vSan Beda University, College of Law

1st Sem SY 2021-22

Subject: Natural Resources and Environmental Law
Prof: Comm. Wilhelm D. Soriano
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Topic: Right to a Balanced and Healthful Ecology

Article II, Section 16, The State shall protect and advance the right of the
people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and
harmony of nature

During the drafting of the 1987 Constitution, the controversial debate is whether to
continue the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant or suspend. There was a growing concern
about the nuclear fall out in case of accident detrimental not only to the health but
as well as to the environment

The discussions manifested a clear desire to make environmental protection and

ecological balance conscious objects of police power by regulating human activities
and imposing correlative duty to refrain from impairing the environment, as well as,
imposing a duty to the government to protect the environment

Every member of the Constitutional Commission was convinced of the need to

provide a particular provision on the protection of the environment hence, Section
16 was provided recognizing the right of the people for a balanced and healthful
ecology

In the case of Oposa vs Factoran, the Supreme Court stated that the right of the
people to a balanced and healthful ecology need not even be written in the
Constitution for it is assumed to exist from the inception of mankind and it is an
issue of transcendental importance with intergenerational implications

The Supreme Court further declared that even in the absence of a categorical
provision mandating the concerned agencies of the government, they and the men
and women administering these offices cannot escape their obligation to future
generations of Filipinos to keep the environment clean and healthy as humanely as
possible. Anything less would be a betrayal of public trust

Section 16 is self-executing provision

As declared by the Supreme Court in the Oposa vs Factoran case, Article 16

together with Article 15 of the 1987 Constitution are self-executing provisions,
hence, the rights of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology and the right to
health are legally demandable and enforceable, violations of those rights are
justiciable, meaning victims may go to court for redress and compensation

A constitutional provision is self-executing when it can be given effect without the

aid of legislation, and there is nothing to indicate that legislation is intended to make
it operative

While the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology is to be found in
the declaration of state policies (policy as used in the Constitution means it is a
course of action adopted and pursued by the government), it does not follow
that it is less important than any of the civil and political rights enumerated in the
Bill of Rights
Such a right belongs to a different category of rights altogether for it concerns
nothing less than self-preservation and self-perpetuation of the people at large

The right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology carries with it the
correlative duty of the State to refrain from impairing the environment, mandates
the government to conduct a judicious management and conservation of the natural
resource found within the Philippine territory

Article XII, Section 2 – With the exception of agricultural lands, all other
natural resources shall not be alienated

But, at the same time, the State needs to extract and utilize the natural resources for
economic gain. How can it be called wealth of the nation if the State will not utilize
the natural resources and derived benefit from it

Article XII, Section 2 – 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

The Congress may, be law, allow small-scale utilization of natural

resources by Filipino citizens, as well as cooperative fish farming, with
priority to subsistence fishermen and fishworkers in rivers, lakes, bays, and
lagoons

The President may enter into agreements with foreign-owned

corporations involving technical or financial assistance for large-scale
exploration, development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum, and other
mineral oils according to general terms and conditions provided by law, based
on real contributions to the economic growth and general welfare of the
country. In such agreements, the State shall promote the development and use
of local scientific and technical resources

As manifested in the preamble, the ideals and aspirations of the Filipino people is to
conserve and develop the patrimony of the nation, and affirmed by Section 2, Article
XII, that except agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated,
however, in the same section, the State is authorized to explore, develop and utilize
natural resources, so the question now is, how do we strike a balance between
environmental protection and the need for the economy of the Philippines

Ecological Condition

Ecological condition refers to the state of ecological systems or commonly known as

“ecosystem” which includes their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics
and the processes and interactions that connect them

Understanding ecological condition is crucial, because humans depend on healthy

ecological systems for food, fiber, timber, flood control, and many other benefits.
Many scientists attribute deep significance and important tangible benefits to
ecological systems and their diversity of plants and animals
An ecological system is a biological community consisting of all the living organisms,
including humans, in a particular area and the non-living components, such as air,
water, mineral soil, with which the organism interact

Examples of ecological systems include forests, grasslands, agricultural systems,

lakes, streams, wetlands, estuaries, and coral reefs

Ecosystem processes cycle water and nutrients, build soils, produce the oxygen we
breath, remove carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere,
and perform many other functions that are important for the health of the people
and the planet as a whole

