Revised Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines, Presidential Decree No. 705, Series of 1975

The Decree required the creation of a method to prescribe the criteria and guidelines for the proper and accurate classification and survey of all lands of the public domain into agricultural, industrial or commercial, residential, resettlement, mineral, timber or forest and grazing lands, or such other classes. The Decree specifies how forest and grazing lands shall be utilized and managed, including the requirement to secure a license agreement before activities are conducted therein, as well as the applicable rules for timber utilization, wood-processing and re-forestation. The use of forest lands and grazing lands which shall produce the optimum benefit for the development and progress of the country and general welfare, without impairment or with least injury to the resources, shall be allowed. Licensing agreements are required before any person may utilize or conduct activities in forest and grazing lands. The Decree likewise indicated the punishable offenses, which include cutting, gathering and/or collecting of timber or other forest products without the appropriate license, illegal occupation and destruction of wildlife resources.