FOREST 1- FORESTRY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PD 705

Revised version of PD 389, “Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines”- PD 705

Repealed PD 330 and 339, C.A No. 452, and RA 4715

•Effectivity : May 19, 1975

•Policies (Sec 2)

•Multiple uses of forest lands for development and progress of the country

•Systematic land classification and survey

•Promotion of wood processing plants

•Forest protection, development, and rehabilitation Logo

Jurisdiction

• LMB (Land Management Bureau) or CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program): alienable and
disposable lands within public land- The character of property that makes it capable of sale or transfer;
lands of the public domain which have been the subject of the present system of classification and
declared as not needed for forest, mineral purposes or national parks.

• BFAR Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources: Mangroves and wetlands not needed for forest
purposes

• Grazing lands: pasture lease not declared as a reservation area- Grazing lands are lands where grass or
grass-like vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life, and are used mainly for animal
production. Grazing lands cover a broad range of land use types and include: ... Grasslands, which may
be used, either partially or exclusively, as grazing land.

Grazing slope- the rise or fall of the land surface. It is important for the farmer or irrigator to identify the
slopes on the land. A slope is easy to recognize in a hilly area. Start climbing from the foot of a hill
toward the top, this is called a rising slope

Alienable and disposable: ≤18 percent slope

•Grazing land: 50 percent slope

•Exceptions:

•Private lands or the land is already covered by approved public land application prior to 1975

•Actually occupied openly, continuously, adversely, and publicly for a period of not less than 30 years as
of the effectivity of this Code

• Public Land Act of 1903 provides the disposition of land by homestead, free patent, sell, judicial
confirmation, and lease. The name of the title awarded under this Act is called “Torrens Title”.
Torrens title- Land titles are registered through a statutory process called the Torrens title system; A
Torrens certificate is a document assigning full, indisputable rights of real property to a registered
titleholder.

•homestead patent piece of virgin land, cultivate and construct a house

• Free Patent is the compromise mode of titling lands

Free patent- Under Section 11 of the Public Land Act, a free patent is a mode of disposition of public
agricultural land whereby an incomplete or imperfect title over a parcel of land is administratively
legalized.

Exceptions to 18% slope

• when public interest so requires: expropriate, cancel defective titles, reject public land application, or
eject occupants thereof (reversion)

• Areas less than 250 hectares which are far from, or are not contiguous (sharing a common border)
with, any certified alienable and disposable land;

• Isolated patches of forest of at least five (5) hectares with rocky terrain, or which protect a spring for
communal use;

• Areas which have already been reforested;

• Areas with forest concessions (used for allocating public forests to a private entity. It is used as a
contract to establish the rights to harvest in a given forest area and regulate responsibilities, prices,
incentives and sanctions of the government and the concession holder) which are timbered or have a
good residual stocking to support an existing, or approved to be established, wood processing plant (e.g.
PTFI forest concessions)

• Ridge tops (the crest of a ridge) and plateaus regardless of size found within, or surrounded wholly or
partly by, forest lands where headwaters emanate;

• Appropriately located road right of way;

• Twenty meters strips of land along edge of the normal high waterline of rivers and streams with
channels of at least five (5) meters wide; Strips of mangrove or swamplands at least twenty (20) meters
wide, along shorelines facing oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water, and strips of land at least twenty
(20 meters wide facing lakes

• Areas needed for other purposes, such as national parks, national historical sites, game refuges and
wildlife sanctuaries, forest station sites, and other areas of public interest; and

• Areas previously proclaimed by the President as forest reserves, national parks, game refuge, bird
sanctuaries, national shrines, and national historic sites.
President has power to declare lands for public domain, forest reservation, national park,
preservation of critical watershed, or modify existing boundaries (Section 18)

Section 19- license agreement is a privilege to utilize forest resources, with the right of occupation and
possession thereof to the exclusion of the others.

• License, a privilege granted to utilize forest resources within the forest land, without any right of
occupation and possession

•permit is a short term privilege to utilize any limited forest resources within the forest land without any
right of occupation and possession therein

Section 22- provides for the system of timber harvesting within the production forest in the forest land

• DENR Administrative Order No. 24 series of 1991 log ban in virgin forest

• DAO (DENR Administrative Order) 29 series of 1992 shift of logging from virgin forest to second
growth or residual forest.

Second growth/Residual forest- A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown
after a timber harvest, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are
no longer evident

-The status or condition of a forest subsequent to commercial logging and which there is more or less
sufficient or adequate volume of residuals or the desired species of trees of future harvest.

Forest products export allowed?

