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Daphne Galvez - The Philippine Star
February 22, 2025 | 12:00am
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Environment Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga signed the agreement on Feb. 21 at the DOJ headquarters in Manila.
Philstar.com / Irra Lising
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have signed a memorandum of agreement to strengthen the prosecution of environmental cases.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Environment Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga signed the agreement on Feb. 21 at the DOJ headquarters in Manila.
Also present were Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres, DENR Undersecretary Ernesto Adobo Jr. and environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa Jr.
According to the DOJ, the agreement “essentially amplifies the case buildup policy” of the department, extending its scope to environmental crimes.
It also advocates for the formulation of joint policies aimed at ensuring accountability for environmental offenders and improving the rate of their conviction.
The DOJ also said the DENR committed to provide funding for capacity-building training programs for both DOJ prosecutors and DENR law enforcement officers to deepen their expertise in handling the specialized nature of environmental crimes, and to equip them with the skills to gather correct and admissible evidence necessary to establish a prima facie case with reasonable certainty of conviction.
This, the DOJ said, is aimed at ensuring that cases are backed by solid evidence before reaching the courts, thereby increasing the chances of securing convictions.
In her speech after the signing, Loyzaga cited the importance of the agreement between the two departments.
“I’d like to say how important this agreement is for all of us… Our office covers 30 million hectares of land, it is over 220 million hectares of water, we have 15 million hectares of classified forest land, we have 56,000 species which we need to protect, half of which are found only in the Philippines,” she said.
Under the agreement, a joint circular will be issued providing guidelines on the deputation of DENR lawyers as special prosecutors in wildlife and forestry cases, if necessary.
Andres said the agreement shows that “the Philippine government is serious in enforcing environmental justice.”
“We are strengthening our institutions by strengthening our partnership with the CSOs (civil society organizations), the law enforcers and the prosecutors,” he said.
Andres emphasized that crimes such as illegal logging, illegal mining and wildlife trafficking serve as predicate offenses to money laundering, and that “stopping environmental crime is also stopping financial crime.”
Remulla, meanwhile, highlighted the long-term impact of the agreement, saying this will serve as a legacy which will “last several lifetimes for the generations that will come after us.”
Loyzaga noted President Marcos’ directive that those who exploit the country’s natural resources must be held accountable.
“We cannot fulfill that directive without this collaboration with the DOJ. We thank Sec. Remulla for his proactive pursuit of the national government’s commitment to uphold justice and protect our country’s natural resources,” she said.
Loyzaga said the DENR plans to establish an ocean environment task force that will begin to examine the country’s oceans, including coasts and shelf amid misused and abused.
The DENR reported as of October 2024, its regional offices had recorded 6,446 environmental crime cases. Of these, 27.2 percent remain pending with prosecutors, 7.2 percent were dismissed, 38.6 percent led to convictions, and 22.5 percent are still under trial.
From 2010 to 2022, the agency conducted 264 wildlife enforcement operations, leading to 170 cases filed against 549 violators. Only 42 convictions were secured. — Bella Cariaso
