executive order no. 23.docx

8/10/2019 EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 23.docx

1/14

February 1, 2011 marked an exciting change in the dynamics of Philippine

environmentalism. On this date, is !xcellency "enigno #imeon $%uino &&& issued an order

that is intended to respond to the problem of forest denudation and environmental

degradation in our country.

!xecutive Order '!O( )o. 2* could not have come at a better time. +e have reached a

state here e humbly admit that our environment is sick and needs rehabilitation. +e

feel alarmingly trapped beteen -oods, landslides, hot eather and dirty air. $ll these are

caused by depriving ourselves of a most potent resource our trees.

Over the years, extractive activities have resulted in the thinning of our forest cover from

/0 in 110 to 1/ in 2010, a century after. #adly, the denudation of our forests has

reached such an alarming level that eorts to reforest may hardly keep up ith the rate of

destruction.

ence, in pursuit of protecting our remaining trees and increasing our forest cover,

President $%uino took the bull by the horns, and !O 2* as born.

3he !O has sparked interest among naysayers, and garnered the support of some local

executives and environment groups, but it also raised %uestions from the local ood

industry and skeptics in the political arena.

3o further our understanding of this executive order, let us explore its intentions,

components and pertinent features.

Laws Intent

!O 2* declares a moratorium on the cutting and harvesting of timber in the natural and

residual forests of the entire country and creates the anti4illegal logging task force. 3he

intention of President $%uino in creating the said !O is to uphold our intergeneration

responsibility to protect the environment and to prevent further destruction rought by

natural disasters.

#till fresh in people5s memory are the occurrences of landslides in Ormoc, "aguio, 6eyte

and $urora hich killed thousands of our countrymen7 and the disasters brought by

8eming, Ondoy, Pepeng and Frank hich destroyed hundreds of lives and millions orth of

properties. $nd 9ust recently, our country itnessed the devastation in "icol, #amar and

#urigao. &n the midst of perceived further threats of more landslides and the destructive

potentials of the 6a )ina phenomenon, !O 2* as signed.

3he !O underscored the #tate5s obligation to protect the remaining forest cover areas not

only to prevent such calamities, but also to preserve biodiversity, protect threatened

habitats and sanctuaries of endangered and rare species, and to allo for the natural

regeneration of residual forests and the development of plantation forests.


2/14

Components and Pertinent Features

&n order to implement the moratorium, !O 2* has prohibited the :epartment of!nvironment and )atural 8esources ':!)8( from issuing and reneing logging contracts

and tree cutting permits in all natural and residual forests. +hen e say natural and

residual forests, e refer to forests composed of indigenous trees that ere not planted by

man.

On the other hand, a plantation forest is a man4made forest, here trees ere planted

pursuant to a management agreement ith the :!)8.


3/14

3he log ban is in place inde;nitely.

3he only exemptions alloed by the ban are the clearing of road right4of4ay by the

:epartment of Public +orks and ighays, site preparations for tree plantations,

silvicultural treatment and similar activities, provided that all logs derived from the saidcutting permits shall be turned over to the :!)8 for proper disposal. 6ikeise, the ban

may allo tree cutting associated ith cultural practices pursuant to the &ndigenous

People5s 8ight $ct '&P8$( sub9ect to strict compliance ith existing :!)8 guidelines.

3he !xecutive Order also tasks the :!)8 to revie all existing forestry agreements and

immediately cancel those that have violated forest las at least tice. Furthermore, said

agreements ill be immediately terminated if the holders engage in logging activities in

any natural or residual forest.

3he :!)8 as given authority to close all samills, veneer plants and other ood

processing plants that are unable to present proof of sustainable sources of legally cut logs

for a period of at least ;ve years starting this year.

$ )ational


4/14

For the !O to be more eective, e need environmental la enforcers. =onse%uently, !O

2* created the $nti4&llegal 6ogging 3ask Force to enforce the moratorium on logging and

take the lead in the anti4illegal logging campaign.

3he 3ask Force is to be chaired by the :!)8#ecretary or his duly authori?ed representative. 3o assist him are the heads or

representatives of the :epartment of &nterior and 6ocal


5/14

come ;rst over business decisions.

=onversely, the denudation of forests has alloed calamities to reak havoc on the country

in the past years, causing not 9ust thousands of lives lost and families displaced, but also

millions of pesos orth of damages to infrastructure and agriculture. For the year 2010

alone, Presidential #pokesperson !din 6acierda noted that calamities brought about the

loss of *A lives, in9ured *2 others, displaced thousands of families, and hurt the economy

ith an estimated damage cost of P12 million to P*0A million.

3he good nes about this !O is that more tree plantations could sprout as a result of the

log ban. &t could pave the ay for the development of more tree farms and industrial tree

plantations necessary to improve timber supply. #ecretary Pa9e stressed that Dtimber

extraction has no become a solely Ghat4you4plant4is4hat4you4cut enterprise5.E

"y ending their reliance on timber extracted

from natural forests, the country5s ood producers are encouraged to expand theirharvesting operations in tree plantations. 3his poses a challenge for them, and for all of us,

to sho that indeed e aim for sustainable forestry and that e genuinely care for our

environment.

&n the past, e lost many of our trees in order to ac%uire timber. $nd yet, in exchange for

timber, e lost the many other uses of trees such as protection against topsoil erosion and

landslides, storage of ater reserves during droughts, production of oxygen, and absorption

of carbon dioxide hich could have signi;cantly reduced air pollution. &f e continue to

lose our tropical forests, e lose more than 9ust timber7 e too lose the ildlife to hich the

forests provide habitat. $nd ;nally, less trees ould mean less fruits to harvest, less

sources of medicinal preparations, and less opportunities for the aesthetic pleasures thatmany trees oer.

!O 2* can help us ensure that future generations may still reap these bene;ts e no

en9oy from trees. &t has reneed our hopes for a possible sustainable future for forestry in

the Philippines.H


6/14

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 23

DECLARING A MORATORIUM ON THE CUTTING AND

HARVESTING OF TIMBER IN THE NATURAL AND RESIDUAL

FORESTS AND CREATING THE ANTI-ILLEGAL LOGGING

TASK FORCE


7/14

WHEREAS,the entire country has been a witness to the ever-

changing climatic conditions brought about by the La Nia

phenomenon;

WHEREAS, the destructive effects of the phenomenon on the

environment are apparent in many regions in the country and it is

an accepted fact that the effects are worsened due to the

continuous denudation of the forest zones;

WHEREAS,the watersheds and the river systems supportingexisting or proposed hydroelectric power facilities, irrigation works

or existing water facilities are in need of immediate protection and

rehabilitation;

WHEREAS,it is the obligation of the State to protect the

remaining forest cover areas of the country not only to prevent

flash floods and hazardous flooding but also to preserve

biodiversity, protect threatened habitats and sanctuaries of

endangered and rare species, and allow natural regeneration of

residual forests and development of plantation forests;

WHEREAS, it is imperative to arrest the degradation, pollution

and contamination of the river and water systems and to stem the

wanton destruction of the forest resources;


8/14

WHEREAS,Article XII, Sec. 2 of the 1987 Philippine

Constitutional provides that the exploration, development, and

utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and

supervision of the State.

NOW, THEREFORE, I BENIGNO S. AQUINO, III,President of

the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do

hereby order:

Section 1. Definition of Terms. For the purpose of this ExecutiveOrder, the following terms shall be defined:

1.1Forest Land- it includes public forest, permanent forest or

forest reserves, and forest reservations.

1.2Natural and Residual Forests-are forests composed of

indigenous trees, not planted by man.

1.3Plantation Forest is a forest where the trees were planted

pursuant to a management agreement with the DENR.

1.4Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) is a

production sharing contract entered into by and between the

DENR and a qualified applicant wherein the DENR grants to the

latter exclusive right to develop, manage, protect and utilize a

specified area of forest land and forest resources therein for a

specified period consistent with the principle of sustainable


9/14

development and in accordance with an approved Comprehensive

Development and Management Plan (CDMP).

1.5Socialized Integrated Forest Management Agreement(SIFMA) is an agreement entered into by and between a natural

or juridical person and the DENR wherein the latter grants to the

former the right to develop, utilize and manage a small tract of

forest land consistent with the principle of sustainable

development.

1.6Community-Based Forest Management (CBFMA) is an

agreement entered into by and between the government and the

local community in a locality, represented by a peoples

organization as forest managers, for a specific period wherein the

local community is allowed to develop, utilize and manage a small

tract of forest land consistent with the principle of sustainabledevelopment.

1.7National Greening Program is a DA-DENR-DAR

Convergence Initiative anchored on the governments goal of

poverty reduction, food, security, climate change adaptation and

mitigation.