•Ban exportation of lumber and fuelwood under DAO 19 and DAO 29 series of 1989

Sec 33- Reforestation and Afforestation

• Reforestation any tree planting activities conducted in previously forested areas

Reforestation-the process of replanting an area with trees.

•Afforestation any tree planting activities in bare land and not previously covered by forest

Afforestation- Afforestation is when new trees are planted or seeds are sown in an area where there
were no trees before, creating a new forest.

•CBFMP Community Based Forest Management Program (E.O 263)- adopting community-based forest
management as the national strategy to ensure the sustainable development of the country's forest
land resources and providing mechanisms for its implementation.

Community Based Forest Management Agreement is a production sharing agreement between the
Department of Environment Natural Resources and the participating people’s organization (POs) for a
period of 25 years renewable for another 25 years and shall provide tenurial security and incentives to
develop, utilize and manage specific portions of forest lands. (DENR Administrative Order No. 96-29)
Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) is a program of the Filipino government to encourage
reforestation and sustainable management of forests.

•E.O. 320 s 2004 (CDM program) the DENR implements carbon sink projects through reforestation and

afforestation activities

EO 320- DESIGNATING THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES AS THE

NATIONAL AUTHORITY FOR CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM

Carbon sink project in forest- Forests are typically carbon sinks, places that absorb more carbon than
they release. They continually take carbon out of the atmosphere through the process of
photosynthesis.

•NGP (E.O. 26) 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares of land- Executive Order No. 26, series of 2011
was issued to plant 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares of lands of the public domain for a period of
six (6) years from CY 2011 to CY 2016.

Section 43: Swamplands and Mangrove Forest

• Under DENR jurisdiction, unless release for fishpond purposes, in which case jurisdiction is in BFAR-
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources

Under Executive Order 192 the DENR has been given the full authority and control over the
management and development of forestlands in the country It has jurisdiction over all lands of the
public domain (i e agricultural lands, forest or timber lands, national parks, and mineral lands) except
those placed by law and/or other issuances under the operational jurisdiction of other government
agencies It is responsible for the conservation, management, development and proper use of the
country’s natural resources as well as licensing and regulation of all natural resources as may be
provided by existing laws

LGU

Sections 26 and 27 provide - JURISDICTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Sec 26. Duty of National Government Agencies in the Maintenance of Ecological Balance- It shall be
the duty of every national agency or government owned or controlled corporation authorizing or
involved in the planning and implementation of any project or program that may cause pollution,
climatic change, depletion of non renewable resources, loss of crop land, rangeland, or forest cover, and
extinction of animal or plant species, to consult with the local government units, nongovernmental
organizations, and other sectors concerned and explain the goals and objectives of the project or
program, its impact upon the people and the community in terms of environmental or ecological
balance, and the measures that will be undertaken to prevent or minimize the adverse effects thereof
Sec. 27. Section Prior Consultations Required- No project or program shall be implemented by
government authorities unless the consultations mentioned in Sections 2 ( and 26 hereof are complied
with, and prior approval of the sanggunian concerned is obtained Provided, That occupants in areas
where such projects are to be implemented shall not be evicted unless appropriate relocation sites have
been provided, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution

Pursuant to Section 4 of Republic Act 6657 the following lands are under the jurisdiction of DAR ::
(Joint DAR DENR NCIP AO No 01 12

oAlienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to or suitable to agriculture which were

Proclaimed by the President as DAR resettlement projects and placed under the administration of DAR
for distribution to qualified beneficiaries

 Placed by law under the jurisdiction of DAR and

 Previously proclaimed for the use of the government departments, agencies and instrumentalities
and subsequently turned over to DAR pursuant to E O 407 s 1990 as amended by E O 448 and E O 506

Pursuant to Section 4 of Republic Act 6657 the following lands are under the jurisdiction of DAR ::
(Joint DAR DENRNCIP AO No 01 12

O All lands of the public domain in excess of the specific area limits as determined by Congress in the
preceding paragraph

O All other lands owned by the Government devoted to or suitable for agriculture and

O All private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture regardless of the agricultural products raised
or that can be raised thereon

The following types of lands shall be under the responsibility and jurisdiction of NCIP National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples (Joint DAR DENR NCIP AO No 01 12

O All lands encompassed in the definition of ancestral domains under Section 3 ( of R A No 8371

O All lands included in the definition of ancestral lands under Section 3 ( of R A 8371

O All lands covered by a Presidential Proclamations or by law which proclaimed the same as
reservations or resettlement areas of particular tribes of ICCs/Ps and the

o All lands certified by the Chairman of the NCIP as AD/AL pursuant to Section 52 i of IPRA

