AIR AND WATER POLLUTION IN

THE PHILIPPINES
 AIR POLLUTION IN THE PHILIPPINES
• IN THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN REGION — WHERE THE PHILIPPINES IS LOCATED — THE
AVERAGE PM2.5 CONCENTRATION IS 21 ΜG/M3 ANNUALLY, OVER TWICE THE
RECOMMENDED VALUE.
• THE PHILIPPINES’ ANNUAL PM2.5 CONCENTRATION RESTS AT 18.4 ΜG/M3, ACCORDING
TO THE 2016 WHO REPORT. THIS VALUE IS APPROXIMATELY 80% HIGHER THAN THE SAFE
LEVELS INDICATED BY WHO. ASIDE FROM NATIONAL DATA, WHO ALSO COLLECTED DATA
FROM THE MAJOR CITIES OF PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES.
• IN FACT, OUT OF ALL THE LISTED CITIES IN THE PHILIPPINES, BAGUIO CITY RECORDED THE
HIGHEST PM2.5 DATA AT 44 ΜG/M3 IN 2013 — QUADRUPLE THE RECOMMENDED SAFE
LEVEL.
• CEBU AND DAGUPAN ALSO RECORDED HIGH VALUES, EACH WITH AN ANNUAL MEAN OF
28 ΜG/M3 AND 27 ΜG/M3, RESPECTIVELY. MANILA’S 17 ΜG/M3 AND DAVAO’S 11
ΜG/M3 ALSO EXCEEDED THE PRESCRIBED SAFETY LEVEL.
 ONE CANNOT HELP BUT WONDER, THOUGH, IF OUR
COUNTRY IS REALLY DOING ENOUGH.

• THE 2018 EPI RANKS THE PHILIPPINES AS 82ND OUT OF 180 COUNTRIES, INDICATING THAT
OUR COUNTRY HAS A HIGHER HEALTH RATING THAN CHINA (120), THAILAND (121), VIETNAM
(132), AND INDONESIA (133). HOWEVER, WHILE OUR COUNTRY RANKED 43RD IN THE AIR
POLLUTION CATEGORY, WE WERE STILL RANKED 111TH IN TERMS OF AIR QUALITY DUE TO THE
USE OF SOLID FUELS IN HOUSEHOLDS.
• THE PHILIPPINES IS A DEVELOPING COUNTRY THAT HAS TO DEAL WITH MANY SOCIO-
ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES. IN THE FACE OF THESE ISSUES, SOME ARE
CONCERNED THAT OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS AND IN SPITE OF THE CURRENT
ADMINISTRATION’S PROMISES, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION APPEARS TO HAVE TAKEN A
BACKSEAT. THE GOVERNMENT, OF COURSE, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING AND ENFORCING
POLICIES AND LAWS SO THAT ITS CITIZENS MAY BREATHE CLEAN AIR, AS WELL AS ENJOY ALL
NATURAL RESOURCES BASED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
• THE EFFECTS OF POLLUTION ARE EVIDENT AND UNDENIABLE. THIS IS PARTICULARLY
OBSERVABLE IN METRO MANILA, DUE IN NO SMALL PART TO THE SHEER VOLUME OF
VEHICULAR SMOKE THAT PRACTICALLY ENVELOPS IT. ON TOP OF THAT, OUR COUNTRY
CONTINUES TO DEPEND ON ENERGY HARNESSED FROM COAL POWER PLANTS, A FACT
BEMOANED BY ENVIRONMENTALISTS DUE TO THE KNOWN IMPACT OF COAL-FIRED POWER
PLANTS ON AIR POLLUTION LEVELS.
 WATER POLLUTION

