1.

Concept of National Economy and Patrimony (Article XII, Secitions 1-9)

2. Agrarian and Natural Resources Reform (Article XIII, Section 4-8)
3. Natural Resources, concept and disposition
4. Alienable and Disposable Lands in General
5. Right of the People to a balanced and healthful ecology (Article II, Section 16)
Article XII Sec. 3

Lands of the public domain are classified into agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands, and national
parks. Agricultural lands of the public domain may be further classified by law according to the uses
which they may be devoted. Alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to agricultural lands.
Private corporations or associations may not hold such alienable lands of the public domain except by
lease, for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and
not to exceed one thousand hectares in area. Citizens of the Philippines may lease not more than five
hundred hectares, or acquire not more than twelve hectares thereof by purchase, homestead, or grant.

Taking into account the requirements of conservation, ecology, and development, and subject to the
requirements of agrarian reform, the Congress shall determine, by law, the size of lands of the public
domain which may be acquired, developed, held, or leased and the conditions therefor.

1. Lands of the public domain are classified into Agricultural, Forest or Timber, Mineral lands, and
National Parks. (Constitutional classification)
2. Agricultural lands of the public domain may further be classified by law according to the uses
which may be devoted;
3. Alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to agricultural lands.
- Congress is given the power to further classify agricultural lands in accordance with its use
(Residential, commercial, industrial, resettlement, forest reserves, grazing lands, and such other
classes as may be provided by law.
- CONGRESS CANNOT CLASSIFY OTHER CLASSES OF LANDS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Congress can only touch agricultural lands.
- Last paragraph: Taking into account the requirements of conservation, ecology, and
development, and subject to the requirements of agrarian reform, the Congress shall
determine, by law, the size of lands of the public domain which may be acquired, developed,
held, or leased and the conditions therefor. Authorizes Congress the discretion to determine the
SIZE of the lands of the public domain which may be developed or acquired, either through lease or
purchase (ONLY REFERS TO ALIENABLE)
- Who has the power to classify lands of the public domain as alienable: EXECUTIVE Dept. thru
President
- When does the land cease to be of the public domain and commence to be private land? There must
be a positive act of government, eg. Official proclamation, declassifying inalienable public land into
disposable land for agricultural or other purposes.
- There is a presumption of the State ownership of land, thus the burden of proof is on the person
claiming ownership. He must establish incontrovertible evidence that he acquired the right of
ownership through PURCHASE, HOMESTEAD, GRANT, OR THAT HE AND HIS
PREDECESSORS-IN-INTEREST HAD BEEN IN OPEN, EXCLUSIVE, UNINTERRUPTED
AND NOTORIOUS POSSESSION SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL.
Rulings:
 Oh Cho v Director of Lands: All lands that were not acquired from the Government, either by
purchase or grant, belong to the public domain. An exception to the rule would be any land that
should have been in the possession of an occupant and of his predecessors-in-interest since time
immemorial, for such possession would justify the presumption that the land had never been part of
the public domain of that it had been private property even before the Spanish conquest.
Director of Lands v. Reyes: the possession of public land however long the period thereof may
have extended, never confers title thereto upon the possessor because the statute of limitations with
regard to public land does not operate against the State, unless the occupant can prove possession
and occupation of the same under claim of ownership for the required number of years to constitute
grant from the State.
4. Private corporations or associations may not hold such lands of the public domain except by lease,
for a period not exceeding 25 years, renewable for not more than 25 years, and not to exceed 1000
hectares in area
5. Citizens of the Philippines may lease not more than 25 hundred hectares, or acquire not more
than 12 hectares thereof by purchase, homestead or grant
- Who are eligible to acquire alienable land of the public domain? Only Filipino citizens, maximum
area of 12 hectares
- Private corporations or associations are not eligible, but may hold such land by lease ( not exceeding
1000 hectares, 25 years max, renewable 25 years)
- Private corporations may acquire private land. Constitutional ban is only with regards to public
land.
Sec. 4 Congress shall, as soon as possible, determine by law the specific limits of forest lands and national
parks, marking clearly their boundaries on the ground. Thereafter, such forest lands and national parks
shall be conserved and may not be increased nor diminished, except by law. The Congress shall provide,
for such period as it may determine, measures to prohibit logging in endangered forests and watershed
areas.
- Deals with 2 classes of public land: FOREST AND NATIONAL PARKS.
- Reflects concerns about forest extinction and cultural value of national parks.

