LEX CERVUS NOTES 2020

NREL MIDTERM REVIEWER – ATTY. REAL

Environment Defined. animal life and property, and promote the social and
economic development of the country.
The milieu in which an organism lives. Includes the sum
of all of its surroundings. This includes natural forces P.D. 1586(1978) – Establishing an Environment
and other living things. It defines the conditions of Impact Statement System, Including Other
danger and damage to existence, as well as Environmental Management Related.
development and growth. Refer to environmental
-Defines the framework for the implementation of the
factors.
environmental impact assessment as the mechanism to
Overview of Philippine Environmental Laws reconcile the impacts of development projects on
society and the physical environment.
It is hereby declared a national policy to prevent, abate
and control pollution of water, air and land for the more P.D. 389(1974) (P.D. 705) – The Forestry Reform
effective utilization of the resources of this country. Code
P.D. 1151(1979) – Philippine Environmental – codifies, updates and raises forestry laws in the
Policy country. It emphasizes the sustainable utilization of
forest resources.
– defines the general policies on the pursuit of a better
quality of life for the present and future generations R.A. 9003 – The Solid Waste Management Act of
and mandates the undertaking the environmental 2001
impact assessments for all projects, which may
-An act providing for an ecological solid waste
significantly affect the environment.
management program, creating the necessary
P.D. 1152(1977) – Air Quality Management institutional mechanisms and incentives, declaring
certain acts prohibited and providing penalties,
– to achieve and maintain such levels of air quality as
appropriating funds therefore, and for other purposes.
to protect public health and rfto prevent to the greatest
extent practicable, injury and or damage to plant and R.A. 9275- Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004

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-An act providing a comprehensive water quality The national territory comprises the Philippine
management and for other purposes. archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced
therein, and all other territories over which the
R.A. 9729 – Climate Change Act of 2009.
Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of
-An act mainstreaming climate change into its terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its
government policy formulations, establishing the territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular
framework strategy and program on climate change, shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters
creating for this purpose the climate change around, between, and connecting the islands of the
commission, and for other purposes. archipelago, regardless of their breadth and
dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the
Philippines.

Art.ll ( secs. 15, 16 & 22)

Constitutional Framework
Section 15. The State shall protect and promote the
Preamble, Art.l, Art.ll ( secs. 15, 16 & 22), Art. Xll right to health of the people and instill health
( Secs.1-6) , Art. Xlll ( Secs.6-7) consciousness among them.
Section 16. The State shall protect and advance the
right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology
ARTICLE 1 CONSTI
in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.
NATIONAL TERRITORY
Section 22. The State recognizes and promotes the SECTION 1. The goals of the national economy are a
rights of indigenous cultural communities within the more equitable distribution of opportunities, income,
framework of national unity and development. and wealth; a sustained increase in the amount of
goods and services produced by the nation for the
Art. Xll ( Secs.1-6)
benefit of the people; and an expanding productivity as

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the key to raising the quality of life for all, especially forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber,
the underprivileged. wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources
are owned by the State. With the exception of
The State shall promote industrialization and full
agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not
employment based on sound agricultural development
be alienated. The exploration, development, and
and agrarian reform, through industries that make full
utilization of natural resources shall be under the full
and efficient use of human and natural resources, and
control and supervision of the State. The State may
which are competitive in both domestic and foreign
directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into
markets. However, the State shall protect Filipino
co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing
enterprises against unfair foreign competition and
agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or
trade practices.
associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital
In the pursuit of these goals, all sectors of the economy is owned by such citizens. Such agreements may be for
and all regions of the country shall be given optimum a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable
opportunity to develop. Private enterprises, including for not more than twenty-five years, and under such
corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective terms and conditions as may be provided by law. In
organizations, shall be encouraged to broaden the base cases of water rights for irrigation, water supply,
of their ownership. fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development
of water power, beneficial use may be the measure and
SECTION 2. All lands of the public domain, waters,
limit of the grant.
minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all
The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its The President may enter into agreements with foreign-
archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive owned corporations involving either technical or
economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment financial assistance for large-scale exploration,
exclusively to Filipino citizens. development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum,
and other mineral oils according to the general terms
The Congress may, by law, allow small-scale utilization
and conditions provided by law, based on real
of natural resources by Filipino citizens, as well as
contributions to the economic growth and general
cooperative fish farming, with priority to subsistence
welfare of the country. In such agreements, the State
fishermen and fishworkers in rivers, lakes, bays, and
lagoons.

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shall promote the development and use of local national parks, marking clearly their boundaries on the
scientific and technical resources. ground. Thereafter, such forest lands and national
parks shall be conserved and may not be increased nor
The President shall notify the Congress of every
diminished, except by law. The Congress shall provide,
contract entered into in accordance with this provision,
for such period as it may determine, measures to
within thirty days from its execution.
prohibit logging in endangered forests and watershed
SECTION 3. Lands of the public domain are classified areas.
into agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands, and
SECTION 5. The State, subject to the provisions of this
national parks. Agricultural lands of the public domain
Constitution and national development policies and
may be further classified by law according to the uses
programs, shall protect the rights of indigenous cultural
which they may be devoted. Alienable lands of the
communities to their ancestral lands to ensure their
public domain shall be limited to agricultural lands.
economic, social, and cultural well-being.
Private corporations or associations may not hold such
alienable lands of the public domain except by lease, The Congress may provide for the applicability of
for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, customary laws governing property rights or relations
renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and not in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral
to exceed one thousand hectares in area. Citizens of domain.
the Philippines may lease not more than five hundred
SECTION 6. The use of property bears a social function,
hectares, or acquire not more than twelve hectares
and all economic agents shall contribute to the common
thereof by purchase, homestead, or grant.
good. Individuals and private groups, including
Taking into account the requirements of conservation, corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective
ecology, and development, and subject to the organizations, shall have the right to own, establish,
requirements of agrarian reform, the Congress shall and operate economic enterprises, subject to the duty
determine, by law, the size of lands of the public of the State to promote distributive justice and to
domain which may be acquired, developed, held, or intervene when the common good so demands.
leased and the conditions therefor.
Art. Xlll ( Secs.6-7)
SECTION 4. The Congress shall, as soon as possible,
determine by law the specific limits of forest lands and

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SECTION 6. The State shall apply the principles of SECTION 7. The State shall protect the rights of
agrarian reform or stewardship, whenever applicable in subsistence fishermen, especially of local communities,
accordance with law, in the disposition or utilization of to the preferential use of local marine and fishing
other natural resources, including lands of the public resources, both inland and offshore. It shall provide
domain under lease or concession suitable to support to such fishermen through appropriate
agriculture, subject to prior rights, homestead rights of technology and research, adequate financial,
small settlers, and the rights of indigenous production, and marketing assistance, and other
communities to their ancestral lands. services. The State shall also protect, develop, and
conserve such resources. The protection shall extend
The State may resettle landless farmers and
to offshore fishing grounds of subsistence fishermen
farmworkers in its own agricultural estates which shall
against foreign intrusion. Fishworkers shall receive a
be distributed to them in the manner provided by law.
just share from their labor in the utilization of marine
and fishing resources.

oposa v. Factoran (224 SCRA 792)

In the resolution of the case, the Court held that:
The petitioners have the right to bring action to the judicial power of the Court.
The case at bar is subject to judicial review by the Court. Justice Davide, Jr. precisely identified in his opinion the
requisites for a case to be subjected for the judicial review by the Court. According to him, the subject matter of the
complaint is of common interest, making this civil case a class suit and proving the existence of an actual
controversy. He strengthens this conclusion by citing in the decision Section 1, Article 7 of the 1987 Constitution.
The petitioners can file a class suit because they represent their generation as well as generations yet unborn. Their
personality to sue in behalf of the succeeding generations can only be based on the concept of intergenerational
responsibility insofar as the right to a balanced and healthful ecology is concerned. Such a right, as hereinafter
expounded, considers the “rhythm and harmony of nature.” Nature means the created world in its entirety. Such

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rhythm and harmony indispensably include, inter alia, the judicious disposition, utilization, management, renewal
and conservation of the country’s forest, mineral, land, waters, fisheries, wildlife, off-shore areas and other natural
resources to the end that their exploration, development and utilization be equitably accessible to the present as
well as future generations.
Every generation has a responsibility to the next to preserve that rhythm and harmony for the full enjoyment of a
balanced and healthful ecology. Put a little differently, the minors’ assertion of their right to a sound environment
constitutes, at the same time, the performance of their obligation to ensure the protection of that right for the
generations to come.
The Court does not agree with the trial court’s conclusions that the plaintiffs failed to allege with sufficient
definiteness a specific legal right involved or a specific legal wrong committed, and that the complaint is replete with
vague assumptions and conclusions based on unverified data.
The complaint focuses on one specific fundamental legal right — the right to a balanced and healthful ecology which,
for the first time in our nation’s constitutional history, is solemnly incorporated in the fundamental law. Section 16,
Article II of the 1987 Constitution explicitly provides:
Sec. 16. The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord
with the rhythm and harmony of nature.
This right unites with the right to health which is provided for in the preceding section of the same article:
Sec. 15. The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among
them.
While the right to a balanced and healthful ecology is to be found under the Declaration of Principles and State
Policies and not under the Bill of Rights, it does not follow that it is less important than any of the civil and political
rights enumerated in the latter. Such a right belongs to a different category of rights altogether for it concerns
nothing less than self-preservation and self-perpetuation — aptly and fittingly stressed by the petitioners — the
advancement of which may even be said to predate all governments and constitutions. As a matter of fact, these

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basic rights need not even be written in the Constitution for they are assumed to exist from the inception of
humankind.

