PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 705 May 19, 1975
REVISING PRESIDENTIAL
DECREE NO. 389, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE FORESTRY REFORM CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES
WHEREAS, proper classification, management and
utilization of the lands of the public domain to maximize their productivity to
meet the demands of our increasing population is urgently needed;
WHEREAS, to achieve the above purpose, it is
necessary to reassess the multiple uses of forest lands and resources before
allowing any utilization thereof to optimize the benefits that can be derived
therefrom;
WHEREAS, it is also imperative to place emphasis
not only on the utilization thereof but more so on the protection,
rehabilitation and development of forest lands, in order to ensure the continuity
of their productive condition;
WHEREAS, the present laws and regulations governing
forest lands are not responsive enough to support re-oriented government
programs, projects and efforts on the proper classification and delimitation of
the lands of the public domain, and the management, utilization, protection,
rehabilitation, and development of forest lands;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President
of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution,
do hereby revise Presidential Decree No. 389 to read as follows:
Section 1. Title of this
Code. This decree shall be known as the "Revised Forestry Code of
the Philippines."
Section 2. Policies. The
State hereby adopts the following policies:
(a) 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;
(b) Land classification and survey shall
be systematized and hastened;
(c) The establishment of wood-processing
plants shall be encouraged and rationalized; and
(d) The protection, development and
rehabilitation of forest lands shall be emphasized so as to ensure their
continuity in productive condition.
Section 3. Definitions.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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 the 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.
(kk) Forest officer means any official
or employee of the Bureau who, by the nature of his appointment or the function
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.
Section 4. Creation of,
and merger of all forestry agencies into, the Bureau of Forest Development. For
the purpose of implementing the provisions of this Code, the Bureau of
Forestry, the Reforestation Administration, the Southern Cebu Reforestation
Development Project, and the Parks and Wildlife Office, including applicable
appropriations, records, equipment, property and such personnel as may be
necessary, are hereby merged into a single agency to be known as the Bureau of
Forest Development, hereinafter referred to as the Bureau.
Section 5. Jurisdiction
of Bureau. The Bureau shall have jurisdiction and authority over all
forest land, grazing lands, and all forest reservations including watershed
reservations presently administered by other government agencies or
instrumentalities.
It shall be responsible for the protection,
development, management, regeneration, and reforestation of forest lands; the
regulation and supervision of the operation of licensees, lessees and
permittees for the taking or use of forest products therefrom or the occupancy
or use thereof; the implementation of multiple use and sustained yield
management in forest lands; the protection, development and preservation of
national parks, marine parks, game refuges and wildlife; the implementation of
measures and programs to prevent kaingin and managed occupancy of forest and
grazing lands; in collaboration with other bureaus, the effective, efficient
and economic classification of lands of the public domain; and the enforcement
of forestry, reforestation, parks, game and wildlife laws, rules, and
regulations.
The Bureau shall regulate the establishment and
operation of sawmills, veneer and plywood mills and other wood processing
plants and conduct studies of domestic and world markets of forest products.
Section 6. Director and
Assistant Director and their qualifications. The Bureau shall be
headed by a Director, who shall be assisted by one or more Assistant Directors.
The Director and Assistant Directors shall be appointed by the President.
No person shall be appointed Director or Assistant
Director of the Bureau unless he is a natural born citizen of the Philippines,
at least 30 years of age, a holder of at least a Bachelor's Degree in Forestry
or its equivalent, and a registered forester.
Section 7. Supervision
and Control. The Bureau shall be directly under the control and
supervision of the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources,
hereinafter referred to as the Department Head.
Section 8. Review. All
actions and decisions of the Director are subject to review, motu propio or
upon appeal of any person aggrieved thereby, by the Department Head whose
decision shall be final and executory after the lapse of thirty (30) days from
receipt by the aggrieved party of said decision, unless appealed to the
President in accordance with the Executive Order No. 19, series of 1966. The Decision
of the Department Head may not be reviewed by the courts except through a
special civil action for certiorari or prohibition.
Section 9. Rules and
Regulations. The Department Head, upon the recommendation of the
Director of Forest Development, shall promulgate the rules and regulations
necessary to implement effectively the provisions of this Code.
Section 10. Creation of
Functional Divisions, and Regional and District Offices. All positions
in the merged agencies are considered vacant. Present occupants may be
appointed in accordance with a staffing pattern or plan of organization to be
prepared by the Director and approved by the Department Head. Any appointee who
fails to report for duty in accordance with the approved plan within thirty
(30) days upon receipt of notification shall be deemed to have declined the
appointment, in which case the position may be filed by any other qualified
applicant.
For the efficient and effective implementation of
the program of the Bureau, the following divisions and sections are hereby
created, to wit:
|
Divisions |
Sections |
|
Planning and Evaluation |
Program Planning; |
|
Administrative Division |
Personnel; |
|
Legal Division |
|
|
Reforestation and Afforestation Division |
Cooperative Planting; |
|
Timber Management Division |
Forest Surveys, Data & Mapping; |
|
Utilization Division |
Timber Operations; |
|
Forest Protection and Infrastructure |
Forest Protection; |
|
Parks, Wildlife Division |
Parks Management; |
|
Security and Intelligence Division |
|
|
Forest Development Training Center |
Technical Training; |
The Department Head may, upon recommendation of the
Director, reorganize or create such other divisions, sections of units as may
be deemed necessary and to appoint the personnel there: Provided, That an
employee appointed or designated as officer-in-charge of a newly created
division, section or unit, or to an existing vacant position with a higher
salary, shall receive, from the date of such appointment or designation until
he is replaced or reverted to his original position, the salary corresponding
to the position temporarily held by him.
There shall be created at least eleven regional
offices. In each region, there shall be as many forest districts as may be
necessary, in accordance with the extent of forest area, established work
loads, need for forest protection, fire prevention and other factors, the
provisions of any law to the contrary notwithstanding: Provided, That the
boundaries of such districts shall follow, whenever possible, natural
boundaries of watersheds under the river-basin concept of management.
Section 11. Manpower
Development. The Bureau shall establish and operate an in-service
training center for the purpose of upgrading and training its personnel and new
employees.
The Bureau shall also set aside adequate funds to
enable personnel to obtain special education and training in local or foreign
colleges or institutions.
