Writ of Kalikasan can’t stop Jalaur dam proj — Defensor

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor, Sr. said the writ of kalikasan issued by the Supreme Court (SC) against the construction of Jalaur Multi-Purpose Project II in Calinog town does not stop the work because the court did not issue any temporary environmental protection order.

“The SC did not issue a temporary environmental protection order as requested by former 2nd district Iloilo Rep. Augusto Syjuco, so this could not stop the work there. The work could only be stopped if there is such an order,” the governor said.

Defensor, however, said there is no actual work as of now but only detailed engineering works. “Syjuco only wanted to exact revenge on Sen. Franklin Drilon. He is not even thinking of his people but only his personal interest,” he said.

The writ, issued by acting Chief  Justice Presbitero Velasco, Jr., was in favor of the petition for continuing mandamus lodged by Syjuco who claimed that the project would direly affect 17,000 residents from 25 villages.

In a three-page resolution, the SC said it found the petition of  Syjuco “sufficient in form and substance.”

The SC ordered respondents Drilon, the National Irrigation Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the National Economic Development Authority and the Department of Agrarian Reform to submit their comment on the petition within 10 days from receipt of the writ.

A writ of  kalikasan is a legal remedy providing for the protection of one’s right to “a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature,” as mandated in Section 16, Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. —(FREEMAN)