Sec 5. The State, subject to the provisions of this Constitution and national development policies and
programs, shall protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to their ancestral lands to ensure
their economic, social, and cultural well-being.
The Congress may provide for the applicability of customary laws governing property rights or relations
in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral domain.
- Two concepts: Ancestral lands and ancestral domain (RA 8371)
- Ancestral domain is a broader concept than ancestral land.
- Ancestral domain is an all-embracing concept which refers to lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and
natural resources therein and included ancestral lands, forests, pasture, residential, agricultural and
other lands individually owned whether alienable or inablenable, hunting grounds, burial grounds,
worship areas, bodies of waters, and all other natural resources that may be found therein. Include
lands not exclusively occupied by indigenous cultural communities but which they have traditionally
had access for their subsistence and traditional actitivities.
- Ancestral land is a narrower concept. Refers to those held under the same conditions as ancestral
doman but limited to lands that are not merely occupied and possessed but are also utilized by
 cultural communities under the claim of individual or traditional group ownership. Include:
residential lots, rice terraces/paddies, private forests, forests and tree lots.

Sec. 6. The use of property bears a social function, and all economic agents shall contribute to the
common good. Individuals and private groups, including corporations, cooperatives, and similar
collective organizations, shall have the right to own, establish, and operate economic enterprises, subject
to the duty of the State to promote distributive justice and to intervene when the common good so
demands.

Sec. 7. Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be transferred or conveyed except to
individuals, corporations, or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain.

Sec. 8. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 7 of this Article, a natural-born citizen of the
Philippines who has lost his Philippine citizenship may be a transferee of private lands, subject to
limitations provided by law.

Note:
- Only intestate succession, it does not extend to testamentary succession, otherwise, the prohibition
can easily be circumvented and rendered the provisions naught and meaningless.
- Cited cases:
a. Cheesman v IAC
b. Ramirez v Vda de Ramires
c. Zargoza v CA
d. Halili v CA
- Consequences of conveyance made in violation of Sec 7.
a. Rellosa v Gaw Chee Hun
b. Philippine Banking Corporation v. Lui She

Sec. 7
1. Meaning of “private lands”
- Any land of private ownership
- Includes lands owned by private individuals and lands which are patrimonial property of the State or
of municipal corporations.
2. Who may acquire private land?
- The capacity to acquire private land is made dependent upon the capacity to acquire or hold lands of
the public domain.
- Private land may be transferred or conveyed only to individuals or entities “qualified to acquire or
hold lands of the public domain”.
- Cheeseman v IAC: The prohibition applies to a regime of conjugal partnership in marriage. Thus,
when husband and wife decide to buy land and the husband is an alien, he does not have the right of
a conjugal partner to consent or not to consent to the disposition of the land.
- The time to determine whether the person acquiring land is qualified is the time the right to own it is
acquired and not the time to register ownership.
- Sec. 7 contains an exception: aliens may acquire private land “in cases of hereditary succession”
 - Ramirez v. Vda de Ramirez: Does not extend to testamentary succession for otherwise the provision
will be for naught and meaningless. THE EXCEPTION ONLY APPLIES TO INTESTATE.
- Zaragoza v CA: partition done inter vivos, Court ordered the collation of all properties in order to
determine whether a daughter who became an American citizen had been unlawfully deprived of her
legitime.
- Halili v CA: American citizen died leaving real properties in the Philippines, heirs (widow and son)
were American citizens. Widow executed quitclaim conveying to son. Court held that it was invalid,
son could only acquire land by hereditary succession. However, son sold to a Filipino citizen.
Validity of the sale was upheld by Court.
Doctrine: “if land is invalidly transferred to an alien who subsequently becomes a citizen or transfers
it to a citizen, the flaw in the original transaction is considered cured and the title of the transferee is
rendered valid”
- Prohibition does not extend to lease in favor of aliens.
- Prohibition does not extend to all immovable or real property, only on acquiring land. Eg.
Condominium, the alien owns the unit, the land is owned by the condominium corporation.
3. Can a Filipino corporation acquire land?
4. Effect of Parity Amendment on Sec. 7.
5. Consequences of conveyances made in violation of Sec. 7
- The sale of private land made in violation of Sec. 7 is null and void.
- Rellosa v. Gaw Chee Hun (1953): applied pari delicto and disallowed Filipino vendor from
recovering land sold to an alien.
- Phil. Banking Corp v Lui She(1967): Chinese buyer became a Filipino citizen, the seller was not
allowed to recover.
- Chavez v Public Estates Authority: transfer to a Filipino of land illegally acquired by an alien cures
the prior illegality.
Sec. 8
- Current law: Foreign Investment Act

SEC. 10. Other Rights of Natural Born Citizen Pursuant to the Provisions of Article XII, Section 8 of
the Constitution.

