Optometrists, what does this prescription for new glasses mean?

I had eye exam yesterday, and was given a script for glasses. It reads:

right = sphere -0.50 cylinder SPH
left = sphere -.75 cylinder -0.50 axis 065
Lens Type SVL
Tint/Coating ARC (I know what this is)

What does this mean, in layman’s terms? I was told that my right eye is fine. If that’s true, why can’t I see the numbers on the bus with my R eye, when my L eye is closed? What am I "supposed" to be able to see?
Will my eyes worsen rapidly without glasses? It was recommended I use them only for distance, and remove them for reading/close work (which is 90% of my life). I am wondering if it would be OK to maybe not fill the prescription, since I don’t have insurance, and get glasses a little later. Are my eyes "bad"? What’s going on in there?!
Any recommendations for where I can get the prescription filled, somewhat inexpensively?

You do need glasses to sharpen your distance vision. The correction is for both eyes, however, your left eye has astigmatism, which has to do the shape of the eye and how light reflects of it. You will definitely notice an improvement and "sharpness" in vision with glasses and I would definitely recommend them for driving.

The prescription is for single vision glasses as opposed to bifocals or trifocals which would have both distance and reading correction.

Your vision isn’t super "bad", but you may not see well enough to pass a driver’s vision test. You should be able to see the numbers on the bus clearly with glasses.

For getting the presciption filled inexpensively – many Walmart and Target stores have Optical departments, also lots of chain Optical centers such as Lens Crafters often have special prices.

why do people like ANN COULTER?

An Evening with Ann Coulter – Al Franken eviscerates the hate-spewer – MVP, 4/4/06

This is what Al wrote about the debate afterwards:

Last May, as I left the stage after debating Ann Coulter in Hartford, my wife Franni took me aside and whispered: "The poor thing."

Last Monday, after my debate with Coulter at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A., there was no sympathy from Franni. Just a strong sense of disgust. Because Coulter had chosen a strange strategy.

Offend the audience and then act the victim.

The event was part of a lecture series sponsored by the University of Judaism. The previous debate had featured Newt Gingrich and John Edwards before a crowd of about 5000 subscribers. About 5500 had gathered for me and Ann. The extra five hundred presumably were fans of mine and of Ann’s.

Before the debate, there was a dinner for about 75 sponsors – mainly middle-aged-to- older Jewish couples. Between dinner and dessert Ann and I were to each make three minutes of remarks. I had planned to open with my usual at such Jewish events: "I’m going to start by answering the question I’ve been asked most tonight – Yes, I’ve had enough to eat."

But Ann went first, and set her tone for the entire evening. "It was fascinating being here for the demonstrations this weekend," she said with a snotty Darien sneer. "I guess that’s why I didn’t get clean towels in my hotel room this morning."

There was an audible gasp from the Jews. Ann continued: "I haven’t seen so many agitated Mexicans since the World Cup Soccer Games were in L.A." As offended as the diners were, the waiters were pissed. Ann was actually dumb enough to drink her coffee afterwards.

I answered by saying that I hadn’t seen so many agitated Mexicans since 1846 when James K. Polk invaded Mexico because he thought Santa Ana had weapons of mass destruction. I wasn’t sure of the year, but I thought the different approaches to our "agitated Mexican" jokes might give everyone an idea of what to expect.

Fortunately, the debate had something of a formal structure to it. I led off with a twenty minute speech in which I eviscerated Ann, followed by her twenty minutes in which she defended herself by saying she was a flawed person and then proceeded to accuse Democrats of being traitors.

Then there was about an hour with the president of the university leading a discussion during which she lost everyone but her most dedicated fans, of which there were maybe fifty by the end of the evening. At one point, when I was talking about making sure our returning veterans got proper medical care, one of her nutcase followers yelled, "Boring!"

Anyway, I’m kind of proud of my opening statement. I put it on the website of my new political action committee, Midwest Values PAC. Drop by and check it out.

So I did, and here is Al’s opening remarks…absolutely priceless:

COULTER DEBATE OPENING STATEMENT – UNIVERSITY OF JUDAISM

Thank you. First of all, I know I join Ann in thanking the University of Judaism for hosting this event. We’ve had an opportunity to spend some time with President Wexler and have dinner with many folks from the University community.

And I’d like to answer the question that I actually get asked the most when I do an event for a Jewish organization. Yes, I had enough to eat.

You know, in these kinds of debate forums, someone has to go first. It’s always preferable to go second, because you can react to what’s been said, giving you something of a tactical advantage. More importantly, it pretty much spares you the chore of writing out pre-prepared remarks.

Both Ann and I said we preferred going second, but I didn’t insist on it, because I understood somebody had to go first. And being a liberal, I just wasn’t tough-minded enough to insist on a coin toss.

So, I’ll try to use my time to define the terms of the debate – if you will. “Whence Judaism?”

No. I think we should talk about the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress and what it has accomplished over the past five years. I’m talking, of course, about well over two trillion dollars added to the national debt, the increase in poverty in our country and the added millions of Americans, including children, without health insurance. I’m talking about the sale of our democracy to corporate interests that pollute our water and our air. I’m talking about the widening gap between the haves and the have nots in this country. And I’m talking about the war in Iraq.

I’m talking about an increasingly corrupt, secretive, and incompetent federal government that rewards cronies, a Republican majority in Congress that’s acted as a rubber stamp, that has performed virtually no oversight and which excludes the minority party from the legislative process in a way unprecedented in our recent history.

I also want to discuss with Ann the coarsening of dialogue in this country. I want to discuss values with Ann. Values like love, of family, of your fellow man, of country. Ann has said repeatedly that liberals hate America. I disagree.

Last year I had the honor of speaking at West Point. It was an audience not so very different from this one. Except that instead of you, the audience was made up of about twelve hundred cadets. Many of whom will be going to Iraq in the next year or so.

The occasion was the Sol Feinstone Lecture on the Meaning of Freedom endowed by philanthropist Sol Feinstone. It’s an annual event and Sol Feinstein’s granddaughter, who is about my age, attended.

After telling a number jokes and getting the cadets on my side. I told them that we had been lied into the war in Iraq. I had just published a book entitled The Truth (with jokes), and I told the cadets that you can’t have freedom without the truth. You can have freedom without jokes, as has been proven by the Dutch and the Swiss.

I proceeded to prove that we had been lied into war, citing example after example of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, and Condi Rice, who had been National Security Advisor in the lead-up to the war, telling the public information that they knew not to be true.

At the end of the speech I received a standing ovation from the cadets. Sol Feinstone’s granddaughter told me she had gone to every lecture for the last thirty or so years, and that I received only the second standing ovation. The other was for Max Cleland, who lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam.

By the way, Ann has written that Max Cleland was lucky to have lost his legs and his arm in Vietnam. I disagree. More importantly, I know Max, and he disagrees.

I believe I received the standing ovation because the cadets knew that I was speaking from the heart, and that the information I had given them was all true. And as I said, you can’t have freedom without the truth.

You can’t have good government without the truth. During the crafting and passage of the Medicare prescription drug bill, the chief actuary of Medicare was told to withhold from Congress the true cost of the bill. He’d be fired if he told the truth.

The bill costs so much, in large part, because the bill prohibits Medicare from negotiating with the pharmaceutical companies on the price of drugs. As a result, seniors now pay on average 44% more than veterans getting the same drugs through the VA which is allowed to use its size to negotiate with the drug companies. To get the bill passed, the vote was held open for three hours. Tom DeLay was later admonished by Republicans on the ethics committee for attempting to bribe, and then extort, Republican Nick Smith of Michigan to get him to change his vote. The chairman of the Commerce Committee Billy Tauzin who ushered the legislation through, soon left Congress for a two million dollar a year job as the chief lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry. Obviously, a complete coincidence.

During the 2000 campaign George Bush ran for president by saying repeatedly, and I quote, “by far the vast majority of my tax cut goes to those at the bottom.” Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, the president continues to ask for and sign tax cuts that go primarily to those at the top. By the way, until George W. Bush, our country had never cut taxes during a time of war.

As a result, our deficits grow and the cuts – in Medicaid, Pell Grants, food stamps, low-income housing subsidies, community block grants – are targeted at the poorest in our society.

George W. Bush famously said that Jesus was his favorite political philosopher. Frankly, I don’t get it.

I’m Jewish. Thank you. I’m not an expert on the New Testament. But I know that if you cut out all the passages where Jesus talks about helping the poor, helping the least among us, if you literally took a pair of scissors and cut out all those passages, you’d have the perfect box to smuggle Rush Limbaugh’s drugs in.

I don’t understand when the Christian right says that equal rights in marriage threatens marriage. I’ve been married 30 years, many of them happy. I don’t think that if my wife and I were walking around in Boston, where we met, if we saw two men holding hands with wedding bands… I don’t think I’d say “Hey, that looks good. Y’know, honey, you don’t like watching football on Sundays. Maybe I could marry a guy, watch football with him, and then if I wanted to have sex, I could come over and have sex with you.”

I was just talking to Newt Gingrich the other day. And I said to him, “Don’t you want for a gay couple what you had with your first wife? Don’t you want that bond that comes with the pledge of fidelity that you had with your second wife? Don’t you want what comes with that lifelong bond that you may or may not have with your third wife – I have no idea what’s going on there.”

You know, Bill O’Reilly always talks about his “traditional values” – as opposed to “the far left’s secular humanist values.” I didn’t realize phone sex was a traditional value. I didn’t think the phone had been around long enough. Maybe telegraph sex.

In her book Slander, Ann referred to Democrats and our “Marquis de Sade lifestyle.” I’ve been married for thirty years. Ann, you’re an attractive woman. And I know you support the president’s abstinence-only sex education. I want to congratulate you for saving yourself for your one true love.

When my daughter was six years old, her teacher asked all her students to write about how their parents had met. We told Thomasin that we met at a mixer freshman year of college. I saw Franni across the room, gathering up some friends to leave. I liked the way she was taking control and I thought she was beautiful. So I asked her to dance, and then got her a ginger ale, then escorted her to her dorm and asked for a date.

My daughter wrote, “My dad asked my mom to dance, bought her a drink, and then took her home.” Now all the facts were accurate, but what my daughter wrote was extremely misleading. Now my daughter wasn’t lying. She didn’t realize that what she wrote made her mom seem like a slut.

Ann, however, is not six years old. And she has developed her own techniques for misleading, by leaving out important facts. Let me give you an example of Ann lying by omission.

