The Supreme Court (SC) has laid down ground rules which have to observed during the oral arguments over the petition seeking the issuance of a Writ of Kaliksan to which would compel the government to protect areas in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) from further environmental degradation caused by Chinese intrusions.
In its advisory, the SC told the parties that they should limit their presentation to the procedural and substantive issues concerning the petition which sought to protect Ayungin Shoal, Panganiban Reef, and Panatag Shoal.
Among the substantive issues, the high court said the parties should stick to whether the writ is the proper remedy in the enforcement of Philippine environmental laws, whether the petitioners have enough proof to seek the relief, and whether the parties are entitled to the reliefs they requested.
The SC has set the oral arguments this July 2 over the petition that was filed by a group of petitioners which included Kalayaan Palawan Farmers and Fisherfolk Association who are members of the fisherfolk community in the Municipality of Kalayaan, Province of Palawan as well as residents of Sitio Kinabukasa, Cawag, Zambales.
The petitioners alleged that the government’s inaction of as to the activities of the Chinese in the contested areas of the West Philippine Sea were in violation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, the Philippine Fisheries Code, and Presidential Decree No. 1586, or Establishing the Environmental Impact Statement System in the Philippines.
They also cited the July 12, 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration which favored the case filed by the Philippines against China.
Petitioners said Arbitral Award finding showed that the Ayungin Shoal and the Panganiban Reef were within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The arbitral tribunal also found, among others, that fishermen from Chinese flagged vessels have engaged in the harvesting of endangered species on a significant scale and in the harvesting of giant clams in a manner that is severely destructive of the coral reef ecosystem.
Likewise, the international tribunal found that China’s land reclamation and construction of artificial islands, installations, and structures at Mischief Reef has caused severe, irreparable harm to the coral reef ecosystem.
The arbitral tribunal added that China has engaged in gathering corals and clams around Ayungin Shoal, as well as found that Chinese fisherfolk use cyanide and explosives in Panatag Shoal and Ayungin Shoal.
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