FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
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First Regular Session 
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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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J!# 
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SENATE 
S. B. No. 885 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines has one of the worlds most abundant marine 
environment. It has become a primary source of food, minerals] petroleum, 
hydrocarbon, energy, animal feeds and even construction materials. Thus, 
Article XII, Section 2 of the Constitution mandates the State to protect the 
nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea and 
exclusive economic zone and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively for 
Filipino citizens. Corollary to the Constitution, the United Nations 
Convention on the Law of the Sea provides that while states have sovereign 
right to exploit their own natural resources, they have the duty to protect and 
preserve the marine environment within and outside their jurisdiction and 
that they shall undertake measures to prevent reduce and control pollution of 
the marine environment. 
Notwithstanding the importance of marine resources to the country’s 
economic development and ecological survival, there are documented reports 
of the rapid deterioration of the quality of our waters for the past decade 
wrought by man’s indiscriminate discharge of any and all kinds of refuse into 
Philippine waters. This has been attributed primarily to sewage and 
industrial effluents from urban areas, tailings from mining activities, oil from 
shipping operations and agricultural run-off. In Manila Bay alone, bacterial 
count has shown to have increased through the years. This has rendered 
many beaches in its eastern part unfit for bathing and it’s near shore waters 
unfit for fisheries and growing of shellfish. 
The present state of the law with respect to the protection of our 
marine environment is provided under Presidential Decree No. 600, 
otherwise known as the Marine Pollution Decree of 1974. Said Decree 
declares as national policy, “prevent and control the pollution of seas by the 
dumping of wastes and other matter which create hazards to human health, 
harm living resources and marine life, damage amenities, or interfere with 
the legitimate uses of the sea within the territorial jurisdiction of the 
Philippines.” It declares unlawful the throwing, discharge or deposit of any 
refuse matter of any kind or description. However, the penalty of a fine of 
Five Thousand pesos (P5, 000.00) or imprisonment of not more than one (1) 
year is not at all parallel to the concomitant damage to our waters. Thus, this 
measure seeks to increase the penalty for unlawful dumping. The president, 
manager or director of a corporation or any partnership shall be liable. 4-d 


This bill defines the guidelines under which the Commandant of the 
Philippine Coast Guard may allow the dumping of waste materials. It 
likewise authorizes the adoption of a dumping system which shall take into 
account the characteristics and composition of the waste materials. 
Early passage of this bill is earnestly urged. 
EDGARDO J: ANGARA 
Senator 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
1 
First Regular Session 
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,.itit. ”-3 5 :Fjo 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
...i_ 
SENATE 
S. B. No. 885 
Introduced by SENATOR EDGARDO J. ANGARA 
AN ACT AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF PRESIDENTIAL 
DECREE NUMBERED SIX HUNDRED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS 
THE MARINE POLLUTION DECREE OF 1974 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the 
Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 600 is hereby 
amended to read as follows: 
“SEC. 4. Deposit of Refuse in Navigable Water. - It shall be 
unlawful to throw, discharge, or deposit, or cause, suffer, or procure to 
be thrown, discharged, or deposited either from or out of any ship, 
barge, or other floating craft of any kind, or from the shore, wharf, 
manufacturing establishment, or mill of any kind, any refuse matter of 
any kind of description whatever other than that flowing from streets 
and sewers and passing there from in a liquid state, into any navigable 
water of the Philippines, or into any tributary of any navigable water, 
where the same shall float or be washed into such navigable water; 
and it shall be unlawful to deposit, or cause, suffer or [procure to be 
deposited material of any kind in any place on the bank of any 
navigable water, where the same shall be liable to be washed into such 
navigable, either by ordinary or high tides, or by storms or floods, or 
otherwise, whereby navigation shall or may be impeded or obstructed 
or increase the level of pollution of such waters: Provided, That 
nothing herein contained shall extend to, apply to, or prohibit the 
operations is in connection with the improvement of navigable waters 
or construction of public works: Provided, further, That the 
Commandant, Philippine Coast Guard, [whenever in his judgment 
navigation will not be injured thereby, may permit the deposit of any 
material above mentioned in navigable waters, within limits to be 
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defined and under conditions to be prescribed by him, provided 
application is made to him prior to depositing such material; and 
whenever any permit is so granted the conditions thereof shall be 
strictly complied with and any violation thereof shall be unlawful.] 
MAY, UPON APPLICATION, PERMIT THE DEPOSIT OF WASTE 
MATERIALS IN DEEP WATER, OTHER THAN HAZARDOUS AND 
NUCLEAR WASTES AS DEFINED IN REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6969, 
SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS: (1) THAT THE 
DEPTH MUST NOT BE LESS THAN 2,000 METERS; (2) THAT THE 
DISTANCE FROM THE NEAREST LAND IS NOT LESS THAN 150 
NAUTICAL MILES; AND (3) MUST NOT INTERFERE WITH 
SHIPPING, FISHING, RECREATION, MINERAL EXTRACTION, 
FISH AND 
SHELLFISH CULTURE, 
AREAS 
OF 
SPECIAL 
SCIENTIFIC IMPORTANCE AND OTHER LEGITIMATE USES OF 
THE SEA: PROVIDED, FINALLY, THAT WHENVER SUCH PERMIT 
IS GRANTED BY THE COMMANDANT, THE SAME.SHALL BE 
SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS: 
(1) MUST BE FOR AFIXEDTERM NOT LONGER THAN FIVE (5) 
YEARS; 
(2) CAN BE TERMINATEDFORCAUSE INCLUDING, BUT NOT 
LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING: 
(a) VIOLATION OF ANY CONDITION OF THE PERMIT; 
(b) OBTAINING A PERMIT BY MISREPRESENTATION, OR 
FAILURE TO DISCLOSE ALL RELEVANT FACTS ANENT 
THE GRANT OF PERMIT; CHANGE IN ANY CONDITION 
THAT 
REQUIRES 
EITHER 
A 
TEMPORARY 
OR 
PERMANENT REDUCTION OR ELIMINATION OF THE 
PERMITTED DEPOSIT.” 
