MANILA, Philippines – Local government units that did nothing to prevent the spike in air pollution during New Year celebrations should be penalized.

These were the sentiments of Environment Secretary Ramon Paje when he announced on Friday, January 3, that his department is planning to impose such sanctions by next year, Jan 1, 2015.

“I have given the instruction yesterday (Thursday) to study carefully the legal basis for imposing liability [on] the LGUs [which] would fail to regulate or prevent the spike of air pollution every January 1. Meaning, if you are the LGU, you are supposed to implement the Clean Air Act,” Paje told the media.

The year 2014 was greeted with a 300% increase in Metro Manila air pollution compared to the figure in 2013. The average reading of particulate matter 10 microns and below in diameter (known as PM10) this year was 1,550 ug/Ncm (micrograms per normal cubic meter of air) in Metro Manila. Last year, the figure was 537 ug/Ncm.

The reading this year is 1,000% higher than the safe PM10 levels, which the World Health Organization set at 150 ug/Ncm. 

PM10 is an important measurement of air pollution. It measures the amount of particulates or tiny solid or liquid matter floating in the air. Such particulates are so small that they can enter the lungs and cause lung cancer, said Paje.

More monitoring stations

By next New Year, the DENR will be better equipped to determine the liability of LGUs when it comes to New Year air pollution.

By July 2014, the agency will finish building one air quality monitoring station in every Metro Manila city, Paje announced.

As of this writing, there are only 9 such stations in Metro Manila. There are 17 local government units in the National Capital Region.

This will enable the DENR to see any spike in air pollution in each city from December 31, when most fireworks are ignited, to the morning of January 1, when toxic smog from the fireworks float over the cities.

“So we can now compute the contribution of your city in the pollution of the atmosphere in Metro Manila. Now we can impose liability,” added the environment chief.

Air quality monitoring stations are already up in urbanized cities outside Metro Manila like Davao, Cebu, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, and the provinces of Pangasinan and Pampanga. 

These stations are able to check the PM10 level of a city in an hourly basis. Because wind is unlikely to move air particles from 12 am on December 31 to 1 am on January 1, the stations will be able to accurately determine the air pollution produced by each city, said Paje.

The sanctions to be imposed will be based on the Clean Air Act. The DENR also plans to tap the Pollution Adjudication Board, a quasi-judicial body under the DENR tasked with deciding on pollution cases.

The board will “impose and define the graduation of penalties” on the LGUs, explained Paje.

Penalties may take the form of fines, amounts to be set by the board.

In the meantime, the DENR is now crafting a national environmental policy on New Year air pollution to help LGUs craft their own legislation and ordinances. The guidelines for LGUs is set to be released by the 4th quarter of 2014.

Paje recommended LGU practices, like banning the individual use of firecrackers and limiting them to accredited groups. This is observed in cities like New York and Sydney, where community fireworks are lit only by the city government and from a certain landmark. – Rappler.com