The rights of ICC/IP are given due recognition by the government by issuance of Certificate of Ancestral
Domain Title (CADT) and Certificate of Ancestral Land Title (CALT). CADT- title formally recognizing the
rights of possession and ownership of ICCs/IPs over their ancestral domains identified and delineated in
accordance with this law while…
FOREST 2- TREE HARVESTING

Civil Code, Article 483. Whenever a large tree threatens to fall in such a way as to cause damage to the
land or tenement of another or to travelers over a public or private road, the owner of the tree shall be
obliged to fell and remove it; and should he not do so, it shall be done at his expense by order of the
administrative authorities. (390a)

Article 679. No trees shall be planted near a tenement or piece of land belonging to another except at
the distance authorized by the ordinances or customs of the place, and, in the absence thereof, at a
distance of at least two meters from the dividing line of the estates if tall trees are planted and at a
distance of at least fifty centimeters if shrubs or small trees are planted. Every landowner shall have the
right to demand that trees hereafter planted at a shorter distance from his land or tenement be
uprooted.

Article 680. If the branches of any tree should extend over a neighboring estate, tenement, garden or
yard, the owner of the latter shall have the right to demand that they be cut off insofar as they may
spread over his property, and, if it be the roots of a neighboring tree which should penetrate into the
land of another, the latter may cut them off himself within his property.

Article 430. land owners with the explicit right to enclose their property with a physical fence/wall:
“Every owner may enclose or fence his land or tenements by means of walls, ditches, live or dead
hedges, or by any other means without detriment to servitudes constituted thereon.”

LEGAL DOCUMENTS TO CUT, GATHER, COLLECT, OR REMOVE TIMBER

TIMBER LICENSE AGREEMENT (TLA)- issued by the DENR to the logging companies to give them
authority to cut, collect, gather, or remove timber from their forest concessions

Timber Production Sharing Agreement (TPSA) - a license given by the DENR to private individuals to
exploit or utilize forest resources within the concession area in accordance with law

Private Land Timber Permit (PLTP)- a license issued by the DENR to the owner of private lands who
wanted to cut, collect, gather timber resources found and naturally growing within the private lands. By
the word private lands, it means those lands covered by title under the public land act, by court order,
or by administrative orders. This also includes land covered by a tax declaration and CLOA (Certificate of
Land Ownership Awards)

RESOURCE USE PERMIT (RUP)- the authority to cut, gather, collect, or remove timber in CBFMP areas
(DAO 29 series of 2000)

Industrial Forest Plantation (IFP)- refers to any tract of land planted mainly to timber producing tree
species, including rubber, and/or non timber species such as rattan and bamboo, primarily to supply the
raw material requirements of forest based industries, among others
IFMA (DAO 99 53 S AMENDED DAO 2020 04

Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) – a production-sharing contract entered into by and
between the DENR and a qualified applicant wherein the DENR grants to the latter the exclusive right to
develop, manage, protect and utilize a specified area of forestland and forest resource therein for a
period of 25 years

AVAILABLE AREAS:

Open and denuded lands, brushlands, degraded residual natural forests;

• Areas covered by cancelled/expired Forest Land Grazing Agreement or pasture permits or leases;

• Government reforestation projects or portions thereof found to be more suitable or can be better
developed as IFP interms of public interest and benefits to surrounding

communities;

• Production residual natural forest that may be best included in any of the aforementioned areas and
be a part of the managed forest under the IFMA;

• Areas under cancelled and expired TLAs; provided, areas under existing TLAs may be allowed for
conversion to IFMA by the holder thereof pursuant to Sections 6, 9 and 12 herein.

Benefits from tree plantation registration

• Tree plantation registration will help make harvesting and transport of timber easier (DENR
Memorandum Circular 97 09)

• Easy to secure documents/clearances to harvest and transport timber products from your plantation.

• Exemption from any forest charges and other environmental fees.

• Better access to potential buyers through DENR database information system.

