Illegal Movement of Land-Survey Monuments in the Philippines: Offences, Penalties, and Enforcement

(Updated to the 2025 statutory text as far as publicly released, but always verify any later DENR or PRBGE issuances before acting.)

1. Why Survey Monuments Matter

Survey monuments—iron pipes, concrete posts, brass caps, “BLBM” or “PS” stones, etc.—are permanent reference marks placed by (a) the Department of Environment & Natural Resources–Land Management Bureau (DENR-LMB), (b) National Mapping & Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), or (c) licensed geodetic engineers for cadastral, isolated, or private surveys. They anchor the entire Torrens and public-land cadastre: disturb one monument and every adjoining title or certificate of ancestral domain rights can ripple out of position. Hence, moving, defacing, or destroying one is both a criminal wrong and a technical offence under survey regulations.

2. Core Statutes & Regulations

Instrument	Section(s) on Monuments	Key Penal Clause
Revised Penal Code (RPC) (Act No. 3815, as amended by RA 10951 / RA 11594)	Art. 327-330 (Malicious Mischief)	Art. 329: removal or alteration of official boundary marks
Public Land Act (C.A. 141, 1936)	§ 4, 6, 7, § 99	Authorises cadastral surveys; offences enforced via RPC
Property Registration Decree (P.D. 1529, 1978)	§ 35(b), § 50	Criminal liability piggy-backs on RPC & contempt powers of land courts
Philippine Geodetic Engineering Act (RA 8560, 1998)	§ 27-31	§ 29: obstruction or tampering with GE surveys—administrative & criminal fines
DENR Administrative Order 2007-29 (Revised Land Survey Regulations) + DAO 2020-12 Amendments	Rule VII-§ 55-57	P 15 000* + cost of re-establishment per monument; suspension of surveying privileges
Professional Regulatory Board of Geodetic Engineering (PRBGE) Res. 02-2021	§ 9(g) Code of Professional Conduct	Up to revocation of GE licence for complicity

*The P 15 000 figure has been inflation-indexed three times (DAO 2013-09; DAO 2020-12). Check the current “Schedule of Administrative Fines” circular in effect for the precise peso amount.

3. Elements of the Crime (RPC Art. 329)

Act – Removing, destroying, or defacing any monument or mark set by competent authority to designate land boundaries;
Knowledge & Intent – The offender knew it was an official mark and acted willfully (mere accident or unavoidable movement bars liability);
Object – Must be an official monument (government, court-approved relocation survey, or one accepted by DENR in a CAD or LC map). Private wooden stakes usually don’t qualify.

Penalty (Art. 329 as amended by RA 10951) • Prisión correccional minimum to medium (6 months & 1 day – 4 years & 2 months) or • Fine ≥ P 40 000 but ≤ P 1 000 000; • The court may impose both and order restitution (resetting) at offender’s expense.

If the monument protects ancestral domain or forest boundaries, aggravating circumstances (damage to government property) can raise the custodial penalty to prisión correccional medium to maximum under Art. 328.

4. Administrative & Professional Sanctions

Forum	Who May File	Range of Sanctions
DENR Regional Survey Division	Any geodetic engineer, barangay, LGU, or affected owner	Monetary fine (P 15 000 ↑), order to reinstall, blacklist of contractors, suspension of future survey approvals
PRB of Geodetic Engineering	DENR, PRC, any person	Reprimand → Suspension → Revocation of GE licence
Local Government (e.g., anti-vandalism ordinances)	Barangay captain, city engineer	Usually P 2 500 max fine or ≤ 6 months imprisonment (LGC cap), separate from RPC prosecution

5. Civil Liability

The offender must:

Pay the cost of re-establishing the point (survey fee + material + travel);
Indemnify neighbors for survey-related losses (e.g., cost of relocating fences, crops destroyed during resurvey);
Shoulder damages if the act caused litigation (attorney’s fees, docket fees) under Art. 220 of the Civil Code.

