Urban and Countryside Greening Act

Wiltep of t: As star?" TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session AUG -6 A9:52 SENATE RECENCO BY S. No. - Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE URBAN AND COUNTRYSIDE GREENING IN THE PHILIPPINES EXPLANATORY NOTE Based on the 2023 Philippine Forestry Statistics, the Philippines has a total forest cover of 7.22 million hectares in 2020, which is significantly lower than the 17.8 million hectares of forest cover in 1934. Moreover, a total of 1.42 million hectares of tree cover was lost from 2001 to 20221. While this depressing information reflects the massive environmental destruction throughout the years, heightened awareness about the importance of dense foliage and ongoing reforestation efforts to reverse this situation offer glimmer of hope. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported last year that the country's total open and closed forest cover reached 23.4% of the total land cover, indicating a growth of 2.9% or 193,354 hectares from 6.72 million hectares in 20152. Executive Order No. 26 (2011) declared the implementation of a National Greening Program (NGP) as a government priority, and sought to plant 1.5 billion trees 1 https://climate.gov.ph/news/851 2 "The Philippines' Open and Closed Forest Cover Grew by 2.9 percent in 2020." December 20, 2024. https://psa.gov.ph/content/philippines-open-and-closed-forest-cover-grew-29-percent-2020

in 1.5 million hectares of lands of the public domain (including mangrove and protected areas, abandoned mine sites, civil and military reservations, etc.) within a five-year period until 2016. The program was later expanded to cover all remaining unproductive, denuded and degraded forestlands (estimated to be 7.1 million hectares) and was extended up to year 20283. This measure aims to sustain and build on the gains from the existing tree planting programs, and ensure continued greening of our urban and rural landscapes. This bill is also expected to bring health benefits to the people, considering the projected reduced air pollution, and positive impact to mental wellbeing of more green spaces. In light of the undisputed and countless advantages of preserving, building and maintaining forest parks, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 3 Executive Order No. 193, series of 2015. "Expanding the Coverage of the National Greening Program."

Effer of the s TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session 25 AUG -6 A9:52 SENATE RECEIVED BY S. No. 992 Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE URBAN AND COUNTRYSIDE GREENING IN THE PHILIPPINES Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Urban and Countryside

Greening Act".

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - Recognizing the vital role of trees in ecological

stability, it is hereby declared the national policy to ensure sufficient greenery in urban and countryside and to promote the right of the people to enjoy the benefits of a balanced and healthy ecology.

Sec. 3. Scope. - This Act shall apply to all barangays, municipalities, cities, and

provinces.

Sec. 4. Objectives. - Pursuant to the policy declared herein, it is the objective

of this Act: a) To build, develop, and maintain forest parks in provincial, city and municipal levels by the planting of trees in national, provincial, municipal or barangay roads and other public open spaces where appropriate; b) To require from the national agencies and local government units the planting of trees and shrubbery in specified areas;

c) To promote environmental consciousness among the community members, i.e. students, youth, other civic action groups, by encouraging active participation in tree-planting activities; and d) To protect trees from various human activities.

Sec. 5. National Greening Committee. - A National Greening Committee is

6 hereby created with the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural 7 Resources (DENR) as Chairperson and the respective Secretaries of the Department 8 of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department 9 of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education (DepEd), and 10 the Department of Agriculture (DA), as members. The National Greening Committee shall have the power to promulgate the pertinent rules and regulations as may be necessary to fully implement the objectives and purposes of this Act within a period not later than ninety (90) days after the approval of this Act. It shall have the power to rule on disputes involving the Regional Greening Committee created under Section 6 and to appoint or form an ad hoc committee when 17 the Regional Greening Committee is unable to perform its duties. The National Greening Committee shall convene every quarter to hear the reports or performance report from the Regional Greening Committee.

Sec. 6. Regional Greening Committee. - A Greening Committee for every region

in the country, in cooperation with the various local government offices, is hereby created to initiate and oversee all tree planning activities to be done in barangays, municipalities, cities and provinces in the respective regions. The Regional Director representing the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) shall serve as Chairperson of the Committee. Members of the Committee shall be composed of the regional directors of the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education (DepEd), and the Department of Agriculture (DA), a representative of the concerned local government unit (LGU), and at most three (3) representatives from civic action groups appointed by the Chairperson.

The Regional Greening Committee shall coordinate with all the concerned government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOS), people's organizations (POs), and other civic action groups for assistance and cooperation in the implementation of this Act.

Sec. 7. Specific Functions of the Executive Departments. - Aside from the

6 Committee responsibilities: a) The DENR shall determine the suitable species of trees and provide seeds or saplings to be planted along or on major thoroughfares, suited to the kind, classification, and condition of the area and shall provide technical support involving tree-planting activities; b) The LGU shall: 1) Mobilize all local concerned agencies and communities to ensure prompt and effective implementation of this Act in every barangay, municipality, city and province; 2) Provide effective measures and ways for the optimum maintenance and sustainability of trees and shrubbery; and 3) Coordinate with the police for the apprehension and with the DOJ for the prosecution of all persons violating Sections 8 and 9 of this Act; c) The DPWH and DA shall provide the technical support including the necessary tools, equipment, and manpower for the implementation of this Act; d) The DOT shall assist in the conceptualization and site evaluation and cooperate in the maintenance of parks and specified areas and provide additional funding from its resources; e) The DILG shall coordinate the local government units to ensure prompt and effective implementation of this Act; and f) The DepEd shall integrate tree planting activities into the school curriculum to raise awareness and to promote environmental consciousness.

