NatRes DefinitionOfTerms

DEFINITION OF TERMS - LAW ON NATURAL RESOURCES
DEFINITION OF TERMS
I. Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases, A.M. No. 09-6-8-SC, [April 13, 2010]
(a) By-product or derivatives means any part taken or substance extracted from wildlife, in raw or in processed form
including stuffed animals and herbarium specimens.
(b) Consent decree refers to a judicially-approved settlement between concerned parties based on public interest and public
policy to protect and preserve the environment.
(c) Continuing mandamus is a writ issued by a court in an environmental case directing any agency or instrumentality of the
government or officer thereof to perform an act or series of acts decreed by final judgment which shall remain effective until
judgment is fully satisfied.
(d) Environmental Protection Order (EPO) refers to an order issued by the court directing or enjoining any person or
government agency to perform or desist from performing an act in order to protect, preserve or rehabilitate the environment.
(e) Mineral refers to all naturally occurring inorganic substance in solid, gas, liquid, or any intermediate state excluding
energy materials such as coal, petroleum, natural gas, radioactive materials and geothermal energy.
(f) Precautionary principle states that when human activities may lead to threats of serious and irreversible damage to the
environment that is scientifically plausible but uncertain, actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that threat.
(g) Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) refers to an action whether civil, criminal or administrative,
brought against any person, institution or any government agency or local government unit or its officials and employees,
with the intent to harass, vex, exert undue pressure or stifle any legal recourse that such person, institution or government
agency has taken or may take in the enforcement of environmental laws, protection of the environment or assertion of
environmental rights. CHEDAc
(h) Wildlife means wild forms and varieties of flora and fauna, in all developmental stages including those which are in
captivity or are being bred or propagated.
II. Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, Republic Act No. 8749, [June 23, 1999]
a) "Air pollutant" means any matter found in the atmosphere other than oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and
the inert gases in their natural or normal concentrations, that is detrimental to health or the environment, which includes but
not limited to smoke, dust, soot, cinders, fly ash, solid particles of any kind, gases, fumes, chemical mists, steam and radio-
active substances;
b) "Air pollution" means any alteration of the physical, chemical and biological properties of the atmospheric air, or any
discharge thereto of any liquid, gaseous or solid substances that will or is likely to create or to render the air resources of the
country harmful, detrimental, or injurious to public health, safety or welfare or which will adversely affect their utilization for
domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate purposes;
c) "Ambient air quality guideline values" means the concentration of air over specified periods classified as short-term and
long-term which are intended to serve as goals or objectives for the protection of health and/or public welfare. These values
shall be used for air quality management purposes such as determining time trends, evaluating stages of deterioration or
enhancement of the air quality, and in general, used as basis for taking positive action in preventing, controlling, or abating
air pollution;
d) "Ambient air quality" means the general amount of pollution present in a broad area; and refers to the atmosphere's
average purity as distinguished from discharge measurements taken at the source of pollution;
e) "Certificate of Conformity" means a certificate issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to a
vehicle manufacturer/assembler or importer certifying that a particular new vehicle or vehicle type meets the requirements
provided under this Act and its rules and regulations;
f) "Department" means the Department of Environment and Natural Resources;
g) "Eco-profile" means the geographic-based instrument for planners and decision-makers which present an evaluation of the
environmental quality and carrying capacity of an area. It is the result of the integration of primary and secondary data and
information on natural resources and anthropogenic activities on the land which are evaluated by various environmental risk
assessment and forecasting methodologies that enable the Department to anticipate the type of development control necessary
in the planning area;
h) "Emission" means any air contaminant, pollutant, gas stream or unwanted sound from a known source which is passed
into the atmosphere;
OMPAD, ENOYA, DOSDOS, SALOMONS [USJR] “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones” - Confucius
i) "Greenhouse gases" means those gases that can potentially or can reasonably be expected to induce global warming, which
include carbon dioxide, methane, oxides of nitrogen, chlorofluorocarbons, and the like;
j) "Hazardous substances" means those substances which present either: (1) short-term acute hazards such as acute toxicity
by ingestion, inhalation, or skin absorption, corrosivity or other skin or eye contact hazard or the risk of fire explosion; or (2)
long-term toxicity upon repeated exposure, carcinogenicity (which in some cases result in acute exposure but with a long
latent period),resistance to detoxification process such as biodegradation, the potential to pollute underground or surface
waters;
k) "Infectious waste" means that portion of medical waste that could transmit an infectious disease;
l) "Medical waste" means the materials generated as a result of patient diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human
beings or animals;
m) "Mobile source" means any vehicle propelled by or through combustion of carbon-based or other fuel, constructed and
operated principally for the conveyance of persons or the transportation of property or goods;
n) "Motor vehicle" means any vehicle propelled by a gasoline or diesel engine or by any means other than human or animal
power, constructed and operated principally for the conveyance of persons or the transportation of property or goods in a
public highway or street open to public use;
o) "Municipal waste" means the waste materials generated from communities within a specific locality;
p) "New vehicle" means a vehicle constructed entirely from new parts that has never been sold or registered with the DOTC
or with the appropriate agency or authority, and operated on the highways of the Philippines, any foreign state or country;
q) "Octane Rating or the Anti-Knock Index (AKI)" means the rating of the anti-knock characteristics of a grade or type of
automotive gasoline as determined by dividing by two (2) the sum of the Research Octane Number (RON),plus the Motor
Octane Number (MON);the octane requirement, with respect to automotive gasoline for use in a motor vehicle or a class
thereof, whether imported, manufactured, or assembled by a manufacturer, shall refer to the minimum octane rating of such
automotive gasoline which such manufacturer recommends for the efficient operation of such motor vehicle, or a substantial
portion of such class, without knocking;
r) "Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS)" means those substances that significantly deplete or otherwise modify the ozone
layer in a manner that is likely to result in adverse effects on human health and the environment such as, but not limited to,
chlorofluorocarbons, halons, and the like;
s) "Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)" means the organic compounds that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate
through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. These compounds
resist photolytic, chemical and biological degradation, which shall include but not be limited to dioxin, furan, Polychlorinated
Biphenyls (PCBs),organochlorine pesticides, such as aldrin, dieldrin, DDT, hexachlorobenzene, lindane, toxaphere and
chlordane;
t) "Poisonous and toxic fumes" means any emissions and fumes which are beyond internationally-accepted standards,
including but not limited to World Health Organization (WHO) guideline values;
u) "Pollution control device" means any device or apparatus used to prevent, control or abate the pollution of air caused by
emissions from identified pollution sources at levels within the air pollution control standards established by the Department;
v) "Pollution control technology" means the pollution control devices, production processes, fuel combustion processes or
other means that effectively prevent or reduce emissions or effluent;
w) "Standard of performance" means a standard for emissions of air pollutant which reflects the degree of emission
limitation achievable through the application of the best system of emission reduction, taking into account the cost of
achieving such reduction and any non-air quality health and environmental impact and energy requirement which the
Department determines, and adequately demonstrates; and
x) "Stationary source" means any building or immobile structure, facility or installation which emits or may emit any air
pollutant.
III. Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, Republic Act No. 9003, [January 26, 2001]
(a) Agricultural waste shall refer to waste generated from planting or harvesting of crops, trimming or pruning of plants and
wastes or run-off materials from farms or fields;
(b) Bulky wastes shall refer to waste materials which cannot be appropriately placed in separate containers because of either
its bulky size, shape or other physical attributes. These include large worn-out or broken household, commercial, and
industrial items such as furniture, lamps, bookcases, filing cabinets, and other similar items;
(c) Bureau shall refer to the Environmental Management Bureau;
(d) Buy-back center shall refer to a recycling center that purchases or otherwise accepts recyclable materials from the public
for the purpose of recycling such materials;
(e) Collection shall refer to the act of removing solid waste from the source or from a communal storage point;
(f) Composting shall refer to the controlled decomposition of organic matter by micro-organisms, mainly bacteria and fungi,
into a humus-like product; ISTDAH
(g) Consumer electronics shall refer to special wastes that include worn-out, broken, and other discarded items such as radios,
stereos, and TV sets;
(h) Controlled dump shall refer to a disposal site at which solid waste is deposited in accordance with the minimum
prescribed standards of site operation;
(i) Department shall refer to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources;
(j) Disposal shall refer to the discharge, deposit, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of any solid waste into or in any land;
(k) Disposal site shall refer to a site where solid waste is finally discharged and deposited;
(l) Ecological solid waste management shall refer to the systematic administration of activities which provide for segregation
at source, segregated transportation, storage, transfer, processing, treatment, and disposal of solid waste and all other waste
management activities which do not harm the environment;
(m) Environmentally acceptable shall refer to the quality of being re-usable, biodegradable or compostable, recyclable and
not toxic or hazardous to the environment;
(n) Generation shall refer to the act or process of producing solid waste;
(o) Generator shall refer to a person, natural or juridical, who last uses a material and makes it available for disposal or
recycling;
(p) Hazardous waste shall refer to solid waste or combination of solid waste which because of its quantity, concentration, or
physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may:
(1) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating
reversible, illness; or
