SC junks writ of Kalikasan vs. Meralco

The Supreme Court has denied the petition for writ of Kalikasan filed by residents of posh Magallanes Village in Makati City and an adjacent barangay in Villamor Air Base in Pasay City seeking to prohibit the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) from mounting electric poles and transmission lines near their houses.

The petitioners cited health and safety risks in opposing the move.

In an en banc decision written by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the SC sustained the decision issued by the Court of Appeals on January 20, 2011, which also denied the petition for writ of Kalikasan (environment).

The court ruled that the petitioners failed to satisfy the second and third requisites for the issuance of a writ of Kalikasan, which mandates them to prove any unlawful act on the part of the respondents and to demonstrate that the magnitude of the actual or threatened environmental damage would prejudice the life, health, or property of inhabitants in two or more cities or provinces.

“To prohibit the installation works in Barangay 183 is to disrupt air travel to and from Manila. Stopping the installation works would be a regulatory policy too costly to implement, considering that ‘the operation of international airport terminals is an undertaking imbued with public interest,” the high court said.

“This, adding, the lack of proof on the magnitude of the environmental damage that might be caused by the installation works in Barangay 183, renders this Court unable to grant any of the remedies under the writ,” the SC said.

The petition was filed by residents of Barangay 183 in Villamor, Pasay City and Magallanes Village in Makati City led by Gemma dela Cruz. It is considered the first-ever case seeking the issuance of a writ of Kalikasan, which also named Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) as Meralco’s co-respondent. 

The petitioners argued the erection of electricity poles carrying 115-kilovolt transmission lines near their residences was cleared by their barangay officials without consulting them, as mandated under Section 27 of the Local Government Code and without studying the possible adverse effects of the lines to their health.

They insisted that based on scientific studies, the energy produced by the electricity running through the lines will bring hazardous effects to the health and safety of the people living nearby.

These transmission lines, petitioners pointed out, produce a prolonged exposure to electromagnetic fields, which have been found to increase the risk of developing leukemia and other cancer-related disorders in children.

In its 2011 ruling, the appellate court held that petitioners failed to demonstrate how transmitting high-voltage electric current through the transmission lines would violate their constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology.

In ruling against the petitioners, the court held that Meralco was able to prove that it conducted prior consultations in Barangay 183 on various dates before commencing installation works, as evidenced by the Notices and Attendance Sheets corresponding to the meeting dates.

“Here, the environmental damage alleged was neither shown to be potentially exponential in nature; nor was it shown to be large-scale. As alleged by respondent Meralco, this case involves “a narrow strip, of between one to ten meters, running between two barangays,” the tribunal noted.

Prior to the filing of the case, the terminal’s former operator, the Philippine International Air Terminals Co., Inc. (PIATCO), applied for electric service with the Manila Electric Company.

To fully operate, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal III required the construction of a nearby power substation, as well as the installation of transmission lines, to carry electricity to the substation. 

Meralco determined that the most feasible route for the transmission lines would be through 10th and 11th Streets in Barangay 183, Zone 20, Villamor, Pasay City.

Construction of the power substation was then commenced and was completed in 2002. As for the poles and transmission lines, Meralco commenced excavation. works along 10th Street in Barangay 183, Zone 20, Villamor, Pasay City on September 10, 2009.

But the excavation works were suspended on December 3, 2009, when, upon the complaint of some residents of Barangay 183, the City Engineering Office of Pasay issued a cease-and-desist order.

In addition to their complaint with the City Engineering Office, some residents of Barangay 183 filed a Petition for Issuance of a Writ of prohibitory Injunction before the Regional Trial Court of Pasay on December 4, 2009.

Meanwhile, MIAA, the new operator of NAIA III, filed its own petition for injunction to lift the cease-and-desist order issued by the City Engineering Office, which was granted by the Regional Trial Court of Pasay City in an order issued on July 23, 2010.

The petitioners then elevated the issue before the Court of Appeals (CA) by filing a petition for a writ of Kalikasan, and before the SC when the appellate court denied their petition.