Negotiating for the environment

IT's about time the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) meets with the Masungi Georeserve Foundation Inc. (MGFI) to iron out their differences in relation to their 2017 memorandum of agreement (MoA).

Resorting to strong-arm tactics, such as the unilateral cancellation of the MoA is not the solution. Indeed, while the DENR has the authority to cancel any privilege it grants to any juridical person, this is never an absolute power. It is a power that can only be exercised for cause and after the contracted party is accorded due process. The DENR may be the principal steward of the environment and all its natural resources, but the 1987 Constitution, like any other constitution, has denied it the power to be the final authority on legal matters. It is the Supreme Court that is given the power to interpret the legality and constitutionality of actions and of agreements.