REGISTRATION OF TREE PLANTATION (refer to chart, page 8)

Requirements

• Letter Request

•Title or tax Declaration

•Pictures of the Site

CUTTING OF COCONUT

R A No 8048 Coconut Preservation Act of 1995 • Amended by R A No 10593

DEFAULT: NO CUTTING

EXCEPTIONS : CUTTING WITH PERMIT

- OLD AGE: • 60 FOR TALL • 40 FOR DWARF

-COCONUT NO LONGER BEARING FRUITS OR ECONOMICALLY PRODUCTIVE

- COCONUT IS SEVERELY DISEASE INFECTED AND BEYOND REHABILITATION

- COCONUT IS SEVERELY DAMAGE BY TYPHOON

- COCONUT LAND IS CONVERTED INTO RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL AREAS IN

ACCORDANCE WITH LAW

-WHEN COCONUT WOULD CAUSE HAZARD TO LIFE AND PROPERTY

CUTTING OF COCONUT TREES REQUIREMENTS:

-Application fee

-Brgy Chairman certification, under oath that the applicant planted an equivalent number of trees
applied for to be cut (not applicable in conversion cases)

POLICE POWER OF PCA

Investigate suspected violations of this Act

• Arrest and apprehend any person actually committing or attempting to commit an offense under this
Act

•Arrest and apprehend possessor of coconut lumber without the necessary permit as required under
this Act

•Search and seize a moving vehicle with illegally cut, gathered, collected or removed coconut lumber
Provided, That probable cause for the search is established

• Stop the transport and/or shipment of coconut lumber without authority or without legal documents
in accordance with pertinent laws, regulations or policies on the matter

• Confiscate and forfeit in favor of the government the illegally cut, gathered, collected, removed,
possessed or abandoned coconut lumber, as well as the machinery, equipment, implements and tools
illegally used in the commission of the offense and to dispose of the same in accordance with pertinent
laws, regulations or policies on the matter and

• Seek the assistance of other law enforcement agencies for the efficient and effective implementation
of this Act
PENALTIES

 imprisonment of not less than two 2 years but not more than six 6 years, or a fine of not less than One
hundred thousand pesos P 100 000 00 but not more than Five hundred thousand pesos P 500 000 00 or
both, at the discretion of the court

 If the offender is a corporation or a juridical entity, the official who ordered, or allowed the
commission of the offense shall be punished with the same penalty

 If the offender is in the government service, he shall, in addition be dismissed from office

 Upon verification by the PCA that no replanting was done, the barangay captain who issued the
certification shall, upon conviction, be penalized with imprisonment of not less than three 3 years but
not more than seven 7 years and a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos P 100 000 00 but
not more than One million pesos P 1 000 000 00 Furthermore, the barangay captain concerned shall be
perpetually disqualified from holding any other public office

CUTTING OF TREES FOR ROAD WIDENING

DENR Administrative Order 16 Series of 2018 Guidelines in the processing and issuance of permits on
the removal and relocation of trees affected by DPWH Projects

• Scope roads, bridges, flood control, and other infrastructures duly certified as government projects of
the DPWH

DENR Administrative Order 06 Series of 2020 Amending certain provisions of DAO 16 s 2018

• Scope expanded to include all applications for the cutting and/or earthballing of trees for the
construction of roads, bridges, flood control and other infrastructure projects for public purposes of the
National Government Agencies provided that the head of NGA shall submit to the DENR the annual list
of priority projects The NGA includes DPWH, DepEd, DA, DOH, CHED, DOE, and NIA

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED TO CENRO

CENRO- City Environment & Natural Resources Office

PENRO vs CENRO- the CENRO issues certificates of land classification status for areas below 50 hectares.
The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Offices (PENRO) issues certificate of land
classification status for lands covering over 50 hectares.

Final and approved infrastructure development plan with tree charting (e g road alignment, building
plan, DED), indicating the geotagged location of individual trees affected by the project, to be numbered
sequentially, as basis of validation by the DENR during actual cutting operations
Appropriate Environmental Clearance (CNC/ECC)

CNC- Certificate of Non-Coverage

ECC- Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC)

A CNC is the equivalent of an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) for projects that are not
expected to have significant impacts on the environment. These projects are considered to be not
covered by the Philippine Environmental Impact Assessment System, hence the name.

•Endorsement form the concerned LGUs

• Waiver/Consent corresponding to appropriate infrastructure plan in case of tree cutting within private
lands,

• The application for tree cutting and/earth balling permits may be processed and issued even without
approved tenurial instrument, and

• Appropriate land tenure instrument for tree cutting within forestland if within protected areas, it
requires PAMB clearance/resolution, which shall include endorsement for the EMB Regional Office to
determine whether the project is eligible for CNC or should undergo scoping process under the EIS
System

PAMB stands for Protected Area Management Board (Philippines; Department of the Environment and
Natural Resources)