Section 12. Performance
Evaluation. The Bureau shall devise a system, to be approved by the
Department Head, to evaluate the performance of its employees. The system shall
measure accomplishment in quantity and quality of performance as related to the
funded program of work assigned to each organizational unit. There shall be
included a system of periodic inspection of district offices by the regional
offices and the regional and district offices by the Central Office in both
functional fields and in the overall assessment of how each administrative unit
has implemented the laws, regulations, policies, programs, and practices
relevant to such unit. The evaluation system shall provide the information necessary
for annual progress reports and determination of employee training civil
service awards and transfer or disciplinary action.
Section 13. System of
Land Classification. The Department Head shall study, devise, determine
and prescribe the criteria, guidelines and methods for the proper and accurate
classification and survey of all lands of the public domain into agricultural,
industrial or commercial, residential, resettlement, mineral, timber or forest,
and grazing lands, and into such other classes as now or may hereafter be
provided by law, rules and regulations.
In the meantime, the Department Head shall simplify
through inter-bureau action the present system of determining which of the
unclassified lands of the public domain are needed for forest purposes and
declare them as permanent forest to form part of the forest reserves. He shall
decree those classified and determined not to be needed for forest purposes as
alienable and disposable lands, the administrative jurisdiction and management
of which shall be transferred to the Bureau of Lands: Provided, That mangrove
and other swamps not needed for shore protection and suitable for fishpond
purposes shall be released to, and be placed under the administrative jurisdiction
and management of, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. Those still
to be classified under the Present system shall continue to remain as part of
the public forest.
Section 14. Existing
Pasture Leases and Permits in Forest Lands. Forest lands which have
been the subject of pasture leases and permits shall remain classified as
forest lands until classified as grazing lands under the criteria, guidelines
and methods of classification to be prescribed by the Department Head:
Provided, That the administration, management and disposition of grazing lands
shall remain under the Bureau.
Section 15. Topography. No
land of the public domain eighteen per cent (18%) in slope or over shall be
classified as alienable and disposable, nor any forest land fifty per cent
(50%) in slope or over, as grazing land.
Lands eighteen per cent (18%) in slope or over
which have already been declared as alienable and disposable shall be reverted
to the classification of forest lands by the Department Head, to form part of
the forest reserves, unless they are already covered by existing titles or
approved public land application, or actually occupied openly, continuously,
adversely and publicly for a period of not less than thirty (30) years as of
the effectivity of this Code, where the occupant is qualified for a free patent
under the Public Land Act: Provided, That said lands, which are not yet part of
a well-established communities, shall be kept in a vegetative condition
sufficient to prevent erosion and adverse effects on the lowlands and streams:
Provided, further, That when public interest so requires, steps shall be taken
to expropriate, cancel defective titles, reject public land application, or
eject occupants thereof.
Section 16. Areas needed
for forest purposes. The following lands, even if they are below
eighteen per cent (18%) in slope, are needed for forest purposes, and may not,
therefore, be classified as alienable and disposable land, to wit:
1. Areas less than 250 hectares which
are far from, or are not contiguous with, any certified alienable and
disposable land;
2. Isolated patches of forest of at
least five (5) hectares with rocky terrain, or which protect a spring for
communal use;
3. Areas which have already been
reforested;
4. Areas within forest concessions which
are timbered or have good residual stocking to support an existing, or approved
to be established, wood processing plant;
5. Ridge tops and plateaus regardless of
size found within, or surrounded wholly or partly by, forest lands where headwaters
emanate;
6. Appropriately located
road-rights-or-way;
7. Twenty-meter strips of land along the
edge of the normal high waterline of rivers and streams with channels of at
least five (5) meters wide;
8. Strips of mangrove or swamplands at
least twenty (20) meters wide, along shorelines facing oceans, lakes, and other
bodies of water, and strips of land at least twenty (20) meters wide facing
lakes;
9. Areas needed for other purposes, such
as national parks, national historical sites, game refuges and wildlife
sanctuaries, forest station sites, and others of public interest; and
10. Areas previously proclaimed by the
President as forest reserves, national parks, game refuge, bird sanctuaries,
national shrines, national historic sites:
Provided, That in case an area falling under any of
the foregoing categories shall have been titled in favor of any person, steps
shall be taken, if public interest so requires, to have said title cancelled or
amended, or the titled area expropriated.
Section 17. Establishment
of boundaries of forest lands. All boundaries between permanent
forests and alienable and disposable lands shall be clearly marked and
maintained on the ground, with infrastructure or roads, or concrete monuments
at intervals of not more than five hundred (500) meters in accordance with
established procedures and standards, or any other visible and practicable
signs to insure protection of the forest.
Section 18. Reservations
in forest lands and off-shore areas. The President of the Philippines
may establish within any lands of the public domain, forest reserve and forest
reservation for the national park system, for preservation as critical
watersheds, or for any other purpose, and modify boundaries of existing ones.
The Department Head may reserve and establish any portion of the public forest
or forest reserve as site or experimental forest for use of the Forest Research
Institute.
When public interest so requires, any off-shore
area needed for the preservation and protection of its educational, scientific,
historical, ecological and recreational values including the marine life found
therein, shall be established as marine parks.
Section 19. Multiple use. The
numerous beneficial uses of the timber, land, soil, water, wildlife, recreation
value and grass of forest lands shall be evaluated and weighted before allowing
the utilization, exploitation, occupation or possession thereof, or the conduct
of any activity therein.
Only the utilization, exploitation, occupation or
possession of any forest land, or any activity therein, involving one or more
or its resources, which will produce the optimum benefits to the development
and progress of the country and the public welfare, without impairment or with
the least injury to its other resources, shall be allowed.
All forest reservations may be open to uses not
inconsistent with the principal objectives of the reservation: Provided, That
critical watersheds and national parks shall not be subject to logging operations.
Section 20. License
agreement, license, lease or permit. No person may utilize, exploit,
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 license agreement, lease, license, or permit.
Section 21. Sustained
yield. All measures shall be taken to achieve an approximate balance
between growth and harvest or use of forest products in forest lands.
A. TIMBER
Section 22. Silvicultural
and harvesting systems. In any logging operations in production
forests within forest lands, the proper silvicultural and harvesting systems
that will promote optimum sustained yield shall be practised.
(a) For dipterocarp forest, selective
logging shall be practised.
(b) For pine forest, the seed tree
system with planting when necessary shall be practised.
(c) For other types of forest, the
silvicultural and harvesting system that will be found suitable by research
shall be applied. Meanwhile, a system based on observation and practices abroad
may be adopted initially.
