Mother Nature’s legal aid

There are a select few who know exactly what they want to do in life. These admirable men and women know what goals they want to achieve and how they intend to accomplish these. Neither are they afraid to take chances because they know that their vision will keep them on track. These individuals are our world’s visionaries and our dreamers.

Juan Paolo T. Villonco is one of these dreamers.

A fourth year student at the Ateneo de Manila Law School in Rockwell, Paolo exudes an unmistakable aura of honesty, a quality that does not normally go with the tough and sometimes scheming profession of law.

"I really thought of being a lawyer since grade school. The idea of actually helping people never entered my mind. I just really like the profession and the concept of arguing. Arguing for a living," he says this with an intensity that somehow assures you that he will only argue and fight for something he truly believes in. There is no lawyerly swaggering or cockiness in his expression, suggesting he is a humble guy devoid of pretensions.

In mid-2004, Paolo took the initiative and founded ELSA, or the Environmental Law Society of Ateneo, at the Ateneo de Manila Law School. With no environmental law group in existence at the time, he took a chance and formed the organization. More than just a mere outdoors club, ELSA aims to use the skills of lawyers in saving the environment. The organization has three main goals: 1) To encourage environmental law practices among students for environmental awareness; 2) to develop environmental law in the country; and 3) to give quality legal assistance to communities that can’t afford it. ELSA supports issues that the World

Wildlife Fund, Bantay Kalikasan, and GreenPeace espouse, perhaps even identify and tackle, environmental issues that have so far been overlooked in our country. In a nutshell, ELSA’s mission is simple: To keep our environment alive.

At first, many were skeptical of Paolo’s plans, as well as with ELSA itself. After all, there had been environmental organizations in other law schools in the past and they were not able to stay afloat. The sad truth is that environmental law is not a priority in many of the law schools. Instead, more attention is given to the fiscal and criminal cases, which involve people more than anything else. "People think you’re nuts for following this track. Who are your clients? The birds? The trees? Some people still think I’m crazy up to now," he says.

In many cases, before environmental law groups can create a steady foundation, issues of greater importance undermine their growth. Paolo says that it is quite hard to explain to people that environmental law takes time to grow, and change in the environment cannot happen overnight. It is a lengthy process of education and careful planning. If issues regarding the environment are rushed, all will result to naught.

Like any organization, ELSA needed money to fuel its objectives. Soliciting funds however, was not Paolo’s forte. It did not help that the focus of their organization is "of low priority" in the field of law either. Of the 50 companies he wrote to for donations to the organization, only a handful answered; and yet, many of those who replied were not convinced enough to make a contribution. It was sad proof that the welfare of the environment was not one of the major corporate priorities.

But Paolo was undaunted. "I was really praying for something," he says with a chuckle. And his prayers were answered. In June this year, Smart Communications and Siemens decided to assist ELSA by donating some cash into the organization’s fund. The blessings did not stop there. After Smart and Siemens, Senator Magsaysay gave ELSA a P100,000 grant for the organization; proof that worthy intentions will get support from like-minded individuals and groups.

The new support has boosted the spirits of Paolo and the rest of ELSA, "It’s such a relief – you’re thought of as ‘crazy’ and suddenly there are these people that do believe in your goals. It’s very uplifting. You start to think: ‘I’m not alone, after all,’ and that there is a future."

Indeed, the organization has many plans. Now that the resources are available, immersion trips and awareness campaigns, as well as a section in the law school library dedicated to environmental law are no longer just pipe dreams.

Paolo stresses that many law school students are detached because they merely read about, or watch the destruction that goes on in our environment on TV. "There’s no passion, and the reason behind that is because people don’t know what they’re protecting. They don’t see the real problem." With ELSA making law students more aware of environmental issues, this is about to change. More importantly, allies against environmental degradation will be recruited in the vital field of law.

"Dreams are your roadmap to life. That’s your direction. If you don’t dream, how are you gonna move?" says Paolo. With the founding of ELSA and his pursuit of law studies, he has taken a major route in his roadmap to life. We look forward to better laws to protect our environment.