Article 64p. 64

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS STATUTES and IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS

The Government may explore, develop, and exploit such

petroleum reservation either by itself or through its

instrumentalities, or through competent persons under

a contract of service, in accordance with article five of

this Act. Proposals by qualified persons to carry out such

work for the Government as independent contractor or

contractors shall be filed with the Director of Mines who

shall

forward

the

same

with

his

findings

and

recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture and

Natural Resources who, in turn, shall submit the same

with

his recommendations to the President of the

Philippines. The President is hereby authorized to take

such necessary action as he may deem proper on such

proposals

and

for

this

purpose,

may

execute

the

necessary contract or contracts for and in behalf of the

Government. In the event such contract is executed, the

same

shall

be

submitted

to

the

Congress

of

the

Philippines for its approval.

No petroleum reservation may be established over any

areas

covered

by

application

for

Exploration

or

Exploitation Concession already filed or granted. If at any

time after the establishment of a petroleum reservation,

the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, after

due investigation, should find it to the best interest of

the Government, that any area within the reservation

should

be

opened

to

Exploration

or

Exploitation

Concession under the provisions of this Act, such area or

areas may be recommended to be released from the

reservation

and

declared

open

to

Exploration

or

Exploitation Concession under this Act by an executive

proclamation of the President concurred in by a joint

resolution of the Congress of the Philippines.

ARTICLE 14.Free areas. — All lands within the territorial

limits of the Philippines including those submerged

beneath seas, bays, lakes, rivers, lagoons, or the territorial

waters, or on the continental shelf, or its analogue in an

archipelago, but which are not within the National

Reserve Areas, or Petroleum Reservations, or covered by

valid and existing Exploration or Exploitation Concession,

or

Petroleum

Drilling

Leases

acquired

under

the

Petroleum Act (Act No. 2932), or of petroleum mining

claims located and held under the Act of Congress of

July first, nineteen hundred and two, as amended, are

called Free Areas and as such are open to application for

Exploration Concession by any duly qualified person.

Application for said areas shall be filed with the Director

of Mines in accordance with the provisions of article

twenty-eight of this Act.

ARTICLE 15.National Reserve Areas. — Areas which have

been

included

in

any

Exploration

or

Exploitation

Concession but which have been subsequently given up

by the concessionaire voluntarily or in accordance with

the requirement of articles fifty and fifty-three of this

Act; or areas covered by Exploration or Exploitation

Concession which have expired or have been cancelled;

or areas which have been included within any of the two

kinds of concession but which are found to be in excess

the

maximum

areas

allowed

by

this

Act

for such

concessions, are called National Reserve Areas, and as

such

may

be

applied

either

for

Exploration

or

Exploitation Concession by duly qualified persons only

after the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources

shall

have

first

announced

by

means

of

notices

published in the Official Gazette and in one daily English

newspaper of general circulation published in the City of

Manila, at least once a month for three consecutive

months, that said lands duly described are ready for

disposition and that application therefor may be filed

within a certain date fixed in the notice. Application for

such areas shall be filed with the Director of Mines in

accordance with article twenty-eight of this Act, and the

concession

may

be

granted

by

the

Secretary

of

Agriculture

and

Natural

Resources

in

favor

of

the

applicant whose offer shall be found best to serve the

interest of the Government.

ARTICLE 16.Lands covered by concessions are subject to

public easements. — All lands covered by concessions

granted

under

this

Act

shall

be

subject to public

easement established or recognized by existing or future

laws:

Provided,

That

the

rights

of

the

petroleum

concessionaire to search, prospect, and drill for, produce,

extract, transport, store, process, and treat petroleum on,

under, and from said lands, and other rights granted to

him under this Act are recognized: And provided, further,

That in case public easement shall be established after

the

effective

date

of

the

concession

contract

the

concessionaire

shall

be

paid

just compensation for

actual damages that he may suffer as a consequence

thereof. (Amendments to R.A. No. 387 (Petroleum Act of

1949), Republic Act No. 3098, [June 17, 1961])

ARTICLE

17.Operations

of

concessionaire

subject

to

existing

mining

rights.

—

The

operations

of

the

concessionaire under the provisions of this Act shall be

subject to existing mining rights, grants, permits, leases,

and concessions in respect of substances other than

petroleum and to existing petroleum rights, grants,

leases, or concessions.

ARTICLE

18.Right

of

Government

to

establish

reservations or grant rights. — Concessions granted

under this Act are subject to the right of the Government

to

establish

reservations

other

than

petroleum

reservations, to grant mining rights, permits, leases, and

concessions

in

respect

of

substances

other

than

petroleum, and to grant rights other than mining rights

in,

on,

or under any of the lands covered by the

concession granted under this Act, provided that the

rights

of

the

petroleum

concessionaire

to

search,

prospect, and drill for, produce, extract, transport, store,

process, and treat petroleum on, under, and from, said

lands, and the other rights granted to him under this Act

are not impaired or unreasonably interfered with.

ARTICLE 19.Additional benefits to the Government in

certain cases. — In the disposition of the National

Reserve Areas and in case of conflicts of applications for

concessions, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural

Resources

may

require

additional

benefits

to

the

Government over and above the minimum requirements

provided for in this Act. These additional benefits may

include, but shall not be restricted to, bonuses or cash

payments made singly or on installments over a period

of time; or increased royalty on the quantity of oil

produced; or undertakings in addition to those required

by law for the promotion of education, public health,

social

welfare

and

amelioration,

and

other

public

services;

or

increased

work

obligations

on

the

concession.

ARTICLE 20.Right to enter private land. — Exploration

and exploitation concessionaires are granted the right to

enter upon private lands covered by their concessions for

the purpose of conducting geological or geophysical

studies,

with

the

right

to use all instruments and

apparatus necessary to carry out such studies, subject to

the

obligations

to

indemnify

the

owner

or

legal

occupant of the land for all material damage suffered by

the property, its annexes or appurtenances as a result of

such

studies,

provided

that

in

no

case

shall

the

occupancy of private buildings, yards or gardens be

authorized against the will of their owner.

In the event that the right granted in this article shall be

denied by the owner of the private land or by its legal

occupant, the concessionaire may apply for and, upon

posting such bond as may be fixed and approved by the

Court of First Instance of the province where the land is

situated, the court shall issue an order allowing such

right pending the final determination of the proper

amount that shall be paid by the concessionaire to the

landowner or legal occupant.

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