Continue reading]]> Constructing on timberland or DENR (Department of Environment and natural resources) protected areas require special permit(s) and for timberland or forest land areas it is the “Special Land Use Permit” (SLUP) if the area you’re trying to use or develop is below 1,000 square meters. This is not easy to get. Though the checklist of requirements they provide look like a simple bullet collection of documents and endorsements from various other government agencies, we all know it’s NOT EASY dealing with any Philippine government agency – as they are most grossly inadequate in personnel and / or equipment.

The first set of requirements you need to secure are the personal documents of the project owner – Birth certificate, ID’s, income tax return, and bank statement showing capacity to finance the project or enterprise – the applicant must be able to show at least a secured minimum of 2 million pesos.

Once you have the personal documents of the applicant – then you need to go to the nearest DENR or CENRO (Community Environment and Natural Resources) office who owns the jurisdiction of your area – in our case, Oslob, then we go to CENRO Argao to request for the project map of the site and to secure the SLUP application form so you can later submit it together with the rest of the needed documents. DENR-CENRO will need to conduct a site visit on your area to create this special map just for your project showing it at the center. The map is need to establish DENR’s legal jurisdiction of your site. Since timberland or forest land projects are in remote mountainous areas then you will need to accompany the CENRO personnel for this mapping activity so they can easily locate your site, and of course when dealing with the government, you will have to provide them with a good reason to prioritize your project by providing them good transport as they only have motorcycles for site visits and of course a good lunch, and thank you tokens to make them remember you in the future when you need their help again. In our case, a total of three mapping trips were done since the first two mapping trips were found out to be erroneous as they we’re only using their cell phone as GPS. The final mapping team had to bring a real hand help GPS device.

While waiting for your map to finish, as in our case – it took them a total of 4 months to come up with the final one, (not surprising when dealing with government people), you can start working on your INDICATIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN (IMP) which is like a feasibility study of your project. DENR Needs this study so they can decide to approve or deny your permit application. We highly recommend you hire someone with considerable experience in writing this IMP. In our case, the CENRO office have their own recommendation – one of their retired DENR officers is now working as full time consultant writing IMPs, ECCs, and other various DENR documentations. The IMP will cost p80k to write and it took the consultant 2 months to finish the study.

While waiting for your IMP or SITE MAP, if not yet done, you can start processing the needed MUNICIPAL ENDORSEMENT. The municipal endorsement will start with the public hearing on the baranggay level. You will need to secure a good number of baranggay attendees of at least twenty people saying yes to your project. The best way to do this is to let the people know ahead that you will be serving them food during this hearing. The food is not a bribe but it will help them to have a clear decision on your project. The baranggay council will convene to discuss the outcome of the public hearing and and will draft a baranggay resolution approving or disapproving your project. This baranggay resolution that they produce will be submitted to the town mayor who will also convene with the town council to approve or disapprove your project. This document which approves your project is the PUBLIC ENDORSEMENT needed by DENR.

Once you have all the listed needed documents for private applicants, you can submit it to the DENR or CENRO office where your project belongs. Once they receive your requirements, they will issue an endorsement for you to seek another clearance from the NCIP (National Commission on Indigenous Peoples) located at Osmena building in Colon Street beside the old VISION theatre – real Cebuanos know this place. The NCIP will conduct a survey on your project area to check if there are no overlapping claims from indigenous groups.

If you need help with SLUP, or if you want to add some info, please comment below…