ISSUE:
Should PD 1818 be applied?
RULING:
No. The prohibition of any court from issuing injunctions incases involving infrastructure projects extends
only to the issuance ofi n j u n c t i o n s o r r e s t r a i n i n g o r d e r s a g a i n s t a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a c t s i n controversies
involving

Felipe Ysmnel Jr. & Co. Inc v. Deputy Executive Secretary

Ruling:
the refusal of public respondents herein to reverse final and executory administrative orders does not constitute
grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.
petitioner is precluded from availing of the benefits of a writ of certiorari in the present case because he failed to file
his petition within a reasonable period.
The yardstick to measure the timeliness of a petition for... certiorari is the "reasonableness of the length of time
that had expired from the commission of the acts complained of up to the institution of the proceeding to annul the
same"

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Public respondents herein, upon whose shoulders rests the task of implementing the policy to develop and conserve
the country's natural resources, have indicated an ongoing department evaluation of... all timber license agreements
entered into, and permits or licenses issued, under the previous dispensation.
The ongoing administrative reassessment is apparently in response to the renewed and growing global concern over
the despoliation of forest lands and the utter disregard of their crucial role in sustaining a balanced ecological system.
While there is a desire to harness natural resources to amass profit and to meet the country's immediate financial
requirements, the more essential need to ensure future generations of Filipinos of their survival in a viable
environment demands effective and... circumspect action from the government to check further denudation of
whatever remains of the forest lands.
A long line of cases establish the basic rule that the courts will not interfere in... matters which are addressed to the
sound discretion of government agencies entrusted with the regulation of activities coming under the special
technical knowledge and training of such agencies
Timber licenses, permits and license... agreements are the principal instruments by which the State regulates the
utilization and disposition of forest resources to the end that public welfare is promoted.
In fine, the legal precepts highlighted in the foregoing discussion more than suffice to justify the Court's refusal to
interfere in the DENR evaluation of timber licenses and permits issued under the previous regime, or to pre-empt
the adoption of appropriate... corrective measures by the department.
petitioner having failed to make out a case showing grave abuse of discretion on the part of public respondents
herein, the Court finds no basis to issue a writ of certiorari and to grant any of the affirmative reliefs sought.
WHEREFORE, the present petition is DISMISSED.
Principles:
The rule of... res iudicata thus forbids the reopening of a matter once determined by competent authority acting
within their exclusive jurisdiction

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Laches is defined as the failure or neglect for an unreasonable and unexplained length of time to do that which by
exercising due diligence, could or should have been done earlier, or to assert a right within a reasonable time,
warranting a presumption that the... party entitled thereto has either abandoned it of declined to assert it.
SEC. 16. The State shall protect and promote the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord
with the rhythm and harmony of nature.

MMDA v. Concerned Citizens ofManila Bay

RULING:
The Cleaning or Rehabilitation of Manila Bay Can be Compelled by Mandamus.
Generally, the writ of mandamus lies to require the execution of a ministerial duty. A ministerial duty is one that
requires neither the exercise of official discretion nor judgment. It connotes an act in which nothing is left to the
discretion of the person executing it. It is a simple, definite duty arising under conditions admitted or proved to exist
and imposed by law. Mandamus is available to compel action, when refused, on matters involving discretion, but
not to direct the exercise of judgment or discretion one way or the other.
First off, we wish to state that petitioners obligation to perform their duties as defined by law, on one hand, and how
they are to carry out such duties, on the other, are two different concepts. While the implementation of the MMDAs
mandated tasks may entail a decision-making process, the enforcement of the law or the very act of doing what the
law exacts to be done is ministerial in nature and may be compelled by mandamus. We said so in Social Justice
Society v. Atienza[11] in which the Court directed the City of Manila to enforce, as a matter of ministerial duty, its
Ordinance No. 8027 directing the three big local oil players to cease and desist from operating their business in the
so-called Pandacan Terminals within six months from the effectivity of the ordinance. But to illustrate with respect
to the instant case, the MMDA’s duty to put up an adequate and appropriate sanitary landfill and solid waste and
liquid disposal as well as other alternative garbage disposal systems is ministerial, its duty being a statutory
imposition. The MMDA’s duty in this regard is spelled out in Sec. 3(c) of RA 7924 creating the MMDA.

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The MMDA’s duty in the area of solid waste disposal, as may be noted, is set forth not only in the Environment Code
(PD 1152) and RA 9003, but in its charter as well. This duty of putting up a proper waste disposal system cannot be
characterized as discretionary, for, as earlier stated, discretion presupposes the power or right given by law to public
functionaries to act officially according to their judgment or conscience.
A discretionary duty is one that allows a person to exercise judgment and choose to perform or not to perform. Any
suggestion that the MMDA has the option whether or not to perform its solid waste disposal-related duties ought to
be dismissed for want of legal basis.
A perusal of other petitioners respective charters or like enabling statutes and pertinent laws would yield this
conclusion: these government agencies are enjoined, as a matter of statutory obligation, to perform certain functions
relating directly or indirectly to the cleanup, rehabilitation, protection, and preservation of the Manila Bay. They are
precluded from choosing not to perform these duties.
Rep. Act. No. 9522
Magallona v. Ermita
1. UNCLOS III has nothing to do with acquisition or loss of territory. it is just a codified norm that regulates conduct
of States. On the other hand, RA 9522 is a baseline law to mark out basepoints along coasts, serving as geographic
starting points to measure. it merely notices the international community of the scope of our maritime space.
2. If passages is the issue, domestically, the legislature can enact legislation designating routes within the
archipelagic waters to regulate innocent and sea lanes passages. but in the absence of such, international law norms
operate.
the fact that for archipelagic states, their waters are subject to both passages does not place them in lesser footing
vis a vis continental coastal states. Moreover, RIOP is a customary international law, no modern state can invoke its
sovereignty to forbid such passage.

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3. On the KIG issue, RA 9522 merely followed the basepoints mapped by RA 3046 and in fact, it increased the Phils.’
total maritime space. Moreover, the itself commits the Phils.’ continues claim of sovereignty and jurisdiction over
KIG.
If not, it would be a breach to 2 provisions of the UNCLOS III:
Art. 47 (3): ‘drawing of basepoints shall not depart to any appreciable extent from the general configuration of the
archipelago’.
Art 47 (2): the length of baselines shall not exceed 100 mm.
KIG and SS are far from our baselines, if we draw to include them, we’ll breach the rules: that it should follow the
natural configuration of the archipelago.

General Environmental Laws (Salient Features)

PD 1151 - Philippine Environmental Policy consistent with other essential considerations of
national policy, in promoting the general welfare to the
end that the nation may (a) recognize, discharge, and
Declares a continuing policy of the State (a) to
fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as trustee
create, develop, maintain, and improve conditions
and guardian of the environment for the succeeding
under which man and nature can thrive in productive
generations, (b) assure the people of a safe, decent,
and enjoyable harmony with each other, (b) to fulfill
helpful, productive, and aesthetic environment, (c)
the social, economic, and other requirements of
encourage the widest exploitation of the environment
present and future generations of Filipinos, (c) to
without degrading it, or endangering human life,
ensure the attainment of an environmental quality that
health, and safety or cr4eating conditions adverse to
is conducive to a life of dignity and well being
agriculture, commerce, and industry, (d) preserve
In pursuing this policy , it shall be the responsibility of important historic and cultural aspects of the Philippine
the government, in cooperation of concerned private heritage, (e) attain a rational and orderly balance
organizations and entities, to use all practicable means,

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between population and resource use, (f) improve the whenever a proposal involves the use of depletable or
utilization of renewable and nonrenewable resources. nonrenewable resources, a finding must be made that
such use and commitment are warranted.
In furtherance of these goals and policies, the
government recognizes the right of the people to a
healthful environment. It shall be the duty and
PD 1152- Philippine Environment Code
responsibility of each individual to contribute to the
preservation and enhancement of the Philippine
environment.
The broad spectrum of environment has become a
Pursuant to the above enunciated policies and goals, all matter of vital concern to the government
agencies and instrumentalities of the national
The national leadership has taken a step towards this
government, including all government owned and
direction by creating the National Environmental
controlled corporations as well as private corporations
Protection Council
and firms and entities shall prepare, file, and include in
every action, project, or undertaking which significantly It is necessary that the creation of the Council be
affects the quality of the environment a detailed complemented with the launching of comprehensive
statement on: program of environmental protection and management
the environmental impact of the proposed action, Such a program can assume tangible and meaningful
project, or undertaking; significance only by establishing specific environment
management policies and prescribing environment
any adverse environmental effect which cannot be
quality standards in a Philippine Environment Code
avoided should the proposal be implemented;
Provided a comprehensive program of environmental
alternative to the proposed action;
protection and management. The Code established
a determination that the short-term uses of the specific environment management policies and
resources of the environment are consistent with the prescribes environmental quality standards.
maintenance and enhancement of the long-term
To achieve and maintain such levels of air quality as to
productivity of the same; and
protect public health and to prevent to the greatest

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extent practicable, injury and/or damage to plant and whereby the exigencies of socio-economic
animal life and property, and promote the social and undertakings can be reconciled with the requirements
economic development of the country of environmental quality
Prescribe management guidelines to protect and The regulatory requirements of Environmental Impact
improve water quality through: classification of Statement and Assessments instituted in pursuit of this
Philippine waters, establishment of water quality national environmental protection program have to
standards, protection and improvement of the quality work into their full regulatory and procedural details in
of the Philippine water resources, and responsibilities a manner consistent with the goals of the program
for surveillance and mitigation of pollution incidents
Declared environmentally critical projects and areas
Set guidelines for waste management with a view to are required to obtain an Environmental Compliance
ensuring its effectiveness, encourage, promote and Certificate before operation
stimulate technological, educational, economic and
Environmentally Critical Projects includes heavy
social efforts to prevent environmental damage and
industries, resource extractive industries,
unnecessary loss of valuable resources of the nation
infrastructure projects, golf course projects
through recovery, recycling and re-use of wastes and
wastes products, and provide measures to guide and Characteristics of Environmentally Critical Areas:
encourage appropriate government agencies in
Areas declared by law as natural parks, watershed
establishing sound, efficient, comprehensive and
reserves, wildlife reserves, and sanctuaries
effective wastes management covering both solid and
liquid wastes Areas set aside as aesthetic, potential tourist spots
Areas which constitute the habitat for any endangered
or threatened species of indigenous Philippine wildlife
PD 1586 — Environmental Impact Statement
(flora and fauna)
System
Areas of unique historical, archeological, geological or
The pursuit of a comprehensive and integrated
scientific interests
environmental protection program necessitates the
establishment and institutionalization of a system

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Areas which are traditionally occupied by cultural Waterbodies
communities or tribes
Mangrove areas
Areas frequently visited and/or hard hit by natural
Coral reefs
calamities (geologic hazards, floods, typhoons, volcanic
activity, etc.) Violators shall be punished by the suspension of
cancellation of his/its certificate and or fine for each
Areas of critical slope
violation
Areas classified as prime agricultural lands
Recharged areas of aquifers

