Supreme Court orders government to answer first kalikasan petition

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the government to answer a petition of a group of environmentalists seeking the creation of rainwater collectors in the country.

SC spokesman Midas Marquez said the national government agencies led by Malacañang, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government representing the 80 provinces, 150 cities, 1,400 towns and 42,000 barangays were given 10 days to comment on the petition filed by the group led by Ramon Magsaysay awardee and environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa Jr.

The SC allowed the petition of Oposa who led the Global Legal Action on Climate Change calling on the national government to come up with a more effective nationwide flood control project by implementing a 1989 law for rainwater collectors in all barangays.

It was the first case to invoke the writ of kalikasan issued by the SC earlier this month and which takes effect today.

Oposa’s group led invoked the 21-year-old Republic Act 6716 (Rainwater Collector and Springs Development Law), which was also implemented for local government units under the Local Government Code.

Oposa said they are frustrated with the government for its inaction to implement the law in the face of severe weather fluctuations from too much rain brought by tropical storm “Ondoy” to the current dry spell caused by the El Niño phenomenon.

The group accused the government of “gross negligence in the performance of public duty” since the DPWH only started complying with RA 6716 last year and completed just four of the 100,000 rainwater catchments required by the law to be completed in 1991.

“The anxiety of always alternating between flooding and water scarcity is too much to bear for us ordinary citizens. It must stop,” the group stated in their petition.

In their petition, the Global Legal Action on Climate Change cited the successful implementation of the scheme in Singapore and India where rainwater collectors have become significant.

In the Philippines where there are extremely wet and dry seasons, the group said water wells serve as catchment areas to prevent flooding during the rainy season and as sources of freshwater during the dry season.

Rainwater collectors, the group said, also recharge aquifers, improve micro-climatic conditions, and serve as source of recreation and spiritual soothing as well as of food such as fish and vegetables.

The group urged the SC to order the concerned government agencies and LGUs to submit a detailed action plan on how they would implement RA 6716 and appoint a commissioner to monitor its implementation.

The petitioners believe this will prevent destructive flooding before the rainy season strikes, citing the country’s experiences during “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng” last year.