• WATER IS OFTEN EQUATED WITH LIFE ITSELF. BUT FOR AN ARCHIPELAGIC REGION IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA SANDWICHED BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINE SEA AND THE SOUTH CHINA
SEA, WATER POLLUTION IN THE PHILIPPINES HAS CAUSED THIS PRECIOUS RESOURCE TO BE
ANYTHING BUT LIFE’S SUSTENANCE. ACCORDING TO A REPORT RELEASED BY THE ASIAN
DEVELOPMENT BANK, “HEAVY INORGANIC POLLUTANTS HAVE MADE WATER INCREASINGLY
A THREAT TO LIFE.”
• THE PHILIPPINES IS A DEVELOPING COUNTRY THAT IS ALSO UNDERGOING RAPID
URBANIZATION AND INDUSTRIALIZATION. OUT OF MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED MILLION
FILIPINOS, NINE MILLION RELY ON UNSAFE WATER SUPPLIES. IN FACT, WATER POLLUTION IN
THE PHILIPPINES AND A LACK OF PROPER SEWAGE KILLS 55 PEOPLE EVERY DAY.
• DUE TO WATER POLLUTION IN THE PHILIPPINES, THE COUNTRY IS LIKELY TO FACE A SHORTAGE OF WATER FOR
SANITATION, DRINKING, AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS.
• IN AN ASIA DEVELOPMENT BANK REPORT, THE PHILIPPINES’ REGIONAL GROUP – WHICH INCLUDES CAMBODIA,
INDONESIA, LAOS, MALAYSIA, MYANMAR, THAILAND AND VIETNAM – HAS MADE GAINS IN IMPROVING WATER
SECURITY. HOWEVER, THE REGION IS HOME TO A SIXTH OF THE GLOBAL POPULATION AND THE POOREST
PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. WITH AGRICULTURE CONSUMING A STAGGERING 80 PERCENT OF THE REGION’S
WATER, THE REGION IS A GLOBAL HOTSPOT FOR WATER INSECURITY.
• WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN THE PHILIPPINES BY MANY LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES HAVE
PROTECTED THE WATER SUPPLIES FOR FUTURE USE. COCA-COLA HAS PLEDGED NEARLY $1.4 MILLION FOR A
FIVE-YEAR PROJECT WITH THE WORLD WILDLIFE FUND TO PROTECT THE CAPITAL’S DRINKING WATER SOURCE,
THE IPO WATERSHED. THE CEMENT MANUFACTURERS’ ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES, AN INDUSTRY THAT
HEAVILY USES WATER, HAS STARTED INITIATIVES TO CAPTURE AND UTILIZE RAINWATER FOR MANY
PRODUCTION NEEDS.
•
 CAUSES

• ON ITS WEBSITE, GREENPEACE REPORTS THE WATER POLLUTION IN THE PHILIPPINES IS MOSTLY
WASTEWATER FROM THE FOLLOWING SOURCES:
1. INDUSTRIAL: THE METAL VARIES ACCORDING TO INDUSTRY — LEAD, MERCURY, CHROMIUM,
CADMIUM AND CYANIDE.
2. AGRICULTURAL: ORGANIC — DECAYED PLANTS, DEAD ANIMALS, LIVESTOCK MANURE, SOIL
RUNOFF; AND NON-ORGANIC — PESTICIDES AND FERTILIZERS.
3. DOMESTIC SEWAGE: CONTAINS PATHOGENS THAT THREATEN HUMAN HEALTH AND LIFE.
4. OTHER SOURCES: OIL, MINE OR CHEMICAL SPILLS AND ILLEGAL DUMPING IN OR NEAR
WATER.
• ACCORDING TO GREENPEACE PHILIPPINES, THE CONCEPT OF CLEAN PRODUCTION IS “A NEW
WAY OF LOOKING AT PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION PATTERNS.” THE CONCEPT OF
PRODUCING CONSUMER GOODS IN THIS WAY ENTAILS:
1. THE ELIMINATION OF ALL HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS AT ALL STAGES OF PRODUCTION AND
THE SEEKING OF SAFE, SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVES.
2. THE REDUCTION OF WASTE GENERATED.
3. THE DECREASING OF THE NEED FOR RAW MATERIALS AND ENERGY.
4. THE UTILIZATION OF CLEAN, RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN THE PRODUCTION PROCESS
AND DESIGN.