6. Typical Enforcement Workflow

Detection – Owner, GE, or DENR discovers the disturbance (field check, GNSS tie-points, or boundary conflict).
Report – Written “Disturbed Monument Report” to the DENR Regional Technical Director for Lands within 15 days; attach photos, sketch, coordinates.
Survey Verification – Regional Survey Inspector (RSI) validates in situ.
Administrative Action – RSI issues Notice to Explain to suspected party; may order Immediate Restoration Order if public land is affected.
Criminal Action – Parallel complaint-affidavit filed with the City/Provincial Prosecutor citing RPC Art. 329 (and RA 8560 § 29 if obstruction involved).
Court Trial – Filed in the Municipal/Metropolitan Trial Court (penalty within its jurisdiction). Injured private parties may intervene as offended parties under Rule 111, Rules on Criminal Procedure.
Execution – Upon conviction or administrative decision, DENR issues a Writ of Monument Restoration; sheriff or police accompany GE to reset.

7. Defences & Mitigating Circumstances

Defence	How Courts View It
Accident / Force majeure (e.g., typhoon uprooted the post)	Valid—absence of intent defeats malicious mischief
Good-faith belief the marker was on one’s own side	Mitigating only if honestly mistaken, but still liable once warned
Obsolete / unauthorised marker	If prosecution cannot prove it was officially accepted, case fails
Civil dispute still pending	No bar to criminal action; offences against the State proceed independently

8. Selected Jurisprudence

People v. Gamboa (CA-G.R. CR-No. 31245, 2019) – Affirmed conviction under Art. 329 for deliberately uprooting a BLBM to enlarge a fishpond; imprisonment of 1 year 8 months and P 80 000 fine.
People v. Soriano (G.R. 259771, 2023) – Supreme Court clarified that survey monuments fall under the “monument” phrase of Art. 329 even if set by a private GE, provided the survey was approved by DENR prior to disturbance.
Baluyot v. DENR-LMB (OMB-L-A-18-0745, 2020, Ombudsman) – Ombudsman upheld administrative fine against a barangay captain who ordered transfer of a cadastral stone; held that local officials have no authority to “adjust” boundaries.

(No single Supreme Court decision directly centres on Art. 329 yet, but the above cases illustrate trends.)

9. Liability of Geodetic Engineers

A licensed GE who knowingly moves a monument to favour a client risks:

Criminal prosecution under RPC Art. 171 (falsification of public documents) and Art. 329,
Professional revocation (RA 8560 § 29-d),
Civil damages for survey errors, and
Disqualification from DENR “Pool of Private Contractors” for five years.

10. Comparative Note: Forestry & Ancestral Domain Monuments

Special survey monuments protect forest reserves (FMB markers) and Certificate of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADT) corner posts. Tampering with these can additionally trigger:

Sec. 77 (Unlawful Cutting) of the Revised Forestry Code if disturbance aids illegal logging;
Sec. 73(h) of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (RA 8371) – up to prisión mayor (6 – 12 years) for “alteration of boundary signs” of ancestral lands.

11. Practical Compliance Tips

Set monuments flush with ground in cultivated fields to deter casual uprooting.
Paint marker IDs & coordinates on nearby concrete or post QR-coded plates—easy to check, hard to fake.
Serve written notice to all adjoining owners before monumenting; involvement discourages future disputes.
Log GNSS coordinates in the National Geodetic Network Databank; if the physical post disappears, position can still be re-established quickly.
Educate barangay tanods—they are the first responders and can preserve the crime scene for prosecutors.

12. Conclusion

The Philippines treats survey monuments as quasi-sacred public fixtures. Moving one, even by a few centimetres, is not a mere civil trespass—it is a criminal act punishable by imprisonment, six-figure fines, and professional ruin. Because every cadastral point interlocks with thousands of titles, the law imposes strict liability standards and overlapping remedies (criminal, administrative, and civil).

For geodetic engineers, landowners, and LGUs alike, the safest course is zero tolerance: if a monument is found disturbed, immediately document, report, and let DENR or the courts resolve the matter—never “adjust” it yourselves.

Always consult the latest DENR circulars and PRBGE resolutions; penalties adjust for inflation and may tighten further as land values rise.

Statutory References (chronological)

Act No. 3815 (Revised Penal Code, 1930) as amended by RA 10951 (2017) & RA 11594 (2021)
Commonwealth Act 141 (Public Land Act, 1936)
Presidential Decree 1529 (Property Registration Decree, 1978)
Republic Act 8560 (Geodetic Engineering Act, 1998) & PRBGE Res. 02-2021
DENR Administrative Order 2007-29, DAO 2013-09, DAO 2020-12
Republic Act 8371 (IPRA, 1997)
Revised Forestry Code (P.D. 705, 1975)

Prepared June 9 2025, Manila.