EMB- Environmental Management Bureau

REQUIREMENTS FOR TREE PLANTATION
LETTER REQUEST FOR TREE CUTTING PERMIT
E.O 23

DECLARING A MORATORIUM ON THE CUTTING AND HARVESTING OF TIMBER IN THE NATURAL AND
RESIDUAL FORESTS

Requirement for Tree Cutting Permit

1. Duly accomplished Application Form

2. Authenticated Copy of Ownership to the Land

3. Inventory fee based on DAO 2004 16

4. Harvesting Development Plan

5. Endorsement from any of the following Local Government Unit Officials

• Barangay Captain

• Municipal/City Mayor

• Provincial Governor

6. Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) as a basis for the Environmental

Compliance Certificate (ECC)

CUTTING TREES IN PRIVATE LANDS REQUIREMENTS

1. Duly accomplished Application Form

2. Authenticated Copy of Ownership to the Land

3. Inventory fee based on DAO 2004 16

4. Harvesting Development Plan

5. Endorsement from any of the following Local Government Unit Officials

• Barangay Captain

• Municipal/City Mayor

• Provincial Governor

6. Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) as a basis for the

Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC)

CUTTING OF MANGROVES

PERMIT IS REQUIRED EVEN IF THE MANGROVE FOREST ARE PLANTATIONS

SECTION 13. Cutting of Trees in Mangrove Plantations. Mangrove plantation developers shall be
allowed to cut the planted trees found within their respective plantations through clearcutting by strips
system, whether such is intended for personal or commercial purposes: Provided, that they secure a
permit from the immediate office of the DENR.

FORESTRY 3

FORESTRY LAW ENFORCEMENT

INSTITUTIONS WITH RESPONSIBILITY, AUTHORITY, ACCOUNTABILITY IN FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT

E.O 192 PROVIDES THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK

• Primary government agency responsibility for the enforcement of natural resources and
environmental laws, rules, and regulations

• Line agencies to enforce forest laws:

DENR Region

PENRO- Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) refers to the DENR office, headed
by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer appointed by the Secretary of the DENR,
which is responsible for the implementation of DENR policies, programs and projects in the province.

CENRO- Community Environment and Natural resources Office (CENRO) refers to the DENR Office,
headed by a Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer Appointed by the Secretary of
DENR, which is responsible for the implementation of DENR policies, programs, project and activities
and the enforcement of ENR laws

LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE (R.A.7160): to enact comprehensive land use plans and regulate the use of
property and business activities, through issuance of permits, etc.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES- ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES, PNP, NBI, Phil Coast Guard

Methods of Apprehension- Control of Concession Area- DENR Checkpoints, Aerial Surveillance, Foot
Patrol (a group that patrols an area by walking), Lumber/Timber Check

COMMON OFFENSES UNDER PD 705-

1. Cutting, gathering and/or collecting timber or other forest products without license or

possession of timber or other forest products without legal document (illegal logging).

2. Unlawful occupation or destruction of forest lands and grazing lands (kaingin making).
3. Pasturing livestock without authority in forest lands, grazing lands and undisposed A & D lands.

4. Illegal occupation of national parks systems and recreation areas and vandalism therein.

5. Destruction of wildlife resources.

6. Unlawful possession of implements and devices used by forest officers.

COMMON OFFENSES UNDER NIPAS LAW (RA 7586)- AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT
AND MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL INTEGRATED PROTECTED AREAS SYSTEM, DEFINING ITS SCOPE
AND COVERAGE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

COMMON OFFENSES UNDER CHAINSAW ACT 2002 (RA 9175)

Persons liable in illegal logging- Cutter, Remover, Collector, Gatherer, Possessor Or Any And All Persons
Who Appear To Be Responsible For The Commission Of The Offense; In Case of a Corporations,
Partnership, Or Associations, the Officers who Ordered the Cutting, Gathering, Collecting, or Possession.

APPREHENSION- to lay hold of forest products, tools and equipment, implements, and conveyance
whether in transit or stationary for the purpose of inspection
Who are allowed to apprehend?- Forest Officers (Forest Rangers, Forest Guards, Forest Protection
Officer, etc; Deputies i e other government officials and private citizens) Members of the law
enforcement agencies ( AFP) ;Private Citizens as provided by law (Sec 3 DAO 32 s 1997)

SEIZURE- an official act of taking by persons authorized by law of items subject of apprehension, seizure
and confiscation into government custody, pending formal administrative proceedings for disposition
thereof

PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO EFFECT SEIZURE- CENRO or in his absence any DENR officer with the rank of
Forester 3 or Land Management Officer 3 (LMO) actually assigned to the areas of apprehension of the
time thereof; Team leader of the apprehending team; Protected Area Superintendent ( PASu ) (DAO
2000 45); The Secretary may from time to time also designate in writing such other DENR Officers for the
purpose