Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on Manila Bay Pollution Case
August 30, 2023
The Supreme Court, in today’s En Banc deliberations, resolved to conduct oral arguments on G.R. No. 171947-48, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, et al. (petitioners) v. Concerned Residents of Manila Bay, et al. (respondents) and Akbayan Citizen’s Action Party (intervenor).
All party government agencies were also required to move in the premises by September 30, 2023 to inform the Court of:
- Their measurement benchmarks of the pollution in Manila Bay;
- Current government strategies being implemented to comply with their mandate to clean up, rehabilitate, and preserve Manila Bay, and restore and maintain its waters to SB level (Class B Sea waters per Water Classification Tables under Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] Order No. 34 [1990]) to make them fit for swimming, skin-diving, and other forms of contact recreation;
- Realistic targets for the next five years; and
- Ongoing reclamations and their respective environmental impact assessments especially their effect on pollution.
The concerned government agencies are: MMDA, DENR, Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Budget and Management, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police Maritime Group, Department of Interior and Local Government, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.
In 2008, the Supreme Court ordered the concerned government agencies to clean up, rehabilitate, and preserve Manila Bay. In 2011, the Supreme Court ordered the party government agencies to execute directives in order to implement the 2008 Decision.
The Supreme Court Public Information Office shall upload a copy of the August 29, 2023 Resolution in G.R. No. 171947-48 (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, et al. [petitioners] v. Concerned Residents of Manila Bay, et al. [respondents and Akbayan Citizen’s Action Party [intervenor]) once it receives a copy of the same from the Office of the Clerk of Court En Banc. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)