Meaning of Ecology

The word ecology was first used by a German Zoologist Ernst Haeckel, from the
Greek word “OIKOS”, which literally means place to live or a dwelling place

However, it was an American, Eugene Odum, who introduced the modern ecology
and established the first School of Ecology at the University of Georgia

Ecology is defined as, the branch of biology that deals with the relations of
organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings (Scientific study of life
or living matter in all its forms and processes)

Ecology as a science is the scientific study of the interaction among organisms and
their environment

Ecology is very important to all living organisms because it provides awareness and
consciousness of the interdependence between people and nature which is vital for
food production, maintaining clean air that people breath and water that all living
organisms needs

Barry Commoner, a scientist, ecologist, and environment activist outlined the

four laws of ecology;

1. Everything is connected to everything

2. Everything must go somewhere
3. Nature knows best
4. There is no such thing as free lunch

Eugene Odum introduced the basic principles in ecology;

1. Adaptation to nature
2. Human behavior
3. Regulation
4. Diversity
5. Emergent properties
6. Energy flow
7. Growth development
8. Everything has an end
N.B. – Emergent property is a property which a collection or complex system has,
but which the individual members do not have. In biology, heart is made of heart
cells, however, heart cells on their own do not have the property of pumping blood.
It must be the whole heart, as a system to be able to pump blood

This is similar to the interaction of the forests, timber, air, water, and the process of
evaporation

Equally important also the presence of trees. NASA studies on indoor air pollution
recommends 15 to 18 plants to clean the air in an average of 1,800 square foot
house. 1 plant per 100 square feet of floor space

One human being breaths about 9.5 tons of air in a year, but oxygen only makes up
about 23 percent of that air and we only extract a little over a third of the oxygen
from each breath. About seven or eight trees needed per single human being

Crucial to human beings is the ecological support, which is known as “Biodiversity”

The term biodiversity refers to the variety of life on earth at all its levels, from genes
to ecosystems, and can encompass the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural
processes that sustain life

Biodiversity provides functioning ecosystem that supply oxygen, clean air and
water, pollination of plants, pest control, wastewater treatment

Biodiversity is also important on food production, as it ensures the sustainable

productivity of soils and provides the genetic resources for all crops, livestock, and
marine species harvested for food

Benefits of a healthy biodiversity

1. Protection of water resources

2. Soils formation and protection
3. Nutrient storage and recycling
4. Pollution breakdown and absorption
5. Contribution to climate stability
6. Maintenance of ecosystems
7. Recovery from natural and man made destructions

Evolution of laws on sanitation, pollution, and environment

1. R. A. No. 3931, June 18, 1964, An Act Creating the National Water and Air
Pollution Control Commission

2. P. D. No. 600, December 09, 1974, Marine Pollution Decree of 1974

3. P. D. No. 825, November 07, 1975, Providing Penalty for Improper Disposal
of Garbage and other Forms of Uncleanliness

4. P. D. No. 856, December 03, 1975, Code on Sanitation of the Philippines

5. P. D. No. 979, August 18, 1976, Marine Pollution Decree of 1976 (revised P.D.
No. 600)

6. P.D. No. 984, August 18, 1976, National Pollution Control Decree (revised R.A.
No. 3931)
 7. P. D. No. 1067, December 31, 1976, Water Code of the Philippines

8. P. D. No. 1121, April 18, 1977, Creation of the National Environmental

Protection Council

9. P. D. No. 1142, June 06, 1977, Philippine Environmental Code

10. R. A. No. 6969, October 26, 1990, Toxic Substances and Hazardous and
Nuclear Wastes Control Act

11. R. A. No. 7279, March 24, 1992, Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992

12. R. A. No. 7924, March 01, 1995, An Act Creating the Metropolitan Manila
Development Authority

13. R. A. No. 8550, July 13, 1998, Philippine Fisheries Code (revised P.D. No.704)

14. R. A. No. 8749, June 23, 1999, Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999

15. R. A. No. 9003, January 26, 2001, Ecological Solid Waste Management Act

16. R. A. No. 9275, March 22, 2004, Philippine Clean Water Act

Case Study:

1. Oposa vs Factoran, G.R. No. 101083, July 30, 1993

2. Henares vs LTFRB and DOTr, G.R. No. 158290, Oct. 23, 2006

3. MMDA vs Concerned Citizens of Manila Bay, G.R. No. 171947, December 18,
2008