UNIT4.
LEGAL BASES RELATED TO
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AND CONSERVATION IN THE
PHILIPPINES
Prepared by: Juben Fortaleza & Emma Lentija
Objectives
At the end of the discussion, the students should be able to:
• identify core environmental laws
• introduce the basic concepts and principles of environmental laws
• understand development of environmental law
Introduction
In an increasingly globalized and industrialized world, people and
countries need to rely more on the environment and the world’s rich natural
resources: be it wood from the forests, minerals from the ground, and oil or
other fossil fuels from deep within the earth. Undeniably, people rely on the
environment for their sustenance and their very lives: the food they eat, the
water they drink, and the air they breathe all come from nature and the
environment. When the basic needs of people and the needs of the world
economy and industries are both being sustained by the environment,
problems, issues, and competing interests are bound to happen.
Introduction
These threats of environmental destruction and degradation have not
been left unnoticed. Government agencies, non-government and civil
society organizations (NGOs and CSOs), and ordinary citizens alike have
recognized the need to act and to stop the decay of the world’s
ecosystems. Government regulators have enacted stricter laws and
regulations, NGOs and CSOs have stepped up environmental awareness
campaigns, and citizens have tried to do their part in protecting and
preserving the environment.
CORE
ENVIRONMENTAL
LAWS
Core Environmental Laws
• Republic Act 9003 Ecological Solid Waste Management Act Of
2000
• Republic Act 9275 Philippine Clean Water Act Of 2004
• Republic Act 9275 Philippine Clean Water Act Of 2004
• Republic Act 6969 Toxic Substances, Hazardous And Nuclear
Waste Control Act Of 1990
• Presidential Decree 1586 Environmental Impact Statement (Eis)
Statement Of 1978
Republic Act 9003 Ecological Solid
Waste Management Act Of 2000
• In partnership with stakeholders, the law aims to adopt a
systematic, comprehensive and ecological solid waste management
program that shall ensure the protection of public health and
environment. The law ensures proper segregation, collection,
storage, treatment and disposal of solid waste through the
formulation and adaptation of best eco-waste products.
Republic Act 9275 Philippine Clean
Water Act Of 2004
• The law aims to protect the country's water bodies from pollution
from land-based sources (industries and commercial
establishments, agriculture and community/household activities). It
provides for comprehensive and integrated strategy to prevent and
minimize pollution through a multi-sectoral and participatory
approach involving all the stakeholders.
Republic Act 8749 Philippine Clean
Air Act Of 1999
• The law aims to achieve and maintain clean air that meets
the National Air Quality guideline values for criteria
pollutants, throughout the Philippines, while minimizing
the possible associated impacts to the economy.
Republic Act 6969 Toxic Substances,
Hazardous And Nuclear Waste Control Act
Of 1990
• The law aims to regulate restrict or prohibit the importation, manufacture,
processing, sale, distribution, use and disposal of chemical substances and
mixtures the present unreasonable risk to human health. It likewise
prohibits the entry, even in transit, of hazardous and nuclear wastes and
their disposal into the Philippine territorial limits for whatever purpose;
and to provide advancement and facilitate research and studies on toxic
chemicals.
Presidential Decree 1586 Environmental
Impact Statement (Eis) Statement Of 1978
• The Environment Impact Assessment System was formally established in
1978 with the enactment of Presidential Decree no. 1586 to facilitate the
attainment and maintenance of rational and orderly balance between socio-
economic development and environmental protection. EIA is a planning and
management tool that will help government, decision makers, the
proponents and the affected community address the negative consequences
or risks on the environment. The process assures implementation of
environment-friendly projects.
GREEN LAWS
Green Laws
Green laws are those that deal with the protection,
conservation, utilization and development of forests, other
land-based natural resources, and wildlife. Green is the
color used since lands and forests are generally supposed to
be green. Land-based wildlife also consider the forests as
their habitat, thus, they are included under the green laws.
Green Laws
• The Revised Forestry Code and the Chain Saw Act
• The Wildlife Conservation Act
• The National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS)
Act
• The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and the People’s
Small-Scale Mining Act
The Revised Forestry Code and the
Chain Saw Act
• Revised Forestry Code is the primary law which governs
the management, utilization, use, development, and
protection of forest lands
• Chain Saw Act of 2002 serves to curb illegal logging by
regulating the use and possession of a chain saw while
punishing its illegal use
The Revised Forestry Code and the
Chain Saw Act
The two laws specifically punish the following acts which
are most commonly violated:
1. Illegal logging (Section 77, PD No. 705)
2. Unlawful occupation or destruction of forest and grazing lands
(Section 78, PD No. 705)
3. Unlawful use of a chain saw (Section 7[4], RA No. 9175)
The Wildlife Conservation Act
• The law covers all wildlife species found in all areas of the
country, including protected areas and critical habitats
• It shall also apply to exotic species which are subject to
trade, are cultured, maintained, and/or bred in captivity or
propagated in the country
The Wildlife Conservation Act
The law specifically punishes the following acts most commonly
violated:
1. Killing and destroying wildlife species (Section 27[a]); inflicting injury which cripples and/
or impairs the reproductive system of wildlife species (Section 27[b]), gathering or
destroying active nests, nest trees, and host plants (Section 27[g]) and maltreating and
inflicting other injuries (Section 27[h])
2. Committing certain acts in critical habitats (Section 27[c]): This takes place when one of the
following is committed in a declared critical habitat
3. Trading (Section 27[e]) and collecting, hunting, or possessing (Section 27[f])
4. Transporting of wildlife (Section 27[i])
The National Integrated Protected
Areas System (NIPAS) Act
• NIPAS serves as the basis for the classification and
administration of all designated protected areas to maintain
essential ecological processes and life support systems, to
preserve genetic diversity, to ensure sustainable use of
resources found therein, and to maintain their natural
conditions to the greatest extent possible
The National Integrated Protected
Areas System (NIPAS) Act
The law specifically punishes the following acts most
commonly violated:
1. Hunting, destroying, disturbing, or mere possession of plants or
animals without permits (Section 20[a])
2. Dumping of waste products (Section 20[b]), destroying objects of
natural beauty or of interest to cultural communities (Section
20[d]), leaving refuse and debris (Section 20[h])
The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and
the People’s Small-Scale Mining Act
• These two laws operationalize the principle enunciated in
Section 2, Article XII of the Constitution on the ownership
of the State of all natural resources found within the
Philippines and its correlated right to their use,
development and utilization
The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and
the People’s Small-Scale Mining Act
The law specifically punishes the following acts most
commonly violated:
1. Causing pollution by willfully violating or grossly neglecting the
environmental compliance certificate (ECC) (Section 108, RA No.
