PERSON 5: HRLAW, NATRES, ENVILAW
Prepared by: Javier, K.
HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
Article XIII- Social Justice and Human
Rights
[Sections 1-2]
Social justice:
It is the embodiment of the principle that
those who have less in life should have more in
law. It commands a legal bias in favor of those
who are underprivileged. When the law is clear
and valid, it simply must be applied; but when
the law can be interpreted in more ways than
one, an interpretation that favors the
underprivileged must be favored.
It is to attend "to the enactment of
measures that protect and enhance the right of
all the people to human dignity, reduce social,
economic, and political inequalities, and
remove cultural inequities by equitably
diffusing wealth and political power for the
common good.
The route to achieving social justice is
presented as consisting of three principal tracks:
1. Diffusion of wealth and political power
equitably for the common good
2. regulation of the acquisition, ownership,
use, and disposition of property and its
increments;
3. Congress should create economic
opportunities based on freedom of
initiative and self-reliance.
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Social justice is neither communism, nor
despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy, but the
humanization of laws and the equalization of
social and economic forces by the State so that
justice in its rational and objectively secular
conception may at least be approximated
(Calang v. Williams).
Human Rights:
- Defined generally as those rights
inherent in our nature and without which
we cannot live as human beings (civil
and political rights)
- The most basic human rights is “life,
liberty, and right to property”
 Basic Characteristics of Human Rights
a) Inherent- not granted by any person
or authority
b) Fundamental- without which the life
and dignity of man will be
meaningless
c) Inalienable- cannot be rightfully
taken away from a free individual
d) Imprescriptible- cannot be lost even
by a long passage of time
e) Indivisible- cannot be denied even
when other rights have already been
enjoyed
f) Universal- available to all human
beings irrespective of their origin,
status, or condition, or place where
they live
g) Interdependent- fulfillment or
exercise of one cannot be had without
the realization of the others
  Three Categories of Human Rights - CHR

a) First Generation of Rights - Article 32, CC

- Civil - RPC

- Political - Writs of Habeas Corpus, Habeas

Data, Amparo, Kalikasan
It covers the abstention, rather than
intervention, of government in the exercise of - Statutes
freedoms and in the quest of human dignity
(COQUIA, Human Rights(2012) p.10) 1. Labor

b) Second Generation of Rights [Section 3]

- Economic “A primary social economic force”

means that the human factor has primacy over
- Social non-human factors of production. Protection to
labor does not indicate promotion of
- Cultural employment alone. Under the welfare and
social justice provisions of the Constitution, the
It covers the protection of the right to food,
promotion of full employment, while desirable,
clothing and housing (COQUIA, Human Rights
cannot take a backseat to the government’s
(2012) p. 10)
constitutional duty to provide mechanisms for
c) Third Generation of Rights the protection of our workforce, local or
overseas. (JMM Promotion and Management v.
- Solidarity/Collective CA, 260 SCRA 319)
It covers the right of people to peace or the What concerns the Constitution more
right to a healthy environment (COQUIA, paramountly is employment be above all,
Human Rights (2012) p. 11) decent, just and humane. It is bad enough that
the country has to send its sons and daughters to
 Sources of the protection of Human
strange lands, because it cannot satisfy their
Rights
employment needs at home. Under these
a) International circumstances, the Government is duty bound to
provide them adequate protection, personally
- Treaties and economically, while away from home.
(Philippine Association of Service Exporters v.
- The “1503” System
Drilon, 163 SCRA 386)
- International Criminal Tribunal
Although all workers are protected, the
- International Criminal Court rights guaranteed are not necessarily the same
for all. Distinctions can arise either from the
b) Local public or private character of the employment

