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Natres Final Reflection Paper

As a partial requirement of the course Natural Resources and Environmental law, I had
the opportunity of experiencing the amenities and seeing the beautiful nature that Lobo, Batangas
has in store. Prior to the field trip, I had no idea of what was to be seen in Lobo. The only thing I
had in mind was that it was close to Tagaytay. However, I kept an open mind as to what I could
see in Lobo since the son of the Mayor is a good friend of mine and he gave me a heads up of
what we will be seeing there. This brought about excitement because I enjoy sightseeing as well
as snorkeling. Unfortunately, I was not able to go snorkeling because I was not comfortable with
the other people present since I am not really close to most of them. I missed this opportunity,
but I was still able to enjoy the trip by appreciating the several trees planted in large areas and the
tracks of land used for agriculture. Seeing these lands immediately made me think of our
agrarian reform law class and observe the lands I saw along the way and wonder whether they
are part of the eminent domain used for agrarian reform. The hectares of land seemed to be
organized properly and it was relaxing to see along the way. Also, seeing the several trees
planted in an organized manner made me feel that the environmental laws are being implemented
in Lobo—having planting projects to fulfill the directive from the executive department in order
to keep up with the required standard of number of trees planted. This is done in order to
contribute to the betterment of the environment and to help protect the environment from the
harmful effects of pollution from big factories and smoke emitted by the several vehicles to name
two of the worst contributors to the ill-effects towards the environment.

One of the biggest problems I saw on the way to Batangas is a common issue I see on a
daily basis and that is smoke belching done by the cars that are not well maintained. On a normal
day, it is difficult to keep track of the number of cars that emit and awful amount of dark colored
smoke and sadly, the government is not doing anything to implement laws against such kind of
negligence of car owners. I would like to stress that the executive department must tackle this
problem and prohibit smoke belching cars from being used until it is fixed to meet the required
standard.

Being able to observe the environment in Lobo made me feel positive about the fact that
some political leaders are doing their jobs properly in terms of abiding by the environmental law
and conserving the environment. Lobo looks to be continuously developing, but at the same time
keeping up with the requirements of environmental law to ensure that the natural resources and
the condition of the environment in Lobo is preserved and protected from further harm.

Given the opportunity I would like to take this experience as a reminder for me to invest
time in knowing well about environmental law and come up with ways on how to implement it
better and effectively in the country and in every barangay. I would like to call on the executive
department to make a proper study of the condition of the environment in every province no
matter how distant and isolated and ensure that the requirements and standards are being
fulfilled.
 Based on my observations relating to the condition of the environment and natural
resources in Lobo, Batangas, I saw that the local government units are trying their best to
implement the environmental laws of the Philippines. There are vast tracks of land for planting
rice, however, there are also several hectares of land filled with nurtured trees. The trees are well
planted around the area of Lobo, clearly seeing that there are tree planting projects done by the
local government units. The location of Lobo is well developed, containing proper irrigation
systems for the areas of land used for agricultural purposes, clean water for consumption, waste
management, tree planting projects, and other developments connected to the furtherance of our
environmental laws.

In connection to this, the speaker during the field trip mentioned R.A. No. 9275, the
Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 and R.A. No. 8749, the Clean Air Act of 1999. Lobo,
Batangas is well developed to be able to fully cooperate and implement the environmental laws
such as the two mentioned. The government in the locality is involved in protecting the bodies of
water from pollution and how to prevent it. Also, the local government unit also ensures that they
are meeting the requirement laid down in the Clean Air Act of 1999 to see to it that the air meets
the National Air Quality guideline values for criteria pollutants. Tests are conducted in order to
meet this requirement, and in case the requirement is not met, measures are taken by the
government to improve the quality of the air to meet the required standard.

Moreover, being located in an area surrounded by water, it is important that the local
government takes measures to implement and cooperate with the rules and policies laid down in
The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998. This law seeks to protect fishery resources in order to
provide adequate allocation of food for the entire nation. In terms of locality, the LGUs have the
task to ensure that the utilization, management, conservation and protection of resources, and to
properly implement the law and protect fishery resources from illegal fishing and pollution by
big companies. This law also protects the rights of fisher folk and allow them to have a
livelihood such as those located in Lobo Batangas who benefit from this law. More than the
livelihood of the community, the government also seeks to protect the natural resources found in
the waters surrounding Lobo, Batangas, given that they truly have a marine life to protect.

Another law stressed by the speaker is the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines,
which aims for the proper classification, management and utilization of lands of the public
domain to maximize their productivity to meet the demands of the population. Emphasized by
this law is the protection, rehabilitation and development of forest lands and ensure their
sustainable development. As I mentioned earlier, the implementation of this law seems to be
being implemented faithfully as there are several land areas covered with trees. Also, there are
projects present in protecting the trees and natural resources found there.

DENR-DILG Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2013-03 was also created in furtherance
of the guidelines in the establishment and implementation of Barangay Forest Program in
Support of the National Greening Program. This memorandum was directed to certain public
officials including provincial governors, city mayors, municipal mayors and punong barangays—
given that Lobo is a municipality, the mayor is directed to implement and follow the
memorandum. This memorandum involves the planting of a target 1.5 billion seedlings in 1.5
million hectares of land of the public domain. Lobo took part in this directive and project to
protect and develop more trees around the country.

The field trip proved to be a relaxing experience while at the same time I was able to
learn and apply the environmental laws I have learned in evaluating the condition of Lobo,
Batagas, insofar as what I was able to observe. The roads to Lobo and inside the municipality are
well constructed, creating a route to the attractions that are present in Lobo. There are several
trees, evidencing the presence of tree planting projects to maintain and preserve the environment
because up to date with the essential laws that need to be followed to protect, preserve, and
conserve the environment. The field trip showed that the environmental laws mentioned above
are being implemented properly in Lobo the local government unit who ensures that Lobo is in
sync with standards required by certain laws such as the Clean Air Act, the Forestry Reform
Code and the Philippine Fisheries Code to name a few.The activity brought about positive
emotions because I was able to see for myself that certain municipalities such as Lobo are
putting effort and abiding by the environmental laws. Through the use of media, municipalities
and cities should be given recognition by the government for following the environmental
safeguards required by law. This way, an example would be set for other public leaders to imitate
and serve as an inspiration to protect the environment from negligent and ignorant people who
are detrimental to the status of the environment. Every local government unit should take the task
of implementing the environmental laws that have been present along with new issuances that
will help contribute to the benefit of the environment.