Forest Land Limits Act

fice of me TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) AUG -5 P3:51 First Regular Session SENATE RECEIVED BY S. No.. Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE DELINEATION OF THE SPECIFIC FOREST LIMITS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES EXPLANATORY NOTE Article XII, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution provides that, "The Congress shall, as soon as possible, determine by law, the specific limits of forest lands and national parks, marking clearly their boundaries on the ground. Thereafter, such forest lands and national parks shall be conserved and may not be increased nor diminished, except by law. The Congress shall provide, for such period as it may determine, measures to prohibit logging in endangered forests and watershed areas." This Constitutional mandate must be immediately fulfilled by Congress considering, on one hand, the importance of forest lands not only to our economy but more importantly to our environment, health, culture and heritage; and on the other hand, the continuous threats of deforestation and forest degradation. On December 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority released the Land Asset Accounts of the Philippines as of 2020 which indicated that "(T)the country's total land area is 29,588,367 hectares (ha), which covers the forest area (closed, open, and mangrove), brush and shrubs, open/barren, grassland, marshland/swamp, annual and perennial crop, fishpond, built-up, inland water, and sea and ocean. In 2020, the

Philippines' total open and closed forest cover reached 6.91 million ha or 23.4 percent of the total land cover. This indicates a growth of 2.9 percent or 193,354 ha from 6.72 million ha in 2015. The closed forest cover grew by 9.3 percent, an increase of 189,356 ha from its value of 2.03 million ha in 2015."1 However, the problems on deforestation and degradation continues unabatedly. A research paper entitled, "Forest Protection in the Philippines: Policy Evolution and Sector Outcomes" published by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, revealed that "illegal logging played a key role in the process of deforestation and degradation, the impacts of which were carried over to other sectors, such as agriculture and fisheries, through siltation. Despite these observations, certain LGUs deferred shutting down illegal logging activities due to the communities' allegedly heavy reliance on timber revenues." It further stated that the six (6) general causes of such forest disturbances are "fire, kaingin/illegal entry, illegal cutting, honey collection, long dry spell, and others. Fire was an umbrella term for incendiarism, hunting, throwing of cigarettes, forest fire, and grass fire." The "Forest Land Limit Act" seeks to provide for the delineation of the specific forest limits of the public domain to conserve, protect and develop the forest resources of the country. It provides for guidelines and procedures in determining the specific limits of forest lands and establishes a National Review and Evaluation Committee to be chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which is tasked to process, evaluate and approve all completed assessment and delineation reports. In the process, the rights of indigenous cultural communities, indigenous peoples and tenured migrant communities consistent with existing laws will be respected. The forest line that will be determined and established by the DENR pursuant to the proposed law will be adopted as the final forest land boundary of the country. 1 The Philippines' Open and Closed Forest Cover Grew by 2.9 percent in 2020 | Philippine Statistics Authority I Republic of the Philippines

In view of the foregoing, the swift passage of this measure is earnestly sought. pagest 1 JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA

SOPT Other of TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) AUG -5 P3:51 First Regular Session RECEIVED B SENATE 929. S. No. _ Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE DELINEATION OF THE SPECIFIC FOREST LIMITS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Forest Land Limits Act".

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to conserve, protect

and develop the forest resources of the country in order to attain ecological balance, preserve valuable ecosystems, prevent environmental degradation and promote sustainable development for the present and future generations. To achieve these ends, Section 4 of Article XII of the Constitution mandates Congress to determine by law the specific forest lands and national parks, marking clearly their boundaries on 8 the ground.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act:

a) Agricultural lands - refer to alienable or disposable lands of the public domain which have been the subject of the land classification system and declared as not needed for forestry purposes; b) Delimitation - refers to the establishment of permanent boundary monuments of forest land through land survey in accordance with existing standards and practices; c) Delineation - refers to the conduct of site investigation, field reconnaissance and assessment, and staking of boundaries among forest lands, national

