WHEREAS, it is the declared policy of the Government to provide more protection and assistance to small settlers and landholders and members of cultural minorities in their struggle for recognition of their right to the land which they occupy;

WHEREAS, social unrest, which sometimes precipitates clashes among our people, often results from long-drawn disputes between big landholders and poor, landless settlers, or between Christians and members of our cultural minorities;

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to direct and coordinate the activities, particularly the investigation work, of the various government agencies involved in land problems to ensure their speedy, peaceful and satisfactory solution;

WHEREAS, the successful intercession of the PACLAP in many serious and critical land problems has proved the efficacy of an action-oriented approach to the solution of these problems, and the necessity of continuing its work in potential land-problem areas;

WHEREAS, there is a need to reconstitute the membership of the PACLAP due to the implementation of the Integrated Reorganization Plan and the reorganization of the Department of Agricultural and Natural Resources into two departments;

NOW, THEEEFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree to be part of the law of the land, the following:

SECTION 1. Reorganization of the Presidential Action Committee on Land Problems.—The Presidential Action Committee on Land Problems, herein referred to as the PACLAP, created by Executive Order No. 251, dated July 31, 1970, as amended by Executive Order No. 305, dated March 19, 1971, hereby reorganized as follows:

Secretary of Natural Resources	Chairman
PANAMIN Secretary	Member
Deputy Executive Secretary	"
Undersecretary of Agriculture Member	"
Undersecretary of Justice	"
Undersecretary of Agrarian Reform	"
Undersecretary of National Defense	"
Chief of Constabulary	"
Commissioner of Land Registration	"
Chief, Citizens Legal Assistance Office	"
Director of Lands	"
Director of Forest Development	"
Director of Mines	"

The PACLAP shall have a Policy Body which shall formulate its policies and submit them for its approval. The Policy Body shall be composed of the Secretary of Natural Resources, as Chairman, and the following members: the PANAMIN Secretary, the Deputy Executive Secretary, the Undersecretary of Agriculture, the Undersecretary of Justice, the Undersecretary of Agrarian Reform, and the Undersecretary of National Defense. Said Body shall meet upon the call of its Chairman.

The PACLAP shall also have an Executive Committee which shall implement its policies and be in charge of its overall operations. It shall be composed of the Director of Lands, as Chairman, and the following members: the Director of Forest Development, the Chief of the Citizens Legal Assistance Office, the Commissioner of the Land Registration Commission, the Chief of Constabulary, and the Director of Mines. Said Executive Committee shall meet on call of its Chairman.

The Chairman of the PACLAP may create such subcommittees and positions as may be necessary to enable the PACLAP to perform its functions and discharge its duties effectively.

All the government agencies represented in the membership of the PACLAP and other agencies involved in land problems or disputes shall be member agencies thereof.

SEC. 2. Functions and duties of the PACLAP.—The PACLAP shall have the following functions and duties:

1. Direct and coordinate the activities, particularly the investigation work, of the various government offices and agencies involved in land problems or disputes, and streamline administrative procedures to relieve small settlers and landholders and members of cultural minorities of the expense and time-consuming delay attendant to the solution of such problems or disputes;
2. Refer for immediate action any land problem or dispute brought to the attention of the PACLAP, to any member agency having jurisdiction thereof: Provided, That when the Executive Committee decides to act on a case, its resolution, order or decision thereon, shall have the force and effect of a regular administrative resolution, order or decision, and shall be binding upon the parties therein involved and upon the member agency having jurisdiction thereof;
3. Recommend to the President innovative, bold and decisive measures to resolve expeditiously cases involving, among others, (a) public lands that have been titled in a manifestly erroneous or illegal manner, and (b) implementation of decisions-resolutions of administrative/quasi-judicial agencies vested with jurisdiction to resolve land problems or disputes;
4. Evolve and implement a system of procedure for the speedy investigation and resolution of land disputes or problems at provincial level, if possible;
5. Undertake a comprehensive study of the causes of land disputes or problems in the country and recommend to the President of the Philippines policies and courses of action to avoid or, at least, minimize their occurrence;
6. Study and review present policies as embodied in land laws and administrative rules and regulations, in relation to the need for land of the agro-industrial sector and the small farmer, with the end in view of evolving and recommending new laws and policies and establishing priorities in the grant of public lands;
7. Maintain a systematic and permanent management of all records pertaining to land disputes or problems; and
8. Perform such other functions as may hereafter be assigned to it by the President of the Philippines.

In the performance of its functions and discharge of its duties, the PACLAP is authorized, through its Chairman, to issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum for the appearance of witnesses and the production of records, books and documents before it. It may also call upon any department, office, agency or instrumentality of the National Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations, and local governments for assistance. This authority is, likewise, conferred upon the Chairman of the Provincial Committee.

SEC. 3. Executive Director and Secretariat.—In the performance of its functions and discharge of its duties, the PACLAP shall be assisted by an Executive Director and an Assistant Executive Director who shall both be appointed by the Chairman, and who shall have the rank and shall receive the salary of Assistant Secretary and Department Service Chief, respectively. It shall have a Secretariat, with such personnel as may be necessary, which shall be under the immediate direction and supervision of the Executive Director. The personnel of the Secretariat and other officials and employees of the PACLAP shall be appointed and their compensation fixed by the Chairman, upon recommendation of the Executive Director.

SEC. 4. Provincial PACLAP Committee.—When conditions in any province so warrant, the PACLAP shall create a Provincial PACLAP Committee which shall be composed of the following:

Provincial Commander, Philippine Constabulary		Chairman
District Land Officer		Vice-Chairman
District Forester		Member
Register of Deeds		Member
A representatative from the Department of Agrarian Reform		Member
A representative each of the PANAMIN and Citizens Legal Assistance Office, if available		Members
Provincial Fiscal		Legal Adviser ex-officio
Assistant Provincial Commander		Action Officer
Ex-Officer		Adviser

The Provincial PACLAP Committee shall receive and investigate cases referred to it by the PACLAP or brought to it by private complainants, resolve cases that it can decide or settle by itself, and submit its report thereon to the PACLAP, It shall also submit to the PACLAP its report, together with the separate investigation report of the local agency concerned, regarding cases which are beyond its competence to resolve or decide.

SEC. 5. Creation of Special Action Group.—Within thirty (30) days after the effectivity of this Decree, the heads of the PACLAP member agencies shall create in their respective agencies, a Special Action Group which shall have the following functions and duties:

1. Prepare a program of action for the agency in relation to its role in the settlement of land disputes or problems:
2. Receive and investigate cases referred to the agency by the PACLAP and submit its report thereon;
3. Evolve and implement reasonable, expeditious office procedures to ensure immediate action; and
4. Develop communication/transportation network with the Provincial PACLAP Committee, other Special Action Groups and the Secretariat.

SEC. 6. Rules and regulations.—The Chairman shall issue the necessary rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Decree.

SEC. 7. Appropriations.—There is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of TWO MILLION PESOS (P2,000,000.00) for the operation of the PACLAP for the current fiscal year. Thereafter, the necessary amount for its operation shall be included in the annual general appropriation law.

SEC. 8. Repeal of inconsistent laws.—Executive Orders No. 251, dated July 31, 1970, and No. 305, dated March 19, 1971, and laws, administrative orders, or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are repealed or amended accordingly.

SEC. 9. Effectivity.—This Decree shall take effect upon promulgation.

Done in the City of Manila, this 27th day of November, in the year of Our Lord Nineteen Hundred and seventy-five.