Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos on Thursday said the department recently joined officials from the Supreme Court (SC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in launching the Puerto Princesa Green Justice Zone, which is regarded as the first-ever in the country.

Abalos said the group of DILG, DOJ, and the SC, collectively called the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC), was formed in 2010. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has since been added to the group.

The Green Justice Zone deals with matters concerning environmental protection and natural resource management within its jurisdiction to address climate change and environmental degradation.

Abalos said the Green Justice Zone project in Puerto Princesa is significant as the Philippines is considered one of the mega-diverse countries that hosts more than 36,000 species of plants and animals, according to a 2017 study of the World Bank's Global Environment Facility.

"However, economic pressures combined with widespread illegal activities, such as illegal logging and wildlife trade, make the country a major biodiversity hotspot," Abalos explained.

He said such environmental crimes result in a loss of natural resources valued at over US $1 billion or some P50 billion per year.

"On the ground, in terms of policies and capacity-building, rest assured that we in the DILG will always be there to contribute to our goals in this Justice Zone," he said.

Puerto Princesa City Mayor Lucilo R. Bayron thanked the JSCC and partner international organizations for choosing Puerto Princesa as the first "Green Justice Zone" in the country.

"This initiative reflects our collective commitment to environmental justice and sustainability."

The JSCC Puerto Princesa City Justice Zone is also the country's third "specialty" justice zone.

The first specialty justice zone was put up in Zamboanga City in February to handle cases of trafficking of persons while the second was launched in Tagaytay City to handle cases arising from economic development projects.