Rizal on work and unity for the nation

Title

Creator

From Rizal's letter to M. H. del Pilar, 1891

Language

English

Year

1949

Subject

Rizal, Jose P. – Letters.

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

(Reprint from Panorama of March, 1939)

Fulltext

CONSERVATION AND UTILIZATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES (Art. XIII, Constitution of the Philip· pines) SECTION 1. All agricultural, timber, and mineral lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of' potential energy, and other natural resources of the Philippines belong to the . State, and their disposition, ex· ploitation, development, or utilization shall ·be limited· to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations or associa· tions at least sixty per centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens, subject to any existing right, grant, lease, or concession at the time . 9f the i n a u g u r a t i o n of the Government established under this Constitution. Natural resources, with the exception of public agricultural land, shall not be alienated, and no license, concession, or lease for the exploitation, development, or utilization of any of the natural resources shall be granted for a rperiod exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for another twenty-five years, except as to water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of water power, in which cases beneficial use may be the measure and the limit of the grant. SEC. 2. No private corporation or association may acquire, lease, or hold public agricultural lands in excess of one thousand and twenty-four hectares, nor may any individual acquire euch lands by purchase in excess of one hundred and forty-four hectares, or by lease in excess of one thousand and twenty-four hectares, or by homestead in excess of twenty-four hectares. Lands adapted to grazing, not exceeding two thousand hectares, may be leased to an individual, private corporation, or association. SEC. 3. The Congl'ess may determine by law the size of private agricultural land which individuals, corporations, or associations may acquire Page 206 RIZAL ON WORK AND UNITY· FOR THE NATION Your letter has greatly astonished me as it tells me of resentments, differences, and reconciliations. I think it is useless to talk of things that do not exist, and, if they did exist, they must have vanished in the past. I am of the same opinion as you, that there having been nothing at all we should lose no time talking about it. If I stopped writing for Solidaridad, I did so for various reasons : 1st I need time to work on my boook ; 2nd I wish that other Filipinos should also work; 3rd I have thought that within the party what counts much is unity in the work; and inasmuch as you are now on top and I have also my own ideas, it is more important thait you be left to direct the policy as you understand it and that I should not meddle with it. This has two advantages: it leaves us both free and it increases your pres· tige, which is very necessary because in our country men of prestige are needed. I do not mean to say by this that I am not going to work and follow the cours·e of your activities. I am like an army corps that at the needed moment you see arrive and fall upon the flanks of the enemy who are before you. I only ask God that I be given the means to do so. More9ver, ·frankly I do not like to waste time attacking and fighting private enterprises as those of P. Font, Quioquiap, and others. I fight for the nation, the Philippines. -From Rizal's letter to M. H. del Pilar. 1891. (Reprint from Panorama of March, 1939). and hold, subject to rights existing prior to the- enactment of such law. SEC. 4. The Congress may authorize, upon payment of ju:st compensation, the expropriation of lands to be subdivided into small lots and conveyed at cost to individuals. SEC. 5. Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private agricultural land (Continued on page 220) THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW

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