EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 561
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 561 - CREATING
THE COMMISSION ON THE SETTLEMENT OF LAND PROBLEMS
WHEREAS,
land problems are frequently a source of conflicts among small
settlers, landowners and members of cultural minorities;
WHEREAS, these problems, if not properly and immediately attended to,
will breed social unrest which will hamper the implementation of
government programs designed to ameliorate the living conditions of
people involved in these problems;
WHEREAS, as a means of providing a mechanism for the expeditious
settlement of these problems, a more effective administrative body
should be established; and
WHEREAS, under Presidential Decree No. 1416, the President is given
continuing authority to reorganize the National Government.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, and pursuant
to the authority vested in me by Presidential Decree No. 1416, do
hereby order:
Section 1. Creation. — There is hereby created a
Commission on the Settlement of Land Problems, hereafter referred to as
the Commission, under the Office of the President.
Sec. 2. Composition. — The Commission shall be
composed of three members, namely: one Commissioner and two Associate
Commissioners who shall all be appointed by the President.
The Commissioner and the two Associate Commissioners shall receive a
salary equivalent to that of an Associate Justice of the Court of
Appeals and Judge of the Court of First Instance, respectively.
Sec. 3. Powers and Functions. — The Commission
shall have the following powers and functions:
1.
Coordinate the activities, particularly the investigation work, of the
various government offices and agencies involved in the settlement of
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;
2. Refer and
follow-up for immediate action by the agency having appropriate
jurisdiction any land problem or dispute referred to the Commission:
Provided, That the Commission may, in the following cases, assume
jurisdiction and resolve land problems or disputes which are critical
and explosive in nature considering, for instance, the large number of
the parties involved, the presence or emergence of social tension or
unrest, or other similar critical situations requiring immediate
action:
(a)
Between occupants/squatters and pasture lease agreement holders or
timber concessioners;
(b) Between
occupants/squatters and government reservation grantees;
(c) Between
occupants/squatters and public land claimants or applicants;
(d) Petitions
for classification, release and/or subdivision of lands of the public
domain; and
(e) Other
similar land problems of grave urgency and magnitude.
The
Commission shall promulgate such rules and procedures as will insure
expeditious resolution and action on the above cases. The resolution,
order or decision of the Commission on any of the foregoing cases shall
have the force and effect of a regular administrative resolution, order
or decision and shall be binding upon the parties therein and upon the
agency having jurisdiction over the same. Said resolution, order or
decision shall become final and executory within thirty (30) days from
its promulgation and shall be appealable by certiorari only to the
Supreme Court.
3. Recommend
to the President innovative 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;
4. Evolve and
implement a system of procedure for the speedy investigation and
resolution of land disputes or problems at the provincial level;
5. Undertake a
comprehensive study of the causes of land disputes, particularly the
problems of squatters, in the country and recommend to the President
policies and courses of action to prevent or minimize their
occurrence;
6. 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;
7. Maintain a
systematic and permanent management of all records pertaining to land
disputes or problems; and
8. 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 Commission is authorized,
through the Commissioner, 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 ministry, 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 provincial
offices as may be established pursuant to Sec. 5 of this Executive
Order.
Sec. 4. Organizational Support. — The Commission
shall have a technical staff which shall be headed by an Executive
Director who shall be assisted by a Deputy Executive Director. The
Technical staff shall be composed of such personnel as may be necessary
to enable the Commission to effectively perform its powers and
functions.
The Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director shall be appointed
by the President. The other personnel of the Commission shall be
appointed by the Commissioner.
Sec. 5. Provincial Offices. — When conditions in
any province so warrant, the Commission may establish a provincial
office which shall exercise such powers and perform such functions as
may be delegated to it by the Commission.
Sec. 6. Abolition of the Presidential Action
Committee on Land Problems. — The Presidential Action Committee on Land
Problems is abolished and its functions are transferred to the
Commission herein created, together with applicable appropriations,
records, property and equipment, and such personnel as may be
necessary.
Sec. 7. Appropriations. — In addition to the
appropriations transferred from the Presidential Action Committee on
Land Problems herein abolished, an amount sufficient for the operation
of the Commission for the current and immediately succeeding calendar
years is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any funds in the
National Treasury not otherwise appropriated. Thereafter, the necessary
amount for its operation shall be included in the annual general
appropriations law.
Sec. 8. Repeal of Inconsistent Laws. — All laws,
acts, decrees, proclamations and/or administrative regulations which
are inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby repealed, amended
or modified accordingly.
Sec. 9. Separability Clause. — The provisions of
this Executive Order are hereby declared to be separable, and in the
event any one or more of such provisions are held unconstitutional,
such shall not affect the validity of the other provisions.
Sec. 10. Effectivity. — This Executive Order shall
take effect immediately.
DONE in the City of Manila,
this 21st day of September, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred
and Seventy-Nine.
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Since 19.07.98.