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A Subject Requirement

Submitted by (In alphabetical order):

Abesamis, Ernesto M.
Student

&

Quizo, Ellen B.
Student

Submitted to:

Atty. Arnold Arceno


Professor
Table of Content

Title Page
A. The Case at Bar 3
B. Relevant Facts 4
1. The trees in the riverbank 4
2. The Barangay Captain 4

Legal Research case: the trees in the riverbank were ordered cut by the Barangay Captain……page 2
A. The Case At Bar

This entire Legal Research revolves around the following case:

The trees in a riverbank were ordered cut by the Barangay Captain.

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

meticulously to the situation. The case is indicative of at least having relevant

information on the trees on the riverbank, the riverbank and the potential laws that will

guide and help us in shaping a comprehensive conclusion.

We must therefore have sufficient information pertaining to the following:

1. The trees:

a. the kinds of trees growing in the riverbank;

b. the ages and the number of these trees;

c. the owner of these trees.

d. who owns the riverbank; and

e. the location of the riverbank.

2. The Barangay Captain:

a. the reasons for the Barangay Captain for cutting the trees;

b. powers of the Barangay Captain; and

c. local ordinances or resolutions.

3. The applicable laws

a. laws and ordinances; and

b. other relevant guidelines and issuances.

Legal Research case: the trees in the riverbank were ordered cut by the Barangay Captain……page 3
The information generated after due consideration of the foregoing items will

provide us a better perspective in dissecting as well as in resolving the case at bar.

B. The Relevant Facts

1. The trees in the riverbank.

Trees can either be deciduous (hardwood) and coniferous (softwood)

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

leaves all year round, shedding only the oldest leaves.

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

results of a tree planting program instituted by the previous barangay administrations,

thus growing in the area of the barangay and essentially owned by the barangay.

It can be therefore said that these trees were planted thereof as an

environmentally-feasible measure to prevent siltation and soil erosion to enhance the

trees’ root covering thereby strengthening the soil and the riverbank as a whole.

2. The Barangay Captain

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

presence of a Barangay Council Resolution to this effect.

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:

1. Presidential Decree No. 953

Title: Requiring the planting of trees in certain places and penalizing unauthorized

cutting, destruction, damaging and injuring of certain trees, plants and vegetation.

Date of Promulgation: July 6, 1976

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

Legal Research case: the trees in the riverbank were ordered cut by the Barangay Captain……page 5
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

proceedings before the Commission on Immigration and Deportation. Nothing in this

Decree shall prevent the cancellation of a license agreement, lease, license or permit from

the Government, if such cancellation is prescribed therein or in Government regulations

for such offense.

Attached is a photocopy of Presidential Decree No. 953 marked as Annex “2”.

2. Presidential Decree No. 1067, S. of 1976

Title: A decree instituting a water code, thereby revising and consolidating the laws

governing the ownership, appropriation, utilization, exploitation, development,

conservation and protection of water resources

Date of Promulgation: December 31, 1976

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

necessary for recreation, navigation, floatage, fishing or salvage or to build structures of

any kind.

Attached is a photocopy of Presidential Decree No. 953 marked as Annex “3”.

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

penalties therefor, and for other purposes”

Date of Promulgation: May 29, 2013

SECTION 1. Section 4 of Republic Act. No. 8048, also known as the “Coconut

Preservation Act of 1995”, is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 4. Prohibition. – No coconut tree shall be cut except in the following cases and

only after a permit had been issued therefor:

a. When the tree is sixty (60) years old in the case of tall varieties, and at least forty

(40) years old for dwarf varieties;

b. When the tree is no longer economically productive;

c. When the tree is severely disease-infested and beyond rehabilitation;

d. When the tree is severely damaged by typhoon or lightning;

e. When the agricultural land devoted to coconut production shall have been

converted in accordance with law into residential, commercial or industrial areas;

f. When the land devoted to coconut production shall be converted into other

agricultural uses or other agriculture-related activities in pursuance to a

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

unproductive or where the coconut farm is not adaptable to sound management

practices on account of geographical location, topography, drainage and other

conditions rendering the farm economically unproductive; and

g. When the tree would cause hazard to life and property.

Legal Research case: the trees in the riverbank were ordered cut by the Barangay Captain……page 7
“No other causes other than those abovementioned shall be considered as a valid

ground for cutting.”

4. Executive Order No. 277, S. 1987

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

of forestry laws, rules and regulations.”

Date of Promulgation: July 25, 1987

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

Code: Provided, That in the case of partnerships, associations, or corporations, the

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

proceedings on the part of the Commission on Immigration and Deportation.

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

timber or forest products are found.

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.

1. Presidential Decree No. 953

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

section further provides for the corresponding punishment.

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

political subdivision having jurisdiction therein or of the Director of Forest Development

in the case of trees on banks of rivers and creeks.

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.

Legal Research case: the trees in the riverbank were ordered cut by the Barangay Captain……page 9
2. Presidential Decree No. 1067

The second applicable law is PD 1067 specifically the Article 51 thereof.

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

ownership, appropriation, utilization, exploitation, development, conservation and

protection of water resources.

Article 51 of PD 1067 established the allowable distance for any building

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

for the violation thereto.

Let it be noted that the offenses committed under PD 953 and PD 1067 are by

nature malum prohibitum offenses or crimes committed in violation of statutory or

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

purpose it was pursued.

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

building is not one of them.

4. Executive Order No. 277, S. 1987

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

pertinent laws of the government.

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

going to comply first with the requirements provided for by law.

D. Conclusion

Legal Research case: the trees in the riverbank were ordered cut by the Barangay Captain……page 11
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