Forestry Profession Act Regulation

Key definitions and meaning

Section 4(a) defines an Accredited Professional Organization (APO) as an organization integrating associations, federations, and groups of licensed foresters accredited by the Professional Regulatory Board for Foresters and approved by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) under Republic Act No. 8981 (the “PRC Modernization Act of 2000,” as amended).
Section 4(b) defines Forestry as the art, science, practice, and business of sustainable management of forest and forestland resources for production of goods and services and enhancement of benefits and values for present and future generations.
Section 4(c) defines Professional forester as a registered and licensed natural person holding (1) a valid certificate of registration and (2) a valid professional identification card issued by the Board and PRC under this Act.

Coverage and scope of practice

Section 5 provides that the practice of forestry includes enumerated actual or supervisory activities and services, including parametric classification of lands of the public domain and subclassification and capability determination of forestlands.
Section 5 includes forestry inventory and related work such as inventory of forest or timber and other forest products.
Section 5 includes reconnaissance and survey of road locations and quarry sites; planning and implementing harvesting operations and timber improvement; and scaling and grading of logs and manifesting taxes on logs and derivative wood products.
Section 5 includes preparation of designs, plans and specifications for forest products processing plants; treatment of wood and other forest products; inspection and investigation of harvesting and processing plants.
Section 5 includes preparation, certification or authentication, or both, of log and lumber dealers, sawmill operators and other mill test reports.
Section 5 includes planning and implementation of forest nursery, afforestation, reforestation, industrial and community-based tree plantation, tree farm and agroforestry farm projects.
Section 5 includes planning and implementation of forest parks, wilderness areas, coastal areas and other protected area systems development.
Section 5 includes planning and implementation of forest protection systems, forest and soil resources conservation measures, and conduct of environmental risk scoping and environmental impact assessment.
Section 5 includes feasibility studies for natural forest and plantation forest management, watershed management, range or grazing land management, wildlife and biodiversity systems management, wood technology and timber engineering, and wood products manufacturing and marketing management, and technical or management consultancy.
Section 5 includes forest experiments, research and development, training and extension concerning forestry, and teaching forestry subjects in any accredited college or school of forestry.
Section 5 includes government institutional activities where the principal policy and strategy is forestry and professional forestry practice is essential.
Section 5 includes forestry activities and services required by local government units, private corporations, foundations, nongovernment organizations, and foreign assisted projects.
Section 5 allows the Board, subject to PRC approval, to revise, exclude from, or add to the enumerated acts or activities to conform to latest trends.

Professional Board creation and governance

Section 6 creates a collegial body under administrative supervision and control of the PRC called the Professional Regulatory Board for Foresters (Board).
Section 6 provides the Board is composed of a Chairperson and two (2) members, appointed by the President from lists prepared by the PRC and endorsed through the APO nomination process.
Section 7 requires Board members to be natural born Filipino citizens and residents of the Philippines at appointment time.
Section 7 requires good moral character and prohibits conviction of an offense involving moral turpitude.
Section 7 requires a Bachelor’s Degree in Forestry (preferably with Master’s or Doctorate in Forestry) from a duly licensed school recognized by CHED.
Section 7 requires Board members to be registered foresters with valid certification of registration and valid professional identification card, with at least ten (10) years of practice prior to appointment.
Section 7 requires membership in good standing of the APO and prohibits faculty/staff reviewers in forestry review or training institutions and pecuniary interest therein.
Section 7 prohibits Board members from being officers or trustees of the APO.
Section 8 sets the Board term at three (3) years from date of appointment, with reappointment for another term immediately after expiry.
Section 8 limits holding the position to no more than two (2) terms or not more than six (6) years.
Section 8 provides initial staggered terms for the first Board: Chairperson for three (3) years, first member for two (2) years, and second member for one (1) year, with vacancy appointments serving only the unexpired portion.
Section 9 provides Board members receive compensation and benefits comparable to those of other PRC professional regulatory boards.