Section 2. Moratorium on the Cutting and Harvesting of

Timber in the Natural Forests A moratorium on the cutting and

harvesting of timber in the natural and residual forests of the


10/14

entire country is hereby declared unless lifted after the effectivity

of this Executive Order. In order to implement this policy, the

following are hereby instituted:

2.1 The DENR is henceforth hereby prohibited form issuing

logging contracts/agreements in all natural and residual forests,

such as Integrated Forest Management Agreements (IFMA),

Socialized Integrated Forest Management Agreements (SIFMA),

Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA) and

other agreements/contracts with logging components in natural

and residual forests;

2.2 The DENR is likewise prohibited from issuing/renewing tree

cutting permits in all natural and residual forests nationwide,

except for clearing of road right of way by the DPWH, site

preparation for tree plantations, silvicultural treatment and similaractivities, provided thatall logs derived from the said cutting

permits shall be turned over to the DENR for proper disposal. Tree

cutting associated with cultural practices pursuant to the

indigenous Peoples Right Act (IPRA Law) may be allowed only

subject to strict compliance with existing guidelines of the DENR;

2.3 The DENR shall review/evaluate all existing IFMAs, SIFMAs,

CBFMAs and other forestry agreements/contacts and immediately

terminate/cancel the agreements of those who have violated the

terms and conditions of their contracts/agreements as well as


11/14

existing forest laws, rules and regulations at least twice.

Furthermore, said agreements shall likewise be immediately

terminated/cancelled if the holders thereof engage in logging

activities in any natural or residual forest or abet the commission

of the same;

2.4 The DENR shall strictly implement a forest certification system

in accordance with the United Nations standard/guidelines to

ascertain the sustainability of legal sources and chain of custody

of timber and wood products, nationwide;

2.5 The DENR shall close and not allow to operate all sawmills,

veneer plants and other wood processing plants who are unable

to present proof of sustainable sources of legally cut logs for a

period of at least five (5) years within one month from effectivity of

this Executive Order:

2.6 The DENR through the DA-DENR-DAR Convergence

Initiative, shall develop a National Greening Program NGP in

cooperation with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the

Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to initiate the

educational drive campaign; the Department of Interior and Local

Government (DILG) to help in establishing communal tree farms

for firewood and other purposes; the Department of Social

Welfare and Development (DSWD) to identify the upland farmers

covered by the NGP as priority beneficiaries of the conditional


12/14

cash transfer program; the Department of Budget and

Management (DBM) to provide the funds for the production of

quality seedlings for the NGP from available funds of the

government; and the private sector and other concerned

agencies/institutions to raise funds and resources for tree

planting.

2.7 The Department of Education shall be given priority in the use

of all confiscated logs.

Section 3. Creation of the Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force.To

enforce the moratorium and lead the anti-illegal logging

campaign, an Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force is hereby created.

The Task Force shall be composed of the DENR Secretary or his

duly authorized representative as Chairman and the Secretary of

the Department of the Interior and Local Government, theSecretary of the Department of National Defense, the Chief of the

Philippine National Police, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces

of the Philippines of their respective authorized representatives ,

as members.

3.1Mandate.The Task Force is hereby mandated to take the lead

in the anti-illegal logging campaign and ensure the

implementation of this Executive Order under the supervision of

the DENR. It shall also assist the DENR in the enforcement of

other environmental laws.


13/14

3.2Support from Government Offices and Agencies.The Task

Force may call upon the support of any department, bureau and

office of the executive branch to assist in the discharge of its

functions, such as but not limited to the provision of administrative

or technical assistance, logistical support and detail of personnel.

The DENR shall provide the secretariat for the Task Force.

3.3Budgetary Support.The Department of Budget and

Management shall provide the DENR an initial budget for the Task

Force in the amount of Ten Million Pesos (P10,000,000.00) which

shall be sourced from the available funds of the government.

Release of the additional amounts shall be subject to the approval

of the President.

Section 4.Repealing Clause. All executive orders, rules, and

regulations and other issuances or parts thereof which areinconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby revoked,

amended, and/or modified accordingly.

Section 5.Implementing Guidelines Upon its formation, the

Task Force shall immediately formulate the guidelines for the

implementation of the policies set forth in this Executive Order.

Section 6.Effectivity.This Executive Order shall take effect

immediately after publication in a newspaper of general

circulation.


14/14

DONEin the City of Manila, Philippines, this 1st day of February

in the year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Eleven.

(Sgd.)BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

executive order no. 23.docx

Documents