Republic Act 6969 PDF

ii) Any element or uncombined chemical. REPUBLIC ACT 6969 AN ACT TO CONTROL TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND b) Chemical mixture means any combination of two or HAZARDOUS AND NUCLEAR WASTES, more chemical substances if the combinat...

ii) Any element or uncombined chemical. REPUBLIC ACT 6969 AN ACT TO CONTROL TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND b) Chemical mixture means any combination of two or HAZARDOUS AND NUCLEAR WASTES, more chemical substances if the combination does not occur in nature and is not, in whole or in part, the result of a PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS chemical reaction, if none of the chemical substances THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES comprising the combination is a new chemical substance and if the combination could have been manufactured for Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives commercial purposes without a chemical reaction at the of the Philippines in Congress time the chemical substances comprising the combination assembled: were combined. This shall include nonbiodegradable mixtures. Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes c) Process means the preparation of a chemical substance Control Act of 1990." or mixture after its manufacture for commercial distribution: Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to regulate, restrict or prohibit the importation, i) In the same form or physical state or in a different form or manufacture, processing, sale, distribution, use and physical state from that which it was received by the person disposal of chemical substances and mixtures that present so preparing such substance or mixture; or unreasonable risk and/or injury to health or the ii) As part of an article containing a chemical substance or environment; to prohibit the entry, even in transit, of mixture. hazardous and nuclear wastes and their disposal into the Philippine territorial limits for whatever purpose; and to d) Importation means the entry of a product or provide advancement and facilitate research and studies substance into the Philippines (through the seaports or on toxic chemicals. airports of entry) after having been properly cleared through or still remaining under customs control, the product or Section 3. Scope. - This Act shall cover the importation, substance of which is intended for direct consumption, manufacture, processing, handling, storage, merchandising, warehousing, for further processing. transportation, sale, distribution, use and disposal of all unregulated chemical substances and mixtures in the e) Manufacture means the mechanical or chemical Philippines, including the entry even in transit, as well as the transformation of substances into new products whether keeping or storage and disposal of hazardous and nuclear work is performed by power-driven machines or by hand, wastes into the country for whatever purposes. whether it is done in a factory or in the worker's home, and whether the products are sold at wholesale or retail. Section 4. Objectives. - The Objectives of this Act are: f) Hazardous substances are substances which a) To keep an inventory of chemicals that are presently present either: being imported, manufactured, or used; indicating, among others, their existing and possible uses, test data, names of 1) short-term acute hazards such as acute toxicity by firms manufacturing or using them, and such other ingestion, inhalation or skin absorption, corrosivity or other information as may be considered relevant to the skin or eye contact hazard or the risk of fire or explosion; or protection of health and the environment; 2) long-term environmental hazards, including chronic b) To monitor and regulate the importation, manufacture, toxicity upon repeated exposure, carcinogenicity (which processing, handling, storage, transportation, sale, may in some cases result from acute exposure but with a distribution, use and disposal of chemical substances and long latent period, resistance to detoxification process mixtures that present unreasonable risk or injury to health such as biodegradation, the potential to pollute or to the environment in accordance with national policies underground or surface waters, or aesthetically and international commitments; objectionable properties such as offensive odors. c) To inform and educate the populace regarding the g) Hazardous wastes are hereby defined as hazards and risks attendant to the manufacture, handling, substances that are without any safe commercial, storage, transportation, processing, distribution, use and industrial, agricultural or economic usage and are shipped, disposal of toxic chemicals and other substances and transported or brought from the country of origin for mixtures; and dumping or disposal into or in transit through any part of the territory of the Philippines. d) To prevent the entry, even in transit, as well as the keeping or storage and disposal of hazardous and nuclear wastes Hazardous wastes shall also refer to by-products, side- into the country for whatever purpose. products, process residues, spent reaction media, contaminated plant or equipment or other substances from Section 5. Definition. - As used in this Act: manufacturing operations, and as consumer discards of a.)Chemical substance means any organic or manufactured products. inorganic substance of a particular molecular identity, h) Nuclear wastes are hazardous wastes made including: radioactive by exposure to the radiation incidental to the i) Any combination of such substances occurring in whole production or utilization of nuclear fuels but does not or in part as a result of chemical reaction or occurring in include nuclear fuel, or radioisotopes which have reached nature: and the final stage of fabrication so as to be usable for any scientific, medical, barred from any subsequent entry into the Philippines after agricultural, commercial, or industrial purpose. serving his or her sentence; Section 8. Pre-Manufacturing and Pre- (ii) In the case of corporations or other associations, the Importation Requirements. - Before any new above penalty shall be imposed upon the managing partner, president or chief executive in addition to an exemplary chemical substances or mixture can be manufactured, damage of at least Five hundred thousand pesos processed or imported for the first time as determined by (PhP500,000.00). If it is a foreign firm, the director and all the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the officers of such foreign firm shall be barred from entry into manufacturer, processor or importer shall submit the the Philippines, in addition to the cancellation of its license following information: the name of the chemical to do business in the Philippines; substances; its chemical identity and molecular structure; proposed categories of use; an estimate of the amount to (iii) In case the offender is a government official or be manufactured, processed or imported; processing and employee, he or she shall in addition to the above penalties disposal thereof; and any test data related to health and be deemed automatically dismissed from