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or from the nature of the work that is
performed.
The phrase "in accordance with law" as
appended to the right to strike is simply a
recognition that the law has traditionally denied
the right to strike to certain sectors of the
working force, such as peace-keeping forces or
firemen, because of the nature of the work they
perform. It has also sometimes been denied to
government workers performing constituent
functions. But this does not mean that the
constitution prohibits the state from granting
them the right to strike.
The third paragraph contains an
enumeration of elements of a healthy labor
atmosphere which the state is commanded to
promote. It establishes a preferential bias for
voluntary modes of settling disputes. It is a
recognition that, especially in the present state
of the economy, strikes can be too costly for the
nation.
Aside from these, the state is also
commanded in the first paragraph to "promote
full employment and equality of employment
opportunities for all."
Finally, the last paragraph commands the
state to regulate the relations between workers
and employers.
2. Agrarian and Natural Resources
Reform
[Section 4]
When we expound the principle of land
reform — it simply means that the farmer has a
right to the land he tills, but this is not an
immutable right. In other words, his claim of
ownership does not automatically pertain or
correspond to the same land that he is actually
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and physically tilling. It would yield to the
limitations and adjustments provided for in the
second sentence of the first paragraph,
specifically the 'retention limits'.
The revolutionary intent of the law is the
redistribution of agricultural land for the benefit
of landless farmers and farm workers.
The scope of the right of ownership of an
agrarian reform beneficiary can be made subject
to limitations. Congress has the right to limit the
beneficiary's right to sell, dispose, or even
mortgage the property. Congress may also take
measures to prevent fragmentation resulting in
uneconomical or unproductive sizes. The
overriding idea is the preservation of the
concept of an "economic family-size farm"
Ownership by beneficiaries can be either
individual or collective.
In determining retention limits, the state
is asked to "respect the right of small land
owners." Priorities refer to various factors
which can affect the pace and scope of
implementation and which can make
implementation more manageable.
The important constitutional
consideration in all this is that Congress is
given discretion to set priorities and retention
limits. Various factors will have to be evaluated
in arriving at the proper limitations, but such
factors would to a large extent be matters of
wisdom and not of constitutionality. The over-
riding guideline for Congress is that flexible
concept "reasonableness." But absent priorities
and retention limits set by Congress, but
provided that money has been appropriated for
a program, the executive department can
proceed with implementation either in
cooperation with landowners voluntarily
participating in the program or through judicial
expropriation.
Lands not devoted to agricultural activity
are outside the coverage of Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law (CARL).
Just compensation also applies in
agrarian reform. just compensation should not
do violence to the Bill of Rights but should also
not make an insurmountable obstacle to a
successful agrarian reform. Hence, the
landowners' right to just compensation should
be balanced with agrarian reform. It is the duty
of the court to protect the weak and the
underprivileged, but this duty should not be
carried out to such an extent as to deny justice
to the landowner whenever truth and justice
happen to be on his side.
- The concept of just compensation,
however, embraces not only the correct
determination of the amount to be paid to
the owners of the land, but also payment
within a reasonable time from its taking.
Without prompt payment, compensation
cannot be considered "just" inasmuch as
the property owner is made to suffer the
consequences of being immediately
deprived of his land while being made to
wait for a decade or more before actually
receiving the compensation.
- It also encompasses the payment in full
of the just compensation to the
landholders as finally determined by the
courts. Thus, it cannot be said that there
is already prompt payment of just
compensation when there is only a
partial payment thereof
[Section 5]
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What is referred to is participation in the
management of the land reform program, not
participation in the management of a privately-
owned farm.
[Section 6]
The principle of agrarian reform would
expect that "the State shall give them all the
support and assistance that they would need to
be successful in their utilization of these natural
resources."
Resettlement in the government's
agricultural estates was the preeminent form of
agrarian reform under the Magsaysay
administration and was used in other nations as
well. The "farmers" and "farm workers" here
mentioned are not to be considered as
agricultural employees of the state, but rather as
resettlers and eventual owners of the land once
these estates are dissolved.
[Section 7]
This section makes specific reference to
the rights of small fishermen against the
background of two problems: the problem
created by the privatization of large portions of
the Laguna de Bay area and the problem of
foreign fishing vessels allowed by treaty to
conduct trawl fishing within seven kilometers
from the Philippine shores, both of these
effectively depriving subsistence fishermen of
their livelihood.
The right given to subsistence fishermen
is the preferential, but not exclusive, use of
communal marine fishing resources, both inland
and offshore.
[Section 8]
 It dictates the need to establish a
dynamic relationship between agricultural
development and industrialization.
3. Urban Land Reform and Housing
[Section 9]
Since what is envisioned is not open
market housing or even economic housing but
principally social housing, what is needed is not
just regulation of "urban land use" but urban
land "reform." Necessarily, therefore, police
power would have to come into place and,
where necessary, together with eminent domain.
 Goals of an urban land reform
program:
a) to liberate human communities from
blight, congestion and hazards to
promote their development and
modernization
b) to bring about the optimum use of
land as a national resource for public
welfare rather than as community of
trade subject to price speculation and
indiscriminate use
c) to provide equitable access to and
opportunity for the use and
enjoyment of the fruits of the land
d) to acquire such lands for public
welfare
e) to maintain and support a vigorous
enterprise system responsive to
community requirements in the use
and development of urban lands
Important elements of the program
therefore should be "basic services" and
"adequate employment opportunities.
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[Section 10]
The intent of the provision is to prevent
the recurrence of past abuses when law
enforcement agents would move in, bulldoze
dwellings, and even inflict violence on persons.
The protection given by the provision
extends to both those who have valid claims to
stay on the land and to those who do not. But
evictions are not prohibited. The constitutional
command simply says that, if evictions there
must be, these must be conducted "in
accordance with law and in a just and humane
manner." Due process must be observed. Even
violators of the law are entitled to humane
treatment.
The law on eviction and demolition is
R.A. No. 7279 (1992).
 In the execution of eviction or
demolition orders involving
underprivileged and homeless citizens,
the following shall be mandatory:
a) Notice upon the effected persons or
entities at least thirty (30) days prior
to the date of eviction or demolition
b) Adequate consultations on the matter
of settlement with the duly
designated representatives of the
families to be resettled and the
affected communities in the areas
where they are to be relocated
c) Presence of local government
officials or their representatives
during eviction or demolition
d) Proper identification of all persons
taking part in the demolition
 e) Execution of eviction or demolition
only during regular office hours from
Mondays to Fridays and during good
weather, unless the affected families
consent otherwise
f) No use of heavy equipment for
demolition except for structures that
are permanent and of concrete
materials
g) Proper uniforms for members of the
Philippine National Police who shall
occupy the first line of law
enforcement and observe proper
disturbance control procedures
h) Adequate relocation, whether
temporary or permanent
4. Health
The provisions which directly or
indirectly pertain to the duty of the State to
protect and promote the people’s right to health
and well-being are not self-executory. They
await implementation by Congress.
[Sections 11-13]
Health is denned as the state of complete
physical, mental and social well-being, and not
merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
 Concepts of Integregation,
Comprehensiveness and Affordability
a) Integration connotes a unified health
delivery system, a combination of
public and private sector, and a blend
of western medicine and traditional
health care modalities.
b) Comprehensiveness includes health