parks and agricultural lands verified in the field in accordance with the criteria set forth under Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order No. 2008-24; d) Forest - refers to a land with an area of more than half (0.5) hectare and with tree crown cover or equivalent stocking level of more than ten percent (10%). The trees should be able to reach a minimum height of five (5) meters at maturity in situ. It consists of either closed forest formations, where trees of various stories and undergrowth cover more than forty percent (40% of the ground, or open formations where continuous vegetation cover more than ten (10%) but less than forty percent (40%) of the ground. Young natural stands and all plantations established for forest purposes are included in this definition. e) Forest reservations - refers to forest lands which have been reserved by the President of the Philippines for any specific purpose or purposes; f) Production forest lands - refer to forest lands available for timber and agroforestry production, range lands for grazing and other forest land special uses; g) Protected Area - refers to identified portions of land or water that are set aside by reason of their unique physical and biological significance, and are managed to enhance biological diversity and protected against destructive human exploitation; h) Protection forest lands - refer to all areas within the forest lands devoted primarily for the protection and conservation of forest resources to ensure environmental stability, conservation of biological diversity, improvement of ecosystem functions and services, and provision of ecological and economic benefits. All mossy and primary or old growth forest and natural beach, key biodiversity areas, areas regardless of slope and vegetation cover which are highly erodible or too rocky for establishment of production forests, developed for the principal objective of establishing vegetative cover to prevent erosion, conserve water and nurture wildlife, peat swamps, freshwater swamps, and marshes, existing natural mangroves, all areas along the bank of the rivers and streams, and the shores of the seas and

lakes throughout their entire length and within the zone of three (3) meters in urban areas, twenty (20) meters in agricultural areas, and forty (40) meters in forest areas, along their margins which are subject to the easement of public use in the interest of recreation, settlements, navigation, floatage, fishing and salvage, shall also be subclassified as protection forest lands. All extractive activities, including cutting of trees and mining, are banned in these protection forest lands: Provided, That the provisions of Republic Act No. 8371, or the "Indigenous People's Rights Act of 1997" and Republic Act No. 7586, or the "National Integrated Protected Areas System of 1992", as amended by Republic Act No. 11038, or the "Expanded National Integrated Protected System Act of 2018," shall be respected. i) Tenured migrant communities - refer to communities within forest lands which have actually and continuously occupied such areas for five (5) years before the designation of the same as forest lands in accordance with this Act, and are solely dependent therein for subsistence.

Sec. 4. Forest Lands. - The following shall constitute the forest lands:

a) All lands of the public domain already classified as forest land as per existing land classification maps issued by the DENR; b) All permanent forest reserves proclaimed as such by the President or declared by law; and c) Such areas within the unclassified lands of the public domain that were assessed and delineated by the DENR in accordance with pertinent laws, rules and regulations and which may hereafter be classified as forest land by the DENR.

Sec. 5. Determining the Specific Limits of Forest Lands. - The following

guidelines and procedures shall be followed in determining the specific limits of forest lands in the country: a) The previously-established land classification (LC) survey lines per province with their respective technical descriptions (TDs) and maps shall be the basic data and information that will be used as reference material in undertaking the validation, assessment and delineation process.

b) All completed assessment and delineation reports for a given province shall be endorsed to the National Review and Evaluation Committee created under Section 6 hereof for final approval. c) The same process shall be followed for other provinces with ongoing assessments and delineation activities until such time that all the boundaries of forest lands of the whole country shall have been delimited: Provided, That all assessments, validations and delineations shall be completed not later than one (1) year after the passage of this Act.

Sec. 6. National Review and Evaluation Committee. - Pursuant to the

10 Constitutional mandate embodied in Section 4, Article XII thereof, and in view of the 11 urgent need to establish the permanent limits of the forest lands of the country, a National Review and Evaluation Committee, hereinafter referred to as the Committee, is hereby created to process, evaluate and approve all completed assessment and delineation reports referred to in the immediately preceding section. The Committee, in its evaluation and approval of the said reports, shall adhere strictly to existing established laws, policies, rules, regulations and guidelines pertinent thereto. The Committee shall be composed of the following: a) Secretary of the DENR as Chairperson; b) Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as Vice-Chairperson; c) Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as Member; d) Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) as Member; e) Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) as Member; f) Chairperson of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) as Member; and g) Secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) as Member. The assessment and delineation reports as approved by the Committee shall be adopted as constituting the final boundaries of forest lands covered by the reports. The Committee shall submit to Congress the approved assessment and delineation reports for each province which shall thereafter form part of its official records.

