HOUSE F REPRESENTATIVES
RECEIVED

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

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ESISTRATION UNIT
RILLS AND INDEX SERVICE

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE MARIA LOURDES ACOSTA-ALBA.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

One of the key legislative agenda of the Aquino administration under the Philippine
Development Plan 2011-2016 is the passage of a permanent forest line bill. This poli
intends to pursue the action plan by identifying and providing the specific boundaries limits of
forestlands per province, and delineate areas in which no other land use may prevail.

This proponent is therefore re-filing House Bill No. 4988 in consolidation with House
Bill No. 3578 and two (2) other similar House Bills of the same subject during the 16" Congress,
House Bills Nos. 1625 and 2041, as per Committee Report No. 425 of the House Committee on
Natural Resources. which I principally authored.

This measure puts flesh to the Constitutional mandate of ascertaining the specific
boundaries of forest and protected areas, with the objective of conserving and protecting these
areas from further degradation. This measure also proposes to establish a National Review and
Evaluation Committee to conduct competent review, assessment, and validation of existing
boundaries of forest lands, and shall recommend to Congress such boundaries.

‘ » .
In view of the foregoing, the immediate pass

. ah LOURDES abet

First District, Bukidnon

ge of this bill is earnestly sought.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 143

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE MARIA LOURDES ACOSTA-ALBA.

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE DELINEATION OF THE SPECIFIC FOREST
LIMITS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

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 “Final Forest 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, 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:

(a) Agricultural lands 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 refers to the establishment of land classification boundaries and the
monumenting thereof following ground survey:

(c) Delineation refers to the conduct of site investigation, field reconnaissance and
assessment, and the staking of boundaries between 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 lands refer to all lands of the public domain already classified as forest land
in existing land classification maps issued by the DENR, including all permanent forest

reserves proclaimed as such by the President of the Republic of the Philippines or declared by



law, and such areas within the unclassified lands of the public domain that have been
assessed and delineated by the DENR in accordance with pertinent laws, rules and
regulations; and

(©) Protected area refers to identified portions of land and water set aside by reason of
their unique physical and biological significance, managed to enhance biological diversity
and protected against destructive human exploitation.

SEC. 4. What Constitutes Forest Lands. ~ The following shall constitute forest lands:

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

(b) All permanent forest reserves proclaimed as such by the President or declared by

law; and

(©) Such areas within the unclassified lands of the public domain that have been
assessed and delineated by the DENR in accordance with pertinent laws, rules and
regulations.

SEC. 5. Guidelines in 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 survey lines of each province, with
their respective technical descriptions (TDs) and maps, shall be the basic data and

information to be used as referer

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 for final
approval; and

(©) 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 effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 6. Creation of the National Review and Evaluation Committee, ~ In line with the
objective of establishing 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 Section 5(b) of this Act. The
Committee, in its evaluation and approval of the reports, shall strictly adhere to existing

established laws, policies, rules, regulations and guidelines pertinent thereto.



(a) Ine secretary or ine Vepartment or Agneuiture (WA), as memoer; ana

(e) The Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). as member.

Upon approval of the assessment and delineation reports, the Committee shall submit
the same to Congress which shall, on the basis of the same, enact the appropriate Act
constituting the final boundaries of the forest lands of the Philippines.

SEC. 7. Demarcation and Delimitation of Final Forest Land Boundary. Immediately
after the final forest line has been determined and designated by law, the DENR shall delimit
and establish the appropriate permanent boundary monuments on the ground.

SEC. 8. Permanency of the Specific Forest Limits.

The permanent forest lands so
established by law 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 shall 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 1991” and Republic Act No.
8371 or the “The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997”, the rights of 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 lands after
their delineation. Towards this end, at the opening of each session of Congress, the President
shall submit a report to Congress on the status of the forest lands based on the verified
evaluation of the Secretary of the DENR.

SEC. 11. 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 to be conducted pursuant to this Act. The Board shall be
composed of the following:

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Justice (DOS), as Chairperson;

(b) The Administrator of the Land Registration Authority (LRA), as member;

(c) A representative from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), as member;

(@) A representative from the academe coming from a College of Forestry, as member;
and

(e) A representative from the private sector, as member.

SEC. 12. Powers and Functions of the Board. ~The Board shall exercise 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 testimonies and require the submission of
reports;

(c) Compel production of books and document answers to interrogations; and

(d) Issue subpoena duces tecum, writs of possession, writs of execution and other writs
to enforce its orders and decisions.

SEC. 13. 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. 14. 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 exist for a period of five (5) years.
‘Thereafter, its oversight functions shall be exercised by the Committee on Environment and
Natural Resources of the Senate 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.

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. Thereafter, such amount



as may be necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the
annual General Appropriations Act.

Funds for the implement:

n of the provisions of this Act shall be supplemented by

any available official development assistance (ODA) and by joint projects between agencies
of the Philippines and an assisting country

For the delineation of the forest limits within their respective territorial jurisdictions,
LGUs may also allocate counterpart funds from their respective internal revenue allotments
(IRA) and from other LGU income.

SEC. 16. Jmplementing 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 implementation of this Act.

SEC. 17. 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.

SEC. 18. 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. 19. Effectivity. ~ This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in

the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,