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

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 412
• Sections: 18

Preamble

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.

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:

Gratuitous permit to be issued to individuals for their

personal use and to government agencies for official use; and

Commercial permit to be issued to persons or corporations or

partnerships for sale of guano with or without processing.

Section 3 Who May be Granted Permit.

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:

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.

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.

Section 4 Who May Issue the Permit.

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.

Section 5

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.

Section 6 Special Deputies.

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 7

SEC. 7. Specific Conditions Under Which Permit is

Issued. Permits granted under this Decree shall be subject to the

following terms and conditions:

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

The permit shall be surrendered to the Director of Mines

immediately on the day following its expiration or cancellation;

No explosives shall be used in extracting guano; and

Such other conditions that the Director of Mines may

specify in the permit.

Section 8 Contents of 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.

Section 9 Record of Guano Removed or Disposed of.

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.

Section 10 Quantity of Guano Allowed a Permittee.

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.

Section 11 Fees.

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.

Section 12 Surcharges for Guano Removed in Excess of the Quantity Authorized in the Permit.

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.

Section 13 Purchase or Sale of Guano Illegally Extracted.

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.

Section 14 Inspection by the Director of Mines or Deputy Concerned.

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.

Section 15 Failure to Keep Book of Accounts and Submit Reports.

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.

Section 16 Repealing Clause.

SEC. 16. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees,

orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this

Decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 17

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.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E.

MARCOS

President

Republic of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) ALEJANDRO

MELCHOR

Executive Secretary

In order to facilitate the implementation of Presidential Decree

No. 412, the Bureau of Mines issued Mines Administrative Order No.

V-54, dated April 16, 1974, on the development, disposition and

utilization of guano deposits for fertilizer purposes.

Section 4

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.