PRIMEX News

CONSULTANT IN FOCUS:
PRIMEX’s environmental law expert
is 2009 Ramon Magsaysay awardee

Posted on 16 October 2009

PRIMEX Senior Consultant on the Environment, Atty. Antonio Oposa, Jr. is this year’s only Filipino awardee of Asia’s Nobel prize counterpart, the 2009 Ramon Magsaysay Awards.

Established in 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award celebrates the memory and leadership example of the third Philippine President and is considered Asia’s highest honor. It is given every year to individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest the same sense of selfless service that ruled the life of the late Filipino leader.

The 51st Presentation Ceremonies of the 2009 Ramon Magsaysay Awards were held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) on 31 August 2009. PRIMEX CEO Elvira C. Ablaza and Senior Vice-President Ma. Lourdes Sumilang were at the affair, which was attended by numerous high-level Philippine Government officials and international dignitaries.

Atty. Oposa shared the award with five other Asians – Krisana Kraisintu of Thailand, Deep Joshi of India, Yu Xiaogang and Ma Jun of China, and Ka Hsaw Wa of Burma.

“They are Asia’s heroes, leading efforts that put scientific knowledge and tools at the service of specific and vital human concerns-affordable and effective health care, improved livelihoods, environmental destruction, and basic human rights,” Carmencita Abella, Ramon Magsaysay Foundation President, said in a media statement.

Atty. Oposa was recognized for “his path-breaking and passionate crusade to engage Filipinos in acts of enlightened citizenship that maximize the power of the law to protect and nurture the environment for themselves, their children, and generations still to come.”

The Foundation added in its citation that, instead of pursuing a lucrative law practice, the Harvard Law School-educated Oposa “decided to focus on environmental law and made his first mark with an unusual case that later popularized the ‘Oposa Doctrine’ in international legal circles.”

Atty. Oposa became one of the country’s legal icons after he led a class action suit where 43 minors asked the government to cancel timber licenses on the grounds that rampant logging violated their constitutional right to a healthy environment. The Supreme Court upheld the principle of “intergenerational equity” in its landmark 1993 decision affirming Oposa’s argument that the interests of future generations could be protected in court.

In 1999, when a citizens’ group filed a case holding the government liable for the pollution of Manila Bay and responsible for its cleanup, Atty. Oposa “marshalled the resources of the law and pursued the case for all of 10 years.” He won a Supreme Court decision compelling 11 government agencies to coordinate their efforts in rehabilitating Manila Bay, submit action plans, and regularly report to the court on the progress of their work.

“A triumph of principle, the case set a precedent for how citizens can leverage the law to protect the environment,” the Foundation said, also noting how Atty. Oposa risked his life to stop illegal dynamite fishing in the Visayan Sea through his Law of Nature Foundation.

For his trail-blazing efforts to advance Environmental Law enforcement, he was recognized as one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines in the field of law in (year). He was also bestowed the highest United Nations environmental award, the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) Global 500 Roll of Honor, in (year).

Atty. Oposa authored two internationally-acclaimed books, “The Laws of Nature and Other Stories,” and “A Legal Arsenal for the Philippine Environment,” a comprehensive reference book of Philippine Environmental Laws, cases, and notes.

He received his law degree from the University of the Philippines and his Master of Laws from the Harvard Law School, where he was the commencement speaker of the graduating class. He is a professor of Environmental Law at the UP College of Law and of the Philippine Judicial Academy and is advisor to a wide range of clientele – ranging from farmers’ and fishermen’s groups to governments and international agencies like the World Bank, ADB, and USAID.

In 2006, PRIMEX engaged Atty. Oposa as Environmental Law expert and Team Leader of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-assisted Capacity Building Project for Thailand’s Pollution Taxation and Resource Mobilization for Environmental and Natural Resources (Phase II). The Project, which culminated in the drafting of Thailand’s Pollution Taxation Act, had developed and enabled legal and enforcement framework for implementing a pollution taxation policy to ensure sustainable use of natural resources for further economic development in Thailand. Prior to that, Atty. Oposa was PRIMEX Environment Specialist in several ADB, JBIC, and USAID coastal resource management projects in the Philippines. Atty. Oposa remains one of PRIMEX’s senior consultants to this day.

Ms. Ablaza, PRIMEX CEO, recognized Atty. Oposa’s valuable contributions in the field of environmental management during PRIMEX’s 20th anniversary celebrations on 7 August 2009, a few days before the RM awarding rites, saying, “PRIMEX is very much honored to have in its team of experts somebody like Atty. Oposa who “not only exemplifies a passion for excellence in his chosen field, but who dedicates his excellence in protecting the lives of ordinary people and in lawyering for the often least defended client - the environment.” (Arvin Yana)

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