REPUBLIC ACT NO. 3985 - AN ACT TO
AMEND SECTIONS THREE AND ELEVEN OF COMMONWEALTH ACT NUMBERED FOUR HUNDRED
AND FIFTY-TWO, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "THE PASTURE LAND ACT," AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
Section 1. Section three
of Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hundred and fifty-two is amended to
read as follows:
"Sec. 3. The Bureau of Forestry shall have
jurisdiction and authority over the administration, protection, and
management of pasture lands and over the granting of leases or permits
for pasture purposes to any citizen of lawful age of the Philippines
and any corporation or association of which at least sixty per centum
of the capital belongs wholly to the citizens of the Philippines, and
which is organized and constituted under the laws of the Philippines,
for an area of not more than two thousand hectares in accordance with
the provisions of this Act. Such leases shall run for a period of not
more than twenty-five years, but may be renewed once for another period
of not to exceed twenty-five years, in case the lessee shall have made
important improvements, which in the discretion of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, justify a renewal.
"However, no pasture permit or lease shall be granted in provinces
which, according to the latest official population census, are
inhabited by members of the cultural minorities without a prior
inspection conducted jointly by representatives of the Bureau of
Forestry and of the Commission on National Integration and a
certification by said representatives that no member of the national
cultural minorities actually occupy any portion of the area applied for
under pasture or lease."
Sec. 2. Section eleven of the same Act, as amended,
is further amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 11. Any person, corporation, or association of
persons who occupies or uses any part of the public domain for grazing
purposes without lease or permit in violation of the provisions of this
Act, or who, having obtained such lease or permit uses said part of the
public domain for agricultural purposes, shall be punished by a fine of
not less than one thousand pesos nor more than two thousand pesos and
by imprisonment of not more than six months. In case of a corporation
or association, the president, managing director or manager thereof
shall be held criminally liable. Any lease or permit herein granted
shall be automatically cancelled upon violation of any of the
provisions of this Act or of any rules or regulations promulgated
thereunder.
"Any person responsible for the issuance of a pasture permit or lease
in violation of the provisions of the second paragraph of Section three
of this Act shall be liable for the penalties herein imposed.
"However, no member of the national cultural minorities who has
occupied any forest zone in good faith for more than five years prior
to the approval of this Act shall be subject to the penalty prescribed
herein. Should the area so occupied be found more suitable for
agricultural than for timber purposes, the same shall be disposed of in
favor of the actual occupants under the provisions of Commonwealth Act
Numbered One hundred and forty-one, subject to Republic Act Numbered
One thousand eight hundred eighty-eight, as amended."
Sec. 3. Any or all Acts, rules and regulations and
executive orders contrary to or inconsistent with the foregoing
provisions of law are hereby repealed.
Sec. 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Approved: June 18, 1964
|