Boracay Foundation Inc. v. Province of Aklan

Ruling:
not sufficient to render the petition moot and academic,... as there are explicit conditions imposed that must be
complied with by respondent Province.
Sangguniang Barangay of Caticlan it is stated that "any vertical structures to be constructed shall be subject for
barangay endorsement... learly, what the barangay endorsed was the reclamation only, and not the... entire project
that includes the con
Clearly, what the barangay endorsed was the reclamation only, and not the... entire project that includes the
construction of a commercial building and wellness center, and other tourism-related facilities. Petitioner's
objections, as may be recalled, pertain not only to the reclamation per se, but also to the building to be constructed
and the entire... project's perceived ill effects to the surrounding environment.
petition should be dismissed for petitioner's failure to exhaust administrative remedies and even to observe the
hierarchy of courts
Section 6. Appeal

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Any party aggrieved by the final decision on the ECC / CNC applications may, within 15 days from receipt of such
decision, file an appeal on the following grounds:
Grave abuse of discretion on the part of the deciding authority, or
Serious errors in the review findings.
The DENR may adopt alternative conflict/dispute resolution procedures as a means to settle grievances between
proponents and aggrieved parties to avert unnecessary legal action. Frivolous appeals shall not be countenanced.
Respondents argue that since there is an administrative appeal provided for, then petitioner is duty bound to observe
the same and may not be granted recourse to the regular courts for its failure to do so.
We do not agree with respondents' appreciation of the applicability of the rule on exhaustion of administrative
remedies in this case.
Pagara v. Court of Appeals,... The rule regarding exhaustion of administrative remedies is not a hard and fast rule.
It is not applicable (1) where the question in dispute is purely a legal one, or (2) where the controverted act is
patently illegal or was performed without jurisdiction or... in excess of jurisdiction; or (3) where the respondent is a
department secretary, whose acts as an alter ego of the President bear the implied or assumed approval of the
latter, unless actually disapproved by him, or (4) where there are circumstances indicating the urgency of... judicial
intervention, - Gonzales vs. Hechanova, L-21897, October 22, 1963, 9 SCRA 230; Abaya vs. Villegas, L-25641,
December 17, 1966, 18 SCRA; Mitra vs. Subido, L-21691, September 15, 1967, 21 SCRA 127.
Said principle may also be disregarded when it does not provide a plain, speedy and adequate remedy,... 1)... or
where the protestant has no other recourse (Sta.
Maria vs. Lopez, 31 SCRA 637).
Petitioner had no other plain, speedy, or adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law to determine the questions
of unique national and local importance raised here that pertain to laws and rules for environmental protection, thus
it was justified in coming to this

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Court.
RA 9729
The Act acknowledges the Philippines’ vulnerability to climate change and the need for appropriate adaptation. It
creates a comprehensive framework for systematically integrating the concept of climate change, in synergy with
disaster risk reduction, in various phases of policy formulation, development plans, poverty reduction strategies and
other development tools and techniques.
The Act states the main principles of climate change policy: common but differentiated responsibilities; the
Precautionary Principle; UNFCCC objectives (GHG mitigation and adaptation), and the Hyogo Framework for Action
addressing disaster risk reduction. It adopts a gender-sensitive, pro-children and pro-poor approach.
The Act establishes the Climate Change Commission as the sole policy-making body within government, which
overseas, co-ordinates and evaluates climate change policies and plans. The commission is established under the
office of the President (abolishing the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change, established in 2007) and has a
diverse advisory board composed of government ministries and agencies.
The Act requires the Commission to draft several policies:
– A National Climate Change Framework, as a basis for research and action planning
– A detailed National Climate Change Action Plan
– A Local Climate Change Action Plan – guidelines developed by the Commission
Additional powers and functions include:
– Mainstreaming of climate change, in synergy with disaster risk reduction, into the national, sectoral and local
development plans and programmes and co-ordinating climate change programmes of national government agencies
– Recommending legislation, policies, strategies, programmes on adaptation and mitigation
– Recommending key development investments in climate-sensitive sectors such as water resources, agriculture,
forestry, coastal and marine resources, health and infrastructure
– Creating an enabling environment for the design of relevant and appropriate risk-sharing and risk-transfer
instruments and promotion of broader multi-stakeholder participation and integrate climate change mitigation and

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adaptation
– Representing the Philippines in the climate change negotiations
– Formulating and implementing guidelines for determining vulnerability to climate change impacts and adaptation
assessments
– Facilitating capacity building for local adaptation planning, implementation and monitoring of climate change
initiatives in vulnerable communities and areas.

Specific Environmental Laws

LAND
(I) RA 7586- National Integrated Protected Areas System Act
- see also RA 11038, expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act
Section 3. Categories. - The following categories of protected areas are hereby established:
a. Strict nature reserve;
b. Natural park;
c. Natural monument;
d. Wildlife sanctuary;
e. Protected landscapes and seascapes;
f. Resource reserve;
g. Natural biotic areas; and

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h. Other categories established by law, conventions or international agreements which the Philippine Government is
a signatory.

Section 4. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
a. "National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) " is the classification and administration of all designated
protected areas to maintain essential ecological processes and life-support systems, to preserve genetic diversity,
to ensure sustainable use of resources found therein, and to maintain their natural conditions to the greatest extent
possible;
b. "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;
c. "Buffer zones" are identified areas outside the boundaries of and immediately adjacent to designated protected
areas pursuant to Section 8 that need special development control in order to avoid or minimize harm to the
protected area;
d. "Indigenous cultural community" refers to a group of people sharing common bonds of language, customs,
traditions and other distinctive PRIME-M4 Page 3 of 12 cultural traits, and who have, since time immemorial,
occupied, possessed and utilized a territory;
e. "Natural park" refers to a forest reservation essentially of natural wilderness character which has been withdrawn
from settlement, occupancy or any form of exploitation except in conformity with approved management plan and
set aside as such exclusively to conserve the area or preserve the scenery, the natural and historic objects, wild
animals and plants therein and to provide enjoyment of these features in such areas:"Natural monument" is a
relatively small area focused on protection of small features to protect or preserve nationally significant natural
features on account of their special interest or unique characteristics;
f. "Natural monument" is a relatively small area focused on protection of small features to protect or preserve
nationally significant natural features on account of their special interest or unique characteristics;

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g. "Natural biotic area" is an area set aside to allow the way of life of societies living in harmony with the environment
to adapt to modern technology at their pace;
h. "Natural park" is a relatively large area not materially altered by human activity where extractive resource uses
are not allowed and maintained to protect outstanding natural and scenic areas of national or international
significance for scientific, educational and recreational use;
i. "Protected landscapes/seascapes" are areas of national significance which are characterized by the harmonious
interaction of man and land while providing opportunities for public enjoyment through recreation and tourism within
the normal lifestyle and economic activity of these areas;
j. "Resource reserve" is an extensive and relatively isolated and uninhabited area normally with difficult access
designated as such to protect natural resources of the area for future use and prevent or contain development
activities that could affect the resource pending the establishment of objectives which are based upon appropriate
knowledge and planning;
k. "Strict nature reserve" is an area possessing some outstanding ecosystem, features and/or species of flora and
fauna of national scientific importance maintained to protect nature and maintain processes in an undisturbed state
in order to have ecologically representative examples of the natural environment available for scientific study,
environmental monitoring, education, and for the maintenance of genetic resources in a dynamic and evolutionary
state;
l. "Tenured migrant communities" are communities within protected areas which have actually and continuously
occupied such areas for five (5) years before the designation of the same as protected areas in accordance with this
Act and are solely dependent therein for subsistence; and
m. "Wildlife sanctuary" comprises an area which assures the natural conditions necessary to protect nationally
significant species, groups of species, bio tic communities or physical features of the environment where these may
require specific human manipulation for the perpetuation.
Section 5. Establishment and Extent of the System. - The establishment and operationalization of the System
shall involve the following:

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a. All areas or islands in the Philippines proclaimed, designated or set aside, pursuant to a law, presidential decree,
presidential proclamation or executive order as national park, game refuge, bird and wildlife sanctuary, wilderness
area, strict nature reserve, watershed, mangrove reserve, fish sanctuary, natural and historical landmark, protected
and managed landscape/seascape as well as identified virgin forests before the effectivity of this Act are hereby
designated as initial components of the System. The initial components of the System shall be governed by existing
laws, rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this Act;
b. Within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act, the DENR shall submit to the Senate and the House of
Representatives a map and legal description or natural boundaries of each protected area initially comprising the
System. Such maps and legal descriptions shall, by virtue of this Act, constitute the official documentary
representation of the entire System, subject to such changes as Congress deems necessary;
c. All DENR records pertaining to said protected areas, including maps and legal descriptions or natural boundaries,
copies of rules and regulations governing them, copies of public notices of, and reports submitted to Congress
regarding pending additions, eliminations, or modifications shall be made available to the public. These legal
documents pertaining to protected areas shall also be available to the public in the respective DENR Regional Offices,
Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Offices (PENROs) and Community Environment and Natural Resources
Offices (CENROs) where NIPAS areas are located;
d. Within three (3) years from the effectivity of this Act, the DENR shall study and review each area tentatively
composing the System as to its suitability or nonsuitability for preservation as protected area and inclusion in the
System according to the categories established in Section 3 hereof and report its findings to the President as soon
as each study is completed. The study must include in each area:
A forest occupants survey;

An ethnographic study;

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A protected area resource profile;

Land use plans done in coordination with the respective Regional Development Councils; and

Such other background studies as will be sufficient bases for selection.

The DENR shall:

i. Notify the public of the proposed action through publication in a newspaper of general circulation, and such other
means as the System deems necessary in the area or areas in the vicinity of the affected land thirty (30) days prior
to the public hearing;
ii. Conduct public hearings at the locations nearest to the area affected;
iii. At least thirty (30) days prior to the date of hearing advise all local government units (LGUs) in the affected
areas, national agencies concerned, people's organizations and nongovernment organizations and invite such
officials to submit their views on the proposed action at the hearing not later than thirty (30) days following the date
of the hearing; and
iv. Give due consideration to the recommendations at the public hearing; and provide sufficient explanation for his
recommendations contrary to the general sentiments expressed in the public hearing;
(e) Upon receipt of the recommendations of the DENR, the President shall issue a presidential proclamation
designating the recommended areas as protected areas and providing for measures for their protection until
such time when Congress shall have enacted a law finally declaring such recommended areas as part of the
integrated protected area systems; and
(f) Thereafter, the President shall send to the Senate and the House of Representatives his recommendations with
respect to the designations as protected areas or reclassification of each area on which review has been completed,
together with maps and legal description of boundaries. The President, in his recommendation, may propose the

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alteration of existing boundaries of any or all proclaimed protected areas, addition of any contiguous area of public
land or predominant physical and biological value. Nothing contained herein shall limit the President to propose, as
part of his recommendation to Congress, additional areas which have not been designated or executive order as
protected area/s

PD 705 - Revised Forestry Code

Case: People v. Dator et al. (October 24, 2000)
Section 3. Definitions.
(a) Public forest is the mass of lands of the public domain which has not been the subject of the present system of
classification for the determination of which lands are needed for forest purposes and which are not.
(b) Permanent forest or forest reserves refer to those lands of the public domain which have been the subject of the
present system of classification and determined to be needed for forest purposes.
(c) Alienable and disposable lands refer to those lands of the public domain which have been the subject of the
present system of classification and declared as not needed for forest purposes.
(d) Forest lands include the public forest, the permanent forest or forest reserves, and forest reservations.
(e) Grazing land refers to that portion of the public domain which has been set aside, in view of the suitability of its
topography and vegetation, for the raising of livestock.
(f) Mineral lands refer to those lands of the public domain which have been classified as such by the Secretary of
Natural Resources in accordance with prescribed and approved criteria, guidelines and procedure.
(g) Forest reservations refer to forest lands which have been reserved by the President of the Philippines for any
specific purpose or purposes.