Any practised system are subject to modification or
changes based on research findings.
Section 23. Timber
inventory. The Bureau shall conduct a program of progressive
inventories of the harvestable timber and young trees in all forest lands,
whether covered by any license agreement, license, lease or permit, or not,
until a one hundred per cent (100%) timber inventory thereon has been achieved.
Section 24. Required
inventory prior to timber utilization in forest lands. No harvest of
timber in any forest land shall be allowed unless it has been the subject of at
least a five per cent (5%) timber inventory, or any statistically sound timber
estimate, made not earlier than five (5) years prior to the issuance of a
license agreement or license allowing such utilization.
Section 25. Cutting
cycle. The Bureau shall apply scientific cutting cycle and rotation in
all forest lands, giving particular consideration to the age, volume and kind
of healthy residual trees which may be left undisturbed and undamaged for
future harvest and forest cover indipterocarp area, and seed trees and
reproduction in pine area.
Section 26. Annual
allowable cut. The annual allowable cut of any particular forest land
shall be determined on the basis of the established rotation and cutting cycle
thereof, and the volume and kind of harvestable timber and healthy residuals,
seed trees and reproduction found therein.
Section 27. Duration of
license agreement or license to harvest timber in forest lands. The
duration of the privilege to harvest timber in any particular forest land under
a license agreement or license shall be fixed and determined in accordance with
the annual allowable cut therein, the established cutting cycle thereof, the
yield capacity of harvestable timber, and the capacity of healthy residuals for
a second growth.
The privilege shall automatically terminate, even
before the expiration of the license agreement of license, the moment the
harvestable timber have been utilized without leaving any logged-over area
capable of commercial utilization.
The maximum period of any privilege to harvest
timber is twenty-five (25) years, renewable for a period, not exceeding
twenty-five (25) years, necessary to utilize all the remaining commercial
quantity or harvestable timber either from the unlogged or logged-over area.
It shall be a condition for the continued privilege
to harvest timber under any license or license agreement that the licensee
shall reforest all the areas which shall be determined by the Bureau.
Section 28. Size of
forest concessions. Forest lands shall not be held in perpetuity.
The size of the forest lands which may be the
subject of timber utilization shall be limited to that which a person may
effectively utilize and develop for a period of fifty (50) years, considering
the cutting cycle, the past performance of the applicant and his capacity not
only to utilize but, more importantly, to protect and manage the whole area,
and the requirements of processing plants existing or to be installed in the
region.
Forest concessions which had been the subject of
consolidations shall be reviewed and re-evaluated for the effective
implementation of protection, reforestation and management thereof under the
multiple use and sustained yield concepts, and for the processing locally of
the timber resources therefrom.
B. WOOD-PROCESSING
Section 29. Incentives to
the wood industry. The Department Head, in collaboration with other
government agencies and the wood industry associations and other private
entities in the country, shall evolve incentives for the establishment of an
integrated wood industry in designated wood industry centers and/or economic
area.
The President of the Philippines, upon the
recommendations of the National Economic Development Authority and the
Department Head, may establish wood industry import-export centers in selected
locations: Provided, That logs imported for such centers shall be subject to
such precaution as may be imposed by the Bureau, in collaboration with proper
government agencies, to prevent the introduction of pests, insects and/or
diseases detrimental to the forests.
Section 30. Rationalization
of the wood industry. While establishment of wood-processing plants
shall be encouraged, their locations and operations shall be regulated in order
to rationalize the industry. No new processing plant shall be established
unless adequate raw material is available on a sustained-yield basis in the
area where the raw materials will come from.
The Department Head may cancel, suspend, or
phase-out all uneconomical wood-processing plants which are not responsive to
the rationalization program of the government.
Section 31. Wood wastes,
weed trees and residues. Timber licensees shall be encouraged and
assisted to gather and save the wood wastes and weed trees in their
concessions, and those with processing plants, the wood residues thereof, for
utilization and conversion into wood by-products and derivatives.
Section 32. Log
production and processing. Unless otherwise decreed by the President,
upon recommendation of the National Economic Development Authority, the entire
production of logs by all licensees shall, beginning January 1, 1976, be
processed locally.
A licensee who has no processing plant may, subject
to the approval of the Director, enter into a contract with a wood processor
for the processing of his logs. Wood processors shall accept for processing
only logs cut by, or purchased from, licensees of good standing at the time of
the cutting of logs.
C. REFORESTATION
Section 33. Forest lands
to be reforested. The following shall be reforested and covered with
suitable and sufficient trees, to wit:
(a) Bare or grass-covered tracts of
forest lands with at least fifty per cent (50%) slope;
(b) Bare or grass-covered tracts of
forest lands with less than fifty per cent (50%) slope, but with soil so highly
erodible as to make grass cover inadequate for soil erosion control;
(c) Brushlands or tracts of forest lands
generally covered with brush, which need to be developed to increase their
productivity;
(d) Open tracts of forest lands with
slopes or gradients generally exceeding fifty per cent (50%), interspersed with
patches of forest each of which is less than two hundred fifty (250) hectares
in area;
(e) Denuded or inadequately-timbered
areas proclaimed by the President as forest reserves and reservations as
critical watersheds, national parks, game refuge, bird sanctuaries, national
shrines, national historic sites;
(f) Inadequately-stocked forest lands within
forest concessions;
(g) Portions of areas covered by pasture
leases or permits having a slope of at least fifty per cent (50%); and
(h) River banks, easements, road
rights-of-ways, deltas, swamps, former river beds, and beaches.
Section 34. Industrial
Tree Plantations and Tree Farms. A lease for a period of twenty-five
(25) years, renewable for another period not exceeding twenty-five (25) years,
for the establishment of an industrial tree plantation or a tree farm may be
granted by the Department Head upon recommendation of the Director to any
person qualified to develop and exploit natural resources, over timber or
forest lands of the public domain categorized in Section 33 hereof, with a
minimum area of One Thousand (1,000) hectares for industrial tree plantation
and One Hundred (100) hectares for tree farm; Provided, That the size of the
area that may be granted under each category shall in each case depend upon the
capacity of the lessee to develop or convert the area into productive condition
within the term of the lease; Provided, further, That no lease shall be granted
within critical watersheds.
Scattered areas of less than One Hundred (100)
hectares each may be leased for the establishment of tree farms to different
qualified persons upon a showing that if developed as an integrated unit these
areas can be economically exploited: Provided, That it shall be a condition of
the lease that such persons organize themselves into a cooperative to ensure
the orderly management thereof.
