USAID RDM/A Regional Environment Office Weekly Report Week Ending February 1, 2008

Philippines Begins to Formulate Policy on Establishing New Environmental Courts. On January 29, 2008, the Supreme Court of the Philippines and the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) and other stakeholders began to formulate strategies for establishing new environmental courts.  Chief Justice Puno reiterated his belief that "all efforts will be undertaken so that the newly designated environmental courts will be manned by ‘green judges’-- skillful judges who not only master environmental laws, but also understand the philosophy of environmentalism and ecologism."  In the coming months, PHILJA will review and improve the curriculum for the trainings of judges and plans to undertake the creation of a bench book that will detail various aspects of environmental adjudication, including a review of relevant court rules and procedures.  USAID provides technical assistance and funding support for this initiative under the auspices of the Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network (AECEN).