This is enacted in 1967 and had been used other laws and proclamations pertaining to use of MakBan.

1. Republic Act No 5092
AN ACT
TO PROMOTE AND REGULATE THE
EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT,
EXPLOITATION AND UTILIZATION OF
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY, NATURAL GAS AND
METHANE GAS; TO ENCOURAGE ITS
CONSERVATION; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
SECTION 1. Short title of Act. – The short title of
this Act shall be “Geothermal Energy, Natural Gas and
Methane Gas Law.”
SEC. 2. Definition of terms. – When used in this Act,
the following terms shall, unless the context otherwise
indicates, have the following respective meanings:
(a) “Act” means this “Geothermal Energy, Natural
Gas and Methane Gas Law.”
(b) “Bore” means any well, hole, pipe, or excavation of
any kind which is bored, drilled, sunk or made in
the ground for the purpose of investigating,
prospecting, obtaining, or producing geothermal
energy, natural gas and methane gas, or which
taps or is likely to tap geothermal energy,
natural gas and methane gas and includes any
hole in the ground which taps geothermal
energy, natural gas and methane gas.
(c) “Geothermal energy” means energy derived or
derivable from and produced within the earth by
natural heat phenomenon: and includes all
steam, and water vapor, and every mixture of all
or any of them that has been heated by natural

2. underground energy, and every kind of matter
derived from a bore and for the time being with
or in any such stead, water, water vapor, or
mixture.
(d) “Government” means the Government of the
Philippines.
(e) “State” means the Republic of the Philippines.
(f) “Person” includes a natural person, corporation, or
partnership.
SEC. 3. State ownership. – All geothermal sources or
occurrences of geothermal energy, natural gas and
methane gas in public and/or private lands in the
Philippines, whether found in, on or under the surface
of dry lands, creeks, rivers, lakes, or other submerged
lands within the territorial waters of the Philippines
belong to the State, inalienable and imprescriptible and
their exploration for, tapping and utilization shall be
governed by the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 4. Title to land. – The ownership or the right to
the use of lands for agricultural, industrial, commercial,
residential, mining, petroleum, or for any other
purposes other than for the exploration, tapping or use
of geothermal energy, natural gas and methane gas,
does not include ownership of, nor the right to explore
for, tap, or utilize the geothermal energy, natural gas
and methane gas in, on or under the surface of such
land.
SEC. 5. Granting of geothermal energy, natural gas
and methane gas rights. – The right to explore for, tap,
or utilize geothermal energy, natural gas and methane

3. gas may be obtained and exercised only by means of
permits and/or leases granted to duly qualified persons
in accordance with the provisions of this Act: Provided,
That no such permit shall be required if the exploration
is undertaken by the owner of the land himself or by his
agent: Provided, further, That where geothermal
energy, natural gas and methane gas is already being
used for any domestic purpose whatever (including
cooking, heating, washing, and bathing) at the time this
Act takes effect, the user thereof may continue using
the same to similar or lesser extent without the need of
securing a permit or lease under this Act unless the
Director of Mines, having regard to the public interest,
otherwise directs.
The Government reserves the right to undertake the
exploration for, tapping, or utilization of geothermal
energy, natural gas and methane gas either by itself or
through its instrumentalities, or through competent
persons qualified to undertake such work as
independent contractor or contractors.
SEC. 6. Qualifications of applicants. – Applicants for
permits or leases under this Act shall have the
following qualifications:
In case of an individual, he shall be a citizen of the
Philippines, be of legal age, and have the capacity to
contract obligations.
In case of an association of individuals, it shall either a
partnership or a corporation duly organized and
constituted under the laws of the Philippines, at least
sixty per centum of the capital of which is and shall at
all times be owned and held by citizens of the
Philippines.

