In March 1990, Juan Antonio, Anna Rosario and José Alfonso Oposa, represented by their parents and 40 other children from all geographic regions of the Philippines sued the Department of Environment and Natural resources for its ecological neglect on behalf of their generation, and for generations yet unborn. The case was based on the fact that the timber license agreements issued by the Department covered 3.9 million hectares of virgin forest when, according to the records, there were only some 800,000 hectares of virgin forests remaining. In June 1991, the Regional Court dismissed the case without trial on the ground that the children did not have the legal personality to sue. However, the counsel elevated the case to the Supreme Court. In July 1993, the Supreme Court rendered a decision in favour of the children's environmental claim for ecological balance. This case has given birth to the doctrine of "generational genocide" and has set a precedent in environmental law.
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