BENGUET lawmakers have been urged to craft a law prohibiting smoke belching in the province.
This after Governor Crescencio Pacalso have sought the help of the Provincial Board in the hope of improving the air quality in the province.
“There is still no ordinance to (minimize) the pollution caused by smoke belchers. We will leave this to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan if they want to. Although there is a national law already for this but like in the City of Baguio, there is an inspection team to flag down the smoke belchers,” the governor said.
Pacalso said the air quality at the foot of the Capitol and in front of the La Trinidad municipal hall is fair, but he still sees the need to implement anti-smoke belching measures.
The Benguet top official also mentioned an increase in vehicles which affects the quality of air.
The Environment and Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Cordillera earlier informed the province of the results of its 3rd Quarter Ambient Air Quality Sampling and Monitoring conducted in the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISST) area.
The two monitoring stations at the La Trinidad Municipal Hall Park and the Provincial Capitol showed fair and good air quality index.
Both stations recorded a decrease compared to the results obtained during the second quarter monitoring.
La Trinidad Councilor Nestor Fongwan Jr., meanwhile, said the Clean Air Act empowers the local government to implement similar programs and encourage local councils in Benguet to localize the law.
Fongwan, however, said that as much as possible, vehicle owners should check the condition of their vehicles.
“They should voluntarily check their vehicles because we have abundant repair shops that can minimize the emission of smoke,” he added.
Arthur Pedro, La Trinidad municipal environment and natural resources officer, added that in addressing the increase in vehicles, the municipality has continued to implement the carless day in order to lessen the number of vehicles on the road.
He urged other agencies and municipalities to adopt their own carless day.
An ordinance prescribing emission standards for motor vehicles in La Trinidad was approved by the municipal council but was not given favorable review during the regular meeting of the Benguet Provincial Board in May 2017.
The members of the La Trinidad council are proposing an ordinance adopting the Clean Air Act which was approved on first reading.