The amendment to the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines affects the Agarwood industry, high-value tree farming, and agroforestry investments in several ways.
A. No Forest Charges for Planted Trees in Private Lands & ITPs
✅ Planted Agarwood trees (Aquilaria malaccensis) are exempt from forest charges when grown in:
- Private lands with land titles
- Industrial Tree Plantations (ITPs)
- Approved land applications for reforestation & agroforestry
✅ This encourages commercial Agarwood cultivation, making it a profitable venture with minimal taxation.
Forest charges apply ONLY IF harvesting naturally grown (wild) Agarwood trees inside private lands.
B. Forest Charges on Naturally Grown Trees
If an investor harvests naturally occurring Agarwood trees on private lands, they must pay government-imposed forest charges.
This discourages exploitation of wild Agarwood species and supports plantation-based farming as a more sustainable model.