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Manila Water Company, Inc. vs. DENR Secretary

MANILA WATER COMPANY, INC., PETITIONER, VS. THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES (DENR), THE REGIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT BUREAU-NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION (EMB-NCR), THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT BUREAU-REGION III (EMB­-REGION III), THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT BUREAU-REGION IV ("EMB-REGION IV-A"), AND THE POLLUTION ADJUDICATION BOARD (PAB), RESPONDENTS. METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM, PETITIONER, VS. THE POLLUTION ADJUDICATION BOARD AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT BUREAU, RESPONDENTS.

G.R. No. 202897 and G.R. No. 207969 | 2019-08-06

DECISION
 
HERNANDO, J:
 
Water is not a mere commodity for sale and consumption but a natural asset to be protected and conserved. Sanitation is its corollary constant, as a poor state of sewerage systems is one of the pillars of people's miseries. We have a collective responsibility to preserve water resources and improve sanitation facilities for future generations.[1]

In early Mesopotamia, Rome, and Egypt, civilizations thrived in the waters of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, Tiber, and the Nile, respectively. Henry Cavendish, an English chemist and physicist, was first to show in 1781 that water is composed of oxygen and...