ILOILO City is finalizing its clean air action plan which will cover all actions to be taken by stakeholders in collaboration with the City Government.

The plan is an attempt to help solve the issues on global warming and climate change.

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City environment and natural resources officer Engineer Noel Hechanova said they are now in the process of drafting the action plan with the help of the local legislative body, as provided in Republic Act (RA) 8749 or the "Act providing for a comprehensive air pollution control policy and other purpose."

A national workshop on "Clean Air for Smaller Cities in the Asean Region" was conducted last October 22 in Makati City, Metro Manila by the Asean-German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) to discuss the action plan against air pollution.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Angelito Atienza welcomed all the delegates coming from more than 20 cities nationwide while former DENR Secretary Elisea Gozun served as the facilitator.

The cities of Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro presented their respective draft of the action plan, drawing reactions from the delegates coming from the cities of Baguio, Cabanatuan, Sta. Rosa, Las Piñas, Mandaluyong, Makati, San Juan, Iligan, General Santos, Zamboanga, San Fernando, La Union, Marikina, Tangub, Santipolo, Valenzuela, Parañaque, Pasay, Tarlac and Calbayog, among others.

Hechanova said the cities are now focusing on their own action plans that will serve as wake-up call on what must be done now that the country has suffered so much from climate change.

GTZ representatives Roland Haas, Dr. Axel Friedrich, Dr. Rudolf Petersen and Philip Sayeg discussed the project, which is being implemented in seven Asean countries, namely: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao-PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

The GTZ said smaller cities tend to be neglected in overall development planning and there is an urgent need to help develop and implement measures to improve quality in smaller cities.

The overall objective is to empower smaller cities to develop and implement their own "Clean Air Action Plan" with the participation of civil society and the private sector, as many laws protecting the environment are not fully realized in all its objectives.

Hechanova said the main focus in Iloilo is on carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from the motorized transport industry and stationary sources industry.

Metro Iloilo is one of the 13 designated air sheds and Southern Negros as one of five geothermal air sheds in the country.

The city of Iloilo considered air pollution as one problem as it hosts one of the biggest motorized transport industries that emits carbon dioxide.

The city is hosting more than 68,000 registered motor vehicles and more than 10,000 registered motorcycles mostly used as tricycles.

The city Enro said the local action plan will incorporate the provisions of the perimeter boundary ordinance, retrofitting of street lights, lamp retrofitting in shopping malls, promotion of bio-fuels, promotion of green architecture, exhibits on climate change, promotion of liquefied petroleum gas in tricycles and taxis, and a multi-partite monitoring of CO2 emissions.

Stakeholder participants to the national workshop were Rizalino Alido of the Iloilo City Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (Icafjoda), Aileen Escorido of the Iloilo City Alliance of Drivers Association (Icada), Engineer Prudencio Magallanes and Mary Earl Daryl Grio of Central Philippine University, Ronald Limua of DENR-EMB-Western Visayas, Rex Debuque of Panay Power Corporation, Mart Tayo of the Iloilo Coalition Against Tuberculosis (Cicat), Reynaldo Beso of the Metro Iloilo Federation of Tricycle Owners and Drivers Association, and Lydia C. Pendon representing the local media sector.