Any natural born citizen who has lost his Philippine citizenship and who has the legal capacity to
enter into a contract under Philippine laws may be a transferee of a private land up to a maximum
area of five thousand (5,000) square meters in the case of urban land or three (3) hectares in the case
of rural land to be used by him for business or other purposes. In the case of married couples, one of
them may avail of the privilege herein granted: Provided, That if both shall avail of the same, the
total area acquired shall not exceed the maximum herein fixed.

In the case the transferee already owns urban or rural land for business or other purposes, he shall
still be entitled to be a transferee of additional urban or rural land for business or other purposes
which when added to those already owned by him shall not exceed the maximum areas herein
authorized.

A transferee under this Act may acquire not more than two (2) lots which should be situated in
different municipalities or cities anywhere in the Philippines: Provided, That the total land area
 thereof shall not exceed five thousand (5,000) square meters in the case of urban land or three (3)
hectares in the case of rural land for use by him for business or other purposes. A transferee who has
already acquired urban land shall be disqualified from acquiring rural land and vice versa”. (As
amended by R.A. 8179)

Concept of Forest and Forest Products

Forest is defined as “a large tract of land covered with natural growth of trees and underbrush”.
Mangrove is a term applied for the type of forest occurring on tidal flat along the coastal area, extending
along streams where the water is brackish

Forest products include timber, pulpwood or plywood, bark, tree- top, resin, gum, oil, honey,
beeswax, nipa, rattan, or other forest growth such as wild grass, wild botanical plants and flowers, and
shrub

Historical Development

A) In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer but the leader of an Spanish Expedition discovered
the Island of Cebu and claimed it in the name of the King of Spain and named the Island as “Islas de San
Lazaro”. He introduced Roman Catholicism among the natives. He was killed in the “Battle of Mactan”
by Lapu Lapu

In 1543, a Spaniard Ruy Lopez de Villalobos led an expedition to the Islands and named it “Las Islas
Filipinas” after King Felipe of Spain, including the islands of Samar and Leyte

In 1564, another Spanish expedition this time lead by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, arrived in Manila and
established a permanent settlement, and became the center of Spanish Civil, Military, Commercial, and
Religious activity

The Philippine Islands was administered as a province of Spain from 1571 until 1898, when Spain ceded
the Philippine Islands to the United States of America in the Treaty of Paris (December 10, 1898) in
exchange for US$20 million

B) Act 235, also known as The Philippine Organic Act of 1902, authorized the establishment of a
Temporary Civil Administration in the Philippine Islands (Enacted by the US 57th Congress first session
1902)
 Section 1 – Created the Office of Civil Governor, and four Executive Departments, namely; 1)
Department of Interior; 2) Department of Commerce and Police; 2) Department of Finance and Justice;
and 4) Department of Public Instructions

Section 4 – All inhabitants who were Spanish subjects as of April 11, 1899 and choose to reside
thereafter are now called “Citizens” of the Philippine Islands, and are entitled to the protection of the
United States of America

Section 13 – Authority of the Civil Governor to classify lands according to agriculture and
productiveness, allow Homesteads to locals with maximum area of 16 hectares

Section 17 – Timber, trees, forests and other forest products on land leased or demised by the
government of the Philippine Islands shall not be cut, destroyed, removed or appropriated except by a
special permission of said government under such regulation as it may prescribe

Section 18 – That the forest laws and regulations now in force in the Philippine Islands shall continue in
force x x x

Provided that the government shall have the right and power to issue license to cut, harvest, or
collect timber or other forest products on reserved or unreserved public lands in accordance with forest
laws

C) Act No. 4007, also known as “The Reorganization of Law of 1932 (December 5, 1932), An act to
reorganize the Departments, Bureaus and Offices of the Insular government, section 7 placed the Bureau
of Forestry under the Department of Agriculture and Commerce

