INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES RALPH WENDEL P. TULFO               . '-
AND |0CELYN P. TULFO
AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PHILIPPINE ECOSYSTEM AND NATURAL
CAPITAL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM (PENCAS), MANDATING ITS USE IN POLICY
AND DECISION-MAKING, DESIGNATING THE AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS
IMPLEMENTATI0N, PROVIDING INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AMONG
RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Granted that the country's natural resources are not finite and climate change is a
present ecological threat, damage to the natural environment and loss of biodiversity also
pose a comparable risk.
In  order  to  protect  our  limited  resources  and  continue  to  benefit from  them for
generations to come, it is essential for us to measure and evaluate the country's natural
resources and ecosystems in economic terms. Valuing and accounting for the services and
benefits provided by nature - such as clean air and water, biodiversity, climate regulation,
and  soil  fertility  -  enable  us  to  comprehend  the  price  we  pay  when  we  allow  for  its
destruction.
By quantifying the benefits we derive from nature and tracking changes over time, we
can assess the impact of our conservation measures, ecosystem restoration programs, and
other policy interventions. This information then allows for ensuring that policies deliver
tangible environmental outcomes and societal benefits.
By expressing the benefits of nature in economic terms, it facilitates communication
between different stakeholders and enhances dialogue and collaboration, fostering a shared
understanding of the need to protect and sustainably manage natural capital.
By  valuing  our  natural  capital,  we  protect  it  for  the  benefit  of  future  Filipino
generations by making more informed choices, transitioning to a more sustainable economy,
and managing risks associated with environmental degradation and resource depletion.


In view of the foregoing, the urgent passing of this bill is earnestly sought.
#DEL
RALPH VI
P. TULFO
Rapresentative
2nd District of Quezon aty
ACT-CIS Partylist


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE 0F REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
House Bill No.
8453
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES RALPH VVENDEL P. TULF0
AND |OCELYN P. TULFO
1          AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PHILIPPINE ECOSYSTEM AND NATURAL
2           CAPITAL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM (PENCAS), MANDATING ITS USE IN POLICY
3       AND DECISION-MAKING, DESIGNATING THE AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS
4          IMPLEMENTATI0N, PROVIDING INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AMONG
5              RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE AND FOR
6                                                                     OTHER PURPOSES
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Be it enacted by the Senate and the House Of Rapresentatives Of the Pldippines in Congress asserndled..
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10           SEcrl0N 1. Short Tt.fzc. -This Act shall be known as the ``Philippine Ecosystem and Natural
11      Capital Accounting system (PENCAS) Ijaw''.
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13            SEC. 2. Dcchartztr.o„ a/PoZI.c!/. -It is hereby declared the policy of the state to:
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15           (a)  Recognize natural ecosystems as an integral part of our patrimony and heritage;
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17           a)  Protect and promote ecological balance, and advance the richt of the people to live in
18                 harmony with nature;
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20           (c)  Adhere to the united Nations system of Environmental -Economic Accounting that
21                 measures and monitors the dynamic interaction and intersections of the environment,
22                  the economy, and the society;
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24           (d) Develop a comprehensive information system and accounting framework that will take
25                  into consideration the role of our natural capital, consisting of both environmental and
26                 natural resources, and its inpact on the country's economy;
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1           (e)  Integrate  natural  capital  accounting  into  the  national  income  accounting  system,
2                  strengthening  and  building  on  Repubhic  Act  No.  10625,  otherwise  known  as  the
3                  ``Philippine statistical Act of 2013'', on environmental accounts and statistics;
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5           (f)  Estabhih and improve inter-agency coordination for the purpose of linking economic
6                 and environmental and natural resource inforrmtion and efficient data management
7                  among concerned agencies and their partner institutions and establish an office to guide
8                  such coordination; and
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10           (g)  Understand nature's pricelessness, its intrinsic value, and its interdependencies in the
11                  implementation of the foregoing pohicies to consider that nature and ecosystems have an
12                  inherent right to exist, with an end in view of recognizing legal rights that serve to protect
13                  endangered  ecosystems  and  applying  the  precautionary  principle,  especially  when
14                  economic values cannot be estimated.
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16            SEC. 3. Dc/I.#t.£t.o# a/ Terns. -For purposes of this Act, the following terms are hereby
17       defined as fouows:
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19            (a)  £cosysfe7"  refers  to  a  complex  of  community  of  fiving  organisms,  their  physical
20                  environment, and all their interrelationships in a particular unit of space, and the biotic
21                  and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows;
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23            Q)  N¢hartzJ capi.toJ refers to the concept of nature as a stock that provides a flow of benefits to
24                  people and the economy. Natural capital consists of the stcreks of natural assets, both
25                  biotic and abiotic components, and renewable and non-renewable natural resources. It
26                  includes air, water, soil, minerals, forests, coral reefs, seagrass beds, and all living things.
