Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
 First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
___________ 
________ 
 
_____ 
Introduced by the Honorable ANIELA BIANCA D. TOLENTINO 
___________ 
__________ 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The improper disposal and management of waste is one of the major 
environment problems in the Philippines. All municipal solid waste in the country are 
disposed in a sanitary landfills, usually unsegregated and untreated.  
A study conducted by the National Solid Waste Management Commission 
Secretariat and the Environmental Management Bureau, showed that there is an 
estimated per capita waste production daily of 0.5 kg. This means that for every 
person living in the capital generate half a kilo of waste a day. With an estimated 
population of 13.4 million, total waste generated in Metro Manila alone could run up 
to 6,700 metric tons per day, 201,000 metric tons per month, and 2.4 million metric 
tons per year. 
The same study shows that, only about 73% of the 6,700 metric tons of waste 
generated daily are collected by dump trucks hired by their respective local 
authorities. The remaining 27% of their daily waste end up in canals, vacant spaces, 
street corners, market places, rivers and other places where proper waste 
management and disposal is clearly not observed. 
According to a study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation 
Agency, less than 10% of local government units fully followed the sanitary landfill 
method as mandated by Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste 
Management Act. Furthermore, around 80% to 90% of sanitary landfills have already 
been utilized and is projected to be at full capacity within the next five years.  
Along with the problem of garbage disposal, the Philippines also faces a 
forthcoming crisis regarding energy supply. As of now, more rotational brownouts are 
being implemented by electric suppliers all over the country due to low power 
reserves. Additionally, this shortage is intensified during the hot and dry seasons as 
most of the electric supply in the country comes from hydroelectric power plants.  
This bill proposes to full allow the utilization of waste to energy technologies, 
in harmony with the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Metropolitan Manila 
July 1, 2022
4:51 pm
958


Development Authority vs. Jancom Environmental Corporation, et al., where it was 
ruled that Republic Act No. 8749, or otherwise known as the Clean Air Act of 1999, 
does not absolutely prohibit incineration as a mode of waste disposal; rather, only 
those burning processes which emit poisonous and toxic fumes are banned.  
Republic Act No. 9513, or otherwise known as the Renewable Energy Act of 
2008, already allows the use of waste to energy technology, but only in a limited 
sense. This bill proposes to allow the use of any waste to energy technology, using 
any process given that is environmentally sound and operationally efficient.  
This bill aims to provide a system for waste to energy technologies and waste 
to energy conversion to further improve the solid waste management in the 
Philippines, ensuring and improving the welfare of the public.   
In light of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 958
Introduced by the Honorable ANIELA BIANCA D. TOLENTINO 
_____ 
_ ___  __________ 
AN ACT ALLOWING THE USE OF WASTE TO ENERGY TECHNOLOGY IN 
ELECTRICITY, FUEL AND HEAT GENERATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
Section 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Waste to Energy Act 
of 2022.” 
Section 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is hereby declared the policy of the State 
to adopt a systematic and comprehensive solid waste management program which 
ensures the protection of public health and environment, and encourage the 
development of environmentally sustainable waste to energy facilities to address the 
solid waste disposal and energy shortage. 
It is also the policy of the State to allow the process of incineration in waste 
to energy facilities provided that the burning process does not emit poisonous and 
toxic fumes. 
Section 3. Objectives. - The objectives of this Act are: 
(a) To allow the operation of waste to energy facilities to aid in the
reduction of solid waste disposal and in the increase of energy 
production; 


(b) To provide guidelines on the evaluation, establishment, and operation 
of waste to energy facilities for the integrated management of 
municipal solid wastes which ensure the protection of public health and 
environment; 
(c) To increase the efficiency of collection and transport of solid wastes; 
(d) To ensure the proper segregation, collection, transport, storage, 
treatment and disposal of solid waste through the formulation and 
adoption of the best environmental practices in ecological waste 
management, including incineration in a waste to energy facility; 
(e) To encourage private sector participation in solid waste management 
and waste to energy conversion; 
(f) To strengthen the cooperation of local government units in solid waste 
management and materials recovery facilities to make an efficient 
collection and transport of municipal solid wastes from source and until 
it reaches the waste to energy facilities; 
(g) To strengthen the integration of solid waste management into the 
academic curricula in order to promote environmental awareness and 
action among the citizenry and to minimize the disposal of solid wastes 
and expedite the segregation process;  
(h) To encourage the development and use of local technology; and 
(i) To improve, ensure and protect the health of the public by reducing the 
wastes that are to be thrown directly to the sanitary landfills through 
proper operation of the materials recovery facilities and the operation 
of waste to energy facilities. 
 
