RATIONALIZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PHILIPPINE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS) SYSTEM AND GIVING AUTHORITY, IN ADDITION TO THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMEN…
Statement (EIS) System was established by virtue of Presidential Decree
No. 1586 (1978) to facilitate the attainment and maintenance of a
rational and orderly balance between socio-economic growth and
environmental protection;
WHEREAS, the need to incorporate
environmental concerns in the country’s efforts for national development
should be done in the most efficient manner so that neither the
environment nor national development are compromised;
WHEREAS, Section 4 of Presidential
Decree No. 1586 establishing the Philippine Environmental Impact
Statement System empowers the President or his duly authorized
representative to grant or deny the issuance of environmental compliance
certificates (ECCs) for environmentally critical projects within environmentally critical areas;
WHEREAS, Section 7 of Executive
Order No. 192 providing for the reorganization of the Department of
Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources (DEENR) and renaming it as
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) vests in the
Secretary of the DENR the authority and responsibility to exercise the
mandate of the DENR, accomplish its objectives and discharge its powers
and functions;
WHEREAS, the Secretary of DENR, as alter ego of the President, is deemed to have the power to grant or deny the issuance of ECCs on behalf of the President;
WHEREAS, under Section 21, Chapter
4, Title XIV, Book IV of Executive Order No. 292, the Administrative
Code of 1987, the DENR Regional Offices are responsible for, inter alia,
implementing laws, policies, plans, programs, projects, rules and
regulations of the DENR to promote the sustainability and productivity
of natural resources, social equity in natural resources utilization and
environmental protection in their respective regions;
WHEREAS, under Section 34, Chapter 4
of the provisions of Republic Act No. 8749 (Philippine Clean Air Act of
1999), the Environmental Management Bureau was converted from a staff
bureau, into a line bureau with the Regional Directors in charge of the
various regional offices;
WHEREAS, the Environmental
Management Bureau (EMB), together with the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) Review Committee, through the years of implementation
of the Philippine EIS System, has established competence in the review
and evaluation of the environmental impact of development projects;
WHEREAS, the current procedures on the ECC application process need to be streamlined;
WHEREAS, Section
4 of Executive Order No. 291 (1996) provides for the continuous
strengthening of the Environmental Impact Assessment capability of the
DENR.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA
MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers
vested in me by law and the Constitution, in order to further simplify
the requirements and streamline the processing of ECC applications do
hereby authorize, in addition to the Secretary of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, the Director and Regional Directors
of the Environmental Management Bureau to grant or deny the issuance of
Environmental Compliance Certificates.
SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy.
— It is the policy of the State that optimum economic development shall
be achieved without delay and shall be pursued to ensure that the
present generation meets its needs without compromising the needs of
future generations. Hence, a systems-oriented and integrated approach in the analysis and solution to environmental concerns vis-a-vis national development programs shall be implemented.
SEC. 2. Streamlining the ECC Application Processing and Approval Procedures. — Consistent with the above-mentioned policy, the following are hereby ordered:
A. Project
proponents are hereby directed to simultaneously conduct the
environmental impact study (as required for ECC application) and the
feasibility study of the proposed project.
B. The endorsing official, approving authority and processing timeframes for ECC applications shall be as follows:
| Type of Project Timeframe (not to exceed) | Endorsing Official | Approving Official | Processing |
| Environmentally critical project(Single Project) | EMB Central Office Director | DENR Secretary/EMB Director | 120 working days |
| Non Environmentally Critical Project located in Critical areas | EIA Division chief, Regional Office | EMB Director/Regional Director | 60 working days |
| Projects Not Covered by the EIS System | EIA Division chief EMB Central/Regional Office | EMB Director/Regional Director | 15 days |
If no decision is made within the
specified processing timeframe, the ECC application is deemed
automatically approved and the approving authority shall issue the ECC
within five (5) working days after the prescribed processing timeframe;
C. The
DENR-EMB shall be limited to a maximum of two (2) official requests for
additional information (in writing) from the ECC applicant.
D. Projects that have no significant environmental impact shall not be required to secure an ECC. The
EMB in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
shall review and is hereby authorized to update/make appropriate
revisions on the technical guidelines on the EIS Systems Implementation
including the technical definition of “Environmentally Critical
Projects” and “Environmentally Critical Areas” as provided for in
Presidential Proclamation No. 2146 (1981), to take into consideration,
among others, industrial and technological innovations and trends;
SEC.N 3. Strengthening the Implementation of the Philippine EIS System. —
A. The
DENR-EMB shall conduct regular consultations with DTI, affected industry
groups and other stakeholders for the purpose of continually improving
the processing of ECC applications to fulfill the above-mentioned
policy. The DENR Secretary shall accordingly
appraise the President of the issues raised as well as the actions taken
by the DENR to address these issues;
B. The
information systems on the policy, program and project level aspects of
the EIS System implementation shall be improved for the effective
dissemination of critical information to the public, including the
regular updating of the status of ECC applications on the website;
C. In
order to effectively implement the above provisions, the current EIA ad
hoc division at the EMB Central Office and the EMB Regional Office who
are primarily in-charge of the processing of ECC applications shall be
converted into a full-pledged division. The new
position items for the EIA Division shall be created out of the existing
budget and vacant position items within the government service which
shall be reclassified accordingly.
SEC. 4. The DENR Secretary shall issue implementing guidelines as necessary to ensure effective compliance with this Order.
SEC. 5. Repealing Clause.
— All administrative orders including Administrative Order No. 300
(1996), executive orders, rules and regulations inconsistent with any
provisions of this Order shall be deemed revoked, amended or modified
accordingly.
SEC. 6. Effectivity. — This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.
Adopted: 02 Nov. 2002
BY THE PRESIDENT:
(SGD.) ALBERTO G. ROMULO
Executive Secretary