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This page features the full text of
Republic Act No. 7881
AN
ACT AMENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6657, ENTITLED "AN
ACT INSTITUTING A COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM PROGRAM TO PROMOTE
SOCIAL
JUSTICE AND INDUSTRIALIZATION, PROVIDING THE MECHANISM FOR ITS
IMPLEMENTATION,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES"
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 7881
AN
ACT AMENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6657, ENTITLED "AN
ACT INSTITUTING A COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM PROGRAM TO PROMOTE
SOCIAL
JUSTICE AND INDUSTRIALIZATION, PROVIDING THE MECHANISM FOR ITS
IMPLEMENTATION,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES"
SECTION
1. Section 3, Paragraph (b) of
Republic Act No. 6657 is hereby amended to read as follows:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"Sec.
3. Definitions. — For the purpose
of this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise:
chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred"(b) Agriculture,
Agricultural Enterprise or Agricultural Activity means the cultivation
of the soil, planting of crops, growing of fruit trees, including the
harvesting
of such farm products, and other farm activities and practices
performed
by a farmer in conjunction with such farming operations done by persons
whether natural or juridical."
Sec.
2. Section 10 of Republic Act
No. 6657 is hereby amended to read as follows:chan
robles virtual law library
"Sec.
10. Exemptions and Exclusions.
—chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred"(a) Lands
actually, directly and exclusively used for parks, wildlife, forest
reserves,
reforestation, fish sanctuaries and breeding grounds, watersheds and
mangroves
shall be exempt from the coverage of this Act.
"(b) Private
lands actually, directly and exclusively used for prawn farms and
fishponds
shall be exempt from the coverage of this Act: Provided, That
said
prawn farms and fishponds have not been distributed and Certificate of
Land Ownership Award (CLOA) issued to agrarian reform beneficiaries
under
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
"In
cases where the fishponds or prawn farms have been subjected to the
Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law, by voluntary offer to sell, or commercial farms
deferment
or notices of compulsory acquisition, a simple and absolute majority of
the actual regular workers or tenants must consent to the exemption
within
one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act. When
the workers or tenants do not agree to this exemption, the fishponds or
prawn farms shall be distributed collectively to the
worker-beneficiaries
or tenants who shall form a cooperative or association to manage the
same.
"In
cases where the fishponds or prawn farms have not been subjected to the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, the consent of the farm workers
shall
no longer be necessary, however, the provision of Section 32-A hereof
on
incentives shall apply."
"(c) Lands
actually, directly and exclusively used and found to be necessary for
national
defense, school sites and campuses, including experimental farm
stations
operated by public or private schools for educational purposes, seeds
and
seedling research and pilot production center, church sites and
convents
appurtenant thereto, mosque sites and Islamic centers appurtenant
thereto,
communal burial grounds and cemeteries, penal colonies and penal farms
actually worked by the inmates, government and private research and
quarantine
centers and all lands with eighteen percent (18%) slope and over,
except
those already developed, shall be exempt from the coverage of this Act."
Sec.
3. Section 11 Paragraph 1 is
hereby amended to read as follows:chan
robles virtual law library
"Sec.
11. Commercial Farming. — Commercial
farms, which are private agricultural lands devoted to saltbeds, fruit
farms, orchards, vegetable and cut-flower farms, and cacao, coffee and
rubber plantations, shall be subject to immediate compulsory
acquisition
and distribution after ten (10) years from the effectivity of this Act.In
the case of new farms, the ten-year period shall begin from the first
year
of commercial production and operation, as determined by the DAR.During
the ten-year period, the Government shall initiate steps necessary to
acquire
these lands, upon payment of just compensation for the land and the
improvements
thereon, preferably in favor of organized cooperatives or associations
which shall thereafter manage the said lands for the
workers-beneficiaries."
Sec.
4. There shall be incorporated
after Section 32 of Republic Act No. 6657 a new section to read as
follows:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"Sec.
32-A. Incentives. — Individuals
or entities owning or operating fishponds and prawn farms are hereby
mandated
to execute within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act an
incentive
plan with their regular fishpond or prawn farmworkers or fishpond or
prawn
farm workers' organization, if any, whereby seven point five percent
(7.5%)
of their net profit before tax from the operation of the fishpond or
prawn
farms are distributed within sixty (60) days at the end of the fiscal
year
as compensation to regular and other pond workers in such ponds over
and
above the compensation they currently receive."In
order to safeguard the right of the regular fishpond or prawn farm
workers
under the incentive plan, the books of the fishpond or prawn farm
owners
shall be subject to periodic audit or inspection by certified public
accountants
chosen by the workers.