Board powers, duties, and decision controls

Section 10 authorizes the Board to exercise executive and administrative rule-making and quasi-judicial powers to carry out the Act.
Section 10 requires adoption and promulgation of the Code of Ethics, Code of Good Governance, and Code of Technical Standards for the Practice of Forestry.
Section 10 requires prescribing CPD guidelines for foresters in consultation with the APO.
Section 10 requires prescribing syllabi/table of specifications for licensure subjects in consultation with the academe and CHED.
Section 10 authorizes issuing or canceling temporary or special permits granted to foreign foresters.
Section 10 allows adoption of a program for walk-in licensure examination, if necessary.
Section 10 requires evaluating and approving applications for licensure examination and preparing, giving, correcting, and releasing examination questions and results.
Section 10 requires registering qualified persons, issuing certificates of registration and professional identification cards.
Section 10 authorizes administering oaths.
Section 10 authorizes ocular inspections of establishments where foresters practice and adopting measures to maintain high professional standards.
Section 10 allows entering a memorandum of agreement with CHED and PRC to ensure higher education offerings comply with CHED policies, standards, and curriculum requirements.
Section 10 directs quality assurance of forestry education by examining facilities of universities/colleges seeking permission to open BS Forestry courses and ensuring CHED requirements are met; CHED determines opening/closing upon the Board’s written recommendation.
Section 10 authorizes hearing and investigation of violations, including issuance of summons, subpoena ad testificandum, and subpoena duces tecum.
Section 10 requires that strictly technical practice concerns be presided over by at least one (1) Board member assisted by a Legal or Hearing Officer of the PRC.
Section 10 authorizes endorsing cases involving criminal violations to the Prosecution Office for investigation.
Section 10 provides procedural consequences for administrative cases:
- For examinees found guilty: examination papers are cancelled and they are barred from taking another licensure examination.
- For registered foresters found guilty: certificate of registration is suspended and revoked.
- For effectivity: penalties commence only from date of surrender of certificates together with the professional identification cards.
- For finality: Board decisions become final and executory unless appealed to the PRC within fifteen (15) days from receipt of notice of judgment/decision.
Section 10 authorizes reissuing or reinstating revoked or suspended certificates subject to conditions and PRC approval.
Section 10 authorizes summary proceedings on minor violations, with summary judgment final and executory after fifteen (15) days from notice receipt unless appealed to PRC.
Section 10 requires an annual report of accomplishments and recommendations to PRC after close of each calendar year.
Section 10 provides that Board rules, codes, and policies in a resolution are subject to PRC review and approval.
Section 10 provides that Board administrative case decisions not interlocutory are reviewable only by appeal to PRC or the regular courts.

Board removal and recordkeeping

Section 11 authorizes removal or suspension of Board Chairperson/member by the President, upon PRC recommendation, after opportunity to defend in a PRC administrative investigation.
Section 11 allows removal/suspension for gross neglect, incompetence or dishonesty.
Section 11 allows removal/suspension for violation of causes/grounds/prohibited acts in this Act and offenses in the Revised Penal Code, Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and other laws.
Section 11 allows removal/suspension for manipulation or rigging of licensure exam results, disclosure of secret/confidential examination questions prior to conduct, or tampering of grades.
Section 11 requires PRC guidance in investigation to follow Section 7(s) of Republic Act No. 8981, administrative investigation rules, and applicable Rules of Court.
Section 12 requires the PRC to keep all Board records, including applications, examination papers and results, minutes, and administrative cases.
Section 12 requires the PRC to designate a Secretary of the Board to assist implementation.

Licensure examination, registration, and cards

Section 13 requires that applicants for registration (except as specifically allowed in the Act) must pass a licensure examination in places/dates designated by the PRC in a Resolution mandating the Master Schedule.
Section 14 requires an applicant to prove: Philippine citizenship (or foreign citizenship of a country/state with reciprocity on forestry practice), good moral character, required educational qualifications, and no conviction for an offense involving moral turpitude.
Section 14(c) requires a Bachelor’s degree in forestry or forest products engineering, or agroforestry from a CHED-recognized and duly accredited school, or specifically a graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in forest product engineering or a Bachelor of Science in Agroforestry with at least seventy (70) units of core subjects in forestry and related subjects.
Section 15 sets licensure exam subjects as: Forest Ecosystem, Forest Policy and Governance, Forest Engineering and Utilization, and Forest Resource Management.
Section 15 authorizes the Board (subject to PRC approval) to revise, exclude, or add exam subjects to conform to technological changes and trends.
Section 16 provides the passing requirement is a general or weighted average rating of seventy-five percent (75%).
Section 17 requires the Board to submit ratings to the PRC not later than ten (10) days after the last day of the examination, unless extended for valid cause.
Section 18 requires successful candidates to take the oath of profession before the Board Chairperson/member, any authorized PRC officer, or another authorized oath-administering person prior to practice.
Section 19 requires issuance of a certificate of registration to those who pass, subject to payment of fees prescribed by PRC and the Board, stamped with official seal of the PRC and Board.
Section 19 provides the certificate remains in full force and effect until withdrawn, revoked, or suspended under this Act.
Section 19 requires issuance of a professional identification card with registration number and date of issuance, expiry date, and the signature of the PRC Chairperson.
Section 19 requires professional identification card reissuance after every three (3) years upon payment of prescribed fees.

