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Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
Twentieth Congress 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 4272 
Introduced by Representatives Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, Yedda 
Marie K. Romualdez, Andrew Julian K. Romualdez and Jude A. Acidre 
AN ACT 
REGULATING THE USE OF TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY FOR 
MUNICIPAL AND HAZARDOUS WASTES, REPEALING FOR THE 
PURPOSE SECTION 20 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8749, ENTITLED “THE 
PHILIPPINE CLEAN AIR ACT OF 1999” 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Section 20 of Republic Act No. 8749 or the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 
provides for the prohibition of incineration of municipal, biomedical, and hazardous 
waste, which process emits poisonous and toxic fumes. Likewise, certain provisions 
from Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 
provided for the State to adopt a systematic, comprehensive and ecological solid 
waste management program which shall ensure the proper segregation collection, 
transport, storage, treatment and disposal of solid waste through the formulation and 
adoption of the best environmental practice in ecological waste management, 
excluding "incineration". 
However, more than two decades after their enactment and implementation, 
new technologies have emerged, paving way for the conversion of waste into energy. 
Waste-to-Energy (WTE) or energy-from-waste is the process of generating energy 
in the form of electricity heat from the incineration of waste. By-products emitted 
by landfills such as methane, dioxins and leachate, when left untreated, can seep 
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through the soil, thereby contaminating water sources, plants and even food. WTE 
technologies can address this issue because of its ability to process non-renewable 
waste, thereby reducing environmental and health damages, all the while generating 
sustainable energy. 
Thus, this bill seeks to amend and / or repeal pertinent provisions of RA 8749 
and RA 9003 with regard to the ban on incineration of wastes. The said repeal will 
allow for the necessary and modern options in solving the persistent garbage 
problem in the country and in the process, attract more investors by providing fiscal 
and non-fiscal incentives. 
It is imperative to revisit the two-decade laws to give the national government 
alternatives in addressing the country's garbage problem, notwithstanding our 
dependence or non-renewable resources to produce power. Converting our waste to 
energy may be a good, if not the best, solution to solve both. 
A similar bill was filed in the 19th Congress which was approved on third 
reading, as well as during the 18th Congress, by Representatives Carlito S. Marquez, 
Carlos O. Cojuangco, Enrico A. Pineda and Michael Odylon L. Romero, PhD. 
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is urgently sought. 
FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ 
YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ 
ANDREW JULIAN K.  ROMUALDEZ 
JUDE A. ACIDRE 


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Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
Twentieth Congress 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 4272 
Introduced by Representatives Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, Yedda 
Marie K. Romualdez, Andrew Julian K. Romualdez and Jude A. Acidre 
AN ACT 
REGULATING THE USE OF TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY FOR 
MUNICIPAL AND HAZARDOUS WASTES, REPEALING FOR THE 
PURPOSE SECTION 20 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8749, ENTITLED “THE 
PHILIPPINE CLEAN AIR ACT OF 1999” 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines 
in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1.  Title. – This Act shall be known and referred to as the “Waste 
Treatment Technology Act”. 
Section 2.  Regulation of Waste Treatment Technology. – Thermal and other 
treatment technologies for the disposal of municipal and hazardous wastes, or for 
the processing of any waste material for fuel, whether for commercial use or not, 


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shall be designed and operated to meet the standards established pursuant to this Act 
and its implementing rules and regulations. These technologies shall be fitted with 
equipment that will continuously monitor, record, and make publicly available the 
reported data on their emissions or air pollutant concentrations. Proposed facilities 
that generate energy or waste-to-energy facilities shall be given priority over other 
treatment technologies. Entities utilizing such technologies shall incorporate in their 
facilities and operations the appropriate material recovery program. Thermal 
treatment units shall treat wastes at a temperature of not less than eight hundred fifty 
degrees centigrade (850°C). 
 