(2) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored,
transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed; TSCIEa
(q) Leachate shall refer to the liquid produced when waste undergo decomposition, and when water percolate through solid
waste undergoing decomposition. It is contaminated liquid that contains dissolved and suspended materials;
(r) Materials recovery facility — includes a solid waste transfer station or sorting station, drop-off center, a composting
facility, and a recycling facility;
(s) Municipal waste shall refer to wastes produced from activities within local government units which include a combination
of domestic, commercial, institutional and industrial wastes and street litters;
(t) Open dump shall refer to a disposal area wherein the solid wastes are indiscriminately thrown or disposed of without due
planning and consideration for environmental and health standards;
(u) Opportunity to recycle shall refer to the act of providing a place for collecting source-separated recyclable material,
located either at a disposal site or at another location more convenient to the population being served, and collection at least
once a month of source-separated recyclable material from collection service customers and to providing a public education
and promotion program that gives notice to each person of the opportunity to recycle and encourage source separation of
recyclable material;
(v) Person(s) shall refer to any being, natural or juridical, susceptible of rights and obligations, or of being the subject of legal
relations; ICaDHT
(w) Post-consumer material shall refer only to those materials or products generated by a business or consumer which have
served their intended end use, and which have been separated or diverted from solid waste for the purpose of being collected,
processed and used as a raw material in the manufacturing of a recycled product, excluding materials and by-products
generated from, and commonly used within an original manufacturing process, such as mill scrap;
(x) Receptacles shall refer to individual containers used for the source separation and the collection of recyclable materials;
(y) Recovered material shall refer to material and by-products that have been recovered or diverted from solid waste for the
purpose of being collected, processed and used as a raw material in the manufacture of a recycled product;
(z) Recyclable material shall refer to any waste material retrieved from the waste stream and free from contamination that can
still be converted into suitable beneficial use or for other purposes, including, but not limited to, newspaper, ferrous scrap
metal, non-ferrous scrap metal, used oil, corrugated cardboard, aluminum, glass, office paper, tin cans and other materials as
may be determined by the Commission;
(aa) Recycled material shall refer to post-consumer material that has been recycled and returned to the economy;
(bb) Recycling shall refer to the treating of used or waste materials through a process of making them suitable for beneficial
use and for other purposes, and includes any process by which solid waste materials are transformed into new products in
such a manner that the original products may lose their identity, and which may be used as raw materials for the production
of other goods or services: Provided, That the collection, segregation and re-use of previously used packaging material shall
be deemed recycling under this Act;
(cc) Resource conservation shall refer to the reduction of the amount of solid waste that are generated or the reduction of
overall resource consumption, and utilization of recovered resources;
(dd) Resource recovery shall refer to the collection, extraction or recovery of recyclable materials from the waste stream for
the purpose of recycling, generating energy or producing a product suitable for beneficial use: Provided, That, such resource
recovery facilities exclude incineration;
(ee) Re-use shall refer to the process of recovering materials intended for the same or different purpose without the alteration
of physical and chemical characteristics;
(ff) Sanitary landfill shall refer to a waste disposal site designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner that exerts
engineering control over significant potential environmental impacts arising from the development and operation of the
facility; CIcTAE
(gg) Schedule of Compliance shall refer to an enforceable sequence of actions or operations to be accomplished within a
stipulated time frame leading to compliance with a limitation, prohibition, or standard set forth in this Act or any rule or
regulation issued pursuant thereto;
(hh) Secretary shall refer to the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources;
(ii) Segregation shall refer to a solid waste management practice of separating different materials found in solid waste in
order to promote recycling and re-use of resources and to reduce the volume of waste for collection and disposal;
(jj) Segregation at source shall refer to a solid waste management practice of separating, at the point of origin, different
materials found in solid waste in order to promote recycling and re-use of resources and to reduce the volume of waste for
collection and disposal;
(kk) Solid waste shall refer to all discarded household, commercial waste, non-hazardous institutional and industrial waste,
street sweepings, construction debris, agricultural waste, and other non-hazardous/non-toxic solid waste.
Unless specifically noted otherwise, the term "solid waste" as used in this Act shall not include:
(1) waste identified or listed as hazardous waste of a solid, liquid, contained gaseous or semi-solid form which may cause or
contribute to an increase in mortality or in serious or incapacitating reversible illness, or acute/chronic effect on the health of
persons and other organisms;
(2) infectious waste from hospitals such as equipment, instruments, utensils, and fomites of a disposable nature from patients
who are suspected to have or have been diagnosed as having communicable diseases and must therefore be isolated as
required by public health agencies, laboratory wastes such as pathological specimens (i.e., all tissues, specimens of blood
elements, excreta, and secretions obtained from patients or laboratory animals), and disposable fomites that may harbor or
transmit pathogenic organisms, and surgical operating room pathologic specimens and disposable fomites attendant thereto,
and similar disposable materials from outpatient areas and emergency rooms; and
(3) waste resulting from mining activities, including contaminated soil and debris. AEcIaH
(ll) Solid waste management shall refer to the discipline associated with the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer
and transport, processing, and disposal of solid wastes in a manner that is in accord with the best principles of public health,
economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics, and other environmental considerations, and that is also responsive to
public attitudes;
(mm) Solid waste management facility shall refer to any resource recovery system or component thereof; any system,
program, or facility for resource conservation; any facility for the collection, source separation, storage, transportation,
transfer, processing, treatment, or disposal of solid waste;
(nn) Source reduction shall refer to the reduction of solid waste before it enters the solid waste stream by methods such as
product design, materials substitution, materials re-use and packaging restrictions;
(oo) Source separation shall refer to the sorting of solid waste into some or all of its component parts at the point of
generation;
(pp) Special wastes shall refer to household hazardous wastes such as paints, thinners, household batteries, lead-acid
batteries, spray canisters and the like. These include wastes from residential and commercial sources that comprise of bulky
wastes, consumer electronics, white goods, yard wastes that are collected separately, batteries, oil, and tires. These wastes are
usually handled separately from other residential and commercial wastes;
(qq) Storage shall refer to the interim containment of solid waste after generation and prior to collection for ultimate recovery
or disposal;
(rr) Transfer stations shall refer to those facilities utilized to receive solid wastes, temporarily store, separate, convert, or
otherwise process the materials in the solid wastes, or to transfer the solid wastes directly from smaller to larger vehicles for
transport. This term does not include any of the following:
(1) a facility whose principal function is to receive, store, separate, convert, or otherwise process in accordance with national
minimum standards, manure;
(2) a facility, whose principal function is to receive, store, convert, or otherwise process wastes which have already been
separated for re-use and are not intended for disposal; and
(3) the operations premises of a duly licensed solid waste handling operator who receives, stores, transfers, or otherwise
processes wastes as an activity incidental to the conduct of a refuse collection and disposal business.
(ss) Waste diversion shall refer to activities which reduce or eliminate the amount of solid waste from waste disposal
facilities;
(tt) White goods shall refer to large worn-out or broken household, commercial, and industrial appliances such as stoves,
refrigerators, dishwashers, and clothes washers and dryers collected separately. White goods are usually dismantled for the
recovery of specific materials (e.g., copper, aluminum, etc.); and
(uu) Yard waste shall refer to wood, small or chipped branches, leaves, grass clippings, garden debris, vegetable residue that
is recognizable as part of a plant or vegetable and other materials identified by the Commission.
IV. Philippine Mining Act of 1995, Republic Act No. 7942, [March 3, 1995]
(a) "Ancestral lands" refers to all lands exclusively and actually possessed, occupied, or utilized by indigenous cultural
communities by themselves or through their ancestors in accordance with their customs and traditions since time
immemorial, and as may be defined and delineated by law.
(b) "Block" or "meridional block" means an area bounded by one-half (1/2) minute of latitude and one-half (1/2) minute of
longitude, containing approximately eighty-one hectares (81 has.).
(c) "Bureau" means the Mines and Geosciences Bureau under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
(d) "Carrying capacity" refers to the capacity of natural and human environments to accommodate and absorb change
without experiencing conditions of instability and attendant degradation.
(e) "Contiguous zone" refers to water, sea bottom and substratum measured twenty-four nautical miles (24 n.m.) seaward
from the base line of the Philippine archipelago.
(f) "Contract area" means land or body of water delineated for purposes of exploration, development, or utilization of the
minerals found therein.
(g) "Contractor" means a qualified person acting alone or in consortium who is a party to a mineral agreement or to a
financial or technical assistance agreement.
(h) "Co-production agreement (CA)" means an agreement entered into between the Government and one or more contractors
in accordance with Section 26(b) hereof.
(i) "Department" means the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
(j) "Development" means the work undertaken to explore and prepare an ore body or a mineral deposit for mining, including
the construction of necessary infrastructure and related facilities.
(k) "Director" means the Director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
(l) "Ecological profile or eco-profile" refers to geographic-based instruments for planners and decision-makers which
presents an evaluation of the environmental quality and carrying capacity of an area.
(m) "Environmental compliance certificate (ECC)" refers to the document issued by the government agency concerned
certifying that the project under consideration will not bring about an unacceptable environmental impact and that the
