GREEN LAWS

Presidential Decree No. 705 Revising Presidential Decree No. 389 otherwise known as the
Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines, is a law that made 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.

This decree gave birth to the Bureau of Forest Development which is responsible for the
following:

1. 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;

2. 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;

3. the implementation of measures and programs to prevent kaingin and managed occupancy
of forest and grazing lands.

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.

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.

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.

Forest lands include the public forest, the permanent forest or forest reserves, and forest
reservations.

With over 6,000 plant and animal species, the Philippines is a mega diversity hotspot. Sadly, as
of recent, the Philippines is ranked 4th in the world’s top 10 most threatened forest hotspots.
The area lost to deforestation every year is twice the size of Metro Manila. This is despite
adopting the Revised Forestry Reform Code in 1975.

The following policies are stated in Section 2 of the said law:

(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;

meaning, lands that would be deforested should be specifically for the benefit of the public and
for advancement of science and technology only.

(2) Land classification and survey shall be systematized and hastened;

In the 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 be
provided by law, rules and regulations. This is to segregate those lands that needs to be
protected and permitted when needed to be used under the law and those that can be used
just like any other regular land. Furthermore, this is to help the government plan on how they
would develop areas with the type of land they have.

(3) The establishment of wood-processing plants shall be encouraged and rationalized; and

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. 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.

(4) The protection, development and rehabilitation of forest lands shall be emphasized so as to
ensure their continuity in productive condition.

Violation of these policies are penalized.

1. Anyone who is cutting, gathering and/or collecting timber or other products without license
shall be guilty of qualified theft as defined and punished under Articles 309 and 310 of the
Revised Penal Code which is punished by prison mayor in its minimum and medium period
is the value of the stolen things is more than 1,200,00 million pesos but not more than
2,200,000 million pesos but if it exceeds the latter, the penalty shall be the maximum
peeped and an additional one year for each additional 1 million pesos but it shall not
exceed 20 years; 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.

2. 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

Other violations like pasturing livestock, destruction of wildlife resources, survey by

unauthorized person, misclassification and survey by government official or employee, tax
declaration on real property, coercion and influence, payment, collection and remittance of
forest charges, and sale of wood products are also punishable under this law.

Republic Act No. 9175 or otherwise known as the Chainsaw Act of 2002. This republic act is
heavily related to PD 705.

This policy is consistent with the constitution, to conserve, develop and protect the forest
resources under sustainable management. Toward this end, the State shall pursue an
aggressive forest protection program geared towards eliminating illegal logging and other
forms of forest destruction which are being facilitated with the use of chain saws. The State
shall therefore regulate the ownership, possession, sale, transfer, importation and/or use of
chain saws to prevent them from being used in illegal logging or unauthorized clearing of
forests.

In this Act, it was stated that only manufacturers, dealers and/or private owners who are duly
authorized by the DENR are the ones who are authorized by law to import and buy chainsaws.
These authorized persons are those who use chainsaws for the felling land/or cutting of trees,
timber and other forest or agro-forest products to any applicant who:

(a) has a subsisting timber license agreement, production sharing agreement, or similar
agreements, or a private land timber permit;

(b) is an orchard and fruit tree farmer;

(c) is an industrial tree farmer;

(d) is a licensed wood processor and the chain saw shall be used for the cutting of timber that
has been legally sold to said applicant; or

(e) shall use the chain saw for a legal purpose.

Every permit to possess and/or use a chain saw for legitimate purpose shall be valid for two (2)
years upon issuance: Provided, That permits to possess and use chainsaw issued to non-
commercial orchard and fruit tree farmers shall be valid for a period of five (5) years upon
issuance.

Under Section 7 of this Republic Act, the following acts are punishable:

Penal Provisions. -

(a) Any person who sells, purchases, transfer the ownership, distributes or otherwise disposes
or possesses a chain saw without first securing the necessary permit from the Department
shall be punished with imprisonment of four (4) years, two (2) months and one (1) day to six (6)
years or a fine of not less than Fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000.00) but not more Thirty
thousand pesos (30,000.00) or both at the discretion of the court, and the chain saw/s
confiscated in favor of the government.

(2)  Any person who imports or manufactures a chain saw without obtaining prior authorization
from the Department shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than one (1) month nor
more than six (6) months and a fine of not less than One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) for more
than Four thousand pesos (P4,000.00).

(3) Any person who is found to have defaced or tampered with the original registered engine
serial number of any chain saw unit shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than one (1)
month nor more than six (6) months and a fine of not less than One thousand pesos
(P1,000.00) nor more than Four thousand pesos (P4,000.00).

(4) Any person who is found to be in possession of a chain saw and uses the same to cut trees
and timber in forest land or elsewhere except as authorized by the Department shall be
penalized with imprisonment of six (6) years and one (1) day to eight (8) years or a fine of not
less that Thirty thousand pesos (P30,000.00) but not more than Fifty thousand pesos
(P50,000.00) or both at the discretion of the court without prejudice to being prosecuted for a
separate offense that may have been simultaneously committed. The chain saw unlawfully
used shall be likewise confiscated in favor of the government.

If any of the mentioned acts is committed by or through the command or order of another
person, partnership or corporation, the penalties provided shall likewise be imposed on such
other person, or the responsible officer(s) in such partnership or corporation.

If the offender is a public official or employee, in addition to the penalties, he shall be removed
from office and perpetually disqualified from holding any public office.

The chain saws confiscated for the commission of such acts shall be sold at public auction to
qualified buyers and the proceeds thereof shall go to the DENR.

This Act also recognizes those who help the DENR bust violators hence, any person who
voluntarily gives information leading to the recovery or confiscation of an unregistered chain
saw and the conviction of persons charged thereof shall be entitled to a reward equivalent to
twenty person (20%) of the value of the chain saw unit(s).

Republic Act No. 9147 or otherwise known as the Wildlife Resources Conservation and
Protection Act.

(a) "Bioprospecting" means the research, collection and utilization of biological and genetic
resources for purposes of applying the knowledge derived there from solely for commercial
purposes;

(b) "By-product or derivatives" means any part taken or substance extracted from wildlife, in
raw or in processed form. This includes stuffed animals and herbarium specimens;

(c) "Captive-breeding/culture or propagation" means the process of producing individuals

under controlled conditions or with human interventions;

(d) "Collection or collecting" means the act of gathering or harvesting wildlife, its by-products
or derivatives;

(e) "Conservation" means preservation and sustainable utilization of wildlife, and/or

maintenance, restoration and enhancement of the habitat;

(f) "Critically endangered species" refers to a species or subspecies that is facing extremely
high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future;

(g) "Economically important species" means species or subspecies which have actual or
potential value in trade or utilization for commercial purpose;

(h) "Endangered species" refers to species or subspecies that is not critically endangered but
whose survival in the wild is unlikely if the causal factors continue operating;

(i) "Endemic species" Means species or subspecies which is naturally occurring and found only
within specific areas in the country;

(j) "Exotic species" means species or subspecies which do not naturally occur in the country

This act has the following purposes:

(a) to conserve and protect wildlife species and their habitats to promote ecological balance
and enhance biological diversity;

(b) to regulate the collection and trade of wildlife;

(c) to pursue, with due regard to the national interest, the Philippine commitment to
international conventions, protection of wildlife and their habitats; and

(d) to initiate or support scientific studies on the conservation of biological diversity.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture has
jurisdiction involving the illegal acts specified in this law which would be discussed in a while.
However, violations in the Province of Palawan is under the jurisdiction of the Palawan Council
for Sustainable Development pursuant to Republic Act No. 7611.

Under this Act, any wildlife species or subspecies is threatened, and classify the same as
critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable or other accepted categories based on the best
scientific data and with due regard to internationally accepted criteria, including but not limited
to the following:

(a) present or threatened destruction, modification or curtailment of its habitat or range;

(b) over-utilization for commercial, recreational, scientific or educational purposes;

(c) inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; and

(d) other natural or man-made factors affecting the existence of wildlife.

This is to further protect these species from harm or possible extinction.

We will now be discussing those acts that are in violation of this law. And these are the
following:

(a) killing and destroying wildlife species, except in the following instances;

(i) when it is done as part of the religious rituals of established tribal groups or indigenous
cultural communities;

(ii) when the wildlife is afflicted with an incurable communicable disease;

(iii) when it is deemed necessary to put an end to the misery suffered by the wildlife;

(iv) when it is done to prevent an imminent danger to the life or limb of a human being; and

(v) when the wildlife is killed or destroyed after it has been used in authorized research or
experiments.

(b) inflicting injury which cripples and/or impairs the reproductive system of wildlife species;

(c) effecting any of the following acts in critical habitat(s)

(i) dumping of waste products detrimental to wildlife;

(ii) squatting or otherwise occupying any portion of the critical habitat;

(iii) mineral exploration and/or extraction;

(iv) burning;

(v) logging; and

(vi) quarrying

(d) introduction, reintroduction or restocking of wildlife resources;

(e) trading of wildlife;

(f) collecting, hunting or possessing wildlife, their by-products and derivatives;

(g) gathering or destroying of active nests, nest trees, host plants and the like;

(h) maltreating and/or inflicting other injuries not covered by the preceding paragraph; and

(i) transporting of wildlife.

Each of these illegal acts has its own corresponding penalties and/or fines.

Republic Act No. 11038, and Act amending the National Integrated Protected Areas System
Act of 1992.

This Act declared 94 more protected areas as national parks that would be protected,
managed and mobilized by the government. Some of these new areas include the following:

Tañon Strait in Cebu and Negros Islands, Ticao-Burias Pass in Albas, Masbate and Sorsogon
provinces, Samar Island Natural Park in Samar, Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte, Turtle
Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Tawi-tawi, Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Agusan del Sur,
Sarangani Bay in General Santos City, Taal Volcano in Bantangas and Cavite, Ninoy Aquino
Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City, Chocolate Hills in Bohol, Bulusan Volcano Natural
Park in Sorsogon, Hinulugang taktak falls in Rizal, Apo Reef in Occidental Mindoro, Las Piñas-
Parañaque wetland Park, Panglao Island Protected Seacape in Bohol, and Mount Mason
Natural Park in Albas.

violation of any of the prohibited acts under this law may be fined from 50,000 pesos to
5,000,000 and/or imprisonment from 6 to 12 years depending on the violation committed.
However, government officials or employees that would violate the following would be
perpetually disqualified from holding public office in addition to the penalty and or fine they
would be given. These are the prohibited acts:

1. Poaching and disturbing any wildlife.

2. hunting, taking or collecting any wildlife or by-products

3. Cutting, gathering, or removing timber without permit

4. Possessing or transporting any timber, forest products, wildlife or by-products

5. Using any fishing gear and indulging in practice that destroys marine life

6. Dumping toxic chemical, untreated sewage or animal wage

7. The practice of kingpin or causing forest fires

8. Damaging and leaving road trails

9. Littering

10. Possessing or using blasting caps or explosives

11. Occupying or dwelling in any public land

12. Building any structure, fence or enclosure

13. Conducting any business or enterprise without permit

14. Purchasing or leasing lands.