SECTION 2. Section 6 of the same Decree is hereby amended to read 
as follows: 
“SEC. 6. Penalties for Violations. - [Any person who violates 
Section 4 or 5 of this Decree or any regulation prescribed in pursuance 
thereof, shall be liable to a fine of not less than P5,000.00, or by 
imprisonment, for each offense. Any vessel from which oil or other 
harmful substances are discharged in violation of Sections 4 or 5 or 
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any regulation prescribed in pursuance thereof, shall be liable for the 
pecuniary penalty specified in this Section, and clearance of such 
vessel from sport of the Philippines may be withheld until the penalty 
is paid, and said penalty shall constitute a lien on such vessel, which 
may be recovered in proceedings by libel in rem in a court of First 
Instance within which the vessel may be.] 
THE PENALTY OF IMPRISONMENT OF SIX (6) MONTHS 
AND ONE (1) DAY TO SIX (6) YEARS AND ONE (1) DAY AND A 
FINE RANGING FROM SIX THOUSAND PESOS (P6,OOO.OO) SHALL 
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BEIMPOSED UPON ANY PERSON WHO SHALL VIOLATE 
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SECTIONS 4 OR 5 OFTHIS DECREE. IN CASE ANY VIOLATION IS 
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COMMITTED BY A CORPORATION, ASSOCIATION, OR ANY 
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JUDICIAL ENTITY, IT SHALL BE LIABLE FOR A PECUNIARY 
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PENALTY OF ONE (I) MILLION PESOS (Pl, 000,000.00) AND THE 
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LICENSE OF SUCH ENTITY SHALL 
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LIKEWISE BE CANCELLED.” 
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as follows: 
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“SEC. 7. Responsibility and Liability on Oil Spills. - Any 
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ship, tank vessel, tank barge or any other watercraft which 
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accidentally or otherwise discharged oil or oily mixture on waters 
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subject to the jurisdiction of the Philippines, the person in charge of 
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the vessel shall immedi.ately notify the Philippine Coast Guard, giving 
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particulars of the name of the ship and company, location of spill, type 
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of oil spilled, and quantity. In addition, the weather, tide, sea 
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conditions and cause of spill shall be reported. Any person in charge of 
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vessel, AND THE OWNER OR OPERATOR who fails to notify the 
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Coast Guard of any oil or oiIy mixture discharged from his vessel is 
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liable to a fine of [PlO,OOO.OO] ONE MILLION PESOS (Pl,OOO,OOO.OO) 
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or imprisonment of not [more than six months but not] less than [30 
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days] SIX MONTHS. The owner or operator of a vessel or facility 
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which discharged the oil or oily mixture[may] SHALL be liable to pay 
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for any clean-up costs.” 
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SECTION 3. Section 7 of the same Decree is hereby amended to read 
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SECTION 4. A new section is hereby added after section 7 of same 
Decree, to be denominated as “Sec. 7-A,” which shall read as follows: 
“SEC. 
7-A. 
THE 
PHILIPPINE 
COAST 
GUARD, 
IN 
COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT 
AND NATURAL RESOURCES SHALL DEVELOP AND ESTABLISH 
A SYSTEM FOR DUMPING OF WASTE MATERIALS AT SEA. 
SUCH DUMPING SYSTEM SHALL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE 
FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS AND COMPOSITION OF THE 
WASTE MATERIALS: 
(1) TOTAL AMOUNT OF MATERIALS TOBE DUMPED; 
(2) AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF MATTER DUMPED; 
(3) TOXICITY 
(4) PROPERTIES OF THE MATERIALS DUMPED SUCH AS 
PHYSICAL (SOLUBILITY, SPECIFIC GRAVITY AND DENSITY), 
CHEMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL, (OXYGEN DEMAND AND 
NUTRIENT PRODUCTION) AND BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES 
(PRESENCE OF VIRUSES, BACTERIA, YEASTS, PARASITES, 
AND THE LIKE); 
(5) 
ACCUMULATION 
AND 
BIOTRANSFORMATION 
IN 
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS OF SEDIMENTS; 
(6) SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CHEMICAL, BIOCHEMICAL AND 
PHYSICAL CHANGES AND INTERACTION IN AQUATIC 
ENVIRONMENT WITH OTHER DISSOLVED ORGANIC AND 
INORGANIC MATERIALS AFTER RELEASE INCLUDING THE 
PROBABLE FORMATION OF NEW COMPOUNDS; 
(7) PROBABILTY OF PRODUCTION OF TAINTS REDUCING THE 
MARKETABILITY OF RESOURCES.” 
SECTION 5. Separability Clause. - If any provision or section of this 
Act or the application thereof to any person, association or circumstances is 
held invalid, the other pertinent provisions or section of this Act and their 
application to such person, association or circumstances shall not be affected 
thereby. 
SECTION 6. Repealing Clause. - All acts, executive orders, 
administrative orders, proclamations, rules and regulations or parts thereof 
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accordingly. 
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Approved, 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified 
SECTION 7. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (1 5) days 
after its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
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