D) Commonwealth Act No. 452, also known as The Pasture Land Act (June 8, 1939)

Section 2 – No person shall occupy or use any parcel of public land for pasture purposes without first
securing therefrom a lease or permit from the Director of Forestry in accordance with the provisions of
this Act

Section 9 – The Director of Forestry may, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Commerce, grant pasture lease agreements by auction or bidding after proper investigation of the areas
applied for has been made, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by him

E) Republic Act No. 4715, An Act setting aside Timberland (Upland)Areas within certain municipalities in
the Province of Cebu for Reforestation Development Purposes (June 8, 1966, lapsed into law without
the approval of President Marcos)

Section 1 – Creation of Southern Cebu Reforestation Development Project headed by a Project Manager

Section 2 – The Reforestation Development Projects is to be managed and administered by the Southern
Cebu Reforestation Development Project Manager

F) Presidential Decree No. 330, Penalizing Timber Smuggling or Illegal Cutting of Logs from public
forests and forests reserves as qualified theft (Nov. 8, 1973)

G) Presidential Decree No. 389, Codifying, Revising and Updating All Forestry Laws; Title – Forestry
Reform Code (Feb 5, 1974)

Name of Office – Bureau of Forest Development

H) Presidential Decree No. 705, also known as, The Revised Forestry Code (May 19, 1975)

State Policies on Forests under P.D. No. 705

1) The multiple uses of forest lands shall be oriented to the development and progress
requirements of the country, the advancement of science and technology, and the public
welfare;
2) Land classification and survey shall be systematized and hastened;
3) The establishment of wood-processing plants shall be encourage and rationalized;
4) The protection, development and rehabilitation of forest lands shall be emphasized so as to
ensure their continuity in productive condition

Prohibition under P.D. No. 705, sections 3 and 20

No person may exploit, utilize, occupy, possess, or conduct any activity within any forest land, or
establish and operate any wood-processing plant, unless he has been authorized to do so under a lease,
license, license agreement, or permit

Meaning of Lease, License, License Agreement, and Permit

1) Lease is 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.
2) License is a privilege granted by the State to a person to utilize forest resources, or, establish and
operate wood-processing plant, or, conduct any activity involving the utilization of any forest
products, within any forest land, without any right of occupation or possession over the same, to
the exclusion of others;
3) 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
4) Permit is a short-term privilege granted by the State to a person to utilize any limited forest
resources or undertake a limited activity within any forest land without any right of occupation
and possession

I) On March 18, 1989, President Corazon C. Aquino announced a ban on Timber Exports

J) Executive Order No. 192, Revised Administrative Code (June 10, 1987)

Section 13 – new name of office – Forest Management Bureau

K) Executive Order No. 23, issued by President Benigno C. Aquino, declaring a moratorium on the cutting
and harvesting of timber in natural and residual forests nationwide
L) Office charged with authority over forest lands

For the purpose of implementing the provisions of the Revised Forestry Code (R.A. No. 705), the
Bureau of Forestry, the Forestation Administration, the Southern Cebu Forestation Development, and the Parks
and Wildlife Office, were merged into single agency known as Forest Management Bureau, pursuant to
Executive Order No. 192, section 13 (10 June 1987), under the control and supervision of Department of
Environment and Natural Resources
Note: Forester is a recognized Academic Profession. Latest law is R.A. No. 10690 (Oct 23, 2015)

SBC Nat Res Envi Law (30 August 2016)

1) Act 235, Philippine Organic Act of 1902, authored by Congressman Henry A. Cooper, enacted by 57 th
US Congress on July 1, 1902

Sections related to exploration, development, and utilization of mineral lands are from section 20 to 62

Section 20 – that in all cases public lands in the Philippine Islands valuable for minerals shall be
reserved from sale, except as otherwise expressly directed by law

Section 21 – that all valuable mineral deposits in public lands in the Philippine Islands, both surveyed
and un-surveyed, are hereby declared to be free and open to exploration, occupation, and purchase, and
the land in which they are found to occupation and purchase, by citizens of the United States, or of said
islands;

