P.

D 330
PENALIZING TIMBER SMUGGLING
OR ILLEGAL CUTTING OF LOGS
FROM PUBLIC FORESTS AND
FOREST RESERVES AS
QUALIFIED THEFT
Who and what acts are punished:
Any person, whether natural or juridical;
who directly or indirectly cuts, gathers, removes, or
smuggles timber, or other forest products, either from
any of the public forest, forest reserves and other kinds of
public forests, whether under license or lease, or from any
privately owned forest lands in violation of existing laws,

TH E TI M P TO N G RE E N S U P R E M E S | 2020
 PE NALTY:
QUALIFIED THEFT as defined and penalized under Articles 3 0 8 ,
3 0 9 and 3 1 0 of the Revised Penal Code;

if the offender is a corporation, firm, partnership or association,

the penalty shall be imposed upon the guilty officer or officers, as
the case may be, of the corporation, firm, partnership or
association;
if such guilty officer or officers are aliens, in addition to the penalty
herein prescribed, he or they shall be deported without further
proceedings on the part of the Commission of Immigration and
Deportation
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE
No. 705
REVISED FORESTRY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES
SECTION 68
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES

1) Cutting, gathering,
collecting and removing
timber or other forest
products from any forest
Add a little bit of body
text

land, or timber from

alienable or disposable
public and, or from private
land without any authority;
SECTION 68
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES

2) Mere possession of
timber or other forest
products without the legal
documents required
under existing forest laws
and regulations.
SECTION 69
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES

Unlawful occupation or destruction of forest lands -

Any person who enters and occupies or possesses,
or makes kaingin for his own private use;
or in any manner destroys such forest land or part
thereof, or causes any damage to the timber stand
and other products and forest growths found
therein; or who assists, aids or abets any other
person to do so,
or sets a fire, or negligently permits a fire to be set
in any forest land
SECTION 70
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES

Pasturing Livestock -
any person, who shall, without
authority under a lease or permit,
graze or cause to graze livestock
Add a little bit

in forest lands, grazing lands and

alienable and disposable lands
SECTION 71
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
illegal occupation of national parks system and
recreation areas and vandalism therein - Any
person who shall, without permit, occupy for
any length of time any portion of the national
parks system or shall, in any manner, cut,
destroy, damage or remove timber or any
Add a little bit

species of vegetation or forest cover and

other natural resources found therein, or
shall mutilate, deface or destroy objects of
natural beauty or of scenic value within areas
in the national parks system
SECTION 72
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES

Destruction of wildlife
resources.
SECTION 73
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES

Survey by unauthorized person

any person who shall, without
permit to survey from the Director,
enter any forest lands, whether
covered by a license agreement,
lease, license, or permit, or not,
and conduct or undertake a survey
for whatever purpose.
SECTION 74
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
Misclassification and survey by
government official or employee
Any public officer or employee
who knowingly surveys, classifies,
or recommends the release of
forest lands as alienable and
disposable lands contrary to the
criteria and standards established
in this Code
SECTION 75
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
Tax declaration on real property.

Any public officer or employee

who shall issue a tax declaration
on real property without a
certification from the Director of
Forest Development and the
Director of Lands or their duly
designated representatives
SECTION 76
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
Coercion and influence.

Any person who coerces,

influences, abets or persuades the
public officer or employee referred
to in the two preceding sections to
commit any of the acts mentioned
therein
SECTION 77 Unlawful possession of
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
implements and devices used by
forest officers -
any person who shall make, manufacture, or has in his possession any
government marking, hatchet or other marking implement, or any marker,
poster, or other devices officially used by officers of the Bureau for the marking or
identification of timber or other products, or any duplicate, counterfeit, or
imitation thereof, or make or apply a government mark on timber or any other
forest products by means of any authentic or counterfeit device, or alter, deface,
or remove government marks or signs, from trees, logs, stumps, firewoods or
other forest products, or destroy, deface, remove or disfigure any such mark, sign,
poster or warning notices
SECTION 78
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
Payment, collection and remittance of
forest charges.
Any person who fails or refuses to
remit to the proper authorities
said forest charges collectible
pursuant to the provisions of this
Code
SECTION 79
CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
Sale of wood products
No person shall sell or offer for sale
any log, lumber, plywood or other
manufactured wood products in
the international or domestic
market unless he complies with
grading rules and established or to
be established by the Government.
 BAR QUESTION:
( 2006)

1 . Forest Ranger Jay Velasco was patrolling the Balara Watershed

and Reservoir when he noticed a big pile of cut logs outside the gate
of the watershed. Curious, he scouted around and after a few
minutes, he saw Rene and Dante coming out of the gate with
some more newly-cut logs. He apprehended and charged them with
the proper offense.
What is that offense? Explain.
 Suggested Answer:

The offense is Qualified Theft under Sec. 6 8 of P.D. 7 0 5 ,

amending P.D. No. 3 3 0 , which penalizes any person who
directly or indirectly cuts, gathers, removes, or smuggles
timber, or other forest products from any of the public
forest.
The Balara Watershed is protected by the cited laws.
 BAR QUESTION:
( 2006)

2 . During the preliminary investigation and up to the trial

proper, Rene and Dante contended that if they were to be
held liable, their liability should be limited only to the
newly-cut logs found in their possession but not to those
found outside the gate. If you were the judge, what will be
your ruling? (2 .5 %)
 Suggested Answer:

The contention is untenable, the presence of the newly cut

logs outside the gate is circumstantial evidence, which, if
unrebutted, establishes that they are the offenders who
gathered the same
 MUSTANG LUMBER INC. VS CA
( 1996)

A huge stockpile of narra flitches, shorts, and slabs were seen inside the
lumberyard of the petitioner, in the course thereof, the DENR team members saw
coming out from the lumberyard the petitioner's truck, loaded with lauan and
almaciga lumber of assorted sizes and dimensions.
Since the driver could not produce the req uired invoices and transport documents,
the team seized the truck together with its cargo and impounded them at the
DENR compound at Visayas Avenue, Quezon City.
Defense of the Accused:

that the possession of lumber

as opposed to timber, is not penalized in
Section 68 of P.D. No. 705, as amended
 Court's Ruling:

The court held that the term ‘lumber’ as used in the information against petitioners,
although not mentioned in express terms as among the prohibited articles under Section
6 8 of P.D. No. 7 0 5 (Revised Forestry Code) must be understood in its ordinary and
common usage.
Lumber is to be understood as a processed log or timber.

It is settled that in the absence of legislative intent to the contrary, words and phrases used
in a statute should be given their plain, ordinary, and common usage meaning.
The court held that the petitioners were then correctly charged with the offense of violating
Sec6 8 of PD No 7 0 5 as alleged by the facts in the information.
E N D O F R E PO RT

Thank you
When we heal the
earth, we heal
ourselves.
DAVID ORR