Lumad-Laban: Against Corporate Environmental Destruction

"The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and

healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature."1

The enshrinement of environmental protection in the 1987 Constitution is

evidence of our mutual recognition of the role of the environment in our national

livelihood, development, and welfare. Section 16 of Article 2,2 serves as an important

foundation of morality and law, reaffirming the state's commitment to protecting

ecological integrity. However, translating this into effective policy and practice in

light of current ecological crises remain an ongoing challenge.

As the world faces a triple planetary crisis, the Philippines remains at a

crossroad. In a country rich in natural resources but full of scarcity, the citizens have

a special responsibility to strike a balance between development and environmental

protection. Even with progressive legislation such as the Philippine Environmental

Code (P.D. 1152), the Clean Air Act (R.A. No. 8749), and the Environmental Solid

Waste Management Act (RA 9003), there are regulatory differences with respect to

the gap between intent and implementation.

The triple planetary crisis3 pertains to the three main interlinked issues that

humanity currently faces: climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Each of

these issues having its own causes-and-effect as well as the need to be resolved in

hopes of a viable future on this planet.4

This year's theme, “Enhancing Environmental Laws in the Philippines:

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Reforms towards a Balanced and Healthful Ecology,”

calls for critical evaluation on our legal framework and its capacity in addressing

contemporary environmental problems. It also encourages forward-looking

discussions on the policy and sustainability implications of a more flexible ecological

paradigm.

1 CONST. (1987), art. II, §16 (Phil.). 2 Id. 3 What is the triple planetary crisis? (April 13, 2024), https://unfccc.int/news/what-

is-the-triple-planetary-crisis 4 Id.

Luigi Bien. B. Villanueva Executive Board of Editors

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Going Back and Coming Through

The environmental legal framework of the Philippines circulates with the

Philippine Environmental Code in its core. The system supporting such framework

is being lifted by supporting statutes as well as landmark cases. In the first Article,

30 Years of Oposa v. Factoran: A Lasting Green Legacy for The Children of

Tomorrow and Beyond,5 looks back on the impact of intergenerational

responsibility towards environmental protection imposed upon the present

inhabitants in hopes of preservation for the future generation.

Two Trees for None

Trees are the lifeblood of the environment. It is evidenced by movements as

well as legal placements ensuring that trees continue to provide as humans continue

to exploit. In the second, third, and fourth articles, Speak for the Trees: The Law

as Voice for Defending Mangrove Forest Depletion, Tree-Transplanting: An

Inter-Generational Operation for a Balanced and Healthful Ecology Using the

Advancement of Technology, and Mangrove Forest: Suspend the Issuance of

Tenurial Instruments exhibits the relationship built surrounding trees and the

environment as a whole as well as the legal framework for preservation and the

consequences in scenarios of waste and destruction.

Environmental States and Stateless Environments

“Humanity is waging war on nature.

This is suicidal.”6

— UN Secretary-General António Guterres

An environmental state is one possessing a significant set of institutions and

practices dedicated to environmental and societal-environmental interactions.7 It is

one which the Philippines should aspire to be as a country blessed with rich and

diverse resources.

5 Oposa v. Factoran, G.R. No. 101083, (July 30, 1993) (Phil.). 6 A Human Destroying or a Human Creating – One Climate Story (November 5,

2021), https://www.undp.org/kyrgyzstan/blog/human-destroying-or-human-

creating-one-climate-story 7 Hausknost, D., & Hammond, M. (2019). Beyond the environmental state? The

political prospects of a sustainability transformation. Environmental Politics, 29(1),

1–16, https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2020.1686204

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In contrast, stateless environments can be denoted as those where

environmental governance is weak or non-existent, resulting in degradation and often

marked by unregulated industrial activity and illegal resource exploitation.

In the path towards environmental statehood, the Philippines is known to

enact progressive and inclusive environmental legislations such as the Wildlife

Resources Conservation and Protection Act (R.A. No. 9174).8 In the sixth article,

Mangayon Shot Dead discusses the protection of species and their habitats in the

fight against climate change, a fight where both wildlife and humans are comrades.

Other movements are also geared towards the support of indigenous

population for economic development. The fifth article, Lumad-Laban: An

Exposition Against Corporations on Environmental Destruction explains how

Lumads are uprooted from their native lands as a result of rapid modernization and

industrialization which makes them vulnerable to exploitation by strong interests.9

The Clean Air Act (R.A. No. 8749),10 as discussed in the tenth article, 25

Years Later: Is the Clean Air Act Of 1999 Still Relevant? still proves to be ever

needed now compared to the time when it was enacted. Climate change as well as

global pollution fails to manifest signs of slowing down or stoppage anytime sooner.

The concept of environmental states must evolve to encompass not only

national governance but also international cooperation. The Paris Agreement11

represents such effort, which aims to unite nations in limiting global temperature

increases. In the twelfth article, Paris Agreement on Climate Change: Rising Sea

Levels Threatening Philippine Cities extensively widens the scope of legally

binding obligation of the Philippines, as signatory, towards mitigation and adapting

towards a series of scenarios involving climate change as a catalyst for global

downfall.

Antonio Guterres' dire warning underscores the urgent need to address these

differences. Humanity's "war on nature" is reflected in increased greenhouse gas

8 Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, Rep. Act No. 9147 (July 30,

2001) (Phil.). 9 Espina-Varona, Inday, Lumad Children : War Targets in Ph’s Last Frontiers

(October 24, 2015), https://indayvarona.wordpress.com/2015/10/24/lumad-children-

war-targets-in-phs-last-frontiers/ 10 Philippine Clean Air Act, Rep. Act No. 8749, (June 23, 1999) (Phil.). 11 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), The Paris

Agreement, (n.d.), https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement