Section 23
SEC. 23. Section 78 of the same Decree is hereby amended to read as follows: "SEC. 78. Theft of Minerals. Any person who, without a mining lease or a temporary permit or any other permit granted by the Secretary or the Director under existing mining decrees, laws and regulations to mine, shall extract, remove and/or dispose of minerals belonging to the Government or from a mining claim or claims leased, held or owned by other persons, shall be deemed to have stolen the ores or the products thereof from the mines or mills. He shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned from six (6) months to six (6) years or pay a fine from one hundred pesos (P100.00) to ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) or both, in the discretion of the court, besides paying compensation for the minerals removed, extracted and disposed of, the royalty and the damage caused thereby."