The lease may be granted under such terms and
conditions as the Department Head may prescribe, taking into account, among
others, the raw material needs of forest-based industries and the maintenance
of a wholesome ecological balance.
Reforestation projects of the Government, or
portions thereof which, upon field evaluation, are found to be more suitable
for, or can be better developed as, industrial tree plantations or tree farms
in terms of benefits to the Government and the general surrounding area, may be
the subject of the lease under this section.
Section 35. Priority. Over
any suitable area covered by a timber license agreement, or a pasture lease
agreement or permit, the priority to establish industrial forest plantation or
tree farm shall be given to the holder thereof.
The priority herein granted must, however, be
availed of within a reasonable period to be determined by the Department Head,
otherwise, the area shall be declared open to any qualified person and
consequently segregated from the holder's area.
Section 36. Incentives. To
encourage qualified persons to engage in industrial tree plantation and/or tree
farming, the following incentives are granted:
(a) Payment of a nominal filing fee of
fifty centavos (P0.50) per hectare;
(b) No rental shall be collected during
the first five (5) years from the date of the lease; from the sixth year to the
tenth year, the annual rental shall be fifty centavos (P0.50) per hectare; and
thereafter, the annual rental shall be one peso (P1.00) per hectare: Provided,
That lessees of areas long denuded as certified by the Director and approved by
the Department Head, shall be exempted from the payment of rental for the full
term of the lease which shall not exceed twenty-five (25) years; for the first
five (5) years following the renewal of the lease, the annual rental shall be
fifty centavos (P0.50) per hectare; and thereafter, the annual rental shall be
one peso (P1.00) per hectare.
(c) The lessee shall pay forest charges
on the timber and other forest products grown and cut or gathered in an
industrial tree plantation or tree farm equivalent to six percent (6%) current
market value thereof;
(d) Sale at cost of seedlings and free
technical advice and assistance to persons who will develop their
privately-owned lands into industrial tree plantation or tree farm;
(e) Exemption from the payment of the
percentage tax levied in Title V of the National Internal Revenue Code when the
timber and forest products are sold, bartered or exchanged by the lessee
whether in their original state or not;
(f) The Board of Investments shall,
notwithstanding its nationality requirement on projects involving natural
resources, classify industrial tree plantations and tree farms as pioneer areas
of investment under its annual priority plan, to be governed by the rules and
regulations of said Board. A lessee of an industrial tree plantation or tree
farm may either apply to the Board of Investments for the tax and other
benefits thereunder, or avail of the following benefits:
1. Amounts expended by a lessee in the
development and operation of an industrial tree plantation or tree farm prior
to the time when the production state is reached, may, at the option of said
lessee, be regarded as ordinary and necessary business expenses or as capital
expenditures; and
2. Deduction from an investor's taxable
income for the year, of an annual investment allowance equivalent to
thirty-three and one-third per cent (33-1/3%) of his actual investment during
the year in an enterprise engaged in industrial tree plantation or tree farm:
Provided, That such investment shall not be withdrawn for a period of at least
ten (10) years from the date of investment: Provided, further, That should the
investment be withdrawn within such period, a tax equivalent to double the
amount of the total income tax rebate resulting from the investment allowance
shall be payable as a lump sum in addition to the income tax due from the
taxpayer for the year the investment was withdrawn.
(g) Except when public interest demands
the alteration or modification, the boundaries of an area covered by an
industrial tree plantation or tree farm lease, once established on the ground,
shall not be altered or modified; and
(h) A lessee shall not be subject to any
obligation prescribed in, or arising out of, the provisions of the National
Internal Revenue Code on withholding of tax at source upon interests paid on
borrowings incurred for development and operation of the industrial tree
plantation or tree farm.
The Department Head may provide other incentives in
addition to those hereinabove granted to promote industrial tree plantation and
tree farms in special areas such as, but not limited to, those where there are
no roads or where roads are inadequate, or areas with rough topography and
remote areas far from processing plants.
All amounts collected under this section shall
accrue to a special deposit of the Bureau to be used for reforestation of
critical watersheds or degraded areas and other development activities, over
and above the general appropriation of the said Bureau.
D. FOREST PROTECTION
Section 37. Protection of
all resources. All measures shall be taken to protect the forest
resources from destruction, impairment and depletion.
Section 38. Control of
concession area. In order to achieve the effective protection of the
forest lands and the resources thereof from illegal entry, unlawful occupation,
kaingin, fire, insect infestation, theft, and other forms of forest
destruction, the utilization of timber therein shall not be allowed except
through license agreements under which the holders thereof shall have the
exclusive privilege to cut all the allowable harvestable timber in their
respective concessions, and the additional right of occupation, possession, and
control over the same, to the exclusive of all others, except the government,
but with the corresponding obligation to adopt all the protection and
conservation measures to ensure the continuity of the productive condition of
said areas, conformably with multiple use and sustained yield management.
If the holder of a license agreement over a forest
area expressly or impliedly waives the privilege to utilize any softwood,
hardwood or mangrove species therein, a license may be issued to another person
for the harvest thereof without any right of possession or occupation over the
areas where they are found, but he shall, likewise, adopt protection and
conservation measures consistent with those adopted by the license agreement
holder in the said areas.
Section 39. Regulation of
timber utilization in all other classes of lands and of wood-processing plants. The
utilization of timber in alienable and disposable lands, private lands, civil
reservations, and all lands containing standing or felled timber, including
those under the jurisdiction of other government agencies, and the
establishment and operation of saw-mills and other wood-processing plants,
shall be regulated in order to prevent them from being used as shelters for
excessive and unauthorized harvests in forest lands, and shall not therefore be
allowed except through a license agreement, license, lease or permit.
Section 40. Timber
inventory in other lands containing standing or felled timber. The
Bureau shall conduct a one hundred per cent (100%) timber inventory in
alienable and disposable lands and civil reservations immediately upon
classification or reservation thereof.
No harvest of standing or felled timber in
alienable and disposable lands, private lands, civil reservation, and all other
lands, including those under the jurisdiction of other government agencies,
shall be allowed unless a one hundred per cent (100%) timber inventory has been
conducted thereon.
Section 41. Sworn timber
inventory reports. All reports on timber inventories of forest lands,
alienable and disposable lands, private lands, civil reservations, and all
lands containing standing or felled timber must be subscribed and sworn to by
all the forest officers who conducted the same.