Also in her book Slander, Ann tells her readers that Al Gore had a leg up on George W. Bush when applying to their respective colleges. Harvard and Yale. Ann writes:

“Oddly, it was Bush who was routinely accused of having sailed through life on his father’s name. But the truth was the reverse. The media was manipulating the fact that – many years later – Bush’s father became president. When Bush was admitted to Yale, his father was a little-known congressman on the verge of losing his first Senate race. His father was a Yale alumnus, but so were a lot of other boys’ parents. It was Gore, not Bush, who had a famous father likely to impress college admissions committees.”

What does Ann omit? Well, that Bush’s grandfather Prescott Bush was also a Yale alum and had been Senator from Connecticut, the home state of Yale University. That Prescott Bush had been a trustee of Yale. That Prescott Bush had been the first chair of Yale’s Development Board – the folks who raise the money. That Prescott Bush sat on the Yale Corporation for twelve years. That Prescott Bush, like George W. Bush’s father, George H. W, Bush, had been a member of Skull and Bones. That the first Bush to go to Yale was Bush’s great great grandfather James Bush, who graduated in 1844. That in addition to his father, grandfather, and greatgreatgrandfather, Bush was the legacy of no less than twenty-seven other relatives who preceded him at Yale, including five great great uncles. Seven great uncles. Five uncles, and a number of first cousins.

Now why did Ann leave out these somewhat relevant facts? Ann grew up in Connecticut. Ann, did you really not know that Prescott Bush had been your senator when you were born?

Ann, is it possible that when Prescott’s son George H. W. Bush became president, it totally escaped your notice that his father had represented your state in the United States Senate? Did neither of your parents mention it in passing at the dinner table? Did no one at home in Darien make any comments about the new president’s lineage?

Understand. This isn’t sloppiness. This is deliberate. For Ann’s purposes – to claim that the media that was manipulating facts here – Ann herself had to manipulate facts – in such a shameless way. This is what she does.

And she does it over and over and over again.

Let me give you another example.

On page 265 of her book Treason, Ann writes of Tom Friedman, the New York Times columnist. “He blamed twenty years of relentless attacks by Muslim extremists on- I quote – ‘religious fundamentalists of any stripe.’”

This didn’t sound like Tom Friedman to me, so I found the one Friedman column that contained that phrase – “religious fundamentalists of any stripe.” It was from a December 26, 2001 column called “Naked Air,” about an airline where everyone would fly naked. “Think about it,” Friedman writes, tongue firmly planted in cheek, “If everybody flew naked, not only would you never have to worry about the passenger next to you carrying box cutters or exploding shoes, but no religious fundamentalists of any stripe would ever be caught dead flying nude.”

Let me repeat. Ann wrote of Tom Friedman, Jewish by the way, that “he blamed twenty years of relentless attacks by Muslim extremists on – I quote – ‘religious fundamentalists of any stripe.’” She bothered to put “I quote” in there for emphasis.

Friedman actually wrote “no religious fundamentalists of any stripe would ever be caught dead flying nude” in service of a conceit that illustrated our dilemma of either becoming less open as a society or learning to live with much higher risks than we’ve ever been used to before.

Friedman was not blaming 9/11 on the Lubavichers, as Ann suggests.

Now this sort of deliberate misrepresentation contributes to a coarsening of our nation’s dialogue. Ann recently told an audience:

“We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens’ creme brulee,” Coulter said. “That’s just a joke, for you in the media.”

Here’s my question. What’s the joke? Maybe it’s a prejudice from my days as a comedy writer, but I always thought the joke had to have an operative funny idea. I’ll give you an example of a joke.

Like they do every Saturday night, two elderly Jewish couples are going out to dinner. The guys are in front, the girls riding in back. Irv says to Sid, “Where should we go tonight?”

Sid says, “How about that place we went about a month ago. The Italian place with the great lasagna.”

Irv says, “I don’t remember it.”

Sid says, “The place with the great lasagna.”

Irv says, “I don’t remember. What’s the name of the place?”

Sid thinks. But can’t remember. “A flower. Gimme a flower.”

“Tulip?” Irv says.

“No, no. A different flower.”

“Magnolia?”

“No, no. A basic flower.”

“Orchid?”

“No! Basic.”

“Rose?”

That’s it! Sid turns to the back seat. “Rose. What was the name of that restaurant…?”

That’s a joke. What exactly is the joke in “We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens’ creme brulee?” Is it the crème brulee? Is that it? Because Stevens is some kind of Francophile or elitist? Is it the rat poison? See, I would have gone with Drano. I’m really trying here, Ann. Please, when you come up, explain the joke about murdering an associate justice of the Supreme Court. One who by the way, was appointed to the Supreme Court by Gerald Ford, and who, also, by the way, won a Bronze Star serving in the Navy in World War II. What is the joke? ‘Cause I don’t get it.

Now in Ann’s defense, she doesn’t always make horribly offensive remarks or knowingly craft lies. Very often Ann is just wrong out of ignorance or pure laziness. Take this from the MSNBC Show – Saturday Final – on August 30, 2003 – MSNBC. She is talking about how well the war in Iraq is going.

COULTER: I think the rebuilding is going extremely well. Douglas MacArthur was in Japan five years after V.J. Day. There were enormous casualties in Germany after World War II. The rebuilding is actually going quite well compared to past efforts. And really, all we’re getting from Democrats is constant carping.

Ann, do you know how many combat fatalities the American military had in Germany after V-E day? Zero. You know how many in Japan after V-J day? Zero.

Ann and I have debated once before. In May of 2004, and Ann still felt the war was going amazingly well. Let me quote her from that debate:

“…. This war is going amazingly well… the casualty rate is incredibly small for the rebuilding. It is going better than can be expected. You cannot read about how well things are going against Al Sadr, where you have Iraqis protesting against Al Sadr; all these stories about how Al Sadr had (this) vast support among the Iraquis… oh no no no. They recently held a protest march saying, ‘Al Sadr, get out.’”

As you know, Ann, Moktadr al Sadr, recently picked the Shiite choice for prime minister for the new government, Mohamed al Jafaari. Sadr has thirty-two seats in the Iraqi assembly compared to Ahmed Chalabi’s zero. And remember, it was Chalabi to whom we were going to turn over the Iraqi government.

Things are not going amazingly well in Iraq. And they haven’t been going amazingly well since we allowed the looting of Baghdad. A week ago, former prime minister Ayad Allawi said that Iraq was already in a civil war. And as George Bush said in September of 2004, we should listen to Allawi because – and I quote – “he understands what’s going on there – after all, he lives there.”

The first thing this Administration needs to do in Iraq is to start acknowledging the truth and level with the American people.

I think the one lesson we can all agree on from Vietnam is that we cannot blame the troops. By and large, the vast, vast majority of our troops have performed heroically. And they deserve our gratitude and support. And that means supporting them after they’ve come home.

Two thirds of the wounded in Iraq now have brain injuries. That’s because so many of the casualties are from IED’s, and the injuries are concussive and not ballistic. Each one of those brain injuries is going to cost a million dollars over the course of that veteran’s life. And we need to fund programs for those who come back with post traumatic stress disorder – a higher percentage than in any previous war.

Now another value I believe in is love of country. For some reason it rankles Ann that I’ve done six USO tours and have had the nerve to talk about it. I do so because I want people to be aware of the work that the USO does. I want anyone here today who is a Hollywood celebrity to think about giving up a couple weeks of your life to entertain our men and women in uniform. I think it rankles Ann that I’ve talked about going on the USO tours because she can’t conceive that anyone would actually do something for anyone else. I didn’t go to Iraq to prove that Democrats are patriotic, Ann. I did my first USO tour in 1999, when Clinton was president. We went to Kosovo, a war that was vehemently and vocally opposed by many Republicans. Even so, we didn’t call them traitors. I was invited by the USO to go to Iraq because they know I do a good job and that it means a lot to the troops when anyone comes over to show them we care.

My daughter is 25. She teaches inner city kids in the Bronx. And that makes me proud. She hates when I say it, and that makes me even more proud.

My son is an engineering student. He wants to build fuel efficient cars. He’s a junior in college and got a job at Ford this summer working on a new manufacturing process for power trans. I don’t know what that means either. But he got there because he works his butt off.

But my son doesn’t feel that he got where he is because he is some kind of rugged individual. That he did it all himself. He knows that he stands on the shoulders of those who stood on the shoulders of those who stood on the shoulders of those who stood on the shoulders of those who stood on the necks of Indians.

My wife and I tried to instill certain values in our kids. But we don’t love them because they’re perfect. We love them because they’re decent, loving kids. Kids who care about others and care, by the way, about the truth.

One last thing. Speaking of the truth. A few months after my last debate with Ann, the following appeared in a New York Observer story about Ann. From the September 13, 2004 issue..

The writer asks Ann in the article:

“She debated Al Franken recently?

“’Yes,’ she said. ‘It’s not an interesting debate, because liberals can’t argue. So it’s never like point-counterpoint; all we do is hear about his fucking U.S.O. tours for three hours. Excuse my French.’”

Ann, let’s see if we can have a point-counterpoint, and an interesting debate. And by the way, Ann, I have here a DVD of that entire three hour debate – And I’ll bet you my speaking fee tonight that I spoke about my USO tours for less than a grand total of three minutes. How about it Ann? My speaking fee against your speaking fee?

I mean we care about the truth, don’t we?

Thank you so much for sharing these truths. Sadly, there are so many people that will discount this with hate and venom because it is so hard for them to see the truth. But from me…THANKS!

Who still believes Global Warming is caused by man?

Global warming ethics, pork and profits

By Paul Driessen
web posted February 12, 2007

The ink has barely dried on its new code of conduct, and already Congress is redefining ethics and pork to fit a global warming agenda. As Will Rogers observed, "with Congress, every time they make a joke, it’s a law. And every time they make a law, it’s a joke."

However, life-altering, economy-wrecking climate bills are no laughing matter. That’s why we need to recognize that the Kyoto Protocol and proposed "climate protection" laws will not stabilize the climate, even if CO2 is to blame. It’s why we must acknowledge that money to be made, and power to be gained, from climate alarmism and symbolism is a major reason so many are getting on the climate "consensus" bandwagon.

In accusing ExxonMobil of giving "more than $19 million since the late 1990s" to public policy institutes that promote climate holocaust "denial," Senate Inquisitors Olympia Snowe and Jay Rockefeller slandered both the donor and recipients. Moreover, this is less than half of what Pew Charitable Trusts and allied foundations contributed to the Pew Center on Climate Change alone over the same period. It’s a pittance compared to what US environmental groups spent propagating climate chaos scare stories.

It amounts to 30 cents for every $1,000 that the US, EU and UN spent since 1993 (some $80 billion all together) on global warming catastrophe research. And it ignores the fact that the Exxon grants also supported malaria control, Third World economic development and many other efforts.

