PROVIDING FOR THE DISPOSITION, DEVELOPMENT AND UTILIZATION OF GUANO DEPOSITS FOR FERTILIZER PURPOSES

WHEREAS, the present oil crisis has brought about shortage
and prohibitive prices of fertilizer to the detriment of agricultural
production;

WHEREAS, there have been found throughout the country
several caves and other areas containing guano deposits which may
be utilized even in raw form as fertilizer materials;

WHEREAS, to help alleviate fertilizer shortage and boost
agricultural production, the speedy development and utilization of the
guano resources is now imperative and necessary; and

WHEREAS, in order to encourage the development of these
guano resources, the laws and rules governing applications for permits
to develop them must be simplified and made inexpensive;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution as
Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and
pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General
Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, as amended, do hereby exclude
guano resources from the provisions of the Mining Act (Commonwealth Act
No. 137, as amended), and provide hereunder the manner of disposition
thereof, as follows:

SECTION. 1. Permit to Remove Guano. — No person,
corporation, partnership or association shall be allowed to remove, take
or collect guano deposits for fertilizer purposes within public or
private lands, whether in caves or other areas, except under a permit
duly issued in accordance with the provisions of this Decree.

SEC.
2. Kinds of Permit. — There shall be two kinds of permit
that may be issued under this Decree, namely:

1. Gratuitous permit to be issued to individuals for their
   personal use and to government agencies for official use; and
2. Commercial permit to be issued to persons or corporations or
   partnerships for sale of guano with or without processing.

SEC. 3. Who May be Granted Permit. — Permits under
this Decree may be issued or granted to applicants who have complied
with the requirements provided herein and who possess the following
qualifications:

1. In case of a gratuitous permit, the applicant shall be of legal
   age and a citizen of the Philippines. A government agency may also be
   granted this permit.
2. In case of a commercial permit, the applicant, if an
   individual, shall possess the qualifications prescribed in the preceding
   paragraph and if a partnership or corporation, it should be organized
   under the laws of the Philippines and duly registered with the
   Securities and Exchange Commission, at least sixty per centum
   (60%) of the capital of which is owned and held by citizens of the
   Philippines. A certified copy of its duly registered articles of
   incorporation or partnership should be submitted in support of the
   application.

SEC. 4. Who May Issue the Permit. — Upon
application filed in the prescribed form, the permit shall be issued by
the Director of Mines or by the Mines Regional Officers. As deputies of
the Director of Mines, the Mines Regional Officers shall issue permits
covering areas within their respective jurisdictions.

SEC. 5.
Permit Revocable in Nature. — Permits issued under this Decree
may be revoked at any time by the Director of Mines where in his opinion
public interest so requires or for causes provided hereunder. His
decision, however, may be appealed to the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources within five (5) days from receipt thereof by the party
adversely affected. In either case, the decision shall be immediately
executory. When a permit, however, is revoked through no fault of the
permittee, he shall be entitled to a refund of the fees paid by him in
advance, if any, for the quantity of guano not yet removed at the time
he is duly advised of the revocation.

SEC. 6. Special
Deputies. — In addition to the Mines Regional Officers who are
designated as deputies of the Director of Mines in accordance with
Section 4 hereof, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may
designate any official of an appropriate agency under his Department to
act as deputy of the Director of Mines in each province or city, as the
case may be. The deputies of the Director of Mines shall see to it that
the areas within their jurisdiction having potentials for guano shall
not be encroached upon by any unauthorized person, execute the decisions
and orders of the Director of Mines and/or the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources, and have authority to call for the assistance of
any peace officer within their jurisdiction for the enforcement of such
duties as may be assigned to them.

SEC. 7. Specific Conditions Under Which Permit is
Issued. Permits granted under this Decree shall be subject to the
following terms and conditions:

1. Gratuitous permits shall be for the exclusive personal or
   official use and benefit of the permittee; commercial permits shall be
   for the extraction and sale of guano whether in its natural or processed
   form;
2. Removal or taking of guano shall be confined within the cave
   or area specified in the permit, the location of which shall be
   indicated in a sketch map and properly identified;
3. Under justifiable circumstances, commercial permittees
   shall allow gratuitous permittees to remove or take from the cave or
   area of their permit the quantity of guano specified in their permit
   for personal or government use. In the same manner, gratuitous
   permittees shall allow other permittees to remove or take guano from
   their cave or area;
4. Permittees shall file quarterly with the Director of Mines
   or Mines Regional Officer a sworn statement of the quantity of guano
   removed and the amount of fees paid therefor;
5. The permit or a copy thereof shall be kept at the site of
   operation and shall be made available at all times for inspection by the
   representatives of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
   the Director of Mines, the Mines Regional Officer, or the local
   authorities;
6. The removal or taking of guano for commercial purposes shall
   be made only after proper notice to the Bureau of Internal Revenue or
   its regional office or the municipal treasurer, and the
   corresponding ad valorem tax under the Internal Revenue Code
   is paid based on the gross value of the guano extracted or removed;
7. The permittee shall immediately stop digging and extracting
   guano the moment man-made articles or artifacts arc found. He shall
   notify the Director of National Museum of such findings, in which case,
   the digging shall be under the supervision of the National Museum until
   said artifacts are recovered;
8. The permit shall be subject to existing rights, the
   provisions of existing laws, the provisions of this Decree, and the
   rules and regulations on the matter;
9. More than one permit may be issued to remove guano from
   the same cave or area: Provided, That only one commercial
   permit shall be issued for the same cave or area;
10. The permit shall be surrendered to the Director of Mines
    immediately on the day following its expiration or cancellation;
11. No explosives shall be used in extracting guano; and
12. Such other conditions that the Director of Mines may
    specify in the permit.

SEC. 8. Contents of the Permit. — Permits shall
contain specific instructions and conditions to be complied with by the
permittee as regards its duration, cave or area covered, quantity of
guano to be removed or extracted, reports to be submitted and fees to be
paid in advance.

SEC. 9. Record of Guano Removed or Disposed of. —
Gratuitous permittees shall keep a book or books of accounts wherein
there shall be entered daily the quantity of guano removed and the fees
paid therefor. In the case of commercial permittees, daily entry shall
be made on the quantity of guano extracted and sold, selling prices
thereof, identity and address of buyers and the fees and internal
revenue taxes paid.

SEC. 10. Quantity of Guano Allowed a Permittee. —
A gratuitous permittee shall be allowed to remove or extract not more
than two thousand kilos (2,000 kg.) of guano and a commercial permittee
shall be allowed such quantity as may be specified in the permit.

SEC. 11. Fees. — The permit fee for gratuitous
and commercial permits shall be determined and fixed by the Director of
Mines but the same shall not be less than ten centavos (P0.10) per kilo
of guano removed. Fifty per centum (50%) of such fee shall
accrue to the province and fifty per centum (50%) to the
municipality from where the guano is extracted: Provided, That
in case of cities the whole amount shall accrue to the city concerned.

SEC. 12. Surcharges for Guano Removed in Excess of
the Quantity Authorized in the Permit. — The permittee shall pay
twice the fee due on guano removed or taken in excess of the quantity
authorized in the permit within thirty (30) days after demand.

SEC. 13. Purchase or Sale of Guano Illegally
Extracted. — Any purchase or sale of guano illegally extracted or
removed is prohibited. Violation of this provision shall be punishable
upon conviction by a fine of not less than one thousand pesos (P1,000)
or imprisonment of not exceeding two (2) years or both at the discretion
of the court.

SEC. 14. Inspection by the Director of Mines or
Deputy Concerned. — The Director of Mines or his deputy concerned
may inspect from time to time the operations of the permittee lo find
out if the latter has complied with the conditions of the permit, this
Decree and such rules and regulations that may be promulgated from time
to time by the Director of Mines. Noncompliance by the permittee or
violation of any provision of the permit shall be a cause for the
cancellation thereof and forfeiture of the fees paid in advance.

SEC. 15. Failure to Keep Book of Accounts and Submit
Reports. — Failure of the permittee to keep book or books of
accounts wherein to record all transactions relative to the guano
removed or disposed, or failure to submit the required reports without
justifiable reasons, shall be sufficient ground for cancellation of the
permit and forfeiture of the fees: Provided, That all taxes due
at the time of the cancellation of the permit shall be deemed due and
payable.

SEC. 16. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees,
orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this
Decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 17. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 15th day of March, in the
year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.