10/12/2019 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly This brings us to the second self-evident point. Water is life, and must be saved at all costs. In Collado v. Court of Appeals, we had occasion to reaffirm our previous discussion in Sta. Rosa Realty Development Corporation v. Court of Appeals, on the primordial importance of watershed areas, thus: The most important product of a watershed is water, which is one of the most important human necessities. The protection of watersheds ensures an adequate supply of water for future generations and the control of flash floods that not only damage property but also cause[s] loss of lives. Protection of watersheds is an intergenerational responsibility that needs to be answered now.[31] (emphasis and underlining supplied) While the Court does not discount the possible loss private respondents may suffer should their land claims be recognized with finality, still it bears re.iterating that they failed to show that they are entitled to an injunctive relief. In summary, private respondents do not have a clear and unmistakable legal right because their land claims are still pending recognition and any loss or injury they may suffer can be compensable by damages. To add, their occupation of the Busol Water Reserve poses a continuing threat of damaging the preservation or viability of the watershed. Any danger to the sustainability of the Busol Water Reserve affects not only individuals or families inside the watershed but also the entire community relying on it as a source of a basic human necessity-water. Furthermore, unlike the injury private respondents may suffer, any damage to the Busol Water Reserve is irreversible and may not only affect the present generation but also those to come. Stare decisis vis-a-vis res judicata In its assailed decision, the CA ruled that the NCIP did not act with grave abuse of discretion because its actions were in accordance with law as it complied with the IPRA and its implementing rules and regulations. Still, it must be remembered that judicial decisions form part of the law of the land.[32] In The City Government of Baguio v. Atty. Masweng (City Government of Baguio),[33] the Court explained that Proclamation No. 15 is not a definitive recognition of land claims over portions of the Busol Forest Reserve, to wit: The foregoing provision indeed states that Baguio City is governed by its own charter. Its exemption from the IPRA, however, cannot ipso facto be deduced because the law concedes the validity of prior land rights recognized or acquired through any process before its effectivity. The IPRA demands that the city's charter respect the validity of these recognize-land rights and titles. The crucial question to be asked then is whether private respondents' ancestral land claim was indeed recognized by Proclamation No. 15, in which case, their right thereto may be protected by an injunctive writ. After all, before a writ of preliminary injunction may be issued, petitioners must show that there exists a right to be protected and that the acts against which elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/64367 8/13