Title
Abogado vs. Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Case
G.R. No. 246209
Decision Date
Sep 3, 2019
Farmers and fisherfolk sought writs of kalikasan against government agencies for failing to enforce environmental laws in contested South China Sea areas, but the Supreme Court dismissed the case due to procedural flaws, lack of evidence, and diplomatic complexities.
writs of kalikasan
continuing mandamus
artificial lands

Case Summary (G.R. No. 246209)

Factual Background

Petitioners, comprising members of the Kalayaan Palawan Farmers and Fisherfolk Association, additional fisherfolk from Sitio Kinabuksan, Zambales, and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, sought the issuance of a Writ of Kalikasan and a Writ of Continuing Mandamus alleging that Chinese fisherfolk and China’s construction of artificial lands caused severe environmental damage at Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef), and Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. Petitioners asserted that such damage threatened and violated their constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology and that respondents had omitted, failed, or refused to enforce Philippine environmental laws in those areas. Petitioners anchored part of their factual allegations on findings in the July 12, 2016 Arbitral Award.

Initial Court Action and Respondents’ Verified Return

This Court issued a writ of kalikasan and required respondents to file a verified return within ten days. Respondents, through the Office of the Solicitor General, filed a Verified Return on May 24, 2019, arguing principally that the Petition suffered fatal procedural infirmities, including the failure to attach judicial affidavits of witnesses as required by the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases, and that petitioners relied chiefly on the Arbitral Award as evidence. Respondents also contended that the case involved foreign relations and thus raised diplomatic and political remedies beyond mere enforcement of environmental laws, and they submitted factual averments describing actions they had taken to protect the cited maritime areas.

Oral Arguments and the Solicitor General’s Manifestation

The case was set for oral arguments and was heard by the Court En Banc beginning July 2, 2019. On July 9, 2019, before presenting respondents’ opening statement, Solicitor General Jose C. Calida orally manifested that he would submit an additional Manifestation and Motion with attached documents. The attachments consisted of affidavits executed by nineteen of the forty fisherfolk-petitioners disowning the Petition. Those affiants stated that they were misled by counsel who explained the papers as petitions against foreign fishermen and that they had not been told that the Petition would name government agencies such as BFAR, the Navy, and the Coast Guard; several alleged they signed without reading and requested withdrawal.

Petitioners’ Counsels’ Response and Motions to Withdraw

Petitioners’ counsels objected to the Solicitor General’s Manifestation, asserting that it was unethical for BFAR to confer with petitioners without counsel’s knowledge. After the July 9 filings and subsequent conferences, petitioners’ counsels filed a Motion for Extension of Time to confer with clients and obtain special authority under Rule 138, Section 23, Rules of Court. Thereafter, at 4:18 p.m. on July 19, 2019, petitioners’ counsels filed an Omnibus Motion with Manifestation stating that they met with six fisherfolk-petitioners who requested withdrawal and had signed a handwritten letter representing the majority, and that the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ Board of Governors adopted resolutions requesting withdrawal of the Petition. Petitioners’ counsels also moved to withdraw as counsel for several petitioners.

Court’s Procedural Safeguards and Requirement for Additional Proof

In a July 30, 2019 Resolution this Court deferred action on counsels’ motion to withdraw and required petitioners’ counsels to exert further efforts to contact their clients, to provide proof that the remaining petitioners had actual knowledge of the Petition’s contents, and to justify any withdrawal that would leave most petitioners unrepresented. The Court observed that eighteenth and twentieth-century ethics and rules limit counsel’s unilateral ability to compromise or terminate litigation without client consent, and provided a non-extendible period for compliance.

Compliance Filings and Evidence of Withdrawals

Petitioners’ counsels filed a Motion to Admit Compliance and an attached Compliance with Motion. They reported additional meetings and communications: the IBP-Zambales Chapter met with some Zambales petitioners who executed letters requesting withdrawal; IBP-Palawan met with certain Palawan petitioners who expressed desire to withdraw; videoconferences were conducted with twelve petitioners and further letters were obtained; the Kalayaan Municipal Administrator certified that Pag-asa Island lacked reliable telephone or internet service for an extended period. Counsels also stated that two officers of the Kalayaan association would execute affidavits recounting their understanding of the Petition and participation. Petitioners’ counsels therefore renewed their prayer to withdraw the Petition.

The Court’s Disposition

This Court granted the Motion to Withdraw the Petition and considered the case dismissed without passing upon any of the substantive issues raised. The Court treated the Petition as withdrawn as to all fisherfolk-petitioners in light of the various withdrawal letters, affidavits, and the July 19 handwritten letter wherein six petitioners represented that they spoke for the majority. The Court expressly declined to resolve factual or substantive questions on the merits and sternly warned petitioners’ counsels to observe their professional duties under the Code of Professional Responsibility.

Legal Basis and Reasoning on the Writ of Kalikasan

The Court examined the nature and requisites of the Writ of Kalikasan under Rule 7 of the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases. It reiterated that the writ is an extraordinary remedy available to natural or juridical persons, authorized entities, people’s organizations, non-governmental organizations, or accredited public interest groups acting on behalf of those whose constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology is violated or threatened by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or private entity, and involving environmental damage of such magnitude as to prejudice inhabitants in two or more cities or provinces. The Court set out the three requisites that petitioners must prove and described the reliefs that may be granted under Section 15 of Rule 7. The Court emphasized that the magnitude of environmental damage is determined case-by-case, that the Rules require petitions to be verified and to contain specific allegations including personal circumstances, the law or regulation violated, the act or omission complained of, and all relevant and material evidence including judicial affidavits, documentary and expert studies, and, if possible, object evidence.

Evidentiary Burden and Prior Authorities

The Court explained that while civil, criminal, and administrative matters prescribe different burdens of proof, the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases explicitly require the inclusion of relevant and material evidence in petitions for the writ of kalikasan. The Court cited prior decisions, including Paje v. Casino and LNL Archipelago Minerals v. Agham Party List, to illustrate that petitions lacking adequate evidentiary support will be denied and that environmental advocacy demands rigor and preparation. The Court warned against hasty filings that seek judicial remedies where other administrative or political remedies remain available.

Legal Basis and Reasoning on the Writ of Continuing Mandamus

The Court summarized the nature of the Writ of Continuing Mandamus under Rule 8, describing it as a special civil action to compel the performance of acts specifically enjoined by law where an agency or officer unlawfully neglects duties in connection with environmental laws and where there is no other plain, speedy, and adequate remedy. The Court stated the prima facie elements necessary to invoke continuing mandamus and noted that petitions must present substantive allegations establishing actionable neglect. The Court cautioned that continuing mandamus is a continuing judicial order but does not confer supervisory power over administrative agencies or supplant political or administrative remedies; it requires clear guidelines for implementation and termination.

Rules on Withdrawal of Counsel and Client Authority

The Court considered the Motion to Withdraw as Counsel under Rule 138, Section 26, and the Code of Professional Responsibility, Canon 22, Rule 22.01, which permits withdrawal only for good cause and upon appropriate notice. The Court reiterated that an attorney may not impair, compromise, or surrender a client’s cause of action without the client’s consent and that mere difficulty in contacting a client does not constitute good cause for withdrawal. The Court declined to allow counsels’ withdrawal where it would leave multiple petitioners without representation and required counsels to make diligent efforts to contact their clients and to secure express written conformity before permitting abandonme

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