Provided, that when on any lands is said Islands entered and occupied as agricultural lands under
the provisions of this Act, but not patented, mineral deposits have been found, the working of such
mineral deposits is hereby forbidden until the person, association, or corporation who or which has
entered and is occupying such lands shall have paid the Government of said Islands such additional sum
or sums as will make the total amount paid for the mineral claim or claims in which said deposits are
located equal to the amount charged by the Government for the same mineral claims;
 Section 41 – that any person authorized to enter lands under this Act may enter and obtain patent to
lands that are chiefly valuable for building stone under the provisions of this Act relative to placer
mineral claims;

Section 42 – that any person authorized to enter lands under this Act may enter and obtain patent to
lands containing petroleum or other mineral oils and chiefly valuable therefore under the provisions of
this Act relative to parcel mineral claims;

Section 53 – that every person above the age of twenty-one years, who is a citizen of the United States,
or of the Philippine Islands, or who has acquired the rights of a native of said Islands under and by virtue
of the Treaty of Paris, or any association of persons severally qualified as above, shall, upon application
to the proper provincial treasurer, have the right to enter any quality of vacant coal lands of said Islands
not otherwise appropriated or reserved by competent authority, not exceeding sixty-four hectares to such
individual person, or one hundred and twenty-eight hectares to such association, upon payment to the
provincial treasurer or the collector of internal revenue, as the case may be, of not less than twenty-five
dollars per hectare for such lands, where the same shall be situated more than fifteen miles from any
completed railroad or available harbor or navigable stream, and not less than fifty dollars per hectare for
such lands as shall be within fifteen miles of the completed railroad, harbor or stream;

Section 54 – that any person or association of persons, severally qualified as above provided, who have
opened and improved, or shall hereafter open and improve, any coal mine or mines upon the public
lands, and shall be in actual possession of the same, shall be entitled to a preference right of entry under
the preceding section of the mines so opened and improved;

2) Commonwealth Act No 137. The Mining Act (Nov 7, 1936)

(It has 113 sections)

Section 3 – All mineral lands of the public domain and minerals belonging to the State, and their
disposition, exploitation, development, or utilization, shall be limited to citizens of the Philippines, or to
corporations, associations, at least sixty per centum of the capital which is owned by such citizens,
subject to existing right, grant, lease, or concession at the time of the inauguration of the Government
established under the Constitution

Section 110 – During the commonwealth of the Philippines, citizens of the United States or corporations
organized and instituted under the laws of the United States or of any state or territory thereof, and
authorized to transact business in the Philippines, shall enjoy the same rights under this Act as citizens
or corporations of the Philippines

Section 4 – The ownership and the right to the use of land for agricultural, industrial, commercial,
residential, or for any purpose rather than mining does not include the ownership of, nor the right to
extract or utilize, the minerals which may be found on or under the surface

Section 5 – The ownership of, and the right to extract and utilize, the mineral included within all areas
for which public agricultural land patents are granted are excluded and excepted from all such patents

Section 6 – The ownership of, and the right to extract and utilize, the minerals included within all areas
for which Torrens titles are granted are excluded and excepted from all such titles

Section 7 – With the exception of the soil which supports organic life, and of ordinary earth, gravel,
sand, and stone which are used for building or construction purposes, the disposition of which is
governed by Act Numbered Three Thousand seventy-seven, as amended by Act Numbered Three
 Thousand eight hundred and fifty-two of the Philippine Legislature, all inorganic substances found in
solid, liquid, gaseous, or any intermediate state are minerals with the purview of this Act

Section 8 – Mineral lands are those in which minerals exist in sufficient quantity or quality to justify the
necessary expenditures to be incurred in extracting and utilizing such minerals

Section 9 – The exploitation of public and private lands for mining purposes shall be governed by
existing laws, rules and regulations which may be promulgated thereunder

Section 10 – Subject to existing rights, all valuable mineral deposits in public or private land not closed
to mining location, and the land in which they are found, excepting coal, petroleum, and other mineral
oils and gas, which are now governed by special laws, shall be free and open to exploration, occupation,
location, and lease, by citizens of the Philippines of legal age, or by associations, or by corporations
organized and constituted under the laws of the Philippines; provided, that at least sixty per centum of
the capital of such associations or corporations shall at all times be owned and held by citizens of the
Philippines

3) Presidential Decree No. 463 (May 17, 1974)

(It has 106 sections)

Providing for a Modernized System of Administration and Disposition of Mineral Lands and to Promote
and Encourage the Development and Exploitation thereof