Sec 3.  Lead Agencies. – The Department of Environment and Natural 
Resources (DENR) shall be primarily responsible for the implementation and 
enforcement of this Act, while the Department of Energy is primarily responsible 
over relevant regulations pertaining to waste-to-energy facilities. Both agencies shall 
promote the use of state-of-the-art, environmentally-sound and safe technologies for 
the handling, treatment, thermal or non-thermal destruction, utilization, and disposal 
of residual wastes. 
 
Pursuant to Sec. 15 of R.A No. 8749, otherwise known as the “Clean Air Act 
of 1999”, the Pollution Research and Development Program shall likewise include 
the continuous monitoring, evaluation, and development of more appropriate air 
quality guideline values and standards for the treatment of municipal and hazardous 
wastes, or for the processing of any waste material for fuel. 
 
Sec. 4.  Role of Local Government Units (LGUs) in Setting Up Treatment 
Facilities. –The LGUs are hereby mandated to promote, encourage and implement 


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in their respective jurisdictions a comprehensive solid waste management plan that 
includes waste reduction, segregation, recycling, composting, and recovery. The 
establishment of treatment facilities shall be facilitated by LGUs within a region, 
province, or strategically clustered LGUs, in consonance with their respective ten-
year solid waste management plans: Provided, That these are consistent with the 
national solid waste management framework established pursuant to R.A. No. 9003, 
otherwise known as the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000”.  
 
Sec. 5. Role of the National Solid Waste Management Commission 
(NSWMC). – The solid waste management plans and supplemental disposal plans 
of all LGUs, including those which may carry out treatment projects, shall be 
submitted to the NSWMC which shall render a decision within ten (10) working 
days from submission thereof. The NSWMC shall put in writing the reasons for 
either approving or denying such plans.  
 
 
Sec. 6. Role of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). – The 
DOST shall undertake the necessary verification of the technology that will be used 
for the treatment or waste processing projects. The verification shall be completed 
and reported in writing within ten (10) working days from receipt of the application, 
or twenty (20) working days if the application is for a new technology. 
 
 
Sec. 7. Role of the Department of Energy (DOE). – The DOE, in addition to 
its powers and functions under R.A. No. 7638, otherwise known as “The Department 
of Energy Act of 1992,” shall, insofar as the establishment and operation of facilities 
that recover energy: 
 


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(a) Accredit and classify facilities that recover energy based on the energy 
output, and determine the standards, criteria and requirements applicable therefor 
pursuant to R.A. No. 9136, otherwise known as the “Electric Power Industry Reform 
Act (EPIRA) of 2001,” R.A. No. 9367, otherwise known as the “Biofuels Act of 
2006,” and R.A. No. 9513, otherwise known as the “Renewable Energy Act of 
2008,” whichever is applicable: Provided, That the energy generated from the 
facilities shall be regulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission in as far as the 
rates and pricing thereof; 
 
(b) Include a waste-to-energy implementation strategy in the Philippines 
Energy Plan, which takes into consideration the National Solid Waste Management 
Framework; 
 
(c) Make available to the public, especially to potential investors for these 
facilities, local and national information on the following: 
 
(i) current and potential uses of facilities in relation to solid waste 
management; 
 
(ii) inventory of existing facilities; and 
 
(iii) other relevant information. 
 
 
Sec. 8.  Responsibility of Owner and Operator. – Responsibility for 
compliance with the standards promulgated for the establishment and operation of 
waste treatment facilities shall rest with the owner and/or operator thereof. If, by 


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virtue of a contract, the operator is primarily and solely responsible for compliance 
with the standards, the same shall not relieve the owner of the requirement to 
exercise due diligence to ensure the operator’s compliance. In the event that the 
ownership of the facility is transferred to another person, the previous owner shall 
notify the new owner of the standards and the conditions set for the operation of said 
facility, and the laws and regulations that the new owner or operator has to comply 
with.  
 
 
These standards for operation of waste treatment or processing facility may 
be made more stringent by not more than five percent (5%): Provided, That the more 
stringent standards shall be effected ten (10) years following the commencement of 
the operation of the facility that is established after the effectivity of this Act. 
 
