Section 1. Permit, License or Concession. —From and after the
date on which this Act shall take effect, no permit, license, or
concession for cutting timber or utilizing or taking other forest
products in the public forests of the Philippine Islands shall be
granted to any person who is not a citizen of the Philippine Islands or
of the United States, or of a country the laws of which grant similar
permission to Filipino citizens, nor to any association or corporation
that is not duly registered or incorporated under the laws of the
Philippine Islands, and of which at least sixty-one per centum of the
capital stock or of any interests in said capital stock belongs wholly
to citizens of the Philippine Islands or of the United States.
Sec. 2. Persons, Associations or
Corporations to which the Act shall not be Applicable. — This Act shall
not be applicable to foreign persons, associations, or corporations
who, prior to the approval hereof, have legally obtained a permit,
license, or concession to cut timber or utilize or take other forest
products in the public forests of the Philippine Islands: Provided,
however, That no person, association, or corporation licensed to cut
timber or utilize or take other forest products in the public forests
of the Philippine Islands, whether the license was obtained prior to or
after the approval of this Act, or any stockholder of such association
or corporation shall be authorized to transfer or assign its or his
interest or sell its or his stock, directly or indirectly, to persons,
associations or corporations not qualified under section one of this
Act to hold timber or forest licenses, under penalty of forfeiture of
its license or concession: Provided, further, That a transfer made by a
stockholder of an association or a corporation of his stock or interest
in violation of the provisions hereof shall not be cause of forfeiture
of the license or concession given to such association or corporation,
but said transfer shall be null and void and shall not be registered in
the books of such association or corporation; Provided, finally, That
the present licenses or concessions irrespective of the citizenship of
the holders thereof, may be renewed by the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources upon their expiration and as often as may be
reasonably necessary to allow the holders thereof to fully utilize the
timber or other forest products covered by said licenses or
concessions, unless the said holders of such licenses or concessions
have been guilty of a serious violation of the Forest Law and
regulations or of the provisions of this Act.
Sec. 3. Effective Date of Act. — Upon the express
or implicit approval of this Act by the President of the United States,
as provided in the Act of Congress approved on August twenty-ninth,
nineteen hundred and sixteen, entitled "An Act to declare the purpose
of the People of the United States as to the future political status of
the People of the Philippine Islands, and to provide a more autonomous
government for those Islands," the Governor-General shall so announce
forthwith, by means of a proclamation, and this Act shall take effect
on the date of such proclamation.
|