What's not Prohibited is Allowed

In what could be an indication that the Supreme Court is likely to rule that the construction of the 49-storey Torre de Manila can proceed, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has said that "since there is no implementing law to protect the background sight line, we go back to the general principle that what is not prohibited by law should be allowed."

The controversial condominium project of DMCI Homes is the subject of a petition to be demolished for marring the visual corridor of the Rizal Monument at Luneta Park. The property developer insists it did not violate any law when it erected the tower, saying the Constitution and heritage laws in the country do not protect vistas and sight lines.
      

"It's a foundation of our value as democratic society [that] you must have a law before you are prohibited from doing an act because otherwise all our other freedoms, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, would be impaired if the government can just stop it without a law authorizing it to be stopped,” he said, adding that the rule of law is the "bedrock of our society."

      

The senior magistrate also emphasized that nobody can be deprived of property without due process: "Due process of law includes substantive law authorizing the demolition. But there must be a police power law saying you cannot build within one kilometer of the monument.”
      

If the Supreme Court renders a decision to allow the condo construction to proceed, it would be a legal setback not only for the Knights of Rizal that filed a petition to have the project discontinued, but also for the National Historical Commission and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts that had also argued that being a national shrine and a heritage site, the Rizal Monument should be free from any visual intrusion or obstruction.

      

What this controversy tells us is that if we want to preserve important cultural heritage sites, then perhaps Congress should now pass a bill protecting these from various  encroachments. As things now stand, the NCCA, the NHCP and other government agencies can only use moral suasion to keep cultural heritage structures and sites from going to ruin or converted to commercial use. –End-

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