 
Section 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms 
shall mean: 
(a) Clustering is a strategy of pooling available resources of neighborhood 
cities, municipalities or barangays for the establishment of a common 
solid waste management facility or service; 
(b) Emission shall refer to any air contaminant, pollutant, gas or unwanted 
sound from a known source which is passed into the atmosphere; 


(c) Hazardous Wastes shall refer to by-products, side-products, process 
residues, spent reaction media, contaminated plant or equipment or 
other substances from manufacturing operations and as customer 
discards of manufactured products which present unreasonable risk 
and/or injury to health and safety and to the environment; 
(d) Host LGU shall refer to the local government unit where the waste to 
energy facility is located; 
(e) Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) shall include solid waste transfer 
station or sorting station, drop off center, a composting facility and a 
recycling facility; 
(f) Municipal Solid Waste shall refer to wastes produced from activities 
which include a combination of domestic wastes from residential, 
commercial, institutional and industrial wastes; 
(g) Recyclable Materials shall refer to any waste material that can be 
converted into suitable beneficial use or for other purposes; 
(h) Sanitary Landfill shall refer to waste disposal site designed, 
constructed, operated and maintained in a manner that exerts 
engineering control over significant potential environmental impacts 
arising from the development and operation of the facility; 
(i) Segregation shall refer to solid waste management practice of 
separating different materials found in solid waste in order to promote 
recycling and re-use of resources and to reduce the volume of waste 
for collection and disposal; 
(j) Waste to Energy shall refer to the process of converting wastes with 
various technologies, usually the conversion of non-recyclable waste 
materials into usable heat, electricity, or fuel through a variety of 
processes; and 
(k) Waste to Energy Facility shall refer to the facility where the waste to 
energy operations are conducted. 
 
 
Section 4. Waste to Energy Technology, allowed. – The use of waste to energy 
technologies which converts non-recyclable solid waste materials, through any mode 


or process, including incineration, into usable heat, electricity, or fuel shall be 
allowed. 
 
 
Section 5. Guidelines. – The Department of Science and Technology, in 
coordination with the Department of Energy and the Department of Environment 
and Natural Resources shall provide guidelines regarding the operation of waste to 
energy technology which must include: 
(1) Compliance of environmental permits, clearances and other legal 
requirements from concerned agencies prior to construction, set-up and 
operation of a waste to energy facility; 
(2) Solid waste management plan of the host Local Government Unit 
consistent with Republic Act No. 9003; 
(3) Clustering of Local Government Units and/or forming partnerships with the 
private sector in the establishment, construction and operation of waste to 
energy facility; 
(4) Compliance with the Euro Emission Standards; 
(5) Operational guidelines for waste to energy facility, such as, but not limited 
to: 
(a) kind of waste that may be accepted by the facility for processing; 
(b) implementation of MRFs, Residual Containment Areas, Sanitary landfills 
and other disposal facilities; 
(c) quality and sustainability of wastes; and 
(d) documentation indicating the quantity in weight, source and type of 
source-segregated wastes to be processed including the date and time 
received. 
(6) Guidelines for appropriate storage facilities for segregated wastes, 
materials and by-product from the operation, providing proper measures 
to address risks of explosion, combustion, corrosion, contamination, 
infection, and odor emission; 
(7) Manual of operation and quality assurance and control and standards for 
quality control/assurance system; 


(8) A detailed emergency response plan to ensure effective and rapid 
containment and clean-up in the event of an emergency incident; 
(9) Personal protective equipment and medical care in compliance with 
existing laws, rules, and regulations to all personnel of the facility directly 
handling or exposed to waste materials, in-process materials and finished 
products; 
(10) Pollution control and abatement facilities to ensure that all emissions 
and effluents comply with environmental standards; 
(11) Requirements for treatment, storage and disposal facilities for any 
hazardous waste resulting from the operations of the waste to energy 
facility; 
(12) Allowable locations for waste to energy facilities, which must be far 
from urban areas; 
(13) And such other guidelines as may be necessary for the furtherance of 
the purpose and objectives of this Act. 
 