Section 42. Participation
in the development of alienable and disposable lands and civil reservations. The
privilege to harvest timber in alienable and disposable lands and civil
reservations shall be given to those who can best help in the delineation and
development of such areas in accordance with the management plan of the
appropriate government exercising jurisdiction over the same.
The extent of participation shall be based on the
amount of timber which may be harvested therefrom.
Section 43. Swamplands
and mangrove forests. Strips of mangrove forest bordering numerous
islands which protect the shoreline, the shoreline roads, and even coastal
communities from the destructive force of the sea during high winds and
typhoons, shall be maintained and shall not be alienated. Such strips must be
kept from artificial obstruction so that flood water will flow unimpeded to the
sea to avoid flooding or inundation of cultivated areas in the upstream.
All mangrove swamps set aside for coast-protection
purposes shall not be subject to clear-cutting operation.
Mangrove and other swamps released to the Bureau of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources for fishpond purposes which are not utilized,
or which have been abandoned for five (5) years from the date of such release
shall revert to the category of forest land.
Section 44. Visitorial
power. The Department Head may, by himself or thru the Director or any
qualified person duly designated by the Department Head, investigate, inspect
and examine records, books and other documents relating to the operation of any
holder of a license agreement, license, lease, or permit, and its subsidiary or
affiliated companies, to determine compliance with the terms and conditions
thereof, this Code and pertinent laws, policies, rules and regulations.
Section 45. Authority of
forest officers. When in the performance of their official duties,
forest officers, or other government officials or employees duly authorized by
the Department Head or Director, shall have free entry into areas covered by a
license agreement, license, lease or permit.
Forest officers are authorized to administer oath
and take acknowledgment in official matters connected with the functions of
their office, and to take testimony in official investigations conducted under
the authority of this Code and the implementing rules and regulations.
Section 46. Scaling stations. In
collaboration with appropriate government agencies, the Bureau shall establish
control or scaling stations at suitably located outlets of timber and other
forest products to insure that they were legally cut or harvested.
Section 47. Mining
operations. Mining operations in forest lands shall be regulated and
conducted with due regard to protection, development and utilization of other
surface resources.
Location, prospecting, exploration, utilization or
exploitation of mineral resources in forest reservations shall be governed by
Mining laws, rules and regulations. No location, prospecting, exploration,
utilization, or exploitation of mineral resources inside forest concessions
shall be allowed unless proper notice has been served upon the licensees thereof
and the prior approval of the Director, secured.
Mine tailings and other pollutants affecting the
health and safety of the people, water, fish, vegetation, animal life and other
surface resources, shall be filtered in silt traps or other filtration devices
and only clean exhausts and liquids shall be released therefrom.
Surface-mined areas shall be restored to as near
its former natural configuration or as approved by the Director prior to its
abandonment by the mining concern.
Section 48. Mineral Reservations. Mineral
reservations which are not the subject of mining operations or where operations
have been suspended for more than five (5) years shall be placed under forest
management by the Bureau.
Mineral reservations where mining operations have been
terminated due to the exhaustion of its minerals shall revert to the category
of forest land, unless otherwise reserved for other purposes.
Section 49. Roads and
other infrastructure. Roads and other infrastructure in forest lands
shall be constructed with the least impairment to the resource values thereof.
Government agencies undertaking the construction of
roads, bridges, communications, and other infrastructure and installations
inside forest lands, shall coordinate with the Bureau, especially if it will
involve the utilization or destruction of timber and/or other forest resources,
or watershed disturbance therein, in order to adopt measures to avoid or reduce
damage or injury to the forest resource values.
They shall likewise extend assistance in the
planning and establishment of roads, wharves, piers, port facilities, and other
infrastructure in locations designated as wood-processing centers or for the
convenience of wood-based industries.
In order to coincide and conform to government
plans, programs, standards, and specifications, holders of license agreements,
licenses, leases and permits shall not undertake road or infrastructure
construction or installation in forest lands without the prior approval of the
Director, or in alienable and disposable lands, civil reservations and other
government lands, without the approval of the government agencies having
administrative jurisdiction over the same.
All roads and infrastructure constructed by holders
of license agreements, licenses, leases and permits belong to the State and the
use and administration thereof shall be transferred to the government
immediately upon the expiration or termination thereof. Prior thereto the
Bureau may authorize the public use thereof, if it will not be detrimental to forest
conservation measures.
Where roads are utilized by more than one
commercial forest user, the Bureau shall prescribe the terms and conditions of
joint use including the equitable sharing of construction and/or maintenance
costs, and of the use of these roads by other parties and the collection of
such fees as may be deemed necessary.
Section 50. Logging
roads. There shall be indiscriminate construction of logging roads.
Such roads shall be strategically located and their
widths regulated so as to minimize clear-cutting, unnecessary damage or injury
to healthy residuals, and erosion. Their construction must not only serve the
transportation need of the logger but, most importantly, the requirement to
save as many healthy residuals as possible during cutting and hauling
operations.
Section 51. Management of
occupancy in forest lands. Forest occupancy shall henceforth be
managed. The Bureau shall study, determine and define which lands may be the
subject of occupancy and prescribed therein, an agro-forestry development
program.
Occupants shall undertake measures to prevent and
protect forest resources.
Any occupancy in forest land which will result in
sedimentation, erosion, reduction in water yield and impairment of other
resources to the detriment of community and public interest shall not be
allowed.
In areas above 50% in slope, occupation shall be
conditioned upon the planting of desirable trees thereon and/or adoption of
other conservation measures.
Section 52. Census of
kaingineros, squatters, cultural minorities and other occupants and residents
in forest lands. Henceforth, no person shall enter into forest lands
and cultivate the same without lease or permit.
A complete census of kaingineros, squatters,
cultural minorities and other occupants and residents in forest lands with or
without authority or permits from the government, showing the extent of their
respective occupation and resulting damage, or impairment of forest resources,
shall be conducted.
The Bureau may call upon other agencies of the government
and holders of license agreement, license, lease and permits over forest lands
to participate in the census.
Section 53. Criminal
Prosecution. Kaingineros, squatters, cultural minorities and other
occupants who entered into forest lands before the effectivity of this Code,
without permits or authority, shall not be prosecuted: Provided, That they do
not increase their clearings: Provided, further, That they undertake, within
two (2) months from the notice thereof, the activities which will be imposed
upon them by the Bureau in accordance with a management plan calculated to
conserve and protect forest resources.
E. SPECIAL USES
Section 54. Pasture in
forest lands. No forest land 50% in slope or over may be utilized for
pasture purposes.
Forest lands which are being utilized for pasture
shall be maintained with sufficient grass cover to protect soil, water and
other forest resources.
If grass cover is insufficient, the same shall be
supplemented with trees or such vegetative cover as may be deemed necessary.
The size of forest lands that may be allowed for
pasture and other special uses shall be determined by rules and regulations,
any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding.
Section 55. Wildlife. Wildlife
may be destroyed, killed, consumed, eaten or otherwise disposed of, without the
necessity of permit, for the protection of life, health, safety and property,
and the convenience of the people.
However, the Director may regulate the killing and
destruction of wildlife in forest lands in order to maintain an ecological
balance of flora and fauna.
Section 56. Recreation. The
Bureau shall, in the preparation of multiple-use management plans, identify and
provide for the protection of scenic areas in all forest lands which are
potentially valuable for recreation and tourism, and plan for the development
and protection of such areas to attract visitors thereto and meet increasing
demands therefor.
The construction and operation of necessary
facilities to accommodate outdoor recreation shall be done by the Bureau with
the use of funds derived from rentals and fees for the operation and use of
recreational facilities by private persons or operators, in addition to
whatever funds may be appropriated for such purposes.
Section 57. Other special
uses of forest lands. Forest lands may be leased for a period not
exceeding twenty-five (25) years, renewable upon the expiration thereof for a
similar period, or held under permit, for the establishment of sawmills, lumber
yards, timber depots, logging camps, rights-of-way, or for the construction of
sanatoria, bathing establishments, camps, salt works, or other beneficial
purposes which do not in any way impair the forest resources therein.
F. QUALIFICATIONS
Section 58. Diffusion of
benefits. The privilege to utilize, exploit, occupy, or possess forest
lands, or to conduct any activity therein, or to establish and operate
wood-processing plants, shall be diffused to as many qualified and deserving
applicants as possible.
Section 59. Citizenship. In
the evaluation of applications of corporations, increased Filipino equity and
participation beyond the 60% constitutional limitation shall be encouraged. All
other factors being equal, the applicant with more Filipino equity and
participation shall be preferred.
Section 60. Financial and
technical capability. No license agreement, license, lease or permit
over forest lands shall be issued to an applicant unless he proves
satisfactorily that he has the financial resources and technical capability not
only to minimize utilization, but also to practice forest protection,
conservation and development measures to insure the perpetuation of said forest
in productive condition.
Section 61. Transfers. Unless
authorized by the Department Head, no licensee, lessee, or permittee may
transfer, exchange, sell or convey his license agreement, license, lease or
permit, or any of his rights or interests therein, or any of his assets used in
connection therewith.
The licensee, lessee, or permittee shall be allowed
to transfer or convey his license agreement, license, lease or permit only if
he has not violated any forestry law, rule or regulation; has been faithfully
complying with the terms and conditions of the license agreement, license,
lease or permit; the transferee has all the qualifications and none of the
disqualifications to hold a license agreement, license, lease or permit; there
is no evidence that such transfer or conveyance is being made for purposes of
speculation; and the transferee shall assume all the obligations of the transferor.
The transferor shall forever be barred from
acquiring another license agreement, license, lease or permit.
Section 62. Service
contracts. The Department Head, may in the national interest, allow
forest products licensees, lessees, or permittees to enter into service
contracts for financial, technical, management, or other forms of assistance,
in consideration of a fee, with any foreign person or entity for the
exploration, development, exploitation or utilization of the forest resources,
covered by their license agreements, licenses, leases or permits. Existing
valid and binding service contracts for financial, technical, management or
other forms of assistance are hereby recognized as such.
Section 63. Equity
sharing. Every corporation holding a license agreement, license, lease
or permit to utilize, exploit, occupy or possess any forest land, or conduct
any activity therein, or establish and operate a wood-processing plant, shall
within one (1) year after the effectivity of this Code, formulate and submit to
the Department Head for approval a plan for the sale of at least twenty percent
(20%) of its subscribed capital stock in favor of its employees and laborers.
The plan shall be so implemented that the sale of
the shares of stock shall be effected by the corporation not later than the
sixth year of its operation, or the first year of the effectivity of this Code,
if the corporation has been in operation for more than 5 years prior to such
effectivity.
No corporation shall be issued any license agreement,
license, lease or permit after the effectivity of this Code, unless it submits
such a plan and the same is approved for implementation within the sixth year
of its operation.
The Department Head shall promulgate the necessary
rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this section, particularly
on the determination of the manner of payment, factors affecting the selling
price, establishment of priorities in the purchase of the shares of stock, and
the capability of the deserving employees and laborers. The industries
concerned shall extend all assistance in the promulgation of policies on the
matter, such as the submission of all data and information relative to their
operation, personnel management, and asset evaluation.
G. REGULATORY FEES
Section 64. Charges, fees
and bonds. The Department Head, upon recommendation of the Director,
shall fix the amount of charges, rental, bonds and fees for the different kinds
of utilization, exploitation, occupation, possession, or activity inside forest
lands, the filing and processing of applications therefor, the issuance and
renewal of license agreements, licenses, leases and permits, and for other
services; Provided, That all fees and charges presently being collected under
existing laws and regulations shall continue to be imposed and collected until
otherwise provided; Provided, further, That timber taken and removed from
private lands for commercial purposes shall be exempt from the payment of
forest charges.
Section 65. Authority of
Department Head to impose other fees. In addition to the fees and
charges imposed under existing laws, rules and regulations, the Department Head
is hereby authorized, upon recommendation of the Director and in consultation
with representatives of the industries affected, to impose other fees for
forest protection, management, reforestation, and development, the proceeds of
which shall accrue into a special deposit of the Bureau as its revolving fund
for the aforementioned purposes.
Section 66. Collection
and Disbursement. The collection of the charges and fees
above-mentioned shall be the responsibility of the Director or his authorized
representative. The Director shall remit his monthly collection of fees and
charges mentioned in Section 64 to the Treasurer of the Philippines within the
first ten (10) days of the succeeding month; Provided, That the proceeds of the
collection of the fees imposed under Section 65 and the special deposit
heretofore required of licensees shall be constituted into a revolving fund for
such purposes and be deposited in the Philippine National Bank, as a special
deposit of the Bureau. The Budget Commissioner and the National Treasurer shall
effect the quarterly releases out of the collection accruing to the general
fund upon request of the Director on the basis of a consolidated annual budget
of a work program approved by the Department Head and the President.