promotion, disease prevention,
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education, and planning. These are
premised on the understanding that
the high level of health of a people
and of a country can be achieved only
through a combination of social,
economic, political and cultural
conditions.
c) An effort in the direction of making
affordable health measures available
is the Generics Law
Free medical care should be extended to
paupers, a concept which means those who have
no source of livelihood, or, even if they have
sources of livelihood, live a hand-to-mouth
existence. It should be noted that, although the
right to health should be enjoyed by all,
Sections 11 to 13 express a clear bias for the
underprivileged.
5. Women
[Section 14]
What Art. II Sec. 14 does is to give
impetus to the removal, through statutes, of
existing inequalities. The general idea is for the
law to ignore sex where sex is not a relevant
factor in determining rights and duties. Nor is
the provision meant to ignore customs and
traditions
6. Role and Rights of People’s
Organizations
This provision recognizes the principle that
volunteerism and participation of non-
governmental organizations in national
development should be encouraged.
[Sections 15-16]
 It is the recognition of the direct role
which people have played and will play in
setting the directions the nation will take.
Commissioner Garcia: “Empowering the
people is a key to the attainment of the ends of
social justice.”
The provisions serve as exhortations to
the people to act jointly, and to associations to
act with independence and not to allow
themselves to be instrumentalized by the state.
The role of the state is to "facilitate" their
creation. What is expected is "reasonable
participation" of the state in decision-making,
that is, to the extent that consultations are
practicable.
7. Human Rights
[Section 18]
 Commission on Human Rights:
(1) Investigate, on its own or on complaint by
any Party, all forms of human rights violations
involving civil and political rights;
(2) Adopt its operational guidelines and rules of
procedure, and cite for contempt for violations
thereof in accordance with the rules of court;
(3) Provide appropriate legal measures for the
protection of human rights of all persons within
the Philippines, as well as filipinos residing
abroad, and provide for preventive measures
and legal aid services to the underprivileged
whose human rights have been violated or need
protection;
(4) Exercise visitorial powers over jails, prisons,
or detention facilities
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(5) Establish a continuing program of research,
education, and information to enhance respect
for the primacy of human rights;
(6) Recommend to the congress effective
measures to promote human rights and to
provide for compensation to victims of
violations of human rights, or their families;
(7) Monitor the Philippine government's
compliance with international treaty obligations
on human rights;
(8) Grant immunity from prosecution to any
person whose testimony or whose possession of
documents or other evidence is necessary or
convenient to determine the truth in any
investigation conducted by it or under its
authority;
(9) Request the assistance of any department,
bureau, office, or agency in the performance of
its functions",
(10) Appoint its officers and employees in
accordance with law; and
(11) Perform such other duties and functions as
may be provided by law.
The Commission on Human Rights is a
creation of the Constitution. Hence, it cannot
altogether be dispensed with by Congress.
However, it is not on the same level as the
Constitutional Commissions of Article IX, and
its full operation requires congressional action.
 Limitations on the powers of the CHR
- It does not have fiscal autonomy as the
Constitution grants fiscal autonomy only
to the Constitutional Commissions, the
Judiciary, and the Ombudsman (CHREA
vs. CHR).
 - The CHR is not a court of justice or a
quasi-judicial agency, its function is
merely to receive evidence and make
findings of fact regarding human rights
violation involving civil and political
rights (Carino vs. CHR).
- Its power is only investigative. It has no
prosecutorial power. Fact finding is not
adjudication, and cannot be likened to
the judicial function of a Court of justice,
or even a quasi-judicial agency or
official.
- Its power to cite for contempt should be
understood to apply only to violations of
its adopted operational guidelines and
rules of procedure essential to carry out
its investigational powers, which it is
constitutionally authorized to adopt
(Simon vs. CHR).
[Sections 18-19]
The powers of the Commission are given
for the sake of the "underprivileged," which is a
broader concept than "indigent." As to filipinos
residing abroad, this can be extended through
diplomatic consular channels.
Article XV- The Family
Effect of the Declaration of Family Autonomy:
It accepts the principle that the family is
anterior to the State and not a creature of the
State. It protects the family from
instrumentalization by the State.
[Sections 1-2]
This is not to lay down a blanket
prohibition of divorce. But the constitutional
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policy is for the protection and strengthening of
the family as the basic autonomous social
institution. For this reason, in annulment cases,
any doubt should be resolved in favor of the
validity of the marriage.
Only the active participation of the
Public Prosecutor or the Office of the Solicitor
General (OSG) will ensure that the interest of
the State is represented and protected in
proceedings for annulment and declarations of
nullity of marriage by preventing collusion
between the parties, or the fabrication or
suppression of evidence.
[Section 3]
This is to protect of parents to determine
the size of their family.
The specification of the right of children
to assistance and protection was approved
against a background of rampant child
prostitution, child labor, child abuse, and child
neglect.
The guarantee of a right to a family
living wage and income was conceived in
recognition of the fact that many families live
below the poverty level. What is envisioned
here is not just wages but also income coming
not from wages.
[Section 4]
The duty to care for the elderly is given
to both the family and the state.
Writ Of Habeas Corpus
The writ of habeas corpus is a writ issued
by the court directed to the person detaining
another, commanding him to produce the body
of the prisoner at a designated time and place,
with the day and cause of his caption and
detention, to do, to submit to, and receive
whatever the court or judge awarding the writ
shall consider in his behalf; “have the body”.
Hence, an essential requisite for the
availability of the writ is actual deprivation of
personal liberty. Simply put, a writ of habeas
corpus is a writ of liberty.
 Purpose: liberation of those who may be
in prison without sufficient cause.
The function of the writ of habeas corpus
is to achieve immediate determination of the
legality of a detention. The effect of the
suspension of the privilege of the writ is to
prevent courts, temporarily, from enquiring into
the legality of the detention.
Habeas corpus is not the proper mode to
question conditions of confinement. The fact
that the restrictions inherent in detention intrude
into the detainees' desire to live comfortably
does not convert those restrictions into
punishment. Moreover, a basic rule is that once
charges have been filed in court, habeas corpus
is no longer available.
Except as otherwise provided by law, the
writ of habeas corpus shall extend to all cases of
illegal confinement or detention by which any
person is deprived of his liberty, or by which
the rightful custody of any person is withheld
from the person entitled thereto.
 Privilege of the writ: It is the right to
have an immediate determination of the
legality of the deprivation of physical
liberty
 Suspension of the privilege: does not
suspend the writ itself, but only it’s
privilege. This means that when the court
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receives an application for the writ, and
it finds the petition in proper form, it will
issue the writ as a matter of course
There were two provisions on the
suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in that
Constitution, one in the Bill of Rights, the other
in the article on the Executive Department. The
Bill of Rights provision guaranteed the
availability of the writ and set the grounds for
suspension. The provision under the Executive
Department, besides setting the grounds for
suspension, also specified the seat of the power
to suspend.
The suspension of the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus was not a political
question because the Constitution had set limits
to executive discretion on the matter.
 General limitations on the power to
suspend the privilege:
- Time limit of 60 days
- Review and possible revocation by
Congress
- Review and possible nullification by
SC
Writ Of Habeas Data
 Section 1 of the Rule on Habeas Data:
“The writ of habeas data is a remedy
available to any person whose right to
privacy in life, liberty or security is
violated or threatened by an unlawful act
or omission of a public official or
employee, or of a private individual or
entity engaged in the gathering,
collecting or storing of data or
 information regarding the person, family,  Etymology: “Amparo” comes from
home and correspondence of the Spanish verb “amparar” meaning “to
aggrieved party.” protect”

