SC junks petition vs. Nayong Pilipino vaccination site

The Supreme Court (SC) has junked the petition questioning the construction of a COVID-19 mega vaccination center inside the Nayong Pilipino property in Parañaque City for lack of substance and failure to follow procedures.

Dismissed by the SC was the petition filed by former Boac, Marinduque Mayor Pedrito Nepomuceno, whose plea to prevent the government from purchasing doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese firm Sinovac was rejected by the justices last May.

In his petition for writ of kalikasan, Nepomuceno said the establishment of the vaccination site would destroy the environment as the project will reportedly entail the removal of around 500 trees.

He urged the SC to order the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), which approved the project, to prevent the cutting down of trees.

He also said the project funded by the ICTSI Foundation did not undergo the mandatory Environmental Impact Analysis by the government and had no Environmental Compliance Certificate.

The former mayor also claimed lack of coordination with the concerned local government units.

The SC, however, dismissed the petition for “insufficiency in form and substance.”

The high court said the petition was unsigned, unverified and unaccompanied by a certification of non-forum shopping, lacked proof of service to the adverse parties, and payment for Sheriffs Trust Fund.

Nepomuceno also failed to identify the environmental laws violated or threatened to be violated, and the environmental damage to warrant the issuance of a writ of kalikasan, the SC said in a resolution dated June 15.

“Nepomuceno’s invocation of the State’s responsibilities to protect and advance the people’s right to a balanced and healthful ecology and preserve and protect the environment, without identifying the respondents' unlawful act or omission, is insufficient to justify the issuance of the writs prayed for,” the resolution stated.

His petition was also not supported by any material evidence other than online articles discussing the proposed vaccination center, according to the Court.

“Verily, unverified news articles on the internet are hearsay evidence, twice removed, and are thus without any probative value,” the SC said.

The Nayong Pilipino Foundation has opposed the project, citing environmental concerns, despite ICTSI’s assurance that the vaccination center would be built on a vacant lot, not in an urban forest.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said the construction of the vaccination facility was in accordance with the government’s police power to address the pandemic.

The facility has a design capacity to inoculate up to 12,000 people daily or roughly 300,000 a month. — RSJ, GMA News