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III. MEASURES AND POLICY INSTRUMENTS USED FOR INTEGRATION
[ III | III-A
| III-B | III-C ]
A. Command and control measures
Command and control (CAC) measures have traditionally been used to regulate
damage to the environment that has been brought about by economic activities.
The measures include standards, prohibitions, limits, issuance of permits
and licences to operate and/or perform a certain activity. Non-compliance
with the standards set by the regulating body are often accompanied by
specific penalties and sanctions depending on the type of violations. Annex
II lists some of CAC measures currently being implemented in the Philippines
and details the legal basis by which these measures are being implemented.
The agencies responsible for the enforcement of the regulation are also
listed.
At present, the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources is the "primary government agency
responsible for the conservation, management, development and proper use
of the country's environment and natural resources", as stated in Section
4, Executive Order 192). As such, it is the main enforcement agency for
pollution matters. EMB, under the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources, provides staff support and directly exercises regulatory functions
through the EIA System.
While the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is mandated
as the main enforcement agency on pollution matters, there are certain
areas where it is not able to administer its authority. For example, it
does not have jurisdictional authority over the waterworks and sewerage
system operated by the Metropolitan
Waterworks Sewerage System (MWSS), which accounts for at least 10 per cent
of the population in Metro Manila. This is unfortunate in view of the fact
that domestic wastes are the main cause of water pollution in the Philippines.
This is also true for pollution problems within the jurisdiction of local
government units.
As the regulatory and enforcement agency on pollution matters, the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources, through EMB and in consultation with
the agencies concerned, sets emission and discharge standards for air and
water quality management. While standards are set by a single environment
agency, the establishment of those standards and enforcing compliance with
them is carried out in coordination with a number of line agencies. responsible
for ensuring that appropriate measures are undertaken by their respective
clients. Some examples of the coordination in implementing command and
control measures are given below.
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In enforcing air quality standards, the Department of Transportation and
Communications is being called upon to regulate emissions through its Motor
Vehicle Inspection System. The system ensures that vehicles pass the emissions
test before they are provided with new registration certificates permitting
them to hold a licence to operate. This is deemed crucial since, in the
Philippines, the transport sector is considered to be the major source
of air pollution.
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Control of agricultural run-off resulting from fertilizer use, as well
as pollution brought about by the use of pesticides, are being monitored
by the Fertilizers and
Pesticides Authority (FPA), which is under the Department
of Agriculture. The control is applied to the production and importation
of pesticides and fertilizers, but not their application near a water source.
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Solid waste management, with regard to the location of open-dump sites,
comes under the control of LGUs, which exercise regulatory power together
with the Housing and
Land-Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) that was created by Executive Order No.
648, dated 7 February 1987. Waste disposal facilities such as sanitary
landfills and incinerators, on the other hand, are regulated by the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources through the application of the EIA
system.
CAC measures, such as prohibitions, limits and the issue of permits and
licenses, are often implemented by the line agency concerned. For example,
a prohibition or limit on the use of forest resources is imposed by the Forest
Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
LGUs are also authorized to issue CAC measures in their administrative
areas of governance, since the environmental management of local resources
has already been devolved to LGUs.
Assessment of the effectiveness of command and control measures
While CAC measures are deemed important, especially in prohibiting certain
types of behaviour that have proved harmful to the environment, experience
shows that they are not enough to ensure the attainment of the policy objectives
of those measures. Most often, the measures promote rent-seeking, especially
in the issuance of licences and permits. Rules and regulations are circumvented
since monitoring and enforcement costs are often high. The problem is further
aggravated by conflicts over jurisdiction which arise between the government
agencies concerned over duplication of responsibilities in the enforcement
of certain standards and regulations.
CAC regulations, however, allow the establishment and enforcement of
national pollution control standards, support the cleaning up of individual
sites and spills, and regulate toxic and hazardous material production,
in accordance with the Integrated
Environmental Management Programme (IEMP) of 1994. The regulations are
deemed useful in directing the agencies concerned in where to focus their
environmental management efforts.
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