proponent has complied with the requirements of the environmental impact statement system.
(n) "Environmental impact statement (EIS)" is the document which aims to identify, predict, interpret, and communicate
information regarding changes in environmental quality associated with a proposed project and which examines the range of
alternatives for the objectives of the proposal and their impact on the environment.
(o) "Exclusive economic zone" means the water, sea bottom and subsurface measured from the baseline of the Philippine
archipelago up to two hundred nautical miles (200 n.m.) offshore.
(p) "Existing mining/quarrying right" means a valid and subsisting mining claim or permit or quarry permit or any mining
lease contract or agreement covering a mineralized area granted/issued under pertinent mining laws. casia
(q) "Exploration" means the searching or prospecting for mineral resources by geological, geochemical or geophysical
surveys, remote sensing, test pitting, trending, drilling, shaft sinking, tunneling, or any other means for the purpose of
determining the existence, extent, quantity and quality thereof and the feasibility of mining them for profit.
(r) "Financial or technical assistance agreement" means a contract involving financial or technical assistance for large-scale
exploration, development, and utilization of mineral resources.
(s) "Force majeure" means acts or circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the contractor including, but not limited
to, war, rebellion, insurrection, riots, civil disturbance, blockade, sabotage, embargo, strike, lockout, any dispute with surface
owners and other labor disputes, epidemic, earthquake, storm, flood or other adverse weather conditions, explosion, fire,
adverse action by government or by any instrumentality or subdivision thereof, act of God or any public enemy and any
cause that herein described over which the affected party has no reasonable control.
(t) "Foreign-owned corporation" means any corporation, partnership, association, or cooperative duly registered in
accordance with law in which less than fifty per centum (50%) of the capital is owned by Filipino citizens.
(u) "Government" means the government of the Republic of the Philippines.
(v) "Gross output" means the actual market value of minerals or mineral products from its mining area as defined in the
National Internal Revenue Code.
(w) "Indigenous cultural community" means a group or tribe of indigenous Filipinos who have continuously lived as
communities on communally-bounded and defined land since time immemorial and have succeeded in preserving,
maintaining, and sharing common bonds of languages, customs, traditions, and other distinctive cultural traits, and as may be
defined and delineated by law.
(x) "Joint venture agreement (JVA)" means an agreement entered into between the Government and one or more contractors
in accordance with Section 26(c) hereof.
(y) "Mineral processing" means the milling, beneficiation or upgrading of ores or minerals and rocks or by similar means to
convert the same into marketable products.
(z) "Mine wastes and tailings" shall mean soil and rock materials from surface or underground mining and milling operations
with no economic value to the generator of the same.
(aa) "Minerals" refers to all naturally occurring inorganic substance in solid, gas, liquid, or any intermediate state excluding
energy materials such as coal, petroleum, natural gas, radioactive materials, and geothermal energy.
(ab) "Mineral agreement" means a contract between the government and a contractor, involving mineral production-sharing
agreement, co-production agreement, or joint-venture agreement.
(ac) "Mineral land" means any area where mineral resources are found.
(ad) "Mineral resource" means any concentration of minerals/rocks with potential economic value.
(ae) "Mining area" means a portion of the contract area identified by the contractor for purposes of development, mining,
utilization, and its sites for support facilities or in the immediate vicinity of the mining operations.
(af) "Mining operation" means mining activities involving exploration, feasibility, development, utilization, and processing.
(ag) "Non-governmental organization (NGO)" includes nonstock, nonprofit organizations involved in activities dealing with
resource and environmental conservation, management and protection.
(ah) "Net assets" refers to the property, plant and equipment as reflected in the audited financial statement of the contractor
net of depreciation, as computed for tax purposes, excluding appraisal increase and construction in progress.
(ai) "Offshore" means the water, sea bottom, and subsurface from the shore or coastline reckoned from the mean low tide
level up to the two hundred nautical miles (200 n.m.) exclusive economic zone including the archipelagic sea and contiguous
zone.
(aj) "Onshore" means the landward side from the mean tide elevation, including submerged lands in lakes, rivers and creeks.
(ak) "Ore" means a naturally occurring substance or material from which a mineral or element can be mined and/or
processed for profit.
(al) "Permittee" means the holder of an exploration permit.
(am) "Pollution control and infrastructure devices" refers to infrastructure, machinery, equipment and/or improvements used
for impounding, treating or neutralizing, precipitating, filtering, conveying and cleansing mine industrial waste and tailings as
well as eliminating or reducing hazardous effects of solid particles, chemicals, liquids or other harmful byproducts and gases
emitted from any facility utilized in mining operations for their disposal.
(an) "President" means the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
(ao) "Private land" refers to any land belonging to any private person which includes alienable and disposable land being
claimed by a holder, claimant, or occupant who has already acquired a vested right thereto under the law, although the
corresponding certificate or evidence of title or patent has not been actually issued.
(ap) "Public land" refers to lands of the public domain which have been classified as agricultural lands and subject to
management and disposition or concession under existing laws.
(aq) "Qualified person" means any citizen of the Philippines with capacity to contract, or a corporation, partnership,
association, or cooperative organized or authorized for the purpose of engaging in mining, with technical and financial
capability to undertake mineral resources development and duly registered in accordance with law at least sixty per centum
(60%) of the capital of which is owned by citizens of the Philippines: Provided, That a legally organized foreign-owned
corporation shall be deemed a qualified person for purposes of granting an exploration permit, financial or technical
assistance agreement or mineral processing permit.
(ar) "Quarrying" means the process of extracting, removing and disposing quarry resources found on or underneath the
surface of private or public land.
(as) "Quarry permit" means a document granted to a qualified person for the extraction and utilization of quarry resources on
public or private lands.
(at) "Quarry resources" refers to any common rock or other mineral substances as the Director of Mines and Geosciences
Bureau may declare to be quarry resources such as, but not limited to, andesite, basalt, conglomerate, coral sand,
diatomaceous earth, diorite, decorative stones, gabbro, granite, limestone, marble, marl, red burning clays for potteries and
bricks, rhyolite, rock phosphate, sandstone, serpentine, shale, tuff, volcanic cinders, and volcanic glass: Provided, That such
quarry resources do not contain metals or metallic constituents and/or other valuable minerals in economically workable
quantities: Provided, further, That non-metallic minerals such as kaolin, feldspar, bull quartz, quartz or silica, sand and
pebbles, bentonite, talc, asbestos, barite, gypsum, bauxite, magnesite, dolomite, mica, precious and semi-precious stones, and
other non-metallic minerals that may later be discovered and which the Director declares the same to be of economically
workable quantities, shall not be classified under the category of quarry resources.
(au) "Regional director" means the regional director of any mines regional office under the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources.
(av) "Regional office" means any of the mines regional offices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
(aw) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
(ax) "Special allowance" refers to payment to the claim-owners or surface right-owners particularly during the transition
period from Presidential Decree No. 463 and Executive Order No. 279, series of 1987.
(ay) "State" means the Republic of the Philippines.
(az) "Utilization" means the extraction or disposition of minerals.
V. Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines, Presidential Decree No. 705, [May 19, 1975]
a) Public forest is the mass of lands of the public domain which has not been the subject of the present system of
classification for the determination of which lands are needed for forest purposes and which are not. aisa dc
b) Permanent forest or forest reserves refer to those lands of the public domain which have been the subject of the present
system of classification and determined to be needed for forest purposes.
c) Alienable and disposable lands refer to those lands of the public domain which have been the subject of the present system
of classification and declared as not needed for forest purposes.
d) Forest lands include the public forest, the permanent forest or forest reserves, and forest reservations.
e) Grazing land refers to that portion of the public domain which has been set aside, in view of the suitability of its
topography and vegetation, for the raising of livestock.
f) Mineral lands refer to those lands of the public domain which have been classified as such by the Secretary of Natural
Resources in accordance with prescribed and approved criteria, guidelines and procedure.
g) Forest reservations refer to forest lands which have been reserved by the President of the Philippines for any specific
purpose or purposes.
h) National park refers to a forest land reservation essentially of primitive or wilderness character which has been withdrawn
from settlement or occupancy and set aside as such exclusively to preserve the scenery, the natural and historic objects and
the wild animals or plants therein, and to provide enjoyment of these features in such a manner as will leave them unimpaired
for future generations.
i) Game refuge or bird sanctuary refers to a forest land designated for the protection of game animals, birds and fish and
closed to hunting and fishing in order that the excess population may flow and restock surrounding areas. cd
j) Marine parks refers to any off-shore area inhabited by rare and unique species of marine flora and fauna.
k) Seashore park refers to any public shore area delimited for outdoor recreation, sports fishing, water skiing and related
healthful activities.
l) Watershed reservation is a forest land reservation established to protect or improve the conditions of the water yield thereof
or reduce sedimentation.
m) Watershed is a land area drained by a stream or fixed body of water and its tributaries having a common outlet for surface
run-off.
n) Critical watershed is a drainage area of a river system supporting existing and proposed hydro-electric power and irrigation
works needing immediate rehabilitation as it is being subjected to a fast denudation causing accelerated erosion and
destructive floods. It is closed from logging until it is fully rehabilitated.
o) Mangrove is a term applied to the type of forest occurring on tidal flat along the sea coast, extending along streams where
the water is brackish.
p) Kaingin is a portion of the forest land, whether occupied or not, which is subjected to shifting and/or permanent slash-and-
burn cultivation having little or no provision to prevent soil erosion.
