...the PHL effort in clean air

Phl cited for efforts vs air pollution By Michael Punongbayan The Philippine Star June 20, 2011

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has gained international high marks for its efforts to control air pollution, but Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje said the agency is not resting on its laurels and in fact plans to further intensify air quality management programs with the help of its partners.



A view of Metro Manila skyline



Paje noted during a two-day forum on Clean Air 10 at the DENR Social Hall in Quezon City that even though current efforts have brought positive results, much could still be done.

He said the agency is happy that Yale University gave the Philippines a fairly high grade in the air pollution criterion of its annual Environmental Performance Index (EPI) in 2010.

Paje said the country’s EPI of 71.7 points in the air pollution criterion is higher than the Asia-Pacific regional average of 54.3, outranking 12 other countries in the region while ranking third behind Malaysia and Singapore in Southeast Asia. The country tied Australia in 50th place overall, out of 163 countries ranked.

The EPI ranks countries on 25 performance indicators tracked across ten policy categories, one of which is air pollution’s impact on humans, covering both environmental public health and ecosystem vitality. Higher EPI points mean that a country or region is closer to achieving its established goals in environmental policy.

Paje cited the different programs that contributed to the favorable ranking, such as the enhancement of anti-smoke belching operations in Metro Manila, the adoption of more stringent emission standards for all types of motor vehicles, and stricter monitoring of private emission testing centers and motor vehicle inspection centers with the use of closed-circuit television cameras.

He said there are implications that administrative and regulatory efforts of the government can bring down levels of total suspended particulates (TSP), as evidenced by the decrease in the level of TSP from 166 micrograms per normal cubic meter (mg/ncM) in December 2010 to 121mg/ncM in April 2011.
TSP levels indicate the amount of dust and other pollutants in the air.

More efforts from stakeholders

The environment secretary stressed, however, that government still needs “interventions from its partners” to further bring TSP levels much closer to the annual standard level of 90_g/ncM.

He explained that such interventions could be in the form of technology, such as the use of electric tricycles, which is currently being piloted by the DENR, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Asian Development Bank in Mandaluyong City.

“We will be popularizing the use of electric tricycles not only in Metro Manila but in other major cities. The ultimate aim is for our country’s five million tricycles, of which 2.8 million are in Metro Manila, to become zero-emission vehicles,” he said.

He added that the Aquino administration is also looking into the possibility of converting current diesel-run jeepneys into electric jeepneys. This would keep the cultural identity of the jeepney as uniquely Filipino, while at the same time lessening its air polluting qualities.

Other interventions mentioned by the DENR secretary was the retrofitting of engines to enable the use of alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas in public transportation, and the full cooperation of local government units in the implementation of clean air programs.

Paje also bared his proposal to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the different Metro Manila Mayors on the adoption of a “no exposed soil policy” to reduce the amount of dust in the air coming from streets and bare, open land especially during the dry season.

He suggested that part of the policy’s scheme could be to outsource the maintenance of plants in the city’s streets by tapping the services of plant nurseries and seedling banks.