Bautista, BJ G.
BS Crim 3-B
Environmental Laws and Protection
Chapter IX
PNP MASTER PLAN SANGYAMAN
Philippine National Police has a campaign
plan named SANGYAMAN. It is the PNP’s Master
Plan to Help Protect and Preserve Our
Environment, Cultural Properties and Natural
Resources.
This master plan prescribes the guidelines
to be followed by tasked PNP Units/Offices in
assisting lead government agencies in the
enforcement of laws over Philippine territorial
waters, lakes, rivers, mountain ranges, forest, to
include laws and ordinances that have been set
forth to preserve, protect and enhance our
environment and natural resources, in close
coordination with the Department of the
Environment and natural resources, Department of
Agriculture, National Museum and other tasked
government agencies and non-government
organizations.
OBJECTIVES
To protect, conserve, and develop our
environment and natural resources, in coordination
with and indirect support of all government
agencies.
STRATEGIC CONCEPT
1. Operationalization of Integrated
Area/Community Public Safety Plan
One of the areas of concern embodied in the
integrated Area/Community Public Safety is the
protection of the environment and natural
resources/ As part of the strategic concept, the
INTEGRATED AREA COMMUNITY PUBLIC
SAFETY PLAN (IA/CPSP) is the blue print of the
protection of lives and properties in a given
locality and its concept requires the total
mobilization of all available programs that will
involve the civilian, Police and Military
components of society.
The primary responsibility of the PNP is to assist
the DENR and other tasked government
agencies in the conduct of anti-crime
operations implementing appropriate
environmental, cultural, and natural resources
protection laws
2. Employment of both territorial units/offices
and selected NSUs in the conduct of an all-
out sustained campaign to protect and
preserve our environment, natural heritage
and natural resources should be executed in
tandem with concerned government
agencies.
BROAD OBJECTIVES
To protect, conserve and develop our
environment and natural resources, in coordination
with and in direct support of all concerned
government agencies.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1. Protect Lives – People must learn to
properly utilize and protect our
environment, cultural properties and
natural resources.
2. Enhance Public Safety – Public Safety
remains to be the top priority of the PNP.
Destruction of lives and property caused by
continues misuse, abuse, and malpractices
of the people on our natural resources must
be fully stopped in order to protect these
resources and promote public safety.
Hence, the PNP, being deputized to enforce
environmental laws, should relentlessly
conduct operation that would effect the
arrest and conviction of violators and
preempt the same from ensuring.
Community Participation in the protection,
conservation and development of environment and
natural resources. Community participation is an
indispensable element in the protection,
conservation and development of natural
resources. The realization of the vision to live in a
community with vast source of natural resources
and an environment worthy of emulation will come
about through the voluntary community support feed and wetland conversation, which
and cooperation to environmental protection law cause similar hazards and deleterious
enforcement, prevention and control activities. effects shall also constitute aquatic
pollution.
5. Aquatic Resources – include fish, all other
DEFINITION OF TERMS aquatic flora and fauna and other living
resources of the aquatic environment,
1. Aqua Culture – fishery operations involving
including but not limited to see corals.
all forms of raising and culturing fish and
6. Antiques – are cultural properties found
other fishery species in fresh, brackish,
locally which are one hundred years or
marine areas
more of age or even less, but their
2. Air Pollutant – means any matter found in
production having ceased, they have,
the atmosphere other than oxygen,
therefore, become or are becoming rare.
nitrogen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and
7. Artifacts – are articles which are products
inert gases in their natural or normal
of human skills or workmanship, especially
concentrations, that is detrimental to health
in the simple product of primitive arts or
or the environment, which includes but
industry representing past eras or periods.
limited to smoke, dust, soot, cinders, fly
8. Artificial Reefs – any structure of natural or
ash, solid particles of any kind, gasses,
man-made materials placed on a body of a
fumes, chemical mists, steam and radio-
water to serve as shelter and 2habitat,
actives substances.
source of food, breeding areas for fishery
3. Air Pollution – means any alteration of the
species, and shoreline protection.
physical, chemical and biological properties
9. Catch Ceilings – refers to the annual catch
of the atmospheric air, any discharge
limits allowed to be taken, gathered or
thereto of any liquid, gaseous or solid
harvested from any fishing area in
substances that will or is likely to create or
consideration of the need to prevent over
to render the air resources of the country
fishing and harmful depletion of breeding
harmful, detrimental, or injurious to public
stocks of aquatic organism.
health, safety or welfare or which will
10. Chemical substance – means any organic or
adversely affect their utilization for
inorganic substance of a particular
domestic, commercial, industrial,
molecular identity including any
agricultural, recreational, or other
combination of such substances occurring in
legitimate purposes.
whole or in part as a result of chemical
4. Aquatic Pollution – the introduction by
reaction or occurring in nature.
human or machine, directly or indirectly of
11. Closed Season – the period during which
substances or energy to the aquatic
the taking of the specified fishery species by
environment which result or is likely to
a specified fishing gear is prohibited in a
result in such deleterious effect as to harm
specified area or areas in Philippine waters.
living and non-living aquatic resources, pose
12. Commercial Fishing – the taking of fishery
potential and/or real hazard to human
species by passive or active gear for trade
health, hindrance to aquatic activities such
business or profit beyond subsistence or
as fishing and navigation, including
sports fishing.
dumping/disposal of waste and other
13. Coral Reef – a natural aggregation of coral
marine litters, discharge of petroleum or
skeleton with or without living corals
residual products of petroleum or
polyps, occurring in intertidal and subtidal
carbonaceous material/substances and
marine waters.
other radioactive, noxious or harmful liquid,
14. Cultural Properties – property which, on
gaseous or solid substances, from any
religious or secular grounds, is specifically
water, land or air transport or other human
designated by each State as being of
made structure. Deforestation, unsound
importance for archaeology, prehistory,
agricultural practices such as the use of
history, literature, art or science.
banned chemicals and excessive use of
chemicals, intensive use of artificial fish
15. Ecosystem – means the ecological
community considered together with non-
living factors and its environment as a unit.
16. Electro fishing – 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 regulation.
18. Environmental Compliance Certificate