4. Any applicant shall present evidence showing that
sufficient finance, organization, resources, technical
competence, skills, and experience necessary to conduct
the operations to be undertaken under the permit
and/or lease being applied for, in a manner which is in
accordance with the best method known to the
industry, are available to the applicant.
SEC. 7. Lands covered by permits, leases are subject to
public easements. – All lands covered by permits and/or
leases granted under this Act shall be subject to public
easements established or recognized by existing or
future laws.
SEC. 8. Operations of permittees/lessees subject to
mining rights. – The operations of permittees and/or
lessees under the provisions of this Act shall be subject
to existing mining or petroleum rights, grants, permits,
leases, and concessions and the same shall not
adversely affect the operations of the latter. Any
question in this regard shall be decided and settled by
the Director of Mines.
SEC. 9. Rights to enter private land. – Holders of
permits and/or leases granted under the provisions of
this Act, their men, contractors or operators, upon
written notice sent to the owner on the land at least ten
days in advance, are granted the right to enter and re-
enter from time to time upon private lands covered by
their permits and/or leases for the purpose of
conducting geological and/or geophysical studies, make
any bore therein, with the right to use all instruments
and apparatus necessary to carry out such studies,
subject to the obligations to indemnify the owner or
legal occupant of the land for all material damage

5. suffered by the property, its annexes or appurtenances
as a result of such studies: Provided, That in no case
shall the occupancy of private buildings, yards or
gardens be authorized against the will of their owner.
In the event the right granted in this Section shall be
denied by the owner of the private land or by its legal
occupant, the permittee and/or lessee may apply for
and, upon posting such bond as may be fixed and
approved by the municipal court of the municipality
where the land is situated, the court shall issue an
order allowing such right to enter pending the final
determination of the proper amount that shall be paid
by the permittee and/or lessee to the land-owner or
legal occupant.
SEC. 10. Easements over private land. – When
easements of temporary or permanent occupancy over
private lands are needed by a permittee or lessee for
the purpose of carrying out any works essential to his
operations under the provisions of this Act, he may
enter into necessary agreement with the owner or legal
occupant of such private land. If no agreement can be
reached, or if the owner or legal occupant refuses to
grant such easement, or in general, when any obstacle
of whatever nature exists to the immediate and certain
acquisition of the necessary surface area or of any right
indispensable to the permittee or lessee for the purpose
of concession, the municipal court of the municipality
where the land is situated shall, upon application of the
permittee or lessee and posting of the necessary bond,
grant to the said, permittee or lessee authority to use
and occupy the land needed by him in his operations,
pending final determination of the case which shall
include among others the reasonable value or rental of
the land to be occupied and the compensation for any

6. resulting damage that the land-owner or legal occupant
may suffer as a result of such occupation.
When the occupation of a private land is needed by the
permittee or lessee in connection with his permit and/or
ease granted in this Act for the purpose of constructing,
maintaining, operating, and drilling bores, tanks,
reservoirs, waterways, pipelines, roads, railroads,
tramlines, telephone and telegraph lines; airfields,
radio stations, powerhouses, transmission lines,
pumping stations, wharves, piers and terminals, which
are hereby declared to be for public use or benefit, the
right of eminent domain may be exercised by the
Government through the permittee or lessee, in
accordance with the applicable laws on the matter.
In all cases, whether it be an order of the court or a
voluntary agreement between the permittee and/or
lessee and the private landowner, as referred to in this
Section, a copy of such order or agreement shall be
furnished to the Director of Mines.
For the purpose of this Section the necessity of the
work will presumed in the cases of bore drilling and
auxiliary works, construction of pipelines, tanks,
pumping plants, power systems, warehouses, shops,
and means of transport and communication.
SEC. 11. Right to enter public land and easement over
the same. – Except lands covered by armed forces
reservations, all public lands may be entered into by
the holder of a permit and/or lease issued under this
Act if the same is covered by said permit and/or lease.
When easement or right of temporary or permanent
occupancy over said public land is needed by said

7. holder of a permit and/or lease for the purpose of
carrying any work essential to his operations under this
Act, except in areas covered by military reservation,
such right may be granted by the Director of Mines
with due regard to prior rights of third parties and to
the purpose for which the reservation had been
established.
The presumption of necessity stated in Section ten
applies likewise in this case.
SEC. 12. Application for permit. – Application for
permit shall be accompanied by a plan showing the
bearings and distances of the boundaries and latitude
and longitude to the nearest second of the corner 1. It
shall be filed with the Director of Mines who shall
examine an act upon the same as well as upon the
qualification, and authorize the publication of a notice
thereof at least once a week for three consecutive weeks
in the Official Gazette and in a newspaper of general
circulation published in English in the City of Manila,
notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary.
At any time during the period of publication of said
notice, an adverse claim stating the nature and grounds
thereof, may be filed with the Director of Mines. If no
adverse claim is filed within the said period of
publication, it shall be conclusively presumed that no
such adverse claims exists and thereafter no adverse
claim for third parties shall be heard; and the permit
shall be issued by the Director of Mines for the Republic
of the Philippines which shall state the principal rights
and obligations of the permittee.
The applicant for a permit should prosecute his
application with due diligence by seeing to it that his

8. application is in order and that he has submitted
satisfactory evidence showing that he possesses the
qualifications required by law and regulations. In case
of conflict of application for permit under the provisions
of this Act, priority of the filing of application shall
determine as to who has the preferential right,
provided that his application is put in order and
satisfactory evidence of the required qualifications is
submitted within the period provided for by the
regulations.
Any adverse claim filed during the period of publication
of the notice shall be decided by the Director of Mines.
SEC. 13. Size and shape of permit areas. – A permit
shall be granted in blocks rectangular in shape except
when allowed by the Director of Mines in cases where it
is contiguous with the seas, bays, lakes or with other
permits or leases already granted; as much as possible,
its longer dimension shall not be more than five times
its shorter dimension. Each permit area shall not be
more than five thousand hectares.
No person shall acquire more than ten permits in the
whole territory of the Philippines.
SEC. 14. Rights conveyed under a permit. – The
permit conveys upon the holder thereof, his heirs and
assigns, from the date of its granting and during its
term and any extension thereof, the exclusive right to
explore the block covered, to do geological and physical
work, to conduct drilling operations, and to do such
other work related to explorations or that has for its
object the discovery of geothermal energy, natural gas
or methane gas. The actual production and utilization
of any geothermal energy, natural gas or methane gas
that may be discovered is not included in the right

9. granted under a permit.
SEC. 15. Exploration work obligations. – With the
application for permit and before the start of each
calendar year thereafter during the life of the permit,
the applicant/permittee shall submit to the Director of
Mines a program of exploration work to be undertaken
by him within his permit during the year.
Beginning from the date of the granting of the permit
and up to the first anniversary date thereof and every
permit year thereafter during the life of the permit, he
is obligated to spend in the direct prosecution of
exploration work within his permit such as
topographical or geological reconnaissance or detailed
survey, mapping or cross sectioning, geophysical
surveys, core or exploratory drilling, or any
combination of said work, not less than two pesos per
hectare per year or fraction thereof: Provided, That in
no case shall the total amount for each permit be less
than one thousand pesos a year: Provided, further,
That for purposes of renewal of the permit necessary
drilling as required in Section sixteen hereof, shall have
been conducted therein.
The permittee or lessee shall give satisfactory evidence
to the Government of such expenditures duly supported
and justified by technical report or reports prepared in
accordance with the regulations which shall be
submitted within ninety days after the end of the
corresponding calendar year.
An amount actually spent for the exploration work in
excess of any minimum amount required for any year
and duly approved by the Bureau of Mines may be
carried forward to exploration work obligations

10. required for the succeeding years: Provided, That such
excess expenditures may not be carried forward to any
period of renewal: Provided, however, That should
there be any unspent balance of the required work
obligations for any year, the same shall be forfeited in
favor of the Bureau of Mines and shall form part of its
Mines Special Fund.
Failure to comply with the minimum work obligations
in any one year as hereinabove provided or to submit
the required technical report within the period given,
shall be sufficient cause for the cancellation of the
permit by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources upon recommendation of the Director of
Mines and termination of the right of permittee without
prejudice to collecting from the permittee whatever
difference their is between the minimum amount
required and that actually spent for any year. An no
new or additional areas and/or rights under this Act
shall be granted to a permittee who has thus failed to
comply with his minimum work obligation in any of his
subsisting permit and/or lease under this Act until after
he shall have corrected his defaults.
SEC. 16. Term of permit. – The initial term of a permit
shall not be more than three years counted from the
date of its issuance: Provided, That if the permittee
has drilled a well or wells within the area covered by
his permit at any time during the initial term with a
total footage of not less than one thousand feet and has
complied with the provisions of this Act and the
regulations and with the terms of the permit, the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may
grant an extension thereof for a term of two years, for
its entire area or for any part thereof, upon application
made prior to the expiration of the original term of the

11. permit: Provided, further, That if during the term of
the first extension the permittee has also drilled a well
or wells within the area covered by the permit with a
total footage of two thousand feet and has complied
with the provisions of this Act and the regulations and
with the terms and conditions of the permit, the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, upon
the application of the concessionaire made prior to the
expiration of the first extension of the said permit, may
grant an extension thereof for its entire area or part
thereof, for another term of two years. No further
extension of any permit shall be granted at the end of
seven years from date of its original issuance:
Provided, That should the permittee be still interested
in the area and he had drilled a well or wells therein
during the period of the second renewal with the
required total footage and has complied with the
provisions of this Act and the regulations and with the
terms and conditions of the permit, he may, if he is
qualified to do so, file an application for a permit over
the same area or portion thereof, which shall be treated
as any other new application for permit.
SEC. 17. Application for lease. – If and when a
discovery of geothermal energy, natural gas and
methane gas has been made by a holder of a permit and
he has determined that the same is of commercial value
and that he is ready to produce and utilize the same or
put it into commercial use, he may at any time during
the life of his permit and subject to the limitation in
Section eighteen of this Act, apply for a lease of the
area or portion covered by his permit by filing an
application with the Director of Mines which shall be
accompanied by a plan prepared from an accurate
transit and tape survey of the area indicating one
corner of a claim tied by bearing and distance to a

12. recognized bench mark, permanent monument, or other
registered points, and approved by the Director of
Mines.
If and when the application for lease is found in order,
the condition for the granting of the lease present and
applicant, qualified, the Director of Mines shall grant
the lease to the applicant for the Republic of the
Philippines stating therein the principal rights and
obligations of the lessee.
SEC. 18. Size and shape of the lease area. – The area
that may be applied for lease shall be not more than
one-half of the original area covered by the permit and
shall be in block rectangular in shape, except when
allowed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources in cases where it is contiguous with seas,
bays and lakes and with other existing concessions,
with its longer dimension not more than five times its
shorter dimension. No person shall be allowed to hold
more than twenty-five thousand hectares under lease in
the whole territory of the Philippines.
SEC. 19. Rights conveyed under lease. – The lessee, his
heirs and assigns have the exclusive right, under the
term of the lease, to drill within the boundaries
projected vertically downward of the area covered by
his lease to tap and utilize the geothermal energy,
natural gas and methane gas existing therein and/or to
extract therefrom any kind of matter derived from a
bore and for the time being with or any steam, water,
water vapor or mixture and to process and market the
same, subject to the provisions of this Act and the
regulations that may be issued by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources regarding
conservation and prevention of waste, prevention of

13. water and air pollution, safety and health, and any
other pertinent matter.
SEC. 20. Minerals mixed with steam. – Any mineral
that may be found in or mixed with steam, water vapor,
or mixture thereof that has been heated by natural
underground energy may be separated therefrom and
produce without the need of coming under the
provisions of the Mining Act, if such separation and
production of the mineral is only incidental to or a by-
product of the production and utilization for commercial
purposes of the geothermal energy, natural gas and
methane gas.
SEC. 21. Work obligations of lessee. – With the
application for lease and before the beginning of each
calendar year during the life of the lease, the applicant
or lessee shall submit to the Director of Mines, a
program of work proposed to be undertaken by him
within the lease during that year.
The lessee shall commence to tap and utilize the
geothermal energy, natural gas and methane gas
discovered within one year from the date the lease is
granted and shall continue such tapping and utilization
until at least the commercial requirement for such
energy as determined by the lessee after consultation
with the Director of Mines is met: Provided, That the
extent of such tapping and utilization is in accordance
with good engineering practice: Provided, further, That
unreasonable suspension or limitation of such
production or utilization shall be a cause for
cancellation of the lease by the Director of Mines.
SEC. 22. Annual tax. – No annual tax on the lease
shall be due until the lessee has commenced

14. commercial operation, but thereafter, a tax of two pesos
per hectare per year or fraction thereof shall be due and
payable to the government.
SEC. 23. Term of lease. – The term of lease shall not
exceed twenty- five years counted from the date of its
issuance renewable for another period not to exceed
twenty-five years at the option of and upon application
of the lessee made prior to the expiration of the original
term.
SEC. 24. Royalty. – Geothermal energy, natural gas
and methane gas that may be produced and utilized for
commercial purposes shall be subject to the payment of
royalty to the Government at the rate of one and one-
half per centum of the market value of the energy or gas
so produced and utilized.
SEC. 25. Renunciation of areas covered by permit
and/or lease. – The holder of a permit and/or lease
may, at any time during the existence of the permit
and/or lease, renounce the whole or any part of the total
area covered thereby.
SEC. 26. Application fee. – Every application shall be
accompanied with an application fee of five hundred
pesos for a permit and one thousand pesos for a lease.
In the event that no corresponding permit to lease is
granted, the sum paid shall be returned to the
applicant less such amount of expenses incurred by the
Government in connection with the processing of said
application in accordance with the regulations. Said
fees shall form part of the trust fund of the Bureau of
Mines.
SEC. 27. Bond for performance. – Upon the issuance of

15. a permit and/or lease, the permittee and/or lessee shall
post a bond in favor of the government in a sum to be
fixed by the regulations and with surety or sureties
satisfactory to the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources conditioned upon the faithful performance by
the permittee and/or lessee of all his obligations under
the permit and/or lease to be issued to him.
SEC. 28. Employment of Filipinos. – Permittees and/or
lessees and their contractors or operators are obligated
to give preference to Philippine citizens in all types of
employment within the country, insofar as such citizens
are qualified to perform the corresponding work with
reasonable efficiency and without hazard to the safety
of the operations; and are obligated likewise to
maintain effective programs of training and
advancement commensurate with the demonstrated
abilities of such citizens to perform satisfactorily the
various types of operations involved. The permittees
and/or lessees, however, shall not be hindered from
using employees of their own selection and without
restriction for executive or technical work which; in
their judgment, and with the approval of the Director of
Mines, requires highly specialized training or long
experience.
Each permittee and/or lessee and their contractors or
operators shall submit to the Government annual
report giving statistical and descriptive information
relevant to the provisions of this Section as provided in
the regulations, and shall be obligated to demonstrate
to the satisfaction of the Director of Mines upon
request, that these provisions are being complied with.
In the event that in the opinion of the Director of
Mines, such provisions are not complied with, he is
empowered to require the permittee and/or lessee to

16. take such steps as may be necessary to effect such
compliance, without prejudice, however, to the right of
the permittee and/ or lessee under the exception
provided in the last sentence of the first paragraph of
this Section.
SEC. 29. Submission of information and reports by
permittee and/or lessee. – Holders of a permit and/or
lease issued under this Act shall submit to the Director
of Mines all information that the latter may require
from time to time particularly but not limited to,
reports on the results of geological and geophysical
examination, including a complete history on its well
formation records, electric logs, and result of all tests
production reports showing all pertinent production
data, etc., in the form and manner and at intervals
prescribed by the regulations.
SEC. 30. Inspection of operations and examination of
books and accounts. – The Director of Mines or his
representatives shall have authority to inspect any
operations of the permittee and/or lessee at all
reasonable times and to examine the records of said
operations as well as all the books and accounts
pertaining thereto or related to payment of taxes and
royalties under this Act and to carry out any other
inspection authorized by law or regulations. The
permittee and/or lessee shall furnish to said official or
his representative all technical and actual data
specified in the regulations and shall give them
authority and ample facilities and assistance to
discharge their duties as such.
For the purpose of enabling proper examination as
provided for in this Section, the permittee and/or lessee
is obligated to retain within the country all original

17. records or original carbon copies thereof which are
essential for the purpose of determining the amount of
taxes and royalties due to the Government.
SEC. 31. Taxes and customs duties. – During the first
five-year period following the granting of any lease, the
permittee and/or lessee may import, free of customs and
tariff duties, compensating tax, and such other taxes
that may be imposed on importation, such equipment,
machineries, instruments, accessories and spare parts,
chemicals and supplies as may be certified by the
Director of Mines to be essential to the operations of the
permittee and/or lessee.
These equipment, machineries, instruments,
accessories and spare parts, chemicals and supplies,
when no longer needed in the operation of the permittee
and/or lessee, may be exported or returned to point of
origin without being subject to any export tax:
Provided, That when such equipment, machineries,
instruments, accessories and spare parts, chemicals
and supplies are subsequently sold to any person not
qualified under this law, the same shall be subject to
tax.
No exemption shall be allowed on goods imported by
the permittee and/or lessee for his personal use or that
of any other; nor for sale or for purposes other than for
the exploration, for production and utilization of
geothermal energy, natural gas and methane gas, and
after any goods on which exemption has been allowed to
be thus used or disposed of the permittee and/or lessee
is obliged to make a report to that effect to pay such
duty or duties as due thereon.
SEC. 32. Work obligations, special taxes and royalties

