Environmental Policy and
Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA)
Natural Resources and Environmental Law
RON PAGUIO | JD2A
What is EIA?
 Involves predicting and evaluating the likely impacts of a project on the
environment (land, water, air, flora, fauna and people) at various stages
(construction, commissioning, operation and abandonment) of the
project development.
 Formulation of preventive, mitigating and enhancement measures that
will protect the environment from the identified impacts.
 A critical planning exercise and decision-making tool!
PREDICTIVE | COMPREHENSIVE | PREVENTIVE | INCLUSIVE
THE PILLARS OF EIA
1977
1981
Presidential Decree 1151
Presidential Proclamation 2146
• Philippine Environmental Policy
• The cornerstone of Environmental Impact Assessment
to protect the environment.
• Proclaiming areas and types of projects as
environmentally critical. (ECAs & ECPs)
Presidential Decree 1586
• Philippine Environment Impact Statement System
• Legal basis for requiring an EIA to secure an
Environmental Compliance Certificate.
1978
Primary Principles
Participatory Measures
Precautionary Principle
•Inclusive and collegial
decision-making.
•If an action or policy
has a suspected risk of
causing harm to the
public/ environment,
in the absence of
scientific consensus
that the action or
policy is not harmful,
the burden of proof
that it is not harmful
falls on those taking
an action.
•Studies show that EIA
accounts for less than
2% of projects costs,
and as low as 0.7% for
large-scale projects.
Principle of
Intergenerational
Equity
Preservation of
Biological Diversity and
Ecological Integrity
•The concept of
fairness amongst all
generations in the use
and conservation of
the environment and
its natural resources.
•Maintaining the
diversity and quality of
ecosystems and
enhancing their
capacity to adapt to
change and provide
for the needs of future
generations.
What happens
in the process?
 Implemented by the DENR
Environmental Management Bureau
(EMB).
 Known as the Philippine Environmental
Impact Statement System (PEISS).
 Under the Philippine EIS System, a
supplementary document, the
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is
prepared for every proposed ECP or
project found within an ECA.
 The EIS contains the probable impacts
of the project which have been
discerned from conducting the EIA.
 Predicted impacts and mitigating
measures are assessed and if
determined sufficient, DENR EMB
an Environmental Compliance
Commitment (ECC) document that is
conformed by the project proponent.
Pitfalls and Cracks of
PEISS
 Public opinion is not taken into consideration in Project
Screening. (Boracay Foundation vs. Provincial Govt. Of Aklan)
 Prior decision has been made, rendering the EIA process a
formality. (Republic vs. City of Davao)
 EIA does not elaborate the cost-benefit and opportunity-cost
analysis vis-à-vis other economic activities.
 Local communities are denied of the opportunity to make
informed decision-making. (Bangus Fry Fisherfolk vs. Lanzanas)
 Limited access to project information and EIA reports. (Paje vs.
Casino)
 Lack of cascade of complete EIA findings prior to public
hearings and submission of EIS.
 Waiver of Public Hearing may be granted, subject to the
absence of mounting opposition or written request for one with
valid basis
 Penalizes only non-compliance with ECC conditions, and not with
the PEISS process (Cordillera Global Network vs. Paje)
 EIA’s focus is on mitigation measures rather than prevention of
environmental harm
 Post issuance of ECC, there is no monitoring of submission of
quarterly MMT reports; no penalties for non-adherence;
unclear what to audit findings by EMB.
“Shortcuts into the process through which the State
assures minimal impact on the environment,
weighed against the profits to be generated by
businesses, must not be tolerated.”
Associate Justice Marvic Leonen
“It is clear that both petitioner and respondent Province are
interested in the promotion of tourism and the protection
of the environment, lest they kill the proverbial hen that
lays the golden egg.”
Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro
A Major Failure point
in the process:
 Upon submission of the
ECC application and if
no decision is made
within the specified
timeframe (30-180
days), the ECC
application is deemed
automatically approved.