NINETEEMTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First RegCiiar Session 
)
m
It
SENATE
s. No. 528
I Denali:
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rji l!if is
■22 JUL 13 P3 :03
RF-CHiVCD BY:
Introduced by SENATOR CYNTHIA A. VILLAR
AN ACT
TO ESTABLISH THE FOREST CADASTRE, PROVIDING FOR ITS 
PROCEDURES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Philippines has a total land area of 30 million hectares (ha). Of which, 
14.2 million ha are classified as alienable and disposable lands (A&D) while 15.8 
million ha are forest lands. Formal recording and public access on information on 
lands through a cadastre is limited only to the A&D lands while the forest lands are 
not part of such system. Information on forest lands is not formally recorded in a 
public registry making it hardly accessible. Tenurial instruments and other forms of 
agreements or contracts in forest lands are neither registered, systematically 
surveyed, nor parcelized. Tenurial instruments and resource access contracts are 
difficult to verify and are subject to unnecessary verification and vettings.
A critical factor in the success of sustainable 
Philippines is a well-defined and secured rights. The 
establish an appropriate administration system for 
delineating and recording rights, land values, suitable 
related information. This will guarantee the right and 
security for credit, reduce land disputes, and ensure 
management of forest lands and the resources therein.
forest management in the 
forest cadastre as aims to 
forest lands for formally 
land uses, and other land- 
security of tenure, provide 
protection and sustainable 
It shall also facilitate and


accelerate the settlement of claims and conflicts and provide economic data relevant 
to planning and development in forest lands.
The purpose of this Act is to strengthen tenure security and rights in forest 
lands by establishing a forest cadastre that would be integrated into the existing 
national land cadastre system. This is expected to contribute to the government's 
goal of effective, efficient, and sustainable management of forest lands.
In view of the foregoing, I urge the early approval of the bill.
CYNTOIA A. VILLAR


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
S. No. 528
of flip ^ . tKut
‘22 JUL 13 P3 :03
o
RECEIVED BV;
Introduced by SENATOR CYNTHIA A. VILLAR
AN ACT
TO ESTABLISH THE FOREST CADASTRE, PROVIDING FOR ITS 
PROCEDURES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
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Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Forest Land Cadastral
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Act".
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Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to preserve,
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conserve and sustainably develop and manage the country's forest lands to
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contribute to the development of the national wealth and to provide the current
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needs of the country as well as that of future generations. It is also the declared
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policy of the State to create a complete cadastral system that includes all
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classifications of lands and the tenures or titles issued thereat.
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Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act
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a) 
Agricultural lands - refer to alienable and disposable lands of the public
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domain which have been the subject of the land classification system
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and declared as not needed for forest purposes.
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b) 
Ancestral domain - refers to all areas generally belonging to indigenous
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cultural communities (ICCs) and/or indigenous peoples (IPs)


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comprising lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and natural resources 
therein, held under a claim of ownership, occupied or possessed by 
ICCs/IPs, by themselves or through their ancestors, communally or 
individually since time Immemorial, continuously to the present except 
when interrupted by war, force majeure or displacement by force, 
deceit, stealth or as a consequence of government projects or any 
other voluntary dealings entered into by government and private 
individuals/corporations, and which are necessary to ensure their 
economic, social and cultural welfare. It shall include ancestral lands, 
forests, pasture, residential, agricultural, and other lands individually 
owned whether alienable and disposable or otherwise, hunting 
grounds, burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, mineral and 
other natural resources, and lands which may no longer be exclusively 
occupied by ICCs/IPs but from which they traditionally had access to 
for their subsistence and traditional activities, particularly the home 
ranges of ICCs/IPs who are still nomadic and/or shifting cultivators.
Ancestral lands - refer to land occupied, possessed and utilized by 
individuals, families and clans v/ho are members of the ICCs/IPs since 
time immemorial, by themselves or through their predecessors-in- 
interest, under claims of individual or traditional group ownership, 
continuously, to the present except when interrupted by war, force 
majeure or displacement by force, deceit, stealth, or as a consequence 
of government projects and other voluntary dealings entered into by 
government and private individuals/corporations, including, but not 
limited to, residential lots, rice terraces or paddies, private forests, 
swidden farms and tree lots.
Delineation - refers to the conduct of site investigation, field 
reconnaissance and assessment, and staking of boundaries among 
forest lands, national parks/protected areas, mineral lands and 
agricultural lands verified in the field in accordance with the criteria set 
forth under the existing rules and regulations of the DENR.


