In the first ever case for the issuance of a writ of kalikasan, CA V. MERALCO, residents of Pasay and Makati are seeking the dismantling of electricity transmission poles and lines near their houses.

The petitioners are citing scientific studies that have shown that the energy produced by the electricity running through the lines will bring hazardous effects to the health and safety of the people living nearby.

However…

The Court of Appeals (CA) dismissed a petition for writ of kalikasan filed against the Manila Electric Co. by residents of villages in Pasay and Makati who claimed Meralco’s electrical posts and transmission lines near their houses pose health hazards.

In a 24-page decision, the former CA 17th division ruled that Meralco’s power lines “do not pose a threat, immediate or otherwise” to the health of residents. The CA dismissed the data submitted by petitioners as “purely statistical in nature” and could not be held as basis for concluding that the high-tension wires emit electromagnetic fields that cause leukemia in children.

Saying that scientists themselves are currently unable establish the link between leukemia and electromagnetic fields, the CA said “the burden of proof lies with petitioners.”

The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision yesterday struck down as unconstitutional the service contract granted in 2004 to Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (Japex) for oil exploration and drilling in the Tañon Strait.

The narrow body of water between the islands of Cebu and Negros is the largest protected seascape in the country.

The court, however, also ruled that dolphins and other marine animals have no legal personality to sue. “Only humans have personality to sue,” said the Supreme Court’s public information office.

The ruling is deemed moot and academic after Japex pulled out of the Tañon Strait in 2008 “for lack of commercial oil and gas deposits” in the area.

Tañon Strait was declared a protected seascape in 1998 by President Fidel V. Ramos through Proclamation No. 1234 to protect its marine resources, including endangered species of dolphins and whales.

The court also ruled that the contract violated Republic Act Number 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992.

Tañon Strait is considered an environmentally critical area, where exploitation of natural resources is restricted.

A.M. No. 09-6-8-SC / Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases

Section 3. Where to file. - The petition shall be filed with the Supreme Court or with any of the stations of the Court of Appeals.