THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources said a bill on forest line delineation will affirm the constitutional provision mandating Congress to set the specific limits of forest lands and national parks.
In a statement, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said the proposed bill providing for the delineation of the specific forest limits of public domain was one of 13 priority measures presented by President Aquino before the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council in its recent meeting.
The prospects of finally establishing the country’s permanent forest lines is getting clearer now with the push of the forest line delineation measure by President Aquino in Congress,” Paje said.
He said the bill is in keeping with Section 4 of Article XII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which states, “Congress shall . . . determine by law the specific limits of forest lands and national parks, marking clearly their boundaries on the ground.”
To date, the DENR has completed the delineation and assessment of a total of 54,642 kilometers of forest lines, covering 61 of the country’s 77 provinces, excluding the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
The remaining 16 provinces, which have already been partially delineated covering 11,529.8 kilometers, will be completed this year.
There are still 14,810 kilometers of forest lines to be completed this year in the provinces of Benguet, Mount Province, Ilocos Norte, Nueva Vizcaya, Quezon, Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Romblon, Albay, Camarines Sur, Northern Samar, Zamboanga Sibugay, Bukidnon, North Cotabato and Agusan del Norte.