q) Forest product means timber, pulpwood, firewood, bark, tree top, resin, gum, wood, oil, honey, beeswax, nipa, rattan, or
other forest growth such as grass, shrub, and flowering plant, the associated water, fish, game, scenic, historical, recreational
and geologic resources in forest lands.
r) Dipterocarp forest is a forest dominated by trees of the dipterocarp species, such as red lauan, tengile, tiaong, white lauan,
almon, bagtikan and mayapis of the Philippine mahogany group, apitong and the yakals. acd
s) Pine forest is a forest composed of the Benguet Pine in the Mountain Provinces or the Mindoro pine in Mindoro and
Zambales provinces.
t) Industrial tree plantation is any tract of forest land purposely and extensively planted to timber crops primarily to supply
the raw material requirements of existing or proposed processing plants and related industries.
u) Tree farm refers to any tract of forest land purposely and extensively planted to trees of economic value for their fruits,
flowers, leaves, barks, or extractives, but not for the wood thereof.
v) Multiple-use is the harmonized utilization of the numerous beneficial uses of the land, soil, water, wildlife, recreation
value, grass and timber of forest lands.
w) Selective logging means the systematic removal of the mature, over-mature and defective trees in such manner as to leave
adequate number and volume of healthy residual trees of the desired species necessary to assure a future crop of timber, and
forest cover for the protection and conservation of soil and water.
x) Seed tree system is partial clearcutting with seed trees left to regenerate the area.
y) Healthy residual is a sound or slightly injured tree of the commercial species left after logging.
z) Sustained-yield management implies continuous or periodic production of forest products in a working unit with the aid of
achieving at the earliest practicable time an approximate balance between growth and harvest or use. This is generally
applied to the commercial timber resources and is also applicable to the water, grass, wildlife, and other renewable resources
of the forest. cda
aa) Processing plant is any mechanical set-up, machine or combination of machine used for the processing of logs and other
forest raw materials into lumber, veneer, plywood, wallboard, block-board, paper board, pulp, paper or other finished wood
products.
bb) Lease is a privilege granted by the State to a person to occupy and possess, in consideration of a specified rental, any
forest land of the public domain in order to undertake any authorized activity therein.
cc) License is a privilege granted by the State to a person to utilize forest resources as in any forest land, without any right of
occupation and possession over the same, to the exclusion of others, or establish and operate a wood-processing plant, or
conduct any activity involving the utilization of any forest resources.
dd) License agreement is a privilege granted by the State to a person to utilize forest resources within any forest land with the
right of possession and occupation thereof to the exclusion of others, except the government, but with the corresponding
obligation to develop, protect and rehabilitate the same in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in said
agreement.
ee) Permit is a short-term privilege or authority granted by the State to a person to utilize any limited forest resources or
undertake a limited activity with any forest land without any right of occupation and possession therein.
ff) Annual allowable cut is the volume of materials, whether of wood or other forest products, that is authorized to be cut
regularly from a forest.
gg) Cutting cycle is the number of years between major harvests in the same working unit and/or region, within a rotation.
hh) Ecosystem means the ecological community considered together with non-living factors and its environment as a unit.
ii) Silviculture is the establishment, development reproduction and care of forest trees.
jj) Rationalization is the organization of a business or industry using scientific business management principles and
simplified procedures to obtain greater efficiency of operation. cd
kk) Forest officer means any official or employee of the Bureau who, by the nature of his appointment or the functions of the
position to which he is appointed, is delegated by law or by competent authority to execute, implement or enforce the
provisions of this Code, other related laws, as well as their implementing regulations.
ll) Primitive tribe is a group of endemic tribe living primitively as a distinct portion of a people from a common ancestor.
mm) Private right means or refers to titled rights of ownership under existing laws, and in the case of primitive tribes, to
rights of possession existing at the time a license is granted under this Code, which possession may include places of abode
and worship, burial grounds, and old clearings, but excludes production forest inclusive of logged-over areas, commercial
forests and established plantations of forest trees and trees of economic value.
nn) Person includes natural as well as juridical person.
VI. The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, Republic Act No. 8550, [February 25, 1998]
Ancillary Industries — firms or companies related to the supply, construction and maintenance of fishing vessels, gears, nets
and other fishing paraphernalia; fishery machine shops; and other facilities such as hatcheries, nurseries, feed plants, cold
storage and refrigeration, processing plants and other pre-harvest and post-harvest facilities.
2. Appropriate Fishing Technology — adaptable technology, both in fishing and ancillary industries, that is ecologically
sound, locally source-based and labor intensive.
3. Aquaculture — fishery operations involving all forms of raising and culturing fish and other fishery species in fresh,
brackish and marine water areas.
4. Aquatic Pollution — the introduction by human or machine, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy to the aquatic
environment which result or is likely to result in such deleterious effects as to harm living and non-living aquatic resources,
pose potential and/or real hazard to human health, hindrance to aquatic activities such as fishing and navigation, including
dumping/disposal of waste and other marine litters, discharge of petroleum or residual products of petroleum or carbonaceous
materials/substances, and other, radioactive, noxious or harmful liquid, gaseous or solid substances, from any water, land or
air transport or other human-made structure. Deforestation, unsound agricultural practices such as the use of banned
chemicals and excessive use of chemicals, intensive use of artificial fish feed, and wetland conversion, which cause similar
hazards and deleterious effects shall also constitute aquatic pollution.
5. Aquatic Resources — includes fish, all other aquatic flora and fauna and other living resources of the aquatic environment,
including, but not limited to, salt and corals.
6. Artificial Reefs — any structure of natural or man-made materials placed on a body of water to serve as shelter and habitat,
source of food, breeding areas for fishery species and shoreline protection.
7. Catch Ceilings — refer to the annual catch limits allowed to be taken, gathered or harvested from any fishing area in
consideration of the need to prevent overfishing and harmful depletion of breeding stocks of aquatic organisms.
8. Closed Season — the period during which the taking of specified fishery species by a specified fishing gear is prohibited in
a specified area or areas in Philippine waters.
9. Coastal Area/Zone — is a band of dry land and adjacent ocean space (water and submerged land) in which terrestrial
processes and uses directly affect oceanic processes and uses, and vice versa; its geographic extent may include areas within
a landmark limit of one (1) kilometer from the shoreline at high tide to include mangrove swamps, brackish water ponds, nipa
swamps, estuarine rivers, sandy beaches and other areas within a seaward limit of 200 meters isobath to include coral reefs,
algal flats, seagrass beds and other soft-bottom areas.
10. Commercial Fishing — the taking of fishery species by passive or active gear for trade, business & profit beyond
subsistence or sports fishing, to be further classified as:
1. Small scale commercial fishing — fishing with passive or active gear utilizing fishing vessels of 3.1 gross tons (GT) up to
twenty (20) GT;
2. Medium scale commercial fishing — fishing utilizing active gears and vessels of 20.1 GT up to one hundred fifty (150)
GT; and
3. Large commercial fishing — fishing utilizing active gears and vessels of more than one hundred fifty (150) GT.
11. Commercial Scale — a scheme of producing a minimum harvest per hectare per year of milkfish or other species
including those raised in pens, cages, and tanks to be determined by the Department in consultation with the concerned
sectors;
12. Coral — the hard calcareous substance made up of the skeleton of marine coelenterate polyps which include reefs,
shelves and atolls or any of the marine coelenterate animals living in colonies where their skeletons form a stony mass. They
include: (a) skeletons of anthozoan coelenterates characterized as having a rigid axis of compact calcareous or horny spicules,
belonging to the genus corallium as represented by the red, pink, and white corals which are considered precious corals; (b)
skeletons of anthozoan coelenterates characterized by thorny, horny axis such as the antipatharians represented by the black
corals which are considered semi-precious corals; and (c) ordinary corals which are any kind of corals that are not precious
nor semi-precious.
13. Coral Reef — a natural aggregation of coral skeleton, with or without living coral polyps, occurring in intertidal and
subtidal marine waters.
14. Demarcated Areas — boundaries defined by markers and assigned exclusively to specific individuals or organizations for
certain specified and limited uses such as:
a. Aquaculture, sea ranching and sea farming;
b. Fish aggregating devices;
c. Fixed and passive fishing gears; and
d. Fry and fingerlings gathering.
15. Department — shall mean the Department of Agriculture.
16. Electrofishing — the use of electricity generated by batteries, electric generators and other source of electric power to
kill, stupefy, disable or render unconscious fishery species, whether or not the same are subsequently recovered.
17. Endangered Rare and/or Threatened Species — aquatic plants, animals, including some varieties of corals and sea shells
in danger of extinction as provided for in existing fishery laws, rules and regulations or in the Protected Areas and Wildlife
Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and in the Convention on the International Trade
of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES).
18. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) — an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea which shall not extend beyond 200
nautical miles from the baselines as defined under existing laws.
19. FARMCs — the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils.
20. Farm-to-Market Roads — shall include roads linking the fisheries production sites, coastal landing points and other post-
harvest facilities to major market and arterial roads and highways.
21. Fine Mesh Net — net with mesh size of less than three centimeters (3 cm.) measured between two (2) opposite knots of a
full mesh when stretched or as otherwise determined by the appropriate government agency.
22. Fish and Fishery/Aquatic Products — include not only finfish but also mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, marine
mammals, and all other species of aquatic flora and fauna and all other products of aquatic living resources in any form.
23. Fish Cage — refers to an enclosure which is either stationary or floating made up of nets or screens sewn or fastened
together and installed in the water with opening at the surface or covered and held in a place by wooden/bamboo posts or
various types of anchors and floats.
