EXECUTIVE ORDER NO.
277 July 25, 1987
AMENDING SECTION 68 OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE (P.D.) NO.
705, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE REVISED
FORESTRY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, FOR THE PURPOSE OF
PENALIZING POSSESSION OF TIMBER OR OTHER FOREST
PRODUCTS WITHOUT THE LEGAL DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
BY EXISTING FOREST LAWS, AUTHORIZING THE
CONFISCATION OF ILLEGALLY CUT, GATHERED. REMOVED
AND POSSESSED FOREST PRODUCTS, AND GRANTING
REWARDS TO INFORMERS OF VIOLATIONS OF FORESTRY
LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS
WHEREAS, there is an urgency to conserve the remaining forest resources
of the country for the benefit and welfare of the present and future
generations of Filipinos;
WHEREAS, our forest resources may be effectively conserved and
protected through the vigilant enforcement and implementation of our
forestry laws, rules and regulations;
WHEREAS, the implementation of our forest laws suffers from technical
difficulties, due to certain inadequacies in the penal provisions of the
Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines; and
WHEREAS, to overcome these difficulties, there is a need to penalize
certain acts to make our forestry laws more responsive to present situations
and realities;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do
hereby order:
Sec. 1. Section 68 of Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 705, as amended, is
hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 68. Cutting, Gathering and/or collecting Timber, or Other Forest
Products Without License. Any person who shall cut, gather,
collect, removed timber or other forest products from any forest
land, or timber from alienable or disposable public land, or from
private land, without any authority, or possess timber or other
forest products without the legal documents as required under
existing forest laws and regulations, shall be punished with the
penalties imposed under Articles 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal
Code: Provided, That in the case of partnerships, associations, or
corporations, the officers who ordered the cutting, gathering,
collection or possession 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 any forest products cut, gathered,
collected, removed, or possessed as well as the machinery, equipment,
implements and tools illegally used in the area where the timber or
forest products are found."
Sec. 2. Presidential Decree No. 705, as amended, is hereby further amended
by adding Sections 68-A and 68-B which shall read as follows:
"Sec. 68-A. Administrative Authority of the Department Head or His
Duly Authorized Representative to Order Confiscation. In all cases of
violations of this Code or other forest laws, rules and regulations, the
Department Head or his duly authorized representative, may order the
confiscation of any forest products illegally cut, gathered, removed or
possessed or abandoned, and all conveyances used either by land,
water or air in the commission of the offense and to dispose of the
same in accordance with pertinent laws, regulations or policies on the
matter.
"Sec. 68-B. Rewards to Informants. Any person who shall provide any
information leading to the apprehension and conviction of any
offender for any violation of this Code or other forest laws, rules and
regulations, or confiscation of forest products shall be given a reward
in the amount of twenty per centum (20%) of the proceeds of the
confiscated forest products."
Sec. 3. All laws, orders, issuances, rules and regulations or parts thereof
inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.
Sec. 4. This Executive Order shall take effect after fifteen days following its
publication either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Philippines.
DONE in the City of Manila, this 25th day of July, in the year of Our Lord,
nineteen hundred and eighty-seven.
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PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 705 May 19, 1975
REVISING PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 389, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE FORESTRY REFORM CODE OF THE
PHILIPPINES
Section 3. Definitions.
(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.
