JUNE 6, 2012 DATE

NR # 2762
REF. NO.

House approves stiffer penalties for illegal cutting of coconut trees

The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill granting police powers to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to effectively preserve coconut trees as mandated under Republic Act 8048 or the Coconut Preservation Act of 1995. House Bill 6131 substitutes House Bill 3515 and House Resolution 1689 filed by Rep. Danilo Suarez (3rd District, Quezon) and House Bill 3864 authored by Rep. Sharon Garin (Party-list, AAMBIS-OWA). Rep. Mark Llandro Mendoza (4th District, Batangas), Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, endorsed the bill for plenary approval. Mendoza said the PCA should be vested with the authority to exercise duly delegated police powers such as to investigate, search and seize; arrest or apprehend violators of this act, among others. Under this Act, the PCA may investigate suspected violations, arrest and apprehend any person actually committing or attempting to commit an offense, search and seize a moving vehicle with illegally cut, gathered, collected, or removed coconut lumber; stop the transport or shipment of coconut lumber without authority or without legal documents; confiscate and forfeit in favor of the government the illegally cut, gathered, collected, removed, possessed or abandoned coconut lumber, as well as the machinery, equipment, implements, and tools illegally used in the commission of the offense and to dispose of the same in accordance with pertinent laws, regulation or policies; and seek the assistance of other law enforcement agencies for the efficient and effective implementation of this Act, Mendoza said. As provided under the measure, a permit to cut shall be granted by the Barangay Captain of the locality where the cutting will be done only after a certification under oath by the applicant that he/she has already planted the equivalent number of coconut trees applied for to be cut. Violators are punished by imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than six years or a fine of not less than One Hundred Thousand Pesos but not more than Five Hundred Thousand Pesos or both upon the discretion of the court, Mendoza said. The Barangay Captain who issued the certification shall be penalized with imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and a fine of not less than One Hundred Thousand Pesos but not more than One Million Pesos and shall be perpetually disqualified from holding any other public office, if upon verification by the PCA, no replanting was done, Mendoza added.

JUNE 6, 2012 DATE

NR # 2762
REF. NO.

According to Mendoza, an applicant may be allowed to cut coconut trees if the tree is 60 years old, no longer productive, is diseased-infected, damaged by typhoon or lightning or the agricultural land shall have been converted into residential, commercial or industrial areas or the tree would cause hazard to life and property. Cutting of coconut trees may be done only during the months of October, November and December, Mendoza said. Suarez said there is also a need to update and increase the permit fees collected from cutting coconut trees to reflect the effects of inflation, and to sustain funds for the meaningful replanting and replenishment program for cut trees. For every tree intended to be cut, the Act increases the application fee, from Twenty Five Pesos (P25.00) to One Hundred Pesos (P100.00), Suarez said. Of the amount, P40 shall accrue in favor of the PCA, P40 in favor of the municipal government concerned, and Twenty Pesos in favor of the barangay unit concerned. The fees allocated to the PCA shall be used for the PCAs replanting program and the fees allocated to the municipal government shall be used for the repair and rehabilitation of roads of the respective local government units which have been damaged by the passage of heavy vehicles used for transporting coconut lumber, and of municipal farm to market roads, Suarez said. (30) jsc