Aside from honest, if unfounded, fears of climate disasters, why might others support climate alarmism?

Scientists who use climate change to explain environmental changes improve their chances of getting research grants from foundations, corporations – and US government programs that budget a whopping $6.5 billion for global warming in 2007. They also increase the likelihood of getting headlines and quotes in news stories: "Climate change threatens extinction of rare frogs, scientist says." Climate disaster skeptics face an uphill battle on grants, headlines and quotes.

Politicians get to grandstand green credentials, cement relationships with activists who can support reelection campaigns and higher aspirations, magically transform $14-billion in alternative energy pork into ethical planetary protection, and promote policies that otherwise would raise serious eyebrows.

Corporate actions that cause even one death are dealt with severely; but praise is heaped on federal mileage standards that cause hundreds of deaths, as cars are downsized and plasticized to save fuel and reduce emissions. High energy prices are denounced at congressional hearings, if due to market forces – but praised if imposed by government "to prevent climate change." Drilling in the Arctic or off our coasts is condemned, even to create jobs, tax revenues and enhanced security; but subsidizing wind power to generate 2% of our electricity is lauded, even if giant turbines despoil millions of acres and kill millions of birds.

Alarmist rhetoric has also redefined corporate social responsibility, created the Climate Action Partnership and launched the emerging Enviro-Industrial Complex.

Environmental activists have turned climate fears into successful fund-raising tools – and a brilliant strategy for achieving their dream of controlling global resource use, technological change and economic development, through laws, treaties, regulations and pressure campaigns. Recent developments promise to supercharge these efforts.

Environmental Defense is collaborating with Morgan Stanley, to promote emission trading systems and other climate change initiatives – giving ED direct monetary and policy stakes in the banking, investment and political arenas, and in any carbon allowance or cap-and-trade programs Congress might enact. Other environmental groups, companies and Wall Street firms will no doubt follow their lead.

ED designed and led the disingenuous campaign that persuaded many healthcare agencies to ban DDT, resulting in millions of deaths from malaria. Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, ED and other groups still post deceitful claims about DDT on their websites, further delaying progress against this killer disease. By blaming climate change for malaria, they deflect criticism for their vile actions.

Climate catastrophe claims enable activists to gain official advisory status with companies and governments on environmental issues. They also make it "ethical" for Rainforest Action Network and other pressure groups to oppose power generation in Third World countries, where few have access to electricity – and thereby keep communities perpetually impoverished.

Meanwhile, Prince Charles gets lionized for appropriating 62 first class jetliner seats for his entourage of 20, on a trans-Atlantic trip to receive an environmental prize and lecture Americans on saving the Earth – because at least he didn’t use his private jet.

Companies in the CAP and EIC can develop and promote new product lines, using tax breaks, subsidies, legal mandates and regulatory provisions to gain competitive advantages. They get favorable coverage from the media, and kid-glove treatment from members of Congress who routinely pillory climate chaos skeptics.

Some worry that this could become a license to further redefine corporate ethics, present self-interest as planet-saving altruism, and profit from questionable arrangements with environmental groups and Congress. Certainly, cap-and-trade rules will create valuable property rights and reward companies that reduce CO2 emissions, often by replacing old, inefficient, high-polluting plants that they want to retire anyway.

DuPont and BP will get money for biofuels, GE for its portfolio of climate protection equipment, ADM for ethanol, Lehman Brothers for emission trading and other deals. Environmental activists will be able to influence corporate, state and federal policy, and rake in still more cash. Insurance companies can blame global warming for rate increases and coverage denials.

Lobbying and deal-brokering will enter a new era. As Thenardier the innkeeper observed in Les Miserables, "When it comes to fixing prices, there are lots of tricks he knows. Jees, it’s just amazing how it grows." Indeed, the opportunities to "game the system" will be limited only by one’s "eco-magination."

To determine the losers, look in the mirror. Activists and politicians are creating a Frankenstein climate monster on steroids. Were it real, we’d need to dismantle our economy and living standards to slay the beast. How else could we eliminate 80–90% of US and EU fossil fuel emissions by 2050, to stabilize carbon dioxide emissions and (theoretically) a climate that has always been anything but stable?

Think lifestyles circa 1900, or earlier. Ponder the British environment minister’s latest prescription: World War II rationing, no meat or cheese, restrictions on air travel, no veggies that aren’t grown locally. France wants a new government agency that would single out, police and penalize countries that "abuse the Earth." Others want to put little solar panels on African huts, while kleptocratic dictators get millions of dollars for trading away their people’s right to generate electricity and emit CO2.

We should improve energy efficiency, reduce pollution, and develop new energy technologies. But when we demand immediate action to prevent exaggerated or imaginary crises, we stifle debate, railroad through programs that don’t work, create enough pork to fill 50 Chicago stockyards, and impose horrendous unintended consequences on countless families. That is shortsighted and immoral.

EVERY CHILDREN OLDER THAN 5YR THAT IS STUDIING SCIENCE AT SCHOOL UNDERSTAND THAT HUMAN ACTIVITY ARE CAUSING Global Warming…

Give me your opinion insights and summary or how you understand this..?

CHAPTER 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article One
Basic Air Quality Policies

SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the "Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999".

SECTION 2. Declaration of Principles. – The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.

The State shall promote and protect the global environment to attain sustainable development while recognizing the primary responsibility of local government units to deal with environmental problems.

The State recognizes that the responsibility of cleaning the habitat and environment is primarily area-based.

The State also recognizes the principle that "polluters must pay".

Finally, the State recognizes that a clean and healthy environment is for the good of all and should therefore be the concern of all.

SECTION 3. Declaration of Policies. – The State shall pursue a policy of balancing development and environmental protection. To achieve this end, the frame work for sustainable development shall be pursued. It shall be the policy of the State to:

a. Formulate a holistic national program of air pollution management that shall be implemented by the government through proper delegation and effective coordination of functions and activities;

b. Encourage cooperation and self-regulation among citizens and industries through the application of market-based instruments;

c. Focus primarily on pollution prevention rather than on control and provide for a comprehensive management program for air pollution;

d. Promote public information and education and to encourage the participation of an informed and active public in air quality planning and monitoring; and

e. Formulate and enforce a system of accountability for short and long-term adverse environmental impact of a project, program or activity. This shall include the setting up of a funding or guarantee mechanism for clean-up and environmental rehabilitation and compensation for personal damages.

SECTION 4. Recognition of Rights. – Pursuant to the above-declared principles, the following rights of citizens are hereby sought to be recognized and the State shall seek to guarantee the enjoyment:

a. The right to breathe clean air;

b. The right to utilize and enjoy all natural resources according to the principles of sustainable development;

c. The right to participate in the formulation, planning, implementation and monitoring of environmental policies and programs and in the decision-making process;

d. The right to participate in the decision-making process concerning development policies, plans and programs projects or activities that may have adverse impact on the environment and public health;

e. The right to be informed of the nature and extent of the potential hazard of any activity, undertaking or project and to be served timely notice of any significant rise in the level of pollution and the accidental or deliberate release into the atmosphere of harmful or hazardous substances;

f. The right of access to public records which a citizen may need to exercise his or her rights effectively under this Act;

g. The right to bring action in court or quasi-judicial bodies to enjoin all activities in violation of environmental laws and regulations, to compel the rehabilitation and cleanup of affected area, and to seek the imposition of penal sanctions against violators of environmental laws;and

h. The right to bring action in court for compensation of personal damages resulting from the adverse environmental and public health impact of a project or activity.
Article Two
Definition of Terms

SECTION 5. -Definitions.- As used in this Act:

a.) "Air pollutant" means any matter found in the atmosphere other than oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and the inert gases in their natural or normal concentrations, that is detrimental to health or the environment, which includes but not limited to smoke, dust, soot, cinders, fly ash, solid particles of any king, gases, fumes, chemical mists, steam and radioactive substances;

b.) "Air pollution" means any alteration of the physical, chemical and biological properties of the atmospheric air, or any discharge thereto of any liquid, gaseous or solid substances that will or is likely to create or to render the air resources of the country harmful, detrimental, or injurious to public health, safety or welfare or which will adversely affect their utilization for domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate purposes;

c.) "Ambient air quality guideline values" means the concentration of air over specified periods classified as short-term and long-term which are intended to serve as goals or objectives for the protection of health and/or public welfare. These values shall be used for air quality management purposes such as determining time trends, evaluating stages of deterioration or enhancement o the air quality, and in general, used as basis or taking positive action in preventing, controlling, or abating air pollution;

d.) "Ambient air quality" means the general amount of pollution present in a broad area; and refers to the atmosphere’s average purity as distinguished from discharge measurements taken at the source of pollution;

e.) "Certificate of Conformity" means a certificate issued by the Department o Environment and Natural Resources to a vehicle manufacturer/assembler or importer certifying that a particular new vehicle or vehicle type meets the requirements provided under this Act and its rules and regulations;

f.) "Department" means the Department of Environment and Natural Resources;

g.)" Eco-profile" means the geographic-based instrument for planners and decision makers which present an evaluation of the environment quality and carrying capacity of an area. It is the result of the integration of primary data and information on natural resources and antropogenic activities on the land which evaluated by various environmental risk assessment and forecasting methodologies that enable the Department to anticipate the type of development control necessary in the planning area.

