REORGANIZING THE PRESIDENTIAL ACTION COMMITTEE ON LAND PROBLEMS (PACLAP)

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 832
• Sections: 9

Preamble

WHEREAS, it is the declared policy of the Government to

provide more protection and assistance to small settlers and landholders

and members of cultural minorities in their struggle for recognition of

their right to the land which they occupy;

WHEREAS, social unrest, which sometimes precipitates clashes

among our people, often results from long-drawn disputes between big

landholders and poor, landless settlers, or between Christians and

members of our cultural minorities;

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to direct and coordinate

the activities, particularly the investigation work, of the various

government agencies involved in land problems to ensure their speedy,

peaceful and satisfactory solution;

WHEREAS, the successful intercession of the PACLAP in many

serious and critical land problems has proved the efficacy of an

action-oriented approach to the solution of these problems, and the

necessity of continuing its work in potential land-problem areas;

WHEREAS, there is a need to reconstitute the membership of

the PACLAP due to the implementation of the Integrated Reorganization

Plan and the reorganization of the Department of Agricultural and

Natural Resources into two departments;

NOW, THEEEFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the

Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution,

do hereby order and decree to be part of the law of the land, the

following:

Section 1 Reorganization of the Presidential Action Committee on Land Problems.

SECTION 1. Reorganization of the Presidential Action

Committee on Land Problems.—The Presidential Action Committee on

Land Problems, herein referred to as the PACLAP, created by Executive

Order No. 251, dated July 31, 1970, as amended by Executive Order No.

305, dated March 19, 1971, hereby reorganized as follows:

Secretary of Natural Resources

Chairman

PANAMIN Secretary

Member

Deputy Executive Secretary

"

Undersecretary of Agriculture Member

"

Undersecretary of Justice

"

Undersecretary of Agrarian Reform

"

Undersecretary of National Defense

"

Chief of Constabulary

"

Commissioner of Land Registration

"

Chief, Citizens Legal Assistance Office

"

Director of Lands

"

Director of Forest Development

"

Director of Mines

"

The PACLAP shall have a Policy Body which shall formulate its

policies and submit them for its approval. The Policy Body shall be

composed of the Secretary of Natural Resources, as Chairman, and the

following members: the PANAMIN Secretary, the Deputy Executive

Secretary, the Undersecretary of Agriculture, the Undersecretary of

Justice, the Undersecretary of Agrarian Reform, and the Undersecretary

of National Defense. Said Body shall meet upon the call of its Chairman.

The PACLAP shall also have an Executive Committee which shall

implement its policies and be in charge of its overall operations. It

shall be composed of the Director of Lands, as Chairman, and the

following members: the Director of Forest Development, the Chief of the

Citizens Legal Assistance Office, the Commissioner of the Land

Registration Commission, the Chief of Constabulary, and the Director of

Mines. Said Executive Committee shall meet on call of its Chairman.

The Chairman of the PACLAP may create such subcommittees and positions

as may be necessary to enable the PACLAP to perform its functions and

discharge its duties effectively.

All the government agencies

represented in the membership of the PACLAP and other agencies involved

in land problems or disputes shall be member agencies thereof.

SEC.

2. Functions and duties of the PACLAP.—The PACLAP shall have

the following functions and duties:

Direct and coordinate the activities, particularly the

investigation work, of the various government offices and agencies

involved in land problems or disputes, and streamline administrative

procedures to relieve small settlers and landholders and members of

cultural minorities of the expense and time-consuming delay attendant to

the solution of such problems or disputes;

Refer for immediate action any land problem or dispute brought to

the attention of the PACLAP, to any member agency having jurisdiction

thereof: Provided, That when the Executive Committee decides to

act on a case, its resolution, order or decision thereon, shall have the

force and effect of a regular administrative resolution, order or

decision, and shall be binding upon the parties therein involved and

upon the member agency having jurisdiction thereof;

Recommend to the President innovative, bold and decisive

measures to resolve expeditiously cases involving, among others, (a)

public lands that have been titled in a manifestly erroneous or illegal

manner, and (b) implementation of decisions-resolutions of

administrative/quasi-judicial agencies vested with jurisdiction to

resolve land problems or disputes;

Evolve and implement a system of procedure for the speedy

investigation and resolution of land disputes or problems at provincial

level, if possible;

Undertake a comprehensive study of the causes of land disputes

or problems in the country and recommend to the President of the

Philippines policies and courses of action to avoid or, at least,

minimize their occurrence;

Study and review present policies as embodied in land laws and

administrative rules and regulations, in relation to the need for land

of the agro-industrial sector and the small farmer, with the end in view

of evolving and recommending new laws and policies and establishing

priorities in the grant of public lands;

Maintain a systematic and permanent management of all records

pertaining to land disputes or problems; and

Perform such other functions as may hereafter be assigned to it

by the President of the Philippines.

