JUNE 4, 2015

NR # 3853

House passes National Mangrove Forest Conservation

and Rehabilitation Act
The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading House Bill 5609 or
the National Mangrove Forest Conservation and Rehabilitation Act, which provides for the
conservation, reforestation, and rehabilitation of mangrove forests in the Philippines.
Rep. Susan A. Yap (2nd District, Tarlac) is confident that the Senate will approve the
counterpart bills of House Bill 5609, which she principally authored, in time for the
commemoration of the International Mangrove Day on the 26th day of July.
The counterpart bills of House Bill 5609 are still at the committee level of the Senate
Committee on Environment and Natural Resources chaired by Sen. Loren Legarda.
Among these are Senate Bill 2237, An Act Establishing A National Mangrove
Reforestation Program for Coastal Areas; SB142, National Mangrove Forest Protection and
Preservation Act of 2013; SB769, The Mangrove Forest Protection and Preservation Act; and
SB1308, Mangrove Forest Protection and Preservation Act, authored, respectively, by Senators
Miriam Defensor Santiago, Cynthia Villar, Jinggoy Ejercito-Estrada, and Joseph Victor Ejercito.
Yap said the bill is very timely because mangroves can contribute to climate change
mitigation due to their enormous carbon-storage potential, which is said to be higher than
ordinary trees. An Earth Watch study reported that a hectare of mangroves can sequester 1.36
tons of carbon in a year which is equal to the emissions of six cars per year, Yap said.
The measure seeks to improve our marine ecosystems, ensure the food security of our
people, preserve our biodiversity and prevent the extinction of various mangrove species, thus
reduce disaster risks making our people resilient to the impacts of climate change, storm surges
and tsunamis, Yap stressed.
Citing a report of Global Forest Watch, Yap said the world lost 192,000 hectares of
mangroves from 2001 to 2012, a total loss of 1.38 percent since 2000 or 0.13 percent annually.
She also cited an assessment conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
stating that more than one in six mangrove species are at risk of becoming extinct.
Yap said the countrys experience with Typhoon Yolanda highlighted the important role
that mangroves play as natural bio-shields for vulnerable coastal communities. Mangrove forests
provide protection against storm surges as well as tsunamis. A mangrove stand of 30 trees per
0.01 hectare with a depth of 100 meters can reduce the destructive force of a tidal wave by up to
90 percent, Yap said.
House Bill 5609 prohibits the cutting, uprooting or destroying of any mangrove tree,
dumping of waste within mangrove reservation areas, construction or reclamation activity within
mangrove reservation areas, or any other acts that will result in the damage or destruction of
mangrove forests.

Violators shall be fined with not less than P200,000 but not more than P1 million, or with
imprisonment for not less than six months but not more than six years, or both, and may also
require to restore or compensate for the restoration of the damage, as determined by the court.
According to Yap, the allocation for mangrove rehabilitation under the National Greening
Program has been increased from P347 to P1 billion in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda.
However, the National Greening Program is ending in 2016, and without sufficient funding, all
our efforts to rehabilitate the mangrove forests in the country cannot be sustained beyond 2016,
Yap said.
House Bill 5609 shall establish and set aside all coastal areas in each municipality portions
of land solely for the conservation, protection, reforestation and rehabilitation of mangrove
forests.
Under the measure, the local government units (LGUs), together with the Provincial
Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources (BFAR) local office, where the mangrove areas will be located, shall take the lead in
the identification, survey, zonification and mapping of all mangrove areas, segregating areas that
are still forested, severely denuded or degraded including abandoned, undeveloped and
underutilized fishponds.
All natural stands of mangrove forests and regenerating abandoned ponds shall
automatically form part of the reservation areas.
A National Steering Committee for the Conservation and Rehabilitation of Mangrove
Forests (NSCCRMF) shall be established attached to the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources to review existing policies and conduct studies on mangrove forest and its
conservation.
A National Mangrove Forests Conservation and Rehabilitation Plan (NMFCRP) shall be
formulated by the National Steering Committee (NSC) which contains an inventory of the status
of all mangrove forests all over the country, fishponds, identification of mangrove reservation
areas for each province, city and municipality, and operational plan for rehabilitation, among
others.
The measure shall also establish a Local Steering Committee for the Conservation of
Mangrove Forests (LSCCRMF) with Local Mangrove Forests Conservation and Rehabilitation
Plan as well.
The bill substituted House Bills 460, 3525, and 4206 authored by Reps. Agapito H.
Guanlao (Party List, BUTIL), Regina O. Reyes (Lone District, Marinduque) and Susan A. Yap
(2nd District, Tarlac), respectively.
Other co-authors are Reps. Aleta C. Suarez (3rd District, Quezon), Deogracias B. Ramos,
Jr. (2nd District, Sorsogon), Gary C. Alejano (Party List, MAGDALO), Joseph Stephen S.
Paduano (Party List, ABANG LINGKOD), Maria Valentina G. Plaza (1st District, Agusan Del
Sur), Victor J. Yu (1st District, Zamboanga Del Sur), Xavier Jesus D. Romualdo (Lone District,
Camiguin) Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza (Party List, TUCP) and Mylene J. Garcia-Albano
(2nd District, Davao City).(30) jsc