TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
of ill-' a-;-' i .'i’.'.i.
25 AUG-5 P3 36
SENATE
s. No.__ ai3
Ri;Ct(i/.0 BY:
Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada
AN ACT
CREATING A PHILIPPINE POLLUTANT RELEASE AND TRANSFER REGISTRY
EXPLANATORY NOTE
An inclusive, accessible, and efficient transportation system is essential for 
national development. In the Philippines, public utility vehicles (PUVs) play a vital role 
in the daily mobility of millions of Filipinos, particularly those in low- and middle- 
income sectors. However, the absence of a standardized fare discount mechanism for 
persons with disabilities (PWDs), senior citizens, and students often results in 
inconsistent implementation, creating barriers to mobility and limiting their 
participation in social and economic activities.
This measure seeks to establish a clear and enforceable system for granting 
fare discounts to these vulnerable sectors, ensuring that PUV operators comply with 
existing laws and that the rights of commuters are upheld across all forms of land- 
based public transportation. It mandates uniform discount rates, provides clear 
penalties for violations, and includes mechanisms for regular monitoring and 
enforcement.
Filed by Senator Grace Poe in the 19th Congress, this bill upholds the dignity of 
commuters and promotes a culture of respect, especially for those who rely most on 
affordable and accessible public transport.


In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly 
recommended.
NG^Y EJERCITO ESTRADA


TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
SENATE 
S. No. 3
25 AUG-5 P3 36
RECEIVED Bv:
Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada
AN ACT
CREATING A PHILIPPINE POLLUTANT RELEASE AND TRANSFER REGISTRY
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Philippine Pollutant
2 
Release and Transfer Registry Act'.
3 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It shall be the policy of the State to:
4 
a) Protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful
5 
ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature, and to protect
6 
and promote the people's right to health, and to attain and maintain a
7 
balance between development and environmental protection;
8 
b) Maintain a quality of air that protects human health and welfare;
9 
c) Pursue economic growth in a manner consistent with the protection,
10 
preservation, and revival 
of the quality 
of our fresh, brackish and marine
11 
waters;
12 
d) Regulate, restrict, or prohibit the importation, manufacture, processing, sale
13 
and distribution, use and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures that
14 
present unreasonable risk and/or injury to health or the environment;
15 
e) Adopt a systematic, comprehensive and ecological solid waste management
16 
program which shall ensure 
the protection 
of public 
health and 
the
17 
environment;


1 
f) Adopt and implement full public disclosure of all its transactions involving
2 
public interest, and to promote a transparent, open, and participatory
3 
environmental management regime; and
4 
g) Ensure that information on the health and safety of humans and the
5 
environment shall not be regarded as confidential, but shall protect trade
6 
secrets and other confidential information.
7 
Sec. 3. Applicable and Related Laws, Rules, and Regulations. - The following
8 
laws and their pertinent rules and regulations shall be applicable and taken into
9 
account in the implementation of the Philippine Pollutant Release and Transfer
10 
Registry (PPRTR):
11 
a) Republic Act No. 6969 otherwise known as the Toxic Substances and
12 
Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990; Republic Act No. 8749
13 
otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999;
14 
b) Republic Act No. 9275 otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Water Act
15 
of 2004;
16 
c) Republic Act No. 9003 otherwise known as the Ecological Solid Waste
17 
Management Act of 2000; and
18 
d) All other environmental laws, rules, and regulations as may be relevant to
19 
the Implementation of the PPRTR, including, but not limited to multilateral
20 
and bilateral health and environmental agreements to which the Philippines
21 
is a party to.
22 
Sec. 4. Scope and Coverage. - The PPRTR shall cover all forms of pollutants
23 
and hazardous and toxic chemicals, and all forms of emissions and discharges in the
24 
environment, whether in the air, water, or soil by all facilities and industries operating
25 
in the Philippines, subject to the guidelines and procedures of the PPRTR on the
26 
disclosure requirement for facilities and industries.
27 
Sec. 5. Objectives. - The objectives of the PPRTR are:
28 
a) To provide timely, relevant, accessible, and comprehensible data to the
29 
general public to support the Identification and assessment of possible risks
30 
to humans and the environment by indicating sources and amounts of
31 
potentially harmful releases and transfers to the environment and to
32 
minimize its effects on the environment;


