Behind all these arguments and cases, there really is only one thing that should be kept in mind;

we need to save the earth. The group stands by the idea of giving legal rights to bodies of water
because they are beneficial to our very existence in this world. These bodies of water cannot
speak for themselves, but rather, show how big of an effect human ignorance is to it and to
ourselves, as well. Like how a mother is to her child, we are tasked to be the guardians of these
gems of nature, most especially because we benefit from them and the lives that live within.

Water is more than just a way to quench our thirst. More than nine million Filipinos rely on
water in its raw state. This raw state of water is used for many different purposes, and because
of the pollution and lack of proper maintenance, it takes the lives of roughly 55 Filipinos each
day. More marine animals, including ones we eat, get washed up to our shores showing plastic
wastes inside and out of their bodies. Yearly, there is an estimated PHP 4 billion worth of
damages in businesses and mortality costs due to the immense amount of wastes in our waters.
These are just some of the issues of our waters, yet they exemplify the urgency of help needed
to save our waters, and show that saving them is not just a stand made, rather a necessity to be
addressed.

Aside from saving these waters because of its necessity in our very existence, they are
beneficial in uplifting our lives. Granting legal rights to these bodies of water generates our duty
and responsibility to protect the nation’s marine wealth. This is backed up by our very own
human right to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water. If we do
not give ample attention and care to these gifts from nature, we may be throwing our lives
away.

All people must be able to defend nature. In doing so, they come together as a community to
protect not only nature, but also their health, home, and source of income. These waters
provide a number of economic benefits, namely commodity, waste assimilation, aesthetic and
recreational, and fish and wildlife habitats. As humans, we use them for drinking, cooking, and
sanitation. Businesses like farms use water to grow food and feed animals. Our country attracts
so much tourists because of these waters, and with these in mind, it would be foolish to ignore
and set aside these waters when they are directly linked to our existence in this world, may it
be through our health, businesses, or agriculture.

Without legal rights and legal personality, bodies of water cannot fully protect themselves. As
Cristopher Stone said, bodies of water “have a legally recognized worth and dignity in its own
right, and not merely to serve as a means to benefit ‘us’…”. The current laws are not enough to
fully support and protect these bodies of water. We are strangled by this limitation, and the
grip gets tighter as these waters perish. More lives are burdened, and economic benefits go
stagnant as long as we continue to ignore the importance of water in our lives.

We empower two aspects upon granting legal rights to bodies of water; empowering our rights
as humans to a healthy living environment, and propagate our stewardship to nature and its
rights. As we can all see, the state of these waters have a domino effect to a lot of aspects in
our lives. Ignorance towards these waters can lead to death of not businesses, but also the
people who live in this nation. The bodies of water are already showing us the effects of our
behavior towards them. Whatever we throw at these waters, they return to us ten-fold by
paralyzing our lives and economic growth.