h.)" Emission" means any air contaminant, pollutant, gas stream or unwanted sound from a known source which is passed into the atmosphere;

i.) " Greenhouse gases" means those gases that can potentially or can reasonably be expected to induce global warming, which include carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, chloroflourocarbons, and the like;

j.) "Hazardous substances" means those substances which present either : (1) short-term acute hazards such as acute toxicity by ingestion, inhalation, or skin absorption, corrosivity or other skin or eye contact hazard or the risk of fire explosion; or (2) long-term toxicity upon repeated exposure, carcinogecity (which in some cases result in acute exposure but with a long latent period), resistance to detoxification process such as biodegradation, the potential to pollute underground or surface waters;

k.)" Infectious waste " means that portion of medical waste that could transmit an infectious disease;

l.)" Medical waste" means that materials generated as a result of patient diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals;

m.) " Mobile source" means any vehicle propelled by or thorough combustion of carbon-based or other fuel, constructed and operated principally for the conveyance of persons or the transportation of property goods;

n.) " Motor vehicle" means any vehicle propelled by a gasoline or diesel engine or by any means other than human or animal power, constructed and operated principally for the conveyance of persons or the transportation of property or goods in a public highway or street open to public use;

o.) " Municipal waste" means the waste materials generated from communities within a specific locality;

p)." New vehicle" means a vehicle constructed entirely from new parts that has never been sold or registered with the DOTC or with the appropriate agency or authority, and operated on the highways of the Philippines, any foreign state of country;

q.) " Octane Rating or the Anti-Knock Index(AKI)" means the rating of the anti-knock characteristics of a grade or type of automotive gasoline as determined by dividing by two (2) the sum of the Research Octane Number (RON), plus the Motor Octane Number (MON); the octane requirement, with respect to automotive gasoline for use in a motor vehicle or a class thereof , whether imported, manufactured, or assembled by a manufacturer, shall refer to the minimum octane rating of such automotive gasoline which such manufacturer recommends for the efficient operation of such motor vehicle, or a substantial portion of such class, without knocking;

r.) " Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS)" means those substances that significantly deplete or otherwise modify the ozone layer in a manner that is likely to result in adverse effects of human health and the environment such as , but not limited to , chloroflourocarbons, halons and the like;

s.) "Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)" means the organic compounds that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. These compounds resist photolytic, chemical and biological degradation, which shall include but not be limited to dioxin, furan, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, such as aldrin, dieldrin, DDT, hexachlorobenzene, lindane, toxaphere and chlordane;

t.) "Poisonous and toxic fumes" means any emissions and fumes which are beyond internationally-accepted standards, including but not limited to the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline values;

u. " Pollution control device " means any device or apparatus used to prevent, control or abate the pollution of air caused by emissions from identified pollution sources at levels within the air pollution control standards established by the Department;

v.) " Pollution control technology" means the pollution control devices, production process, fuel combustion processes or other means that effectively prevent or reduce emissions or effluent;

w.) " Standard of performance " means a standard for emissions of air pollutant which reflects the degree of emission limitation achievable through the application of the best system of emission reduction, taking into account the cost of achieving such reduction and any non-air quality health and environmental impact and energy requirement which the Department determines, and adequately demonstrates; and

x.) " Stationary source" means any building or immobile structure, facility or installation which emits or may emit any air pollutant.
CHAPTER 2
AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Article One
General Provisions

SEC. 6. Air Quality Monitoring and Information Network – The Department shall prepare an annual National Air Quality Status Report which shall be used as the basis in formulating the Integrated Air Quality Improvement Framework, as provided for in Sec. 7. The said report shall include, but shall not be limited to the following:

a.) Extent of pollution in the country, per type of pollutant and per type of source, based on reports of the Department’s monitoring stations;

b.) Analysis and evaluation of the current state, trends and projections of air pollution at the various levels provided herein;

c.) Identification of critical areas, activities, or projects which will need closer monitoring or regulation;

d.) Recommendations for necessary executive and legislative action; and

e.) Other pertinent qualitative and quantitative information concerning the extent of air pollution and the air quality performance rating of industries in the country.

The Department, in cooperation with the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), shall design and develop an information network for data storage, retrieval and exchange.

The Department shall serve as the central depository of all data and information related to air quality.

SEC. 7. Integrated Air Quality Improvement Framework.- The Department shall within six (6) months after the effectivity of this Act, establish, with the participation of LGUs, NGOs, POs, the academe and other concerned entities from the private sector, formulate and implement the Integrated Air Quality Improvement Framework for a comprehensive air pollution management and control program. The framework shall, among others, prescribe the emission reduction goals using permissible standards, control strategies and control measures to undertaken within a specified time period, including cost-effective use of economic incentives, managements strategies, collective actions, and environmental education and information.

The Integrated Air Quality Improvement Framework shall be adopted as the official blueprint with which all government agencies must comply with to attain and maintain ambient air quality standards.

SEC. 8 Air Quality Control Action Plan- Within six (6) months after the formulation of the framework, the Department shall, with public participation, formulate and implement an air quality control action plan consistent with Sec. 7 of this Act. The action plan shall :

a.) Include enforceable emission limitations and other control measures, means or techniques, as well as schedules and time tables for compliance, as may be necessary or appropriate to meet the applicable requirements of this Act;

b.) Provide for the establishment and operation of appropriate devices, methods, systems and procedures necessary to monitor, compile and analyze data on ambient air quality;

c.) Include a program to provide for the following : (1) enforcement of the measures described in subparagraph (a);(2) regulation of the modification and construction of any stationary source within the areas covered by the plan, in accordance with land use policy to ensure that ambient air quality standards are achieved;

d). Contain adequate provisions, consistent with the provisions of this Act, prohibiting any source or other types of emissions activity within the country from emitting any air pollutant in amounts which will significantly contribute to the non-attainment or will interfere with the maintenance by the Department of any such ambient air quality standard required to be included in the implementation plan to prevent significant deterioration of air quality or to protect visibility;

e.) Include control strategies and control measures to be undertaken within a specified time period, including cost effective use of economic incentives, management strategies, collection action and environmental education and information;

f.) Designate airsheds; and

g.)All other measures necessary for the effective control and abatement of air pollution.

The adoption of the plan shall clarify the legal effects on the financial, manpower and budgetary resources of the affected government agencies, and on the alignment of their programs with the plans.

In addition to direct regulations, the plan shall be characterized by a participatory approach to the pollution problem. The involvement of private entities in the monitoring and testing of emissions from mobile and/or stationary sources shall be considered.

Likewise, the LGU’s, with the assistance from the Department, shall prepare and develop an action plan consistent with the Integrated Air Quality Improvement Framework to attain and maintain the ambient air quality standards with their respective airsheds as provided in Sec. 9 hereof.

The local government units shall develop and submit to the Department as procedure for carrying out the action plan for their jurisdiction. The Department, however, shall maintain its authority to independently inspect the enforcement procedure adopted. The Department shall have the power to closely supervise all or parts of the air quality action plan until such time the local government unit concerned can assume the function to enforce the standards set by the Department.

A multi-sectoral monitoring team with broad public representation shall be convened by the Department for each LGU to conduct periodic inspections of air pollution sources to assess compliance with emission limitations contained in their permits.

SEC. 9 Airsheds. – Pursuant to Sec. 8 of this Act, the designation of airsheds shall be on the basis of, but not limited to, areas with similar climate, meteorology and topology which affect the interchange and diffusion of pollutants in the atmosphere, or areas which share common interest or face similar development programs, prospects or problems.

For a more effective air quality management, a system of planning and coordination shall be established and a common action plan shall be formulated for each airshed.

To effectively carry out the formulated actions plans, a Governing Board is hereby created, hereinafter referred to as the Board.

The Board shall be headed by the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as chairman. The members shall be as follows:

a.) Provincial Governors from areas belonging to the airshed;

b.) City/Municipal Mayors from areas belonging to the airshed;

c.) A representative from each concerned government agency;

d.) Representatives from people’s organizations;

e.) Representatives from non-government organizations; and

f.) Representatives from the private sector.

The Board shall perform the following functions:

a.) Formulation of policies;

b.) Preparation of a common action plan;

c.) Coordination of functions among its members; and

d.) Submission and publication of an annual Air Quality Status Report for each airshed.

Upon consultation with appropriate local government authorities, the Department shall, from time to time, revise the designation of airsheds utilizing eco-profiling techniques and undertaking scientific studies.

Emissions trading may be allowed among pollution sources within an airshed.

SEC. 10. Management of Nonattainment Areas.- The Department shall designate areas where specific pollutants have already exceeded ambient standards as nonattainment areas. The Department shall prepare and implement a program that will prohibit new sources of exceeded air pollutant without a corresponding reduction in existing resources.

In coordination with other appropriate government agencies, the LGUs shall prepare and implement a program and other measures including relocation, whenever necessary, to protect the health and welfare of residents in the area.

For those designated as nonattainment areas, the Department, after consultation with local government authorities, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations (POs) and concerned sectors may revise the designation of such areas and expand its coverage to cover larger areas depending on the condition of the areas.

SEC. 11 Air Quality Control Techniques – Simultaneous with the issuance of the guideline values and standards, the Department, through the research and development program contained in this Act and upon consultation with appropriate advisory committees, government agencies and LGUs, shall issue, and from time to time, revise information on air pollution control techniques. Such information shall include:

a.) Best available technology and alternative methods of prevention, management and control of air pollution;

b.) Best available technology economically achievable which shall refer to the technological basis/standards for emission limits applicable to existing, direct industrial emitters of nonconventional and toxic pollutants; and

c.) Alternative fuels, processes and operating methods which will result in the eliminator or significant reduction of emissions.

Such information may also include data relating to the cost of installation and operation, energy requirements, emission reduction benefits, and environmental impact or the emission control technology.

The issuance of air quality guideline values, standards and information on air quality control techniques shall be made available to the general public : Provided, That the issuance of information on air quality control techniques shall not be construed as requiring the purchase of certain pollution control devices by the public.

SECTION 12. Ambient Air Quality Guideline Values and Standards.- The Department, in coordination with other concerned agencies, shall review and or revise and publish annually a list of hazardous air pollutants with corresponding ambient guideline values and / or standard necessary to protect health and safety, and general welfare. The initial list and values of the hazardous air pollutants shall be as follows :

a.) For National Ambient Air Quality Guideline for Criteria Pollutants :

Short Term a

Long Term b

Pollutants µg/Ncm ppm Averaging Time µg/Ncm ppm Averaging Time
Suspended Particulate Matterc-TSP 230d 24 hours 90 — 1 yeare
-PM-10 150f 24 hours 60 — 1 yeare
Sulfur Dioxidec 180 0.07 24 hours 80 0.03 1 year
Nitrogen Dioxide 150 0.08 24 hours — – –
Photochemical Oxidants 140 0.07 1 hour — – —
As Ozone 60 0.03 8 hours — – –
Carbon Monoxide 35 30 1 hour — – —
mg/Ncm
10 9 8 hours — – –
mg/Ncm
Leadg 1.5 — 3 monthsg 1.0 — 1 year

a.Maximum limits represented by ninety-eight percentile (98%) values not to be exceed more than once a year.

b. Arithmetic mean

c. SO2 and Suspended Particulate matter are sampled once every six days when using the manual methods. A minimum of twelve sampling days per quarter of forty-eight sampling days each year is required for these methods. Daily sampling may be done in the future once continuous analyzers are procured and become available.

d. Limits for Total Suspended Particulate Matter with mass median diameter less than 25-50 um.

e. Annual Geometric Mean

f. Provisional limits for Suspended Particulate Matter with mass median diameter less than 10 microns and below until sufficient monitoring data are gathered to base a proper guideline.

g. Evaluation of this guideline is carried out for 24-hour averaging time and averaged over three moving calendar months. The monitored average value for any three months shall not exceed the guideline value.

b) For National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Source Specific Air Pollutants from :

Industrial Sources/ Operations:
Pollutants1

Concentration2

Averaging time (min.)