Title – Mineral Resources Development Decree of 1974

Section 3 – State Ownership of all mineral deposits

Section 4 – Minerals excluded form other rights to lands

Section 5 – Mineral deposits open to location and lease

Section 9 – Mineral reservations are closed to mining location, however, the government upon the
approval of the President may prospect, develop, exploit and utilize the same

Section 10 – All submerged lands beneath the territorial waters and on the continental shelf or its
analogue in an archipelago, are hereby established as mineral reservations subject to existing rights and
the President may declare these reservations, or parts thereof, open or closed to mining location to be
disposed of in the same manner as other mineral reservations. Submerged lands are those under water
during low tide as determined by the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey

Section 13 – Areas closed to mining location, except by the government;

1) military, mineral and other reservations

2) in lands covered by valid mining claims
3) near or under buildings, cemeteries, bridges, highways, waterways, railroad, reservoirs, dams or any
other public or private works, unless authorized by the government

4) Republic Act No. 7942 (March 3, 1995) (116 Sections)

An Act Instituting a new System of Mineral Resources Exploration, Development, Utilization, and
Conservation
Section 1. Title – The Philippine Mining Act of 1995

Section 2. Declaration of Policy – All mineral resources in public and private lands within the territory
and exclusive economic zone of the Republic of the Philippines are owned by the State. It shall be the
responsibility of the State to promote rational exploration, development, utilization and conservation
through the combined efforts of government and the private sector in order to enhance national growth
in a way that effectively safeguards the environment and protect the rights of affected communities

Section 3. Definition of Terms

Section 4. State ownership of mineral resources; Recognized and Protect the rights of Indigenous
cultural communities to their ancestral lands, in relations to Section 16 – opening of ancestral lands for
mining operations with the consent of the indigenous cultural communities, and Section 17 requires the
payment of royalty in the form of a trust fund for socio-economic well-being of the indigenous cultural
community

Section 5. Mineral reservations

Section 6. Other reservations

Section 18. Area open to mining operations – all mineral resources in public or private lands, including
timber or forestlands as defined in existing laws, shall be open to mineral agreements or financial or
technical assistance agreements applications

Section 19. Areas closed to mining applications, except upon prior written clearance by the government
concerned

Section 33. Any qualified person with technical and financial capability to undertake large-scale
exploration, development, and utilization of mineral resources in the Philippines may enter into a
financial or technical assistance agreement directly with the Government through the DENR

Section 42. Small-scale mining shall continue to be governed by Republic Act No. 7076 and other
pertinent laws

Section 63. Mines Safety and Environmental Protection

Section 72. Auxiliary mining rights – a contractor may be granted a right to cut trees or timber within his
mining area as may be necessary for his mining operations

Section 83. Income Tax Holiday

Section 90. Fiscal and Non-Fiscal Incentives

Section 91. Pollution control devices shall not be considered improvements, hence, shall not be subject
to real property taxes and other taxes or assessments

Section 94. Investment Guarantees

CLEAN AIR ACT

SEC. 4. Recognition of Rights. - Pursuant to the above-declared principles, the following rights of citizens are
hereby sought to be recognized and the State shall seek to guarantee their
enjoyment:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary

[a] The right to breathe clean air;

[b] The right to utilize and enjoy all natural resources according to the principles of sustainable
development;

[c] The right to participate in the formulation, planning, implementation and monitoring of environmental
policies and programs and in the decision-making process;

[d] The right to participate in the decision-making process concerning development policies, plans and
programs projects or activities that may have adverse impact on the environment and public health;

[e] The right to be informed of the nature and extent of the potential hazard of any activity, undertaking or
project and to be served timely notice of any significant rise in the level of pollution and the accidental or
deliberate
release into the atmosphere of harmful or hazardous substances;

[f] The right of access to public records which a citizen may need to exercise his or her rights effectively
under this Act;

[g] The right to bring action in court or quasi-judicial bodies to enjoin all activities in violation of
environmental laws and regulations, to compel the rehabilitation and cleanup of affected area, and to seek the
imposition of penal sanctions against violators of environmental laws; and

[h] The right to bring action in court for compensation of personal damages resulting from the adverse
environmental and public health impact of a project or activity.

