|
|
Features:
Political
Will Is Key to Protection of Marine Environment - Chief Justice
Speaking before
the Conference
of Coastal Municipalities of the Philippines last May 1999, Chief
Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr. of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
urged Philippine coastal mayors to "design plans for an integrated
coastal management to arrest the tide of ecological destruction, and implement
them without delay." Davide said political will is needed to protect
the marine environment, but "requisite political will does not lie
solely in the central government," but also in the mayors, "who
are in close touch with the people." The legislature and the judiciary
have done their part, he noted. The executive branch of government has
also done its part, but there is still a gap, and it is found in the local
executives.
"The Judiciary is at the end of the enforcement chain of events,"
Davide said. "The number of convictions and arrests may well rise
dramatically as a result of the intensified law enforcement campaign.
However, let us be clear in our thoughts that arrests and convictions
do not represent success. On the contrary, they represent a failure, a
failure to protect the natural and national treasures that took hundreds
and hundreds of years to grow."
It is only with political will that local executives can be expected to
mobilize the political force of their office "to move men and machines
and render aid in that Herculean task of repairing or protecting Mother
Earth," he said.
Click here for full text of speech
Full text of other
speeches at the Conference of Coastal Municipalities of the Philippines
is also available on this site:
State
of the Ocean Address: Saving the Philippine Seas, His Excellency
President Joseph Ejercito Estrada
Effective Linkages between DENR and Municipal LGUs
in Integrated Coastal Management, Department of Environment and
Natural Resources Secretary Antonio H. Cerilles
Rediscovery: A Program for Philippine Tourism Under
the Estrada Administration, Department of Tourism Secretary Gemma
Cruz-Araneta
DILG's Agenda on Empowering Municipal Local Government
Units as Frontline Stewards of Environmental Protection and Resource Management,
Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo V. Puno
Welcome Remarks, League of Municipalities
of the Philippines President and San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada
Inspirational Message, USAID Mission Director
Patricia K. Buckles
Achieving Sustainable Food Security: Strategies for
Meeting Fish Production Needs and Protecting the Environment,
Presidential Adviser on Food Security Dr. William D. Dar
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty in Coastal Communities,
Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Horacio R. Morales, Jr.
Also
in this
issue:
Ecotour Product Development:
A Quick Tour
Is your area suitable for ecotourism? Are you
pursuing "true" ecotourism development? What does it take to develop an
ecotour product? This article answers these questions and more.
Sea Squirts: Children's Page
Ekolohiya:
Kuwento ng Lahat,
by Del A. Castillo / Fredo I. Lazarte
For Over Seas Filipino-speaking readers, this section
includes colorfully illustrated lessons in ecology and the different ecosystems,
courtesy of the Training Desk of Tambuyog Development Center (rrivera@pworld.net.ph)
|
|
