04/02/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizen, or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens. Such agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and under such terms and conditions as may be provided by law. In cases of water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of water power, beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the grant. "The State shall protect the nation's marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens. "The Congress may, by law, allow small-scale utilization of natural resources by Filipino citizens, as well as cooperative fish farming, with priority to subsistence fishermen and fish workers in rivers, lakes, bays and lagoons. "The President may enter into agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving either technical or financial assistance for largescale exploration, development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum, and other mineral oils according to the general terms and conditions provided by law, based on real contributions to the economic growth and general welfare of the country. In such agreements, the State shall promote the development and use of local scientific and technical resources. "The President shall notify the Congress of every contract entered into in accordance with this provision, within thirty days from its execution." The adoption of the Regalian Doctrine by the Philippine Commonwealth was initially impelled by the desire to preserve the nation's wealth in the hands of the Filipinos themselves. Nationalism was fervent at the time, and our constitutional framers decided to embody the doctrine in our fundamental law. Charging the State with the conservation of the national patrimony was deemed necessary for Filipino posterity. The arguments in support of the provision are encapsulated by Aruego as follows: " [T]he natural resources, particularly the mineral resources which constituted a great source of wealth, belonged not only to the generation then but also to the succeeding generation and consequently should be conserved for them."[12] Thus, after expressly declaring that all lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, all forces of energy and other natural resources belonged to the Philippine State, the Commonwealth absolutely prohibited the alienation of these natural resources. Their disposition, exploitation, development and utilization were further restricted only to Filipino citizens and entities that were 60 percent Filipino-owned. The present Constitution even goes further by declaring that such activities "shall be under the full control and supervision of the State." Additionally, it enumerates land classifications and expressly states that only agricultural lands of the public domain elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/36882 137/148