The silencing of PD 705 in Masungi

THERE is a need to revisit the legal complexities surrounding the Masungi Georeserve. At the outset, it is not my intention to favor one stakeholder over another. As a scholar of environmental policy, and whose academic training includes the analysis of legal texts and discourses, I am committed to render an objective inquiry into the complex ecology of relevant laws and policies.

I do this in order to shed light on the current conflict between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Masungi Georeserve Foundation Inc. (MGFI). The two are parties to a 2017 memorandum of agreement (MoA) that ironically while signed in good faith and with the presumption of regularity, is now assailed by the DENR as legally and constitutionally infirm. This is done with the hope that a middle ground can be found to get out of the predicament that would serve the best interest of all stakeholders, and ultimately the environment.