24. Fish Corral or "Baklad" — a stationary weir or trap devised to intercept and capture fish consisting of rows of bamboo
stakes, plastic nets and other materials fenced with split bamboo mattings or wire mattings with one or more enclosures,
usually with easy entrance but difficult exit, and with or without leaders to direct the fish to the catching chambers, purse or
bags.
25. Fish fingerlings — a stage in the life cycle of the fish measuring to about 6-13 cm. depending on the species.
26. Fish fry — a stage at which a fish has just been hatched usually with sizes from 1-2.5 cm.
27. Fish pen — an artificial enclosure constructed within a body of water for culturing fish and fishery/aquatic resources
made up of poles closely arranged in an enclosure with wooden materials, screen or nylon netting to prevent escape of fish.
28. Fisherfolk — people directly or personally and physically engaged in taking and/or culturing and processing fishery
and/or aquatic resources.
29. Fisherfolk Cooperative — a duly registered association of fisherfolk with a common bond of interest, who have
voluntarily joined together to achieve a lawful common social or economic end, making equitable contribution to the capital
requirement and accepting a fair share of the risks and benefits of the undertakings in accordance with universally accepted
cooperative principles.
30. Fisherfolk Organization — an organized group, association, federation, alliance or an institution of fisherfolk which has
at least fifteen (15) members, a set of officers, a constitution and by-laws, an organizational structure and a program of
action.
31. Fisheries — refers to all activities relating to the act or business of fishing, culturing, preserving, processing, marketing,
developing, conserving and managing aquatic resources and the fishery areas, including the privilege to fish or take aquatic
resource thereof.
32. Fish Pond — a land-based facility enclosed with earthen or stone material to impound water for growing fish.
33. Fishing Boat/Gear License — a permit to operate specific types of fishing boat/gear for specific duration in areas beyond
municipal waters for demersal or pelagic fishery resources.
34. Fishery Management Areas — a bay, gulf, lake or any other fishery area which may be delineated for fishery resource
management purposes.
35. Fishery Operator — one who owns and provides the means including land, labor, capital, fishing gears and vessels, but
does not personally engage in fishery.
36. Fishery Refuge and Sanctuaries — a designated area where fishing or other forms of activities which may damage the
ecosystem of the area is prohibited and human access may be restricted.
37. Fishery Reserve — a designated area where activities are regulated and set aside for educational and research purposes.
38. Fishery Species — all aquatic flora and fauna including, but not restricted to, fish, algae, coelenterates, mollusks,
crustaceans, echinoderms and cetaceans.
39. Fishing — the taking of fishery species from their wild state of habitat, with or without the use of fishing vessels.
40. Fishing gear — any instrument or device and its accessories utilized in taking fish and other fishery species.
a. Active fishing gear — is a fishing device characterized by gear movements, and/or the pursuit of the target species by
towing, lifting, and pushing the gears, surrounding, covering, dredging, pumping and scaring the target species to
impoundments; such as, but not limited to, trawl, purse seines, Danish seines, bag nets, paaling, drift gill net and tuna
longline.
b. Passive fishing gear — is characterized by the absence of gear movements and/or the pursuit of the target species; such as,
but not limited to, hook and line, fishpots, traps and gill nets across the path of the fish.
41. Fishing vessel — any boat, ship or other watercraft equipped to be used for taking of fishery species or aiding or assisting
one (1) or more vessels in the performance of any activity relating to fishing, including, but not limited to, preservation,
supply, storage, refrigeration, transportation and/or processing.
42. Fishing with Explosives — the use of the dynamite, other explosives or other chemical compounds that contain
combustible elements or ingredients which upon ignition by friction, concussion, percussion or detonation of all or parts of
the compound, will kill, stupefy, disable or render unconscious any fishery species. It also refers to the use of any other
substance and/or device which causes an explosion that is capable of producing the said harmful effects on any fishery
species and aquatic resources and capable of damaging and altering the natural habitat.
43. Fishing with Noxious or Poisonous Substances — the use of any substance, plant extracts or juice thereof, sodium
cyanide and/or cyanide compounds or other chemicals either in a raw or processed form, harmful or harmless to human
beings, which will kill, stupefy, disable or render unconscious any fishery species and aquatic resources and capable of
damaging and altering the natural habitat.
44. Fishworker — a person regularly or not regularly employed in commercial fishing and related industries, whose income
is either in wage, profit-sharing or stratified sharing basis, including those working in fish pens, fish cages, fish corrals/traps,
fishponds, prawn farms, sea farms, salt beds, fish ports, fishing boat or trawlers, or fish processing and/or packing plants.
Excluded from this category are administrators, security guards and overseers.
45. Food Security — refers to any plan, policy or strategy aimed at ensuring adequate supplies of appropriate food at
affordable prices. Food security may be achieved through self-sufficiency (i.e. ensuring adequate food supplies from
domestic production), through self-reliance (i.e. ensuring adequate food supplies through a combination of domestic
production and importation), or through pure importation.
46. Foreshore Land — a string of land margining a body of water; the part of a seashore between the low-water line usually
at the seaward margin of a low tide terrace and the upper limit of wave wash at high tide usually marked by a beach scarp or
berm.
47. Fully-developed Fishpond Area — a clean leveled area enclosed by dikes, at least one foot higher than the highest
floodwater level in the locality and strong enough to resist pressure at the highest flood tide; consists of at least a nursery
pond, a transition pond, a rearing pond or a combination of any or all said classes of ponds, and a functional water control
system and producing in a commercial scale.
48. Gross Tonnage — includes the underdeck tonnage, permanently enclosed spaces above the tonnage deck, except for
certain exemptions. In broad terms, all the vessel's 'closed-in' spaces expressed in volume terms on the bases of one hundred
cubic feet (that equals one gross ton).
49. Inland Fishery — the freshwater fishery and brackishwater fishponds.
50. Lake — an inland body of water, an expanded part of a river, a reservoir formed by a dam, or a lake basin intermittently
or formerly covered by water.
51. Limited Access — a fishery policy by which a system of equitable resource and allocation is established by law through
fishery rights granting and licensing procedure as provided by this Code.
52. Mangroves — a community of intertidal plants including all species of trees, shrubs, vines and herbs found on coasts,
swamps, or border of swamps.
53. Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) — is the largest average quantity of fish that can be harvested from a fish
stocks/resource within a period of time (e.g. one year) on a sustainable basis under existing environmental conditions.
54. Migratory species — refers to any fishery species which in the course of their life could travel from freshwater to marine
water or vice versa, or any marine species which travel over great distances in waters of the ocean as part of their behavioral
adaptation for survival and speciation:
(a) Anadromous species — marine fishes which migrate to freshwater areas to spawn;
(b) Catadromous species — freshwater fishes which migrate to marine areas to spawn.
55. Monitoring, control and surveillance —
a. Monitoring — the requirement of continuously observing: (1) fishing effort which can be expressed by the number of days
or hours of fishing, number of fishing gears and number of fisherfolk; (2) characteristics of fishery resources; and (3)
resource yields (catch);
b. Control — the regulatory conditions (legal framework) under which the exploitation, utilization and disposition of the
resources may be conducted; and
c. Surveillance — the degree and types of observations required to maintain compliance with regulations.
56. Municipal fisherfolk — persons who are directly or indirectly engaged in municipal fishing and other related fishing
activities.
57. Municipal fishing — refers to fishing within municipal waters using fishing vessels of three (3) gross tons or less, or
fishing not requiring the use of fishing vessels.
58. Municipal waters — include not only streams, lakes, inland bodies of water and tidal waters within the municipality
which are not included within the protected areas as defined under Republic Act No. 7586 (The NIPAS Law), public forest,
timber lands, forest reserves or fishery reserves, but also marine waters included between two (2) lines drawn perpendicular
to the general coastline from points where the boundary lines of the municipality touch the sea at low tide and a third line
parallel with the general coastline including offshore islands and fifteen (15) kilometers from such coastline. Where two (2)
municipalities are so situated on opposite shores that there is less than thirty (30) kilometers of marine waters between them,
the third line shall be equally distant from opposite shore of the respective municipalities.
59. Non-governmental organization (NGO) — an agency, institution, a foundation or a group of persons whose purpose is to
assist peoples organizations/associations in various ways including, but not limited to, organizing, education, training,
research and/or resource accessing.
60. Payao — a fish aggregating device consisting of a loating raft anchored by a weighted line with suspended materials such
as palm fronds to attract pelagic and schooling species common in deep waters.
61. Pearl Farm Lease — public waters leased for the purpose of producing cultured pearls.
62. People's Organization — a bona fide association of citizens with demonstrated capacity to promote the public interest and
with identifiable leadership, membership and structure. Its members belong to a sector/s who voluntarily band themselves
together to work for and by themselves for their own upliftment, development and greater good.
63. Person — natural or juridical entities such as individuals, associations, partnership, cooperatives or corporations.
64. Philippine waters — include all bodies of water within the Philippine territory such as lakes, rivers, streams, creeks,
brooks, ponds, swamps, lagoons, gulfs, bays and seas and other bodies of water now existing or which may hereafter exist in
the provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays and the waters around, between and connecting the islands of the
archipelago regardless of their breadth and dimensions, the territorial sea, the sea beds, the insular shelves, and all other
waters over which the Philippines has sovereignty and jurisdiction including the 200-nautical miles Exclusive Economic
Zone and the continental shelf.
65. Post-harvest facilities — these facilities include, but are not limited to, fishport, fishlanding, ice plants and cold storages,
fish processing plants.
66. Purse Seine — a form of encircling net having a line at the bottom passing through rings attached to the net, which can be
drawn or pursed. In general, the net is set from a boat or pair of boats around the school of fish. The bottom of the net is
pulled closed with the purse line. The net is then pulled aboard the fishing boat or boats until the fish are concentrated in the
bunt or fish bag.
