MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
[ Memorandum Order No. 83, April 30, 1987 ]
PROVIDING GUIDELINES FOR THE ISSUANCE OF LAND TITLES WITHIN THE GEOTHERMAL RESERVATIONS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
WHEREAS, geothermal energy constitutes one of the country’s principal sources of energy;
WHEREAS, Presidential Decree No. 1515, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1749, vested the jurisdiction, control and regulation over certain watershed areas and reservations in the defunct Ministry of Energy;
WHEREAS, the issuance of land titles within the Leyte Geothermal Reservation was suspended on May 8, 1980 to ensure unhampered geothermal exploration and development activities and at the same time serve the need for watershed protection;
WHEREAS, the Government’s integrated multiple use watershed management policy can now harmonize energy development with other land uses within these areas to meet the needs of various sectors of society;
WHEREAS, land classification within geothermal reservations is on-going and the former Office of Energy Affairs has identified possible areas for release for land titling;
IN VIEW THEREOF, it is hereby ordered, that:
Section 1. The Bureau of Lands shall issue land titles within geothermal reservations covered by Presidential Decree No. 1515, as amended, subject to the concurrence of the Department of Environment, Energy and Natural Resources. The issuance of land titles is subject to previous private rights and is limited to the actual occupants. Accordingly, the suspension of the issuance of land titles within the Leyte Geothermal Reservation and other geothermal reservations as they may have been affected by the aforesaid suspension is hereby lifted.
Section 2. The Department of Environment, Energy and Natural Resources shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to implement this Memorandum Order.1aшphi1
Section 3. All laws, orders, issuances, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Memorandum Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 4. This Memorandum Order shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 30th day of April, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-seven.
(Sgd.) CORAZON C. AQUINO
The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation
