QuestionsQuestions (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 262)
It authorizes the use of virgin public lands for rice and other selected food crops to support the State’s goal of rice and food self-sufficiency, and provides funding for the project.
The Palayan ng Bayan Project is authorized and is initially intended to develop and use about 150,000 hectares of virgin public land primarily for rice and secondarily for corn and other selected food crops.
The Office of the President and the provincial governors are named as the project’s participants, with provincial projects to be awarded for performance.
It states it is pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081 dated September 21, 1972.
The National Government, through the Secretary of Finance, may issue Cereal Bonds of up to P200 million.
Proceeds are deposited with the Philippine National Bank for the account of the Office of the President.
(a) to fund development and operation of virgin public lands approved for use under the project by a National Advisory Council; (b) to fund awards for outstanding provincial projects, with awards not exceeding P250,000 per crop season; and (c) to support staff helping manage the project.
It approves which virgin public lands may be used for the Palayan ng Bayan Project and may authorize loans for related expenditures by resolution, subject to approval of the Secretary of Finance.
Funding is in the form of interest-free loans to provincial governments, backed by the personal guarantee of the Provincial Governor, at rates of P1,000 per hectare for land development and use, payable within two years.
Once authorized, they automatically are set aside for the project but remain public lands; when no longer needed for Palayan ng Bayan, they revert to their original purpose unless otherwise decreed.
No. Authorized virgin public lands remain public lands, and they revert to their original public purpose when no longer needed.
Awards for Palayan ng Bayan provincial projects cannot exceed Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (P250,000) for each crop season.
The loans provided to provincial governments have no interest; they are extended by the National Government through the Secretary of Finance as part of the funding mechanics tied to the bond proceeds.
The Provincial Governor personally guarantees the loan.
The loans are payable within a period of two years.
It takes effect immediately.