Separate Concurring Opinion
7
G.R. No. 224469
Further, it must be noted that the original iteration of Section 77 (then
Section 68 of Presidential Decree No. 705 [1975]) was passed under the 1973
Constitution and specifically described "authority" as being "under a license
agreement, lease, license or permit. " 26 However, soon after the enactment of
the 1987 Constitution or in July 1987, then President Corazon Aquino issued
Executive Order No. 277 (EO 277) amending Section 77, which, among
others, removed the above-mentioned descriptor, hence, leaving the phrase
"without any authority," generally-worded. To my mind, the amendment of
Section 77 may be read in light of the new legal regime which gives
significant emphasis on the State's protection of our IPs' rights, which
includes the preservation of their cultural identity. Given that there was
no explanation in EO 277 as to the "authority" required, it may then be
reasonably argued that the amendment accommodates the legitimate exercise
of IPs' rights within their ahcestral domains.
In this relation, the esteemed Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta has
argued that the "authority" required under Section 77 must be understood as
still requiring licenses issued by the DENR because of the provision's heading
to wit: "Cutting, Gathering and/or collecting Timber or Other Forest
Products Without License." A rule, however, in statutory construction, is that
headings may be consulted in aid of interpretation, but "inferences drawn
from [them] are entitled to very little weight." 27
Further, it must be borne in mind that Section 77 punishes two separate
offenses. In Revaldo v. People: 28
There are two distinct and separate offenses punished under Section
68 of the Forestry Code, to wit:
(1) Cutting, gathering, collecting[,] and removing 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
(2) Possession of timber or other forest products without the legal
documents required under existing forest laws and regulations. 29
Based on the provision itself, the first offense of cutting, gathering,
collecting, removing timber or other forest products from any fore st land, or
timber from alienable or disposable public land, or from private land is
qualified by the general phrase "without any authority," whereas the
second offense of possessing timber or other forest products is qualified by
26
27
28
29
The relevant portion of the provision states:
SEC. 68. Cutting, Gathering and/or Collecting Timber or Other Products without
License. - Any person who shall cut, gather, collect, or remove timber or other forest
products from any forest land, or timber from alienable and disposable public lands, or
from private lands, without any authority under a license agreement, lease, license or
permit, shall be guilty of qualified theft as defined and punished under Articles 309 and
310 of the Revised Penal Code." (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)
Kare v. Platon, 56 Phil. 248, 250 (1931), citing Black's Interpretation of Laws.
603 Phil. 332 (2009).
Id. at 342.,