In the Philippines, we have what is known as the Environmental Ombudsman, which is under the Office of the Ombudsman.  The generic Ombudsman is primarily tasked to investigate acts or omissions of any public officials and employees, which appear ?to be illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient." Within its office is the Environmental Ombudsman which is a 30-man team that is mandated to protect the environment and conserve natural resources by investigating acts that appears ?to be illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient? or involves any violation of environmental laws or concerns.

The Environmental Ombudsman has partnered with the National Solid Waste Management Council, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Interior and Local Government and their agencies to promote environmental stewardship in a sustainable way.  In fact, they had a 3-year compliance program (starting in 2013) for Local Government Units all over the Philippines to implement and enforce Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

Way back in 2014, the US Department of Justice organized a seminar entitled ?Environmental Crime Scene Investigation for the Successful Prosecution of Environmental Crimes Involving Public Officials and Employees?.  This was initiated by the Environmental Ombudsman Team and was aimed at teaching the participants to properly  document of ?environmental crimes? by government officials and employees (either by commission or omission). 

One of the skills and techniques taught at this seminar was the use of the camera to gather evidence. Our NGO also encourages the use of the camera to catch violations against environmental laws.  The Philippines definitely has a lot of environmental laws, but the problem is that they are not properly enforced.  So in a country like the Philippines where almost everyone has a mobile phone, we encourage the citizens to use their phones to capture evidence of violations against the environment.  We start them young and we have had our own workshops to teach our young kids all about Mobile Journalism or MoJo. This way, we catch violators and have the evidence to file cases against them.