In the case of the special deposit revolving fund,
withdrawals therefrom shall be effected by the Department Head on the basis of
a consolidated annual budget prepared by the Director of a work program for the
specific purposes mentioned in Section 65.
Section 67. Basis of
Assessment. Tree measurement shall be the basis for assessing
government charges and other fees on timber cut and removed from forest lands,
alienable or disposable lands, and the civil reservations; Provided, That until
such time as the mechanics of tree measurement shall have been developed and
promulgated in rules and regulations, the present scaling method provided for
in the National Internal Revenue Code shall be used.
The Director may, with the approval of the
Department Head, prescribe a new method of assessment of forest products and
collection of charges thereon based upon the result of production cost and market
studies undertaken by the Bureau; Provided, That such charges shall not be
lower than those now imposed.
Section 68. Cutting,
gathering and/or collecting timber or other products without license. Any
person who shall cut, gather, collect, or remove timber or other forest
products from any forest land, or timber from alienable and disposable public
lands, or from private lands, without any authority under a license agreement,
lease, license or permit, shall be guilty of qualified theft as defined and
punished under Articles 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal Code; Provided, That
in the case of partnership, association or corporation, the officers who
ordered the cutting, gathering or collecting shall be liable, and if such
officers are aliens, they shall, in addition to the penalty, be deported
without further proceedings on the part of the Commission on Immigration and
Deportation.
The Court shall further order the confiscation in
favor of the government of the timber or forest products to cut, gathered,
collected or removed, and the machinery, equipment, implements and tools used
therein, and the forfeiture of his improvements in the area.
The same penalty plus cancellation of his license
agreement, lease, license or permit and perpetual disqualification from
acquiring any such privilege shall be imposed upon any licensee, lessee, or
permittee who cuts timber from the licensed or leased area of another, without
prejudice to whatever civil action the latter may bring against the offender.
Section 69. Unlawful
occupation or destruction of forest lands. Any person who enters and
occupies or possesses, or makes kaingin for his own private use or for others
any forest land without authority under a license agreement, lease, license or
permit, or in any manner destroys such forest land or part thereof, or causes
any damage to the timber stand and other products and forest growths found
therein, or who assists, aids or abets any other person to do so, or sets a
fire, or negligently permits a fire to be set in any forest land shall, upon
conviction, be fined in an amount of not less than five hundred pesos (P500.00)
nor more than twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) and imprisoned for not less
than six (6) months nor more than two (2) years for each such offense, and be
liable to the payment of ten (10) times the rental fees and other charges which
would have been accrued had the occupation and use of the land been authorized
under a license agreement, lease, license or permit: Provided, That in the case
of an offender found guilty of making kaingin, the penalty shall be imprisoned
for not less than two (2) nor more than (4) years and a fine equal to eight (8)
times the regular forest charges due on the forest products destroyed, without
prejudice to the payment of the full cost of restoration of the occupied area
as determined by the Bureau.
The Court shall further order the eviction of the
offender from the land and the forfeiture to the Government of all improvements
made and all vehicles, domestic animals and equipment of any kind used in the
commission of the offense. If not suitable for use by the Bureau, said vehicles
shall be sold at public auction, the proceeds of which shall accrue to the
Development Fund of the Bureau.
In case the offender is a government official or
employee, he shall, in addition to the above penalties, be deemed automatically
dismissed from office and permanently disqualified from holding any elective or
appointive position.
Section 70. Pasturing
Livestock. Imprisonment for not less than six (6) months nor more than
two (2) years and a fine equal to ten (10) times the regular rentals due, in
addition to the confiscation of such livestock and all improvement introduced
in the area in favor of the government, shall be imposed upon any person, who
shall, without authority under a lease or permit, graze or cause to graze
livestock in forest lands, grazing lands and alienable and disposable lands
which have not as yet been disposed of in accordance with the Public Land Act;
Provided, That in case the offender is a corporation, partnership or
association, the officers and directors thereof shall be liable.
Section 71. Illegal
occupation of national parks system and recreation areas and vandalism therein. Any
person who shall, without permit, occupy for any length of time any portion of
the national parks system or shall, in any manner, cut, destroy, damage or
remove timber or any species of vegetation or forest cover and other natural
resources found therein, or shall mutilate, deface or destroy objects of
natural beauty or of scenic value within areas in the national parks system,
shall be fined not less than two hundred (P200.00) pesos or more than five
hundred (P500.00) pesos exclusive of the value of the thing damaged; Provided,
That if the area requires rehabilitation or restoration as determined by the
Director, the offender shall also be required to restore or compensate for the
restoration of the damage; Provided, Further, That any person who, without proper
permit shall hunt, capture or kill any kind of bird, fish or wild animal life
within any area in the national parks system shall be subject to the same
penalty; Provided, Finally, That the Court shall order eviction of the offender
from the land and the forfeiture in favor of the Government of all timber or
any species of vegetation and other natural resources collected or removed, and
any construction or improvement made thereon by the offender. If the offender
is an association or corporation, the president or manager shall be directly
responsible and liable for the act of his employees or laborers.
In the event that an official of a city or
municipal government is primarily responsible for detecting and convicting the
violator of the provisions of this Section, fifty per centum (50%) of the fine
collected shall accrue to such municipality or city for the development of
local parks.
Section 72. Destruction
of wildlife resources. Any person violating the provisions of Section
55 of this Code, or the regulations promulgated thereunder, shall be fined not
less than one hundred (P100.00) pesos for each such violation and in addition
shall be denied a permit for a period of three (3) years from the date of the
violation.
Section 73. Survey by
unauthorized person. Imprisonment for not less than two (2) nor more
than four (4) years, in addition to the confiscation of the implements used in
the violation of this section including the cancellation of the license, if
any, shall be imposed upon any person who shall, without permit to survey from
the Director, enter any forest lands, whether covered by a license agreement,
lease, license, or permit, or not, and conduct or undertake a survey for
whatever purpose.
Section 74. Misclassification
and survey by government official or employee. Any public officer or
employee who knowingly surveys, classifies, or recommends the release of forest
lands as alienable and disposable lands contrary to the criteria and standards
established in this Code, or the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder,
shall, after an appropriate administrative proceeding, be dismissed from the
service with prejudice to re-employment, and upon conviction by a court of
competent jurisdiction, suffer an imprisonment of not less than one (1) year and
a fine of not less than one thousand, (P1,000.00) pesos. The survey,
classification or release of forest lands shall be null and void.