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e) 
Forest block - is an area of contiguous forest land measuring fifteen
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(15) seconds of latitude and fifteen (15) seconds of longitude at
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approximately 20.7 hectares per block.
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f) 
Forest cadastre - is a registry containing official, legal documentation
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concerning the quantity, dimension, location, value, existing tenure,
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and other information unique for the forest land parcel.
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g) 
Forest compartment - is the basic territorial unit of measurement
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permanently defined for the purpose of location, description, and
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record, and as a basis for forest management.
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h) 
Forest land - includes the public forest, the permanent forest or forest
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reserves, forest reservations, and all other lands not classified as
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agricultural lands, mineral lands, and national parks.
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i) 
Mineral land - means any area where mineral resources are found.
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j) 
National park - refers to a forest reservation essentially of natural
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wilderness character which has been withdrawn from settlement,
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occupancy or any form of exploitation except in conformity with
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approved management plan and set aside as such exclusively to
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conserve the area or preserve the scenery, the natural and historic
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objects, wild animals and plants therein and to provide enjoyment of
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these features in such areas.
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k) 
Protected area - refers to identified portions of land and/or water set
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aside by reason of their unique physical and biological significance,
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managed to enhance biological diversity and protected against
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destructive human exploitation.
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Sec. 4. Forest Land Delineation. - The delineation of forest lands as
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completed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and
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submitted to Congress is hereby adopted. Provided that all vested rights prior to
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delineation within forest lands are recognized. Forest lands categorized as public
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forest lands shall not be reclassified, except through an Act of Congress.


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Sec. 5. Establishment of the Forest Cadastre. - The DENR shall develop,
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install, maintain and update regularly a system of mapping of ail forest tenuriai
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instruments and agreements issued by the DENR in all forest lands.
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Such system shall reflect all existing tenure agreements and shall show
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graphically said tenures. Untenured forest lands shall also be reflected and shown
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graphically in order to complete tenure mapping of entire municipalities and cities.
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An inventory of all tenure instruments shall be kept in the system.
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Sec. 6. Identification of Forest Blocks and Compartments. - The DENR shall
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divide the identified forest lands, protected area and national parks, and mineral
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lands into forest blocks for a more efficient resource management. The size of forest
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compartments shall be determined by the DENR.
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Sec. 7. National Parks and Protected Areas. - All protected areas and
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national parks in non-agricultural or inalienable lands shall be included in the
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cadastre. Existing surveys covering areas under the National Integrated Protected
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Area Systems (NIPAS) Act of 1992 and the Expanded National Integrated Protected
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Area Systems Act of 2017 shall be included in the cadastre.
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Sec. 8. Mineral Lands. - All mineral lands in non-agricultural or inalienable
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lands shall be included in the cadastre. Existing surveys covering areas under the
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People's Small-scale Mining Act of 1991 and the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 shall
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be included in the cadastre.
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Sec. 9. Proclamations and Reservations. - All existing proclamations and
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reservations within forest lands that are not included in the NIPAS Act of 1992, E-
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NIPAS Act of 2017, People's Small-scale Mining Act of 1991, and the Philippine
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Mining Act of 1995 shall be included in the cadastre.
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Sec. 10. Ancestral Domains and Ancestral Lands.- k\\ surveys covering areas
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under the Indigenous People's Rights Act of 1997 shall be included in the forest
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cadastre and shall be reflected in the maps. For this purpose, the National
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Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) is required to submit all of its delineation