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
mean:
b) To simplify and rationalize information gathering about the emission and 
transfer of individual chemicals and wastes to different media, as well as 
the reporting requirements which the industry has to comply;
c) To prevent pollution and the release of pollutants from various sources by 
encouraging the implementation of cleaner technologies and to help the 
private sector comply with environmental rules and regulations;
d) To evaluate the progress of government environmental policies on pollution 
control and prevention and to assess to what extent national environmental 
goals can be achieved;
e) To increase the involvement of the private sector in pollution control and 
prevention, in research and development of clean production and green 
chemistry, and in environmental management to achieve sustainable 
development; and
f) To improve the quality of air, water, and land resources through the use of 
data and information collected in the system.
Sec. 6. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the following terms shall
a) Air poiiution - any alteration of the physical, chemical and biological 
properties of the atmospheric air, or any discharge thereto of any liquid, 
gaseous or solid substance that will or is likely to create or to render the air 
resources of the country harmful, detrimental, or injurious to public health, 
safety and welfare or which will adversely affect their utilization for 
domestic, commercial or industrial, agricultural, recreational or other 
legitimate purposes;
b) Clean production - is a preventive, integrated, continuous strategy for 
modifying products, processes, and services, to enhance efficiency which 
improves environmental performance and reduces costs;
c) Emission - emission of a substance to the environment whether in pure 
form or contained in other matter and whether in solid, liquid or gaseous 
form. It includes emissions from landfills, incinerators, waste management 
and other disposal facilities, concrete kilns, sewerage systems, tailings 
dams, and other industrial facilities;


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
d) Green chemistry - also known as sustainable chemistry, is the design of 
chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use of 
generation of hazardous substances;
e) Hazardous substances/chemicals - are substances which present either: 1) 
short term acute hazards, such as acute toxicity by ingestion, inhalation or 
skin absorption, corrosivity or other skin or eye contact hazard or the risk 
of fire or explosion; or 2) long term environmental hazards, including 
chronic toxicity upon repeated exposure, carcinogenicity (which may in 
some cases result from acute exposure but with a long latent period), 
resistance to detoxification process such as biodegradation, the potential to 
pollute underground or surface waters, or aesthetically objectionable 
properties such as offensive odors. It is a chemical for which there is 
statistically significant evidence (based on at least one study conducted 
according to established scientific principles) that acute or chronic health 
effects may occur;
f) Hazardous wastes - substances that arc without any safe commercial, 
industrial, agricultural or economic usage and by-products, side-products, 
process residues, spent reaction, media, contaminated plant or equipment 
or other substances from manufacturing operations, and as consumer 
discards from manufactured products;
g) Pollutant release and transfer registry (PRTR) - are catalogues or registries 
of potentially harmful pollutant releases or transfers to the environment 
from a variety of sources, including information on the nature and quantity 
of such releases and transfers. It includes information about releases or 
transfers to air, water and soil as well as about wastes transported to 
treatment and disposal sites. It is a means for obtaining regular, periodic 
information about releases and/or transfers of chemical substances of 
interest and for making this information accessible to those who may be 
interested and/or affected by it; it is a tool for promoting efficient and 
effective policies for environmental protection and sustainable 
development;


1 
h) Solid waste - all discarded household, commercial waste, non-hazardous
2 
institutional and Industrial waste, street sweepings, construction debris,
3 
agricultural waste, and other non-hazardous and non-toxic waste; and
4 
i) Water pollution - any alteration of the physical, chemical, biological,
5 
radiological properties or a body of water resulting in the impairment or its
6 
purity or quality, or is hazardous or potentially hazardous to health.
7 
Sec. 7. Lead Implementing Agency. - The Environmental Management Bureau
8 
(EMB) shall be the lead/ implementing agency for the PPRTR. The EMB shall create a
9 
special unit, the PPRTR Office (PPRTRO), whose sole function shail implement the
10 
provisions of this Act.
11 
The PPRTRO shall be headed by an Executive Director and shall be assisted by
12 
competent staff to be determined based on the exigency of the circumstances. The
13 
PPRTRO shali be created and established within three (3) months from the effectivity
14 
of this Act.
15 
Sec. 8. Powers and Functions of the PPRTR Office. - The PPRTRO shall have
16 
the following powers and functions:
17 
a) Conduct an assessment of existing infrastructure for the full implementation
18 
of the PPRTR;
19 
b) Conduct information and dissemination campaigns as regards the PPRTR,
20 
from inception to its implementation stages;
21 
c) Collect, manage, sort and make available to the general public the data and
22 
information collected in the system in an effective, efficient, accessible and
23 
timely manner;
24 
d) Maintain a database of covered Industries, facilities, and establishments;
25 
e) Issue reports and updates regarding the PPRTR for the general public;
26 
f) Conduct research and studies on pollution control, prevention, and
27 
mitigation and on green chemistry and clean production;
28 
g) Coordinate with other government agencies and the private sector for the
29 
effective and efficient implementation of the PPRTR;
30 
h) Issue guideiines for the impiementation of the PPRTR;
31 
i) Conduct periodic assessments of the PPRTR system and make
32 
recommendations for the improvement of the same; and


1 
j) Perform such other powers and functions as may be designated by the
2 
Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources.
3 
Sec. 9. Guidelines and Procedure Implementing the PPRTR. - The guidelines
4 
and procedure implementing the PPRTR shall be issued by the Secretary of
5 
Environment and Natural Resources within six (6) months from the date of the
6 
effectivity of this Act.
7 
A Technical Working Group (TWG) is hereby constituted to formulate the
8 
guidelines and procedure to establish the PPRTR. The TWG shall be supported by the
9 
PPRTRO. The necessary Special Orders (SO) shall be issued to constitute the TWG.
10 
The TWG shall be composed of at least seven (7) members representing various
11 
government agencies such as the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Labor
12 
and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of
13 
Transportation and Communication (DOTC), Department of the Interior and Local
14 
Government (DILG), and Department of Agriculture (DA) among others, the private
15 
sector and industries, non-government and civil society organizations, local
16 
government units (LGUs), and the academe, who shall be designated and appointed
17 
by the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources.
18 
The Secretary shall ensure that sufficient environment and health experts, and
19 
frontline community members, are represented in the TWG.
20 
Sec. 10. Contents of the Guidelines and Procedure Implementing the PPRTR. -
21 
The guidelines and procedure shall contain, but not be limited to the following
22 
information:
23 
a) List and schedule of covered substances, chemicals and pollutants, and their
24 
classification;
25 
b) List of covered facilities, establishments and industries;
26 
c) Procedure and method of obtaining, reporting, and disseminating
27 
information;
28 
d) Procedure for citing non-compliant and violating facilities; and
29 
e) Guidelines to ensure accessible, timely, relevant and accessible public
30 
access to information on the PPRTR, taking into account the right of
31 
businesses and industries to the 
protection of trade secrets and other
32 
intellectual property and related rights.


1 
The information indicated in this provision shall be modified accordingly in
2 
consonance with international developments and evolving practices related but not
3 
limited to pollution control, prevention and mitigation, green chemistry, and clean
4 
production, based on researches, studies, international laws, treaties and conventions,
5 
jurisprudence, and the like.
6 
Sec. 11. Pilot Test of the PPRTR. - The Department of Environment and Natural
7 
Resources (DENR) and the EMB shall identify areas where the PPRTR shall first be
8 
implemented for the first reporting year. The areas shall be chosen on the basis of the
9 
availability of current pollution data and information, private sector cooperation and
10 
participation, and availability of needed infrastructure.
11 
The pilot areas shall be as far as practicable in different regions and locations
12 
and which would be representative of the general conditions in the rest of the country.
13 
The pilot test shall be conducted within three (3) months from compliance with
14 
Section 9 of this Act.
15 
Sec. 12. Penalties. - Businesses that fall to comply with the requirements of
16 
this Act shall suffer a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) but not
17 
more than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) and suspension of their license to
18 
operate for one (1) month for the first offence and their license to operate may also
19 
be revoked.
20 
Sec. 13. Transitory Provisions. - Existing inventories, records and listings of
21 
pollutants, chemicals, and substances as provided for in other laws, rules and
22 
regulations, such as but not limited to the Priority Chemicals List (PCL) of the DENR,
23 
shall be taken into consideration in the formulation of the list and schedules or the
24 
PPRTR.
25 
Data and information in existing inventories, records, and listings shall be
26 
included in the initial list of the PPRTR, provided that all the chemicals In the PCL of
27 
the DENR shall be used as the initial list of the system. The consolidation shall be
28 
completed within one (1) year from the date of effectivity of this Act.
29 
Monitoring, data collection and listing, and inventories, conducted and
30 
managed by other units and offices of the DENR and other relevant government
31 
agencies shall continue, subject to the guidelines and procedure as prescribed by


1 
Section 9 of this Act, on the mandatory sharing and forwarding of information to the
2 
PPRTR system.
3 
Sec. 14. Funding. - Upon the effectivity of this Act, the EMB shall allocate from
4 
their existing funds such amounts as may be necessary for the additional funding
5 
requirements that may be needed by the PPRTR, subject to the usual government
6 
accounting and auditing rules and regulations.
7 
In the year following the effectivity of this Act and in subsequent years
8 
thereafter, the operational funds and expenses of the PPRTR shall be provided for in
9 
the annual budget of the DENR. Provided that, the Secretary of Environment and
10 
Natural Resources may allocate additional funding for the PPRTR as the circumstances
11 
and exigencies may require.
12 
Sec. 15. Separability Clause. - If any provision, or part hereof is held Invalid or
13 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall
14 
remain valid and subsisting.
15 
Sec. 16. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
16 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or
17 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended
18 
accordingly.
19 
Sec. 17. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
20 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved,