MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
[ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 251, July 31, 1970 ]
CREATING A PRESIDENTIAL ACTION COMMITTEE ON LAND PROBLEMS
WHEREAS, among the most serious problems that confront the country today are the disputes over land between small settlers and big land owners;
WHEREAS, it is a basic policy that the government should provide greater protection and assistance to small settlers, small landholders and members of the cultural minorities;
WHEREAS, land disputes create tension between small settlers, members of the cultural minorities and other claimants and result in social unrest;
WHEREAS, there is urgent need to coordinate the activities of many different agencies involved in the implementation of land and forestry laws, as well as agencies attending to the needs of small settlers and cultural minorities, in order to obtain immediate settlement of land problems and to protect and insure justice for small settlers and members of minority groups.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, hereby create a Presidential Action Committee on Land Problems (PACLAP) to expedite and coordinate the investigation and resolution of land disputes, streamline and shorten administrative procedures, adopt bold and decisive measures to solve land problems, and/or recommend other solutions.
The Committee shall be composed of the following:
| Secretary of the Agriculture and Natural Resources |
Chairman |
| Undersecretary for Natural Resources |
Action Officer |
| Undersecretary for Agriculture |
Action Officer |
| Justice Undersecretary Guillermo Santos |
Member |
| Defense Undersecretary Efren Plana |
Member |
| PANAMIN Chairman Manuel Elizalde, Jr. |
Member |
| PC Chief General Eduardo Garcia |
Member |
| CNI Chairman Datu Mama Sinsuat |
Member |
| SFC Chairman Raoul Beloso |
Member |
| LA Deputy Governor Ernesto Valdez |
Member |
| Agrarian Counsel Felix Diaz |
Member |
| Lands Director Vicente A. Valdellon |
Member |
| Forestry Director Jose Viado |
Member |
| Mines Director Fernando Busuego, Jr. |
Member |
| Fisheries Commissioner Andres Mane |
Member |
The Committee is hereby authorized to subpoena witnesses; produce records and other documents thru subpoena duces tecum; and to call for assistance from any Department, Office, Agency or instrumentality of the National Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations and local government instrumentalities, in connection with the performance of its functions, and such assistance shall forthwith be extended whenever the same is sought by the Committee.
Special releases of funds in connection with the Committee’s functions which cannot be funded by regular appropriations is hereby authorized.
Done in the City of Manila, this 31st day of July, in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy.1âшphi1
(SGD.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President of the Philippines
By the President:
(SGD.) ALEJANDRO MELCHOR
Executive Secretary
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