An environmental legal group and a Catholic bishop have petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to declare a government regulation unconstitutional for allegedly withholding vital environmental information from the public.

Petitioners Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center and Bishop Cerilo Casicas of the Diocese of Marbel are challenging the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Freedom of Information (FoI) Manual.

The petition, filed against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla, claims the manual has been used to systematically deny public access to Environmental Impact Statements, mining application documents and data related to flood control projects.

It specifically targets two exceptions in the DENR FoI Manual — one that blocks access to “any data in the course of applying for an Environmental Compliance Certificate” and another that restricts a wide range of mining documents “during the lifetime or existence of a mining permit.”

The petitioners argue that this has created a “blanket restriction” on information related to 447 major environmentally critical projects nationwide, including 69 heavy industries, 173 resource extractive industries and 169 infrastructure projects.

To recall, the case stemmed from the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center’s failed attempts between 2023 and 2025 to obtain documents concerning the massive Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in South Cotabato.

The DENR and its bureaus denied access to the project’s Environmental Impact Statement, feasibility study and other key documents, citing the contested FoI Manual. Requests for information on flood control projects were also reportedly denied.

The petitioners contend that this secrecy violates the constitutional right to information on matters of public concern, the state policy of full public disclosure and the rights to a balanced ecology, health and public participation in decision-making.

“The DENR FoI Manual has become the primary obstacle to the meaningful exercise of the constitutional right to information on matters of public environmental concern,” the groups said.

They are also asking the SC to issue a temporary restraining order to immediately halt the manual’s implementation and eventually void the regulation permanently for being unconstitutional.