Manila bishop backs Kalikasan writ

Manila Archbishop Broderick Pabillo is supporting the planned filing of a Writ of Kalikasan by environmental advocates against the dumping of artificial white sand – actually crushed dolomite from Cebu – used in the P289-million Manila Bay beautification project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“We need the Writ of Kalikasan (from the Supreme Court) so that this project becomes transparent,” Bishop Pabillo was quoted by Sunstar Philippines as saying.

The Writ is a legal remedy provided in Sec. 16 of the Constitution which a person can avail of should he feel his right to a healthy environment is being threatened or trampled upon.

Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire, in an unvarnished opinion, said that crushed dolomite may actually be hazardous to the health especially when particles find their way into one’s respiratory tract.