THE 1987 Philippine Constitution declares the Filipinos to be sovereign, and this is very interesting because to be “sovereign” means to be in “total control.” What it means in the arena of natural resources management is that the benefits derived from such are owned and managed exclusively by the national government for and in behalf of all Filipinos.

In our failed unitary centralized system (the opposite of federalism), the national government sitting in Malacañang acts as the owner of these natural resources, dispensing and managing its benefits and costs through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (finally under the hands of a genuine environmentalist in the person of Sec. Gina Lopez).