The protection of the environment is high on the priority of the Supreme Court, and to aggressively carry this out, we have created and continue to strengthen our “green benches,” Chief Justice Reynato Puno said yesterday.

“The conglomeration of the country’s environmental problems has resulted in what scientist claim is the coming of an environmental collapse in the Philippines,” Puno said.

That is why the protection of the environment is high on the priority list of the entire government, including the judiciary, he said.

In response to this priority, Puno said the SC has organized special courts to handle environment cases.

Special holistic training for our judges manning green benches in collaboration with prosecutors, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the different NGOs that advocate the protection of the environment is being undertaken, he said.

It’s a continuing program given by the Philippine Judicial Academy in collaboration with certain foreign funders, he said.

These special courts are tasked to hasten action on cases involving the environment, Puno said.

“Some environment cases are quite complicated and need special expertise of the judges, prosecutors and lawyers,” he said.

“Environmental problems in the Philippines are some of the most serious in the whole world,” Puno also said.

“That is why we are on the watchlist of countries nearing environmental collapse,” he said.

He noted that, not only the judiciary, but the new Environment Secretary  Lito Atienza is “double-timing efforts to enforce and implement different environmental laws.”*CPG

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