La Libertad is a third (3rd) class municipality located in

the North of Negros Oriental, 1,047 km north of Dumaguete City. The town has a total land area of 17,480 hectares comprising 29 barangays, six (6) of which are coastal
barangays, while the rest are mountain settlements.
Narrow coastal plains that give way to rolling, hilly
rugged mountains and gentle slopes towards the interior
portion characterize the town.
La Libertad has a total land area of 17,480 hectares populated by 42,461 (Est. 2011) in 29 barangays. The 5,595
hectares classified public forest lands constitute about 32
percent of the municipal land area and are found in ten
(10) mountain barangays where 39 percent of the municipal population (around 16,560 persons in over 3,312
households) are settled, majority of them are corn farmers on rainfed farms.
The municipality has one main and four sub-watersheds
which service the needs of the four major irrigation
systems and domestic water requirements of the municipality.
Forest Land in La Libertad (MAP)
Of La Libertad's total land area, 5,595 hectares are classified as forest land, located in ten upland barangays. In
1987, forest comprised around 960 hectares which is
17.20%, of the forestlands, 16 years later, in 2003 there
were 123 hectares left, and planted 598 hectares with a
total of 721 hectares of forest which represent only
8.80% of forest land.
Of the forest land area of 5,595 hectares, 553 hectares are
considered tenured or officially and legally allocated to
individuals and communities by virtue of various kinds of
tenurial instruments issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Specifically for
La Libertad, the tenurial instruments presently issued are:
1. 100 hectares are under CBFM (Community based
Forest Management), located in the two barangays of
Pacuan and Bagtic.

2. CSC (Certificate of Stewardship Contract) covers 453

hectares, which are located in the following two barangays: Aniniao 209 hectares and Mandapaton 244 hectares.
The remaining 5,042 hectares of forest land are under
Co-Management between the DENR and the LGU.
IFMA (Integrated Forest Management Agreement):
Mosser Environment Corporation has applied for IFMA
with the DENR, with an estimated area of 1,300 hectares
more or less in the forestal barangays of Elecia, Talaon,
Aya and Pitogo. This area has to be deducted from the
5,042 hectares under co-management with DENR.
Mosser Corporation is currently suspended by the DENR
for non-compliance of the requirements such as the
submission of its Comprehensive Development Plan to
the LGU and DENR.
Forest Land Use Plan (FLUP) Process
The FLUP, which had been prepared by the FLUPTechnical Working Group in seven (7) months between
June to December 2003, was adopted on December 12,
2003 by the SB through resolution No. 171. The Local
Land Classification
A&D
Forest land
CMA within the
forest land