MANILA BULLETIN
By MARIO B. CASAYURAN
July 7, 2010, 2:28pm
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri filed Wednesday a bill seeking to create an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will be devoted solely to solving the country’s mounting pollution problems.
Zubiri said the EPA would have broad powers for research, standard-setting, monitoring and enforcement with regard to five environmental hazards: Air pollution, water hazards, solid waste disposal, radiation and pesticides.
The Senate Majority Leader in the past 14th Congress said he recognizes the function of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) being the principal agency tasked to implement the government’s environmental laws and policies which includes management of natural resources.
‘’However, there has to be an agency that will solely deal with matters that have a relation only to the protection, preservation and enhancement of the environment,’’ he said.
The measure, Senate Bill No. 59 or the ‘Environment Protection Act of 2010,’’ aims to effectively control pollution by ‘’identifying pollutants, tracing them through the entire ecological chain, observing and recording changes in form as they occur, determining the total exposure of man and his environment to toxic waste, examining interactions among forms of pollutions and identifying where in the ecological chain interdiction will be most appropriate,’’ he explained.
Zubiri said that the EPA, once enacted into law, would be placed under the Executive branch headed by a chairman to be appointed by the President.
Aside from the chairman, other EPA officers will be regional executive directors who will take charge of the monitoring and enforcement of environmental laws at the regional level.
Among the other functions of the proposed EPA include the following:
Establish and enforce environmental protection standards consistent with national environmental goals.
Advise the President and the Congress on the enactment of laws relative to the conservation of the country’s natural resources and environmental protection.
Promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the law governing the exploration, conservation, development, extraction, disposition, use and other activities that may cause the depletion and degradation of natural resources.
Undertake exploration, assessment, classification and inventory of the country’s natural resources using any and all available technology.
Oversee, supervise and police natural resources which include cancellation or cause to cancel privileges and arrangements.
Promulgate rules and regulations for the control of water, air and land pollution.
Exercise other powers and functions and perform such other acts as may be necessary, proper or incidental to the attainment of its mandates and objectives.
The measures provide the EPA additional powers by transferring to the environmental agency the powers, functions, duties and responsibilities of some of the bureau offices of DENR such as the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), Protected Areas and Wildlife (PAW), Pollution Adjudication Board (PAD), and the National Water and Air Pollution Control Commission (NWAPCC).
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/265617/creation-environmental-protection-agency-sought