The writ may also be sought to secure
destruction of secret information gathered in
violation of a person’s right to privacy to justify
summary action against him by the government
or any private entity.
The existence of a person’s right to
informational privacy and a showing, at least by
substantial evidence, of an actual or threatened
violation of the right to privacy in life, liberty or
security of the prson is indispensable before the
privilege of the writ may be extended (Vivares
vs. St. Theresa’s College).
The writ of habeas data is an independent
and summary remedy designed to protect the
image, privacy, honor, information and freedom
of information of an individual, and to provide a
forum to enforce one’s right to the truth and to
informational privacy (manila Electric Co. vs.
Lim).
 Nature: A writ to protect right to life,
liberty and security of persons.
 Section 1 of The Rule on the Writ of
Amparo: “The petition for a writ of
amparo is a remedy available to any
person whose right to life, liberty and
security is violated or threatened with
violation by unlawful act or omission of
a public official or employee, or of a
private individual or entity. The writ
shall cover extralegal killings and
enforced disappearances or threats
thereof.”
 Extent: only to cases of extralegal
killings and enforced disappearances, or
to threats thereof (Mison vs. Gallegos).

Writ Of Amparo

The 1987 Constitution has given to the

Supreme Court authority to promulgate rules
concerning the protection and enforcement of
constitutional rights. This is auxiliary to its
broad judicial power. This includes an inherent
power to suspend its own rules in particular
cases in order to do justice. And this is the basis
for the Rule creating the Writ of Amparo.

In light of the prevalence of extra legal

killing and enforced disappearances, the
Supreme Court resolved to exercise for the first
time its power to promulgate rules to protect our
people’s constitutional rights.

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NATURAL RESOURCES AND  Key Features:
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
1. Declares a continuing policy of the State

a) to create, develop, maintain, and

Environmental Law improve conditions under which
man and nature can thrive in
The term “environment” is understood as productive and enjoyable
encompassing both the creatures and products harmony with each other;
of the natural world and those of human
civilization (SANDS & PHILIPPE, Principles b) to fulfill the social, economic and
of International Environmental Law (2003) p. other requirements of present and
15) future generations of Filipinos,
and;
Philippine Environmental Policy Decree
c) to insure the attainment of an
The Decree was enacted in June 6, 1977 environmental quality that is
to protect the right of the people to a healthy conducive to a life of dignity and
environment through a requirement of well-being (Section 1)
environmental impact assessments and
statements. 2. Lays down the responsibility of the
government, in cooperation of concerned
 Reasons for enactment: private organizations and entities, to use
all practicable means, consistent with
Conflicting demands of population
other essential considerations of national
growth, urbanization, industrial expansion,
policy, in promoting the general welfare
rapid natural resources utilization, and
to the end that the nation may:
increasing technological advances have resulted
in a piecemeal-approach concept of a) recognize, discharge and fulfill
environmental protection. the responsibilities of each
generation as trustee and guardian
The tunnel-vision concept is not of the environment for succeeding
conducive to the attainment of an ideal generations;
environmental situation where man and nature
can thrive in harmony with one another. b) assure the people of a safe,
decent, healthful, productive and
There is now an urgent need to formulate aesthetic environment;
an intensive, integrated program of
environmental protection that will bring about a c) encourage the widest exploitation
concerted effort towards the protection of the of the environment without
entire spectrum of the environment through a degrading it, or endangering
requirement of environmental impact human life, health and safety or
assessments and statements. creating conditions adverse to