7942)
BLUE LAWS
Blue Laws
Referring to the color of the seas, oceans, and other
bodies of water, blue laws refer to laws which deal with the
protection, conservation and utilization of waters, marine
life, and aquatic resources. Blue laws encompass both
inland waters such as rivers, lakes, and streams, and the seas
and oceans, whether part of the country’s territory or not.
Blue Laws
• The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998
• The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) Act
The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998
• The law seeks to manage the country’s fishery and aquatic
resources in a manner consistent with an integrated coastal
area management and to protect the right of fisherfolk,
especially of the local communities
The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998
The law specifically punishes the following acts most
commonly violated:
1. Poaching (Section 87)
2. Fishing through illegal means
3. Fishing in prohibited and restricted areas
4. Illegal gathering, possessing, catching, and selling of certain
marine species
The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998
The law specifically punishes the following acts most
commonly violated:
5. Aquatic Pollution (Section 102)
6. Construction and operation of fish pens without a license/permit
(Section 103[e]) and obstruction to navigation or flow and ebb of
tide in any stream, river, lake, or bay (Section 103[d])
The Laguna Lake Development
Authority (LLDA) Act
• LLDA was established as a quasi-government agency that
leads, promotes, and accelerates sustainable development
in the Laguna de Bay Region due to its significance as the
largest fresh water lake in the country and its impact on its
nearby areas and provinces
The Laguna Lake Development
Authority (LLDA) Act
The law specifically punishes the following acts most
commonly violated:
1. General prohibitions (Section 27, Resolution No 33)
BROWN LAWS
Brown Laws
Brown laws refer to laws and rules which deal with
pollution control and the regulation of activities which
could affect the environment. These laws and rules include
those which control hazardous and toxic wastes and
chemicals, solid waste management, and rules on the
conduct of environmental impact assessments.
Brown Laws
• The Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes
Control Act of 1990
• The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999
• The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004
• The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000
• The Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System
The Toxic Substances and Hazardous
and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990
• The law covers the importation, manufacture, processing,
handling, storage, transportation, sale, distribution, use and
disposal of all unregulated chemical substances and mixtures in
the Philippines, including the entry, even in transit, as well as
the keeping or storage and disposal of hazardous and nuclear
wastes into the country for whatever purpose
The Toxic Substances and Hazardous
and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990
The law specifically punishes the following acts:
1. Knowingly using a chemical substance or mixture in violation of the
rules and regulations (Section 13[a]) and causing or facilitating the
storage and importation of hazardous and chemical wastes into the
Philippines (Section 13[d])
The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999
• The law that primarily governs and regulates air quality in
the Philippines which states that Government should focus
on pollution prevention rather than on control, and provide
for a comprehensive management program for air pollution
The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999
The law specifically punishes the following acts:
1. Violation of standards for stationary sources and motor vehicles
(Sections 45 and 46)
The Philippine Clean Water Act of
2004
• The law specifically applies to the water quality
management in all water bodies, and that it shall primarily
apply to the abatement and control of pollution from land-
based sources
The Philippine Clean Water Act of
2004
The law specifically punishes the following acts:
1. Water Pollution – This kind of violation specifically includes
pollution of water body (Section 27[a]); groundwater pollution
(Section 27[b]); chemical dumping (Section 27[f]); and illegal
discharge (Section 27[i])
The Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act of 2000
• One of its declared policies is to ensure the proper
segregation, collection, transport, storage, treatment and
disposal of solid waste through the formulation and
adoption of the best environmental practice in ecological
waste management excluding incineration
The Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act of 2000
The law specifically punishes the following acts:
1. Illegal dumping and disposal of wastes
2. Illegal dumpsites and waste disposal facilities
The Philippine Environmental
Impact Statement System
The law specifically punishes the following acts:
1. Violation of the Environmental Impact Statement, the terms and
conditions of the Environmental Compliance Certificate and other
rules and regulations (Section 9, PD No. 1586)
References
• [Link]
• [Link]
rch-database/
• [Link]
02/[Link]