(ECC) – is the document issued by the
government agency concerned certifying
that the project under consideration will
not bring about unacceptable
environmental impact and that the
proponent has complied with the
requirements of the environmental impact
statement system.
19. Greenhouse Gasses – means those gasses
that can potentially or can reasonably be
expected to include global warming, which
includes carbon dioxide, methane, oxides of
nitrogen, chlorofluorocarbons, and the like.
20. Fishery/Aquatic Products – include not only
fin fish but also mollusk, crustaceans,
echinoderms, marine mammals and all
other species of aquatic flora and fauna and
other products of aquatic living resources in
any form.
21. Fishing with Explosives – the use of the
dynamite, other explosives or other
chemical compounds that contains
combustible elements or ingredients which
upon ignition by friction, concussion,
percussion, or detonation of all parts of the
compound will kill, stupefy disable or
render unconscious any fishery species. It
also refers to any other substance and/ or
device which cause an explosion that is
capable of producing the said harmful
effects on any fishery species and aquatic
resources and capable of damaging and
altering and natural habitat
22. 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 raw or processed
from, 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.
23. Forest Products – 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
geological resources in forest land.
24. Hazardous Waste – are hereby defined as
substances that are without any safe
commercial, industrial, agricultural or
economic usage and are shipped,
transported or brought from the country of
origin for dumping or disposal into or in
- transit through any part of the territory of
the Philippines.
25. Historical Site – is any place, province, city,
town, and/or location and structure which
has played a significant and important role
in the history of our country and nation.
Such significance and importance may be
cultural, political, sociological or historical.
26. Infectious Waste – means that portion of
medical waste that could transmit an
infectious disease.
27. Kaingin – refers to the shifting and/or
permanent slash-and-burn cultivation of
forest land having little or no provision to
prevent soil erosion.
28. Lake – an inland body of water, an
expanded part of a river, a reservoir formed
by a dam or lake basin intermittently or
formerly covered by water.
29. Minerals – refers to all naturally occurring
inorganic substances in solid, gas, liquid or
any intermediate state excluding energy
materials such as coal, petroleum, natural
gas, radioactive materials, and geothermal
energy.
30. Muro-Ami – fishing method that requires
diving and other physical or mechanical acts
to pound the coral reef and other habitat to
entrap, gather or catch fish and other
fishery species.
31. National Cultural Treasure – is a unique
object found locally, possessing outstanding
historical, cultural, artistic and/or scientific
value which is significant and important to
this country and nation.
32. National Museum – referred to as the
museum, shall be the agency of the
government which shall implement the
provision of this act.
33. National Park – refers to a forest
reservation essentially of natural wilderness
character which has been withdrawn from
settlement, occupancy or any form of
exploitation except with in conformity with
approved management plan and set aside
as such exclusively to conserve the area or
preserve the scenery, the natural and
historic objects, wild animals and plants
therein and to provide enjoyment of these
features in such areas.
34. Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) –
an agency institution, foundation or a group
of persons whose purpose is to assist
people’s organizations/associations in
various ways including but not limited to
organizing, education, training, research,
and/or resource accessing.
35. Nuclear Wastes – are hazardous wastes
made radioactive by exposure to the
radiation incidental to the production or
utilization of nuclear fuels but does not
include nuclear fuel, or radioisotopes which
have reached the final stage of fabrication
so as to be usable for any scientific,
medical, agricultural, commercial or
industrial purpose.
36. People’s Organization – a bonafide
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 voluntarily band themselves for
their own upliftment development and
greater good.
37. 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
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 Exclusives Economic
Zone and the continental shelf.
38. Premium Hardwood – refers to narra,
molave, dao, kamagong, ipil, acacia, akle
apawit, banuyo, batkuling, hetis, bolangeta,
taek, tindalo, and manggis.
39. Private Lands – refers to the lands covered
by either administrative or judicial title or
FREE PATENT, HOMESTED and SALES
PATENT and TORRENS TITLE obtained under
the land registration act (Act No. 496, as
amended)
40. Protected Area – refers to identified
portions of land and water set aside by
reason of their unique physical and
biological significance, managed to enhance
biological diversity and protected against
destructive human exploitation.
41. Quarrying – a process of extracting
materials such as marble, basalt, andesite,
conglomerate, tuff, adobe, granite, gabbro,
serpentine, inset filling materials, clay for
ceramic tiles and building bricks, pumice,
perlite and other similar materials from the
ground. Also the process of extracting,
removing and disposing quarry resources
found on or underneath the surface of
private or public lands.
42. Relics – are cultural properties which, either
as a whole or in fragments, are left behind
after the destruction or decay of the rest of
its parts and which are intimately
associated with important beliefs, practices,
customs and traditions, periods and
personage.
43. Selective Logging – is 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.
44. Special Private Land Timber Permit (SPLTP)
– issued to land owners themselves by the
Secretary of DENR to cut, gather, collect, or
remove narra and other premium
hardwood species found in their private
land (DENR Memo circular No. 22 Series of
1990).
45. Timber License Agreement (TLA) – these
permits were issued by the DENR, pursuant
to P.D 705 and the old constitution and
 continue to be in full force and effect until by lack of finance. The lack of public awareness and
their expiry dates subject to the same term cooperation in matters dealing with conversation is
and conditions as originally granted and another stumbling block in efforts to save the
approved unless Congress may provide countrys dwindling natural resources.
otherwise (Sec 3, Executive Order No. 278,
Coral reefs are considered one of the most
Series of 1987).
productive ecosystems. Their direct relationship
46. Timber Sharing Agreement (TPSA) – all
with fish production has long been established:
license issued by the DENR to utilize timber
healthy reefs support more fish. And in a country
resources from forest areas, in lieu of TLA,
like the Philippines, where a great percentage of
in compliance with Sec 2 Article XII of the
the population depends on fishing as a means of
New Constitution as Implemented under
livelihood, the importance of coral reefs, cannot be
E.O. 278, series of 1987 (DENR
underrated.
Administrative Order No. 78, Series of
1990).

