First ever writ of kalikasan petition filed vs Meralco

(Updated 4:59 p.m.) Residents of Makati and Pasay cities filed the first-ever petition for the issuance of writ of kalikasan (nature) for the installation of high-tension wires in their barangays (villages). In their petition, residents of Magallanes Village in Makati and Barangay 183 near the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City asked the Court of Appeals to issue a temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) that will stop the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) from conducting excavations, erecting electric posts and mounting transmission lines in their area. They also asked the court to prevent the eventual powering up of the wires in December 2010, saying this would pose dangers to the environment and the residents' health. The TEPO is among the remedies provided by the landmark writ of kalikasan, which was promulgated by the Supreme Court only in April 2010. The special order is expected to speed up legal action on environmental cases filed in courts throughout the country. The residents said the setting up of transmission wires in their villages violated Presidential Decree No. 856 or the Sanitation Code of the Philippines, which prohibits the installation of high-tension transmission lines "overhead or underground" in residential areas. In response, Meralco said the Pasay City Regional Trial Court has issued a ruling that allows it to install and run the wires that would supply electricity to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. Meralco said it will abide by the court's order despite the petition filed on Thursday. "We were ordered by the Court to complete the project that will serve the power requirement of NAIA Terminal 3. Apart from our desire to be able to contribute to national development with this project, Meralco is duty-bound to comply with the said Order. In light of this, we assure the public that we will see this project through completion at the soonest possible time," said Meralco legal counsel Raul Coralde in a statement. Writ of Kalikasan The writ of kalikasan's Rules of Procedure covers civil and criminal proceedings arising from violations of the Sanitation Code, among other environmental laws. The writ of kalikasan, the first of its kind in the world, is a remedial measure that may be granted by the courts – upon the request of a person or a group of people whose constitutional right to a healthy environment is violated – to compel another party to stop the alleged violation. In this case, the Magallanes Village and Barangay 183 residents said the installation of the wires violated their "constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology." "There are health risks involved in prolonged exposure to electromagnetic field or radiation. The risks include cancer, leukemia in children, Alzheimer's disease, depression, miscarriages, headaches, memory loss and insomnia, to name a few," said the petitioners. The high-tension wires are set to transmit 115 kilo-volts of electricity to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. However, the residents fear that the planned transmission lines in their areas might be loaded with up to 30,000 kilovolts or 30 megavolts "considering the 30-mega-volt requirement for the full operation of the NAIA 3." The petitioners added that some electric posts for the transmission lines are only one meter away from houses even as "the required distance for the electromagnetic field level to be within safe limits is around 87 meters away." — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV