Republic of the PhilippinesSUPREME COURTManilaEN BANC G.R. No. 101083 July 30, 1993JUAN ANTONIO, ANNA ROSARIO and JOSE ALFONSO, all u!na"#d OPOSA, "$no!, and !#%!##nd 'y &(#$! %a!#n& ANTONIO and RI)ALINA OPOSA, petitioners, vs.T*E *ONORA+LE FULGENCIO S. FACTORAN, JR., $n ($ ,a%a,$&y a &(# S#,!#&a!y o- &(# .#%a!&"#n& o- En/$!on"#n& and Na&u!al R#ou!,#, and T*E *ONORA+LE ERI+ERTO U. ROSARIO, P!#$d$n0 Jud0# o- &(# RTC, Ma1a&$, +!an,( 22, respondents.Oposa Law Office for petitioners.The Solicitor General for respondents..A3I.E, JR., J.:In a broader sense, this petition bears upon the right of Filipinos to a balanced and healthful ecolog !hich the petitioners dra"aticall associate !ith the t!in concepts of #inter$generational responsibilit# and #inter$generational %ustice.# &pecificall, it touches on the issue of !hether the said petitioners have a cause of action to #prevent the "isappropriation or i"pair"ent# of Philippine rainforests and #arrest the unabated he"orrhage of the countr's vital life support sste"s and continued rape of Mother Earth.#(he controvers has its genesis in Civil Case No. )*$++ !hich !as filed before Branch ,, -Ma.ati, Metro Manila/ of the Regional (rial Court -R(C/, National Capital 0udicial Region. (he principal plaintiffs therein, no! the principal petitioners, are all "inors dul represented and %oined b their respective parents. I"pleaded as an additional plaintiff is the Philippine Ecological Net!or., Inc. -PENI/, a do"estic, non$stoc. and non$profit corporation organi1ed for the purpose of, inter alia, engaging in concerted action geared for the protection of our environ"ent and natural resources. (he original defendant !as the 2onorable Fulgencio &. Factoran, 0r., then &ecretar of the 3epart"ent of Environ"entand Natural Resources -3ENR/. 2is substitution in this petition b the ne! &ecretar, the 2onorable Angel C. Alcala, !as subse4uentl ordered upon proper "otion b the petitioners. 1 (he co"plaint 4!as instituted as a ta5paers' class suit 3 and alleges that the plaintiffs #are all citi1ens of the Republic of the Philippines, ta5paers, and entitled to the full benefit, use and en%o"ent of the natural resource treasure that is the countr's virgintropical forests.# (he sa"e !as filed for the"selves and others !ho are e4uall concerned about the preservation of said resource but are #so nu"erous that it is i"practicable to bring the" all before the Court.# (he "inors further asseverate that the #represent their generation as !ell as generations et unborn.# 5 Conse4uentl, it is praed for that %udg"ent be rendered6. . . ordering defendant, his agents, representatives and other persons acting in his behalf to 7-8/ Cancel all e5isting ti"ber license agree"ents in the countr9-:/ Cease and desist fro" receiving, accepting, processing, rene!ing or approving ne! ti"ber license agree"ents.and granting the plaintiffs #. . . such other reliefs %ust and e4uitable under the pre"ises.# 6(he co"plaint starts off !ith the general aver"ents that the Philippine archipelago of +,8** islands has a land area of thirt "illion -;*,***,***/ hectares and is endo!ed !ith rich, lush and verdant rainforests in !hich varied, rare and uni4ue species of flora and fauna "a be found9 these rainforests contain a genetic, biological and che"ical pool !hich is irreplaceable9 the are also the habitat of indigenous Philippine cultures !hich have e5isted, endured and flourished since ti"e i""e"orial9 scientific evidence reveals that in order to "aintain a balanced and healthful ecolog, the countr's land area should be utili1ed on the basis of a ratio of fift$four per cent -/ for forest cover and fort$si5 per cent -=,>/ for agricultural, residential, industrial, co""ercial and other uses9 the distortion and disturbance of this balance as a conse4uence of deforestation have resulted in a host of environ"ental tragedies, such as -a/ !ater shortages resulting fro" dring up of the !ater table, other!ise .no!n as the #a4uifer,# as !ell as of rivers, broo.s and strea"s, -b/ salini1ation of the !ater table as a result of the intrusion therein of salt !ater,incontrovertible e5a"ples of !hich "a be found in the island of Cebu and the Municipalitof Bacoor, Cavite, -c/ "assive erosion and the conse4uential loss of soil fertilit and agricultural productivit, !ith the volu"e of soil eroded esti"ated at one billion -8,***,***,***/ cubic "eters per annu" 7 appro5i"atel the si1e of the entire island of Catanduanes, -d/ the endangering and e5tinction of the countr's uni4ue, rare and varied flora and fauna, -e/ the disturbance and dislocation of cultural co""unities, including the disappearance of the Filipino's indigenous cultures, -f/ the siltation of rivers and seabeds and conse4uential destruction of corals and other a4uatic life leading to a critical reductionin "arine resource productivit, -g/ recurrent spells of drought as is presentl e5periencedb the entire countr, -h/ increasing velocit of tphoon !inds !hich result fro" the absence of !indbrea.ers, -i/ the floodings of lo!lands and agricultural plains arising fro" the absence of the absorbent "echanis" of forests, -%/ the siltation and shortening of the lifespan of "ulti$billion peso da"s constructed and operated for the purpose of suppling !ater for do"estic uses, irrigation and the generation of electric po!er, and -./ the reduction of the earth's capacit to process carbon dio5ide gases !hich has led to perple5ing and catastrophic cli"atic changes such as the pheno"enon of global !ar"ing, other!ise .no!n as the #greenhouse effect.#Plaintiffs further assert that the adverse and detri"ental conse4uences of continued and deforestation are so capable of un4uestionable de"onstration that the sa"e "a be sub"itted as a "atter of %udicial notice. (his not!ithstanding, the e5pressed their intention to present e5pert !itnesses as !ell as docu"entar, photographic and fil" evidence in the course of the trial.As their cause of action, the specificall allege that6CAUSE OF ACTION+. Plaintiffs replead b reference the foregoing allegations.?. (!ent$five -: