ILOILO CITY — Close collaboration between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) has led to the resolution of fifty-six (56) environmental complaints filed by DENR Region VI before the Office of the Prosecutor in Aklan, as of 28 November 2025.
This milestone was highlighted during the Region VI Cascading Workshop on Environmental Case Build-Up held in Iloilo City from 1–3 December 2025. The workshop forms part of the continuing implementation of the DENR–DOJ Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed on 21 February 2025, and serves as a cascading workshop of the Regional Case Build-Up Workshop for Seven (7) Priority Regions earlier conducted in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.
The workshop was jointly organized by the DENR and the DOJ to strengthen coordination between DENR field personnel and prosecutors, and to enhance the investigation and build-up of environmental cases.
Messages of support were delivered by DENR Assistant Secretary Michelle Angelica Go and Deputy State Prosecutor Margaret V. Castillo-Padilla, Head of the DOJ–National Prosecution Service Task Force on Environmental Cases.
In her message, Assistant Secretary Go noted that the Region VI activity is the largest to date, with a total of 204 participants from both the DENR and the DOJ. She emphasized that while the Philippines has a wide array of environmental laws, these alone are insufficient to curb environmental crimes without strong enforcement. She stressed that the DENR requires the support of the DOJ and its prosecutors to thoroughly investigate violations and build airtight cases capable of withstanding judicial scrutiny.
For her part, Deputy State Prosecutor (DSP) Castillo-Padilla acknowledged the DENR’s continued support for the DOJ, particularly in enabling prosecutors to train DENR field personnel in actual case build-up. She cited the DENR’s financial support, including the cost of conducting the cascading workshops, as crucial to the program’s success.
She further shared that since the signing of the MOA, a total of nine (9) workshops have been successfully conducted nationwide—two (2) regional-level workshops and seven (7) cascading workshops. She noted that the resolution of the 56 environmental complaints in Aklan demonstrates the effectiveness of including environmental crimes in the DOJ’s case build-up policy pursuant to DOJ Department Circular No. 20-B, which institutionalizes early coordination between investigators and prosecutors.
The Region VI Cascading Workshop underscores the DENR and DOJ’s shared commitment to strengthening inter-agency collaboration, capacitating field personnel, and ensuring that environmental violations are addressed promptly and effectively.