Amending Section 12 Of Commonwealth Act No. 137, As Amended, And Declaring The Commercial Timber Within The Surigao Mineral Reservation As Available For Disposition And Utilization

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of Presidential Decree No. 295

Amending Section 12 of Commonwealth Act No. 137 and Declaring Commercial Timber within the Surigao Mineral Reservation as Available for Disposition and Utilization

- Proclamation 391 dated March 13, 1939 established the Surigao Mineral Reservation, which covers mineral deposits and mineral lands in the islands north of Mindanao, in the province of Surigao. (Section 11 of Commonwealth Act No. 137)
- Proclamation 721 dated July 9, 1970 declared part of the reservation, consisting of the island of Surigao and all islets pertaining to it in Surigao del Norte, as reverted to the public domain or public forest, allowing commercial utilization of timber found therein.
- The remaining unreverted area contains valuable commercial timber with an estimated volume of more than 2 million cubic meters over 270,107 hectares of upland and mangrove forests.
- Section 12 of Commonwealth Act No. 137 limits the disposition of land proclaimed as mineral reserve under Section 11 for mining purposes only.
- This Decree amends Section 12 of Commonwealth Act No. 137, as amended, by declaring all commercial timber within the remaining unreverted area of the Surigao Mineral Reservation as open and available for disposition and utilization, subject to existing rights and policies, laws, rules and regulations.
- The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall promulgate guidelines/regulations for the effective implementation of this Decree, defining the extent of rights or privileges extended to any license holder in relation to the objectives of the mineral reservation, and prescribing measures to safeguard public interest, particularly of communities that may be affected and ecological requirements for good environment.