67. Resource Rent — the difference between the value of the products produced from harvesting a publicly owned resource
less the cost of producing it, where cost includes the normal return to capital and normal return to labor.
68. Sea farming — the stocking of natural or hatchery-produced marine plants or animals, under controlled conditions, for
purposes of rearing and harvesting, but not limited to commercially-important fishes, mollusks (such as pearl and giant clam
culture), including seaweeds and seagrasses.
69. Sea ranching — the release of the young of fishery species reared in hatcheries and nurseries into natural bodies of water
for subsequent harvest at maturity or the manipulation of fishery habitat, to encourage the growth of the wild stocks.
70. Secretary — the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.
71. Superlight — also called magic light, is a type of light using halogen or metal halide bulb which may be located above
the sea surface or submerged in the water. It consists of a ballast, regulator, electric cable and socket. The source of energy
comes from a generator, battery or dynamo coupled with the main engine.
72. Total Allowable Catch (TAC) — the maximum harvest allowed to be taken during a given period of time from any
fishery area, or from any fishery species or group of fishery species, or a combination of area and species and normally
would not exceed the MSY.
73. Trawl — an active fishing gear consisting of a bag shaped net with or without otter boards to open its opening which is
dragged or towed along the bottom or through the water column to take fishery species by straining them from the water,
including all variations and modifications of trawls (bottom, mid-water, and baby trawls) and tow nets.
VII. Amendment to R.A. No. 8550 (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing), Republic Act No.
10654, [February 27, 2015])
(12) Community Service — means any service or activity that is performed for the benefit of the community or its
institutions in lieu of payment of fine imposed as administrative or criminal penalty.
(13) Conservation and Management Measures — means measures to conserve and manage living marine resources that are
adopted and applied consistently with the relevant rules of international law including those reflected in conventions, RFMO
resolutions and laws of other coastal states where Philippine flagged vessels fish.
(18) Distant Water Fishing — means fishing in the high seas or in waters of other states.
(35) Fisheries Observer — refers to a person duly authorized by the Philippine government or under a Regional Observer
Program of the RFMO, to collect scientific, technical or fishing-related data, and other information that may be required by
the government or the RFMO and/or in compliance to a conservation and management measure.
(37) Fishing Vessel/Gear License — refers to a permit to operate specific types of fishing vessel/gear for specific duration in
areas beyond municipal waters for demersal or pelagic fishery resources.
(44) Fishing Gear — refers to any instrument or device and its accessories utilized in taking fish and other fishery species.
(a) Active Fishing Gear — is a fishing device characterized by the pursuit of the target species by towing, pushing the gears,
surrounding, covering, dredging, and scaring the target species to impoundments; such as, but not limited to, trawl, purse
seines, Danish seines, paaling and drift gill net. ICTacD
(b) Passive Fishing Gear — is characterized by the absence of pursuit of the target species; such as, but not limited to, hook
and line, fishpots, traps and gill nets set across the path of the fish.
(45) Fishing Light Attractor — refers to a fishing aid which employs lights using, among others, mercury vapor, high
pressure sodium vapor, standard tungsten, tungsten halogen, fluorescent or light-emitting diode, that are attached to a
structure above water or suspended underwater to attract both fish and members of their food chain to specific areas in order
to harvest them.
(54) Harvest Control Rules — refers to actions or set of actions to be taken to achieve a medium or long term target reference
point while avoiding reaching or breaching a limit reference point.
(55) Illegal Fishing — means fishing activities conducted by Philippine fishing vessels operating in violation of Philippine
laws, Regional Fisheries Management Organization resolutions, and laws of other coastal states.
(60) Marine Protected Area — means a defined area of the sea established and set aside by law, administrative regulation, or
any other effective means in order to conserve and protect a part of or the entire enclosed environment through the
establishment of management guidelines. It is considered a generic term that includes all declared areas governed by specific
rules or guidelines in order to protect and manage activities within the enclosed area.
(73) Port State Measures — refers to the requirements established or interventions undertaken by port states, which a
Philippine flagged or foreign fishing vessel must comply with as a condition for the use of ports within the port state.
(76) Reference Points — means benchmark values often based on indicators such as fishery stock size or the level of fishing
that serves as standard to compare estimates of a fishery stock size and fishing mortality overtime depending on the
biological characteristics of the species. Reference points can mark: (a) a limit or a level that should be avoided; (b) a target,
which should be achieved and maintained; or (c) a trigger that signals the need to take prescribed actions. ETDAaC
(77) Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) — means a multi-lateral organization with responsibility to
coordinate management and establish conservation and management measures for highly migratory fish stocks, fish stocks
that straddle national fisheries management boundaries and other high seas species.
(82) Serious Violation — means any of the following violations of the provisions of this Code:
(a) Fishing without a valid license, authorization or permit;
(b) Fishing without reporting the catch or misreporting the catch;
(c) Fishing in a closed area or during a closed season;
(d) Fishing of prohibited species;
(e) Fishing with the use of prohibited gear or methods;
(f) Falsifying, concealing or tampering with vessel markings, identity or registration to conceal vessel identity or lack of
registration;
(g) Concealing, tampering or disposing of evidence relating to an investigation of a violation;
(h) Assaulting, resisting, intimidating, harassing, seriously interfering with, or unduly obstructing or delaying a fisheries law
enforcer, authorized inspector or observer or other duly authorized government officer;
(i) Intentionally tampering with or disabling the vessel monitoring system; and
(j) Committing multiple violations which taken together constitute a serious disregard of this Code.
(83) Superlight — also called magic light, refers to a type of light using halogen or metal halide bulb which may be located
above the sea surface or submerged in the water. It consists of a ballast, regulator, electric cable and socket. The source of
energy comes from a generator, battery or dynamo coupled with the main engine.
(85) Transhipment — refers to the transfer of all or any fish or fishery product from one fishing vessel to another.
(87) Unregulated Fishing — refers to fishing activities conducted by:
(a) Vessels without nationality but operated by Filipino and/or Filipino corporation;
(b) Philippine flagged fishing vessels operating in areas managed by RFMOs to which the Philippines is not a party to; or
(c) Philippine flagged fishing vessels operating in areas or fish stocks where there are no applicable conservation and
management measures.
(88) Unreported Fishing — refers to fishing activities which have not been reported, or have been misreported to the
Department, in contravention of national laws and regulations of the Philippines, or undertaken in the area of competence of
a relevant RFMO which have not been reported or have been misreported, in contravention of the reporting procedures of
that organization and further elaborated by regulations to be promulgated by the Department."
VIII. Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004, Republic Act No. 9275, [March 22, 2004])
a) Aquifer — means a layer of water-bearing rock located underground that transmits water in sufficient quantity to supply
pumping wells or natural springs.
b) Aquatic life — means all organisms living in freshwater, brackish and marine environments.
c) Beneficial use — means the use of the environment or any element or segment thereof conducive to public or private
welfare, safety and health; and shall include, but not be limited to, the use of water for domestic, municipal, irrigation, power
generation, fisheries, livestock raising, industrial, recreational and other purposes.
1. Use of water for domestic purposes — means the utilization of water for drinking, washing, bathing, cooking or other
household needs, home gardens and watering of lawns or domestic animals;
2. Use of water for municipal purposes — means the utilization of water for supplying water requirements of the community;
3. Use of water for irrigation — means the utilization of water for producing agricultural crops;
4. Use of water for power generation — means the utilization of water for producing electrical or mechanical power;
5. Use of water for fisheries — means the utilization of water for the propagation of culture of fish as a commercial
enterprise;
6. Use of water for livestock raising — means the utilization of water for large herds or flocks of animals raised as a
commercial enterprise;
7. Use of water for industrial purposes — means the utilization of water in factories, industrial plants and mines, including
the use of water as an ingredient of a finished product; and
8. Use of water for recreational purposes — means the utilization of water for swimming pools, bath houses, boating, water
skiing, golf courses and other similar facilities in resorts and other places of recreation.
d) Classification/Reclassification of Philippine Waters — means the categorization of all water bodies taking into account,
among others, the following: (1) existing quality of the body of water; (2) size, depth, surface area covered, volume,
direction, rate of flow and gradient of stream; (3) most beneficial existing and future use of said bodies of water and lands
bordering them, such as for residential, agricultural, aquacultural, commercial, industrial, navigational, recreational, wildlife
conservation and aesthetic purposes; and (4) vulnerability of surface and groundwater to contamination from pollutive and
hazardous wastes, agricultural chemicals and underground storage tanks of petroleum products.
e) Civil Society — means non-government organizations (NGOs) and people's organizations (POs).
f) Cleaner production — means the application of an integrated, preventive environmental strategy to processes, products,
services to increase efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment. TBCScdtai
g) Clean-up operations — means activities involving the removal of pollutants discharged or spilled into a water body and its
surrounding areas, and the restoration of the affected areas to their former physical, chemical and biological state or
conditions.
h) Contamination — means the introduction of substances not found in the natural composition of water that make the water
less desirable or unfit for intended use.
i) Department — means the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
j) Discharge — includes, but is not limited to, the act of spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, releasing or
dumping of any material into a water body or onto land from which it might flow or drain into said water.
k) Drinking water — means water intended for human consumption or for use in food preparation.
l) Dumping — means any unauthorized or illegal disposal into any body of water or land of wastes or toxic or hazardous