18. not to be changed. – Work obligations, special taxes
and royalties which are fixed by the provisions of this
Act or by the terms of the permit and/or lease, are
considered as inherent on such permit and/or lease
after they have been granted and shall not be increased
or changed during the life of the permit and/or lease to
which they apply; nor shall any other special taxes or
levies be applied to such permit and/or lease; nor shall
the permittee and/or lessee be subject to any provincial,
municipal or other local taxes or levies. All such
permittees and lessees, however, shall be subject to
such taxes as are of general application in addition to
taxes and levies specifically provided in this Act.
SEC. 33. Compulsory collection. – In the event of
failure by a permittee and/or lessee to pay any tax,
royalty or unspent balance on his work obligations, due
under the provisions of this Act, the same shall be
subject to surcharge of one per cent a month until paid
and when such failure shall be for a period of six
months from the date when they become due and
payable, the Government may resort to compulsory
collection and in accordance with the provisions of the
National Internal Revenue Code.
SEC. 34. Officials in charge and powers and duties. –
The Director of Mines shall be the executive officer
charged with carrying out the provisions of this Act. He
shall prescribe rules and regulations and issue orders
which he may find necessary to carry out the provisions
of this Act, which, among others, shall include the
following:
(a) Prescribing any form that may be required for
the purpose of this Act;

19. (b) Prescribing the financial and technical
qualifications of applicants for permit or lease,
and the conditions upon or subject to which
permits or leases, may be applied for, granted or
renewed;
(c) Providing for the keeping of records and
furnishing of information and returns by persons
authorized by permittee and/or lessee and
prescribing the nature of records, information,
and returns and the form, manner, and times in
or at which they shall be kept or furnished;
(d) Prescribing the duties of permittees and/or lessee
and the operations to be carried out under said
permits or leases;
(e) Prescribing the qualifications of persons in
charge in making, marking and closing bores and
in particular, of persons employed as bore
managers and providing for the examinations of
and grant certificates to qualified persons;
(f) Preventing or abating nuisances in or about
bores and industries using geothermal energy,
natural gas and methane gas;
(g) Prescribing safety precautions in the making and
after completion of bores, and the treatment of
the ground about any bore and of water above
and below the ground, and preventing waste or
loss of geothermal energy, natural gas and
methane gas;
(h) Prescribing drilling machinery, materials and
casts to be used in making of bores and to be

20. available to cope with any emergency in
connection with any bore and prohibiting the use
of other classes thereof;
(i) Prohibiting or regulating the making of bores
near other bores;
(j) Regulating the cessation of boring operations and
the abandonment and closing of bores and
prescribing precautions against loosening the
earth in the vicinity of any bore;
(k) Providing for bores to be made with due diligence
and by safe and satisfactory methods.
SEC. 35. Orders, decisions and appeals. – Orders and
decisions of the Director of Mines may be appealed to
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources
within thirty days after receipt of such order or
decision. In case any of the parties concerned should
disagree from the order or decision of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources the matter may be
taken to the Court of Appeals or to the Supreme Court,
as the case may be, within thirty days from receipt of
such order or decision. Failure to take the necessary
appeal within the period herein prescribed shall render
the order or decision final and binding upon the parties
concerned. Findings of facts in the decision of the
Director of Mines when affirmed by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be final
conclusively, and the aggrieved party or parties
desiring to appeal from such order or decision shall file
in the Supreme Court within the period herein
provided, a petition for review wherein only questions
of law may be raised.

21. SEC. 36. Transfer and assignment. – Holders of
permits and/or leases under this Act shall not, without
previous written approval of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, transfer or assign,
in whole or in part, the rights under permits and/or
leases: Provided, That no such transfer or assignment
shall be made to a person who is not qualified to
acquire or hold a permit or lease under this Act, or who
shall hold a total area under permit or lease, including
that to be assigned to him or more than the maximum
areas allowed under this Act.
SEC. 37. Partial invalidity. – If any clause, sentence,
provisions or article of this Act shall be held invalid or
unconstitutional, it shall not affect in anywise the
remaining parts of this Act and such remaining part
shall remain in full force and effect.
SEC. 38. Repeal of laws, rules and regulations. – All
Acts, laws, rules and regulations inconsistent with any
of the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.
SEC. 39. Effective date. – This Act shall take effect
upon its approval.
Enacted without Executive approval, June 17, 1967