Supreme Court to come up with rules on environment protection

MANILA, Philippines - Amid rising concerns on climate change, the Supreme Court (SC) is set to come up with rules on cases involving the protection and preservation of the environment dubbed “writ of kalikasan (nature)” – the very first in the world.

Chief Justice Reynato Puno said he is hoping to leave the writ of kalikasan as one of his legacies when he retires from the judiciary on May 17.

He announced in a forum last Friday that the new court rules would be approved by the full SC by March at the latest.

The forum focused on transformational leadership and was attended by members of Philippine-Australian Alumni Association Inc.

The chief justice revealed that the proposed Rule of Procedure for Environmental Cases is now on its second review with the SC committee on the revision of the Rules of Court, which he chairs.

“In a month or two, our high court would promulgate new rules to govern the prosecution of environmental cases in the Philippines. There will be a radical paradigm shift with the way (environmental) cases are being prosecuted,” he said.

Puno said the new writ is based on “the best practices in the world” in terms of handling environmental cases.– Edu Punay