Community-Based Forest Management National Order

Constitutional and policy bases

The Executive Order is grounded on Article II, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution on environmental protection and advancement of the right to a healthful and balanced ecology.
The Executive Order is grounded on Article II, Section 10 of the 1987 Constitution on promotion of social justice in all phases of national development.
The Executive Order is grounded on Article XIV, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution requiring the State to recognize and respect indigenous peoples’ rights to ancestral domains and to consider their customs, traditions and beliefs in policy formulation.

Issuing authority, citation, effectivity framework

This Order is Executive Order No. 263 issued July 19, 1995 by President Fidel V. Ramos.
The President issues the Order by virtue of powers vested by law.
Section 14 repeals or amends previous executive and administrative issuances that are inconsistent with the Order.
Section 12 requires the DENR Secretary to issue necessary rules, regulations, procedures, and guidelines to implement the Order.

Core implementation responsibilities

Section 2 requires the DENR, through its Community and Provincial Environment and Natural Resource Offices, to coordinate with local government units and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Section 2 requires the DENR to at all times take into account the needs and aspirations of local communities whose livelihood depends on forestlands.
Section 6 requires the DENR to work with local governments, people’s organizations (POs), non-government organizations (NGOs), religious groups, business and industry, and other concerned organizations to empower communities to achieve the objectives of the Order.
Section 4 permits and recognizes indigenous peoples’ participation in CBFM activities in recognition of their rights to ancestral domains and land rights and claims.

Community access and approved harvesting methods

Section 3 allows participating organized communities to be granted access to forestland resources under long term tenurial agreements.
Section 3 conditions access on the communities employing environment-friendly, ecologically-sustainable, and labor-intensive harvesting methods.
Section 3 requires that the harvesting methods be stated in a site-specific management plan for each recipient community.
Section 3 requires that the site-specific management plan and its harvesting methods be duly approved by the DENR.

CBFM Steering Committee and incentives

Section 5 creates a CBFM Steering Committee immediately and provides that it is headed by the DENR.
Section 5 provides that the Steering Committee shall include members from: the Departments of Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Agrarian Reform, Finance, Science and Technology, Labor and Employment, Interior and Local Government, Budget and Management, National Defense and Justice; the National Economic Development Authority; the Philippine Commission on Countrywide Development under the Office of the President; the Committee on Flagship Programs and Projects of the Office of the President; the Presidential Management Staff under the Office of the President; the Cooperative Development Authority; and offices of Northern and Southern Cultural Communities.
Section 5 authorizes the Committee to invite representatives from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, Philippine Wood Products Association, NGO coalition groups, and other public and private organizations to become members of the Steering Committee.
Section 5 requires the Steering Committee to formulate and develop policy guidelines creating incentives and conditions to effectively carry out the CBFM strategy.
Section 5 requires that Steering Committee members be represented by concerned Assistant Secretaries or heads of bureaus and agencies.

Funding, financing mechanisms, and incentives

Section 7 requires the DENR, in budget preparation, to allot adequate funds to accomplish CBFM targets effectively.
Section 7 requires the DENR to seek supplementary funding from local and foreign supporting agencies and organizations.
Section 7 requires the DENR to ensure inclusion of CBFM budget allocations in the annual General Appropriations Act, pending the passage of the revised Forestry Code.
Section 8 requires the DENR to establish a Community-based Forest Management Special Account (CBFMSA) to support implementation and to provide a financial and professional incentive system for deserving communities and government personnel.
Section 9 authorizes the DENR to source local and international grants and donations for establishment of the CBFM Special Account, with other fund sources later determined by the Steering Committee subject to existing government regulations.

Training and development programs

Section 10 requires the DENR to support and jointly set up, with relevant colleges and universities and private and public organizations, arrangements for a community forestry training program.
Section 10 covers training for members of participating units, including people’s organizations, NGOs, local government units, and other government personnel.

Time-bound actions and required plans

Section 11 requires the DENR, within six months after the signing of the Order, in consultation with government financial institutions including the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), GSIS, and SSS, to effect the creation of favorable financing mechanisms.
Section 11 requires financing mechanisms to support community and organizational access for CBFM strategy pursuits and its sub-strategies: community training and empowerment, enterprise development, agroforestry development, tree plantations, and other non-forest-based alternative livelihood systems.
Section 13 requires the DENR Secretary, within six months from the signing of the Order, to submit to the Office of the President a National Comprehensive Community Forestry Action Plan.
Section 13 requires the action plan to embody the DENR’s short, medium and long-term plans.
Section 13 requires the action plan to be discussed and approved by the CBFM Steering Committee prior to submission to the President.

Implementing rules and repeal of inconsistent issuances

Section 12 requires the DENR Secretary to issue new rules, regulations, procedures, and guidelines necessary to implement the Order.
Section 12 requires the DENR Secretary to repeal or modify existing rules consistent with the policies set forth by the CBFM Steering Committee.
Section 14 repeals or amends previous executive and administrative issuances that are inconsistent with the Order.

Named governmental and private participants

Section 2 designates the DENR’s Community and Provincial Environment and Natural Resource Offices as key offices, acting in coordination with LGUs and the DILG.
Section 5 identifies a broad inter-agency composition for the Steering Committee, including multiple national government departments and central government offices.
Section 6 mandates collaboration across government, community, civic, faith-based, and private sector stakeholders to empower communities under CBFM.

Date of signing and formalization

The Order was DONE in the City of Manila on 19th day of July, 1995, and signed by Fidel V. Ramos.
Section 12 establishes the need for subsequent DENR rulemaking to operationalize the Order.
Section 14 provides continuing legal effect by repealing or amending inconsistent prior issuances.