Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Abesamis, Ernesto M.
Student
&
Quizo, Ellen B.
Student
Submitted to:
Title Page
A. The Case at Bar 3
B. Relevant Facts 4
1. The trees in the riverbank 4
2. The Barangay Captain 4
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A. The Case At Bar
Reading the foregoing case alone will lead us to several conclusions which may
turn out to be irrelevant with what we are trying to look for. It would nevertheless be
pointless to take and discuss about it without pertinent details to anchor upon the
argument and the ensuing resolution thereof. It implies, and therefore requires, that we
may have to narrow down our specifics to be able for us to respond clearly and
information on the trees on the riverbank, the riverbank and the potential laws that will
1. The trees:
a. the reasons for the Barangay Captain for cutting the trees;
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The information generated after due consideration of the foregoing items will
categories. They basically differ in the fact that hardwood trees generally have larger and
wider leaves which normally drops during autumn while the softwood trees keep their
The trees in the riverbank are a mixture of both the hardwood and softwood trees.
They have been existing in the riverbank for almost thirty (30) years already and were the
thus growing in the area of the barangay and essentially owned by the barangay.
trees’ root covering thereby strengthening the soil and the riverbank as a whole.
The cutting of the trees in the riverbank is an initiative of the Barangay Captain
cognate to his plans of constructing a new building to shelter the different office services
provided by the barangay that includes the Health Center, Senior Citizen’s Office, Solid
Waste Management Office and the Office of the Barangay Captain. The existing building
shall be then used solely for the sessions of the Barangay Council. To have a wider space
for the building, the Barangay Captain shall utilize the area near the riverbank which
would in turn necessitate the cutting of the existing assorted trees therein.
Paragraph b (9), Section 389, Chapter 3,Title One, Book III of the Local
Government Code (LGC) of the Philippines which provides for the Barangay Captain’s
powers, duties and functions states, among others, that; “Enforce laws and regulations
Legal Research case: the trees in the riverbank were ordered cut by the Barangay Captain……page 4
relating to pollution control and protection of the environment” as one of the
functions of the Barangay Captain (emphasis supplied). Attached is the photocopy of the
foregoing section on the powers, duties and functions of the Barangay Captain marked as
Annex “1”.
In so far as the records of the barangay are concern, there is no existing resolution
or ordinance that prevents anybody for the cutting of the trees in the riverbank or the
3. Laws, Ordinances and Guidelines which governs the cutting of trees in the
riverbanks.
The following are the possible laws applicable into the given situation:
Title: Requiring the planting of trees in certain places and penalizing unauthorized
cutting, destruction, damaging and injuring of certain trees, plants and vegetation.
Section 3. – Any person who cuts, destroys, damages or injures, naturally growing or
planted trees of any kind, flowering or ornamental plants and shrubs, or plants of scenic,
aesthetic and ecological values, along public roads, in plazas, parks other than national
parks, school premises or in any other public ground or place, or on banks of rivers or
creeks, or along roads in land subdivisions or areas therein for the common use of the
owners of lots therein, or any species of vegetation or forest cover found therein shall, be
punished with imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than two years, or
a fine of not less than five hundred pesos and not more than five thousand pesos, or with
both such imprisonment and fine at the discretion of the court, except when the cutting,
destroying, damaging or injuring is necessary for public safety or the pruning thereof is
necessary to enhance beauty, and only upon the approval of the duly authorized
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representative of the head of agency or political subdivision having jurisdiction therein,
or of the Director of Forest Development in the case of trees on banks of rivers and
creeks, or of the owner of the land subdivision in the case of trees along roads and in
other areas therein for the common use of owners of lots therein. If the offender is a
corporation, partnership or association, the penalty shall be imposed upon the officer or
officers thereof responsible for the offense, and if such officer or officers are aliens, in
addition to the penalty herein prescribed, he or they shall be deported without further
Decree shall prevent the cancellation of a license agreement, lease, license or permit from
Title: A decree instituting a water code, thereby revising and consolidating the laws
Article 51 – The banks of rivers and streams and the shores of the seas and lakes
throughout their entire length and within a zone of three (3) meters in urban areas, twenty
(20) meters in agricultural areas and forty (40) meters in forest areas, along their margins,
are subject to the easement of public use in the interest of recreation, navigation, floatage,
fishing and salvage. No person shall be allowed to stay in this zone longer than what is
any kind.