 
Sec. 9. Grant of Incentives. – The following fiscal and non-fiscal incentives 
shall be granted to registered investors and hosts of waste treatment programs: 
 
 
(a) Fiscal and Non-Fiscal Incentives. – Upon certification by the DOE, waste-
to-energy projects, as defined in this Act, may be granted the incentives provided 
under Title XIII of Republic Act No. 8424, otherwise known as the “National 
Internal Revenue Code of 1997”, as amended, and any other applicable laws: 
Provided, That the inclusion of waste-to-energy projects in the strategic investment 
priorities plan shall be reviewed and may be extended by the BOI. 
  
(b) Financial Assistance Program – Government financial institutions such as 
the Landbank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Government 
Service Insurance System, and such other government institutions providing 


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financial service shall, in accordance with and to the extent allowed by the enabling 
provisions of their respective charters or applicable laws, accord high priority in the 
extension of financial services to individuals, enterprises, or private entities engaged 
in putting up treatment facilities: Provided, That these institutions shall allocate five 
percent (5%) of their loan portfolio to waste treatment projects. 
 
(c) Extension of Grants and Incentives to LGUs – Provinces, cities, and 
municipalities, the treatment facilities plans of which have been duly approved by 
the NSWMC for adopting innovative waste treatment programs, may be entitled to 
receive grants for the purpose of developing their technical capacities toward 
actively participating in the waste treatment projects. The LGUs that host common 
treatment facilities shall be entitled to incentives as may be determined by the 
NSWMC. 
 
Sec. 10. Permits and Licenses. – The procedure for the issuance of permits 
and licenses for all kinds of waste-to-energy facilities shall be governed by R.A No. 
11234, otherwise known as the "Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop Act", and R.A. 
No.11032, otherwise known as the “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient 
Government Service Delivery Act of 2018”. 
 
Sec. 11.  Fines and Penalties. – Violations of the provisions of this Act, or 
the standards or rules and regulations promulgated for treatment facilities shall be 
fined or penalized under the provisions of P.D. 1586, otherwise known as the 
Environmental Impact Statement System; R.A. No. 6969, otherwise known as the 
“Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990”; R.A. 
No. 8749; R.A. No. 9003; and R.A. No. 9275, otherwise known as the “Philippine 


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Clean Water Act of 2004”. For waste-to-energy facilities, the penal schemes 
established under the Philippine Grid Code and Philippine Distribution Code 
pursuant to R.A. No. 9136, shall likewise apply. 
 
Sec. 12. Congressional Oversight Committee. – Upon the effectivity of this 
Act, a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee shall be constituted to monitor its 
implementation by the concerned agencies and LGUs. The Oversight Committee 
shall be composed of fourteen (14) members, with the Chairpersons of the 
Committee on Ecology and Committee on Energy of the House of Representatives 
and the Chairpersons of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and 
Committee on Energy of the Senate as co-chairpersons and an additional four 
members from each House, to be designated by the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate President, respectively. 
 
 
Sec. 13.   Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The DENR and DOE shall 
promulgate the rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act, 
within three (3) months after its approval. 
 
Sec. 14. Report to Congress. – The DENR and the DOE shall submit to the 
President of the Philippines and to Congress an annual report not later than March 
30 of every year following the approval of this Act, which shall include an evaluation 
of the implementation of this Act, and the appropriate recommendations thereon, 
and for any improvements or modifications to the policies enunciated herein. 
 


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Sec. 15. Separability Clause. – If any part or section of this Act is declared 
unconstitutional, such declaration shall not affect the other parts or sections of this 
Act. 
 
Sec. 16.  Repealing Clause. – Section 20 of R.A. No. 8749 otherwise known 
as the “Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999” is hereby repealed. The pertinent provision 
of R.A. No. 9003 otherwise known as the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act 
of 2000”, as amended, and other laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules 
and regulations inconsistent with any provisions of this Act shall be deemed repealed 
or modified accordingly. 
 
Sec. 17.  Effectivity.   – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,