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SEC. 36. Whenever in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior it shall be in the public interest to reserve a town site from the public land or to acquire lands for such purpose by the exercise of the right of eminent domain, he shall direct the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to have made a survey of the exterior boundaries of the land which he deems it wise so to reserve or acquire.
SEC. 37. Upon the completion and return of the survey mentioned in section thirty-six, the Secretary of the Interior shall forward the same to the Philippine Commission with his recommendations.
SEC. 38. The Commission, if it approve the recommendations of the Secretary of the interior, shall pass a resolution, reserving the land surveyed, or such part thereof as it may deem wise, as a town site, and a certified copy of such resolution shall be sent to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands who shall record the same in the records of his office and forward a certified copy of such record to the registrar of the province in which the surveyed land lies.
SEC. 39. It shall then be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, having recorded the resolution of the Commission and the preliminary survey accompanying the same, to direct a subdivision and plat of the land, in accordance with the directions contained in the resolution approving the same, if such resolution contain directions as to the method of subdivision, or, if it contain no such direction, then in a manner which shall to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands seem best adapted to the convenience and interest of the public and the residents of the future town.
SEC. 40. The Commission, by resolution, or in the absence of action in this regard by the Commission, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, shall reserve from the land to be platted, lots of sufficient size and convenient situation for public uses, as well as the necessary avenues, streets, alleys, parks, and plazas.
SEC. 41. The plat of the subdivision shall designate certain lots as business lots and the remainder as residence lots, and shall also reserve and note the lots of land owned by private individuals as evidenced by record titles, or as possessed and claimed by them as private property: Provided, however, That 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.
SEC. 42. All lots, whether public or private, contained in the exterior boundaries shall be platted and numbered upon a general plan or system.
SEC. 43. The plat of the subdivision of the reserved town site thus prepared under the supervision of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Interior for presentation to the Commission for its consideration, modification, amendment, or approval.
SEC. 44. The resolution of the Commission approving the plat shall provide whether the proceeds derived from the sale of lots shall be covered into the Insular Treasury as general insular funds, or as a special fund to be devoted to public improvements in or near the town site, and thereafter the receipts from the sale of lots shall be applied as provided in the resolution of the Commission.
SEC. 45. Where the proceeds of the sale are to constitute a fund to be devoted to public improvements in or near the town site, the same shall be expended as provided by law or resolution of the Commission.
SEC. 46. When the plat of subdivision is approved by the Commission it shall be certified to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, together with the resolution approving the same, and the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall record the same in the records of his office and shall forward a certified copy of such record to the registrar of the province in which the land lies, to be by such registrar recorded in the records of his office.
SEC. 47. All lots except those claimed by or belonging to private owners and claimants and excepting such lots and tracts as may be reserved for parks, public buildings, and other public uses, shall be sold under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, as hereinafter in this chapter provided, and the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, shall prescribe rules and regulations for the disposal of lots hereunder.
SEC. 48. All lots in the reservation which are subject to sale as above provided, shall, if in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior the value of the lots, is sufficiently known to make an appraisement useful, be appraised by a committee to be appointed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 49. The lots in any such town site thus established and subject to sale, shall, after the approval and recording the plat of subdivision as above provided, and after due advertisement, be sold at public auction to the highest bidder; but no bid shall be accepted, in case of appraised lots, if the bid does not equal two-thirds of the appraised value, and in the case of lots not appraised the bid shall not be accepted if in the judgment of the. Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands and the Secretary of the Interior the bid is an inadequate price for the lot.
SEC. 50. Not more than two residence lots and two business lots in any one town site shall be sold to any one person, corporation, or association without the specific approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 51. Lots which have been offered for sale in the manner o herein prescribed, and for which no satisfactory bid has been received, shall be again offered for sale after due advertisement, and if at the second sale no satisfactory bid is received, they may be sold at private sale by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands for not less than their value, as appraised by a committee to be appointed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 52. In any case in which, in the opinion of the Commission, it shall be necessary to condemn private lands within the reserved or proposed limits of a town site, either for streets, alleys, parks, or as lots for public buildings or other public uses, the Commission shall pass a resolution declaring the necessity for the same, which resolution shall be certified to the Attorney-General, who shall at once begin proceedings for the condemnation of the lands described in the resolution, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.
SEC. 53. Town sites constituted under the provisions of this chapter on land forming a part of an existing municipality shall remain within the jurisdiction of such municipality until taken therefrom by legislative action of the Commission.
Provisions on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).