Republic of the ilippihes

Department of Environment and N4iral Resources

OFFICE OF THE.REGIChAL DIRECTOR-,!
Regional Office No. VIII
Sto NiñoExtensibn, Tacloban City
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TO ALL PENR OFIC62 11 ceNR OFFICERS AND

CHIEF OF THE ENFORCEMENT DIVIION
DENR.Regional Office VIII
From THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR
DENR Regional Office No. VIII
Tacloban City

Subject AUTHORITY OF THE PENR OFFICERS, CEN1,1

OFFICERS AND APPREHENDING OFFICERS TO
ENTER INTO PLEA BARGAINING OF CASES
INVOLVING VIOLATION OF P.D. 705, R.A. 9175
AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS
Date December 1, 2017

This is in relation to the inquiry of PENR Officer Mario L. Tubania

regarding the authority of PENR/CENR Officers and apprehending
officers to give consent to plea bargaining of accused charged of
Violation of P.D. 705, R.A. 9175 and other environmental laws. Under
the Rules of Court, the discretion to allow an accused in a criminal case
to plead guilty to a lesser offense is primarily vested with the courts. If
ever the court would seek the consent of the apprehending officers
from the PNP, AFP, DENR or other law enforcement agencies, the same
is to give importance on the role of these (.4.w enforcement agencies
the enforcement and implementation of thelaws.

Currently, the. pertinent rules on plea bargaining under the 2000

Rules on Criminal Procedure provides:

i , { '
f IVI/ SEC. 2. Plea of guilty to a lesser- offense. - At
il rraignment, the accused, with the consent of the
,offended party and the prosecutor, may be allowed by the
l'trial court to plead guilty to a lesser offense which is
necessarily included in the offense . charged. After
arraignment but before trial, the accused may still be
all wed to plead guilty to said lesser offense after
drawing his plea of not guilty. NO amendment of the
co plaint or information is necessary. (Rule 116)

SEC. 1. Pre-trial; mandatory in criminal Cases1 - In

all criminal cases cognizable by the Sandigarthayan,
Regional Trial Court, Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal
..•(;?-! N. • Trial Court in Cities, Municipal Trial Court and Municipal

e-E)-14.4 64A41,t,
114.6.4-
'14/4 1/-01,6

A .1; -
 Circuit Trial Court, the court shall,lafter arraignment and
Within thirty: (30) days frO) the date the court .acitiuires
jUrisdiction over the: perffm of the accused, : ' unless a
shorter period is provided for in tOecial laWs or cirOulars
of the Supreme Court, Order a pre-trial conference to
consider the following: (a) plea! bargaining; (b) stipulation
of facts; (c) marking for iclentiricatiOn Of, evidence 'V the
parties; (d), ,waiver :of ObjegtiOns—to—iadmisaibility—of
evidence -. (0) modificatioti or the •order of trial if the
accuse& admits the charge but interposes ' a : lawful
defenseLand (f) such matters :as will promote a fair and
expeditious trial of the criminal and civil aspects of the
case. (Rule 118)

By the above-cited provisions, the PENR Office, CENR Office and

the Enforcement Division who filed the complaint stands as the
offended party in cases for violations of P.D. 705, R.A. 9175 and other
environmental laws is. It is then the PENR Officer, CENR Officer or the
Chief of the Enforcement Division which can give consent to the plea
bargaining. To take for example, an accused charged for Violation of
Section 68 of P.D. 705, as amended by E.O. 577 and renumbered as
Section 77 by R.A. 7161, may plead guilty to any lesser offense defined
under Articles 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal Code. Section 68 of
P.D. 705 provides:

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; xxx

And Articles 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal Code provides:

Art. 309. Penalties. — Any person guilty of theft

shall be punished by:
1. The penalty of prision mayor in its minimum
and medium periods, if the value of the thing stolen is
more than '12,000 pesos but does. not exceed 22,000
pesos, but if the value of the thing stolen exceeds the
latter amount the penalty shall be the maximum period of
the one prescribed in this paragraph, and one year for
each additional ten thousand pesos, but the total of the
penalty which may be imposed shall not exceed twenty
years. In suth cases, and in connection with the
accessory penalties which may be imposed and for the
purpose of the other provisions of this Code, the penalty
shall be termed prision mayor or reclusion temporal, as
the case may be.
2. The penalty of prision correccional in its
medium and maximum periods, if the value of the
 thirlg Stb:len , is rriore th n 16,00 pesos but does not
exceed:Ii 2,.000 Pesos. ,,
'3.1:The penalty of prision correcciOn141 in; its
minimum and medi m periods, if the Vialue of, the
property stolen is more than 200,, pesos, bt ,.dOesi not
exceed 6,000 pesos.
4. Arresto rriayor in its medium period to priSion
cOrreccional in its minirOum period,If the value of the
1 proOertysteilenlis Over 50 :pesos' 'but does Tiot eXceed '200
pesos. '
1 . 5. Arresto mayor ir
ts full extent, such value
is qet.5 pesos but doe's not exceed 50 pesos.
' 6. Arresto mayor in its minimum and medium
periods, if such value (hoe's not exceed 5 pesos. v
'7. Arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200
pesos, if the theft is committed under the circumstances
enumerated in paragraph 3 of the next preceding article
and the value of the thing -stolen does not exceed 5
pesos. If such value exceeds said amount, the provision
of any of the five preceding subdivisions shall be made
applicable.
8. Arresto menor in its minimum period or a
fine not exceeding 50 pesos, when the value of the
thing stolen is not over 5 pesos, and the offender shall
have acted under the impulse of hunger, poverty, or the
difficulty of earning a livelihood for the support of himself
or his family.