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(h) National park refers to a forest land reservation essentially of primitive or wilderness character which has been
withdrawn from settlement or occupancy and set aside as such exclusively to preserve the scenery, the natural and
historic objects and the wild animals or plants therein, and to provide enjoyment of these features in such a manner
as will leave them unimpaired for future generations.
(i) Game refuge or bird sanctuary refers to a forest land designated for the protection of game animals, birds and
fish and closed to hunting and fishing in order that the excess population may flow and restock surrounding areas.
(j) Marine parks refers to any off-shore area inhabited by rare and unique species of marine flora and fauna.
(k) Seashore park refers to any public shore area delimited for outdoor recreation, sports fishing, water skiing and
related healthful activities.
(l) Watershed reservation is a forest land reservation established to protect or improve the conditions of the water
yield thereof or reduce sedimentation.
(m) Watershed is a land area drained by a stream or fixed body of water and its tributaries having a common outlet
for surface run-off.
(n) Critical watershed is a drainage area of a river system supporting existing and proposed hydro-electric power
and irrigation works needing immediate rehabilitation as it is being subjected to a fast denudation causing
accelerated erosion and destructive floods. It is closed from logging until it is fully rehabilitated.
(o) Mangrove is a term applied to the type of forest occurring on tidal flat along the sea coast, extending along
streams where the water is brackish.
(p) Kaingin is a portion of the forest land, whether occupied or not, which is subjected to shifting and/or permanent
slash-and-burn cultivation having little or no provision to prevent soil erosion.
(q) Forest product means timber, pulpwood, firewood, bark, tree top, resin, gum, wood, oil, honey, beeswax, nipa,
rattan, or other forest growth such as grass, shrub, and flowering plant, the associated water, fish, game, scenic,
historical, recreational and geologic resources in forest lands.

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(r) Dipterocarp forest is a forest dominated by trees of the dipterocarp species, such as red lauan, tengile, tiaong,
white lauan, almon, bagtikan and mayapis of the Philippine mahogany group, apitong and the yakals.
(s) Pine forest is a forest composed of the Benguet Pine in the Mountain Provinces or the Mindoro pine in Mindoro
and Zambales provinces.
(t) Industrial tree plantation is any tract of forest land purposely and extensively planted to timber crops primarily
to supply the raw material requirements of existing or proposed processing plants and related industries.
(u) Tree farm refers to any tract of forest land purposely and extensively planted to trees of economic value for their
fruits, flowers, leaves, barks, or extractives, but not for the wood thereof.
(v) Multiple-use is the harmonized utilization of the numerous beneficial uses of the land, soil, water, wildlife,
recreation value, grass and timber of forest lands.
(w) Selective logging means the systematic removal of the mature, over-mature and defective trees in such manner
as to leave adequate number and volume of healthy residual trees of the desired species necessary to assure a
future crop of timber, and forest cover for the protection and conservation of soil and water.
(x) Seed tree system is partial clearcutting with seed trees left to regenerate the area.
(y) Healthy residual is a sound or slightly injured tree of the commercial species left after logging.
(z) Sustained-yield management implies continuous or periodic production of forest products in a working unit with
the aid of achieving at the earliest practicable time an approximate balance between growth and harvest or use.
This is generally applied to the commercial timber resources and is also applicable to the water, grass, wildlife, and
other renewable resources of the forest.
(aa) Processing plant is any mechanical set-up, machine or combination of machine used for the processing of logs
and other forest raw materials into lumber, veneer, plywood, wallboard, block-board, paper board, pulp, paper or
other finished wood products.

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(bb) Lease is a privilege granted by the State to a person to occupy and possess, in consideration of a specified
rental, any forest land of the public domain in order to undertake any authorized activity therein.
(cc) License is a privilege granted by the State to a person to utilize forest resources as in any forest land, without
any right of occupation and possession over the same, to the exclusion of others, or establish and operate a wood-
processing plant, or conduct any activity involving the utilization of any forest resources.
(dd) License agreement is a privilege granted by the State to a person to utilize forest resources within any forest
land with the right of possession and occupation thereof to the exclusion of others, except the government, but with
the corresponding obligation to develop, protect and rehabilitate the same in accordance with the terms and
conditions set forth in said agreement.
(ee) Permit is a short-term privilege or authority granted by the State to a person to utilize any limited forest
resources or undertake a limited activity with any forest land without any right of occupation and possession therein.
(ff) Annual allowable cut is the volume of materials, whether of wood or other forest products, that is authorized to
be cut regularly from the forest.
(gg) Cutting cycle is the number of years between major harvests in the same working unit and/or region, within a
rotation.
(hh) Ecosystem means the ecological community considered together with non-living factors and its environment as
a unit.
(ii) Silviculture is the establishment, development reproduction and care of forest trees.
(jj) Rationalization is the organization of a business or industry using scientific business management principles and
simplified procedures to obtain greater efficiency of operation.
(kk) Forest officer means any official or employee of the Bureau who, by the nature of his appointment or the
function of the position to which he is appointed, is delegated by law or by competent authority to execute,
implement or enforce the provisions of this Code, other related laws, as well as their implementing regulations.

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(ll) Primitive tribe is a group of endemic tribe living primitively as a distinct portion of a people from a common
ancestor.
(mm) Private right means or refers to titled rights of ownership under existing laws, and in the case of primitive
tribes, to rights of possession existing at the time a license is granted under this Code, which possession may include
places of abode and worship, burial grounds, and old clearings, but excludes production forest inclusive of logged-
over areas, commercial forests and established plantations of forest trees and trees of economic value.
(nn) Person includes natural as well as juridical person.
Section 68. Cutting, gathering and/or collecting timber or other products without license. Any person who shall cut,
gather, collect, or remove timber or other forest products from any forest land, or timber from alienable and
disposable public lands, or from private lands, without any authority under a license agreement, lease, license or
permit, shall be guilty of qualified theft as defined and punished under Articles 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal
Code; Provided, That in the case of partnership, association or corporation, the officers who ordered the cutting,
gathering or collecting shall be liable, and if such officers are aliens, they shall, in addition to the penalty, be deported
without further proceedings on the part of the Commission on Immigration and Deportation.
The Court shall further order the confiscation in favor of the government of the timber or forest products to cut,
gathered, collected or removed, and the machinery, equipment, implements and tools used therein, and the
forfeiture of his improvements in the area.
The same penalty plus cancellation of his license agreement, lease, license or permit and perpetual disqualification
from acquiring any such privilege shall be imposed upon any licensee, lessee, or permittee who cuts timber from
the licensed or leased area of another, without prejudice to whatever civil action the latter may bring against the
offender.

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PD 1529- Property Registration Act (3.1) CA 141- Public Land Act

. APPLICATIONS
Section 14. Who may apply. The following persons may file in the proper Court of First Instance an application for
registration of title to land, whether personally or through their duly authorized representatives:
(1) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive
and notorious possession and occupation of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain under a bona fide
claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, or earlier.
(2) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands by prescription under the provision of existing laws.

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(3) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned river beds by right of accession or accretion
under the existing laws.
(4) Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other manner provided for by law.
Where the land is owned in common, all the co-owners shall file the application jointly.
Where the land has been sold under pacto de retro, the vendor a retro may file an application for the original
registration of the land, provided, however, that should the period for redemption expire during the pendency of the
registration proceedings and ownership to the property consolidated in the vendee a retro, the latter shall be
substituted for the applicant and may continue the proceedings.
A trustee on behalf of his principal may apply for original registration of any land held in trust by him, unless
prohibited by the instrument creating the trust.
Section 15. Form and contents. The application for land registration shall be in writing, signed by the application
or the person duly authorized in his behalf, and sworn to before any officer authorized to administer oaths for the
province or city where the application was actually signed. If there is more than one applicant, the application shall
be signed and sworn to by and in behalf of each. The application shall contain a description of the land and shall
state the citizenship and civil status of the applicant, whether single or married, and, if married, the name of the
wife or husband, and, if the marriage has been legally dissolved, when and how the marriage relation terminated.
It shall also state the full names and addresses of all occupants of the land and those of the adjoining owners, if
known, and, if not known, it shall state the extent of the search made to find them.

RA 6657- Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program

RA 9003 — Ecological Solid Waste Management Act
Section 2. Declaration of Policies - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to adopt a systematic, comprehensive
and ecological solid waste management program which shall:

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(a) Ensure the protection of the public health and environment;
(b) Utilize environmentally-sound methods that maximize the utilization of valuable resources and encourage
resource conservation and recovery;
(c) Set guidelines and targets for solid waste avoidance and volume reduction through source reduction and waste
minimization measures, including composting, recycling, re-use, recovery, green charcoal process, and others,
before collection, treatment and disposal in appropriate and environmentally sound solid waste management
facilities in accordance with ecologically sustainable development principles;
(d) Ensure the proper segregation, collection, transport, storage, treatment and disposal of solid waste through the
formulation and adoption of the best environmental practice in ecological waste management excluding incineration;
(e) Promote national research and development programs for improved solid waste management and resource
conservation techniques, more effective institutional arrangement and indigenous and improved methods of waste
reduction, collection, separation and recovery;
(f) Encourage greater private sector participation in solid waste management;
(g) Retain primary enforcement and responsibility of solid waste management with local government units while
establishing a cooperative effort among the national government, other local government units, non- government
organizations, and the private sector;
(h) Encourage cooperation and self-regulation among waste generators through the application of market-based
instruments;
(i) Institutionalize public participation in the development and implementation of national and local integrated,
comprehensive, and ecological waste management programs; and
(j) Strength the integration of ecological solid waste management and resource conservation and recovery topics
into the academic curricula of formal and non-formal education in order to promote environmental awareness and
action among the citizenry.