27                  It is from this natural capital that humans derive a wide range of goods and services,
28                  which make human life and civilization possible;
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30            (c)  £coeysfe7„  sertt!.cos  refers  to  the  flows  of  benefits  which  people  gain  from  natural
31                  ecosystems.  Food,  water,  energy,  or  climate  regulation  are  examples  of  ecosystem
32                  services.  These  provide  people  everywhere  with  the  means  for  healthy  lives  and
33                  underpin all economic activity; and
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(d) United Nations System Of Environment-Economie Accounting System (UN SEEA) rcters to the
framework  that  integrates  economic  and  environmental  data  to  provide  a  more
comprehensive and multipurpose view of the interrelationships between the economy
and the envirorment and the storks and changes in storks of environmental assets, as
they bring benefits to humanity.
SHE. 4. Phitippi:ne Ecosystem and Natural  Capital Accounting Syste'I'rL  -  A svste:rr\ o£
8      environmentalTeconomic  accounting is  hereby institutionalized  to be called the  Thilippine
9      Ecosystem and Natural capital Accounting system, hereinafter referred to as PENCAS.
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11           PENCAS shall be established based on existing environmental accounting systems that are
12      covered by the UN SEEA and are theoretically correct and accepted as evaluated based on
13      international standards.
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15           PENCAS shall provide an exhaustive list of statistics that represent the state of our natural
16      resources and ecosystems, including the costs of air, sohid waste, and marine pollution and
17      damage to the environment due to human activities in our terrestrial and maritime domains,
18      and envirormental protection expenditures.
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20            SEC. 5. OZ7/iech.z7es a/ the p£NCAS. -The PENCAS shall supplement the current system of
21      National Accounts and shall perform the following functions:
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(a)  Guide the collection, generation, analysis, and presentation of environlnental statistics
and data;
a))  Inform economicrenvironmental policy development and decision-making;
(c)  Generate the Thilippine counterpart of the UN SEEA satellite accounts covering both the
Central Framework and the Ecosystem Accounts; and
(d) Contribute to efforts to protect, conserve, and restore ecosystems and habitats, especially
the ones in critical danger, in line with our commitment to fulfill the otyectives and
targets of key multilateral environmental agreements, including the Uhited Nations
Decade of Ecological Restoration and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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2            SEC. 6. J"t7oztjeiorer.I a/ Got)cmfflenf Agenci.es.  -The fouowing departments and offices
3      under or attached to them shall be involved in the establishment and institutionalization of the
4       PENCAS:
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(a)  National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA);
Q)  Department of Envirorment and Natural Resources (DENR);
(c)  Department of Science and Technology (IxrsT);
(d) Department of Agriculture (DA);
(e)  Department of Energy (DOE);
(f)   Department of Transportation (DOTr);
(g)  Department of Trade and hdustry (DTI);
th) Department of Tourism (DOT);
(i)   Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH);
0)   Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DrsuD);
at)  Department of Health (roH);
a)   Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG);
(in) Philippine Statistics Authority (rsA); and
(n)  other agencies, if necessary.
SEC. 7. Participation Of Specif tc Bureaus Within the Agencies. -The fdiowir\8 Offi!ces shall
22      contribute  to  the  collection,  generation,  analysis,  and  presentation  of  statistics  and  data
23      requirements of the PENCAS:
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25            (a)  AIl bureaus of the DENR, including the National Mapping and Resource Information
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Q)  National Water Regulatory Board;
(c)  Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources;
(d) Bureau of Soils and Water Management;
(e)  National Renewable Energy Board;
(f)   Research and Development Institutes, and Science and Technology Services of the DcrsT;
(g)  Philippine Coconut Authority;
th) Thilippine Fisheries Development Authority;
(i)   Philippine Rice Research Institute;
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0)   National Irrigation Adndnistration;
qt)  Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration; and
a)   Philippine Institute of volcanology and Seismology.
SEC.  8.  Creflfi.ori  a/ ffee PENCAS  HHi.fs.  -  PENCAS  units  shall  be  created  within  the
6      organizational structure of the departments identified under sec. 6 of this Act.
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8           The head of PENCAS units shall be no lower than a division chief, and shall be, as far as
9      practicable, utilize existing employees for staffing.
