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PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 508
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 508
- PROVIDING GUIDELINES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND UTILIZATION OF SMALL OR
SUB-COMMERCIAL DEPOSITS OF NATURAL MARSH GAS OR METHANE GAS IN THE
PHILIPPINES, AND GRANTING GRATUITOUS PERMITS THEREFOR
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WHEREAS,
natural marsh gas or methane gas in small sub-commercial deposits
abound throughout the country;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the development and utilization of said natural marsh gas or
methane gas in accordance with the policy of the government to develop
other sources of energy;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the development and utilization of these natural marsh gas or
methane gas deposits do not require huge capital investments and highly
specialized technical knowledge; and consequently are easier to
develop;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the Government must open these deposits for development and
utilization and encourage their development and utilization;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution, do hereby
decree and order as part of the law of the land the following:cralaw:red
Section 1. All small or sub-commercial natural marsh
gas or methane gas deposits found in any public or private lands, not
exceeding 1000 feet in depth and not associated-with crude oil deposit,
within the territorial limits of the Philippines which are within free
areas, national reserve areas, in any other areas not covered by valid
and subsisting petroleum exploration or exploitation concessions, or by
service contracts entered with the Government under Presidential Decree
No. 87, may be developed for household use or utilized for small-scale
industrial development.
Section 2. Any citizen of the Philippines, of legal
age, having the capacity to contract and not convicted of any offense
involving moral turpitude, or any association of individuals in the
form of partnership or corporations duly organized and constituted
under the laws of the Philippines and at least sixty percent (60%) of
the capital of which is and shall at all times be held and owned by
citizens of the Philippines, may apply for a gratuitous permit to
undertake the development and utilization of small or sub-commercial
deposits of natural marsh gas or methane gas.
Section 3. An application for a gratuitous permit
shall be filed with the Director of Mines, Manila, paying thereof a
filing fee of P20.00. Upon compliance with all the requirements
relative thereto, a permit shall be issued by the Director of Mines
after which the permittee shall start the development and utilization
of the gas deposits found within the area of his permit to household
use or for small scale industrial development. A permittee shall in no
case be entitled to more than one (1) permit for every petroleum region
at any one time.
The area to be covered by a gratuitous permit application shall be not
more than twenty (20) hectares, in block rectangular in shape, and as
much as possible the larger sides of the rectangle shall not be more
than five times the shorter sides. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 4. A permit area may be validly covered by a
subsequent petroleum exploration concession granted under the Petroleum
Act of 1949, as amended, or by service contract entered with the
Government under Presidential Decree No. 87, but no gratuitous permit
shall be issued by the Director of Mines on an area already covered by
an existing permit or lease granted under Republic Act No. 5092, and in
accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and on
any area where natural gas or methane gas deposits are more than 1000
feet deep or when these deposits are associated with crude oil.
Section 5. The permittee shall have the right to
enter any private land covered by his permit to conduct work thereon.
If, however, the owner of such private land or its legal occupant
denies him such right, he may apply for permission to enter such land,
and upon posting such bond as may be fixed by the Director of Mines
shall be issued an order allowing him such right pending the final
determination of the proper amount that shall be paid by the permittee
to the landowner or legal occupant.
Section 6. The permittee shall conduct operations on
the area covered by his permit, a monthly operations of which shall be
submitted by him to the Director of Mines for record and information.
Section 7. The term of this permit shall be for a
period of two (2) years from the issuance thereof, renewable for
another like period upon compliance with the terms of the permit.
Should production be attained within the four (4) year period, the
permit may be extended of a series of 2 year period each but in no case
to exceed a total of fourteen (14) years, if warranted by continuing
gas production. Failure, however, of the permittee to conduct
operations on the area within one (1) year shall be a cause for the
cancellation of his permit.
Section 8. The Director of Mines is hereby authorized
to assume jurisdiction and is charged with carrying out these
guidelines to the end that the utilization and development of these gas
deposits shall be duly encouraged and properly regulated.
He shall prescribe the terms and conditions of the gratuitous permit to
be issued, and the necessary application form therefor. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 9. As used herein, the following terms shall
have the following respective meanings:cralaw:red
(a) Natural Marsh Gas or Methane Gas — light,
odorless, colorless, and inflammable gaseous hydro-carbon, occurring
naturally as a product of decomposition of organic matter in marshes
and mines.
(b) Free Areas — all lands within the territorial
limits of the Philippines excluding those submerged beneath bays,
lakes, rivers or lagoons, but which are not within the, or including,
national reserve areas, petroleum reservation, or covered by valid and
existing exploration or exploitation concessions, or petroleum drilling
leases acquired under the Petroleum Act (Act No. 2932), or petroleum
mining claims located and held under the Act Congress of July 1, 1902,
as amended. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(c) National Reserve Areas — areas which have been
included in any exploration or exploitation concession but which have
been subsequently given up by the concessionaire voluntarily or in
accordance with the requirement of Article 50 and 53 of the Petroleum
Act of 1949, as amended; or areas covered by exploration or
exploitation concession which have expired or have been cancelled; or
areas which have been which included within any of the two kinds of
concessions but which are found to be in excess the maximum areas
allowed by the Petroleum Act of 1949, as amended, for such concession.
(d) Permittee — a person, association, partnership or
corporation who is a holder of gratuitous permit to develop and utilize
natural marsh gas or methane gas.
Section 10. This decree shall take effect
immediately.
DONE in the City of Manila,
this 16th day of July, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-four.
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