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 agriculture, commerce and
industry;
d) preserve important historic and
cultural aspects of the Philippine
heritage;
e) attain a rational and orderly
balance between population and
resource use, and;
f) improve the utilization of
renewable and non-renewable
resources (Section 2).
3. Recognizes the right of the people to a
healthful environment and lays down the
duty and responsibility of each
individual to contribute to the
preservation and enhancement of the
Philippine environment (Section 3).
4. Directs all agencies and instrumentalities
of the national government, including all
government owned and controlled
corporations as well as private
corporations and firms and entities to
prepare, file, and include in every action,
project, or undertaking which
significantly affects the quality of the
environment a detailed statement on:
a) the environmental impact of the
proposed action, project or
undertaking;
b) any adverse environmental effect
which cannot be avoided should
the proposal be implemented;
c) alternative to the proposed action;
d) a determination that the short-
term uses of the resources of the
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environment are consistent with
the maintenance and enhancement
of the long-term productivity of
the same; and
e) whenever a proposal involves the
use of depletable or non-
renewable resources, a finding
must be made that such use and
commitment are warranted
(Section 4)
Revised Forestry Code
Criminal Offenses and Penalties stated
under Presidential Decree No. 705:
1. Cutting, gathering and/or collecting
timber or other products without license.
2. Unlawful occupation or destruction of
forest lands.
3. Pasturing Livestock
4. Illegal occupation of national parks
system and recreation areas and
vandalism therein.
5. Destruction of wildlife resources
6. Survey by unauthorized person
7. Misclassification and survey by
government official or employee.
8. Tax declaration on real property.
9. Coercion and influence
10. Unlawful possession of implements and
devices used by forest officers.
11. Payment, collection and remittance of
forest charges.
12. Sale of wood products
Philippine Mining Act
 Factors that are considered in the Act:
 1. Local government empowerment;
2. Respect and concern for the
indigenous cultural communities;
3. Equitable sharing of benefits of
natural wealth;
4. Economic demands of present
generation while providing the
necessary foundation for future
generations;
5. Worldwide trend towards
globalization; and
6. Protection for and wise management
of the environment.
The Implementing Rules and Regulations
(DENR Administrative Order No.96-40) of the
Philippine Mining Act of 1995 provides strict
adherence to the principle of SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT. This strategy mandates that
the needs of the present should be met without
compromising the ability of the future
generations to meet their own needs, with the
view of improving the quality of life, both now
and in the future. Sustainable development
provides that the use of mineral wealth shall be
pro-people and pro-environment in sustaining
wealth creation and improve quality of life.
 The principles of SUSTAINABLE
MINING operates under the following
terms:
a) Mining is a temporary land use for
the creation of wealth, leading to an
optimum land use in post-mining
stage as consequence of progressive
and engineered mine rehabilitation
works done in cycle with mining
operations;
University of Makati School of Law | Political Law Bar Reviewer | Page 13
b) Mining activities must always be
guided by current Best Practices in
environmental management
committed to reducing the impacts of
mining while efficiently and
effectively protecting the
environment;
c) The wealth created as a result of
mining accruing to the Government
and the community should lead to
other wealth-generating opportunities
for people in the communities and for
other environment-responsible
endeavors;
d) Mining activities shall be undertaken
with due and equal regard for
economic and environmental
considerations, as well as for health,
safety, social and cultural concerns;
e) Conservation of minerals is effected
not only through technological
efficiencies of mining operations but
also through the recycling of mineral-
based products, to effectively
lengthen the usable life of mineral
commodities;
f) The granting of mining rights shall
harmonize existing activities, policies
and programs of the Government that
directly or indirectly promote self-
reliance, development and resource
management. Activities, policies and
programs that promote community-
based, community-oriented and
procedural development shall be
encouraged, consistent with the
principles of people empowerment
and grassroots development.
  Organizational Implementation
The Mining Act reverts back the Mines and
Geosciences Bureau (MGB) from a Staff to a
Line Bureau. Under this arrangement, the MGB
Central Office has now the administrative
jurisdiction and responsibility over its regional
offices. The Line Bureau structure was
contemplated to ensure organizational
efficiency and flexibility in managing limited
resources and technical expertise.
 Role of Local Governments
The IRR highlights the role of local
government units (LGUs) in mining projects,
both as beneficiaries and as active participants
in mineral resources management, in
consonance with the Constitution and
government policies on local autonomy and
empowerment
 Areas Closed to the Mining
Application
Pursuant to the Mining Act of 1995 and in
consonance with State policies and existing
laws, areas may either be closed to mining
operations, or conditionally opened, as follows:
Areas CLOSED to mining applications:
a) Areas covered by valid and existing
mining rights and applications;
b) Old growth or virgin forests, mossy
forests, national parks,
provincial/municipal forests, tree parks,
greenbelts, game refuge, bird sanctuaries
and areas proclaimed as marine
reserve/marine parks and sanctuaries and
areas proclaimed as marine
reserve/marine parks and tourist zones as
defined by law and identified initial
University of Makati School of Law | Political Law Bar Reviewer | Page 14
components of the NIPAS, and such
areas as expressly prohibited thereunder,
as well as under DENR Administrative
Order No. 25, s. 1992, and other laws;
c) Areas which the Secretary may exclude
based, inter alia, or proper assessment of
their environmental impacts and
implications on sustainable land uses,
such as built-up areas and critical
watershed with appropriate
barangay/municipal/provincial
Sanggunian ordinances specifying
therein the location and specific
boundaries of the concerned area; and
d) Areas expressly prohibited by law.
The following areas may be opened for mining
operations, the approval of which are subject to
the following conditions:
a) Military and other government
reservations, upon prior written consent
by the government agency having
jurisdiction over such areas;
b) Areas near or under public or private
buildings, cemeteries, and archaeological