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Article 2
Definition of Terms
Section 3. Definition of Terms - For the purposes of this Act:
(a) Agricultural waste shall refer to waste generated from planting or harvesting of crops, trimming or pruning of
plants and wastes or run-off materials from farms or fields;
(b) Bulky wastes shall refer to waste materials which cannot be appropriately placed in separate containers because
of either its bulky size, shape or other physical attributes. These include large worn-out or broken household,
commercial, and industrial items such as furniture, lamps, bookcases, filing cabinets, and other similar items;
(c) Bureau shall refer to the Environmental Management Bureau;
(d) Buy-back center shall refer to a recycling center that purchases of otherwise accepts recyclable materials from
the public for the purpose of recycling such materials;
(e) Collection shall refer to the act of removing solid waste from the source or from a communal storage point;
(f) Composting shall refer to the controlled decomposition of organic matter by micro-organisms, mainly bacteria
and fungi, into a humus-like product;
(g) Consumer electronics shall refer to special waste that includes worn-out, broken, and other discarded items such
as radios, stereos, and TV sets;
(h) Controlled dump shall refer to a disposal site at which solid waste is deposited in accordance with the minimum
prescribed standards of site operation;
(i) Department shall refer to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources;
(j) Disposal shall refer to the discharge, deposit, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of any solid waste into or in
an land;
(k) Disposal site shall refer to a site where solid waste is finally discharged and deposited;

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(l) Ecological solid waste management shall refer to the systematic administration of activities which provide for
segregation at source, segregated transportation, storage, transfer, processing, treatment, and disposal of solid
waste and all other waste management activities which do not harm the environment;
(m) Environmentally acceptable shall refer to the quality of being re-usable, biodegradable or compostable,
recyclable and not toxic or hazardous to the environment;
(n) Generation shall refer to the act or process of producing solid waste;
(o) Generator shall refer to a person, natural or juridical, who last uses a material and makes it available for disposal
or recycling;
(p) Hazardous waste shall refer to solid waste management or combination of solid waste which because of its
quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may:
(1) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating
reversible, illness; or
(2) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated,
stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed;
(q) Leachate shall refer to the liquid produced when waste undergo decomposition, and when water percolate
through solid waste undergoing decomposition. It is contaminated liquid that contains dissolved and suspended
materials;
(r) Materials recovery facility - includes a solid waste transfer station or sorting station, drop-off center, a composting
facility, and a recycling facility;
(s) Municipal waste shall refer to wastes produced from activities within local government units which include a
combination of domestic, commercial, institutional and industrial wastes and street litters;
(t) Open dump shall refer to a disposal area wherein the solid wastes are indiscriminately thrown or disposed of
without due planning and consideration for environmental and Health standards;

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(u) Opportunity to recycle shall refer to the act of providing a place for collecting source-separated recyclable
material, located either at a disposal site or at another location more convenient to the population being served, and
collection at least once a month of source-separated recyclable material from collection service customers and to
providing a public education and promotion program that gives notice to each person of the opportunity to recycle
and encourage source separation of recyclable material;
(v) Person(s) shall refer to any being, natural or judicial, susceptible of rights and obligations, or of being the subject
of legal relations;
(w) Post-consumer material shall refer only to those materials or products generated by a business or consumer
which have served their intended end use, and which have been separated or diverted from solid waste for the
purpose of being collected, processed and used as a raw material in the manufacturing of recycled product, excluding
materials and by-products generated from, and by-products generated from, and commonly used within an original
manufacturing process, such as mill scrap;
(x) Receptacles shall refer to individual containers used for the source separation and the collection of recyclable
materials;
(y) Recovered material shall refer to material and by products that have been recovered or diverted from solid waste
for the purpose of being collected, processed and used as a raw material in the manufacture of a recycled product;
(z) Recyclable material shall refer to any waste material retrieved from the waste stream and free from
contamination that can still be converted into suitable beneficial use or for other purposes, including, but not limited
to, newspaper, ferrous scrap metal, non-ferrous scrap metal, used oil, corrugated cardboard, aluminum, glass, office
paper, tin cans and other materials as may be determined by the Commission;
(aa) Recycled material shall refer to post-consumer material that has been recycled and returned to the economy;
(bb) Recycling shall refer to the treating of used or waste materials through a process of making them suitable for
beneficial use and for other purposes, and includes any process by which solid waste materials are transformed into
new products in such a manner that the original product may lose their identity, and which maybe used as raw

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materials for the production of other goods or services: Provided, That the collection, segregation and re-use of
previously used packaging material shall be deemed recycling under this Act;
(cc) Resource conversation shall refer to the reduction of the amount of solid waste that are generated or the
reduction of overall resource consumption, and utilization of recovered resources;
(dd) Resources recovery shall refer to the collection, extraction or recovery of recyclable materials from the waste
stream for the purpose of recycling, generating energy or producing a product suitable for beneficial use: Provided,
That such resource recovery facilities exclude incineration;
(ee) Re-use shall refer to the process of recovering materials intended for the same or different purpose without the
alteration of physical and chemical characteristics;
(ff) Sanitary landfill shall refer to a waste disposal site designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner
that exerts engineering control over significant potential environment impacts arising from the development and
operation of the facility;
(gg) Schedule of Compliance shall refer to an enforceable sequence of actions or operations to be accomplished
within a stipulated time frame leading to compliance with a limitation, prohibition or standard set forth in this Act or
any rule of regulation issued pursuant thereto;
(hh) Secretary landfill shall refer to the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources;
(ii) Segregation shall refer to a solid waste management practice of separating different materials found in solid
waste in order to promote recycling and re-use of resources and to reduce the volume of waste for collection and
disposal;
(jj) Segregation at source shall refer to a solid waste management practice of separating, at the point of origin,
different materials found in solid waste in order to promote recycling and re-use of resources and to reduce the
volume of waste for collection and disposal;
(kk) Solid waste shall refer to all discarded household, commercial waste, non-hazardous institutional and industrial
waste, street sweepings, construction debris, agricultural waste, and other non-hazardous/non-toxic solid waste.

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Unless specifically noted otherwise, the term "solid waste" as used in this Act shall not include:
(1) Waste identified or listed as hazardous waste of a solid, liquid, contained gaseous or semisolid form which may
cause or contribute to an increase in mortality or in serious or incapacitating reversible illness, or acute/chronic
effect on the health of persons and other organisms;
(2) Infectious waste from hospitals such as equipment, instruments, utensils, and fomites of a disposable nature
from patients who are suspected to have or have been diagnosed as having communicable diseases and must
therefore be isolated as required by public health agencies, laboratory wastes such as pathological specimens (i.e.
all tissues, specimens of blood elements, excreta, and secretions obtained from patients or laboratory animals) and
disposable fomites that may harbor or transmit pathogenic organisms, and surgical operating room pathologic
materials from outpatient areas and emergency rooms; and
(3) Waste resulting from mining activities, including contaminated soil and debris.
(ll) Solid waste management shall refer to the discipline associated with the control of generation, storage, collection,
transfer and transport, processing, and disposal of solid wastes in a manner that is in accord with the best principles
of public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics, and other environmental considerations, and that
is also responsive to public attitudes;
(mm) Solid waste management facility shall refer to any resource recovery system or component thereof; any
system, program, or facility for resource conservation; any facility for the collection, source separation, storage,
transportation, transfer, processing, treatment, or disposal of solid waste;
(nn) Source reduction shall refer to the reduction of solid waste before it enters the solid waste stream by methods
such as product design, materials substitution, materials re-use and packaging restrictions;
(oo) Source separation shall refer to the sorting of solid waste into some or all of its component parts at the point
of generation;
(pp) Special wastes shall refer to household hazardous wastes such as paints, thinners, household batteries, lead-
acid batteries, spray canisters and the like. These include wastes from residential and commercial sources that

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comprise of bulky wastes, consumer electronics, white goods, yard wastes that are collected separately, batteries,
oil, and tires. These wastes are usually handled separately from other residential and commercial wastes;
(qq) Storage shall refer to the interim containment of solid wastes after generation and prior to collection for ultimate
recovery or disposal;
(rr) Transfer stations shall refer to those facilities utilized to receive solid wastes, temporarily store, separate,
convert, or otherwise process the materials in the solid wastes, or to transfer the solid wastes directly from smaller
to larger vehicles for transport. This term does not include any of the following:
(1) a facility whose principal function is to receive, store, separate, convert or otherwise process in accordance with
national minimum standards, manure;
(2) a facility, whose principal function is to receive, store, convert, or otherwise process wastes which have already
been separated for re-use and are intended for disposals, and
(3) the operations premises of a duly licensed solid waste handling operator who is receives, stores, transfers, or
otherwise processes wastes as an activity incidental to the conduct of a refuse collection and disposal business.
(ss) Waste diversion shall refer to activities which reduce or eliminate the amount of solid waste from waste disposal
facilities;
(tt) White goods shall refer to large worn-out or broken household, commercial, and industrial appliances such as
stoves, refrigerators, dishwashers, and clothes washers and dryers collected separately. White goods ate usually
dismantled for the recovery of specific materials (e.g., copper, aluminum, etc.);
(uu) Yard waste shall refer to wood, small or chipped branches, leaves, grass clippings, garden debris, vegetable
residue that is recognized as part of a plant or vegetable and other materials identified by the Commission.
Basic land classification (Private and Public Agricultural Land) Regalian Doctrine, CONST., Article 12, Sections 2-3
SECTION 2. All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of
potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the

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State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated. The exploration,
development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State. The
State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing
agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned
by such citizens. Such agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more
than twenty-five years, and under such terms and conditions as may be provided by law. In cases of water rights
for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of water power, beneficial use
may be the measure and limit of the grant.
The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic
zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.
The Congress may, by law, allow small-scale utilization of natural resources by Filipino citizens, as well as cooperative
fish farming, with priority to subsistence fishermen and fishworkers in rivers, lakes, bays, and lagoons.
The President may enter into agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving either technical or financial
assistance for large-scale exploration, development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum, and other mineral oils
according to the general terms and conditions provided by law, based on real contributions to the economic growth
and general welfare of the country. In such agreements, the State shall promote the development and use of local
scientific and technical resources.
The President shall notify the Congress of every contract entered into in accordance with this provision, within thirty
days from its execution.
SECTION 3. Lands of the public domain are classified into agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands, and national
parks. Agricultural lands of the public domain may be further classified by law according to the uses which they may
be devoted. Alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to agricultural lands. Private corporations or
associations may not hold such alienable lands of the public domain except by lease, for a period not exceeding
twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and not to exceed one thousand hectares in area.
Citizens of the Philippines may lease not more than five hundred hectares, or acquire not more than twelve hectares
thereof by purchase, homestead, or grant.

