Section 1.
Section s one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and ten of Act
Numbered Two thousand seven hundred nineteen, otherwise known as the
Coal Land Act, as amended, are hereby amended so as to read as follows:
"Section 1.
Coal-bearing lands in the Philippines shall not be disposed of in any
manner except as provided in this Act.
"The ownership and the right to the use of land for agricultural,
industrial, commercial, residential, or for any purpose other than
mining does not include the ownership of, nor the right to extract or
utilize, the coal which may be found on or under the surface. The
ownership of, and the right to extract and utilize the coal included
within all areas for which public agricultural land patents are granted
are excluded and excepted from all such patents. The ownership of, and
the right to extract and utilize the coal included within all areas for
which Torrens titles are granted are excluded and excepted from all
such titles.
"Sec. 2. Any unreserved and unappropriated
coal-bearing lands may be leased by the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources in blocks or tracts of not less than fifty nor more
than twelve hundred hectares each in such manner as may, in the opinion
of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, allow the
economic development and exploitation of the coal deposit: Provided,
That an applicant may be granted a lease or leases on not more than six
separate blocks or tracts of coal land in any one province: And
provided, further, That the aggregate area of all such blocks or tracks
shall not be more than twelve hundred hectares in the whole
Philippines. The lease may be granted to any person twenty-one years of
age or over who is a citizen of the Philippines or to any association,
partnership or corporation organized under the laws of the Philippines:
Provided, That at least sixty per centum of the capital of such
corporation or association is owned and held at all times by such
citizens.
"Sec. 3. Leases under the provisions of this Act
shall be issued upon publication, in the manner and subject to the
rules prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
for a period of not more than twenty-five years, renewable for another
twenty-five years subject to such terms and conditions as may be
authorized by law at the time of such renewal, and no such lease shall
be assigned or sublet except with the consent of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, and in this case only persons,
partnerships, associations, or corporations having the qualifications
required of lessees: Provided, That failure of an applicant to
prosecute his coal lease application with reasonable diligence and to
have the area covered thereby surveyed within one year from the date
said application is filed in the Bureau of Mines shall be considered a
waiver of his aforesaid coal lease application. Every lease shall
contain a clause by which the lessee shall bind himself to comply with
the rules and regulations issued by the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources for the purpose of insuring the exercise of
reasonable diligence, skill, and care in the operation of said property
and for the prevention of undue waste, together with such other rules
and regulations as the said Secretary may make for the protection of
the interests of the Government and for the promotion of the public
welfare. For the privilege of mining, extracting, and disposing of the
coal in the land covered by his lease, the lease shall pay to the
Government of the Philippines through the Collector of Internal
Revenue, such royalties as may be specified in the lease, which shall
not be less than ten centavos per ton of one thousand and sixteen
kilos, to be due and payable upon the removal of the coal from the
locality where mined and an annual rental, payable in advance on the
date of the approval of the lease and on the same date every year
thereafter on the lands covered by such lease, at the rate of two pesos
and fifty centavos per hectare or fraction thereof for each and every
year for the first ten years, and five pesos per hectare or fraction
thereof of each and every year thereafter during the life of the lease:
Provided, That such rental for any year shall be credited against the
royalties as they accrue for that year as provided in this Act: And
provided, further, That such rental and royalties paid during any year
shall be credited against the specific tax provided for in section one
hundred forty-three of the national internal revenue code, as
amended.
"Sec. 4. Any person, association, partnership, or
corporation holding a lease of coal lands under this Act may, at any
time surrender such lease or any portion thereof, and with the approval
of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources and through the
same procedure and upon the same terms and conditions as in the case of
the first lease granted under this Act, secure and hold additional
leases on such blocks or tracts as provided in this Act, covering
additional lands separate from or contiguous to those embraced in the
original lease or leases, but in no event shall the total number of
such lease exceed six in any one province, or the total area embraced
in such original and new leases exceed in the aggregate twelve hundred
hectares in the whole Philippines.
