the
lease thereof shall be forfeited by appropriate court proceedings.
Sec. 10. That in order to provide for the supply
of strictly local and domestic needs for fuel the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources may, under such rules and regulations
he may prescribe in advance, issue to any applicant qualified under
section two of this Act a limited license or permit granting the right
to prospect for, mine, and dispose of coal belonging to the Government
on specified tracts not to exceed four hectares to any one person or
association of persons in any one coal field for a period of not
exceeding ten years, on such conditions not inconsistent with this Act
as in his opinion will safeguard the public interest, without payment
of royalty for the coal mined of for the land occupied, if he, in his
discretion, consider this necessary: Provided, That the acquisition or
holding of a lease under the preceding sections of this Act shall be no
bar to the acquisition, holding, or operating under the limited license
in this section permitted. And the holding of such a license shall be
no bar to the acquisition of holding of such a lease or interest
therein.
Sec. 11. Any lease, entry, location, occupation,
or use permitted under this Act shall reserve to the Government the
right to grant or use such easements in, over through or upon the land
leased, entered, located, occupied, or used as may be necessary or
appropriate to the working of the same or other coal lands under the
Government permit, and for other purposes: Provided, That the Secretary
of Agriculture and Natural Resources in his discretion, in making any
lease under this Act, may reserve to the Government the right to lease,
sell, or otherwise dispose of the surface of the lands embraced within
such lease under existing law or laws in so far as said surface is not
necessary for use by the lessee in extracting and removing the deposits
of coal therein. If such reservation is made, it shall be so determined
before the offering of such lease. The Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, during the life of the lease is authorized to issue
such permits for easements herein provided to be reserved, and to
permit the use of such other public lands as may be necessary for the
construction and maintenance of coal bunkers of other works incident to
the mining or treatment of coal, which lands may be occupied and used
jointly or severally by lessees or permittees, as may be determined by
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Sec. 12. Any such lease may be forfeited and
canceled by appropriate proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction
whenever the lessee fails to comply with any provision of the lease or
of general regulations promulgated under this Act; and the lease may
provide for the enforcement of other appropriate remedies for breach of
specified conditions thereof.
Sec. 13. Any lessee under this Act may exercise
the rights of eminent domains for the purpose of acquiring such right
of ways as may be necessary in connection with the operations
contemplated by the said lease.
Sec. 14. The Government of the Philippine Islands,
recognizing the relation of the coal resources of the country to its
general welfare, reserves the right to work and exploit coal mines
itself or organize and promote coal mining corporations by becoming
either exclusive or majority stock holders therein and in such
enterprises shall not be bound by any provision in this or other laws
restricting holdings either territorially or otherwise.
Sec. 15. Effective upon the passage of this Act
there shall be assessed and collected by the Collector of Internal
Revenue, an annual tax of two thousand pesos on each block or tract of
four hundred hectares, or fraction thereof, of coal lands owned by any
person, firm, association, or corporation, and a tax of four centavos
per ton of one thousand and sixteen kilos on each tom of coal extracted
therefrom said taxes to be payable at the same time, in the same manner
and under the same conditions as provided in section three hereof for
the payment of rentals and royalties. The taxes herein provided shall
be in lieu of all other taxes of whatever nature. In case of
delinquency in the payment of either said annual tax or specific tax
continuing for sixty days from the time when the same may be due or
payable, the same remedies for enforcement of this section, by sale of
the lands, or otherwise, may be pursued as in the ordinary procedure
for nonpayment of land taxes.
Sec. 16. All statements, representations, or
reports required, unless otherwise specified, by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources under this Act, shall be upon oath
and in such form and upon such blanks as the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources may specify, and any person making false oath,
representation, or report shall be subject to punishment as for perjury.
Sec. 17. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources is authorized to prescribe the necessary and proper rules and
regulations and to do any and all things necessary to carry out and
accomplish the purposes of this Act; and under his immediate and direct
control, the Bureau of Lands shall have charge of the survey,
registration, and administration of said lands, and the Bureau of
Science of the geological work.
Sec. 18. The sum of thirty thousand pesos is
hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Insular Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, to the end that the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources may have the Director of Lands proceed to the
survey and legal subdivision of all coal-bearing lands of the public
domain and the determination of the ownership thereof, in accordance
with section sixty-one of the Public Land Act.
Sec. 19. Act Numbered Eleven hundred and
twenty-eight and all acts and parts of Acts in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed.
Sec. 20. This Act shall take effect on its
approval by the President of the United States.
Approved: May 14, 1917.
|