As a partial requirement of the course Natural Resources and Environmental law, I had the

opportunity of experiencing the amenities and seeing the beautiful nature that Lobo, Batangas has
in store. Prior to the field trip, I had no idea of what was to be seen in Lobo. The only thing I had
in mind was that it was close to Tagaytay. However, I kept an open mind as to what I could see in
Lobo since the son of the Mayor is a good friend of mine and he gave me a heads up of what we
will be seeing there. This brought about excitement because I enjoy sightseeing as well as
snorkeling. Unfortunately, I was not able to go snorkeling because I was not comfortable with the
other people present since I am not really close to most of them. I missed this opportunity, but I
was still able to enjoy the trip by appreciating the several trees planted in large areas and the tracks
of land used for agriculture. Seeing these lands immediately made me think of our agrarian reform
law class and observe the lands I saw along the way and wonder whether they are part of the
eminent domain used for agrarian reform. The hectares of land seemed to be organized properly
and it was relaxing to see along the way. Also, seeing the several trees planted in an organized
manner made me feel that the environmental laws are being implemented in Lobo—having
planting projects to fulfill the directive from the executive department in order to keep up with the
required standard of number of trees planted. This is done in order to contribute to the betterment
of the environment and to help protect the environment from the harmful effects of pollution from
big factories and smoke emitted by the several vehicles to name two of the worst contributors to
the ill-effects towards the environment.
One of the biggest problems I saw on the way to Batangas is a common issue I see on a
daily basis and that is smoke belching done by the cars that are not well maintained. On a normal
day, it is difficult to keep track of the number of cars that emit and awful amount of dark colored
smoke and sadly, the government is not doing anything to implement laws against such kind of
negligence of car owners. I would like to stress that the executive department must tackle this
problem and prohibit smoke belching cars from being used until it is fixed to meet the required
standard.
Being able to observe the environment in Lobo made me feel positive about the fact that
some political leaders are doing their jobs properly in terms of abiding by the environmental law
and conserving the environment. Lobo looks to be continuously developing, but at the same time
keeping up with the requirements of environmental law to ensure that the natural resources and
the condition of the environment in Lobo is preserved and protected from further harm.
Given the opportunity I would like to take this experience as a reminder for me to invest
time in knowing well about environmental law and come up with ways on how to implement it
better and effectively in the country and in every barangay. I would like to call on the executive
department to make a proper study of the condition of the environment in every province no matter
how distant and isolated and ensure that the requirements and standards are being fulfilled.

Based on my observations relating to the condition of the environment and natural

resources in Lobo, Batangas, I saw that the local government units are trying their best to
implement the environmental laws of the Philippines. There are vast tracks of land for planting
rice, however, there are also several hectares of land filled with nurtured trees. The trees are well
planted around the area of Lobo, clearly seeing that there are tree planting projects done by the
local government units. The location of Lobo is well developed, containing proper irrigation
systems for the areas of land used for agricultural purposes, clean water for consumption, waste
management, tree planting projects, and other developments connected to the furtherance of our
environmental laws.
In connection to this, the speaker during the field trip mentioned R.A. No. 9275, the
Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 and R.A. No. 8749, the Clean Air Act of 1999. Lobo, Batangas
is well developed to be able to fully cooperate and implement the environmental laws such as the
two mentioned. The government in the locality is involved in protecting the bodies of water from
pollution and how to prevent it. Also, the local government unit also ensures that they are meeting
the requirement laid down in the Clean Air Act of 1999 to see to it that the air meets the National
Air Quality guideline values for criteria pollutants. Tests are conducted in order to meet this
requirement, and in case the requirement is not met, measures are taken by the government to
improve the quality of the air to meet the required standard.
Moreover, being located in an area surrounded by water, it is important that the local
government takes measures to implement and cooperate with the rules and policies laid down in
The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998. This law seeks to protect fishery resources in order to
provide adequate allocation of food for the entire nation. In terms of locality, the LGUs have the
task to ensure that the utilization, management, conservation and protection of resources, and to
properly implement the law and protect fishery resources from illegal fishing and pollution by big
companies. This law also protects the rights of fisher folk and allow them to have a livelihood such
as those located in Lobo Batangas who benefit from this law. More than the livelihood of the
community, the government also seeks to protect the natural resources found in the waters
surrounding Lobo, Batangas, given that they truly have a marine life to protect.
Another law stressed by the speaker is the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines, which
aims for the proper classification, management and utilization of lands of the public domain to
maximize their productivity to meet the demands of the population. Emphasized by this law is the
protection, rehabilitation and development of forest lands and ensure their sustainable
development. As I mentioned earlier, the implementation of this law seems to be being
implemented faithfully as there are several land areas covered with trees. Also, there are projects
present in protecting the trees and natural resources found there.
DENR-DILG Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2013-03 was also created in furtherance of
the guidelines in the establishment and implementation of Barangay Forest Program in Support of
the National Greening Program. This memorandum was directed to certain public officials
including provincial governors, city mayors, municipal mayors and punong barangays—given that
Lobo is a municipality, the mayor is directed to implement and follow the memorandum. This
memorandum involves the planting of a target 1.5 billion seedlings in 1.5 million hectares of land
of the public domain. Lobo took part in this directive and project to protect and develop more trees
around the country.