Disposition of Public Lands for Fishpond.
Section 13
SEC. 13. Disposition of Public Lands for Fishpond. — Public lands already covered by lease agreements prior to the effectivity of this Decree shall not be sold. Within two years after the effectivity of this Decree the areas leased should be fully developed and producing in commercial scale. Any remaining undeveloped portion shall automatically revert to the public domain for disposition by the Bureau of Fisheries: Provided, That the lessee failing to develop the remaining portion of his leased area shall not be permitted to re-apply for the reverted area or any public land under this Decree. Public lands available for fishpond development and not yet leased prior to the effectivity of this Decree, including those earmarked for development as family size fishponds, shall be leased only to qualified persons, associations, cooperatives or corporations, subject to the following conditions: Fifty per cent of the area leased shall be developed and producing in commercial scale within three years and the remaining portion of the leased area shall be developed and producing in commercial scale within five years, both periods to begin from the execution of the lease contract; All areas not developed and not producing in commercial scale within five years from the date of execution of the lease contract shall automatically revert to the public domain for disposition by the Bureau of Fisheries; and No portion of the leased area may be subleased. Under this Decree, the area of fishpond lease-holdings shall be limited as follows: For individuals — a maximum of fifty hectares based on productivity, distance to markets and other technical factors; and For corporations — five hundred hectares: Provided, That at least twenty-five per centum of the equity shall be owned by persons other than the members of one extended family: Provided, further, That corporations engaged in canning of fish and by-product utilization may lease one thousand hectares. All public lands leased after the effectivity of this Decree shall 6e exempted from the annual lease rental provided in Paragraph A of Section eleven of this Decree for the first two years from the date of execution of the lease contract.