SIXTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES —)
FIRST REGULAR SESSION )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodrigue!
Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

House Bill No. 1625
EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill was originally introduced as House Bill No. 2944 by the
undersigned Rufus B. Rodriguez during the 15" Congress where it was
approved by the Committee on Natural Resources and substituted by House
Bill No. 5860. It was subsequently approved by the House of Representatives
and transmitted to the Senate where it was not acted upon.

Section 4, Article XII of the Constitution states 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 consented 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.

According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
there are 52 provinces where there are efforts to delineate and establish
permanent forestland boundaries, for a total of 54,333 kilometers of forest land
from year 2000 to mid 2007. These provinces include: Benguet, Apayao,
Ifugao, La Union, llocos Norte, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Cagayan,
Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Aurora, Laguna,
Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon,
Catanduanes, Albay, Carnarines Sur, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, lloilo, Guimaras,
Siquijor, Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Eastern
Samar, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Note, Zamboanga Sibugay,
Camiguin, Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, South Cotabato, Sultan
Kudarat, Cotabato, Sarangani, Surigao del.Norte, Agusan del Sur and Agusan
del Norte. Of these, only 18 provinces have completed relocation survey.


Without the boundaries, our forest lands would be destroyed. Hence,
there is a need to demarcate and properly identify forestlands for their proper
use and preservation.

This bill seeks to declare as permanent forestlands the following: (a) all
lands of the public domain already classified as forestland per existing land
classification maps issued by the DENR, (b) all permanent forest reserves
proclaimed as such by the President or declared by Congress through law, and
(c) such areas within the unclassified lands of the public domain which may
hereafter be classified as forestland by DENR. The permanent forest line shall
be established and clearly marked on the ground by concrete monuments at
certain fixed distances, visible cut lines, signboards, and uniformly-spaced
distinctive trees maintained at all times between the concrete monuments,

In view of the foregoing, early passage of this bill is earnestly sought

RUFUS B. RO! jUEZ

“My

MAXIMO B. RODRIGUEZ, JR


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES —)
FIRST REGULAR SESSION )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez and
Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

House Bill No__ 1625

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 2013”.

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 XIl 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:

(@) Agricultural ands 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 shall refer to the conduct of site investigation, field
reconnaissance 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 Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) Administrative Order No. 2008-24

(d) Forest lands shall refer to all lands of the public domain already
classified as forest land as per existing land classification maps issued by the
DENR including 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 were assessed and delineated by the DENR in
accordance with pertinent laws, rules and regulations.

(€) Protected area shall refer to identified portions of land and/or 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 the Forest Lands. - The following shall constitute
the forest lands, to wit:

(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

(©) 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

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 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; and

(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. 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 shall be composed of the following
a) The Secretary of the DENR, as Chairperson;
b) The Secretary/Director General of the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA), as Vice Chairman;
c) The Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government
(DILG), as member;
d) The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA), as member; and
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 thereafter form part of its official
records. The assessment and delineation reports as approved by the


Committee shall 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
concerned 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 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 lands after their delimitation. Towards 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. 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 pursuant to this Act. The
Board shall be composed of the following
a) The Secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ), as Chairperson;
b) The representative from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), as
member;
c) The administrator of the Land Registration Authority (LRA), as member;
d) The representative from a reputable College of Forestry, as member;
and
e) The representative from the private sector, as member.

The Board shall have the following powers and functions:
1, Adjudicate cases on land conflicts and adverse claims brought before it
for resolution;
2. Summon witnesses, administer oaths, take testimonies and require
submission of reports;
3. 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.

rs


SEC. 12. 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. 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 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 Congressional 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.

LGUs 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 its
publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved,