The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Thursday disclosed that Puerto Princesa City in Palawan has been tagged as a "Green Justice Zone" which aims to stop environmental crimes.
This comes after officials from the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice launched the Puerto Princesa Green Justice Zone —regarded as the first-ever in the country. The group of DILG, DoJ and the SC collectively called Justice Sector Coordinating Council was formed in 2010.
According to DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., the green justice zone deals with matters concerning environmental protection and natural resource management within its jurisdiction with the aim of addressing climate change and environmental degradation.
He added that 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.
"Economic pressures combined with widespread illegal activities, such as illegal logging and wildlife trade, make the country a major biodiversity hotspot," Abalos said, adding that 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," Abalos said.
Meantime, Puerto Princesa City Mayor Lucilo Bayron expressed gratitude to 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," Bayron said.
The JSCC Puerto Princesa City Justice Zone is also the country's third "specialty" justice zone, as 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.
