Llda V Ca

LAGUNA LAKE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY vs.
COURT OF APPEALS,
HON. MANUEL JN. SERAPIO, HON. MACARIO A. ASISTIO, JR. and/or THE
CITY GOVERNMENT OF CALOOCAN
G.R. No. 110120 March 16, 1994
FACTS:
On November 15, 1991, the LLDA conducted an on-site investigation,

monitoring and test sampling of the leachate that seeps from an open garbage
dumpsite in Caloocan City to the nearby creek which is a tributary of the
Marilao River. The LLDA Legal and Technical personnel found that the City
Government of Caloocan was maintaining an open dumpsite at the Camarin
area without first securing an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC)
from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the DENR, as
required under PD 1586, and clearance from LLDA as required under RA
4850, as amended.
After a public hearing conducted on December 4, 1991, the LLDA, acting

on the complaint of Task Force Camarin Dumpsite, found that the water
collected from the leachate and the receiving streams could considerably
affect the quality, in turn, of the receiving waters since it indicates the
presence of bacteria, other than coliform, which may have contaminated the
sample during collection or handling. On December 5, 1991, the LLDA issued
a Cease and Desist Order ordering the City Government of Caloocan,
Metropolitan Manila Authority, their contractors, and other entities, to
completely halt, stop and desist from dumping any form or kind of garbage
and other waste matter at the Camarin dumpsite.
The dumping operation was forthwith stopped by the City Government

of Caloocan. However, sometime in August 1992 the dumping operation was
resumed after a meeting held in July 1992 among the City Government of
Caloocan, the representatives of Task Force Camarin Dumpsite and LLDA at
the Office of Environmental Management Bureau Director Rodrigo U. Fuentes
failed to settle the problem.
After an investigation by its team of legal and technical personnel on

August 14, 1992, the LLDA issued another order reiterating the December 5,
1991 order and issued an Alias Cease and Desist Order enjoining the City
Government of Caloocan from continuing its dumping operations at the
Camarin area.
ISSUE:
Whether or not the LLDA has the authority to entertain the complaint
against the dumping of garbage in the open dumpsite in Barangay Camarin
authorized by the City Government of Caloocan which is allegedly
endangering the health, safety, and welfare of the residents therein and the
sanitation and quality of the water in the area brought about by exposure to
pollution caused by such open garbage dumpsite
RULING:
Yes. LLDA has the authority to entertain such complaints
As a general rule, the adjudication of pollution cases generally pertains

to the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB), except in cases where the special
law provides for another forum. It must be recognized in this regard that the
LLDA, as a specialized administrative agency, is specifically mandated under
RA 4850 and its amendatory laws to carry out and make effective the
declared national policy of promoting and accelerating the development and
balanced growth of the Laguna Lake area and the surrounding provinces of
Rizal and Laguna and the cities of San Pablo, Manila, Pasay, Quezon and
Caloocan with due regard and adequate provisions for environmental
management and control, preservation of the quality of human life and
ecological systems, and the prevention of undue ecological disturbances,
deterioration and pollution. Under such a broad grant and power and
authority, the LLDA, by virtue of its special charter, obviously has the
responsibility to protect the inhabitants of the Laguna Lake region from the
deleterious effects of pollutants emanating from the discharge of wastes from
the surrounding areas. In carrying out the aforementioned declared policy,
the LLDA is mandated, among others, to pass upon and approve or
disapprove all plans, programs, and projects proposed by local government
offices/agencies within the region, public corporations, and private persons
or enterprises where such plans, programs and/or projects are related to
those of the LLDA for the development of the region.
In the instant case, when the letter-complaint was filed before the LLDA,
the latter's jurisdiction under its charter was validly invoked by complainant
on the basis of its allegation that the open dumpsite project of the City
Government of Caloocan in Barangay Camarin was undertaken without a
clearance from the LLDA, as required under Section 4, par. (d), of RA 4850,
as amended. While there is also an allegation that the said project was
without an ECC from the EMB of the DENR, the primary jurisdiction of the
LLDA over this case was recognized by the EMB of the DENR when the latter
acted as intermediary at the meeting among the representatives of the City
Government of Caloocan, Task Force Camarin Dumpsite and LLDA sometime
in July 1992 to discuss the possibility of re-opening the open dumpsite.

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LAGUNA LAKE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY vs.

On November 15, 1991, the LLDA conducted an on-site investigation,

After a public hearing conducted on December 4, 1991, the LLDA, acting

The dumping operation was forthwith stopped by the City Government

After an investigation by its team of legal and technical personnel on

Yes. LLDA has the authority to entertain such complaints

As a general rule, the adjudication of pollution cases generally pertains

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