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ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 42 -
RATIONALIZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PHILIPPINE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
STATEMENT (EIS) SYSTEM AND GIVING AUTHORITY, IN ADDITION TO THE
SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES, TO
THE DIRECTOR AND REGIONAL DIRECTORS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
BUREAU TO GRANT OR DENY THE ISSUANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE
CERTIFICATES
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WHEREAS, the Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) System was established by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1586
(1978) to facilitate the attainment and maintenance of a rational and
orderly balance between socio-economic growth and environmental
protection; WHEREAS, the need to incorporate environmental concerns in the country's efforts for national development should be done in the most efficient manner so that neither the environment nor national development are compromised; WHEREAS, Sec. 4 of Presidential Decree No. 1586 establishing the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System empowers the President or his duly authorized representative to grant or deny the issuance of environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) for environmentally critical projects within environmentally critical areas; WHEREAS, Sec. 7 of Executive Order No. 192 providing for the reorganization of the Department of Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources (DEENR) and renaming it as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) vests in the Secretary of the DENR the authority and responsibility to exercise the mandate of the DENR, accomplish its objectives and discharge its powers and functions; WHEREAS, the Secretary of DENR, as alter ego of the President, is deemed to have the power to grant or deny the issuance of ECCs on behalf of the President; WHEREAS, under Sec. 21, Chapter 4, Title XIV, Book IV of Executive Order No. 292, the Administrative Code of 1987, the DENR Regional Offices are responsible for, inter alia, implementing laws, policies, plans, programs, projects, rules and regulations of the DENR to promote the sustainability and productivity of natural resources, social equity in natural resources utilization and environmental protection in their respective regions; WHEREAS, under Sec. 34, Chapter 4 of the provisions of Republic Act No. 8749 (Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999), the Environmental Management Bureau was converted from a staff bureau, into a line bureau with the Regional Directors in charge of the various regional offices; WHEREAS, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), together with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Review Committee, through the years of implementation of the Philippine EIS System, has established competence in the review and evaluation of the environmental impact of development projects; WHEREAS, the current procedures on the ECC application process need to be streamlined; WHEREAS, Sec. 4 of Executive Order No. 291 (1996) provides for the continuous strengthening of the Environmental Impact Assessment capability of the DENR. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law and the Constitution, in order to further simplify the requirements and streamline the processing of ECC applications do hereby authorize, in addition to the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Director and Regional Directors of the Environmental Management Bureau to grant or deny the issuance of Environmental Compliance Certificates. Section 1. Sec. 2. A. B. Environmentally critical project (Single Project) Non Environmentally Critical Project located in Critical areas Projects Not Covered by the EIS System If no decision is made within the specified processing timeframe, the ECC application is deemed automatically approved and the approving authority shall issue the ECC within five (5) working days after the prescribed processing timeframe; C. D. Sec. 3. A. B. C. Sec. 4. Sec. 5. Sec. 6. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed. Done in the City of Manila, this 2nd day of November, in the year of our Lord, two thousand and two. |
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Since 19.07.98.