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WHEREAS, among the most serious problems that confront the country today are disputes over land between small settlers and big landowners and between Christians and cultural minorities;

WHEREAS, it is a basic policy of the government to promote social justice by providing protection and assistance to small settlers, small landholders, and members of the cultural minorities; and

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to coordinate the activities of many different agencies and committees involved in the administration of land and forestry laws, as well as agencies, committees or bodies attending to the needs of small farmers and the cultural minorities, in order to protect their rights and assure speedy justice in their land conflicts and problems;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby reconstitute the Presidential Action Committee on Land Problems (PACLAP), as follows:

Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources	Chairman
Small Farmers Commission Chairman	Action Officer
Deputy Governor, Land Authority	Member
Undersecretary of Justice	Member
Undersecretary of National Defense	Member
PANAMIN Chairman	Member
Chief of Constabulary	Member
Commissioner on National Integration	Member
Director of Lands	Member
Director of Forestry	Member
Agrarian Counsel	Member
Land Registration Commissioner	Member

The Undersecretary for Agriculture shall chair the Committee when the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources is absent or unable to attend to the Committee’s meetings.

The Committee shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all cases involving public lands and other lands of the public domain. It shall perform the following functions:

1. To investigate, coordinate, and resolve expeditiously land disputes, streamline administrative procedures, and in general, to adopt bold and decisive measures to solve problems involving public lands and lands of the public domain;
   
   
2. To coordinate and integrate the activities of all government agencies having to do with public lands and lands of the public domain;
   
   
3. To study and review present policies as embodied in land laws and administrative rules and regulations, in relation to the needs for land of the agro-industrial sector and small farmers, with the end in view to evolving and recommending new laws and policies and establishing priorities in the grant of public land, and the simplification of processing of land applications in order to relative the small man from the complexities of existing laws, rules and regulations;
   
   
4. To evolve and implement a system for the speedy investigation and resolution of land disputes;
   
   
5. To receive all complaints of settlers land small farmers, involving public lands or other lands of the public domain;
   
   
6. To look into the conflicts between Christians and non-Christians, between corporations and small settlers and farmers; cause the speedy settlement of such conflicts in accordance with priorities or policies established by the Committee; and
   
   
7. To perform such other functions as may be assigned to it by the President.

The Chairman of the Committee shall have the power and authority to appoint or designate its officers and staff members and to prescribe their rates of emoluments and/or allowances, and to create such positions and subcommittees as may be necessary to accomplish the objectives of the Committee.

The Committee is also hereby authorized to subpoena witnesses; produce records and other documents thru subpoena duces tecum; and to call for assistance or the detail of necessary personnel 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 and/or detail of personnel 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 regular appropriations is hereby authorized.

Executive Order No. 238 dated June 18, 1970, as amended by Executive Order No. 246 dated July 16, 1970; and Memorandum Circular No. 352, dated May 15, 1970 are hereby revoked.

Any executive order, administrative order, memorandum circular or other orders and circulars or portions thereof, inconsistent herewith are hereby modified to conform to the provisions of this Executive Order.

Done in the City of Manila, this 19th day of March, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-one.


By the President:

(SGD.) ALEJANDRO MELCHOR
Executive Secretary