material: Provided, That it does not mean a release of effluent coming from commercial, industrial, and domestic sources
which are within the effluent standards.
m) Effluent — means discharges from known source which is passed into a body of water or land, or wastewater flowing out
of a manufacturing plant, industrial plant including domestic, commercial and recreational facilities.
n) Effluent standard — means any legal restriction or limitation on quantities, rates, and/or concentrations or any
combination thereof, of physical, chemical or biological parameters of effluent which a person or point source is allowed to
discharge into a body of water or land.
o) Environmental management — means the entire system which includes, but is not limited to, conservation, regulation and
minimization of pollution, clean production, waste management, environmental law and policy, environmental education and
information, study and mitigation of the environmental impacts of human activity, and environmental research.
p) Environmental management system — means the part of the overall management system that includes organizational
structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing, implementing,
achieving, reviewing and maintaining the environmental policy.
q) Freshwater — means water containing less than 500 ppm dissolved common salt, sodium chloride, such as that in
groundwater, rivers, ponds and lakes.
r) Groundwater — means a subsurface water that occurs beneath a water table in soils and rocks, or in geological formations.
s) Groundwater vulnerability — means relative ease with which a contaminant located at or near the land surface can migrate
to the aquifer or deep well.
t) Groundwater vulnerability map — means the identified areas of the land surface where groundwater quality is most at risk
from human activities and shall reflect the different degrees of groundwater vulnerability based on a range of soil properties
and hydrogeological criteria to serve as guide in the protection of the groundwater from contamination.
u) Hazardous waste — means any waste or combination of wastes of solid, liquid, contained gaseous, or semi-solid form
which cause, or contribute to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible
illness, taking into account toxicity of such waste, its persistence and degradability in nature, its potential for accumulation or
concentration in tissue, and other factors that may otherwise cause or contribute to adverse acute or chronic effects on the
health of persons or organism.
v) Industrial waste — means any solid, semi-solid or liquid waste material with no commercial value released by a
manufacturing or processing plant other than excluded material.
w) Integrated Water Quality Management Framework — means the policy guideline integrating all the existing frameworks
prepared by all government agencies on water quality involving pollution from all sources. Specifically, the framework shall
contain the following: (a) water quality goals and targets; (b) period of compliance; (c) water pollution control strategies and
techniques; (d) water quality information and education program; and (e) human resources development program.
x) Margin — means a landward and outer limiting edge adjacent to the border of any water bodies or a limit beyond where
saturation zone ceases to exist.
y) National Water Quality Status Report — means a report to be prepared by the Department indicating: (a) the location of
water bodies, their water quality, taking into account seasonal, tidal and other variations, existing and potential uses and
sources of pollution per specific pollutant and pollution load assessment; (b) water quality management areas pursuant to
Section 5 of this Act; and (c) water classification.
z) Non point source — means any source of pollution not identifiable as point source to include, but not be limited to, run-off
from irrigation or rainwater which picks up pollutants from farms and urban areas.
aa) Point source — means any identifiable source of pollution with specific point of discharge into a particular water body.
bb) Pollutant — shall refer to any substance, whether solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive, which directly or indirectly:
(i) alters the quality of any segment of the receiving water body so as to affect or tend to affect adversely any beneficial use
thereof;
(ii) is hazardous or potentially hazardous to health;
(iii) imparts objectionable odor, temperature change, or physical, chemical or biological change to any segment of the water
body; or
(iv) is in excess of the allowable limits or concentrations or quality standards specified, or in contravention of the condition,
limitation or restriction prescribed in this Act.
cc) Pollution control technology — means pollution control devices or apparatus, processes, or other means that effectively
prevent, control or reduce pollution of water caused by effluents and other discharges, from any point source at levels within
the water pollution standards.
dd) Potentially infectious medical waste — includes isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products,
pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, and other disposable medical equipment and
material that may pose a risk to the public health, welfare or the marine environment.
ee) Secretary — means the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
ff) Septage — means the sludge produced on individual onsite wastewater-disposal systems, principally septic tanks and
cesspools.
gg) Sewage — means water-borne human or animal wastes, excluding oil or oil wastes, removed from residences, buildings,
institutions, industrial and commercial establishments together with such groundwater, surface water and storm water as may
be present including such waste from vessels, offshore structures, other receptacles intended to receive or retain wastes, or
other places or the combination thereof.
hh) Sewerage — includes, but is not limited to, any system or network of pipelines, ditches, channels, or conduits including
pumping stations, lift stations and force mains, service connections including other constructions, devices, and appliances
appurtenant thereto, which involves the collection, transport, pumping and treatment of sewage to a point of disposal.
ii) Sludge — means any solid, semi-solid or liquid waste or residue generated from a wastewater treatment plant, water
supply treatment plant, or water control pollution facility, or any other such waste having similar characteristics and effects.
jj) Surface water — means all water which is open to the atmosphere and subject to surface run-off.
kk) Treatment — means any method, technique, or process designed to alter the physical, chemical or biological and
radiological character or composition of any waste or wastewater to reduce or prevent pollution.
ll) Toxic amount — means the lowest amount of concentration of toxic pollutants which may cause chronic or long-term
acute or lethal conditions or effects to the aquatic life or health of persons or which may adversely affect designated water
uses.
mm) Waste — means any material either solid, liquid, semi-solid, contained gas or other forms resulting from industrial,
commercial, mining or agricultural operations, or from community and household activities that is devoid of usage and
discarded.
nn) Wastewater — means waste in liquid state containing pollutants.
oo) Water body — means both natural and man-made bodies of fresh, brackish, and saline waters, and includes, but is not
limited to, aquifers, groundwater, springs, creeks, streams, rivers, ponds, lagoons, water reservoirs, lakes, bays, estuarine,
coastal and marine waters. Water bodies do not refer to those constructed, developed and used purposely as water treatment
facilities and/or water storage for recycling and re-use which are integral to process industry or manufacturing.
pp) Water pollution — means any alteration of the physical, chemical or biological or radiological properties of a water body
resulting in the impairment of its purity or quality.
qq) Water quality — means the characteristics of water which define its use in terms of physical, chemical, biological,
bacteriological or radiological characteristics by which the acceptability of water is evaluated.
rr) Water quality guidelines — means the level for a water constituent or numerical values of physical, chemical, biological
and bacteriological or radiological parameters which are used to classify water resources and their use, which does not result
in significant health risk and which are not intended for direct enforcement but only for water quality management purposes,
such as determining time trends, evaluating stages of deterioration or enhancement of the water quality, and as basis for
taking positive action in preventing, controlling or abating water pollution.
ss) Water Quality Management Area Action Plan — includes, but not be limited to, the following: (a) goals and targets
including sewerage or septage program; (b) schedule of compliance to meet the applicable requirements of this Act; (c) water
pollution control strategies or techniques; (d) water quality information and education program; (e) resource requirement and
possible sources; (f) enforcement procedures of the plan; and (g) rewards and incentives under Chapter 4 of this Act.
IX. People's Small-scale Mining Act of 1991, Republic Act No. 7076, [June 27, 1991])
(a) "Mineralized areas" refer to areas with naturally occurring mineral deposits of gold, silver, chromite, kaolin, silica,
marble, gravel, clay and like mineral resources;
(b) "Small-scale mining" refers to mining activities which rely heavily on manual labor using simple implements and
methods and do not use explosives or heavy mining equipment;
(c) "Small-scale miners" refer to Filipino citizens who, individually or in the company of other Filipino citizens, voluntarily
form a cooperative duly licensed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to engage, under the terms and
conditions of a contract, in the extraction or removal of minerals or ore-bearing materials from the ground;
(d) "Small-scale mining contract" refers to co-production, joint venture or mineral production sharing agreement between the
State and a small-scale mining contractor for the small-scale utilization of a plot of mineral land; cda
(e) "Small-scale mining contractor" refers to an individual or a cooperative of small-scale miners, registered with the
Securities and Exchange Commission or other appropriate government agency, which has entered into an agreement with the
State for the small-scale utilization of a plot of mineral land within a people's small-scale mining area;
(f) "Active mining area" refers to areas under actual exploration, development, exploitation or commercial production as
determined by the Secretary after the necessary field investigation or verification including contiguous and geologically
related areas belonging to the same claimowner and/or under contract with an operator, but in no case to exceed the
maximum area allowed by law;
(g) "Existing mining right" refers to perfected and subsisting claim, lease, license or permit covering a mineralized area prior
to its declaration as a people's small-scale mining area;
(h) "Claimowner" refers to a holder of an existing mining right;
(i) "Processor" refers to a person issued a license to engage in the treatment of minerals or ore-bearing materials such as by
gravity concentration, leaching beneficiation, cyanidation, cutting, sizing, polishing and other similar activities;
(j) "License" refers to the privilege granted to a person to legitimately pursue his occupation as a small-scale miner or
processor under this Act;
(k) "Mining plan" refers to a two-year program of activities and methodologies employed in the extraction and production of
minerals or ore-bearing materials, including the financial plan and other resources in support thereof;
(l) "Director" refers to the regional executive director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; and
(m) "Secretary" refers to the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

