Supreme Court upholds Alvarez decision

Supreme Court (SC) issued a landmark ruling last November 29, upholding a decision of former Senator Heherson T. Alvarez when he was DENR Secretary in April 2002, that held in abeyance the operations of a logging concession in 75,545 hectares of forest land in Mindanao.

Alvarez argued then that unless environmental safeguards were first met and put in place, the operation of big logging concessions may pose catastrophic threats of major natural calamities on Philippine forests, and to the country as a whole.

The SC thumbed down the petition filed by Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP), the country’s largest logging concession, to have its Timber License Agreement (TLA) No. 43 converted automatically into an Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA).

The 1987 Constitution bans the issuance of the Marcos-era TLAs and in its stead, the DENR has come up with the IFMA, an instrument which has safeguards for logging operations, such as tree-planting and the use of sustainable forest management practices. When PICOP applied to convert its TLA into an IFMA when TLA No. 43 expired in April 2002, Alvarez refused the automatic conversion until after PICOP first paid government unpaid forest charges; conducted and implemented a forest protection plan and a reforestation plan; and sought clearances from the concerned indigenous tribes in the area.

In its 58-page ruling penned by Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, the High Court reversed the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeals (CA) and the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QC-RTC), both of which favored the automatic conversion of TLA No. 43 into IFMA.

I congratulate the Supreme Court for this decision which is a triumph of the environment and confirms the need to uphold the rules for environmental conservation and security as mandated by the Constitution. The environment, public good, and the rule of law must never be compromised by the operations of big businesses.

Due recognition must also be given to the visionary leadership of Alvarez who issued rules for PICOP to follow – rules which were not severely harsh, but rather vital, because by doing business as usual, PICOP was almost unaware of the impending cataclysmic ruin of our environment which is our life support system.

Alvarez saw the Armageddon-like consequences of a ruined forest, and therefore acted on self-defense and sought self-preservation for present and future generations when he imposed fair conditions to protect the forest, which PICOP must first comply with, but failed to do so. A competent businessman can benefit from these rules, using sustainable management in conducting business. Jobs need not be sacrificed if there is sustainable forest management.

If Alvarez did not set these conditions, he could be remiss in his duty as the leading steward of the environment and could spell untold disasters to the nation as shown by recent massive floodings and monster storms.

The SC ruling could not have come at a better time in our history. Remember, 2006 was the year the Philippines was devastated by three super typhoons – Milenyo, Reming and Senyang – a first in our history. Also, we experienced massive floodings and mudslides in the provinces of Quezon, Leyte, Surigao and even as near as Rizal – all claiming hundreds of lives. Now, in hindsight, and after all these catastrophes, wisdom tells us that these rules were vital, if not crucial, to avert environmental ruin and the systemic misuse of our natural resources.

Even when he was Senator, Alvarez saw the impending danger of lead in gasoline. So he brought the three major oil players in the country – Shell, Caltex and Petron – to sign the Health Air Pact in 1993 that removed lead in gasoline and lowered the sulfur content in diesel.

As early as 1992, he crafted the first version of the Clean Air Act to clean the air we breathe, which was later passed into law only in 2000. He pushed for alternative energies – the use of biodiesel, natural gas, solar, hydro and wind, a provision of which is inscribed in the law he sponsored creating the Department of Energy.

In 1995, he organized the Asia-Pacific Leaders’ Conference on Climate Change, with then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as keynote speaker. Leaders of Asia-Pacific countries came to the Philippines to sign the Manila Declaration, warning the world of the dangers of global warming way before this issue was front page newspaper material, as it is today.

As a founding member of Global Legislators for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE) initiated by then Senator Al Gore, Alvarez is a patriot in championing the cause of freedom from pollution.

All of these present day disasters and natural calamities are being blamed on our wanton cutting of trees that leads to floods and our excessive emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that lead to global warming. Trees also help eat up carbon dioxide and release life-giving oxygen. When we cut them, we are also cutting our lifeline.

The High Court’s decision drives home the very urgent point that all of us – be it individuals or big businesses – play an important part in conserving our environment, thereby protecting human lives.