and historic sites, bridges, highways,
waterways, railroads, reservoirs, dams
and other infrastructure projects, public
or private works, including plantations or
valuable crops, upon written consent of
the concerned government agency or
private entity, subject to technical
evaluation and validation by the MGB;
c) Areas covered by FTAA applications,
which shall be opened, for quarry
resources upon written consent of the
FTAA applicants/contractors. However,
 mining applications for sand and gravel
shall require no such consent;
d) DENR Project areas upon prior consent
from the concerned agency.
 Ancestral Lands and ICC Areas
The Mining Act fully recognizes the rights
of the Indigenous Peoples (IPs)/Indigenous
Cultural Communities (ICCs) and respect their
ancestral lands. Thus, in accordance with
DENR Administrative Order No. 2, and
consistent with the new Indigenous Peoples
Rights Act (IPRA), the following shall be
observed:
a) No mineral agreements, FTAA and
mining permits shall be granted in
ancestral lands/domains except with
prior informed consent in: a)
CADC/CLC areas; and b) areas verified
by the DENR Regional Office and/or
appropriate offices as actually occupied
by Indigenous Cultural Communities
under a claim of time immemorial
possession;
b) Where written consent is granted by the
ICCs, a royalty payment shall be
negotiated which shall not be less than
1% of the Gross Output of the mining
operations in the area. This Royalty shall
form part of a Trust Fund for
socioeconomic well being of the ICCs in
accordance with the management plan
formulated by the ICCs in the
CADC/CALC area. (In a large-scale
mining operation the 1-% Royalty could
easily run into several tens of million
pesos per year).
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c) Representation in the Multi-partite
Monitoring Committee
 Social and Community Development
and Research and Development
The Mining contractors/operators shall
allocate a minimum of 1% of their direct mining
and milling costs for the following:
a) Development of the host and
neighboring communities and mine
camp, including the construction and
maintenance of social infrastructures to
promote the general welfare of the
inhabitants in the area. Such
infrastructures include roads and bridges,
school buildings, churches, recreational
facilities, housing facilities, water and
power supplies, etc.;
b) For the development of mining
technology and geosciences, particularly
those related to improved efficiencies
and environmental protection and
rehabilitation
The mining contracts under the regimes of
MPSA and FTAA also provide for the
mandatory Filipinization program, technology
transfer, and the training and priority
employment of local residents. These contracts
further mandate that mining operations shall
maximize the utilization of local goods and
services, the creation of self-sustaining
generating activities, and skills-development.
 Environmental and Safety Concerns
A significant feature of the Mining Act of
1995 and its IRR is the premium given to
environmental protection. Stringent measures
were institutionalized to ensure the compliance
of mining contractors/operators to
internationally accepted standards of
environmental management.
 On Social Acceptability
Mining contractors/operators shall allocate a
minimum of 1% of their direct mining and
milling costs for the development of the
following:
a) Host and neighboring communities and
mine camp to promote the general
welfare of inhabitants in the area. This
includes construction and maintenance of
infrastructures such as roads and bridges,
school buildings, housing and
recreational facilities, water and power
supplies, etc.;
b) Mining technology and geosciences,
particularly those related to improved
efficiencies and environmental
protection and rehabilitation.
Philippine Fisheries Code, as amended
All prior legislations in fishery were
codified into the Fisheries Decree of 1975 (PD
704). The law provided opportunities to foreign
investors (but maintaining 60% capital stock to
local investors) to improve global
competitiveness by modernizing the industry
through these investments. It encouraged
maximum economic utilization of fishery
resources in an integrated manner while putting
some limits to fishing by reserving the seven-
kilometer zone to small fisherfolk. More
regulations were put in place but the inability of
concerned agencies to enforce regulatory and
management systems eventually led to stock
depletion and resource degradation.
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All prior legislations in fishery were
codified into the Fisheries Decree of 1975 (PD
704). The law provided opportunities to foreign
investors (but maintaining 60% capital stock to
local investors) to improve global
competitiveness by modernizing the industry
through these investments. It encouraged
maximum economic utilization of fishery
resources in an integrated manner while putting
some limits to fishing by reserving the seven-
kilometer zone to small fisherfolk. More
regulations were put in place but the inability of
concerned agencies to enforce regulatory and
management systems eventually led to stock
depletion and resource degradation.
Republic Act (RA) 8550 is the response
to address the trend of blind resource
exploitation. This Act, otherwise known as the
Fisheries Code of 1998, is the governing law in
Philippine fisheries to address the
interconnected issues of resource degradation
and unrelenting poverty among municipal
fishers. It provides for a national policy on
sustainable use of fishery resources to meet the
growing food needs of the population. It calls
for management of fishery and aquatic
resources in a manner that is consistent with the
concept of an integrated coastal area
management in specific natural fishery
management areas.
The Code also promotes and protects the
rights of municipal fisherfolk, especially in the
preferential use of municipal waters. Resident
fisherfolks and their cooperatives/organizations
are given the priority to exploit the expanded
15-kilometer limit of municipal waters. It
further mandates the government to promote the
general welfare of municipal fishers through
provision of support services and fair labor
practices.
 The Fisheries Code was passed by the
Philippine Congress on 19 February 1998 and
was subsequently approved by the Office of the
President on 25 February 1998. The law became
effective on 23 June 1998. It contains nine (9)
chapters with provisions on utilization,
management, development, conservation and
allocation system of fisheries and aquatic
resources; reconstitution of the Bureau of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and creation of
the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
Management Councils; fishery reserves, refuge
and sanctuaries; and research and development.
One chapter each is dedicated for prohibitions
and penalties; general provisions; transitory and
final provisions.
 Key features:
1. Overfished or in danger of being
overfished areas are established as
fish refuge and marine sanctuaries (at
least 15% of the total coastal areas in