Method of Analysis/ Measurement3
µ/Ncm ppm

1. Ammonia 200 0.28 30 Nesselerization/ Indo Phenol
2. Carbon Disulfide 30 0.01 30 Tischer Method
3. Chlorine and Chlorine Compounds expressed as Cl2 100 0.03 5 Methyl Orange
4. Formaldehyde 50 0.04 30 Chromotropic acid Method or MBTH Colorimetric Method
5. Hydrogen Chloride 200 0.13 30 Volhard Titration with Iodine Solution
6. Hydrogen Sulfide 100 0.07 30 Methylene Blue
7. Lead 20 30 AASc
8. Nitrogen Dioxide 375,260 0.20,0.14 30,60 Greiss- Saltzman
9. Phenol 100 0.03 30 4-Aminoantiphyrine
10. Sulfur Dioxide 470, 340 0.18, 0.13 30,60 Colorimetric-Pararosaniline
11. Suspended Particulate
Matter-TSP 300 — 60 Gravimetric

1 Pertinent ambient standards for Antimony, Arsenic, Cadmium, Asbestos, Nitric Acid and Sulfuric Acid Mists in the 1978 NPCC Rules and Regulations may be considered as guides in determining compliance.

2 Ninety- eight percentile (98%) values of 30-minute sampling measured at 250C and one atmosphere pressure.

3 Other equivalent methods approved by the Department may be used.

The basis in setting up the ambient air quality guideline values and standards shall reflect, among others, the latest scientific knowledge including information on :

a) Variable, including atmospheric conditions, which of themselves or in combination with other factors may alter the effects on public health or welfare of such air pollutant;

b) The other types of air pollutants which may interact with such pollutant to produce an adverse effect on public health or welfare; and

c) The kind and extent of all identifiable effects on public health or welfare which may be expected from presence of such pollutant in the ambient air, in varying quantities.

The Department shall base such ambient air quality standards on World Health Organization (WHO) standards, but shall not be limited to nor be less stringent than such standards.

SEC. 13. Emission Charge System. – The Department, in case of industrial dischargers, and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), in case of motor vehicle dischargers, shall, based on environmental techniques, design, impose on and collect regular emission fees from said dischargers as part of the emission permitting system or vehicle registration renewal system, as the case may be. The system shall encourage the industries and motor vehicles to abate, reduce, or prevent pollution. The basis of the fees include, but is not limited to, the volume and toxicity of any emitted pollutant. Industries, which shall install pollution control devices or retrofit their existing facilities with mechanisms that reduce pollution shall be entitled to tax incentives such as but not limited total credits and/or accelerated depreciation deductions.

SEC. 14 Air Quality Management Fund. – An Air Quality Management Fund to be administered by the Department as a special account in the National Treasury is hereby established to finance containment, removal, and clean-up operations of the Government in air pollution cases, guarantee restoration of ecosystems and rehabilitate areas affected by the acts of violators of this Act, to support research, enforcement and monitoring activities and capabilities of the relevant agencies, as well as to provide technical assistance to the relevant agencies. Such fund may likewise be allocated per airshed for the undertakings herein stated.

The Fund shall be sourced from the fines imposed and damages awarded to the Republic of the Philippines by the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB), proceeds of licenses and permits issued by the Department under this Act, emission fees and from donations, endowments and grants in the forms of contributions. Contributions to the Fund shall be exempted from donor taxes and all other taxes, charges or fees imposed by the Government.

SEC. 15. Air Pollution Research and Development Program. – The Department, in coordination with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), other agencies, the private sector, the academe, NGO’s and PO’s, shall establish a National Research and Development Program for the prevention and control of air pollution. The Department shall give special emphasis to research on and the development of improved methods having industry-wide application for the prevention and control of air pollution.

Such a research and development program shall develop air quality guideline values and standards in addition to internationally-accepted standards. It shall also consider the socio-cultural, political and economic implications of air quality management and pollution control.
ARTICLE TWO
Air Pollution Clearances and Permits for Stationary Sources

Sec. 16. Permits. Consistent with the provisions of this Act, the Department shall have the authority to issue permits as it may determine necessary for the prevention and abatement of air pollution.

Said permits shall cover emission limitations for the regulated air pollutants to help attain and maintain the ambient air quality standards. These permits shall serve as management tools for the LGUs in the development of their action plan.

SEC. 17 Emission Quotas. The Department may allow each regional industrial center that is designated as special airshed to allocate emission quotas to pollution sources within its jurisdiction that qualify under an environmental impact assessment system programmatic compliance program pursuant to the implementing rules and regulations of Presidential Decree No. 1586.

SEC. 18. Financial Liability for Environmental Rehabilitation. As Part of the environmental management plan attached to the environmental compliance certificate pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1586 and rules and regulations set therefore, the Department shall require program and project proponents to put up financial guarantee mechanisms to finance the needs for emergency response, clean-up rehabilitation of areas that may be damaged during the program or project’s actual implementation. Liability for damages shall continue even after the termination of a program or project, where such damages are clearly attributable to that program or project and for a definite period to be determined by the Department and incorporated into the environmental compliance certificate.

Financial liability instruments may be in the form a trust fund, environmental insurance, surety bonds, letters of credit, as well as self-insurance. The choice of the guarantee instruments shall furnish the Department with evidence of availment of such instruments.
ARTICLE THREE
Pollution from Stationary Sources

SEC. 19. Pollution From Stationary Sources.- The Department shall, within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act, and every two (2) years thereafter, review, or as the need therefore arises, revise and publish emission standards, to further improve the emission standards for stationary sources of air pollution. Such emission standards shall be based on mass rate of emission for all stationary source of air pollution based on internationally accepted standards, but not be limited to, nor be less stringent than such standards and with the standards set forth in this section. The standards, whichever is applicable, shall be the limit on the acceptable level of pollutants emitted from a stationary source for the protection of the public’s health and welfare.

With respect to any trade, industry, process and fuel-burning equipment or industrial plant emitting air pollutants, the concentration at the point of emission shall not exceed the following limits:

Pollutants

Standard Applicable to Source

Maximum Permissible Limits (mg/Ncm)

Method of Analysisa
1. Antimony and Its compounds any source 10 as Sb AASb
2. Arsenic and its compounds Any source 10 as As AASb
3. Cadmium and its compounds Any source 10 as Cd AASb
4. Carbon Monoxide Any industrial Source 500 as CO Orsat analysis
5. Copper and its Compounds Any industrial source 100 ax Cu AASb
6. Hydrofluoric Acids and Fluoride compounds Any source other than the manufacture of Aluminum from Alumina 50 as HF Titration with Ammonium Thiocyanate
7. Hydrogen Sulfide i) Geothermal Power Plants c.d Cadmium Sulfide Method
ii) Geothermal Exploration and well-testing e
iii) Any source other than (i) and (ii) 7 as H2S Cadmium Sulfide Method
8. Lead Any trade, industry or process 10 as Pb AASb
9. Mercury Any Source 5 as elemental Hg AASb/Cold-Vapor Technique or Hg Analyzer
10. Nickel and its compounds, except Nickel Carbonyl f Any source 20 as Ni AASb
11. NOx i) Manufacture of Nitric Acid 2,000 as acid and NOx and calculated as NO2 Phenol-disulfonic acid Method
ii) Fuel burning steam generators Phenol-disulfonic acid Method
Existing Source 1,500 as NO2
New Source
• Coal-Fired 1,000 as NO2
• Oil-Fired 500 as NO2
iii) Any source other than (i) adn (ii) Phenol-disulfonic acid Method
Existing Source 1000 as NO2
New Source 500 as NO2
12. Phosphorus Pentoxideg Any source 200 as P2O5 Spectrophotometry
13. Zinc and its Compounds Any source 100 as Zn AASb

a Other equivalent methods approved by the Department may be used.

b Atomic Absorption Specttrophotometry

c All new geothermal power plants starting construction by 01 January 1995 shall control HsS emissions to not more than 150 g/GMW-Hr

d All existing geothermal power plants shall control HsS emissions to not more than 200 g/GMW-Hr within 5 years from the date of effectivity of these revised regulations.

e Best practicable control technology for air emissions and liquid discharges. Compliance with air and water quality standards is required.

f Emission limit of Nickel Carbonyl shall not exceed 0.5 mg/Ncm.

g Provisional Guideline

Provided, that the maximum limits in mg/ncm particulates in said sources shall be :

1. Fuel Burning Equipment
a) Urban or Industrial Area 150 mg/Ncm
b) Other Area 200 mg/Ncm
2. Cement Plants (Kilns, etc.) 150 mg/Ncm
3. Smelting Furnaces 150 mg/Ncm
4. Other Stationary Sourcesa 200 mg/Ncm
a Other Stationary Sources means a trade, process, industrial plant, or fuel burning equipment other than thermal power plants, industrial boilers, cement plants, incinerators and smelting furnaces.

Provided, further, that the maximum limits for sulfur oxides in said sources shall be :
(1) Existing Sources
(i) Manufacture of Sulfuric Acid and Sulf(on)ation Process 2.0gm.Ncm as SO3
(ii) Fuel burning Equipment 1.5gm.Ncm as SO2
(iii) Other Stationary Sourcesa 1.0gm.Ncm as SO3
(2) New Sources
(i) Manufacture of Sulfuric Acid and Sulf(on)ation Process 1.5 gm.Ncm as SO3
(ii) Fuel Burning Equipment 0.7 gm.Ncm as SO2
(iii) Other Stationary Sourcesa 0.2 gm.Ncm as SO3
a Other Stationary Sources refer to existing and new stationary sources other than those caused by the manufacture of sulfuric acid and sulfonation process, fuel burning equipment and incineration.

For Stationary sources of pollution not specifically included in the immediately preceding paragraph, the following emission standards shall not be exceeded in the exhaust gas :

I. Daily And Half Hourly Average Values

Daily Average Values

Half Hourly Average Values
Total dust 10 mg/m3 30 mg/m3
Gaseous and vaporous organic substances, expressed as total organic carbon 10 mg/m3 20 mg/m3
Hydrogen chloride (HCl) 10 mg/m3 60 mg/m3
Hydrogen fluoride (HF) 1 mg/m3 4 mg/m3
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) 50 mg/m3 200 mg/m3
Nitrogen monoxide (NO) and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), expressed as nitrogen dioxide for incineration plants with a capacity exceeding 3 tonnes per hour 200 mg/m3 400 mg/m3
Nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), expressed as nitrogen dioxide for incineration plants with a capacity of 3 tonnes per hour or less 300 mg/m3

Ammonia 10 mg/m3 20 mg/m3

II. All the Average Values over the Sample Period of a Minimum of 4 and Maximum of 8 Hours.
Cadmium and its compounds, expressed as cadmium (Cd) total 0.05
Thallium and its compounds, expressed as thallium (Tl) mg/m3
Mercury and its Compounds, expressed as mercury (Hg) 0.05 mg/m3
Antimony and its compounds, expressed as antimony (Sb)
Arsenic and its compounds, expressed as arsenic (As) total 0.5 mg/m3
Lead and its compounds, expressed as lead ( Pb)
Chromium and its compounds, expressed as chromium (Cr)
Cobalt and its compounds, expressed as cobalt (Co)
Copper and its compounds, expressed as copper (Cu)
Manganese and its compounds, expressed as manganese (Mn)
Nickel and its compounds, expressed as nickel (Ni)
Vanadium and its compounds, expressed as vanadium (V)
Tin and its compounds, expressed as tin (Sn)

These average value cover also gaseous and the vapor forms of the relevant heavy metal emission as well as their compounds. Provided, that the emission of dioxins and furans into the air shall be reduced by the most progressive techniques. Provided, further that all average of dioxin and furans measured over the sample period of a minimum of 5 hours and maximum of 8 hours must not exceed the limit value of 0.1 nanogram/m3.

Pursuant to Sec. 8 of this Act, the Department shall prepare a detailed action plan setting the emission standards or standards of performance for any stationary source the procedure for testing emissions for each type of pollutant, and the procedure for enforcement of said standards.

Existing industries, which are proven to exceed emission rates established by the Department in consultation with stakeholders, after a thorough, credible and transparent measurement process shall be allowed a grace period of eighteen (18) months for the establishment of an environmental management system and the installation of an appropriate air pollution control device : Provided, That an extension of not more than twelve (12) months may be allowed by the Department on meritorious grounds.

SEC. 20 Ban on Incineration.- Incineration , hereby defined as the burning of municipal, biomedical and hazardous waste, which process emits poisonous and toxic fumes is hereby prohibited; Provided, however, That the prohibition shall not apply to traditional small-scale method of community/neighborhood sanitation "siga", traditional, agricultural, cultural, health, and food preparation and crematoria; Provided, further, That existing incinerators dealing with a biomedical wastes shall be out within three (3) years after the effectivity of this Act; Provided, finally, that in the interim, such units shall be limited to the burning of pathological and infectious wastes, and subject to close monitoring by the Department.

Local government units are hereby mandated to promote, encourage and implement in their respective jurisdiction a comprehensive ecological waste management that includes waste segregation, recycling and composting.

With due concern on the effects of climate change, the Department shall promote the use of state-of-the-art, environmentally-sound and safe non-burn technologies for the handling, treatment, thermal destruction, utilization, and disposal of sorted, unrecycled, uncomposted, biomedical and hazardous wastes.
ARTICLE FOUR
Pollution from Motor Vehicles

Sec. 21. Pollution from Motor Vehicles. a) The DOTC shall implement the emission standards for motor vehicles set pursuant to and as provided in this Act. To further improve the emission standards, the Department shall review, revise and publish the

standards every two (2) years, or as the need arises. It shall consider the maximum limits for all major pollutants to ensure substantial improvement in air quality for the health, safety and welfare of the general public.

The following emission standards for type approval of motor vehicles shall be effective by the year 2003:

a.) For light duty vehicles, the exhausts emission limits for gaseous pollutants shall be:

Emission Limits for Light Duty Vehicles

Type Approval

(Directive 91/441/EEC)
CO
(g/km)

HC + NOx
(g/km)

PMa
(g/km)
2.72
0.97 0.14
a for compression-ignition engines only

b) For light commercial vehicles, the exhaust emission limit of gaseous pollutants as a function of the given reference mass shall be :

Reference Weight (RW) (kg)

CO (g/km)

HC + NOx (g/km)

PMa (g/km)
Category 1 1250< RW 2.72 0.97 0.14
Category 2 1250< RW<1700 5.17 1.4 0.19
Category 3 RW>1700 6.9 1.7 0.25
a for compression-ignition engines only

c.) For heavy duty vehicles, the exhaust emission limits of gaseous pollutants shall be :

Emission Limits for Heavy Duty Vehicles

Type Approval

(Directive 91/542/EEC)
CO
(g/k/Wh)

HC
(g/k/Wh)

NOx
(g/k/Wh)

PM
(g/k/Wh)
4.5

1.1

8.0

0.36a

a In the case of engines of 85 kW or less, the limit value for particular emissions in increased by multiplying the quoted limit by a coefficient of 1.7

Fuel evaporative emission for spark-ignition engines shall not exceed 2.0 grams hydrocarbons per test. Likewise, it shall not allow any emission of gases from crankcase ventilation system into the atmosphere.

b.) The Department, in collaboration with the DOTC, DTI and LGUs, shall develop an action plan for the control and management of air pollution from motor vehicles consistent with the Integrated Air Quality Framework. The DOTC shall enforce compliance with the emission standards for motor vehicles set by the Department. The DOTC may deputize other law enforcement agencies and LGUs for this purpose. To this end, the DOTC shall have the power to :

(1) Inspect and monitor the emissions of motor vehicles ;

(2) Prohibit or enjoin the use of motor vehicles or a class of motor vehicles in any area or street at specified times; and

(3) Authorize private testing emission testing centers duly accredited by the DTI.

c.) The DOTC, together with the DTI and the Department, shall establish the procedures for the inspection of motor vehicles and the testing of their emissions for the purpose of determining the concentration and/or rate of pollutants discharged by said sources.

d.) In order to ensure the substantial reduction of emissions from a motor vehicles, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), together with the DOTC and the Department shall formulate and implement a national motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program that will promote efficient and safe operation of all motor vehicles. In this regard, the DTI shall develop and implement standards and procedures for the certification of training institutions, instructors and facilities and the licensing of qualified private service centers and their technicians as prerequisite for performing the testing, servicing, repair and the required adjustment to the vehicle emission system. The DTI shall likewise prescribe regulations requiring the disclosure of odometer readings and the use of tamper-resistant odometers for all motor vehicles including tamper-resistant fuel management systems for the effective implementation of the inspection and maintenance program.

SEC. 22 Regulation of All Motor Vehicles and Engines. Any imported new or locally-assembled new motor vehicle shall not be registered unless it complies with the emission standards set pursuant to this Act, as evidenced by a Certificate of Conformity (COC) issued by the Department.

Any imported new motor vehicle engine shall not be introduced into commerce, sold or used unless it complies with emission standards set pursuant to this Act.

Any imported used motor vehicle or rebuilt motor vehicle using new or used engines, major parts or components shall not be registered unless it complies with the emission standards.

In case of non-compliance, the importer or consignee may be allowed to modify or rebuild the vehicular engine so it will be in compliance with applicable emission standards.

No motor vehicle registration (MVR) shall be issued unless such motor vehicle passes the emission testing requirement promulgated in accordance with this Act. Such testing shall be conducted by the DOTC or its authorized inspection centers within sixty (60) days prior to date of registration.

The DTI shall promulgate the necessary regulations prescribing the useful life of vehicles and engines including devices in order to ensure that such vehicles will conform to the emissions which they were certified to meet. These regulations shall include provisions for ensuring the durability of emission devices.

SEC. 23. Second-Hand Motor Vehicle Engines. Any imported second-hand motor vehicle engine shall not be introduced into commerce, sold or used unless it complies with emission standards set pursuant to this Act.
ARTICLE FIVE-
Pollution from Other Sources

SEC. 24 Pollution from smoking. Smoking inside a public building or an enclosed public place including public vehicles and other means of transport or in any enclosed area outside of one’s private residence, private place of work or any duly designated smoking area is hereby prohibited under this Act. This provision shall be implemented by the LGUs.

SEC. 25. Pollution from other Mobile Sources. The Department, in coordination with appropriate agencies, shall formulate and establish the necessary standards for all mobile sources other than those referred to in Sec. 21 of this Act. The imposition of the appropriate fines and penalties from these sources for any violation of emission standards shall be under the jurisdiction of the DOTC.
CHAPTER 3
FUELS, ADDITIVES, SUBSTANCES AND POLLUTANTS
Article One-
Fuels, Additives and Substances

SEC. 26 Fuels and Additives. Pursuant to the Air Quality Framework to be established under Section 7 of this Act, the Department of Energy (DOE), co-chaired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), in consultation with the Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) of the DTI, the DOST, the representatives of the fuel and automotive industries, academe and the consumers shall set the specifications for all types of fuel and fuel-related products, to improve fuel composition for increased efficiency and reduced emissions; Provided, however, that the specifications for all types of fuel and fuel-related products set-forth pursuant to this section shall be adopted by the BPS as Philippine National Standards (PNS).

The DOE, shall also specify the allowable content of additives in all types of fuels and fuel-related products. Such standards shall be based primarily on threshold levels of health and research studies. On the basis of such specifications, the DOE shall likewise limit the content or begin that phase-out of additives in all types of fuels and fuel-related products as it may deem necessary. Other agencies involved in the performance of this function shall be required to coordinate with the DOE and transfer all documents and information necessary for the implementation of this provision.

Consistent with the provisions of the preceding paragraphs under this section, it is declared that :

a. not later than eighteen (18) months after the effectivity of this Act, no person shall manufacture, import, sell, supply, offer for sale, dispense, transport or introduce into commerce unleaded premium gasoline fuel which has an anti-knock index (AKI) of not less that 87.5 and Reid vapor pressure of not more than 9 psi. Within six (6) months after the effectivity of this Act, unleaded gasoline fuel shall contain aromatics not to exceed forty-five percent (45%) by volume and benzene not to exceed four percent (4%) by volume; Provided, that by year 2003, unleaded gasoline fuel should contain aromatics not to exceed thirty-five percent (35%) by volume and benzene not to exceed two percent (2%) by volume;

b. not later than eighteen (18) months after the effectivity of this Act, no person shall manufacture, import, sell, supply , offer for sale, dispense, transport or introduce into commerce automotive diesel fuel which contains a concentration of sulfur in excess of 0.20% by weight with a cetane number of index of not less than forty-eight (48); Provided, That by year 2004, content of said sulfur shall be 0.05% by weight ; and

c. not later than eighteen (18) months after the effectivity of this Act, no Person shall manufacture, import, sell, supply, offer for sale, dispense, transport or introduce into commerce industrial diesel fuel which contains a concentration of sulfur in excess of 0.30% (by weight).

Every two (2) years thereafter or as the need arises, the specifications of unleaded gasoline and of automotive and industrial diesel fuels shall be reviewed and revised for further improvement in formulation and in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

The fuels characterized above shall be commercially available. Likewise, the same shall be the reference fuels for emission and testing procedures to be established in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Any proposed additive shall not in any way increase emissions of any of the regulated gases which shall include, but not limited to carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter, in order to be approved and certified by the Department.

SEC. 27. Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives.- The DOE, in coordination with the Department and the BPS, shall regulate the use of any fuel or fuel additive. No manufacturer, processor or trader of any fuel or additive may import, sell, offer for sale, or introduce into commerce such fuel for additive unless the same has been registered with the DOE. Prior to registration, the manufacturer, processor or trader shall provide the DOE with the following relevant information:

a. Product identity and composition to determine the potential health effects of such fuel additives;

b. Description of the analytical technique that can be used to detect and measure the additive in any fuel ;

c. Recommended range of concentration; and

d. Purpose in the use of the fuel and additive.

SEC. 28 Misfueling. In order to prevent the disabling of any emission control device by lead contamination, no person shall introduce or cause or allow the introduction of leaded gasoline into any motor vehicle equipped with a gasoline tank filler inlet and labeled " unleaded gasoline only ". This prohibition shall also apply to any person who knows or should know that such vehicle is designed solely for the use of unleaded gasoline.

SEC. 29. Prohibition on Manufacture. Import and Sale of leaded Gasoline and of Engines and/or Components Requiring Leaded Gasoline. Effective not later than eighteen (18) months after the enactment of this Act, no person shall manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, introduce into commerce, convey or otherwise dispose of , in any manner leaded gasoline and engines and components requiring the use of leaded gasoline.

For existing vehicles, the DTI shall formulate standards and procedures that will allow non-conforming engines to comply with the use of unleaded fuel within five(5) years after the effectivity of this Act.
Article Two
Other Pollutants

SEC. 30. Ozone-Depleting Substances. Consistent with the terms and conditions of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and other international agreements and protocols to which the Philippines is a signatory, the Department shall phase out ozone-depleting substances.

Within sixty (60) days after the enactment of this Act, the Department shall publish a list of substances which are known to cause harmful effects on the stratospheric ozone layer.

SEC. 31. Greenhouse Gases. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration (PAGASA) shall regularly monitor meteorological factors affecting environmental conditions including ozone depletion and greenhouse gases and coordinate with the Department in order to effectively guide air pollution monitoring and standard-setting activities.

The Department, together with concerned agencies and local government units, shall prepare and fully implement a national plan consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international agreements, conventions and protocols on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

SEC. 32. Persistent Organic Pollutants. The Department shall, within a period of two (2) years after the enactment of this Act, establish an inventory list of all sources of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Country. The Department shall develop short-term and long-term national government programs on the reduction and elimination of POPs such as dioxins and furans. Such programs shall be formulated within a year after the establishment of the inventory list.

SEC. 33. Radioactive Emissions. All projects which will involve the use of atomic and/or nuclear energy, and will entail release and emission of radioactive substances into the environment, incident to the establishment or possession of nuclear energy facilities and radioactive materials, handling, transport, production, storage, and use of radioactive materials, shall be regulated in the interest of public health and welfare by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), in coordination with Department and other appropriate government agencies.
CHAPTER 4
INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM

SEC. 34. Lead Agency.- The Department, unless otherwise provided herein, shall be the primary government agency responsible for the implementation and enforcement of this Act. To be more effective in this regard, The Department’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) shall be converted from a staff bureau to a line bureau for a period of no more than two (2) years, unless a separate, comprehensive environmental management agency is created.

SEC. 35 Linkage Mechanism. – The Department shall consult, participate, cooperate and enter into agreement with other government agencies, or with affected non-governmental (NGOs) or people’s organizations (POs),or private enterprises in the furtherance of the objectives of this Act.

SEC. 36. Role of Local Government Units.- Local Government units (LGUs) shall share the responsibility in the management and maintenance of air quality within their territorial jurisdiction. Consistent with Secs. 7,8 and 9 of this Act, LGUs shall implement air quality standards set by the Board in areas within their jurisdiction; Provided, however, that in case where the board has not been duly constituted and has not promulgated its standards, the standards set forth in this Act shall apply.

The Department shall provide the LGUs with technical assistance, trainings and a continuing capability-building program to prepare them to undertake full administration of the air quality management and regulation within their territorial jurisdiction.

SEC. 37 Environmental and Natural Resources Office.- There may be established an Environment and Natural Resources Office in every province, city, or municipality which shall be headed by the environment and natural resources officer and shall be appointed by the Chief Executive of every province, city or municipality in accordance with the provisions of Section 484 of Republic Act No. 7160. Its powers and duties, among others, are :

a. To prepare comprehensive air quality management programs, plans and strategies within the limits set forth in Republic act. No. 7160 and this Act which shall be implemented within its territorial jurisdiction upon the approval of the sanggunian ;

b. To provide technical assistance and support to the governor or mayor, as the case may be, in carrying out measures to ensure the delivery of basic services and the provision of adequate facilities relative to air quality;

c. To take the lead in all efforts concerning air quality protection and rehabilitation;

d. To recommend to the Board air quality standards which shall not exceed the maximum permissible standards set by rational laws ;

e. To coordinate with other government agencies and non-governmental organizations in the implementation of measures to prevent and control air pollution; and

f. Exercise such other powers and perform such duties and functions as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. Provided, however, that, in provinces/cities/municipalities where there are no environment and natural resources officers, the local executive concerned may designate any of his official and/ or chief of office preferably the provincial, city or municipal agriculturist, or any of his employee; Provided, finally, that in case an employee is designated as such, he must have a sufficient experience in environmental and natural resources management, conservation and utilization.

SEC. 38 Record-keeping, Inspection, Monitoring and Entry by the Department.- The Department or its duly accredited entity shall, after proper consultation and notice, require any person who owns or operates any emissions source or who is subject to any requirement of this Act to : (a) establish and maintain relevant records; (b) make relevant reports; (c) install, use and maintain monitoring equipment or methods; (d) sample emission, in accordance with the methods, locations, intervals and manner prescribed by the Department; (e) keep records on control equipment parameters, production variables or other indirect data when direct monitoring of emissions is impractical; and (f) provide such other information as the Department may reasonably require.

Pursuant to this Act, the Department, through its authorized representatives, shall have the right of : (a) entry of access to any premises including documents and relevant materials as referred to in the herein preceding paragraph, b) inspect any pollution or waste source, control device, monitoring equipment or method required, and c) test any emission.

Any record, report or information obtained under this section shall be made available to the public, except upon a satisfactory showing to the Department by the entity concerned that the record, report or information, or parts thereof, if made public, would divulge secret methods or processes entitled to protection as intellectual property. Such record, report or information shall likewise be incorporated in the Department’s industrial rating system.

SEC. 39. Public Education and Information Campaign.- A continuing air quality information and education campaign shall promoted by the Department, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). Consistent with Sec. 7 of this Act, such campaign shall encourage the participation of other government agencies and the private sector including NGOs, POs, the academe, environmental groups and other private entities in a multi-sectoral information campaign.
CHAPTER 5
ACTIONS

SEC. 40 Administrative Action.- Without prejudice to the right of any affected person to file an administrative action , the Department shall, on its own instance or upon verified complaint by any person, institute administrative proceedings against any person who violates:

a) Standards or limitation provided under this Act; or

b) Any order, rule or regulation issued by the Department with respect to such standard or limitation.

SEC. 41. Citizen Suits. for purposes of enforcing the provisions of this Act or its implementing rules and regulations, any citizen may file an appropriate civil, criminal or administrative action in the proper courts against:

(a) Any person who violates or fails to comply with the provisions of this Act or its implementing rules and regulations; or

(b) The Department or other implementing agencies with respect to orders, rules and regulations issued inconsistent with this act; and/or

(c) Any public officer who willfully or grossly neglects the performance of an act specifically enjoined as a duty by this Act or its implementing rules and regulations; or abuses his authority in the performance of his duty; or, in any manner, improperly performs his duties under this Act or its implementing rules and regulations: Provided, however, That no suit can be filed until thirty-day (30) notice has been taken thereon.

The court shall exempt such action from the payment of filing fees, except fees for actions not capable of pecuniary estimations, and shall likewise, upon prima facie showing of the non-enforcement or violation complained of, exempt the plaintiff from the filing of an injunction bond for the issuance of a preliminary injunction.

Within thirty (30) days, the court shall make a determination if the compliant herein is malicious and/or baseless and shall accordingly dismiss the action and award attorney’s fees and damages.

SEC .42 . Independence of Action.- The filing of an administrative suit against such person/entity does not preclude the right of any other person to file any criminal or civil action. Such civil action shall proceed independently.

SEC. 43 Suits and Strategic Legal Actions Against Public Participation and the Enforcement of this act.- where a suit is brought against a a person who filed an action as provided in Sec. 41 of this Act, or against any person, institutions or government agency that implements this Act, it shall be the duty of the investigating prosecutor or the court, as the case may be, to immediately make a determination not exceeding thirty (30) days whether said legal action has been filed to harass, vex, exert undue pressure or stifle such legal recourses of the person complaining of or enforcing the provisions of this Act. Upon determination thereof , evidence warranting the same, the court shall dismiss the case and award attorney’s fees and double damages.

This provision shall also apply and benefit public officers who are sued for acts committed in their official capacity, their being no grave abuse of authority, and done in the course of enforcing this Act.

SEC. 44 Lien Upon Personal and Immovable Properties of Violators. Fines and penalties imposed pursuant to this Act shall be liens upon personal immovable properties of the violator. Such lien shall, in case of insolvency of the respondent violator , enjoy preference to laborer’s wages under Article 2241 and 2242 of Republic Act No. 386, otherwise known as the New Civil Code of the Philippines.
CHAPTER 6
FINES AND PENALTIES

SEC. 45. Violation of Standards for Stationary Sources. For actual exceedance of any pollution or air quality standards under this Act or its rules and regulations, the Department, through the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB), shall impose a fine of not more than One hundred thousand pesos ( P 100,000.00) for every day of violation against the owner or operator of a stationary source until such time that the standards have been complied with.

For purposes of the application of the fines, the PAB shall prepare a fine rating system to adjust the maximum fine based on the violator’s ability to pay, degree of willfulness, degree of negligence, history of noncompliance and degree of recalcitrance. Provided, That in case of negligence, the first time offender’s ability to pay may likewise be considered by the Pollution Adjudication Board; Provided, further, That in the absence of any extenuating or aggravating circumstances, the amount of fine for negligence shall be equivalent to one-half of the fine for willful violation.

The fines herein prescribed shall be increased by at least ten percent (10%), every three (3) years to compensate for inflation and to maintain the deterrent function of such fines.

In addition to the fines, the PAB shall order closure, suspension of development, construction, or operations of the stationary sources until such time that proper environmental safeguards are put in place; Provided, that an establishment liable for a third offense shall suffer permanent closure immediately. This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the immediate issuance of an ex parte order for such closure, suspension of development or construction, or cessation of operations during the pendency of the case upon prima facie evidence that their is imminent threat to life, public health, safety or general welfare, or to plant or animal life, or whenever there is an exceedance of the emission standards set by the Department and/or the Board and/or the appropriate LGU.

SEC. 46. Violation of Standards for Motor Vehicles. No motor vehicle shall be registered with the DOTC unless it meets the emission standards set by the Department as provided in Sec. 21 hereof.

Any vehicle suspected of violation of emission standards through visual signs, such as, but not limited to smoke-belching, shall be subjected to an emission test by a duly authorized emission testing center. For this purpose, the DOTC or its authorized testing center shall establish a roadside inspection system. Should it be shown that there was no violation of emission standards, the vehicle shall be immediately released. Otherwise, a testing result indicating an exceedance of the emission standards would warrant the continuing custody of the impounded vehicle unless the appropriate penalties are fully paid, and the license plate is surrendered to the DOTC pending the fulfillment of the undertaking by the owner/operator of the motor vehicle to make the necessary repairs so as to comply with the standards. A pass shall herein be issued by the DOTC to authorize the use of the motor vehicle within a specified period that shall not exceed seven (7) days for the sole purpose of making the necessary repairs on the said vehicle. The owner/operator of the vehicle shall be required to correct its defects and show proof of compliance to the appropriate pollution control office before the vehicle can be allowed to be driven on any public or subdivision roads.

In addition, the driver and operator of the apprehended vehicle shall undergo a seminar on pollution control management conducted by the DOTC and shall also suffer the following penalties:

a. First Offense – a fine not to exceed Two Thousand Pesos ( P 2, 000.00);

b. Second Offense – a fine not less than Two Thousand Pesos (P 2,000.00) and not to exceed Four Thousand Pesos (P 4, 000.00); and

c. Third offense – one (1) year suspension of the Motor Vehicle Registration (MVR) and a fine of not less than Four Thousand Pesos (P 4,000.00) and not more than Six thousand pesos (P 6,000.00).

Any violation of the provisions of Sec. 21 paragraph (d) with regard to national inspection and maintenance program, including technicians and facility compliance shall penalized with a fine of not less than Thirty Thousand Pesos (P 30,000.00) or cancellation of license of both the technician and the center, or both, as determined by the DTI.

All law enforcement officials and deputized agents accredited to conduct vehicle emissions testing and apprehensions shall undergo a mandatory training on emission standards and regulations. For this purpose, the Department, together with the DOTC, DTI, DOST, Philippine National Police (PNP) and other concerned agencies and private entities shall design a training program.

SEC. 47. Fines and Penalties for Violations of other Provisions in the Act. For violations of all other provisions provided in this Act and of the rules and regulations thereof, a fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos (P 10,000) but not more than One Hundred thousand Pesos ( P 100,000) or six (6) months to six (6) years imprisonment or both shall be imposed. If the offender is a juridical person, the president , manager, directors, trustees, the pollution control officer or the officials directly in charge of the operations shall suffer the penalty herein provided.

SEC. 48 Gross Violations. In case if gross violation of this Act or its implementing rules and regulations, the PAB shall recommend to the proper government agencies to file the appropriate criminal charges against the violators. The PAB shall assist the public prosecutor in the litigation of the case. Gross violation shall mean : (a) three (3) or more specific offenses within a period of one (1) year; (b) three (3) or more specific offenses with three (3) consecutive years; (c) blatant disregard of the orders of the PAB, such s but not limited to the breaking of seal, padlocks and other similar devices, or operation despite the existence of an order for closure, discontinuance or cessation of operation; and (d) irreparable or grave damage to the environment as a consequences of any violation of the provisions of this Act.

Offenders shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than six (6) years but not more than ten (10) years at the discretion of the court. If the offender is a juridical person, the president, manager, directors, trustees, the pollution control officer or the officials directly in charge of the operations shall suffer the penalty herein provided.
CHAPTER 7
FINAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 49. Potential Loss or Shifts of Employment.- The Secretary of Labor is hereby authorized to establish a compensation, retraining and relocation program to assist workers laid off due to a company’s compliance with the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 50. Appropriations.- An amount of Seven Hundred Fifty million pesos ( P 750,000,000.00) shall be appropriated for the initial implementation of this Act, of which, the amount of Three Hundred million pesos (300,000,000.00) shall be appropriated to the Department; Two hundred million pesos (P200,000,000.00) shall to the DTI; One hundred Fifty million pesos (P150,000,000.00) to the DOTC; and One Hundred million pesos (P 100,000,000.00) to the DOE.

Thereafter, the amount necessary to effectively carry out the provisions of this Act shall be included in the General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 51. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The Department, in coordination with the Committees on Environment and Ecology of the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively and other agencies, shall promulgate the implementing rules and regulations for this Act, within one (1) year after the enactment of this Act: Provided, That rules and regulations issued by other government agencies and instrumentalities for the prevention and/or abatement of pollution not inconsistent with this Act shall supplement the rules and regulations issued by the Department pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

The draft of the implementing rules and regulations and standards set pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 52. Report to Congress.- The Department shall report to Congress, not later than March 30 of every year following the approval of this Act, the progress of the pollution control efforts and make the necessary recommendations in areas where there is need for legislative action.

SEC. 53 Joint Congressional Oversight Committee. There is hereby created a joint congressional oversight committee to monitor the implementation of this Act. The committee shall be composed of five (5) senators representatives to be appointed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively, the oversight committee shall be co-chaired by a senator and a representative designated by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively.

The mandate given to the joint congressional oversight committee under this Act shall be without prejudice to the performance of the duties and functions by the respective existing oversight committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

SEC. 54. Separability of Provisions. If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstances is declared unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act or the application of such provision to other person or circumstances shall not be affected by such declaration.

SEC. 55. Repealing Clause. Presidential Decree No. 1181 is hereby repealed. Presidential Decree Nos. 1152, 1586, Presidential Decree No. 984 are partly modified. All other laws, orders, issuance, rules and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 56. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. Approved,

Reality check.

The philippines has good sound laws but corrupt political influences always delay the implementation of these laws.

By the time these laws are enforced, they become so obsolete that another law must be passed (just like the politicians who regularly pass gas – i.e. fart through their mouth).

Do all USA Senators have problems with telling the truth?

With economic troubles dominating the race, McCain opened the new line of criticism against Romney at his first event of the day in Fort Myers, Fla., and sought to shift the campaign back to his strength, national security, and away from Romney’s, the economy.

First, he slapped at Romney without naming him during a question-and-answer session with Floridians, saying: "Now, one of my opponents wanted to set a date for withdrawal that would have meant disaster."

Minutes later to reporters, the Arizona senator was more direct: "If we surrender and wave a white flag, like Senator Clinton wants to do, and withdraw, as Governor Romney wanted to do, then there will be chaos, genocide, and the cost of American blood and treasure would be dramatically higher."

Asked about the comment in Land O’ Lakes, Fla., Romney bristled.

"That’s dishonest, to say that I have a specific date. That’s simply wrong," he said. "That is not the case. I’ve never said that."

The former Massachusetts governor added: "I know he’s trying desperately to change the topic from the economy and trying to get back to Iraq, but to say something that’s not accurate is simply wrong — and he knows better."

Later in Sun City, Fla., McCain stuck to his assessment and said: "The apology is owed to the young men and women serving this nation in uniform."

He said he was quoting Romney as favoring a "timetable" for withdrawal and argued that he was not misquoting Romney, saying, "Clearly, the impression was that he was ready to set a date for withdrawal."

But Romney quotes circulated by McCain’s campaign didn’t show Romney making that exact comment — nor did aides back up McCain’s earlier comment that suggested that Romney "wanted to set a date for withdrawal."

In an interview with ABC News in 2007, Romney said: "There’s no question that the president and (Iraqi) Prime Minister al-Maliki have to have a series of timetables and milestones that they speak about. But those shouldn’t be for public pronouncement. You don’t want the enemy to understand how long they have to wait in the weeds until you’re going to be gone."

While Romney has never set a public date for withdrawal, he has said that he agrees with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, that U.S. troops could move to more of an oversight role in 2008.

McCain, for his part, has been a staunch supporter of the Iraq war and advocated more troops on the ground for years before Bush embraced that position last year and ramped up the number of U.S. forces in Iraq. The buildup helped curb violence in Iraq, and McCain has not been shy about claiming credit for the strategy’s success.

Romney aides labeled McCain’s charge "stunningly false," while McCain aides portrayed his Iraq comments as part of a broader effort in the coming days to question Romney’s leadership, foreign policy experience and judgment.

A former venture capitalist and business consultant, Romney has spent the past week arguing that he is the Republican best able to right a troubled economy, given his 25-year record in the private sector. He’s argued that McCain, who has spent much of his life in the military and in Congress, doesn’t have the qualifications necessary to lead the country out of a potential recession.

McCain, in turn, has sought to beat back Romney on the issue by arguing that a president needs to be ready to lead and qualified on both national security and economics, and he offers both — despite having previously acknowledged that the economy is not his strongest suit.

He also sought to rebut Romney’s criticisms in an unusual fashion: he dispatched high-profile surrogates to talk with the press corps traveling with the former governor. Among them: former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and former Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift. She boarded the Romney press bus to repeat similar criticisms to reporters.

____

Associated Press Writers Glen Johnson in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Libby Quaid in Fort Myers, Fla., contributed to this report.

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Telling the truth would often result in alienating a block of voters. In a close race that can mean defeat in an election. Getting elected is a politician’s top priority, above all else. They all do it. JFK lied when he said the U.S. farmer could feed the world. He knew it wasn’t true, but it got him the farm vote along with a lot of the do-gooders votes–farmers saw $ bills while others felt the tug on their heartstrings. Ike Eisenhower was Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe in WWII and later a two-term president. But it wasn’t ’til his farewell address to the nation that he warned us about the threat of our "huge military industrial complex". He had basically lied about it for his enire career by hiding from the general public what he knew. And even though I’d call him basically a good man, albeit plenty paranoid, even he was probably overwhelmed by it all. I could not imagine a politician surviving political office by telling the truth all the time. Jesus Christ tried it and you see what they did to him.