In the performance of its functions and discharge of its duties, the

PACLAP is authorized, through its Chairman, to issue subpoena

and subpoena duces tecum for the appearance of witnesses and the

production of records, books and documents before it. It may also call

upon any department, office, agency or instrumentality of the National

Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations, and

local governments for assistance. This authority is, likewise, conferred

upon the Chairman of the Provincial Committee.

Section 3 Executive Director and Secretariat.

SEC. 3. Executive Director and Secretariat.—In the

performance of its functions and discharge of its duties, the PACLAP

shall be assisted by an Executive Director and an Assistant Executive

Director who shall both be appointed by the Chairman, and who shall have

the rank and shall receive the salary of Assistant Secretary and

Department Service Chief, respectively. It shall have a Secretariat,

with such personnel as may be necessary, which shall be under the

immediate direction and supervision of the Executive Director. The

personnel of the Secretariat and other officials and employees of the

PACLAP shall be appointed and their compensation fixed by the Chairman,

upon recommendation of the Executive Director.

Section 4 Provincial PACLAP Committee.

SEC. 4. Provincial PACLAP Committee.—When

conditions in any province so warrant, the PACLAP shall create a

Provincial PACLAP Committee which shall be composed of the following:

Provincial Commander, Philippine Constabulary

Chairman

District Land Officer

Vice-Chairman

District Forester

Member

Register of Deeds

Member

A representatative from the Department of Agrarian Reform

Member

A representative each of the PANAMIN and Citizens Legal

Assistance Office, if available

Members

Provincial Fiscal

Legal Adviser ex-officio

Assistant Provincial Commander

Action Officer

Ex-Officer

Adviser

The Provincial PACLAP Committee shall receive and investigate cases

referred to it by the PACLAP or brought to it by private complainants,

resolve cases that it can decide or settle by itself, and submit its

report thereon to the PACLAP, It shall also submit to the PACLAP its

report, together with the separate investigation report of the local

agency concerned, regarding cases which are beyond its competence to

resolve or decide.

Section 5 Creation of Special Action Group.

SEC. 5. Creation of Special Action Group.—Within

thirty (30) days after the effectivity of this Decree, the heads of the

PACLAP member agencies shall create in their respective agencies, a

Special Action Group which shall have the following functions and

duties:

Prepare a program of action for the agency in relation to its

role in the settlement of land disputes or problems:

Receive and investigate cases referred to the agency by the

PACLAP and submit its report thereon;

Evolve and implement reasonable, expeditious office procedures to

ensure immediate action; and

Develop communication/transportation network with the Provincial

PACLAP Committee, other Special Action Groups and the Secretariat.

Section 6 Rules and regulations.

SEC. 6. Rules and regulations.—The Chairman shall issue

the necessary rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this

Decree.

Section 7 Appropriations.

SEC. 7. Appropriations.—There is hereby authorized

to be appropriated out of any funds in the National Treasury not

otherwise appropriated, the sum of TWO MILLION PESOS (P2,000,000.00) for

the operation of the PACLAP for the current fiscal year. Thereafter,

the necessary amount for its operation shall be included in the annual

general appropriation law.

Section 8 Repeal of inconsistent laws.

SEC. 8. Repeal of inconsistent laws.—Executive

Orders No. 251, dated July 31, 1970, and No. 305, dated March 19, 1971,

and laws, administrative orders, or parts thereof inconsistent herewith

are repealed or amended accordingly.

Section 9 Effectivity.

SEC. 9. Effectivity.—This Decree shall take effect

upon promulgation.

Done in the City of Manila, this 27th day of November, in the

year of Our Lord Nineteen Hundred and seventy-five.

(Sgd.)

FERDINAND E. MARCOS

President

Republic of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.)

JACOBO C. CLAVE

Presidential Executive Assistant