DENR, DOJ pair up to tackle environmental crimes
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has partnered with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to strengthen efforts in investigating and prosecuting environmental crimes.
The two agencies signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Feb. 21 that was centered on the “strengthening of coordination and collaboration between the DENR and DOJ-National Prosecution Service in Investigating and Prosecuting Environmental Crimes, as well as Developing Policies to Support These Efforts.”
The signing, led by Environment Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo Loyzaga and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, was held at the DOJ office in Ermita, Manila.
According to a DOJ statement, the agreement “essentially amplifies the case buildup policy of the DOJ in relation to Department Circular No. 20, series of 2023, extending its scope to environmental crimes.” It “advocates the formulation of joint policies aimed at ensuring accountability for environmental offenders and improving the rate of their conviction.”
In her speech, Loyzaga emphasized the wide scope of the DENR’s work, which involves 30 million hectares of land, over 220 million hectares of waters, 15 million hectares of classified forestlands, and 56,000 species, half of which can only be found in the Philippines.
“Our work cannot be done by the DENR alone. We need a whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach, one that is both horizontal, across the different national government agencies, and vertical all the way down to the local governments, the communities, and households,” she said.
She cited the efforts of the DOJ and the Supreme Court in establishing Green Justice Zones, which aim to enhance coordination between local law enforcement agencies in the area and improve the adjudication of environmental cases.
When the oil spill caused by MT Princess Empress happened in Oriental Mindoro last year, “there was payment through the insurance companies, through the work of the DOJ” in collaboration with the Philippine Coast Guard and the DENR, she said by way of example.
“We wish to sustain these initiatives and hope that with this particular endeavor, the judicial actors such as prosecutors, who are essential in enforcing environmental laws and tackling ecological crisis, can contribute, along with all of us, in setting benchmarks and values that contribute to avoiding, rectifying, remediating environmental mismanagement and abuse.”
Capacity-building
The DOJ, for its part, said the DENR has committed to provide funding for capacity-building training programs that would be undertaken by DOJ prosecutors and DENR law enforcement officers.
The training will help DOJ prosecutors to “deepen their expertise in handling the specialized nature of environmental crimes,” while law enforcement officers of the DENR would be equipped with skills needed to “establish a prima facie case with reasonable certainty of conviction.” The ultimate aim is to increase the chances of securing convictions in court when it comes to environmental cases.
Under the new MOA, the DOJ and the DENR have also agreed on the issuance of a joint circular that would provide guidelines on “the deputation of DENR lawyers as special prosecutors in wildlife and forestry cases.”
“We hope to contribute not just in the legal processes but to the science that is needed to support the evidence that is required for prosecution,” Loyzaga said. “And that includes all sciences, including economics, as far as the economic and [other] impacts of the environmental loss that we are actually experiencing.”
Loyzaga cited how authorities were able to arrest those responsible for illegal mining activities in the provinces of Misamis Oriental and Davao del Norte using information provided by the DENR through its Geospatial Database Office.
Using geospatial mapping, authorities were able to confirm the occurrence of massive excavations and forest destruction, leading to the arrest of the perpetrators.
“Traditionally, we are seen not as a judicial actor, but I think in this case, we are here in fact to play our part, as an integral part of this system of environmental justice,” Loyzaga said.
