SC chief Puno wants to institute ‘writ of kalikasan’ before he retires

Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Reynato Puno announced on Saturday that he wants the high court to finalize rules that will institute the writ of ‘kalikasan’ (nature) before he retires in May, saying that this new legal remedy would lead to a better implementation of the country’s environmental laws. Puno said the SC committee on the revision of the Rules of Court, which he chairs, is set to promulgate the rule governing the issuance of the writ of ‘kalikasan’—an order that a court can issue to protect a person’s right to a healthy environment—in one or two months. “I’m the one in charge, as chairman of the committee of revision of the rules of court. But all this has to be approved by the Court en banc. We hope we can do this in one or two months’ time," he told reporters on Saturday. “I hope to leave this as part of my legacy as a Chief Justice," added Puno, who is scheduled to retire on May 17. Puno described the writ of ‘kalikasan’ as a “most effective" means to ensure that the Filipinos’ constitutional right to “balance and healthful ecology" is realized. Puno likewise said that the new writ aims to encourage more citizens to file suits involving violations of the country’s environmental laws, and to solve the problem of delays on the disposition of pending environmental cases, which have now reached 3,000. In January 2008, the high court approved the creation of 117 environmental courts—also called the “green courts" to expedite the resolution of all pending environmental cases. The writ of ‘kalikasan’ can solve the overclogging of these courts, according to Puno.—Andreo Calonzo/JV, GMANews.TV