G.R. No. 256207 – 15 June 2021 – Political Law – Constitutional Law – Fundamental Principles and State Policies – Right to a Balanced and Healthful Ecology – Writ of Kalikasan; Writ of Continuing Mandamus
In April 2021, the Nayong Pilipino Foundation and the National Task Force Against COVID-19 entered into an agreement for the construction of a vaccination facility within the NPF compound. Pedrito Nepomuceno then filed a petition for the issuance of a writ of kalikasan and writ of continuing mandamus against then President Rodrigo Duterte and other government officials on the ground that the vaccination facility will require a lot of tress to be cut down. He challenged the court to “bestow judgment whether the government should prefer the health and well-being of the Filipinos over environmental preservation.”
ISSUE: Whether or not the petition should prosper.
HELD: No. Firstly, the petition is defective (not certified nor verified).
Secondly. Before those writs may be issued, it is incumbent upon Nepomuceno to identify the environmental laws violated or threatened to be violated, and the environmental damage of such magnitude as to prejudice the life, health or property of inhabitants in two or more cities or provinces to warrant the issuance of a Writ of Kalikasan. Likewise, the petition did not demonstrate the public officers’ unlawful neglect to perform an act enjoined explicitly by environmental laws to support his request for the issuance of a Writ of Continuing Mandamus. Nepomuceno’s invocation of the State’s responsibilities to protect and advance the people’s right to a balanced and healthful ecology and preserve and protect the environment, without identifying the respondents’ unlawful act or omission, is insufficient to justify the issuance of the writs prayed for.
