Section 1. Sec. 3, Paragraph (b) of Republic Act No. 6657
is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 3. Definitions. — For the purpose of this Act,
unless the context indicates otherwise:
"(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:
"Sec. 10. Exemptions and Exclusions. —
"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 Sec. 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:
"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 Sec. 32 of Republic Act No. 6657 a new section to read as follows:
"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 Sec. 65 of Republic Act No. 6657 new sections to read as follows:
"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).
"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 Sec. 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 Sec. 65-A hereof may be granted until after the completion of the said
inventory.
"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 Sec. 73 of Republic Act No. 6657 a new section to read as follows:
"Sec. 73-A. Exception. — The provisions of Sec. 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.
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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