DENR through History SPANISH PERIOD partment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) traces its historical roots from as far back as the time of Spanish rule in the Philippines. In 1863, a Royal Decree was issued by the Spanish authorities creating the Inspeccion General de Montes, the first Forestry Service in the country. The main task of this colonial agency was to protect the forests in the Philippines and regulate timber cutting. And consistent with its mandate, the Inspeccion was able to preserve the forested areas in various islands of the Philippines because, at that time, the only trading that existed was the galleon trade which focused on agricultural products. Likewise, demand for timber was insignificant during that period. Included however in the other functions and responsibilities of the agency are several concerns related to the management of a wide range of natural resources, such as forest inventory and protection, land classification, watershed protection, water, biodiversity and mineral resources conservation, making it the real progenitor of the modern-day DENR. AMERICAN PERIOD-COMMONWEALTH ERA ing the American regime, the U.S. Military Governor in the Philippines issued General Order No. 50 on April 14, 1900 and reorganized the “Inspeccion”, renaming it as the Forestry Baureau. A year after, the Forestry Bureau was placed uaecade until it was abolished on November 18, 1916 by virtue of Reorganization Act No. 2666. In its place, the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) was created. The DANR took “direct executive control, direction and supervision of the Bureau of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry, Bureau of Lands, Bureau of Science and the Weather Bureau and all matters concerning hunting, fisheries, sponges and other sea products and such others as may be hereafter assigned to it by law”. In 1932, a new reorganization act was passed, providing for the renaming of DANR to the Department of Agriculture and Commerce (DAC) and the addition of other bureaus to its organizational  

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