Republic Act No. 2077

REPUBLIC ACT No. 2077

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS TWO, THREE, FIVE, SIX AND EIGHT OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT

Section 1. Section two of Republic Act Numbered One thousand eight hundred twenty-eight is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 2. Section three of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 3. Section five of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 4. Section six of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 5. The whole provision of section eight of the Act is hereby deleted and in lieu thereof the following new provision is inserted:

Section 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 13, 1958

"Sec. 2. There is hereby created the Surigao Mineral Reservation Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board, composed of the Chairman of the National Economic Council, as chairman, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Secretary of Finance, the Secretary of Justice, and the Governor of the Central Bank, as members, who shall carry out and implement the provisions of this Act. It shall have the power and authority to represent the Government in the operations and to insure compliance with the terms and conditions of the operating contract or contracts.

"The Board is hereby authorized to organize an office and appoint the necessary staff, whose salaries and emoluments shall be fixed by the Board, and to secure the assistance of the personnel of the National Economic Council and other government offices.

"In order to carry out the policy declared in section one hereof, the President of the Philippines is hereby authorized to determine, upon previous advice and recommendation of the Board, whether the development, exploitation and utilization of the said mineral deposit and the processing and disposition of the minerals that may be produced therefrom:

"Unless there are clear advantages in favor of the third mode, either of the first two modes shall be preferred: Provided, That, in any case, the Board shall implement the policy herein declared.

"Should the President of the Philippines decide to have the operation undertaken through an independent contractor or contractors, as hereinabove provided, the Board may engaged and utilize the services of persons or corporations, as independent contractor or contractors, with the approval of the President, by calling for bids to undertake or perform for the Government any phase or phases of all the operations authorized in this Act covering any particular area or areas within the Surigao Mineral Reservation, and the processing of the minerals produced therefrom, negotiating and entering for such purpose into a contract or contracts of service with any party or parties, domestic or foreign, fully qualified as to organization, finances, resources, experience and technical competence, and which may offer such terms and conditions as determined by the Board, subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines, to be most advantageous to the Government: Provided, That should there be no bid submitted, or the bid or bids submitted are unacceptable, the Board, with the approval of the President, is hereby authorized to negotiate with such party or parties, domestic or foreign, as may be fully qualified as to organization, finances, resources, experience and technical competence, for the operation of the whole or part of the Surigao Mineral Reservation under the provisions of this Act.

"For the purpose of this Act, a contract of service shall mean an operating contract in which the Operator is an independent contractor of service, entitled as such to compensation for services rendered: Provided, That any contractor or contractors of service shall not, by virtue of the contract, acquire any title or interest in the area or areas affected, nor, except as hereinafter provided in section five hereof, in any of the minerals from the Surigao Mineral Reservation produced or processed by it. The Operator shall furnish all materials, labor, equipment, plants and other installations that may be acquired for carrying on the operations herein authorized, or necessary or incident to those herein authorized, and all such operations, processes, work or acts shall be carried out at Operator's own cost and expenses, without prejudice to the Government and Operator agreeing on other terms regarding materials, equipment, plants and other installations."

"Sec. 3. The President may grant to the Government entity which may operate the Reservation under paragraph one or two of section two, or to the operator under paragraph three of the same section, as the case may be, the following rights and privileges:

"Sec. 5. The following provisions shall guide the relationship between the Government and the private enterprise holding the minority capital stock and/or its approved contractor as provided for in section two hereof:

"Sec. 6. Should the President of the Philippines decide to have the operations or any part thereof authorized in this Act done through the services of an independent contractor or contractors, the same shall be, among others, under the following terms and conditions:

"Sec. 8. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, the amount equivalent to three per centum of whatever the Government shall receive from the operation of the Surigao Mineral Reservation is hereby set aside to cover the expenses, including salaries, wages, and per diems of the members of the Board and its staff and personnel."