Sec. 8. Requirements for Tree Planting along National Roads. - Projects

concerning the construction and development of national roads shall comply with the following standard requirements:

a) The trees that will be planted along the national roads shall be endemic plant species of the varieties of the root systems which grow downward rather than sideward to avoid road and sidewalk slabs destruction; b) Trees shall be planted in a neat row, within the road right-of-way (ROW) and as close as possible to the ROW limit, with sufficient allowance so that fully grown trees will not encroach on the adjoining property or touch electric and other overhead utility lines; c) The center-to-center spacing between trees shall be 10-20 meters (m). For road sections with a generally north-south alignment, the trees on one side of the road shall be planted alternately with trees on the other side, thus ensuring adequate sunlight needed for drying the road; d) For roads without curbs, the trees shall be planted with minimum clear distance of 0.60 meters beyond the edge of the shoulder, but in no case less than 0.30 meters from the edge of the pavement; e) For roads with curbs, particularly in urban areas, the trees shall be planted with a minimum setback of 1.00 meter beyond the face of the curb; f) Where there are longitudinal drainage canals, the trees shall be planted on the outer side of such canals; g) On roadway curves and intersections, the pertinent design standards on sight distance shall be observed; h) Non-traversable hazards (ravine, waiting shed, and the like) along the line of trees shall be provided with appropriate clearly marked barriers so that these do not pose hazards to motorists; and 1) The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) shall, within ninety (90) days after the approval of this Act and every one hundred eighty (180) days thereafter, submit periodic reports to the National Greening Committee.

Sec. 9. Tree Planting in Urban and Countryside Parks, Public Vacant Lots, and

Other Permissible Areas. - Planting of trees shall be mandatory in urban and countryside parks as well as in school grounds, vacant lots, and other unutilized sites with the quality of soil where different or certain species of trees can thrive. This shall

1 apply to all publicly-owned lands, without exempting the properties of interested private individuals or institutions. a) Scope. - The areas covered by this provision shall include: 1) All public parks in urban and rural areas; 2) All public school grounds in the city and in the provinces; 3) All idle public lands in urban and rural areas, unless otherwise identified to soon be used for purposes such as agriculture, infrastructure-building, and others; 4) Parks, schools, and other pieces of lands owned by private individuals, organizations, or institutions whose proprietor/s voluntarily and willingly subject their properties in this Act. b) General Guidelines. - Tree planting in the duly qualified areas shall comply with the following general guidelines: 1) Considering the classification and condition of the soil and total land area of the site, suited species of forest tree or fast-growing trees shall be planted in the identified areas; 2) In cases where multiple trees can be planted, the trees should be planted in clusters wherein one is not more than four (4) meters apart from one another; 3) The Regional Greening Committee shall facilitate and supervise all the tree planting activities in its jurisdiction. The government agencies concerned shall perform their duties and responsibilities as indicated in

Section 7, Specific Functions of the Executive Department, of this Act;

4) The Regional Greening Committee shall, within ninety (90) days after the approval of the Act and every one hundred eighty (180) days, thereafter submit periodic reports to the National Greening Committee.

Sec. 10. Issuing of Permits. - The issuance of permit allowing a person or

company to cut, uproot, or in any way disturb the planted trees given by the DENR should also be approved and co-signed by the Regional Greening Committee following public consultations done by and the consensus of the Regional Greening Committee.

Sec. 11. Prohibited Acts. - No cutting and destroying of trees and plants shall

2 be permitted, except when the cutting and destroying of the same is necessary for public safety, and subject to the issuance of permits.

Sec. 12. Persons Liable and Penalties Therefor. - Any person who violates

5 Sections 9 and 10 shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than six (6) months 6 to not more than one (1) year or a fine of not less than Three thousand pesos (Php 7 3,000.00) to not more than Ten thousand pesos (Php 10,000.00), or both imprisonment and fine at the discretion of the court.

Sec. 13. Submission of Reports. - The National Greening Committee shall within

10 ninety (90) days after the approval of this Act and every one hundred eighty (180) 11 days thereafter submit periodic reports to both houses of Congress of the Philippines for evaluation and consideration.

Sec. 14. Funding. - The fund needed for the implementation of this Act shall

be taken from any available appropriation in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of this year of its implementation: Provided, That funds for this purposes shall also be included in the every annual GAA: Provided further, That there shall be equitable and 17 proportionate appropriations of funds annually for this purpose for all barangays, municipalities, cities and provinces. In addition, adequate portion of financial grants and concessional loans extended to Philippines by foreign governments and multilateral agencies every year, the amount to be determined by the President, shall be allocated to augment the annual appropriations until this Act is fully implemented.

Sec. 15. Separability Clause. - If for any reason, any provision of this Act is

declared unconstitutional or invalid, such parts not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 16. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and

regulations and other issuances or parts thereof which are contrary to or inconsistent with any provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Sec. 17. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

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