Tañon Strait case can challenge oil exploration

The Supreme Court’s recent decision marking a victory for dolphins, whales  and  marginal fisherman in the the Tañon Strait raises questions about other service contracts for oil exploration in the country.

The High Court declared as  unconstitutional the service contract between the national government and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd (Japex) because it lacked the signature of the President, and was not presented to Congress or have  a specific  law authorizing it.

So what happens to similiar contracts signed only by the Energy Secretary?

Environmental lawyer Benjamin Cabrido said   a concerned citizen can file a petition and present copies of the contract to the court.

“We follow precedents and we already have that just like the case of the dolphins which is Service Contract 46 (SC-46) in Tañon Strait as unconstitutional. That’s the impcation and the beauty of the case,” Cabrido said.

“What can’t be touched are conracts  before the 1987 Constitution,  like the Malamplaya project. But those executed after the 1987 Constitution are susceptible to be annulled which include those towns,” he added.

DOE awarded service contracts to Japex authorizing them to conduct oil exploration in the towns of Aloguinsan, Alegria and Argao.

Like Japex’s oil exploration activities in the Tañon Strait, Cabrido said  oil exploration in these towns can be challenged as unconstitutional.

Alegria Mayor Verna Magallon told Cebu Daily News that the ongoing oil exploration and drilling in the town is a national government project  awarded by the DOE.

“We welcome projects from the national government. If there’s a project that can improve the town’s economy then who can say no?,” Magallon said.

Oil exploration and drilling for natural gas is being  done in the mountain barangay of Montpeller, Alegria. Magallon said they continually monitored the area and so far have no reports of damage.

In filing the case against Japex, which has pulled out of the  Tañon Strait, Cabrido said he and his colleagues are lobbying for sustainable development.

“We filed the case  to correct the false notion that one cannot achieve development without sacrificing the environment,” Cabrido told reporters.
Cabrido and lawyers Gloria Estenzo-Ramos and Dante Ramos along with fisherfolk advocates and marine scientist Lemnuel  Aragones  gathered for a reunion yesterday in Cebu city  to celebrate the Supreme Court ruling which capped an 8-year legal battle that started  with a grassroots campaign to protect marine life and fishermen who depend on the Tañon Strait between Cebu and Negros islands, the largest protected marine sanctuary in the country./With Siliman University Intern Andrea D. Lim