Short answer. Yes, but only if the public nuisance causes you special injury beyond what the general public suffers. The law allows a private person to sue for a public nuisance when the harm to them is distinct and particular — not merely the same inconvenience or risk shared by everyone in the community.
What the law says
A private person may file an action on account of a public nuisance, if it is specially injurious to himself.
Civil Code, Article 703 — Private Action For Public Nuisance. Read the full provision →
Public nuisance — a community harm, but with exceptions
A public nuisance is one that affects a community or a considerable number of people, or that injures or endangers public health, safety, comfort, or morals. Because it is by nature a collective harm, the usual approach is for a government unit — the local government, the barangay, or a public prosecutor — to take action. Leaving enforcement exclusively to the government protects against a flood of individual suits over problems that society should address collectively. Article 703 carves out an exception only for individuals who suffer a special injury.
What "specially injurious" means
The phrase "specially injurious to himself" means more than feeling more strongly about the nuisance than others do. It requires that the private plaintiff suffer a harm distinct in kind or degree from what the public generally endures. A common example: a factory spews noxious fumes into a neighborhood. All residents are inconvenienced. But the family that lives directly next door and cannot open their windows, whose members have developed respiratory conditions, and whose business has become unusable — that family may be suffering a harm that is qualitatively and quantitatively different from the general public's experience. That difference is what the statute requires.
What remedies are available in a private action
If you can show the special injury, a private action for a public nuisance can seek abatement — a court order stopping or removing the nuisance — and damages for the harm already suffered. The right to damages for past nuisance exists even if the nuisance has already been removed by the time the case is decided or settled. The two remedies serve different purposes: abatement is forward-looking, while damages compensate for what you already endured. You may pursue both in the same action.
When to consider a private action
A private suit makes practical sense when government enforcement is slow, ineffective, or simply not happening, and you are bearing a concrete personal harm. Document the nuisance carefully — photographs, medical records if your health is affected, evidence of economic loss, records of complaints made to authorities — because you will need to establish both that the nuisance is genuine and that your injury is more than what the public generally experiences. If you are simply one of many equally affected neighbors, a complaint to local authorities or a collective action with others may be more effective than a solo private lawsuit.