Refusal, suspension, revocation, reissuance

Section 20 directs the Board not to register successful examinees who are convicted of moral turpitude, found guilty by the Board of immoral/dishonorable conduct, summarily adjudged guilty for violating general instructions to examinees, or declared of unsound mind by a court.
Section 20 requires the Board, upon refusal, to give a written statement of reasons and file a copy in Board records.
Section 21 authorizes the Board, upon notice and hearing, to revoke or suspend a registered forester’s certificate or cancel a foreigner forester’s temporary/special permit for listed grounds.
Section 21 enumerates grounds including violation of this Act and its IRR and codes, fraud in obtaining certificates/permits, gross incompetence/negligence/ignorance resulting to death, injury, or damage, refusal to remain in good standing of the APO, and neglect/failure to pay registration fees for three (3) consecutive years.
Section 21 enumerates grounds including aiding/abetting illegal practice by a non-registered person; illegally practicing during suspension; drug/alcohol addiction impairing practice (with medical/drug-testing facility finding sufficient); and noncompliance with CPD requirement unless exempted for renewal of professional identification card.
Section 21 allows charges to be filed by any person, firm, or association, and allows the Board to investigate on its own motu proprio, with its decision to investigate embodied in a formal charge signed by at least a majority of Board members.
Section 21 requires that an affidavit-complaint be filed with affidavits of witnesses and documentary evidence with the Board through the Legal and Investigation Office.
Section 21 requires that PRC administrative investigation rules govern the hearing/investigation subject to this Act, Republic Act No. 8981 as amended, and the Rules of Court.
Section 22 allows the Board, upon petition, to reinstate or reissue a revoked certificate after two (2) years from effectivity of revocation (defined as the date of surrender of the certificate and professional identification card if still valid) to the Board and PRC.
Section 22 bars requiring a revoked holder to take another licensure examination for reissuance.
Section 22 requires petitioners to prove valid reasons to practice; requires Board resolution for granting the petition subject to PRC approval.
Section 22 allows issuance of lost/damaged certificate of registration, professional identification card, or temporary/special permit upon application by the valid license holder, following prescribed procedure and payment of prescribed fees.
Section 23 requires suspension of a registered forester from practice for nonpayment of registration fees for three (3) consecutive years from the last or previous year of payment.
Section 23 requires resumption only upon payment of delinquent fees plus surcharges and interest according to PRC rules.
Section 23 provides the three-year suspension period may be interrupted by written notice of discontinuance of practice and surrender of the certificate of registration to the Board and PRC.
Section 24 provides vested rights: all foresters registered at effectivity are deemed automatically registered under the Act and must renew registration thereafter under Act requirements.
Section 24 provides that certificates of registration and professional identification cards or temporary/special permits held by persons in good standing at effectivity have the same force and effect as though issued on or after effectivity.

Authorized practice, seals, and foreign practice

Section 25 authorizes practice by:
- Natural persons: duly registered foresters with valid certificates and identification cards, and holders of valid temporary/special permits for foreign licensed foresters; and
- Juridical persons: single proprietorships with owner and staff registered foresters; professional partnerships under the New Civil Code with partners all registered foresters; corporations engaged in forestry practice with officers and directors all registered foresters; and SEC-registered nonprofit nonstock corporations with officers, trustees, and members all registered foresters.
Section 25 requires juridical persons to be registered with the Board and PRC under duly issued rules and regulations.
Section 26 requires all registered foresters to obtain a seal of design and make as authorized and directed by the Board.
Section 26 requires inclusion of the serial number of the certificate of registration in the seal.
Section 26 requires that documents prepared by or under direct supervision of a registered or professional forester be stamped with the forester’s seal, including enumerated documents such as reports, certifications, contracts, studies, plans, surveys, returns, technical descriptions, inventory data, maps, drawings, sketches, layouts, exhibits, proposal or offer of services, tests and analyses, and other documents subject to such acts upon APO recommendation and Board resolution.
Section 26 makes it unlawful for any person to stamp any document with the seal after the certificate of registration is revoked.
Section 27 prohibits a foreigner from taking the licensure examination, registering, receiving certificates/identification cards, or practicing forestry in the Philippines unless the foreign requirements are substantially the same and the foreign jurisdiction allows Philippine citizens to practice on the same basis with the same privileges.
Section 28 authorizes the Board, with PRC approval and payment of fees, to issue temporary or special permits to:
- registered or certified foreign foresters internationally known in a branch/specialty whose services are urgently and importantly necessary due to lack/inadequacy of local specialists for technology transfer, and
- foreign licensed foresters employed as exchange professors in forestry schools/colleges/universities.
Section 28 provides temporary/special permits are valid for not more than one (1) year subject to renewal and must indicate the branch/specialty and specific place of practice.
Section 28 requires the Board to promulgate rules and regulations for implementation of this section subject to PRC approval.

