Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines is among the most severely deforested places in the tropics. The ill 
effects of deforestation are far-reaching from food insecurity due to soil erosion to 
water insecurity because of degraded and poorly managed watersheds. 
This proposed measure is intended to complement our National Greening Program to 
ensure sufficient greenery in urban and countryside areas by making it mandatory to 
plant trees in urban and countryside parks, as well as, in school grounds, vacant lots 
and other urbanized sites all over the country. 
It seeks to establish a National Greening Committee to be headed by the DENR 
Secretary. To guarantee the proper nationwide implementation of the programs, the 
respective secretaries of other departments such as the Department of Tourism 
(DOT), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Department of 
Agriculture will serve as the committee's members. The committee will undertake strict 
implementation of the requirements for mandatory planting of trees in permissible 
areas. 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
May 22, 2023
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
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. Title. – This Act shall be known and cited as the "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 plazas, elementary school grounds and 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;
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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 hereby 
created with the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources 
(DENR) as Chairperson and the respective Secretaries of the Department of Public 
Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Interior 
and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education (DepEd) and 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 dispute involving the Regional Greening Committee 
created under Section and to appoint or form an ad-hoc committee when the Regional 
Greening Committee is unable to perform its duties. 
The National Greening Committee also convenes every quarter to hear the reports or 
performance 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 the tree-planting 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) and the lead official of the concerned local 
government unit (LGU) shall both serve as Co-Chairpersons of the Committee. 
Members of the Committee, representing the respective secretaries, will be the 
regional directors of the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Interior and 


 
Local Government (DILG), Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of 
Agriculture (DA) 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 organization (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 
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 for effective measures and ways for the optimum maintenance 
and sustainability of trees and shrubbery; 
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 the 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 to 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 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 cubs, 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 meters 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 concerned; 
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, 
i)  
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 
identified with the quality of soil where different or certain species of trees can thrive. 


 
This shall 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 other purposes such as agriculture, infrastructure-
building, and others; 
4. 
Parks, schools and other pieces of land owned 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 the total land 
area of the site, suited species of forest trees or fast-growing trees shall 
be planned in the identified areas; 
2.  
In cases wherein 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 and 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 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 Therefore. – Any person who violates 
sections 9 and 10 shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than six (6) months 
to not more than one (1) year or a fine of not less than three thousand pesos to not 
more than ten thousand pesos, or both imprisonment and fine, at the discretion of the 
court. 
 
Sec. 13. Submission of Reports. – The National Greening Committee shall within 
ninety (90) days after the approval of this Act and every one hundred eighty (180) 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 the year 
of its implementation: Provided, That funds for this purpose shall also be included in 
every annual GAA: Provided, further, That there shall be equitable and 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 fully implemented. 
 
Sec. 15. Separability Clause. – If any portion or provision of this Act is subsequently 
declared invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions hereof which are not affected 
thereby shall remain in full force and effect. 
 
Sec. 16. Repealing Clause. – All other laws, acts, presidential decrees, executive 
orders, presidential proclamations, issuances, rules and regulations, or parts thereof 
which are contrary to or inconsistent with any of the 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,