Timber Smuggling or Illegal Cutting of Logs

Section 1

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, rules and regulation shall be guilty of the crime of qualified theft as defined and penalized under Articles 308, 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal Code; Provided, That 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, and 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 Commissioned of Immigration and Deportation.

Section 2

All laws, rules and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 3

This decree shall take effect immediately after publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the country. Done in the City of Manila, this 8th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.