Art. 310. Qualified theft. — The crime of theft shall

be punished by the penalties next higher by two
degrees than those respectively specified in the next
preceding article, if committed by a domestic servant, or
with grave abuse of confidence, or if the property stolen
is motor vehicle, mail matter or large cattle or consists of
coconuts taken from the premises of the plantation or fish
taken from a fishpond or fishery, or if property is taken
on the occasion of fire, earthguaye, typhoon, volcanic
eruption, or any other calamity, v011icular accident or civil
disturbance.

By express provision of Section 68 of P.D. 705, it is clear that an

accused may be allowed to plead guilty tO the offenses defined under
Article 309 of the Revised Penal Code, the lesser offense of Article 310.
I
It may also be noted that under the "Rules of Procedure fori
Environmental Cases", which includes violations of P.D. 705 and
other environmental laws, plea-bargaining is categorically allowed;
thus:

Section 2. Plea-bargaining. - On the scheduled date

of arraignment, the court shall consider.' plea-bargaining
arrangements. Where the prosecution and offended
party or concerned government agency agree to the
plea offered by the accused, the court shall:
(a) Issue an order which contains the plea-
bargaining arrived at;
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(P) i
Proceed to :receive loyidtrice on the !Civil
aspect of the case, i any; and
(c) Render old promulgate jUdgrnent of
convictfon, including th " 'Civil liability for damagrs.. (Rule
15: Arraigritnent and Ple )

In explainingi ;the, nature of pa b6rgaiiiing;!the'SOPeeme Court, in

the ase of Salitad4ir,Estiponai, Jr. y AspePla"141:tiOn."trra'nk g:"LobrigO, '
Pre 'ding Judge of the Regioral Trial court, Branch '.13, :Le6azpi City,
Alb y, and People .of the P1*lippines, !G.R. No. 226079; August 15,
201 , said:

In this jurisdictioln, plea bargaining has been

defined as "a process whereby the accused and the
prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory
disposition of the case subject to court approval."
There is give-and-take negotiation common in plea
bargaining. The essence of the agreement is that both the
prosecution and the defense make concessions to avoid
potential losses. Properly administered, plea bargaining
is to be encouraged because the chief virtues of the
system - speed, economy, and finality - can benefit
the accused, the offended party, the prosecution,
and the court.
xxx
The plea is further addressed to the sound
discretion of the trial court, which may allow the accused
to plead guilty to a lesser offense which is necessarily
included in the offense charged. The word may denote an
exercise of discretion upon the trial court on whether
to allow the accused to make such plea. Trial courts
are exhorted to keep in mind that a plea of guilty for a
lighter offense than that actually charged is not supposed
to be allowed as a matter of bargaining or compromise for
the convenience of the accused.
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In other words, consenting to plea bargaining would also .benefit

the complaining office or apprehending officers because they would nO
longer testify in court. On that note, the apprehending officers from ti-T
PENR Offices, CENR Offices and the Enforcement Division may givF
consent to an accused pleading guilty to an offense where he may be
allowed to avail of probation. It must, however, emphasized that
the DENR has all the right not to give consent. It may ask thp
court to pursue the prosecution of the crime charged in the Informatiop
especially, for example, if the accused is a recidivist or had fought bacl<
and caused danger to the lives of the apprehending officers.

Ir, giving consent to the plea bargaining where the accused wouy
be allos,ved to avail of the benefits of probation, it must be requeste91
before the court that the Probation Order impose the condition that
every accused must plant trees, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 tree
depending on the magnitude of his transgression, with eighty perceilt
(80%) survival at the end of two-year probation period. Should thr

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accu4ed fail to comply With i this condition, the concerned

CEN140/PENO/Enforcement Division must file al manifestation with the
Probtion Office ,concerned .before the !termination of the probation of
such non-compliance, or directly file with the court opposition to the
termination of the probation.

For inforrnatiln and guidance.

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ATTY. CRIZALD M. BARCELO, CESO HI

tZegt nal Director