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Taking into account the requirements of conservation, ecology, and development, and subject to the requirements
of agrarian reform, the Congress shall determine, by law, the size of lands of the public domain which may be
acquired, developed, held, or leased and the conditions therefor.

Heirs ofMalabanan v. Republic, G.R. No. 179987, September 3, 2013

FACTS:
Mario Malabanan filed an application for land registration covering the property he purchased from Eduardo Velazco,
claiming that the property formed part of the alienable and disposable land of the public domain, and that he and
his predecessors-in-interest had been in open, continuous, uninterrupted, public and adverse possession and
occupation of the land for more than 30 years, thereby entitling him to the judicial confirmation of his title.
The application was granted by the RTC. However, the OSG for the Republic appealed the judgment to the CA, which
reversed the RTC Judgment.
Due to Malabanan’s intervening demise during the appeal in the CA, his heirs elevated the said decision to this Court
through a petition for review on certiorari.
The petition was denied.
Petitioners and the Republic filed Motions for Reconsideration.

ISSUE:
What are the classifications of public lands?
Whether or not petitioners were able to prove that the property was an alienable and disposable land of the public
domain.

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RULING:
1.
Classifications of land according to ownership.
Land, which is an immovable property, may be classified as either of public dominion or of private ownership. Land
is considered of public dominion if it either:
(a) is intended for public use; or
(b) belongs to the State, without being for public use, and is intended for some public service or for the development
of the national wealth.
Land belonging to the State that is not of such character, or although of such character but no longer intended for
public use or for public service forms part of the patrimonial property of the State. Land that is other than part of
the patrimonial property of the State, provinces, cities and municipalities is of private ownership if it belongs to a
private individual.
Pursuant to the Regalian Doctrine (Jura Regalia), a legal concept first introduced into the country from the West by
Spain through the Laws of the Indies and the Royal Cedulas, all lands of the public domain belong to the State. This
means that the State is the source of any asserted right to ownership of land, and is charged with the conservation
of such patrimony.
All lands not appearing to be clearly under private ownership are presumed to belong to the State. Also, public lands
remain part of the inalienable land of the public domain unless the State is shown to have reclassified or alienated
them to private persons.
A positive act of the Government is necessary to enable such reclassification, and the exclusive prerogative to classify
public lands under existing laws is vested in the Executive Department, not in the courts. If, however, public land
will be classified as neither agricultural, forest or timber, mineral or national park, or when public land is no longer
intended for public service or for the development of the national wealth, thereby effectively removing the land from
the ambit of public dominion, a declaration of such conversion must be made in the form of a law duly enacted by

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Congress or by a Presidential proclamation in cases where the President is duly authorized by law to that effect.
Thus, until the Executive Department exercises its prerogative to classify or reclassify lands, or until Congress or
the President declares that the State no longer intends the land to be used for public service or for the development
of national wealth, the Regalian Doctrine is applicable.
2.
Petitioners failed to present sufficient evidence to establish that they and their predecessors-in-interest had been in
possession of the land since June 12, 1945. Without satisfying the requisite character and period of possession –
possession and occupation that is open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious since June 12, 1945, or earlier – the
land cannot be considered ipso jure converted to private property even upon the subsequent declaration of it as
alienable and disposable.
Prescription never began to run against the State, such that the land has remained ineligible for registration under
Section 14(1) of the Property Registration Decree. Likewise, the land continues to be ineligible for land registration
under Section 14(2) of the Property Registration Decree unless Congress enacts a law or the President issues a
proclamation declaring the land as no longer intended for public service or for the development of the national
wealth.

DENR v. Yap, G.R. No. 167707, October 8, 2008

FACTS: On November 10, 1978, then President Marcos issued Proc. No. 1801declaring Boracay Island, among
other islands, caves and peninsulas in the Philippines, as tourist zones and marine reserves under the
administration of the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA). President Marcos later approved the issuance of PTA
Circular 3-82 dated September 3, 1982, to implement Proclamation No. 1801.
Claiming that Proclamation No. 1801 and PTA Circular No 3-82 precluded them from filing an application for judicial
confirmation of imperfect title or survey of land for titling purposes, respondents-claimants Mayor . Yap, Jr., and
others filed a petition for declaratory relief with the RTC in Kalibo, Aklan

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In their petition, respondents-claimants alleged that Proc. No. 1801 and PTA Circular No. 3-82 raised doubts on their
right to secure titles over their occupied lands. They declared that they themselves, or through their predecessors-
in-interest, had been in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation in Boracay since June
12, 1945, or earlier since time immemorial. They declared their lands for tax purposes and paid realty taxes on
them. Respondents-claimants posited that Proclamation No. 1801 and its implementing Circular did not place
Boracay beyond the commerce of man. Since the Island was classified as a tourist zone, it was susceptible of private
ownership. Under Section 48(b) of the Public Land Act, they had the right to have the lots registered in their names
through judicial confirmation of imperfect titles.
The Republic, through the OSG, opposed the petition for declaratory relief. The OSG countered that Boracay Island
was an unclassified land of the public domain. It formed part of the mass of lands classified as “public forest,”
which was not available for disposition pursuant to Section 3(a) of the Revised Forestry Code, as amended. The
OSG maintained that respondents-claimants’ reliance on PD No. 1801 and PTA Circular No. 3-82 was
misplaced. Their right to judicial confirmation of title was governed by Public Land Act and Revised Forestry Code, as
amended. Since Boracay Island had not been classified as alienable and disposable, whatever possession they had
cannot ripen into ownership.
On July 14, 1999, the RTC rendered a decision in favor of respondents-claimants, declaring that, “PD 1810 and PTA
Circular No. 3-82 Revised Forestry Code, as amended.
The OSG moved for reconsideration but its motion was denied. The Republic then appealed to the CA. On In 2004,
the appellate court affirmed in toto the RTC decision. Again, the OSG sought reconsideration but it was similarly
denied. Hence, the present petition under Rule 45.
On May 22, 2006, during the pendency the petition in the trial court, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued
Proclamation No. 1064 classifying Boracay Island partly reserved forest land (protection purposes) and partly
agricultural land (alienable and disposable).
On August 10, 2006, petitioners-claimants Sacay,and other landowners in Boracay filed with this Court an original
petition for prohibition, mandamus, and nullification of Proclamation No. 1064. They allege that the Proclamation

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infringed on their “prior vested rights” over portions of Boracay. They have been in continued possession of their
respective lots in Boracay since time immemorial.
On November 21, 2006, this Court ordered the consolidation of the two petitions
ISSUE: the main issue is whether private claimants have a right to secure titles over their occupied portions in
Boracay.

HELD: petitions DENIED. The CA decision is reversed.

Except for lands already covered by existing titles, Boracay was an unclassified land of the public domain
prior to Proclamation No. 1064. Such unclassified lands are considered public forest under PD No. 705.
PD No. 705 issued by President Marcos categorized all unclassified lands of the public domain as public
forest. Section 3(a) of PD No. 705 defines a public forest as “a mass of lands of the public domain which has not
been the subject of the present system of classification for the determination of which lands are needed for forest
purpose and which are not.” Applying PD No. 705, all unclassified lands, including those in Boracay Island, are ipso
factoconsidered public forests. PD No. 705, however, respects titles already existing prior to its effectivity.
The 1935 Constitution classified lands of the public domain into agricultural, forest or timber, such classification
modified by the 1973 Constitution. The 1987 Constitution reverted to the 1935 Constitution classification with one
addition: national parks. Of these, only agricultural lands may be alienated.Prior to Proclamation No. 1064 of May
22, 2006, Boracay Island had never been expressly and administratively classified under any of these grand
divisions. Boracay was an unclassified land of the public domain.
A positive act declaring land as alienable and disposable is required. In keeping with the presumption of
State ownership, the Court has time and again emphasized that there must be a positive act of the
government, such as a presidential proclamation or an executive order; an administrative action; investigation
reports of Bureau of Lands investigators; and a legislative act or a statute. The applicant may also secure a
certification from the government that the land claimed to have been possessed for the required number of years is

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alienable and disposable. The burden of proof in overcoming such presumption is on the person applying for
registration (or claiming ownership), who must prove that the land subject of the application is alienable or
disposable.
In the case at bar, no such proclamation, executive order, administrative action, report, statute, or certification was
presented to the Court. The records are bereft of evidence showing that, prior to 2006, the portions of Boracay
occupied by private claimants were subject of a government proclamation that the land is alienable and
disposable. Matters of land classification or reclassification cannot be assumed. They call for proof.
Proc. No. 1801 cannot be deemed the positive act needed to classify Boracay Island as alienable and disposable
land. If President Marcos intended to classify the island as alienable and disposable or forest, or both, he would
have identified the specific limits of each, as President Arroyo did in Proclamation No. 1064. This was not done in
Proclamation No. 1801.
NOTES:
1. Private claimants’ reliance on Ankron and De Aldecoa is misplaced. Ankron and De Aldecoa were decided at a
time when the President of the Philippines had no power to classify lands of the public domain into mineral, timber,
and agricultural. At that time, the courts were free to make corresponding classifications in justiciable cases, or
were vested with implicit power to do so, depending upon the preponderance of the evidence. Act No. 2874,
promulgated in 1919 and reproduced in Section 6 of Public Land Act, gave the Executive Department, through the
President, the exclusiveprerogative to classify or reclassify public lands into alienable or disposable, mineral or
forest. Since then, courts no longer had the authority, whether express or implied, to determine the classification of
lands of the public domain.
2. Each case must be decided upon the proof in that particular case, having regard for its present or
future value for one or the other purposes. We believe, however, considering the fact that it is a matter of
public knowledge that a majority of the lands in the Philippine Islands are agricultural lands that the courts have a
right to presume, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that in each case the lands are agricultural lands until
the contrary is shown. Whatever the land involved in a particular land registration case is forestry or