ENSURING CLEAN AND SAFE LAND, AIR AND

WATER
FIVE (5) IMMEDIATE CONCERNS THAT SHOULD BE
ADDRESSED FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE The continuous alteration of the physical,
ENVIRONMENT, CULTURAL PROPERTIES AND chemical, nuclear and biological properties of any
NATURAL RESOURCES water, air and/or land resources of the Philippines,
or any discharge of any liquid, gaseous or solid
1. PROTECTION FOREST
wastes and will has created and rendered harmful,
2. PROTECTION OF FISHERIES, MARINE LIFE
detrimental or injurious effects to public health or
AND AQUATIC RESOURCES
welfare, and further adversely affect their
3. ENSURING CLEAN AND SAFE LAND, AIR AND
utilization for domestic, commercial, industrial,
WATER
agricultural, recreational or other legitimate
4. PRESERVATION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES
purposes.
AND OTHER WILD LIFE
5. PROTECTION OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES

PRESERVATION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES AND

OTHER WILDLIFE
FOREST PROTECTION
The profound impact of man’s activities on
Statistics from the Bureau of Forest
all components of the natural environment
Development (BFD) maintains that 11.1 million
particularly the effect of the increasing population,
hectares of the forest land are still covered with
resources exploitation, industrial advancement and
timber, satellite data and surveys conducted by
man’s ignorance have caused severe lost to our
other quarters reveal a considerable smaller figure.
animal and plant resources. Recent assessment on
According to the forestry Development Center of
the quantity of varieties of terrestrial, wetland and
the University of the Philippines, the remaining
marine species of both flora and fauna revealed a
living forests may only cover an area of between
very disturbing figure. 89 % of the 558 species of
1.9 million and 2.4 million hectares. Similarly,
birds nationwide are recognized as threatened
United Nations Food and agriculture Organization
species likewise 44% threatened species of
(UN-FAO) predicted that the country may lose all
mammals and 8 species of endangered reptiles.
its forests within 15 years if the continued
Similarly, plants in vast forest areas in the country
destruction is not averted.
are continuously experiencing destruction.

PROTECT OF FISHERIES, MARINE LIFE AND

PROTECTION OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES
AQUATIC RESOURCES
The Philippines has a unique and rich
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
cultural heritage. Evidences of this in the from of
Resources (BFAR) claims itss inability to stop illegal
ancient churches, ancestral homes, natural and
fishing and harvesting of coral has been hampered
man-made sceneries, and the treasures contained
within them are spread out throughout the islands.
However due to a lack of awareness and attention,
many of these God-made and man-made
structures have fallen into disrepair. Because
people have not been properly educated, many
historical landmarks are exploited and art pieces
are disposed of rather indiscriminately.
In view of the above enumerated problems
concerning the environment and natural resources,
it is the policy of the state to protect the people by
effectively enforcing environmental protection laws
that would address these problems.