SEC. 20. Ban on Incineration.- Incineration, hereby defined as the burning of municipal, biomedical and
hazardous waste, which process emits poisonous and toxic fumes is hereby prohibited; Provided, however,
That the prohibition shall not apply to traditional small-scale method of community/neighborhood sanitation
“siga”, traditional, agricultural, cultural, health, and food preparation and crematoria; Provided, further, That
existing incinerators dealing with a biomedical wastes shall be out within three (3) years after the effectivity of
this Act; Provided, finally, that in the interim, such units shall be limited to the burning of pathological and
infectious wastes, and subject to close monitoring by the Department.

Local government units are hereby mandated to promote, encourage and implement in their respective
jurisdiction a comprehensive ecological waste management that includes waste segregation, recycling and
composting.

With due concern on the effects of climate change, the Department shall promote the use of state-of-the-art,
environmentally-sound and safe non-burn technologies for the handling, treatment, thermal destruction,
utilization, and disposal of sorted, unrecycled, uncomposted, biomedical and hazardous wastes.
A. Definition of Terms

1. Natural Resources
- Material objects of economic value and utility to man produced by nature. They constitute the patrimony of
the nation.

2. Territorial sea
- That part of the sea extending 12 nautical miles from the baselines.

3. Jura Regalia
- All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential
energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State.

4. Imperium
- Government authority possessed by the State which is appropriately embraced in the concept of sovereignty.

5. Dominium
- The State's capacity to own or acquire property.

6. Agricultural lands
- Lands devoted principally to the raising of crops such as rice, sugar, tobacco, coconut, etc., or for farming.

7. Forest and timber land

- A large tract of land covered with a natural growth of trees and underbrush.
- Land producing wood or able to produce wood.

8. Mineral lands
- Those lands in which minerals exist in sufficient quantity and grade to justify the necessary expenditures in
extracting and utilizing such minerals.
- Any area where mineral resources are found.

9. Mineral oil
- A distillation product of petroleum, especially one used as a lubricant, moisturizer or laxative

10. National parks

- Any land declared by the law as a national park. (According to Comsor)
- Land maintained by the national government as a place of beauty or of public recreation, or forested land
reserved from settlement and maintained in its natural state for public use, or as wildlife refuge

11. Public Lands

- Such lands of the public domain as are subject to alienation and disposal by the State.
12. Private lands
- Land belonging to and owned by the State as a private individual, without being devoted for public use, public
service or to the development of the national wealth.

13. Ancestral domains

- Areas generally belonging to indigenous cultural communities, including ancestral lands, forests, pasture,
residential and agricultural lands, hunting grounds, worship areas and lands no longer occupied exclusively by
ICCs but to which they had traditional access, particularly the home ranges of ICCs who are still nomadic or
shifting cultivators. Ancestral domains also include inland waters, coastal waters and natural resources therein.

14. Ancestral lands

- Lands occupied by individuals, families, and clans who are members of ICCs including residential lots, rice
terraces or paddies, private forests, swidden farms and tree lots. These lands are requires to have been occupied,
possessed and utilized by them or through their ancestors since time immemorial.

15. National heritage

- "Heritage zone" shall refer to historical, anthropological, archaeological, artistic geographical areas and
settings that are culturally significant to the country, as declared by the National Museum and/or the National
Historical Institute.

1. General Economic Policy (Art. XII, Sec. 1)

- The goals of the national economy are a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth; a
sustained increase in the amount of goods and services produced by the nation for the benefit of the people; and
an expanding productivity as the key raising the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged.

2. Classification of public lands (Art. XII, Sec. 3)

- Lands of the public domain are classified into agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands, and national parks.

3. Exploration, Development and Utilization (Art. XII, Sec. 2)

- The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and
supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production,
joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least
sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens. Such agreements may be for a period not
exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and under such terms and
conditions as may be provided by law. In cases of water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or
industrial uses other than the development of water power, beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the
grant.

4. Authority of the president to enter into executive agreements (Art. XII, Sec. 2)
- The President may enter into agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving either technical of
financial assistance for large-scale exploration, development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum, and other
mineral oils according to the general terms and conditions provided by law, based on real contributions to the
economic growth and general welfare of the country. In such agreements, the State shall promote the
development and use of local scientific and technical resources.

5. Disposition of public lands (Art. XII, Sec. 3)

- Alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to agricultural lands.