Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
‘Second Regular Session

COMMITTEE REPORT NO.__1970

Submitted pyethe Gpppmitiee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Appropriations

on Sia

Re: House Bill No!!! Ya

Recommending its approval in substitution of House Bill Nos. 2944 and 5112.

Sponsors: Representatives Francisco T. Matugas, Joseph Emilio A. Abaya, Rufus B.
Rodriguez, Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr., and Angelo B. Palmones

Mr. Spoaker:

The Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Appropriations, to which
were referred House Bill No. 2944, introduced by Representatives Rufus 8. Rodriguez
and Maximo 8. Rodriguez, Jr., entitled:

“AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE DELINEATION OF THE SPECIFIC FOREST LIMITS
OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”

and House Bill No. 5112, introduced by Representative Angelo B. Paimones, entitled:

“AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE DELINEATION OF THE SPECIFIC FOREST LIMITS
OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”

have considered the same and recommend that the herein attached House Bill
SNo. 5260. entitied:
“AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE DELINEATION OF THE SPECIFIC FOREST LIMITS
OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”

be approved in substitution of House Bill Nos. 2944 and 5112 with Representatives
Rodriguez (R.), Rodriguez, Jr. (M.), Palmones, Matugas and Abaya as authors thereof.

Comfnitte¢ on Appropriations ‘Committee on Natural Resources

THE HONORABLE SPEAKER
House of Representatives
Quezon City


Cer ana en

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BIEL No.__=&60_
(in substitution of House Bill Nos. 2944 and 5112)

Introduced by Representatives Rufus B. Rodriguez,
Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr., Angelo B. Paimones,
Francisco T. Matugas and Joseph Emilio A. Abaya

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 the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known and cited as the
“Final Forest Limits Act of 2012.”

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 1987 Constitution mandates Congress to determine by law the specific
limits of forest lands marking clearly their boundaries on the ground.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act, the following terms
shall mean:

a) Agricultural Lands — shall refer to alienable and disposable lands

of the public domain, which have been the subject of the land
classification system and declared as not needed for forest

purposes.


b) Delimitation Survey — shall refer to the establishment of land
classification boundaries and the monumenting thereof following
ground survey.

¢) Delineation — shail refer to the conduct of site investigation, field
Teconnaissance and assessment, and staking of boundaries
between forest lands, national parks and agricultural lands verified
in the field in accordance with the criteria set forth under DENR
DAO 2008-24.

d) Forest Lands — shali refer to all lands of the public domain already

classified as forest land as per existing land classification maps
ll issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

12 (DENR) including all permanent forest reserves proclaimed as such
13 by the President or declared by law, and such areas within the
14 unclassified lands of the public domain that were assessed and
15 delineated by the DENR in accordance with pertinent laws, rules
16 and regulations.

17 e) Protected Area — shall refer to identified portions of land and/or
18 water set aside by reason of their unique physical and biological
19 significance, managed to enhance biological diversity and protected
20 against destructive human exploitation,

21 SEC. 4. What Constitutes the Forest Lands. ~ The following shall
22 constitute the forest lands, to wit:

23 a) All lands of the public domain already classified as forest land as
24 per existing land classification maps issued by the DENR:

25 b) All permanent forest reserves proclaimed as such by the President
26 or deciared by law; and

27 ¢) Such areas within the unclassified lands of the public domain that
28 were assessed and delineated by the DENR in accordance with
29 pertinent laws, rules and regulations.

30 SEC. 5. Guidelines in Determining the Specific Limits of Forest

31 Lands. — The following guidelines and procedures shall be followed in
32 determining the specific limits of forest !ands in the country:


a) The previously established land classification 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 as created herein to be headed by the Secretary of the
DENR for final approval

9)