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mineral land must, therefore, be a matter of proof. Its superior value for one purpose or the other is a
question of fact to be settled by the proof in each particular case
Forests, in the context of both the Public Land Act and the Constitutionclassifying lands of the public domain into
“agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands, and national parks,” do not necessarily refer to large tracts of wooded
land or expanses covered by dense growths of trees and underbrushes. The discussion in Heirs of Amunategui v.
Director of Forestryis particularly instructive:
A forested area classified as forest land of the public domain does not lose such classification simply because loggers
or settlers may have stripped it of its forest cover. Parcels of land classified as forest land may actually be covered
with grass or planted to crops by kaingin cultivators or other farmers. “Forest lands” do not have to be on mountains
or in out of the way places. Swampy areas covered by mangrove trees, nipa palms, and other trees growing in
brackish or sea water may also be classified as forest land. The classification is descriptive of its legal nature
or status and does not have to be descriptive of what the land actually looks like. Unless and until the land
classified as “forest” is released in an official proclamation to that effect so that it may form part of the disposable
agricultural lands of the public domain, the rules on confirmation of imperfect title do not apply.
There is a big difference between “forest” as defined in a dictionary and “forest or timber land” as a classification of
lands of the public domain as appearing in our statutes. One is descriptive of what appears on the land while the
other is a legal status, a classification for legal purposes. At any rate, the Court is tasked to determine
the legal status of Boracay Island, and not look into its physical layout. Hence, even if its forest cover has been
replaced by beach resorts, restaurants and other commercial establishments, it has not been automatically
converted from public forest to alienable agricultural land.
3. All is not lost, however, for private claimants. While they may not be eligible to apply for judicial confirmation
of imperfect title under Section 48(b) of CA No. 141, as amended, this does not denote their automatic ouster from
the residential, commercial, and other areas they possess now classified as agricultural. Neither will this mean the
loss of their substantial investments on their occupied alienable lands. Lack of title does not necessarily mean lack
of right to possess.

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For one thing, those with lawful possession may claim good faith as builders of improvements. They can take steps
to preserve or protect their possession. For another, they may look into other modes of applying for original
registration of title, such as by homestead or sales patent, subject to the conditions imposed by law.
More realistically, Congress may enact a law to entitle private claimants to acquire title to their occupied lots or to
exempt them from certain requirements under the present land laws. There is one such bill now pending in the
House of Representatives.
S

Cruz v. NCIP (C.R. No. 135385. December 6, 2000)

FACTS:
Petitioners Isagani Cruz and Cesar Europa filed a suit for prohibition and mandamus as citizens and taxpayers,
assailing the constitutionality of certain provisions of Republic Act No. 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous
People’s Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA) and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR). The petitioners assail certain
provisions of the IPRA and its IRR on the ground that these amount to an unlawful deprivation of the State’s
ownership over lands of the public domain as well as minerals and other natural resources therein, in violation of
the regalian doctrine embodied in section 2, Article XII of the Constitution.

ISSUE:
Do the provisions of IPRA contravene the Constitution?

HELD:

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No, the provisions of IPRA do not contravene the Constitution. Examining the IPRA, there is nothing in the law that
grants to the ICCs/IPs ownership over the natural resources within their ancestral domain. Ownership over the
natural resources in the ancestral domains remains with the State and the rights granted by the IPRA to the ICCs/IPs
over the natural resources in their ancestral domains merely gives them, as owners and occupants of the land on
which the resources are found, the right to the small scale utilization of these resources, and at the same time, a
priority in their large scale development and exploitation.

Additionally, ancestral lands and ancestral domains are not part of the lands of the public domain. They are private
lands and belong to the ICCs/IPs by native title, which is a concept of private land title that existed irrespective of
any royal grant from the State. However, the right of ownership and possession by the ICCs/IPs of their ancestral
domains is a limited form of ownership and does not include the right to alienate the same.

Director-I-MB v. CA (9324 SCRA 757)

Republic v. (197 SCRA 13)
The most basic rule in land registration cases is that "no person is entitled to have land registered under the Cadastral
or Torrens system unless he is the owner in fee simple of the same, even though there is no opposition presented
against such registration by third persons. . . . In order that the petitioner for the registration of his land shag be
permitted to have the same registered, and to have the benefit resulting from the certificate of title, finally, issued,
the burden is upon him to show that he is the real and absolute owner, in fee simple." 9
Equally basic is the rule that no public land can be acquired by private persons without any grant, express or implied,
from government. A grant is conclusively presumed by law when the claimant, by himself or through his
predecessors-in-interest, has occupied the land openly, continuously, exclusively, and under a claim of title since
July 26, 189410 or prior thereto.11

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The doctrine upon which these rules are based is that all lands that were not acquired from the government, either
by purchase or by grant, belong to the public domain. As enunciated in the case of Santiago vs. de los Santos:12
. . . Both under the 1935 and the present Constitutions, the conservation no less than the utilization of the natural
resources is ordained. There would be a failure to abide by its command if the judiciary does not scrutinize with care
applications to private ownership of real estate. To be granted, they must be grounded in well-nigh incontrovertible
evidence. Where, as in this case, no such proof would be forthcoming, there is no justification for viewing such claim
with favor. It is a basic assumption of our polity that lands of whatever classification belong to the state. Unless
alienated in accordance with law, it retains its rights over the same as dominus . . .
Based on the foregoing, it is incumbent upon private respondent to prove that the alleged twenty year or more
possession of the spouses Urbano Diaz and Bernarda Vinluan which supposedly formed part of the thirty (30) year
period prior to the filing of the application, was open, continuous, exclusive, notorious and in concept of owners.
This burden, private respondent failed to discharge to the satisfaction of the Court. The bare assertion that the
spouses Urbano Diaz and Bernarda Vinluan had been in possession of the property for more than twenty (20) years
found in private respondent's declaration is hardly the "well-nigh incontrovertible" evidence required in cases of this
nature. Private respondent should have presented specific facts that would have shown the nature of such
possession. The phrase "adverse, continuous, open, public, peaceful and in concept of owner" by which she described
her own possession in relation to that of her predecessors-in-interest are mere conclusions of law which require
factual support and substantiation.
That the representing fiscal did not cross-examine her on this point does not help her cause because the burden is
upon her to prove by clear, positive and absolute evidence that her predecessors' possession was indeed adverse,
continuous, open, public, peaceful and in concept of owner.1âwphi1 Her bare allegation, without more, did not
constitute such preponderant evidence that would shift the burden of proof to the oppositor.
Neither does the supposition that the fiscal had knowledge of facts showing that the land applied for is private land
helpful to private respondent. Suffice it to say that it is not the fiscal, but the court which should be convinced, by
competent proof, of private respondent's registerable right over the subject parcel of land.

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Private respondent having failed to prove by convincing, positive proof that she has complied with the requirements
of the law for confirmation of her title to the land applied for, it was grave error on the part of the lower court to
have granted her application.

Central Mindanao University v. Executive Secretary (September 21, 2010)

Constitutionality; Presidential Proclamation 310; inalienable lands. The Court declared as unconstitutional
Presidential Proclamation 310, which took 670 hectares from petitioner’s registered lands for distribution to
indigenous peoples and cultural communities, on the basis that such lands are inalienable, being part of the functions
of an educational institution. It did not matter that it was President Arroyo who, in this case, attempted by
proclamation to appropriate the lands for distribution to indigenous peoples and cultural communities. The lands by
their character have become inalienable from the moment President Garcia dedicated them for petitioner’s use in
scientific and technological research in the field of agriculture. They have ceased to be alienable public
lands. Central Mindanao University, etc. vs. The Hon. Executive Secretary, et al. G.R. No. 184869, September 21,
2010.

CREBA v. Secretary of Agrarian Reform, G.R. No. 183409. June 18, 2010
Executive Order No. 129-A37 vested upon the DAR the responsibility of implementing the CARP. Pursuant to the said
mandate and to ensure the successful implementation of the CARP, Section 5(c) of the said executive order
authorized the DAR to establish and promulgate operational policies, rules and regulations and priorities for agrarian
reform implementation. Section 4(k) thereof authorized the DAR to approve or disapprove the conversion,
restructuring or readjustment of agricultural lands into non-agricultural uses. Similarly, Section 5(l) of the same
executive order has given the DAR the exclusive authority to approve or disapprove conversion of agricultural lands
for residential, commercial, industrial, and other land uses as may be provided for by law. Section 7 of the aforesaid

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executive order clearly provides that "the authority and responsibility for the exercise of the mandate of the [DAR]
and the discharge of its powers and functions shall be vested in the Secretary of Agrarian Reform x x x."
Under DAR AO No. 01-02, as amended, "lands not reclassified as residential, commercial, industrial or other non-
agricultural uses before 15 June 1988" have been included in the definition of agricultural lands. In so doing, the
Secretary of Agrarian Reform merely acted within the scope of his authority stated in the aforesaid sections of
Executive Order No. 129-A, which is to promulgate rules and regulations for agrarian reform implementation and
that includes the authority to define agricultural lands for purposes of land use conversion. Further, the definition of
agricultural lands under DAR AO No. 01-02, as amended, merely refers to the category of agricultural lands that
may be the subject for conversion to non-agricultural uses and is not in any way confined to agricultural lands in
the context of land redistribution as provided for under Republic Act No. 6657.
More so, Department of Justice Opinion No. 44, Series of 1990, which Opinion has been recognized in many cases
decided by this Court, clarified that after the effectivity of Republic Act No. 6657 on 15 June 1988 the DAR has been
given the authority to approve land conversion.38 Concomitant to such authority, therefore, is the authority to include
in the definition of agricultural lands "lands not reclassified as residential, commercial, industrial or other non-
agricultural uses before 15 June 1988" for purposes of land use conversion.
In the same vein, the authority of the Secretary of Agrarian Reform to include "lands not reclassified as residential,
commercial, industrial or other non-agricultural uses before 15 June 1988" in the definition of agricultural lands finds
basis in jurisprudence. In Ros v. Department of Agrarian Reform,39 this Court has enunciated that after the passage
of Republic Act No. 6657, agricultural lands, though reclassified, have to go through the process of conversion,
jurisdiction over which is vested in the DAR. However, agricultural lands, which are already reclassified before the
effectivity of Republic Act No. 6657 which is 15 June 1988, are exempted from conversion.40 It bears stressing that
the said date of effectivity of Republic Act No. 6657 served as the cut-off period for automatic reclassifications or
rezoning of agricultural lands that no longer require any DAR conversion clearance or authority. 41 It necessarily
follows that any reclassification made thereafter can be the subject of DAR’s conversion authority. Having recognized
the DAR’s conversion authority over lands reclassified after 15 June 1988, it can no longer be argued that the
Secretary of Agrarian Reform was wrongfully given the authority and power to include "lands not reclassified as
residential, commercial, industrial or other non-agricultural uses before 15 June 1988" in the definition of agricultural

