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PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1150
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1150 -
AMENDING PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 581 AND REGULATING PANNING OR SLUICING
FOR GOLD INSIDE MINING CLAIMS OR IN PUBLIC OR PRIVATE LANDS
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chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS,
Presidential Decree No. 581 was enacted to curb "highgrading" or the
theft of gold from a mining claim or mining camp which is a serious
problem affecting both the gold mining industry and the
government; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, in order to further strengthen the purposes of Presidential
Decree No. 581, it is necessary to regulate or prohibit certain acts or
activities, among which are gold 'panning' or 'sluicing' in public or
private lands, and the use or possession of raw gold, gold amalgam, or
mercury within a mining claim or mining camp;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, gold panning or sluicing which has been increasing lately
should be a regulated activity, such that while it may provide a source
of lawful livelihood to individuals without resulting in a loss to the
government of foreign exchange or taxes generated by the gold produced
from such activities, necessary safeguards or protective measures be
adopted against such activity as a subterfuge for highgrading
activities;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, "highgraders" use mercury in extracting the gold content from
mined gold-bearing rocks thereby producing what is known as gold
amalgam and in which form the surreptitious extraction of the stolen
gold from the mines or the mine site is greatly facilitated;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, mercury is not a household necessity in a mining camp and the
possession by a mining employee thereof inside the camp gives rise to
the suspicion that the same will be used to amalgamate gold;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, making punishable the unauthorized possession by any person of
raw gold, gold amalgam, or mercury within a mining camp or mining claim
will further strengthen the objectives of Presidential Decree No. 581;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of
the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the
Constitution, do hereby issue this Decree amending Presidential Decree
No. 581, and regulating panning or sluicing for gold inside mining
claims or in public or private lands as follows:cralaw:red
Section 1. Subject to the provisions hereof, the
panning or sluicing of loose sediments for the purpose of extracting
gold from creeks, streams or rivers inside mining claims, and from
private or public lands, shall be allowed.
Section 2. An individual may apply for a permit to
ran or sluice with the Mines Regional Officer having jurisdiction over
the area upon payment of an application fee of P30.00. The permit shall
cover an area of not more than 2,000 square meters and shall be for a
period not exceeding three (3) months renewable for the same period.
Section 3. No permit for panning or sluicing shall be
issued unless the claim owner or landowner or government agency
concerned shall have consented in writing to such panning or sluicing
Provided, however, That if the mining claim or claims are covered by an
operating agreement, the consent shall be given by the operator.
Section 4. It shall be unlawful to employ minors in
any panning or sluicing operation, or to conduct such operations during
nighttime. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 5. The activities to be permitted shall be
limited to panning by hand or sluicing by the use of sluice boxes. No
drilling, blasting, crushing or grinding by machineries or similar
activities shall be allowed. The claim owner or operator, landowner or
government agency concerned shall not be responsible in any manner
whatsoever for damages, injuries or deaths arising out of or resulting
from such operations.
Section 6. All recovered or extracted gold in any
form from panning or sluicing as herein authorized shall be sold only
to authorized dealers as defined in Section 7 hereof: Provided, That
the mining operator, claim owner, or landowner in that order shall have
the preference to buy the gold recovered from their properties:
Provided, further, That authorized buyers shall retain 11-1/2% of the
gross value of the gold bought, 1-1/2% to accrue as ad valorem tax and
10% as royalty to the claim owner, landowner or government agency
concerned, as the case may be: Provided, finally, That if the mining
claim or claims are covered by an agreement, the 10% royalty, except
when there is an agreement to the contrary, shall be divided equally
between the claim owner and the operator.
Section 7. No person shall engage in the business of
buying and selling gold without securing a license from the city or
municipal treasurer of the place where his principal office is located.
He shall keep complete and accurate records of all his transactions
such as the names and addresses of the persons he deals with, the
quantity of gold bought or sold, the consideration paid or received,
and the date of each transaction. Any such person dealing in gold who
fails to comply with these requirements shall, upon conviction, be
penalized with arresto mayor.
Section 8. Any person who shall pan or sluice inside
a mining claim or on private or public lands, without the consent of
the claim owner or operator, private landowner or the government agency
concerned, and without a permit from the Mines Regional Officer shall
be guilty of "highgrading" and shall, upon conviction, be penalized
with arresto mayor. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 9. The unexplained or unauthorized possession
by any person within a mining claim or mining camp of gold in the form
of dust, flakes or grains shall be unlawful and such person shall, upon
conviction, be penalized with arresto mayor.
This Section shall not apply to any person within a mining claim or
mining camp who has in his possession mercury or gold amalgam which is
a necessary and an integral part of an instrument or equipment or to a
dentist or to the operator of the mining claims and its authorized
employees producing mercury as a principal or by-product or to the
possession of mercury or gold amalgam used in the assay laboratory of
the operator of the mining claim or other legitimate possession of
mercury.
For the purpose of this Decree, a gold amalgam is an alley formed by
mercury with gold.
* Section 11. Any person who without a permit sells,
or who knowingly, buys or acquires gold in the form of dust, flakes,
grains, or gold amalgam from persons without a permit shall be guilty
of theft as an accessory and shall, upon conviction, be penalized with
arresto menor in its maximum period.
Section 12. For purposes of this Decree, the term
"claim owner" shall mean a holder of valid and subsisting mining
claim(s). "Sluice box" refers to rectangular, wooden launder provided
with side walls and cross pieces of sawn lumber or round poles,
metallic screen jute cloth or a combination of both, on its floor to
retain gold; "panning" shall mean recovering gold by the use of open
round wooden or metal containers dishpan-like in appearance by skillful
manipulation with hands; and "sluicing" shall mean recovering gold by
the use of sluice boxes.
Section 13. All laws or regulations inconsistent
herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 14. This Decree shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 6th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-seven.
* Copied verbatim from documents obtained directly
from Malacañang Records (missing Section 10).
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