Environmental Justice Issues faced by Civil Society Groups by: Atty. Grizelda “Gerthie” Mayo-Anda Area Manager for Palawan Environmental Legal Assistance Center, Inc. (ELA

1. ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE CENTER
Environmental Justice Issues
faced by
Civil Society Groups
by: Atty. Grizelda “Gerthie” Mayo-Anda
Area Manager for Palawan
Environmental Legal Assistance Center, Inc. (ELAC)

2. ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE CENTER
Failure of Standing to Sue
Administrative
Costs of
Agencies and Local
Litigation and
Government Units to
Securing
implement
ENVIRONMENTAL Technical
Environmental Laws
JUSTICE ISSUES Expertise
faced by civil
society Harassment suits
Delays in the against
Investigation and community and
Prosecution of civil society
Custody and Release of
Cases group members
Seized Articles

3. Failure of Administrative
Agencies and LGUs to
Implement Environmental
Laws
• Absence or lack of implementing
regulations or guidelines
– Fisheries Code or RA 8550 (determining
municipal waters of island municipalities,
quarrying of white sand and pebbles in areas
that make up a marine habitat, fisherfolk
settlement areas, reversion of abandoned,
underutilized or unutilized fishponds)
– Mining Act or RA 7942 (small scale mining by
non-cooperatives or large scale corporations)

4. Failure of Administrative
Agencies and LGUs to
Implement Environmental Laws
• Weak monitoring mechanisms (eg. MMTs for
mining activities are not transparent,
provincial mining regulatory board or PMRB
lack funds and monitoring staff)
• Local zoning plans or comprehensive land
use plans conflicting with national
environmental laws (eg. Mining in natural
forests, ancestral domains, community-based
forest management agreement or CBFMA
areas)

6. Limestone quarry in Gotok, Sandoval,
Bataraza

7. Small scale mining operations in Narra, Palawan
(photo by Palawan NGO Network, Inc.)

11. (Distant view of small scale mine site; Photo by CI)

13. Expansion of mining activities are being pursued in the Bulanjao range which is
still covered with old growth and second growth forests. (Photo by CI)

16. Rich and influential businessmen employ local
community members as paid laborers in mangrove
“debarking” activities.

17. Mangrove
Debarking in
Canipaan,
Rizal,
Southern
Palawan

18. Failure of Administrative
Agencies and LGUs to
Implement Environmental Laws
• Permits or licenses allowing the
use of natural forests or key
biodiversity areas (eg. Commercial
crop plantation, mining, tourist
resort complex)
• Non-participatory/top-down
ordinances on marine reserves and
protected areas (eg. within
ancestral territories)

19. Standing to Sue
• Need to test the limits of the landmark case on the
standing of citizens in environmental litigation
(Oposa, et al. vs. Factoran, 224 SCRA 792; 1993)
• Citizen’s suit provided only in Clean Air Act (RA
8749) and Ecological Solid Waste Management
Act (RA 9003)
• Discretionary on the part of the judge: There are
judges who believe that the Oposa doctrine is
applicable only in civil cases.

20. Standing to Sue
• Determining Offended Party in Criminal
Cases
– Important for government agencies involved
in the filing of cases to coordinate and come
up with a unified position/strategy
• ISSUE: WHO SHOULD BE THE
OFFENDED PARTY or WHO SHOULD
REPRESENT THE STATE AS
OFFENDED PARTY.

21. Case against Chinese
Poachers
(Source: PCSDS/Atty. Adel Villena)

22. Costs of Litigation and
Securing Technical
Expertise
• Costs of filing fees, injunction bonds and
TROs deter local communities from
initiating legal actions
• Need for an available, locally-based
science group whose expertise can be
tapped, whenever needed

23. Harassment Suits
• SLAPP (Strategic Litigation against Public
Participation) provisions exist only in the
Clean Air Act and Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act
• Civil Society’s Use of “metalegal”
remedies (Media, Multisectoral
investigations, Community
mobilizations,Petitions, Dialogue)

24. Delays in the investigation
and prosecution of cases
• Complaints lodged before the
Ombudsman against government
officials and personnel take years to
resolve
• Lack of prosecutors and judges,
especially in island-municipalities
• Waning interest of witnesses
• Lack of resources to fund travel, food
and lodging of witnesses

25. Case Study: Enforcement of
Fishery Laws in Calamianes
Region, Palawan
• Out of 14,037 Cases of
Dynamite and Cyanide Fishing
Detected, only 40 Arrests were
made in 4 years
• Only 21 Cases reached the Trial
Stage
• 5 Convictions, No Jail Time

26. Custody and Release of
Seized Articles
• Arbitrary release of seized tools, articles and
paraphernalia used in environmental crimes
• Can civil society groups who have invested
time and resources in enforcement activities
be allowed to take temporary custody of
certain seized items while cases are
pending? ---- need for clear guidelines from
DENR and concerned administrative
agencies

27. Some Initiatives

28. Using Administrative
Remedies
• CANCELLATION OF PERMITS OR
LICENSE
• REHABILITATION OR RESTORATION
• CONFISCATION OF TOOLS and ARTICLES
USED IN ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES
• CEASE AND DESIST ORDERs (CDO),
Orders of Demolition (Eg. illegal fishpond
development

29. Multisectoral
demolition of
illegal
fishpond dikes

30. Strengthening
Administrative
Adjudication
• Local Legislation
– Ordinance authorizing the adjudiction of cases by
LGU’s executive branch or by another body
created for the purpose
• BFAR licensing system
• DENR adjudication (under EIA system,
forestry violations, permits/licenses)
• PCSD Adjudication Board

31. RESEARCH INITIATIVES ON
ENVIRONMENTAL
ADJUDICATION
[undertaken by Tanggol Kalikasan (TK), Environmental
Legal Assistance Center (ELAC) and Paglilingkod Batas
Pangkapatiran Foundation (PBPF)]

32. Current Research
Initiatives
• Baseline studies on the number of pending
cases, their nature and status
• Studies on specific environmental laws
• Studies of offenders
• Studies on success rates in prosecuting
environmental crimes
• Studies on court procedures and processes
• Case study compilations
• Studies of court decisions, judicial review
• Confiscated Logs and conveyance inventory
study

33. Some Findings
• PBPF: Courts are not considered a venue for
seeking redress for environmental crimes
• ELAC: From a broad perspective, the study
shows that only 0.3 percent of violations
detected result in court cases; the figure would
be much lower if undetected violations are
factored in. This implies that, there could be
bigger problems in enforcement
(detection/prosecution) than in adjudication.

34. Some Findings
• TK study shows high conviction rate
for fisheries crimes; Closer look
reveals easy plea bargaining and low
fines provides incentive to “settle”
case, then commit crime again.

35. Some Findings
• Several opportunities to improve court procedures
to facilitate adjudication of fisheries and forestry
cases:
– Enforce rules on disposition of logs under litigation
(currently, this is not uniformly applied)
– Issue rules on custody of fishing gear [not to be
released – economic disincentive to repeat offense].
– Clarify rules on injunction against DENR administrative
proceedings
– Court designation of trained judges in high-incidence
areas or environmental crime hotspots
– DOJ designation of trained prosecutors in areas of high
incidence of violations or environmental crime hotspots.

36. Let us protect and
conserve our environment
“We did not inherit the Earth and its natural resources
from our ancestors. We borrowed these from our
children.” --- Anonymous