Be it
enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Legislature assembled and, by the authority of the same:
Section 1. Upon recommendation of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Governor-General shall, by
proclamation, reserve and withdraw from settlement, occupancy or
disposal under the laws of the Philippine Islands any portion of the
public domain which, because of its panoramic, historical, scientific
or aesthetic value, should be dedicated and set apart as a national
park for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of the Philippine
Islands.
Sec. 2. Such national parks are hereby declared
game refuges and bird sanctuaries, and except as herein provided, it
shall be unlawful for any person to hunt, take, wound or kill, or in
any manner disturb or drive away therefrom, any wild bird or wild
animal, take or destroy the nests or eggs of such birds, or take or
kill any fish or shellfish in the said parks.
Sec. 3. Subject to the general executive control
and supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
the parks established under this Act shall be under the immediate
direction and administration of the Director of Forestry.
Sec. 4. The Director of Forestry shall with the
approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, make
and publish regulations:
(a) For the protection, care, management, control,
maintenance, and improvement of said parks, and for the use and
enjoyment thereof;
(b) For the granting of licenses for the cutting of
timber or other forest products subject to the provisions of Act
Numbered Thirty-six hundred and seventy-four in cases where the cutting
of such timber and other forest product is deemed necessary in order to
control the attacks of insects or diseases or otherwise conserve and
enhance the beauty of the scenery, or to improve the surroundings of
the natural or historic objects within the said parks;
(c) For the preservation of game, birds, fish and
other animals therein;
(d) For the destruction of such animals and such
plant life as may be detrimental to the use of any portion of said
parks;
(e) For the use or occupancy of suitable portions of
said parks under lease awarded to the highest bidder, for periods not
exceeding twenty years, or under provisional annual permit as may be
deemed advisable in the public interest, subject to the general
restrictions contained in the Public Land Law; for the construction of
buildings for ordinary habitation, for purposes of trade and industry,
or for the accommodation of persons resorting to the parks: Provided,
That no natural curiosity, wonders or objects of interest shall be
leased, rented or granted to any person on such terms and conditions as
to interfere with the free access to them by the public;
(f) For the specification of the class, type and
style of buildings and other structures to be erected in the parks and
the materials with which they are to be built;
(g) For the construction, operation and maintenance
of roads, trails waterworks, sewerage fire protection, and sanitation
systems and other public utilities within the parks; Provided, That the
operation of privately owned public utilities authorized to operate in
a national park and the fixing of the rates thereof shall be subject to
the provisions of the Public Service Law;
(h) For the preservation of the public health and
prevention of spread of disease; and
(i) For all purposes necessary to carry this Act into
effect according to its true intent and meaning: Provided, That no
regulation shall be promulgated nor shall any construction work or
sanitary measure be executed which, if undertaken by the Government,
would be under the supervision of the Bureau of Public Works or the
Philippines Health Service, without the approval of the Director of
Public Works or the Director of Health as the case may be.
Sec. 5. The Director of Forestry shall be
authorized, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, to collect fees and impose conditions for the use
and enjoyment of the national parks, in accordance with the provisions
hereof The provincial treasurers of the provinces where the parks are
situated, shall act as agents of the Director of Forestry for the
collection of revenues and fees derived from national parks.
Sec. 6. A sum not to exceed one hundred
thousand pesos per annum is hereby set aside from the sums
collected under the provisions of this Act to carry out the purposes
hereof Said sum shall be included in the annual appropriation acts
beginning from the year nineteen hundred and thirty-three and shall be
made available for the maintenance, operation and improvement of the
parks established hereunder, including the construction, maintenance,
repair of roads, trails, monuments, and necessary buildings within the
parks; for the salaries, wages and traveling expenses of the necessary
personnel; for the purchase of the necessary supplies and equipment;
and for such other expenditures as may be deemed necessary to carry out
properly and effectively the purposes of this Act.
Sec. 7. Upon the, recommendation of the Director
of Forestry, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources is
hereby authorized to appoint an advisory committee for each national
park established, such committee to be composed of not more than five
members, one of whom shall be the provincial governor and another a
resident of the province in which the national park is located:
Provided, however, That should the park comprised more than one
province, the respective governors of the provinces so comprised shall
become e ex-officio members of the advisory committee: Provided,
further, That in case of parks of historical or scientific value or
other wise, the Director of the Bureau of Science or such citizens as
are duly qualified in special lines to carry the subjects and purposes
for which the park is established shall be appointed also as members
thereof. Said advisory committee shall only aid the Director of
Forestry and the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the
administration of such parks. Members of such advisory committees shall
serve without compensation.
Sec. 7-A. Officers and employees of the Bureau of
Forestry who may be designated in writing by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Commerce upon the recommendation of the Director of
Forestry shall, in addition to the performance of their duties
prescribed under the forest laws and regulations, act as peace officers
for the purpose of maintaining peace and order within national parks.
As peace officers, they shall exercise police supervision over national
parks, and may arrest any person found in any place within national
parks under suspicious circumstances as reasonably tending to show that
such person has committed or is about to commit an offense against the
provisions of this Act or any other law or pertinent regulation.
Any officer or employee of the Bureau of Forestry making arrest under
the provisions of this Act shall without unnecessary delay and within
the time prescribed in the Revised Penal Code, take the person arrested
to the proper court or judge to be dealt with according to law.
Sec. 8. Any person, association or corporation who
shall violate any provision of this Act or regulations promulgated
thereunder or shall without permit or license occupy any portion of the
national parks, or shall in any manner destroy or damage the timber or
other forest products or forest cover therein or shall mutilate, deface
or destroy objects of natural beauty or of scenic value within the
national parks, except as otherwise provided in this Act, shall be
liable to a fine of four times the regular Government charges on the
timber or other forest products so unlawfully destroyed, and in
addition thereto suffer an imprisonment for not less than four months
nor more than six months Provided, That if the area is reforested, or
under reforestation, the Government may in addition to the penalties
herein prescribed, recover in civil action double the actual damages
sustained as determined by the value of the property destroyed and the
detriment to the vegetation thereof; Provided, however, That any person
who shall, without license or permit, hunt, capture, kill, willfully
disturb or drive away any kind of birds, fish or animals within the
national parks shall be subject to the penalties provided for under Act
Numbered Twenty-five hundred and ninety, entitled "An Act for the
protection of game and fish" as amended: Provided, further, That in the
case of a company or corporation, the president or manager shall be
directly responsible for the acts of his employees or laborers if it is
proved that the latter acted with his knowledge; otherwise, the
liability, shall extend only as far as the fine is concerned: And
provided, finally, That the Court shall, upon conviction, order the
eviction of the offender from the land and that all timber or other
forest products collected or removed or any construction or improvement
made thereon by the offender shall be forfeited to the Government.
Sec. 9. Upon the express or implicit approval of
this Act by the President of the United States, as provided in section
nine of 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.
Approved: February 1, 1932
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