Statute
Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines
76 provisions · showing CHAPTER III › PART C (4) · source
Section 33
Lands to be reforested and/or afforested are as follows: 1. Public forest lands. — a) Bare or grass-covered tracts of forest lands; b) Brushlands or tracts of forest lands generally covered with brush, which need to be developed to increase their productivity; c) Open tracts of forest lands interspersed with patches of forest; d) Denuded or inadequately timbered areas proclaimed by the President as forest reserves and reservations as critical watersheds, national parks, game refuge, bird sanctuaries, national shrines, national historic sites; e) Inadequately-stock forest lands within forest concessions; f) Portions of areas covered by pasture leases or permits needing immediate reforestation; g) River banks, easements, road right-of-ways, deltas, swamps, former river beds, and beaches. 2. Private Lands. — a) Portions of private lands required to be reforested or planted to trees pursuant to Presidential Decree Nos. 953 and 1153 and other existing laws. (Amending P.D. No. 705 (Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines), Presidential Decree No. 1559, [June 11, 1978])
Section 34
A lease for a period of fifty (50) years for the establishment of an industrial tree plantations, tree farm or agro-forestry farm, may be granted by the Department Head, upon recommendation of the Director, to any person qualified to develop and exploit natural resources, over timber or forest lands of the public domain categorized in Section 33 (1) hereof except those under paragraphs (d) and (g) with a minimum area of one hundred (100) hectares for industrial tree plantations and agro-forestry farms and ten (10) hectares for tree farms: Provided, That the size of the area that may be granted under each category shall, in each case, depend upon the capability of the lessee to develop or convert the area into productive condition within the term of the lease. The lease may be granted under such terms and conditions as the Department Head may prescribe, taking into account, among others, the raw material needs of forest based and other industries and the maintenance of a wholesome ecological balance. Trees and other products raised within the industrial tree plantation, tree farm or agro-forestry farm belong to the lessee who shall have the right to sell, contract, convey, or dispose of said planted trees and other products in any manner he sees fit, in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations. Reforestation projects of the Government, or portion thereof, which, upon field evaluation, are found to be more suitable for, or can better be developed as industrial tree plantations, tree farms or agro-forestry farms, in terms of benefits to the Government and the general surrounding area, may be the subject of a lease under this section. (Amending P.D. No. 705 (Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines), Presidential Decree No. 1559, [June 11, 1978])
Section 35
Over any suitable area covered by a timber license agreement or permit, the priority to establish industrial tree plantation, tree farms or agro-forestry farm shall be given to the holder thereof after the Bureau had determined the suitability of such area and has set aside the same for the purpose. The priority herein granted must, however, be availed of within a reasonable period otherwise the area shall be declared open to any qualified person and consequently segregated from the licensee's or permittee's area. Priority shall also be given to the establishment of communal industrial tree plantations by barangays, municipalities or cities and provinces. (Amending P.D. No. 705 (Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines), Presidential Decree No. 1559, [June 11, 1978])
Section 36 · cited in the answer
To encourage qualified persons to engage in industrial tree plantation, tree farm and/or agro-forest farm, the following incentives are granted: a) Payment of a nominal filing fee of fifty centavos (P0.50) per hectare. b) No rental shall be collected during the first five (5) years from the date of the lease; from the sixth year to the tenth year, the annual rental shall be fifty centavos (P0.50) per hectare; and thereafter, the annual rental shall be one peso (1.00) per hectare: Provided, That lessees of areas long denuded, as certified by the Director and approved by the Department Head, shall be exempted from the payment of rental for the full term of the lease which shall not exceed twenty-five (25) years; for the first five (5) years following the renewal of the lease, the annual rental shall be fifty centavos (P0.50) per hectare; and thereafter, the annual rental shall be one pesos (1.00) per hectare: Provided, further, That notwithstanding the foregoing, no rental shall be collected from a lessee who, upon verification by the Bureau, substantially meets the schedule of development of the industrial tree plantation, the tree farm, or agro-forestry farm, as the case may be, as prescribed in the development plan submitted to, and approved by the Ministry Head, upon recommendation of the Director; c) The forest charges payable by a lessee on the timber and other forest products grown and cut or gathered in an industrial tree plantation, tree farm, or agro-forestry farm shall only be twenty-five percent (25%) of the regular forest charges prescribed in the National Internal Revenue Code; d) Exemption from the payment of the percentage tax levied in Title V of the National Internal Revenue Code when the timber and forest products are sold, bartered or exchanged by the lessee, whether in their original state or not, as well as exemption from all forms of sales tax, local and municipal taxes, and from the real property tax under the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 853; e) A lessee shall not be subject to any obligation prescribed in, or arising out of, the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code on withholding of tax at source upon interest paid on borrowings incurred for development and operation of the industrial tree plantation, tree farm, or agro-forestry farm; f) Except when public interest demands, the boundaries of an area covered by an industrial tree plantation, tree farm, or agro-forestry farm lease, once establish on the ground, shall not be altered or modified; g) Amounts expended by a lessee in the development and operation of an industrial tree plantation, tree farm, or agro-forestry farm prior to the time when the production state is reached, may, at the option of the lessee, be regarded as ordinary and necessary business expenses or as capital expenditures; h) The Board of Investments shall, notwithstanding its nationality requirement on projects involving natural resources, classify industrial tree plantations, tree farms and agro-forestry farms as pioneer areas of investment under its annual priority plan, to be governed by the rules and regulations of said Board; In addition to the incentives under this section, private landowners who engage in tree farming on areas fifty hectares or below by planting their lands with Ipil-Ipil and other fast-growing trees shall be exempt from the inventory requirement and other requirements before harvest as provided in this Decree for lessees of forest lands of the public domain: Provided, That the transport of trees cut shall be accompanied by the corresponding certificate of origin duly issued by the authorized forest officer. (Amendment to Section 36 of P.D. No. 705 (Revised Forestry Code), Batas Pambansa Blg. 701, [April 5, 1984]) i) Approved industrial tree plantations, tree farms, and agro-forestry farms shall be given priority in securing credit assistance from the government and government-supported financing institutions which shall set aside adequate funds for lending to the lessee and/or investor at reasonable interest rates; j) The lessee and its field employees and workers shall be exempted from the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 1153; k) Government institutions administering or financing programs and projects requiring wood materials shall specify the purchase of, or utilize, manufactured products derived from trees grown and harvested from industrial tree plantations, tree farms or agro-forestry farms, whenever possible; l) No wood, wood products or wood-derivated products including pulp, paper and paperboard shall be imported if the same are available in required quantities and reasonable prices, as may be certified by the Department Head, from artificial or man-made forests, or local processing plants manufacturing the same; m) No processing plant of whatever nature or type, made of, or utilizing, wood as primary materials shall be allowed to be established, expanded or integrated, and operated without a long-term assurance of raw materials source from forest concessions and/or from industrial tree plantations, tree farms or agro-forestry farms in accordance with Section 30 hereof; n) Timber grown and harvested from industrial tree plantations, tree farms and agro-forestry farms may be exported without restriction in quantity or volume, and if the exporter is the same person or firm qualified and allowed to export logs under the provisions of this Decree, such timber from plantations/farms may be exported exclusive of the quantity or volume authorized under Section 32 hereof: Provided, That the rentals on the forest land and the forest charges on the plantation timber shall have been paid: Provided, further, That the export of the plantation timber shall be covered by a certificate to export issued by the Department Head on a yearly basis: Provided, finally, That the Department Head may at any time review the exportation of timber harvested from the plantations/farms and either reduced or totally suspend the export of such plantation timber whenever public interest so requires; and o) Free technical advice from government foresters and farm technicians. The Department Head may provide other incentives in addition to those hereinabove granted to promote industrial tree plantations, tree farms and agro-forestry farms in special areas such as, but not limited to, those where there are no roads or where roads are inadequate, or areas with rough topography and remote areas far from processing plants. (Amending P.D. No. 705 (Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines), Presidential Decree No. 1559, [June 11, 1978])