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DEFINITION OF TERMS - LAW ON NATURAL RESOURCES

f) "Department" means the Department of Environment and Natural Resources;

(c) Bureau shall refer to the Environmental Management Bureau;

(i) "Department" means the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

(u) "Government" means the government of the Republic of the Philippines.

(al) "Permittee" means the holder of an exploration permit.

(an) "President" means the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

(ay) "State" means the Republic of the Philippines.

(az) "Utilization" means the extraction or disposition of minerals.

nn) Person includes natural as well as juridical person.

a. Aquaculture, sea ranching and sea farming;

b. Fish aggregating devices;

c. Fixed and passive fishing gears; and

d. Fry and fingerlings gathering.

15. Department — shall mean the Department of Agriculture.

19. FARMCs — the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils.

49. Inland Fishery — the freshwater fishery and brackishwater fishponds.

55. Monitoring, control and surveillance —

70. Secretary — the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

(a) Fishing without a valid license, authorization or permit;

(b) Fishing without reporting the catch or misreporting the catch;

(c) Fishing in a closed area or during a closed season;

(d) Fishing of prohibited species;

(e) Fishing with the use of prohibited gear or methods;

(g) Concealing, tampering or disposing of evidence relating to an investigation of a violation;

(87) Unregulated Fishing — refers to fishing activities conducted by:

i) Department — means the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

(ii) is hazardous or potentially hazardous to health;

nn) Wastewater — means waste in liquid state containing pollutants.

(h) "Claimowner" refers to a holder of an existing mining right;

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