JUNE 20, 2015

NR # 3869B

House approves bill repealing Forestry Profession Law

The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a measure
repealing Republic Act 6239 or The Forestry Profession Law, which has outgrown its
relevance to the countrys current forest policies.
To be known as the Forestry Profession Act, House Bill 5707, which substituted
House Bill 1972 authored by Reps. Rufus B. Rodriguez (2 nd District, Cagayan de Oro
City) and Maximo B. Rodriguez Jr. (Partylist, ABAMIN), redefines the scope of activities
and services related to the practice of forestry, strengthens the qualifications for foresters,
and reorient specific areas of topics in the Foresters Licensure Examination, among others.
Rodriguez said some provisions of RA 6239, which was enacted into law on June
19, 1971 or some 44 years ago, are no longer applicable to the governments existing
forest policies and program development thrusts, the new knowledge in forestry and the
practices of some of the 8,000 professional Filipino foresters.
Forestry is a dynamic profession, according to Rodriguez. Changes in the
physical environment and conditions of natural resources as well as global and national
policies and laws concerning them, scientific concepts, methodologist and technologies,
and even ethical issues affect the practice of the forestry profession. The new competence
standards developed for foresters show the specific knowledge and skills foresters should
have today.
Rodriguez lauded the approval of the measure, which, he said, will enable the
professional Filipino foresters to effectively address the various demands of their clientele
and accordingly react to social and political issues and critical environmental concerns
besetting the country today.
In the 70s, when the law regulating the forestry profession in the country was
enacted, issues on global environment, sustainable forest management, community-based
resource management, integrated protected areas systems, climate change and biodiversity
conservation were barely heard. Today, these national and global legal and social
concepts dictate how resources management in the country will be pursued and
implemented side by side with economic considerations, Rodriguez said.
Thus, he added, todays forestry graduates who intend to practice the art and
craft of the forestry profession must show proof of their capability and preparedness by
way of meeting the requirement for in an updated law that would allow only the deserving
ones to practice the profession.

The bill strictly mandates that only graduates of Bachelor of Science in Forestry,
Bachelor of Science in Forest Products Engineering or Bachelor of Science in
Agroforestry, and not mere equivalent degrees, shall be qualified to take the Foresters
Licensure Examination.
Likewise, the measure creates the Professional Regulatory Board for Foresters,
which shall regulate the practice of forestry in the country; adopt and promulgate the Code
of Ethics, the Code of Good Governance and the Code of Technical Standards for the
Practice of Forestry; and prescribe and formulate the syllabi or table of specifications for
the subjects in the licensure examination in consultation with the academe and the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
The board, which shall be under the administrative supervision and control of the
Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), is authorized to evaluate and approve
applications for licensure examination; release the results of the examination; register
qualified foresters and issue thereto certificates of registration and professional
identification card; administer oath; and issue or cancel temporary or special permits
granted to foreign foresters.
The subjects to be covered by the licensure examination for foresters shall include
Forest Ecosystem, Forest Police and Governance, Forest Engineering and Utilization and
Forest Resource Management.
The scope of the practice of forestry under the bill shall include but not limited to
the parametric classifications of lands of the public domain and sub-classification and
capability of determination of forestlands; inventory of forest or timer and other forest
products; reconnaissance and survey of road locations and quarry sites; and scaling,
grading and manifesting taxes on logs and derivative wood products as well as other forest
products.
Foresters shall, among others, also inspect and investigate harvesting and
processing plants; prepare, certify and authenticate log and lumber dealers, sawmill
operations and other mill reports; plan and implement forest nursery, afforestation,
reforestation, industrial and community-based tree plantation, tree farm and agro-forestry
farm projects; and plan and implement systems development for forest parks, wilderness
areas, coastal areas and other protected areas.
The bill mandates the revocation of certificate of registration of any forester found
guilty of abetting illegal practice of forestry by any individual or entity.
Rodriguez said with the approval of the proposed Forestry Profession Act, the
Filipino Foresters role in sustainable development will be enhanced and the mechanism
for the growth of the profession will be institutionalized. (30) mrs