Oposa v Factoran

224 SCRA 792 (1993)

Facts:

This case is unique in that it is a class suit brought by 44 children, through their parents, claiming
that they bring the case in the name of “their generation as well as those generations yet unborn.”
Aiming to stop deforestation, it was filed against the Secretary of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, seeking to have him cancel all the timber license
agreements (TLAs) in the country and to cease and desist from accepting and approving more
timber license agreements. The children invoked their right to a balanced and healthful ecology
and to protection by the State in its capacity as parens patriae. The petitioners claimed that the
DENR Secretary's refusal to cancel the TLAs and to stop issuing them was "contrary to the
highest law of humankind-- the natural law-- and violative of plaintiffs' right to self-preservation
and perpetuation." The case was dismissed in the lower court, invoking the law on non-
impairment of contracts, so it was brought to the Supreme Court on certiorari.

Issue:

Whether or not the children have the legal standing to file the case?

Ruling:

Yes. The Supreme Court in granting the petition ruled that the children had the legal standing to
file the case based on the concept of “intergenerational responsibility”. Their right to a healthy
environment carried with it an obligation to preserve that environment for the succeeding
generations. In this, the Court recognized legal standing to sue on behalf of future generations.
Also, the Court said, the law on non-impairment of contracts must give way to the exercise of the
police power of the state in the interest of public welfare.