"Sec. 5. Subject to the approval of the Secretary
of Agriculture and Natural Resources, lessees holding under leases
contiguous blocks or areas may consolidate their said leases or
holdings so as to include in a single holding a total of not to exceed
twelve hundred hectares, provided all lessees have at time of such
consolidation complied individually with all their obligations towards
the Government.
"Sec. 6. Each lease shall be for such leasing
block or tract of land as may be offered or applied for, not less than
fifty nor more than twelve hundred hectares of land as hereinabove
provided.
"Sec. 7. Any person, association, partnership or
corporation who, without first securing a coal lease, revocable permit
or license under the provisions of this Act, shall mine and extract
coal belonging to the government and dispose of the same for commercial
purposes, or from an area covered by a coal lease, permit or license of
another person without his permission, shall be guilty of theft, or
qualified theft, as the case may be, and shall be punished, upon
conviction, in accordance with the provisions of the revised penal
code, besides paying compensation for the damage caused thereby:
Provided, That in the case of association, partnership, or corporation,
the president or manager thereof shall be responsible for the acts
committed by such association, partner, or corporation.
"Section 10. That in order to provide for the supply
of local and domestic needs for fuel, the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources may, under such rules and regulations as he may
prescribe in advance, issue to any applicant qualified under section
two of this Act, whether or not he is an applicant for, or holder of,
one or more coal leases under this Act, not more than three limited
licenses or commercial revocable permits granting the right to prospect
for, mine, and dispose of coal belonging to the Government on specified
separate tracts covering an area of not to exceed four hectares each to
any one person, association partnership, or corporation in any one or
more coal fields for a period of not exceeding ten years, on such
conditions not inconsistent with this Act as in his opinion will
promote the coal industry and safeguard the public interest upon
payment of a royalty of fifty centavos per ton for the coal mined in
lieu of the specific tax on coal."
Sec. 2. Sec. 2-A is hereby inserted between
sections two and three of Act Numbered Two Thousand seven hundred
nineteen, as amended, which shall read as follows:
"Sec. 2-A.
In case a coal lease or revocable permit application covers in whole or
in part private land, the same shall be accompanied by the written
authority of the owner of the land: Provided, That in case of refusal
of the owner of the land to grant such written authority, the matter as
well as the amount of compensation to be paid to the owner of the land
shall be fixed by agreement between the applicant and the surface
owner, and in case of their failure to agree as to the conditions of
the granting of the written permission and the amount of compensation
to be paid, all questions issue shall be determined by the court of
first instance of the province in which said land is situated in an
action instituted for the purpose by the applicant and the permission
may be granted by the court as soon as the applicant deposits the
amount fixed as compensation for any resulting damage or files a bond
to be approved by the court sufficient to insure the payment of the
compensation for the owner of the land. The court shall thereupon
determine the compensation for any resulting damage, for the purposes
for which the land has been applied for, and thereafter grant the
written authority required herein. The owner who holds a Torrens title
on his land included in a coal lease shall be entitled to receive five
per cent of the royalty due to the government on coal extracted from
his private land.
Conflicts and disputes arising out of coal lease and/or coal revocable
permit applications shall be submitted to the Director of Mines for
decision: Provided, That the decision or order of the Director of Mines
may be appealed to the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources
within thirty days from the date of its receipts. In case anyone of the
parties should disagree from the decision or order of the Director of
Mines or of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the
matter may be taken to the court of competent jurisdiction within
thirty days from the receipt of such decision or order; otherwise, the
decision of the Director of Mines or the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources as the case may be, shall be final and binding upon
the parties concerned."
Sec. 3. Section s eight and nine of Act Numbered
Two thousand seven hundred nineteen, as amended, are hereby repealed.
Sec. 4. All laws and regulations, or parts
thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are
hereby repealed.
Sec. 5. This Act shall take effect upon its
approval.
Approved: June 18, 1952
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