Question & AnswerQ&A (DENR ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 72)
The primary purpose is to establish survey standards, instrumentation, and procedures for the verification and approval of maps in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to enhance capability, efficiency, and effectiveness in survey verification and monitoring.
Cadastral land surveys must conform to the Manual for Land Surveys in the Philippines under Lands Administrative Order No. 4 dated July 3, 1980, unless superseded by this or subsequent administrative orders, and cover extensive lands for delineation of timberland, classified lands, and political boundaries.
The perimeter of ISF areas must be surveyed with precision standards using calibrated and registered instruments, tied to reference points of known position, with boundary markers set as concrete monuments or marked on immovable natural features. Parcels within ISFs can be mapped with lesser precision instruments.
Monuments must be concrete, 15x15x50 cm, marked with "ISF" on top and monument number below, set 40 cm in the ground. Remaining corners are marked with "X" on immovable rocks, boulders, or indigenous trees.
Surveys for quarry applications, sand and gravel concessions, mining claims, coal and petroleum, and other mineral lands for purposes such as quarry licenses, permits, leases, patents, and production-sharing agreements.
Registered and calibrated instruments such as transit and tapes, theodolites, and Electronic Distance Measurement (EDM) devices must be used.
The National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) is responsible for land classification surveys including the delimitation of classified forests.
FNSP densifies existing geodetic control points to service cadastral surveys, corrects existing boundary monuments to the Global Positioning System (GPS) for unified cadastral mapping, and operates under the Regional Executive Director's control with technical guidance from the Surveys Division.
The order specifies maps from various agencies, for example: Lands Service produces Cadastral Maps at scales from 1:4000 to 1:250; Mines Service produces Geologic Maps at 1:50000 and Mineral Land Survey Maps at 1:250000; Forestry Service produces Integrated Social Forestry Maps at 1:4000 and Forest License Maps at 1:1000; NAMRIA produces Land Classification Maps at 1:25000.
The Transverse Mercator projection is mandated; the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system is used for topographic maps at scales 1:10000 and smaller; the Philippine Plane Coordinate System (PPCS) is used for maps larger than 1:10000 and as an aid on topographic maps.