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11            SEC. 9. F#"cfi.a"s a/PENCAS Lr#!.ts. -PENCAS units created under sec. 8 of this Act shall
12      perform the following functions:
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(a)  Develop   methodologies   and   approaches   for   the   collection,   development,   and
compilation of data on ecosystem service accounts, emission accounts, ocean accounts,
or such other accounts relevant to the department's mandates;
®)  Collaborate with the scientific community in conducting research and studies related to
PENCAS;
(c)  Integrate  sustairmble  development and  principles  and  practices,  espedally  resource
recovery, low{arbon development, and indigenous knowledge systems and practices,
in the plans, policies, and programs of their offices;
(d) Enhance the statistical literacy of their personnel;
(e)  Prioritize the collection, generation, and analysis of environmental data to support out
shift to blue and green economy; and
(f)  Institutionalize open data for independent and external research and studies.
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SEC. 10. r#"cf!.ous a/ the NEDA. - The PENCAS unit at the NEDA shall:
(a)  Conduct consultations, orientations, and capacity-building activities on the PENCAS
and  its   widest  cascading  and  implementation  in  the   entire  bureaucracy,  local
government units, the private sector, civil society, and other social institutions;
a)  Coordinate the conduct of studies and research in support of policy development related
to PENCAS;
(c)  Formulate and update periodically indicators on eeonomy€nvironment interactions,
and regenerative and sustainable development indices; and
(d) Provide technical services to (1) the development and budget coordination committee for
the integration of natural capital in macroeconomic planning and the allocation of the
national  budget,  (2)  the  investment  coordination  committee  for  the  review  and
evaluation of major infrastructure and development projects, in terms of sourcing of raw
materials and its attendant risks and costs, its social impact and economic benefits, and
(3)  to  task  forces  or  special  bodies,  now  existing  and  henceforth  created,  on  the
envirorment.
SEC. 11. RoZc a/I,ocaz GozJcmfflc#f Lr#£ts. - Local government units shall endeavor to create
22      PENCAS accounts, according to the templates and guidelines provided for by the IBA and
23      DILG, and are encouraged to irmovate and adopt measures and methods of resource valuation
24      and damage estimation according to their local contexts.
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26            SEC.12. PENCAS 1.# the fd#cflfi.oi.flJ Sgrsferi.. -The Department of Education shall craft
27      modules in all levels and modalities of basic education to develop ecological consciousness,
28      environmental literacy, and social responsibility.
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30           The commission on Higher Education and the professional Regulation commission shall
31      likewise integrate ecological consciousness, environmental literacy, and social responsibility in
32      higher   education   and   continuing   professional   education   programs,   and   develop   an
33      understanding of the impact of professions on the environment.
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1            SEC.13. P¢rfz.cz.prfony Mccha"is7aes. -Each PENCAS unit shall institute mechanisms for the
2      widest dissemination of the guiding principles and concepts of the PENCAS, and for feedback
3      and erowdsourcing. Any citizen shall have the richt to information on pENCAs data, and the
4      right to seek explanation from any government agency for neglect of duties mandated by this
5      Act.  PENCAS  data  shall  be  released  alongside  national  economic  data  to  highlight  the
6      inextricable relationship between the environment and economic development.
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8            SEC.14. Rz.gJzts o/Nature. -Nothing in this Act shall be construed to mean that rLature has
9      no intrinsic value separate and distinct from its economic value, or that it loses pricelessness
10      through suchvaluation
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12           SEC.15. Support to PENCAS Research and Data Management. -The Departrment of Budget
13      and Management shall give utmost consideration to the budgetary requirements for PENCAS
14      research and data management in preparing the National Expenditure program, and ensure
15      that  government  spending  supports  sustainable  development  and  does  not  compromise
16      eeologicalbalance.
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18            SEC.16. JrmpJc#cenfi.Hg R#fes fl"d Rqgrihafi.ous. -The NEDA shall convene an inter-agency
19      working group, composed of the agencies enumerated under sections 6 and 7 of this Act, to
20      craft the implementing niles and regulations of this Act within 120 days since the approval of
21       the same.
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23            SEC.17. Scz7aroz».Zz.fry chauseL -If any provision of this Act or a portion thereof is declared
24      unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision not affected thereby shall remain
25      in full force and effect.
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27            SEC.18. RqucaJ..#g cha#sc. -All laws, deerees, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof
28      inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
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30            SEC.19. £#ectt.t7..rty. -This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its publication in
31      the official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
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3 3            Approved,