Separate Concurring Opinion
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G.R. No. 224469
Section 77 1 of P.D. 705, as amended by E.O. No. 277, criminalizes
two (2) distinct and separate offenses, namely: (a) the cutting, gathering,
collecting and removing of timber or other forest products from any forest
land, or timber from alienable or disposable public land, or from private land
without any authority; and (b) the possession of timber or other fore st
products without the legal documents required under existing laws and
regulations. 2
Indisputably, jurisprudence has consistently declared the offenses
under Section 77 of P.D. 705 to be mala prohibita. 3 In this regard, the
People, through the Office of the Solicitor General, is correct in arguing that
criminal liability attaches once the prohibited acts are committed, and
criminal intent is irrelevant for purposes of conviction. 4
The malum prohibitum nature of an offense, however, does not
automatically result to a conviction. The prosecution must still establish
that the accused had intent to perpetrate' the~act. 5
Intent to perpetrate has been associated with the actor's volition, or
intent to commit the act. 6 Volition or voluntariness refers to knowledge of
the act being done. 7 In previous cases, this Court has determined the
accused's volition on a case to case basis, taking into consideration the prior
and contemporaneous acts of the accused and the surrounding
circumstances. 8
In the early case of US. v. Go Chico,9 the accused was convicted of
violating Section 1 of Act No. 1696 10 prohibiting the display of any flag,
banner, emblem, or device used during the late insurrection in the
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SECTION 77. Cutting, Gathering and/or collecting Timber, or Other Forest Products Without License. Any person who shall cut, gather, collect, removed timber or other forest products from any forest land,
or timber from alienable or disposable public land, or from private land, without any authority, or
possess timber or other forest products without the legal documents as required under existing forest
laws and regulations, shall be punished with the penalties imposed under Articles 309 and 310 of the
Revised Penal Code: Provided, That in the case of partnerships, associations, or corporations, the
officers who ordered the cutting, gathering, collection or possession shall be liable, and if such officers
are aliens, they shall, in addition to the penalty, be deported without further proceedings on the part of
the Commission on Immigration and Deportation.
The court shall further order the confiscation in favor of the government of the timber or any
forest products cut, gathered, collected, removed, or possessed as well as the machinery, equipment,
implements and tools illegally used in the area where the timber or forest products are found.
Monge v. People, G.R. No. 170308, 07 March 2008; 571 Phil. 472-481 (2008).
Crescendo v. People, G.R. No. 205015, 19 November 2014; 747 Phil. 577-589 (2014); Villarin v.
People, G.R. No. 175289, 31 August 2011; 672 Phil. 155-177 (2011); Reva/do v. People, G.R. No.
170589, 16 April 2009; 603 Phil. 332-346 (2009).
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Id.
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See Fajardo v. People, G.R. No. 190889, 10 January 2011; 654 Phil. 184-207 (2011).
ABS-CBNCorp. v. Gozon, G.R. No. 195956, 11 March 2015; 755 Phil. 709-782 (2015).
Id.
Dela Cruz v. People, G.R. No. 209387, 11 January 2016; 776 Phil. 653-701 (2016).
G.R. No. 4963, 15 September 1909; 14 Phil. 128-142 (1909).
The Flag Law (1907).
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