"The
foregoing provision shall not apply to agricultural lands subsequently
converted to fishpond or prawn farms provided the size of the land
converted
does not exceed the retention limit of the landowner."
Sec.
5. There shall be incorporated
after Section 65 of Republic Act No. 6657 new sections to read as
follows:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"Sec.
65-A. Conversion into Fishpond
and Prawn Farms. — No conversion of public agricultural lands into
fishponds
and prawn farms shall be made except in situations where the provincial
government with the concurrence of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources (BFAR) declares a coastal zone as suitable for fishpond
development.In
such case, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
shall
allow the lease and development of such areas: Provided, That
the
declaration shall not apply to environmentally critical projects and
areas
as contained in title (A) sub-paragraph two, (B-5) and (C-1) and title
(B), number eleven (11) of Proclamation No. 2146, entitled "Proclaiming
Certain Areas and Types of Projects as Environmentally Critical and
Within
the Scope of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System
established
under Presidential Decree No. 1586," to ensure the protection of river
systems, aquifers and mangrove vegetations from pollution and
environmental
degradation: Provided, further, That the approval shall be in
accordance
with a set of guidelines to be drawn up and promulgated by the DAR and
the BFAR: Provided, furthermore, That small-farmer cooperatives
and organizations shall be given preference in the award of the
Fishpond
Lease Agreement (FLAs).chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred"No
conversion of more than five (5) hectares of private lands to fishpond
and prawn farms shall be allowed after the passage of this Act, except
when the use of the land is more economically feasible and sound for
fishpond
and/or prawn farm, as certified by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources (BFAR), and a simple and absolute majority of the regular
farm
workers or tenants agree to the conversion, the Department of Agrarian
Reform, may approve applications for change in the use of the land: Provided,
finally, That no piecemeal conversion to circumvent the provisions
of this Act shall be allowed.In
these cases where the change of use is approved, the provisions of
Section
32-A hereof on incentives shall apply."
"Sec.
65-B. Inventory. — Within one
(1) year from the effectivity of this Act, the BFAR shall undertake and
finish an inventory of all government and private fishponds and prawn
farms,
and undertake a program to promote the sustainable management and
utilization
of prawn farms and fishponds.No
lease under Section 65-A hereof may be granted until after the
completion
of the said inventory.chan
robles virtual law library
"The
sustainable management and utilization of prawn farms and fishponds
shall
be in accordance with the effluent standards, pollution charges and
other
pollution control measures such as, but not limited to, the quantity of
fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals used, that may be
established
by the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), the Environmental
Management
Bureau (EMB), and other appropriate government regulatory bodies, and
existing
regulations governing water utilization, primarily Presidential Decree
No. 1067, entitled "A Decree Instituting A Water Code, Thereby Revising
and Consolidating the Laws Governing the Ownership, Appropriation,
Utilization,
Exploitation, Development, Conservation and Protection of Water
Resources."
"Sec.
65-C. Protection of Mangrove
Areas. — In existing Fishpond Lease Agreements (FLAs) and those that
will
be issued after the effectivity of this Act, a portion of the fishpond
area fronting the sea, sufficient to protect the environment, shall be
established as a buffer zone and be planted to specified mangrove
species
to be determined in consultation with the regional office of the DENR.The
Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources shall provide the
penalties
for any violation of this undertaking as well as the rules for its
implementation."
"Sec.
65-D. Change of Crops. — The
change of crops to commercial crops or high value crops shall not be
considered
as a conversion in the use or nature of the land. The
change in crop should, however, not prejudice the rights of tenants or
leaseholders should there be any and the consent of a simple and
absolute
majority of the affected farm workers, if any, shall first be obtained."
Sec.
6. There shall be incorporated
after Section 73 of Republic Act No. 6657 a new section to read as
follows:chan
robles virtual law library
"Sec.
73-A. Exception. — The provisions
of Section 73, paragraph (E), to the contrary notwithstanding, the sale
and/or transfer of agricultural land in cases where such sale, transfer
or conveyance is made necessary as a result of a bank's foreclosure of
the mortgaged land is hereby permitted."
Sec.
7. Separability Clause. — If
for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is declared null
and
void, no other section provision or part thereof shall be affected and
the same shall remain in full force and effect.
chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
Sec.
8. Effectivity Clause. — This
Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at
least
two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved:
February
20, 1995
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