Legal Research case: the trees in the riverbank were ordered cut by the Barangay Captain……page 6
3. Republic Act No. 10593
Title: An Act amending certain sections of Republic Act no. 8048, entitled “An act
providing for the regulation of the cutting of coconut trees, its replenishment, providing
SECTION 1. Section 4 of Republic Act. No. 8048, also known as the “Coconut
Section 4. Prohibition. – No coconut tree shall be cut except in the following cases and
a. When the tree is sixty (60) years old in the case of tall varieties, and at least forty
e. When the agricultural land devoted to coconut production shall have been
f. When the land devoted to coconut production shall be converted into other
conversion duly applied for by the owner and approved by the proper
authorities: Provided, That no conversion shall be allowed by the PCA until after
it shall have been verified and certified that for a period of at least three (3) years
the majority of the coconut trees have become senescent and economically
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“No other causes other than those abovementioned shall be considered as a valid
Title: An Act amending Section 68 of Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 705, as amended,
otherwise known as the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines, for the purpose of
penalizing possession of timber or other forest products without the legal documents
required by existing forest laws, authorizing the confiscation of illegally ct, gathered,
removed and possessed forest products, and granting rewards to informers of violations
Section 68. Cutting, Gathering and/or collecting Timber or Other Forest Products
Without License. – Any person who shall cut, gather, collect, remove timber or other
forest products from any forest land, or timber from alienable or disposable public land,
or from private land, without any authority, or possess timber or other forest products
without the legal documents as required under existing forest laws and regulations, shall
be punished with the penalties imposed under Articles 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal
officers who ordered the cutting, gathering, collection or possession shall be liable, and if
such officers are aliens, they shall, in addition to the penalty, be deported without further
The Court shall further order the confiscation in favor of the government of the
timber or any forest products cut, gathered, collected, removed, or possessed, as well as
the machinery, equipment, implements and tools illegally used in the area where the
Legal Research case: the trees in the riverbank were ordered cut by the Barangay Captain……page 8
C. Discussion:
In so far as the laws that would affect the foregoing facts of the case, there are at
least four (4) laws that are national in scope which would help us in dealing with the
intricacies of this instant case. For purposes of our discussion, let us take them one by
one.
Section 3 of Presidential Decree No. 953 (See Annex “2”) prohibits the cutting,
destroying or damaging naturally growing or planted trees of any kind within the national
parks, school premises, public ground or on banks of river. Violation thereto, the said
However, there is an exception to this rule, and that is when the cutting,
destroying or damaging of the said trees are done and deemed necessary for public safety,
and only upon the approval of the duly authorized representative of the head of agency or
In the case at bar, given that the cutting of the trees in the riverbank are for the
purpose of the construction project of the barangay, which has no bearing on either the
public safety or any aesthetic enhancement, the Barangay Captain can therefore be liable
for the violation of Section 3 of PD #953 if he pushed through with the act of ordering the
cutting of the trees in the riverbank which we assume that are of different varieties and
situated in the riverbank within the area of operation of the said Barangay Captain.
The said provision of the law is very specific in its prohibition to include any trees
located in the different public or private place and of course those on the riverbank. And
unless the act would fall within the prohibition of the law, the Barangay Captain can be
held liable if he pushed through with action of cutting, destroying or damaging the trees
in the riverbank.
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2. Presidential Decree No. 1067
Incidentally, the preceding provision of the law can be applied into the instant
case, that is, in determining the legality of the action of the Barangay Captain, in
conjunction with Article 51 of PD 1067 (See Annex “3”). This law has something to do
with instituting a water code, and revising and consolidating the laws governing the
construction to be undertaken with respect to a riverbank, and that is, three (3) meters in
case of urban areas, twenty (20) meters for agricultural areas and forty (40) meters in case
of forest areas. Thus, the Barangay Captain could not construct the building he planned
thereto because it would encroach upon the 3-meter limit established by law and would
possibly be in conflict with the said provision of the law and run the risk of being charged
Let it be noted that the offenses committed under PD 953 and PD 1067 are by
regulatory laws. Hence, the intent thereof is not an essential element in the commission
of the crime.
To put it more accurately, the Barangay Captain could not claim that he has no
illegal intent of cutting the trees but for the purpose only of giving his constituencies
better form of public services because as malum prohibitum laws provide that a person
who committed a criminal act shall be punished under them regardless of the motive or
Legal Research case: the trees in the riverbank were ordered cut by the Barangay Captain……page 10
3. Republic Act No. 10593
Granting arguendo that these are all coconut trees in the riverbank that the
Barangay Captain intends to cut for the above-stated purpose, still, the Barangay Captain
may be liable for Republic Act No. 10593 (See Annex “4”).
Again, under the above-quoted law, the Barangay Captain could still be made
liable if he is going to push through with the cutting of the coconut trees on the riverbank.
There were only seven (7) exceptions provided by this law and his plan of constructing a
The riverbank within the barangay is part of the public land of the Philippines and
could not be categorized as Alienable and Disposable. As such, it is subject to the control
of the National Government of the Philippines. The trees in the riverbank shall then be
presumed to be part of the ownership of the state. It cannot be cut without violating
This Order penalizes any person who shall cut, gather, collect, remove timber or
other forest products… without any authority or without the legal documents as required
under existing laws and regulations. Violators hereof shall be punished with the penalties
imposed under Articles 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal Code.
Despite the fact that the trees in the riverbank are part of the area of operation of
the barangay, the Barangay Captain could not just order the same to be cut unless he is
D. Conclusion
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