each municipality should be
designated as fishery refuge and
sanctuaries to establish more fish
sanctuaries and marine protected
areas)
2. Participatory management through
various levels of Fisheries and
Aquatic Resources Management
Councils (FARMCs) is enhanced and
institutionalized; the combination of
organized fishers and local
government units (LGUs) is intended
to serve as a venue for close
collaboration among civil society
groups in the management of
contiguous resources.
3. Resident municipal fisherfolk and
their cooperatives/organizations are
University of Makati School of Law | Political Law Bar Reviewer | Page 17
given preferential fishing privileges
in the municipal waters
4. granting of Fishpond Lease
Agreements (FLAs) gives preference
to municipal fisherfolk and their
organization
5. mandates the government to provide
support services in the form of
research and extension, credit, post-
harvest facilities, infrastructures,
fisherfolk settlements and entitlement
to same privileges as those accorded
to other workers under the Philippine
Labor Code
Clean Air Act
Republic Act No. 8749, otherwise
known as the Philippine Clean Air Act, is a
comprehensive air quality management policy
and program which aims to achieve and
maintain healthy air for all Filipinos.
The Act outlines the government’s
measures to reduce air pollution and incorporate
environmental protection into its development
plans. It relies heavily on the polluter pays
principle and other market-based instruments to
promote self-regulation among the population.
 What are covered by the Act?
All potential sources of air pollution
(mobile, point and area sources) must comply
with the provisions of the law. All emissions
must be within the air quality standards.
a) Mobile sources refer to vehicles like
cars, trucks, buses, jeepneys, tricycles,
motorcycles, and vans.
 b) Point sources refer to stationary sources
such as industrial firms and the
smokestacks of power plants, hotels, and
other establishments.
c) Area sources refer to sources of
emissions other than the above. These
include smoking, burning of garbage,
and dust from construction, unpaved
grounds, etc.
Clean Water Act
The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004
(Republic Act No. 9275) aims to protect the
country’s water bodies from pollution from
land-based sources (industries and commercial
establishments, agriculture and
community/household activities). It provides for
a comprehensive and integrated strategy to
prevent and minimize pollution through a multi-
sectoral and participatory approach involving
all the stakeholders.
Under the Act, management of water quality
will either be based on watershed, river basin or
water resources region. Water quality
management areas with similar hydrological,
hydrogeological, meteorological or geographic
conditions which affect the reaction and
diffusion of pollutants in water bodies are to be
designated by the DENR in coordination with
the National Water Resources Board (NWRB).
Management will be localized. Multi-
sectoral governing boards will be established to
manage water issues within their jurisdiction.
 How will domestic wastewater be
addressed?
University of Makati School of Law | Political Law Bar Reviewer | Page 18
The Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH), in coordination with local
government units will prepare a national
program on sewage and septage management
not later than 12 months from effectivity of this
Act. A priority list will likewise be prepared
which will be the basis for the allotment of
funds on an annual basis by the national
government for the construction and
rehabilitation of required facilities.
On the other hand, LGUs are to provide the
land including road right of the way for the
construction of sewage and/or septage treatment
facilities and raise funds for the operations and
maintenance of said facilities.
The Department of Health (DOH) will
formulate guidelines and standards for the
collection, treatment and disposal of sewage as
well as the guidelines for the establishment and
operation of centralized sewage treatment
system. The MWSS and other agencies
mandated to provide water supply and sewerage
facilities are required to connect existing
sewage lines, subject to the payment of
sewerage service charges/fees within five years
following effectivity of this Act.
All sources of sewage and septage are
required to comply with the law.
 Safeguards that are provided for:
All possible dischargers are required to put
dup an environmental guarantee fund (EGF) as
part of their environmental management plan.
The EGF will finance the conservation of
watersheds and aquifers, and the needs of
emergency response, clean up or rehabilitation.
 Acts punishable
a. Discharging or depositing any tampering with the water
water pollutant to the water supply in such a way to alter
body, or such which will or impair the water quality
impede natural flow in the m. Operate facilities that
water body discharge or allow to seep,
b. Discharging, injecting or willfully or through grave
allowing to enter into the soil, negligence, prohibited
anything that would pollute chemicals, substances, or
groundwater pollutantslisted under R.A.
c. Operating facilities that No. 6969, into water bodies.
discharge regulated water n. Undertake activities or
pollutants without the valid development and expansion of
required permits projects, or operating
d. Disposal of potentially wastewater
infectious medical waste into treatment/sewerage facilities
sea by vessels in violation of P.D.1586 and
e. Unauthorized transport or its IRR.
dumping into waters of
sewage sludge or solid waste.
f. Transport, dumping or
discharge of prohibited
chemicals, substances or Writ of Kalikasan
pollutants listed under Toxic
Chemicals, Hazardous and  Sections 3-4 of Rule 7 of Rules of
Nuclear Procedure for Environmental Cases:
g. Wastes Control Act “The writ is a remedy available to a
(Republic.Act No. 6969) natural or juridical person, entity
h. Discharging regulated water authorized by law, people’s organization,
pollutants without the valid
non-governmental organization, or any
required discharge permit
pursuant to this Act public interest group accredited by or
i. Noncompliance of the LGU registered with any government agency,
with the Water Quality on behalf of persons whose
Framework and Management constitutional right to a balanced and
Area Action Plan healthful ecology is violated, or
j. Refusal to allow entry, threatened with violation by an unlawful
inspection and monitoring as
act or omission of a public official or
well as access to reports and
records by the DENR in employee, or private individual or entity,
accordance with this Act involving environmental damage of such
k. Refusal or failure to submit magnitude as to prejudice the life, health
reports and/or designate or property of inhabitants in two or more
pollution control officers cities or provinces.”
whenever required by the
DENR in accordance with this
Act
l. Directly using booster pumps Article XII- National Economy and Patrimony
in the distribution system or