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surveys to the DENR for inclusion in the cadastre, including those that will be
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approved by the NCIP subsequent to this Act.
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Sec. 11. Persons Authorized to Conduct Forest Land Surveys.- Duly licensed
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geodetic engineers who are in the service of the DENR, employed or contracted out,
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or any other authorized geodetic engineers may undertake the survey of forest
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lands, subject to the administrabve direction, control, and supervision of the DENR.
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Sec. 12. Authority to Conduct Forest Land Surveys.-lhe. DENR may order the
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geodetic engineers employed by the Department or contract out to duly licensed
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geodetic engineers to conduct forest land surveys.
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Sec. 13. Entry on Forest iands. - It shall be lawful for duly licensed geodetic
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engineers and other employees of the DENR to enter forest lands whenever
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necessary for the surveying and establishment of monuments.
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It shall be the duty of every tenure holder or every person claiming an
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interest in the forest land to be surveyed to communicate to the DENR all
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information possessed by such person concerning the boundary lines of the
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particular portion of the forest land.
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Sec. 14. Interference with Surveys and Monuments. - Any person who shall
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interfere with the conduct of surveys pursuant to this law, or deface, destroy,
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remove or otherwise alter established survey monuments shall be penalized with a
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fine of not less than one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) but not more than
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five huhdred thousand pesos (Pj00,000.00), or imprisonment of not less than six (6)
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months
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Sec. 15. Approvai of Forest Land Cadastrai Surveys. - Submission of survey
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plans shall be made to the unit in charge of surveys at the regional office of the
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DENR. Such submission shall be subject to the process of inspection, verification and
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approval of surveys, and shall be projected in the same projection map used for
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alienable and disposable lands.


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Sec. 16. Integration Into Existing Cadastrai System. - Approved surveys and 
all other accompanying information on forest lands shall be integrated into the 
existing cadastral system. It shall include maps and other information necessary to 
identify the parcel as well as the tenure or interest associated with it.
Sec. 17. Access To Forest Land Information. - The DENR shall share and 
provide access to all available forest land information to other government agencies, 
local government units, and the transacting public for the efficient management and 
sustainable utilization of forest lands and the resources therein. Cadastral 
information may also be shared to banks and other non-bank financial institutions 
for the purpose of providing access to credit and other financial services and 
facilities subject to existing data privacy rules and regulations.
Sec. 18. Integrity of Forest Land Information. - The DENR shall ensure the 
integrity of forest land information through continuous updating of data, system 
maintenance, and cleansing of forest land records of inconsistencies, duplications, 
errors and fraud. Budget shall be allocated annually for this purpose.
Sec. 19. Security of Forest Land Information. - At all DENR sites, there will be 
appropriate security arrangements on access to the network and database, anti-virus 
protection, on-site and off-site backup of databases, and other related system 
administration arrangements. All systems will include an audit trail of persons who 
made changes to the key data in the database.
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Sec. 20. Funding. - Initial funds shall be sourced from savings of the DENR
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for the current year and thereafter shall be included yearly in the General
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Appropriations Act.
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Sec. 21. Impiementing Ruies and Reguiations. -The DENR shall promulgate
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rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act within 120 days from
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approval hereof.
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Sec. 22. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive order, executive
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issuances or letters of instruction, rules and regulations or any part thereof
. vii.. ...


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inconsistent to the provisions of this Act are hereby deemed repealed, amended or
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modified accordingly.
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Sec. 23. Separability Cause. - If, for any reason or reasons, any part or parts
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of this Act shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid by any competent court, other
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parts of this Act not so declared shall continue to be in full force and effect.
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Sec. 24. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen days (15) after its
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publication in two (2) newspapers of general education.
Approved,