Hits and misses for a legal tool to protect the environment in Philippines
by Purple Romero on 28 April 2021
In 2010, the Philippines’ Supreme Court set the provisions for what it calls the “Writ of Kalikasan,” a landmark legal remedy that compels the government to act and halt environmental degradation that impacts more than one municipality.
More than a decade since it was first defined and used in court, the writ has been invoked for various cases, from closing open dumpsites and illegal landfills, to prompting the government to protect important bodies of water like the rehabilitation of Manila Bay.
While many petitions have been approved this way, the rulings haven’t always been implemented by local governments.