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lands. Such inclusion does not unduly expand or enlarge the definition of agricultural lands; instead, it made clear
what are the lands that can be the subject of DAR’s conversion authority, thus, serving the very purpose of the land
use conversion provisions of Republic Act No. 6657.
The argument of the petitioner that DAR AO No. 01-02, as amended, was made in violation of Section 65 of Republic
Act No. 6657, as it covers even those non-awarded lands and reclassified lands by the LGUs or by way of Presidential
Proclamations on or after 15 June 1988 is specious. As explained in Department of Justice Opinion No. 44, series of
1990, it is true that the DAR’s express power over land use conversion provided for under Section 65 of Republic
Act No. 6657 is limited to cases in which agricultural lands already awarded have, after five years, ceased to be
economically feasible and sound for agricultural purposes, or the locality has become urbanized and the land will
have a greater economic value for residential, commercial or industrial purposes. To suggest, however, that these
are the only instances that the DAR can require conversion clearances would open a loophole in Republic Act No.
6657 which every landowner may use to evade compliance with the agrarian reform program. It should logically
follow, therefore, from the said department’s express duty and function to execute and enforce the said statute that
any reclassification of a private land as a residential, commercial or industrial property, on or after the effectivity of
Republic Act No. 6657 on 15 June 1988 should first be cleared by the DAR.42
This Court held in Alarcon v. Court of Appeals43 that reclassification of lands does not suffice. Conversion and
reclassification differ from each other. Conversion is the act of changing the current use of a piece of agricultural
land into some other use as approved by the DAR while reclassification is the act of specifying how agricultural lands
shall be utilized for non-agricultural uses such as residential, industrial, and commercial, as embodied in the land
use plan, subject to the requirements and procedures for land use conversion. In view thereof, a mere reclassification
of an agricultural land does not automatically allow a landowner to change its use. He has to undergo the process
of conversion before he is permitted to use the agricultural land for other purposes. 44
It is clear from the aforesaid distinction between reclassification and conversion that agricultural lands though
reclassified to residential, commercial, industrial or other non-agricultural uses must still undergo the process of
conversion before they can be used for the purpose to which they are intended.
Nevertheless, emphasis must be given to the fact that DAR’s conversion authority can only be exercised after the
effectivity of Republic Act No. 6657 on 15 June 1988.45 The said date served as the cut-off period for automatic

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reclassification or rezoning of agricultural lands that no longer require any DAR conversion clearance or
authority.46Thereafter, reclassification of agricultural lands is already subject to DAR’s conversion authority.
Reclassification alone will not suffice to use the agricultural lands for other purposes. Conversion is needed to change
the current use of reclassified agricultural lands.
It is of no moment whether the reclassification of agricultural lands to residential, commercial, industrial or other
non-agricultural uses was done by the LGUs or by way of Presidential Proclamations because either way they must
still undergo conversion process. It bears stressing that the act of reclassifying agricultural lands to non-agricultural
uses simply specifies how agricultural lands shall be utilized for non-agricultural uses and does not automatically
convert agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses or for other purposes. As explained in DAR Memorandum Circular
No. 7, Series of 1994, cited in the 2009 case of Roxas & Company, Inc. v. DAMBA-NFSW and the Department of
Agrarian Reform,47 reclassification of lands denotes their allocation into some specific use and providing for the
manner of their utilization and disposition or the act of specifying how agricultural lands shall be utilized for non-
agricultural uses such as residential, industrial, or commercial, as embodied in the land use plan. For reclassified
agricultural lands, therefore, to be used for the purpose to which they are intended there is still a need to change
the current use thereof through the process of conversion. The authority to do so is vested in the DAR, which is
mandated to preserve and maintain agricultural lands with increased productivity. Thus, notwithstanding the
reclassification of agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses, they must still undergo conversion before they can be
used for other purposes.
Even reclassification of agricultural lands by way of Presidential Proclamations to non-agricultural uses, such as
school sites, needs conversion clearance from the DAR. We reiterate that reclassification is different from conversion.
Reclassification alone will not suffice and does not automatically allow the landowner to change its use. It must still
undergo conversion process before the landowner can use such agricultural lands for such purpose. 48Reclassification
of agricultural lands is one thing, conversion is another. Agricultural lands that are reclassified to non-agricultural
uses do not ipso facto allow the landowner thereof to use the same for such purpose. Stated differently, despite
having reclassified into school sites, the landowner of such reclassified agricultural lands must apply for conversion
before the DAR in order to use the same for the said purpose.

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Any reclassification, therefore, of agricultural lands to residential, commercial, industrial or other non-agricultural
uses either by the LGUs or by way of Presidential Proclamations enacted on or after 15 June 1988 must undergo the
process of conversion, despite having undergone reclassification, before agricultural lands may be used for other
purposes.
It is different, however, when through Presidential Proclamations public agricultural lands have been reserved in
whole or in part for public use or purpose, i.e., public school, etc., because in such a case, conversion is no longer
necessary. As held in Republic v. Estonilo,49 only a positive act of the President is needed to segregate or reserve a
piece of land of the public domain for a public purpose. As such, reservation of public agricultural lands for public
use or purpose in effect converted the same to such use without undergoing any conversion process and that they
must be actually, directly and exclusively used for such public purpose for which they have been reserved, otherwise,
they will be segregated from the reservations and transferred to the DAR for distribution to qualified beneficiaries
under the CARP.50 More so, public agricultural lands already reserved for public use or purpose no longer form part
of the alienable and disposable lands of the public domain suitable for agriculture. 51 Hence, they are outside the
coverage of the CARP and it logically follows that they are also beyond the conversion authority of the DAR.
Clearly from the foregoing, the Secretary of Agrarian Reform did not act without jurisdiction or in excess of
jurisdiction or with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in (1) including lands not
reclassified as residential, commercial, industrial or other non-agricultural uses before 15 June 1988 in the definition
of agricultural lands under DAR AO No. 01-02, as amended, and; (2) issuing and enforcing DAR AO No. 01-02, as
amended, subjecting to DAR’s jurisdiction for conversion lands which had already been reclassified as residential,
commercial, industrial or for other non-agricultural uses on or after 15 June 1988.
Similarly, DAR AO No. 01-02, as amended, providing that the reclassification of agricultural lands by LGUs shall be
subject to the requirements of land use conversion procedure or that DAR’s approval or clearance must be secured
to effect reclassification, did not violate the autonomy of the LGUs.
Section 20 of Republic Act No. 7160 states that:
SECTION 20. Reclassification of Lands. – (a) A city or municipality may, through an ordinance passed by the
sanggunian after conducting public hearings for the purpose, authorize the reclassification of agricultural lands and

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provide for the manner of their utilization or disposition in the following cases: (1) when the land ceases to be
economically feasible and sound for agricultural purposes as determined by the Department of Agriculture or (2)
where the land shall have substantially greater economic value for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes,
as determined by the sanggunian concerned: Provided, That such reclassification shall be limited to the following
percentage of the total agricultural land area at the time of the passage of the ordinance:
xxxx
(3) For fourth to sixth class municipalities, five percent (5%): Provided, further, That agricultural lands distributed
to agrarian reform beneficiaries pursuant to Republic Act Numbered Sixty-six hundred fifty-seven (R.A. No. 6657),
otherwise known as "The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law," shall not be affected by the said reclassification
and the conversion of such lands into other purposes shall be governed by Section 65 of said Act.
xxxx
(e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as repealing, amending, or modifying in any manner the provisions of
R.A. No. 6657.
The aforequoted provisions of law show that the power of the LGUs to reclassify agricultural lands is not absolute.
The authority of the DAR to approve conversion of agricultural lands covered by Republic Act No. 6657 to non-
agricultural uses has been validly recognized by said Section 20 of Republic Act No. 7160 by explicitly providing
therein that, "nothing in this section shall be construed as repealing or modifying in any manner the provisions of
Republic Act No. 6657."
DAR AO No. 01-02, as amended, does not also violate the due process clause, as well as the equal protection clause
of the Constitution. In providing administrative and criminal penalties in the said administrative order, the Secretary
of Agrarian Reform simply implements the provisions of Sections 73 and 74 of Republic Act No. 6657, thus:
Sec. 73. Prohibited Acts and Omissions. – The following are prohibited:
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(c) The conversion by any landowner of his agricultural land into any non-agricultural use with intent to avoid the
application of this Act to his landholdings and to disposes his tenant farmers of the land tilled by them;
xxxx
(f) The sale, transfer or conveyance by a beneficiary of the right to use or any other usufructuary right over the land
he acquired by virtue of being a beneficiary, in order to circumvent the provisions of this Act.
xxxx
Sec. 74. Penalties. ─ Any person who knowingly or willfully violates the provisions of this Act shall be punished by
imprisonment of not less than one (1) month to not more than three (3) years or a fine of not less than one thousand
pesos (₱1,000.00) and not more than fifteen thousand pesos (₱15,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court.
If the offender is a corporation or association, the officer responsible therefor shall be criminally liable.
And Section 11 of Republic Act No. 8435, which specifically provides:
Sec. 11. Penalty for Agricultural Inactivity and Premature Conversion. – x x x.
Any person found guilty of premature or illegal conversion shall be penalized with imprisonment of two (2) to six (6)
years, or a fine equivalent to one hundred percent (100%) of the government's investment cost, or both, at the
discretion of the court, and an accessory penalty of forfeiture of the land and any improvement thereon.
In addition, the DAR may impose the following penalties, after determining, in an administrative proceedings, that
violation of this law has been committed:
a. Consolation or withdrawal of the authorization for land use conversion; and
b. Blacklisting, or automatic disapproval of pending and subsequent conversion applications that they may file with
the DAR.

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Contrary to petitioner’s assertions, the administrative and criminal penalties provided for under DAR AO No. 01-02,
as amended, are imposed upon the illegal or premature conversion of lands within DAR’s jurisdiction, i.e., "lands
not reclassified as residential, commercial, industrial or for other non-agricultural uses before 15 June 1998."
The petitioner’s argument that DAR Memorandum No. 88 is unconstitutional, as it suspends the land use conversion
without any basis, stands on hollow ground.
It bears emphasis that said Memorandum No. 88 was issued upon the instruction of the President in order to address
the unabated conversion of prime agricultural lands for real estate development because of the worsening rice
shortage in the country at that time. Such measure was made in order to ensure that there are enough agricultural
lands in which rice cultivation and production may be carried into. The issuance of said Memorandum No. 88 was
made pursuant to the general welfare of the public, thus, it cannot be argued that it was made without any basis.

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