High court steps into Bulacan landfill dispute, issues ‘writ of kalikasan’
MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court has issued a “writ of kalikasan” (writ of nature) in favor of residents opposed to the conversion of a coastal area in Obando, Bulacan, into a landfill for garbage from Metro Manila which they warned could set off an “environmental catastrophe.’’
In a Feb. 21 resolution, the court directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and various national, provincial and municipal officials to show that the proposed landfill did not violate any environmental law or damage to the ecology to the detriment of the people. It remanded the case to the Court of appeals for hearing, reception of evidence and rendition of judgment, as well as for the acceptance of the return of the writ.
It ordered the respondents, including Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, to make a verified return of the writ to the court of Appeals within 10 days of receipt. It held in abeyance the issuance of a temporary environmental protection order pending the hearing.
The high court also required the petitioners to file a consolidated reply to the respondents’ comments on their petition.
Clerk of Court Enriqueta Vidal issued a one-page notice about the details of the resolution on Feb. 21. Environmentalists furnished the Inquirer a copy of this.
The writ, as defined the high court, is “a remedy available to a natural or juridical person, entity authorized by law, people’s organization, non-governmental organization, or any public interest group accredited by or registered with any government agency, on behalf of persons whose constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology is violated, or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or private individual or entity, involving environmental damage of such magnitude as to prejudice the life, health or property of inhabitants in two or more cities or provinces.”
Under this, the respondent shall file a verified return showing that he or she did not violate any environmental law or commit any act resulting in an environmental damage that affects the life, health or property of inhabitants in two or more cities or provinces.
In November last year, Obando residents petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the construction of the private landfill on 45 hectares of land in Barangay Salambao beside Manila Bay, and to issue the writ.
They argued the landfill would destroy a thriving mangrove ecosystem, cause persistent water, air and soil pollution to its immediate environs, aggravate the condition of the bay, destroy the livelihoods of coastal residents, and worsen the current flood problem of Obando and adjacent towns.
The officials’ alleged reckless and hasty approval of the project violated their right to a “balanced and healthful ecology,’’ and disregarded the Supreme Court’s 2008 order for the rehabilitation of the bay rehabilitation, the petitioners said.
“The proposed project, stripped of its bells and whistles, involves the large-scale dumping of unprocessed garbage into the coastal waters of Obando along Manila Bay, in blatant violation of the continuing mandamus issued by this Court,’’ they said.
The petitioners were Ma. Teresa S. Bondoc, Wilfredo DG. de Ocampo, Conrado C. Lumabas Jr., Melissa A. Padilla, Macaria D. Lumabas, Lucila S. Sayao, Mercy Dolorito, Arnel R. Wico, Edwin T. Ramos, Joseph Ryan C. Raymundo, Rodolfo Jose C. Lapus, Victoria M. Correa, Adelina C. Baltazar, Milagros S. Suan, Virgilio C. Dimanlig, and Antonio P. Roxas.
Apart from Paje, the other respondents were Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region 3 director Lormelyn Claudio, Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado, Bulacan’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Obando Mayor Orencio Gabriel, Obando Sangguniang Bayan, Salambao Sanggunian Barangay, and Ecoshield Development Corp. (EDC), the P1-billion project’s proponent.
The petitioners said the EDC would construct a landfill on existing fishponds in Obando “to meet the waste disposal needs’’ of Metro Manila and nearby provinces, and the wastes would be transported to the site by motorized vessels through waterways.
The project, to be undertaken on a 45-hectare area, would entail reclamation activities, drainage of water and removal of live fauna to make way for a pit for the dump site. It has a capacity of 1,000 metric tons of waste a day, they added.
From December 2010 up to October 2011, barangay and municipal councils, and the provincial board issued resolutions and ordinances approving the project, while the EMB in Region 3 issued an environmental compliance certificate to EDC for its construction, they said.
The petitioners said they had communicated and met with the environment and local officials a number of times to air their opposition to the project, but to no avail.
