Writ of Kalikasan petition out soon

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City government is now working on the final draft of its petition for the Writ of Kalikasan against all establishments violating the three-meter easement as well as government agencies tasked to protect the environment for failure to do their duties and responsibilities.

Lawyer Gerardo Carillo, chairman of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, said the petition that they will soon be filing before the Supreme Court is a collaborative effort of both the government and non-government organizations.

Carillo said they are now finalizing the draft, ensuring that all areas are covered.

Cebu City councilor Joel Garganera, the first city official to file a petition for Writ of Kalikasan some years back concerning the Inayawan Landfill, has promised to help out Carillo draft the petition.

“Councilor Joel Garganera will be supporting us in the drafting kay according to him daghan kaayong technicalities ning Writ of Kalikasan, so we will be sitting with him again,” said Carillo.

Lawyers Estong Rama and Magdalena Lepiten of the Environmental Legal Assistance Center and OCEANA and other groups and individuals have also promised to help the city ensure that they have a solid stand on the matter.

“We owe it to our generation and generation to come to revive these rivers to what it is before--beaming with life. We owe that to the next generation to rehabilitate these rivers…to restore these…,” said Carillo.

He said once the petition is filed the court will now assume and command the concerned agencies to set aside various funds and monitor the rehabilitation of the rivers and report on a regular basis similar to what happen to Manila de Bay, Marikina and Boracay, among others.

Former environment secretary Roy Cimatu, who is helping the city revive the rivers and solve flooding, supports the filing of the Writ of Kalikasan.

Cimatu said it will complement the ongoing efforts in clearing the city’s waterways.

“If it will already be filed, it will reinforce what we are doing…That is what we are doing in Manila and Marikina and in Boracay...Ito na ang simula nito,” said Cimatu. — b