office and environmental effects which the manufacturer, processor permanently be disqualified from holding any elective or or importer has. appointive position. Section 13. Prohibited Acts. - The following acts and c) Every penalty imposed for the unlawful importation, omissions shall be considered unlawful: entry, transport, manufacture, processing, sale or distribution of chemical substances or mixtures into or a) Knowingly use in chemical substance or mixture which is within the Philippines shall carry with it the confiscation and imported, manufactured, processed or distributed in forfeiture in favor of the Government of the proceeds of the violation of this Act or implementing rules and regulations unlawful act and instruments, tools or other improvements or orders; including vehicles, sea vessels and aircraft used in or with b) Failure or refusal to submit reports, notices or on the which the offense was committed. Chemical substances information, access to records as required by this Act, or so confiscated and forfeited by the Government at its option permit inspection of establishment where chemicals are shall be turned over to the Department of Environment and manufactured, processed, stored or otherwise held; Natural Resources for safekeeping and proper disposal. c) Failure or refusal to comply with the pre-manufacture d) The person or firm responsible or connected with the and pre-importation requirements; and bringing or importation into the country of hazardous or nuclear wastes shall be under obligation to transport or d) Cause, aid or facilitate, directly or indirectly, in the send back said prohibited wastes; Any and all means of storage, importation or bringing into Philippine territory, transportation, including all facilities and appurtenances including its maritime economic zones, even in transit, that may have been used in transporting to or in the storage either by means of land, air or sea transportation or in the Philippines of any significant amount of hazardous or otherwise keeping in storage any amount of hazardous and nuclear wastes shall at the option of the government be nuclear wastes in any part of the Philippines. forfeited in its favor. Section 14. Criminal Offenses and Penalties. - Section 15. Administrative Fines. - In all cases of a) (i) The penalty of imprisonment of six (6) months and one violations of this Act, including violations of implementing day to six (6) years and one day and a fine ranging from Six rules and regulations which have been duly promulgated hundred pesos (Php600.00) to Four thousand pesos and published in accordance with Section 16 of this Act, the (PhP4,000.00) shall be imposed upon any person who shall Secretary of Environment an Natural Resources is hereby violate section 13(a) to (c) of this Act and shall not be authorized to impose a fine of not less than Ten thousand covered by the Probation Law. If the offender is a foreigner, pesos (Php10,000.00), but not more than Fifty thousand he or she shall be deported and barred from any pesos (PhP50,000.00) upon any person or entity found subsequent entry into the Philippines after serving his or her guilty thereof. The administrative fines imposed and sentence; collected by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall accrue to a special fund to be administered (ii) In case any violation of this Act is committed by a by the Department exclusively for projects and research partnership, corporation, association or any juridical activities relative to toxic substances and mixtures. person, the partner, president, director or manager who shall consent to or shall knowingly tolerate such violation shall be directly liable and responsible for the act of the employees and shall be criminally liable as a co-principal; (iii) In case the offender is a government official or employee, he or she shall, in addition to the above penalties, be deemed automatically dismissed from office and permanently disqualified from holding any elective or appointive position. b) (i) The penalty of imprisonment of twelve (12) years and one day to twenty (20) years, shall be imposed upon any person who shall violate section13 (d) of this Act. If the offender is a foreigner, he or she shall be deported and  6. Areas frequently visited and/or hard-hit by natural PROCLAMATION NO. 2146 calamities geologic hazards, floods, typhoons, volcanic activity, etc. December 14, 1981 7. Areas with critical slopes; Proclaiming Certain Areas and Types of 8. Areas classified as prime agricultural lands; Projects as Environmentally Critical and 9. Recharged areas of aquifers; Within the Scope of the Environmental Impact 10. Water bodies characterized by one or any combination Statement System Established under of the following conditions;; Presidential Decree No. 1586. a. tapped for domestic purposes;; A. Environmentally Critical Projects b. within the controlled and/or protected areas declared by I. Heavy Industries appropriate authorities; a. Non-ferrous metal industries c. which support wildlife and fishery activities. b. Iron and steel mills 11. Mangrove areas characterized by one or any combination or the following conditions: c. Petroleum and petro-chemical industries including oil and gas a. with primary pristine and dense young growth; d. Smelting plants b. adjoining mouth of major river systems; c. near or adjacent to traditional productive fry or fishing II. Resource Extractive Industries grounds; a. Major mining and quarrying projects d. which act as natural buffers against shore erosion, strong b. Forestry projects winds and storm floods; 1. Logging e. on which people are dependent for their livelihood. 2. Major wood processing projects 12. Coral reef characterized by one or any combination of the following conditions: 3. Introduction of fauna (exotic-animals) in public/private forests a. with 50% and above live coralline cover; 4. Forest occupancy b. Spawning and nursery grounds for fish; 5.Extraction of mangrove products c. Which act as natural breakwater of coastlines. 6. Grazing This Proclamation shall take effect immediately. c. Fishery Projects IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the 1. Dikes for /and fishpond development projects Republic of the Philippines to be affixed. III. Infrastructure Projects Done in the City of Manila, this 14th day of December, in a. Major dams the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty one. b. Major power plants (fossil-fueled, nuclear fueled, hydroelectric or geothermal) (SGD.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS c. Major reclamation projects President of the Philippines d. Major roads and bridges. B. Environmentally Critical Areas By the President: 1. All areas declared by law as national parks, watershed JUANC.TUVERA reserves, wildlife preserves and sanctuaries; Presidential Executive Assistant 2. Areas set aside as aesthetic potential tourist spots; 3. Areas which constitute the habitat for any endangered or threatened species of indigenous Philippine Wildlife (flora and fauna); 4. Areas of unique historic, archaeological, or scientific interests; 5. Areas which are traditionally occupied by cultural communities or tribes;