Sec. 7. Demarcation and Delimitation of Final Forest Land Boundary. -

2 Immediately after the passage of this Act, the final forest line determined and 3 established by the DENR shall be adopted as the final forest land boundary of the country and all monuments established shall be deemed permanent. Maps of the final 5 forest land boundary prepared by the DENR shall be attached as an integral part of 6 this Act as reference.

Sec. 8. Permanency of the Specific Forest Lands Limits. - The permanent forest

lands established pursuant to this Act shall not be diminished nor reduced except by 9 an Act of Congress. The DENR, in coordination with all agencies and branches of 10 government, shall see to it that the forest cover and vegetation therein shall be protected, preserved and enhanced.

Sec. 9. Sub-classification of the Permanent Forest Lands. - The DENR shall

undertake the sub-classification of permanent forest lands into protection forests and production forests.

Sec. 10. Recognition of the Rights of the Indigenous Cultural

16 Communities/Indigenous Peoples and Tenured Migrant Communities. - In the ground 17 delineation of the permanent forest limits, the occupation by indigenous cultural 18 communities/indigenous peoples and tenured migrants shall be recognized and respected consistent with the provisions of Republic Act No. 7160 or the "Local Government Code of 1991," Republic Act No. 8371 or the "Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997," and Presidential Decree No. 705, as amended, or the "Forestry Code of the Philippines."

Sec. 11. Accessibility of Record to the Public. - All records and information

pertaining to the specific forest limits delineated pursuant to this Act shall be made available to all local government units (LGUs), other government agencies, and to the general public.

Sec. 12. Land Classification Conflict Adjudication Board. - A Land Classification

Conflict Adjudication Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board, is hereby created to resolve controversies arising from land classification as a result of the delimitation of forest lands pursuant to this Act. The Board shall be composed the following: a) Secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ) as Chairperson; b) Administrator of the Land Registration Authority (LRA) as Member;

c) Representative from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) as Member; d) Representative from a reputable College of Forestry as Member; and e) Representative from the private sector as Member.

Sec. 13. Powers and Functions of the Adjudication Board. - The Board shall

have the following powers and functions: a) Adjudicate cases on land conflicts and adverse claim before it for resolution; b) Summon witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require submission of reports; c) Compel production of books and documents and answers to interrogatories; and d) Issue subpoena duces tecum, writs of possession, writs of execution and other writs to enforce its order and decisions. In any proceeding before the Board, the Rules of Evidence prevailing in courts of law or equity shall not be controlling and it is the spirit and intention of this Act that shall govern. The Board shall use all reasonable means to ascertain the facts in each case speedily and objectively. The findings of fact of the Board shall be conclusive and 17 binding on the parties and its decision or order shall be final and executory. A petition for review on certiorari may be filed by the aggrieved party with the 19 Supreme Court within thirty (30) days from receipt of the order or decision of the 20 Board.

Sec. 14. Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting System. - To attain the

objectives of this Act, a field monitoring, evaluation and reporting system shall be adopted by the Secretary of the DENR to afford up-to-date information on the state of the country's forest lands after their delineation and ensure that these lands are protected and conserved.

Sec. 15. Appropriations. - The Secretary of the DENR shall include in the

Department's program the implementation of this Act, the initial funding of which shall be charged against the current year's appropriations of the Department and thereafter shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. Funds for the implementation of the provisions of this Act shall be supplemented from any available official development assistance (ODA) and from joint projects between agencies of the Philippines and an assisting country. Local

1 government units shall also allocate counterpart funds to be taken from their national 2 tax allotment (NTA) and other LGU income for the delineation of the forest limits within their respective territorial jurisdictions.

Sec. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days from

5 the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of the DENR shall issue the corresponding 6 rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

Sec. 17. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or

unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision or part not otherwise affected shall remain valid and subsisting.

Sec. 18. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive

order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.

Sec. 19. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,