Environmental Advocacy

A few days ago, a well-known environmental advocate gave us a lecture at the SU College of Law. I expected it to be boring but it turned out the opposite. It was very interesting and, to an extent, fun. In fact, I was inspired by how dedicated he was in his advocacy. The speaker, by the way, was Atty. Antonio A. Oposa, Jr., author of the popular environmental law book "A Legal Arsenal for the Philippine Environmental". That family name may ring a bell to you. If you are an environmentalist, studied law, or have browsed through some SCRAs (Supreme Court Reports Annotated), I'm sure your familiar with the landmark case of Oposa vs. Factoran.

Just to give you an idea, that famous 1990s case was a suit asking the cancellation of all the logging license agreements in the country and to order the government to stop accepting, processing, renewing or approving new timber licenses. The ruling established the principle of intergenerational equity in Philippine jurisprudence. This means that every generation has a responsibility to the next to preserve the environment. It established that the right to a balanced and healthful ecology is a specific legal right that one can go to court with and that a timber license granted by the government to a concessionaire does not constitute a contract whose enforcement cannot be stopped.

Oposa, a Bisaya (Cebuano), is a lawyer, but he prefers to be known as an environmental advocate. Perhaps that has got to do with the fact that his biggest (and in a way, only) client is Mother Nature herself. He pioneered the practice of environmental law in the Philippines and is one of Asia's experts in this field.

He is a team leader of the Visayan Sea Squadron, an outreach group of the Law of Nature Foundation which he heads. They hope to preserve the threatened waters of the Visayan Sea. In his lecture, he explained that this area is at the apex of the fabled Visayan Marine Triangle that lies at the heart of the Sulu-Sulawesi eco-region, the richest marine eco-region in the world.

Because of this, he has waged so many battles against environmental foes such as commercial fishing syndicates and logging companies. As a matter of fact, he has even gone head to head against the government with regard to certain environmental laws. He has already sued (and won) several LGUs for failing to implement laws for the preservation of the environment. As he said, "suing the government" had become a hobby of his.

His lecture, as I said, was so inspiring, and it was for most of those who were there. His dedication and commitment to saving and conserving Mother Nature was unbelievable. I was convinced at what he said that our rich environment is gradually deteriorating. I felt that indeed it was our responsibility to ensure that future generations may also experience the beauty of our environment and the earth as a whole.

I have all praises for this guy. He is just incredibly passionate with his pro bono work of serving the farmers and fishermen. He converted his beach house in Bantayan Island into a learning center where kids and adults could learn about solid waste management, coral reef protection and terrestrial ecosystems. He even put up marine and bird sanctuaries.

He says that his advocacy and practice of this field of law may not be that lucrative, but it is fulfilling, knowing for a fact that he was fighting for something that isn't only beneficial for one or a few persons, but the entire human race. Environmental advocacy, indeed, is a cause worth fighting for.