Section 75. Tax
declaration on real property. Imprisonment for a period of not less
than two (2) nor more than four (4) years and perpetual disqualification from
holding an elective or appointive office, shall be imposed upon any public
officer or employee who shall issue a tax declaration on real property without
a certification from the Director of Forest Development and the Director of
Lands or their duly designated representatives that the area declared for
taxation is alienable and disposable lands, unless the property is titled or
has been occupied and possessed by members of the national cultural minorities
prior to July 4, 1955.
Section 76. Coercion and
influence. Any person who coerces, influences, abets or persuades the
public officer or employee referred to in the two preceding sections to commit
any of the acts mentioned therein shall suffer imprisonment of not less than
one (1) year and pay a fine of five hundred (P500.00) pesos for every hectare
or a fraction thereof so improperly surveyed, classified or released.
Section 77. Unlawful
possession of implements and devices used by forest officers. Imprisonment
for a period of not less than (2) nor more than four (4) years and a fine of
not less than one thousand pesos (P1,000.00), nor more than ten thousand
(P10,000.00) pesos in addition to the confiscation of such implements and
devices, and the automatic cancellation of the license agreement, lease,
license or permit, if the offender is a holder thereof, shall be imposed upon
any person who shall, without authority from the Director or his authorized
representative, make, manufacture, or has in his possession any government
marking, hatchet or other marking implement, or any marker, poster, or other
devices officially used by officers of the Bureau for the marking or
identification of timber or other products, or any duplicate, counterfeit, or
imitation thereof, or make or apply a government mark on timber or any other
forest products by means of any authentic or counterfeit device, or alter,
deface, or remove government marks or signs, from trees, logs, stumps,
firewoods or other forest products, or destroy, deface, remove or disfigure any
such mark, sign, poster or warning notices set by the Bureau to designate the
boundaries of cutting areas, municipal or city forest or pasture, classified
timber land, forest reserve, and areas under the national park system or to make
any false mark or imitation of any mark or sign herein indicated; Provided,
That if the offender is a corporation, partnership or association, the officers
and directors thereof shall be liable.
Section 78. Payment,
collection and remittance of forest charges. Any person who fails to
pay the amount due and payable under the provisions of this Code, the National
Internal Revenue Code, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder,
shall be liable to the payment of a surcharge of twenty-five per centum (25%)
of the amount due and payable.
Any person who fails or refuses to remit to the
proper authorities said forest charges collectible pursuant to the provisions
of this Code or the National Internal Revenue Code, or who delays, obstructs or
prevents the same, or who orders, causes or effects the transfer or diversion
of the funds for purposes other than those specified in this Code, for each
such offense shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not exceeding one
hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) and/or imprisonment for a period of not
exceeding six (6) years in the discretion of the Court. If the offender is a
government official or employee, he shall, in addition, be dismissed from the
service with prejudice to reinstatement and with disqualification from holding
any elective or appointive office.
If the offender is a corporation, partnership or
association, the officers and directors thereof shall be liable.
Section 79. Sale of wood
products. No person shall sell or offer for sale any log, lumber,
plywood or other manufactured wood products in the international or domestic
market unless he complies with grading rules and established or to be
established by the Government.
Failure to adhere to the established grading rules
and standards, or any act of falsification of the volume of logs, lumber, or
other forest products shall be a sufficient cause for the suspension of the
export, sawmill, or other license or permit authorizing the manufacture or sale
of such products for a period of not less than two (2) years.
A duly accredited representative of the Bureau
shall certify to the compliance by the licensees with grading rules.
Every dealer in lumber and other building material
covered by this Code shall issue an invoice for each sale of such material and
such invoice shall state that the kind, standard and size of material sold to
each purchaser in exactly the same as described in the invoice. Any violation
of this Section shall be sufficient ground for the suspension of the dealer's
license for a period of not less than two (2) years and, in addition thereto,
the dealer shall be punished for each such offense by a fine of not less than
two hundred pesos (P200.00) or the total value of the invoice, whichever is
greater.
Section 80. Arrest;
Institution of criminal actions. A forest officer or employee of the
Bureau shall arrest even without warrant any person who has committed or is
committing in his presence any of the offenses defined in this Chapter. He
shall also seize and confiscate, in favor of the Government, the tools and
equipment used in committing the offense, and the forest products cut, gathered
or taken by the offender in the process of committing the offense. The
arresting forest officer or employee shall thereafter deliver within six (6)
hours from the time of arrest and seizure, the offender and the confiscated
forest products, tools and equipment to, and file the proper complaint with,
the appropriate official designated by law to conduct preliminary
investigations and file informations in court.
If the arrest and seizure are made in the forests,
far from the authorities designated by law to conduct preliminary
investigations, the delivery to, and filing of the complaint with, the latter
shall be done within a reasonable time sufficient for ordinary travel from the
place of arrest to the place of delivery. The seized products, materials and
equipment shall be immediately disposed of in accordance with forestry
administrative orders promulgated by the Department Head.
The Department Head may deputize any member or unit
of the Philippine Constabulary, police agency, barangay or barrio official, or
any qualified person to protect the forest and exercise the power or authority
provided for in the preceding paragraph.
Reports and complaints regarding the commission of
any of the offenses defined in this Chapter, not committed in the presence of
any forest officer or employee, or any of the deputized officers or officials,
shall immediately be investigated by the forest officer assigned in the area
where the offense was allegedly committed, who shall thereupon receive the
evidence supporting the report or complaint.
If there is prima facie evidence to support the
complaint or report, the investigating forest officer shall file the necessary
complaint with the appropriate official authorized by law to conduct a
preliminary investigation of criminal cases and file an information in Court.
SPECIAL CLAUSES
Section 81. Separability
Clause. Should any provision herein be subsequently declared unconstitutional,
the same shall not affect the validity or the legality of the other provisions.
Section 82. Repealing
Clause. Presidential Decree Nos. 330, and 389, C.A. No. 452, R.A. No.
4715 and all laws, orders, rules and regulations or any part thereof which are
inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.
Section 83. Date of
Effectivity. This Code shall take effect immediately upon
promulgation.
Done in the City of Manila, this 19th day of May,
in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-five.
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