Government Agencies The principal environmental enforcement agency in the Philippines is the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

DENR has six staff bureaus whose main functions are to design policies, set standards, and serve as advisory units. The Environmental anagement !ureau "E !# has authority over stationary emissions

sources. The staff bureaus have sectoral representatives in all $% regional offices across the archipelago performing regulatory functions, such as permitting, review of environmental impact statements, compliance monitoring, and inspection.

Prospective stationary sources of air emissions must secure permission to construct. The construction authori&ation regulates the type and capacity of the pollution source and the control e'uipment to be installed. (n addition, environmentally critical pro)ects must submit an environmental impact statement and secure an environmental compliance certificate. The certificate may impose conditions on the operation of a plant to mitigate its environmental impact. * permit to operate must be renewed every year+ the current application fee is P$,,-- per source. The permit.issuing process offers an opportunity to institute a pollution.reporting re'uirement and assess emissions fees.

(ssuance of orders to compel compliance with Presidential Decree /0% "Pollution 1ontrol *ct for *ir anagement# and ad)udication of pollution cases are the functions of

the Pollution *d)udication !oard, a 'uasi.)udicial body chaired by the DENR secretary. The board2s orders are executed by the regional offices, )urisdictional local government units, and local police. 3nder each regional office are numerous provincial and

community environment and natural resources offices, which also handle public complaint.driven surveillance, facility inspection, reviews of initial environmental examinations, authorities to construct and permits to operate.

The 1lean *ir *ct authori&es DENR and the Department of Transportation and 1ommunications "D4T1# to 5design, impose and collect regular emissions fees6 for industrial sources. 7ees collected are to be deposited in a special account established by the national treasury and administered by DENR. The act further identifies the Environmental anagement !ureau as the administrator of the *ir 8uality anagement

7und. This fund is to be used for environmental restoration and environmental management of DENR, other agencies, and management of local airsheds.

Review of Related Literature

*ccording to the !an9:s ,--- *nnual Review, in

anila alone more than %,--- 7ilipinos

die each year because of air pollution. The mortality figure is the third highest for a city in the east *sian region after !ei)ing and ;a9arta. !ang9o9 and <eoul were ran9ed %th and =th.

* study published in >ancet showed that those living near a ma)or road have a higher ris9 of dying than the rest of the population. (t concluded that long.term exposure to traffic.released air pollution may shorten life expectancy.

4ther studies also revealed that heart attac9s, life.threatening heart rhythms, and thic9ening of the blood can also be traced to exposure to air pollution. 5To ma9e it clear? all these bodily changes spell doom for the 7ilipinos living in etro anila @and

other highly urbani&ed centersA,6 warned Dr. Billie T. 4ng, a cardiologist who writes a regular column for a national daily.

* recent BC4 study found that D.= million people die early annually from indoor air pollution "caused by wood fires and primitive stoves# and D.D million from outdoor air pollution.

5Be now 9now that outdoor air pollution is not only a ma)or ris9 to health in general, but also a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths,6 said Eurt <traif, head of the monographs section, which is tas9ed with ran9ing carcinogens, of the (nternational *gency for Research on 1ancer "(*R1#. 5The air we breathe has become polluted with a mixture of cancer.causing substances.6

Every little bit counts in the fight against air pollution. * study in Europe has found that even very small cuts in pollution can benefit health. 4ne recent study from Carvard 3niversity found that people living in cities where air pollution decreased in recent years saw their life expectancy increase an average of five months as a result of cleaner air. 7resh air is invigorating. (n his column, Dr. Richard F. endo&a wrote? 5Food 'uality

clean air may usually be found in abundance in natural outdoor environments,

especially around evergreen trees, green plants in mountains and forests, near moving waters such as la9es, oceans, rivers, waterfalls and after rain.6

*ccording to the Borld Cealth 4rgani&ation "BC4#, levels of lead in the air in

anila

are more than three times the established safety limit, and concentrations of suspended particulate matter are also dangerously high. 4ther pollutants have not been measured. * BC4 report, 3rban *ir Pollution in egacities of the Borld, warns that? 5 egacities

could well see increases in their air pollution concentrations of levels as high as G=. $--Hover the next decade.6

*ccording to Bi9ipedia, 5*ir pollution is the introduction into the atmosphere of chemicals, particulates, or biological materials that cause discomfort, disease, or death to humans, damage other living organisms such as food crops, or damage the natural environment or built environment5.

*ccording to the >ancet )ournal, air pollution caused by waiting in traffic increases the chances of death caused due to heart attac9.

IThe environment secretary stressed...:Be will be populari&ing the use of electric tricycles not only in etro anila but in other ma)or cities. The ultimate aim is for our etro anila, to become &ero.

country2s five million tricycles, of which ,.0 million are in emission vehicles,: he said.I "from a Philstar.com article dated ;une ,-, ,-$$ #

5(ncreased levels of air pollution are threatening the well being of city dwellers, and imposing not )ust a direct economic cost by impacting human health but also threatening long.term productivity "material and vegetation damage, 'uality of life, reduced tourism to the country, discourage foreign investment, etc.#,6 the ,--, Borld !an9 report pointed out.

*n epidemiological study conducted by the 3niversity of the Philippines 1ollege of Public Cealth, showed that the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease "14PD# is D,.= percent among )eepney drivers, $J.% percent among air.conditioned bus drivers, and $D.0 percent among commuters.

(n the

arch $///, the !ritish a9ati

edical ;ournal 'uoted Dr.

iguel 1eldran, a pediatrician at

edical 1enter, saying? 5*bout /- percent of my patients have respiratory

illness, and we2re seeing babies as young as two months suffering from asthma. Twenty years ago, this was unheard of.6

*ccording to a Borld !an9 study, poor air 'uality does not only threaten the people2s well.being but also their productivity. The study revealed that filthy air costs the country ,,--- lives lost prematurely plus 3<K$.= billion in lost wages and medical treatment. *t the then exchange rate of P=D to 3<K$ when the study was made, a whopping PG/.= billion was lost due to air pollution.

Borld !an9 valued the ,,--- lives lost due to particulate matter at K$%- million "or PG.%, billion#+ /,--- people suffering from chronic bronchitis at K$,- million "or PJ.DJ billion#+ and =$ million cases of respiratory diseases at K$G- million "or P/.-$ billion#. 5*bout J= percent of drugs purchased by the health department every year were for treatment for respiratory diseases,6 Environmental <ecretary Ramon Pa)e reported. Borld Cealth 4rgani&ation "BC4# and 3nited Nations Environment Program "3nep# studies show that etro anila:s air shed is one of the five dirtiest and most polluted in exico 1ity, <hanghai and New

the world, topped only by the metropolitan areas of Delhi.

Sources: *sian Development !an9. $//,. T* No. $%$%.PC(? <tudy on vehicular emission control planning in etro anila, $//$L$//,. Program Newsletter, No. ,J. ;anuary.

Environmental and Natural Resource *ccounting Pro)ect "ENR*P#. $//J. Philippines ENR*P, Phase (((. anila.

Ru&ic9a, (., *.>. (ndab, and 1. . Rufo ;r. ,--,. 1oughing up for clean air? (ncentive. based approaches to controlling air pollution in Development !an9. management in the !an9, Torres, R. <ubida, and C. 7rancisco. $//G. 3rban air 'uality management strategy in etro anila airshed, Philippines. anila? *sian Development etro anila. anila? *sian

*sia?

etro

anila report. ;. <hah, T. Nagpal, and 1.;. !randon, eds. Technical Paper

No. D0-. Bashington, D1? Borld !an9.

!randon, 1., and R. Raman9utty. $//D. Toward an environmental strategy for *sia.

Borld !an9 , Discussion Paper No. ,,%. Borld !an9 Technical Paper No. ,0J, Energy <eries. Bi)etille9e, >., and <. Earunartane. $//=. *ir 'uality management? 1onsiderations for developing countries. Bashington, D1? Borld !an9. eier, P., and . unasinghe. $//%. (ncorporating environmental concerns into power

sector decision ma9ing? * case study of <ri >an9a. Borld !an9 Environment Department Bor9ing Papers, Number J. Bashington, D1? Borld !an9. Bashington, D1? Borld !an9. MMM. ,---b. <eeing through the smo9e? 1hoosing the best option for pollution clean. up in the Philippines. http?NNwwww.eepsea.orgNpublicationsNpolicybrDN*17D7/.html Borld !an9 Technical Paper No. D0G. Bashington, D1? Borld !an9. "ENR*P# (nocencio, *., 1. Rufo, and D. Ramire&. $//G. *n assessment of policies to control air pollution from motor vehicles in etro anila. 8ue&on 1ity, Philippines?

Environmental and Natural Resources *ccounting Pro)ect.Phase %a. Cealth Effects (nstitute. ,--,. 3nderstanding the health effects of components of particulate matter mixMprogress and next steps. http?NNwww.healtheffects.orgN.

Pope, 1.*., et al. $//=. Particulate air pollution as a predictor of mortality in a prospective study of 3.<. adults. *merican ;ournal of Respiratory and 1ritical 1are edicine $=$? JJ/L G%. MMM ,--,. >ung cancer, cardiopulmonary mortality, and long.term exposure to fine particulate air pollution. ;ournal of the *merican edical *ssociation ,0G? $$D,L%$.

<chwart&, ;., and D.B. Doc9ery. $//,. Particulate air pollution and daily mortality in <teubenville, 4C. *merican ;ournal of Epidemiology $D=? $,L$/. 3<EP*. $//. The !enefits and 1osts of the 1lean *ir *ct, $//-.,-$-. Bashington, D.1.? 4ffice of *ir and RadiationN4ffice of Policy