University of Makati School of Law | Political Law Bar Reviewer | Page 19

[Section 1]
 Threefold goal of the national
economy
a) More equitable distribution of wealth
b) Increase of wealth for the benefit of
the people nm
c) Increased productivity.
National Policy on Industrialization and
Agricultural Development
What is envisioned is not necessarily
agriculturally related industrialization but rather
industrialization that is a result of releasing
through agrarian reform capital locked up in
land. Therefore, this does not mean a hard-
bound rule that agricultural development must
have priority over industrialization. What is
envisioned is a flexible and rational relationship
between the two as dictated by the common
good.186 C. Meaning of the Phrase “UNFAIR
FOREIGN COMPETITION AND TRADE
PRACTICES”
The phrase is not to be understood in a
limited legal and technical sense but in the
sense of anything that is harmful to Philippine
enterprises. At the same time, however, the
intention is not to protect local inefficiency. Nor
is the intention to protect local industries from
foreign competition at the expense of the
consuming public.187 D. De-classification of
forests reserves
The law on forest reserves was amended
by Prsidential Decree No. 643 dated 17 May
1974. Whereas under previous law the
concurrence of the National Assembly was
needed to withdraw forest reserves found to be
more valuable for their mineral contents than
University of Makati School of Law | Political Law Bar Reviewer | Page 20
for the purpose for which the reservation was
made and convert the same into non-forest
reserves, legislative concurrence is no longer
needed. All that is required is a
recommendation from the DENR Secretary
indicating which forest reservations are to be
withdrawn.188 An unclassified forested area
may not be acquired by continuous possession
since it is inalienable.
[Section 2]
Regalian Doctrine (Jura Regalia)
The universal feudal theory that all
lands were held from the Crown. All lands not
otherwise clearly appearing to be privately
owned are presumed to belong to the State
(Carino v. Insular Government, 1909).
Recognized in the 1935, 1973 and 1987
Constitutions; As adopted in a republican
system, the medieval concept of jura regalia has
been stripped of regalia overtones: ownership is
vested in the State, not in the head of the State.
(Lee Hong Kok v. David, 48 SCRA 372)
Consequence: Any person claiming
ownership of a portion of the public domain
must be able to show title from the state
according to any of the recognized modes of
acquisition of title (Lee Hong Kok v. David, 48
SCRA 372).
Exception to Sec. 2: Any land in the
possession of an occupant and of his
predecessors-in-interest since time immemorial
(Oh Cho vs. Director of Land).
Imperium and Dominium
In public law, there exists the well-
known distinction between government
authority possessed by the State which is
appropriately embraced in sovereignty, and its
capacity to own or acquire property. The former
comes under the heading of imperium, and the
latter of dominium. The use of the term
dominium is appropriate with reference to
lands held by the State in its proprietary
character. In such capacity, it may provide for
the exploitation and use of lands and other
natural resources, including their disposition,
except as limited by the Constitution.
 Limits Imposed by Section 2 on the
Jura Regalia of the State
1. Only agricultural lands of the public
domain may be alienated.
2. The exploration, development, and
utilization of all natural resources shall
be under the full control and supervision
of the State either by directly
undertaking such exploration,
development, and utilization or through
coproduction, joint venture, or
production-sharing agreements with
qualified persons or corporations.
3. All agreements with the qualified private
sector may be for only a period not
exceeding twentyfive years, renewable
for another twenty-five years. (The
twenty-five year limit is not applicable to
“water rights for irrigation, water supply,
fisheries, or industrial uses other than the
development of water power,” for which
“beneficial use may be the measure and
the limit of the grant.”)
4. The use and enjoyment of marine wealth
of the archipelagic waters, territorial sea,
and exclusive economic zone shall be
reserved for Filipino citizens. (It would
seem therefore that corporations are
University of Makati School of Law | Political Law Bar Reviewer | Page 21
excluded or at least must be fully owned
by Filipinos.)
5. Utilization of natural resources in rivers,
lakes, bays, and lagoons may be allowed
on a “small scale” Filipino citizens or
cooperatives- with priority for
subsistence fishermen and fishworkers.
(The bias here is for the protection of the
little people.)
Exploration, Development and Utilization of
Inalienable Resources
“The exploration, development, and
utilization of natural resources shall be under
the full control and supervision of the State. The
State may directly undertake such activities, or
it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or
production-sharing agreements with Filipino
citizens, or corporations or associations at least
sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by
such citizens…”
Marginal Fisherman: an individual engaged in
fishing by existing price levels, is barely
sufficient to yield a profit or cover the cost of
gathering the fish while a “subsistence”
fisherman is one whose catch yields but the
irreducible minimum to his livelihood
[Section 3]
Lands of Public Domain
 Classification:
1. Agricultural;
2. Forest or timber
3. Mineral lands
4. National parks
 The classification of public lands is a
function of the executive branch of government,
specifically the Director of Lands, now the
Director of the Land Management Bureau. The
decision of the Director, when approved by the
Secretary of the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources, as to questions of fact,
is conclusive upon the courts. (Republic v.
Imperial, 1999)
The prerogative of classifying public
lands pertains to administrative agencies which
have been specially tasked by statutes to do so
and the courts will not interfere on matters
which are addressed to the sound discretion of
government and/or quasijudicial agencies
entrusted with the regulation of activities
coming under their special technical knowledge
and training.
Private corporations or associations may
not hold such alienable lands of the public
domain except by lease.
*insert citizenship table*
[Section 6, 7, 8]
Stewardship Concept
Private Lands
GR: No private lands shall be transferred or
conveyed except to individuals, corporations, or
associations qualified to acquire or hold lands
of the public domain.
XNs:
1. Hereditary Succession (This does not
apply to testamentary dispositions,
Ramirez v. Vda. De Ramirez, 111 SCRA
740)
University of Makati School of Law | Political Law Bar Reviewer | Page 22
2. A natural born citizen of the Philippines
who has lost his Philippine citizenship
may be a transferee of private lands
(Section 8, Article XII)
3. Americans hold valid title to private
lands as against private persons
[Section 19]
Monopoly: a privilege or peculiar advantage
vested in one more persons or companies,
consisting in the exclusive right (or power) to
carry on a particular business or trade,
manufacture a particular article, or control the
sale of a particular commodity.
Clearly, monopolies are not per se
prohibited by the Constitution but may be
permitted to exist to aid the government in
carrying on an enterprise or to aid in the
performance of various services and functions
in the interest of the public. However, because
monopolies are subject to abuses that can inflict
severe prejudice to the public, they are
subjected to a higher of State regulation than an
ordinary business undertaking (Agan Jr. v.
PIATCO)
Section 19 is anti-trust in history and
spirit; it espouses competition. The desirability
of competition is the reason for the prohibition
against restraint of trade, the reason for the
interdiction of unfair competition, and the
reason for the prohibition in unmitigated
monopolies. A market controlled by one player
(monopoly) or dominated by a handful of
players (oligopoly) is hardly the marker where
honest-to-goodness competition will prevail. In
this case, it cannot be denied that our
downstream oil industry is operated and
controlled by oligopoly, foreign oligopoly at
that. So, if only to help the many who are poor
from further suffering as a result of unmitigated
increase in the prices of oil products due to
deregulation, it is a must that RA 8180 be
repealed completely.
Monopolies in restraint of trade:
Contracts requiring exclusivity are not per se
void. Each contract must be viewed vis-à-vis all
the circumstances surrounding such agreement
in deciding whether a restrictive practice should
be prohibited as imposing an unreasonable
restraint on competition.

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