The same process shali be followed for other provinces with on-going
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 shail be compieted not later than one (1) year after the
passage of this Act.
SEC. 6. Creation of the National Review and Evaluation
Committee. — in recognition of the Constitutional mandate as embodied in
Section 4, Article Xii thereof, and in view of the urgent need to establish the
permanent limits of the forest lands of the country, a National Review and
Evaluation 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 strictly adhere to existing established laws, policies, rules,
regulations and guidelines pertinent thereto
The Committee shali be composed of the following:
a) Secretary of the DENR as Chairman;
b) Secretary/Director Genera! of the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA) as Vice-Chairman;

c) Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government
{DILG) as Member,

d) Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) as Member, and

e) Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) as Member

S


16

Upon approval of the assessment and delineation reports, the
Committee shail submit the same to Congress which shall thereafter form part
of its officiat records. The assessment and delineation reports as approved by
the Committee shali be adopted as constituting the final boundaries of the
forest lands covered by the said report

SEC. 7. Demarcation and Delimitation of Final Forest Land
Boundary. ~ immediately after the final forest line has been determined
following the guidelines prescribed in Section 5 hereof, the DENR shall delimit
and establish the permanent boundary monuments on the ground.

SEC. 8. Permanency of the Specific Forest Limits. — The permanent
forest lands established pursuant to this Act shall be conserved and shall not
be increased nor diminished except by law. The DENR, in coordination with all
concemed agencies and branches of the government shall ensure that the
forest cover and other resources therein shalll be protected and enhanced.

SEC. 9. Recognition of the Rights of Upland Dwellers. — Consistent
with the provisions of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of
4991 and Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA)
of 1997, the rights of the indigenous cultural communities and other upland
dwellers shall be recognized and respected in the ground delineation of the
permanent forest limits.

SEC. 10. 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 regularly keep track of the
state of the country’s forest iands after their delimitation. Toward this end, at
the opening of each session of Congress, the DENR shall submit a report to
the President on the status of the forest lands for transmission to Congress.

SEC. 44. Creation of an Adjudication Board to Resolve
Controversies on Land Conflicts/Adverse Claims. - A Land Conflict
Adjudication Board is hereby created to resolve controversies arising from
boundary conflicts and adverse claims as a result of the delimitation of forest
lands pursuant to this Act. The Board shall be composed of the following:
a) The Secretary of the Depariment of Justice (DOJ) as Chai har,

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b) Representative from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) as
Member,

c) Administrator of the Land Registration Authority (LRA) as Member,

d) Representative from a reputable College of Forestry as Member; and

e) Representative from the private sector as Member

The Board shall have the following powers and functions:

a

Adjudicate cases on land conflicts and adverse claims brought before

it for resolution;

b) Summon witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require
submission of reports;

c) Compel production of books and document answers to

interrogations; and

Issue subpoena duces tecum, writs of possession, writs of execution,

and other writs to enforce its orders and decisions.

SEC. 12. Accessibility of Record to the Public. - All records and

d

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. 13. Congressional Oversight Committee on the Delineation of
the Permanent Forest Limits. — There is hereby created a Congressional
Oversight Committee to oversee the implementation of this Act, composed of
seven (7) members from the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural
Resources and seven (7) members from the House of Representatives
Committee on Natural Resources.

The Congressional Oversight Committee shall be in existence for a
period of five (5) years, and thereafter, its oversight functions shall be exercised
by the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the Senate of the
Philippines and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives, acting separately. The Secretariat of the Congressional
Oversight Committee shall come from the Secretariat personnel of the
Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives comprising the

Congressionai Oversight Committee.


SEC. 14. 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 included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Funds for the implementation of the provisions of this Act shall be
supplemented also from any available official development assistance (ODA)
and from joint projects between agencies of the Philippines and an assisting
country.

Local government units (Ley may also allocate counterpart funds to be
taken from their internal revenue allotment (IRA) and other LGU income for the
delineation of the forest limits within their respective territorial jurisdictions.

SEC. 15. implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within three (3)
months from the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of the DENR shall issue
the corresponding Implementing Rules and Regulations for the effective
implementation of this Act.

SEC. 16. Separability Clause. — If any portion of this Act is declared
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other
provisions not affected thereby.

SEC. 17. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, letters of instruction,
executive orders, rules and regulations and other issuances or parts thereof
inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 18. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved,