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Tuesday, October 07, 2003
DENR woos bizmen as environment partners
MANILA -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) made a major policy turn-around from imposing severe sanctions of closures and huge fines to violating business enterprises to seeking their partnership in keeping the environment clean.
The change of heart was announced Thursday by environment Undersecretary Rolando Metin when addressing members of the Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) during the latter's general membership meeting at a hotel in Makati.
Speaking on policy directions now being taken by DENR, Metin said that the "emphasis now is in partnering with business" in pursuit of sustainable development.
He told his audience of exporters that at industry levels, DENR has put in place a system through which businesses can voluntary comply with strict environmental standards by submitting their own environment management plans and pushing through those plans at a reasonable phase.
At a more practical plane, he said the processing of exemption papers for micro and small enterprises plus a specific list of non-polluting industries has been trimmed down from unlimited periods to not more than 15 days.
Evaluation of new projects that require environment clearance certificates has also been given a specific deadline.
"This should reduce opportunity losses caused by long delays in start-up business projects," the environment official explained.
Metin was reacting to an earlier declaration made by Philexport president Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. that the business community is willing to comply with old and new laws governing the environment.
"All we are asking is for government to make it easier for us to comply. By easier, we also mean, easier on the pockets of businessmen," Ortiz-Luis said.
Further demonstrating that the environment overseer agency is sincere in treating business as a partner, instead of as an enemy, Metin said that DENR has brought down the fine for those caught polluting the environment from P50,000 to P6,000 for big companies and as low as P500 slapped on SMEs.
He added that the DENR stands on the side of business in the latter's advocacy for a single regulatory body embodied in a proposed law being debated in Congress. Under the bill, the overlapping of powers between the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) and the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) will be corrected.
In the bill, LLDA's environment regulatory functions will be phased out in five years.
(October 7, 2003 issue)
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