Integration, roster, mandatory education, postings

Section 29 requires integration of all registered foresters and their professional organizations/groups into one (1) national organization of foresters registered with the SEC.
Section 29 requires the Board to accredit that national organization (subject to PRC approval) as the one and only integrated and accredited national organization of foresters.
Section 29 provides that foresters in the Registry Book of Foresters ipso facto become members of the integrated organization upon payment of APO membership fees and dues.
Section 29 provides that membership in an affiliate organization is not barred.
Section 30 requires the Board to prepare and maintain an annual-updated roster of registered foresters’ names and residence/office addresses with their certificate status and APO membership status, including whether valid, inactive due to death or other reasons, delinquent, suspended, or revoked.
Section 30 requires the roster to be conspicuously posted within PRC premises and the information made available to the public upon inquiry or request.
Section 31 requires foresters’ documents to state: certificate of registration number and date of issuance; professional identification card expiry; professional tax receipt number; APO membership number and date of issuance; and official receipt number and date of payment (annual or lifetime).
Section 32 requires the Board to issue rules on mandatory continuing education within six (6) months from passage.
Section 32 provides that failure to comply results in automatic suspension of professional registration until completion of required education units.
Section 33 requires posting of the certificate of registration, professional identification card, or temporary/special permit in original or authenticated copy in a conspicuous place in the forester’s office.
Section 34 requires that positions in public or private offices involving the practice of the forestry profession be occupied by persons who are duly registered foresters with valid certificates and identification cards, or holders of valid temporary/special permits issued under this Act.

Penal and general provisions

Section 35 provides perpetual disqualification for practicing forestry by any person who commits any of the enumerated acts.
Section 35(a) imposes perpetual disqualification for practicing forestry without a valid certificate and professional identification card or without a valid temporary/special permit.
Section 35(b) imposes perpetual disqualification for attempting to use or using a registered forester’s seal, certificate, and professional identification card, or temporary/special permit.
Section 35(c) imposes perpetual disqualification for abetting illegal practice by an unregistered or unauthorized person.
Section 35(d) imposes perpetual disqualification for securing certificates/permits through false information or fraudulent means.
Section 35(e) imposes perpetual disqualification for impersonating a registered forester or a holder of a temporary/special permit.
Section 35(f) imposes perpetual disqualification for violating any provision of this Act or its IRR.
Section 36 provides the Act does not affect or prevent the practice of any other legally recognized profession.
Section 37 provides enforcement assistance by the Board with PRC, the APO, duly constituted government agencies and authorities, and private organizations in the industry, with allowance for memoranda of agreement.
Section 38 requires that implementation funding be included in the PRC program and included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
Section 39 provides a transitory rule: the incumbent Board continues in an interim capacity without new appointments of Chairperson and members until the first Board under this Act is constituted/organized.
Section 40 requires IRR issuance: the Board, subject to PRC approval and after consultation with the APO, other agencies, and concerned private organizations in the industry, must issue Board resolution IRR not later than the ninetieth (90th) day from effectivity.
Section 41 includes a separability clause: unconstitutional or invalid provisions do not impair other provisions not directly involved.
Section 42 repeals Republic Act No. 6239 and repeals or modifies all inconsistent laws, decrees, orders, letters of instruction, rules and regulations, and other issuances.
Section 43 provides effectivity fifteen (15) days after publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Republic Act No. 10690 is approved on October 23, 2015.