Article 13p. 13

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS STATUTES and IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS

TITLE V Reservations

CHAPTER XI Town Site Reservations

SECTION 71. Whenever it shall be considered to be in the

public interest to found a new town, the Secretary of

Agriculture and Commerce shall direct the Director of

Lands to have a survey made by his Bureau of the

exterior boundaries of the site on which such town is to

be established, and upon the completion of the survey

he shall send the same to said Secretary, with his

recommendations.

SECTION

72.

The

Secretary

of

Agriculture

and

Commerce, if he approves the recommendations of the

Director

of

Lands,

shall

submit

the

matter to the

President

to

the

end

that

the

latter

may issue a

proclamation reserving the land surveyed, or such part

thereof as he may deem proper, as a town site, and a

certified copy of such proclamation shall be sent to the

Director of Lands and another to the register of deeds of

the province in which the surveyed land lies.

SECTION 73. It shall then be the duty of the Director of

Lands, after having recorded the proclamation of the

President and the survey accompanying the same, and

having completed the legal proceedings prescribed in

chapter thirteen of this Act, to direct a subdivision in

accordance with the instructions of the Secretary of

Agriculture

and

Commerce,

if

there

shall

be

such

instructions, and if there shall not be any, then in the

manner which may to the Director of Lands seem best

adapted to the convenience and interest of the public

and the residents of the future town.

SECTION 74. The plat of the subdivision shall designate

certain lots for commercial and industrial uses and the

remainder as residence lots, and shall also reserve and

note the lots owned by private individuals as evidenced

by record titles, or possessed or claimed by them as

private property. Such lots, whether public or private,

shall be numbered upon a general plan or system.

The plat prepared by the Director of Lands shall be

submitted

to

the

Secretary

of

Agriculture

and

Commerce for consideration, modification, amendment,

or approval.

SECTION 75. Unless the necessary reservations are made

in the proclamation of the President, the Director of

Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture

and Commerce, shall reserve out of the land by him to

be subdivided lots of sufficient size and convenient

situation for public use, as well as the necessary avenues,

streets,

alleyways,

parks

and

squares. The avenues,

streets, alleys, parks, plazas, and lots shall be laid out on

the plat as though the lands owned or claimed by

private persons were part of the public domain and part

of

the

reservation,

with

a

view

to

the

possible

subsequent

purchase

or

condemnation

thereof,

if

deemed necessary by the proper authorities.

SECTION 76. At any time after the subdivision has been

made, the President may, in case the public interest

requires it, reserve for public purposes any lot or lots of

the land so reserved and not disposed of.

SECTION 77. If, in order to carry out the provisions of this

chapter, it shall be necessary to condemn private lands

within the limits of the new town, the President shall

direct the Solicitor-General or officer acting in his stead

to at once begin proceedings for condemnation, in

accordance with the provisions of existing law.

SECTION 78. When the plat of subdivision has been

finally approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and

Commerce, the Director of Lands shall record the same

in the records of his office and shall forward a certified

copy of such record to the register of deeds of the

province in which the land lies, to be by such register

recorded in the records of his office.

SECTION

79.

All

lots,

except

those

claimed

by

or

belonging to private parties and those reserved for

parks, buildings, and other public uses, shall be sold,

after due notice, at public auction to the highest bidder,

after

the

approval

and

recording

of

the

plat

of

subdivision as above provided, but no bid shall be

accepted that does not equal at least two-thirds of the

appraised

value,

nor

shall

bids

be

accepted

from

persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships not

authorized to purchase public lands for commercial,

residential or industrial purposes under the provisions of

this

Act.

The

provisions

of sections twenty-six and

sixty-five of this Act shall be observed in so far as they

are applicable. Lots for which satisfactory bids have not

been received shall be again offered for sale, under the

same conditions as the first time, and if they then

remain unsold, the Director of Lands shall be authorized

to sell them at private sale for not less than two-thirds of

their appraised value.

SECTION 80. All funds derived from the sale of lots shall

be covered into the Philippine Treasury as part of the

general funds.

SECTION 81. Not more than two residence lots and two

lots for commercial and industrial uses in any one town

site shall be sold to any one person, corporation, or

association

without

the

specific

approval

of

the

Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce.

SECTION 82. The Assembly shall have the power at any

time to modify, alter, rescind, repeal, annul, and cancel,

with or without conditions, limitation, exceptions, or

reservations,

all

and

any dispositions made by the

executive branch of the Philippine Government by virtue

of this chapter, and the exercise of this power shall be

understood as reserved in all cases, as an inherent

condition thereof.

CHAPTER

XII

Reservations

for

Public

and

Semi-Public Purposes

SECTION 83. Upon the recommendation of the Secretary

of

Agriculture

and

Commerce,

the

President

may

designate by proclamation any tract or tracts of land of

the public domain as reservations for the use of the

Commonwealth

of

the Philippines or of any of its

branches, or of the inhabitants thereof, in accordance

with regulations prescribed for this purpose, or for

quasi-public uses or purposes when the public interest

requires it, including reservations for highways, rights of

way

for

railroads,

hydraulic

power

sites,

irrigation

systems, communal pastures or leguas communales,

public

parks,

public

quarries,

public

fishponds,

workingmen's village and other improvements for the

public benefit.

SECTION 84. Upon recommendation of the Secretary of

Agriculture

and

Commerce,

the

President,

may

by

proclamation, designate any tract or tracts of the public

domain

for

the

exclusive

use

of

the non-Christian

Filipinos,

including

in

the

reservation,

insofar

as

practicable, the lands used or possessed by them, and

granting to each member not already the owner, by title

or gratuitous patent, of four or more hectares of land, the

use and benefit only of a tract of land not to exceed four

hectares for each male member over eighteen years of

age or the head of a family. As soon as the Secretary of

the

Interior

shall

certify

that

the

majority

of

the

non-Christian inhabitants of any given reservation have

advanced sufficiently in civilization, then the President

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