 
Section 6. Environmental Monitoring. – The Environmental Management 
Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall regularly and 
periodically monitor the environmental compliance of the waste to energy facility, 
including its emissions, and shall promulgate guidelines on the periodic reports and 
documentations required to be submitted to the Bureau. 
 
The Bureau shall have the power to issue a cease and desist order or 
temporary closure orders for non-compliant facilities. 
 
 
Section 7. Acceptable Waste Materials. – the Department of Environment and 
Natural Resources shall provide a list of acceptable waste that may be processed in 
the waste to energy facility. It shall ensure that only materials that pass the 
international environmental standards with high calorific values are allowed to be 
processed in waste to energy facilities. 
 
The following shall not be acceptable materials: 
1. Recyclable wastes; 
2. Health care wastes; 


3. Explosives; 
4. Batteries; 
5. Radioactive wastes; 
6. Electronic wastes; 
7. Cyanide wastes; 
8. Unsegregated municipal solid wastes; and 
9. Other wastes that are not safe or efficient for processing in the waste 
to energy facility, as determined by the DENR. 
 
 
Section 8. Prohibition on Importation of Wastes; exception. – Importation of 
waste materials that are to be used by waste to energy facilities shall not be 
allowed, unless, the EMB certifies that the supply of acceptable wastes in the 
Philippines are insufficient to meet the demands for the efficient production of the 
waste to energy facilities, and unless the other requirements on importation of waste 
under Republic Act No. 6969 and the Basel Convention are also complied with. 
 
 
Section 9. Clustering. – Neighboring Local Government Units are mandated to 
establish a common solid waste management and materials recovery facility, in 
accordance with Section 33 of the Local Government Code, and shall jointly develop 
an efficient collection and transport operation of municipal solid wastes. 
 
Local Government Units are authorized to sell segregated municipal solid 
wastes to privately-owned or operated waste to energy facilities. 
 
 
Section 10. Tax Incentives. – Operators of waste to energy facilities shall 
enjoy a five (5) year tax holiday from the start of its commercial operations, tax and 
duty free importation of raw materials, capital equipment, machineries, and spare 
parts subject to the conditions under Section 8 of this Act, and VAT zero-rating of all 
local purchases of raw materials. 
 
 
Section 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The Department of 
Science and Technology, in coordination with the Department of Energy and the 
Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall collectively craft, and issue, 


within thirty (30) days from the date of the effectivity of this Act, the Implementing 
Rules and Regulations for the effective implementation of this Act. 
 
 
Section 12. Fines and Penalties. – Any person who violates any of the 
provisions of this Act, including the rules and regulations thereof, shall be imposed 
with a penalty of imprisonment of six (6) months and one day to six (6) years or a 
fine of at least one hundred thousand pesos (Php100,000) but not more than one 
million pesos (Php1,000,000), or both. 
 
If the offender is a juridical person, the president, manager, directors, 
trustees, or the officials directly in charge of the operations shall suffer the penalty 
provided. Permits and licenses issued to such juridical entities shall automatically be 
revoked and canceled. 
 
If the offender is a public official, the penalties imposed by this Act shall be in 
addition to and without prejudice to Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and 
Corrupt Practices Act. 
 
 
Section 13. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act shall be held 
unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain 
in full force and effect. 
 
 
Section 14. Repealing Clause. - Provisions of Republic Act No. 8749, Republic 
Act No. 9003, Republic Act No. 6969, Republic Act No. 9513 and all other laws, 
decrees, executive orders, proclamations and other executive issuances which are 
inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act are hereby amended 
accordingly. 
 
 
Section 15. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
following its complete publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) national 
newspapers of general circulation. 
 
Approved,