Question & AnswerQ&A (DENR ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 99-53)
The title is "Regulation on the Integrated Forest Management Program (IFMP)".
The policies include the protection and advancement of the right of people to a balanced and healthful environment; equitable distribution of opportunities, income and wealth through sustainable natural resource productivity; and the promotion of industrialization and employment based on sound resource development.
Ancestral Domain refers to areas generally belonging to indigenous cultural communities/indigenous peoples comprising lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and natural resources held under a claim of ownership since time immemorial, continuously to the present, except when interrupted by war, force majeure, or displacement.
Lands under NIPAS established as national parks, lands under Certificates of Ancestral Domain/Land Claims or other tenurial instruments without consent, and areas with pending CADC/CALC applications or verified occupation by indigenous peoples claimants unless denied after proper hearings.
The minimum size is 500 hectares and the maximum size shall not exceed 40,000 hectares, preferably in a single block; conversion from TLA can extend up to the size of the TLA area.
Applicants can be Filipino citizens of legal age or partnerships, cooperatives, or corporations duly registered under Philippine laws. TLA holders may automatically convert to IFMA under certain conditions.
Certified SEC/CDA registration, audited financial statements, proof of financial and technical capability, application and survey fees, and a board resolution authorizing the filing of application among others.
Responsibilities include delineation of boundaries, submitting a Comprehensive Development and Management Plan (CDMP) and Initial Environmental Examination (IEE), planting compatible tree species, protecting residual forests, and submitting annual accomplishment reports among other duties.
An IFMA lasts 25 years and may be renewed for another 25 years provided all terms and conditions, laws, and regulations have been complied with.
Incentives include the right to interplant crops, ownership and harvesting rights of planted trees, export rights of plantation products except naturally grown trees' logs, exemption from forest charges on plantation products, and eligibility for other investment incentives.
Grounds include fraud in application, failure to settle forest charges, breach of terms and laws, failure to submit CDMP or IEE on time, failure to maintain the plantation, unauthorized operations, and abandonment of the IFMA area for one year.
The RED or Secretary investigates and may issue a Notice of Breach or Suspension of Operations. The IFMA holder has 30 days to respond or appeal with the Secretary.
Yes, with Secretary's authorization, after at least 3 years, if the transferee is qualified, the transfer is not speculative, consent from financing institutions is obtained, and consultation with indigenous claimants has occurred when applicable.
Through arbitration in accordance with RA No. 876, and the arbitrator's decision is binding on both parties.
All permanent improvements, including forest plantations, become government property without compensation to the IFMA holder.