Internationally-acclaimed environmental lawyer Antonio A. Oposa will address the Foundation University graduating class of 2011 at the Sofia Soller Sinco Hall on March 20.{{more}}
Oposa, a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2009, will also be conferred a Doctor of Humanities degree, honoris causa, during the commencement exercises.
The conferment of an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree on Oposa is in recognition of his personal advocacy for the environment despite the huge risks involved, said Dr. Mira Sinco, University president.
Oposa has been taking the cudgels for children, as well as poor fishers by marshalling the resources of the law to protect and nurture the environment for the people, their children, and generations yet to come.
Oposa set a legal precedent when he filed a class action suit on behalf of 43 minors, asking the Philippine government to cancel timber licenses on the grounds that rampant logging violated their constitutional right to a healthy environment.
In the landmark Oposa vs. Factoran case, the Supreme Court in 1993 upheld the principle of “intergenerational equity” that the interest of future generations could be protected in court.
Oposa also won a case against the Philippine government in 2008, where the Supreme Court ordered 12 government agencies to clean up the Manila Bay.
Oposa heads the Law of Nature Foundation, a non-profit organization that, among others, operates a training camp for coastal law enforcement and environmental conservation in Bantayan Island, Cebu.
