Striking a Balance

It is difficult for a man, scavenging on the garbage dump created by affluence and profligate consumption and extravagance of the rich or fishing in the murky waters of the Pasig River and the Laguna Lake or making a clearing in the forest so that he can produce food for his family, to understand why protecting birds, fish, and trees is more important than protecting him and keeping his family alive.

How do we strike a balance between environmental protection, on the one hand, and the individual personal interests of people, on the other?

- HERMOSISIMA, JR., J.

Laguna Lake Development Authority vs. Court of Appeals, et al., G.R. no. 120865-71, December 7, 1995