CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu led the inauguration of the new Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) building that houses the operation center for real-time air and water quality monitoring of the bureau in the region.

The new building is deemed essential in the continuous improvement of environmental services and enforcement of environmental laws, rules and regulations in Central Luzon.

The P39-million worth four-storey building, located in the regional government center in Pampanga, also houses the Bureau's environmental laboratory.

The environment czar urged the human resources of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the region to continuously monitor the compliance of industries to environmental laws and to intensify measures to rehabilitate Manila Bay areas in Bataan, Bulacan and Pampanga.

Paquito Moreno, executive director of the DENR regional office, lauded the efforts of the EMB Central Luzon for the innovations done in the building and for making its laboratory facilities functional, which elevate the department's programs towards clean air, clean water and proper waste management.

"The need to grow, maintain and sustain this building as an icon of environmentalism in Central Luzon remains a challenge, but with the well-founded culture of professionalism among the ranks of EMB, this structure shall hone frontliners in the protection of the environment," Moreno said.

The EMB implements policies and programs on environmental management, including mandates of the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement system, through the evaluation of application for the Environmental Compliance Certificates of projects.