Tackling air pollution in the Philippines
Authors: Ourlad Alzeus G Tantengco, Renzo R Guinto
Journal: The Lancet Planetary Health (2022)

Veronica Southerland and colleagues1Southerland VA Brauer M Mohegh A et al.Global urban temporal trends in fine particulate matter (PM2·5) and attributable health burdens: estimates from global datasets.Lancet Planet Health. 2022; 6: e139-e146Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (15) Google Scholar reported that between the years 2000 and 2019, most of the world's urban population lived in areas with unhealthy concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2·5). The global average urban PM2·5 concentration in 2019 was 35 μg/m3, which is seven times the 5 μg/m3 limit set by WHO in its 2021 guidelines, resulting in more than 1·8 million deaths in 2019.1Southerland VA Brauer M Mohegh A et al.Global urban temporal trends in fine particulate matter (PM2·5) and attributable health burdens: estimates from global datasets.Lancet Planet Health. 2022; 6: e139-e146Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (15) Google Scholar Among the world's regions, the Western Pacific, where our country Philippines is located, is experiencing the highest levels of PM2·5-attributable mortality, exceeding the global urban average. Indeed, the Philippines is not exempt from the enormous health burden of air pollution. Based on available studies, the current PM2·5 concentrations in urban areas in the Philippines exceed the WHO guideline value. During the dry season, PM2·5 concentration reaches 58·4 μg/m3 in traffic sites in the megacity of Metro Manila.2Alas HD Müller T Birmili W et al.Spatial characterization of black carbon mass concentration in the atmosphere of a southeast Asian megacity: an air quality case study for Metro Manila, Philippines.Aerosol Air Qual Res. 2018; 18: 2301-2317Crossref Scopus (31) Google Scholar Air pollution continues to negatively impact the health of Filipinos. For instance, traffic enforcers in Metro Manila, who are constantly exposed to high PM2·5 concentrations, are 1·24 times more likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.3Seposo X Arcilla ALA De Guzman 3rd, JGN et al.Ambient air quality and the risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among Metro Manila Development Authority traffic enforcers in Metro Manila: an exploratory study.Chronic Dis Transl Med. 2021; 7: 117-124PubMed Google Scholar The current COVID-19 pandemic also compounded the problem of air pollution in urban cities in the Philippines. A study of Asian countries, including the Philippines, showed a higher COVID-19 mortality risk for those populations consistently exposed to poorer air quality than those living in settings with clean air.4Baniasad M Mofrad MG Bahmanabadi B Jamshidi S COVID-19 in Asia: transmission factors, re-opening policies, and vaccination simulation.Environ Res. 2021; 202111657Crossref PubMed Scopus (13) Google Scholar Moreover, the negative impact of air pollution also takes a massive toll on the country's economy. A 2021 report estimated that air pollution costs the Philippines approximately US$87 billion annually due to health-care and welfare costs and labour and economic productivity loss.5Suarez IL Garcia VC Myllyvirta L Thieriot H Borgmästars R Cervero M Aiming higher: benchmarking the Philippine Clean Air Act.https://icsc.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AimingHigher_BenchmarkingthePhilippineCleanAirAct_CREA_ICSC_v4_10Nov2021.pdfDate: 2021Date accessed: January 26, 2022Google Scholar Even after three decades since the passage of the country's Clean Air Act, the Philippines is still nowhere near achieving comprehensive air pollution control. An urgent priority is to raise the country's PM2·5 limits to WHO standards, which will send a strong signal to industry to urgently tackle the sources of air pollution, for instance by shifting to renewable energy and designing low-carbon transport modalities. These measures will be good not only for population health but also for planetary health. The sources of ambient air pollutants are also the major emitters of greenhouse gases that continue to exacerbate climate change, which will further endanger people's health in the Philippines, one of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries, for decades to come. RRG is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of The Lancet Planetary Health. OAGT declares no competing interests. Global urban temporal trends in fine particulate matter (PM2·5) and attributable health burdens: estimates from global datasetsOur study showed that, between the years 2000 and 2019, most of the world's urban population lived in areas with unhealthy levels of PM2·5, leading to substantial contributions to non-communicable disease burdens. Our results highlight that avoiding the large public health burden from urban PM2·5 will require strategies that reduce exposure through emissions mitigation, as well as strategies that reduce vulnerability to PM2·5 by improving overall public health. Full-Text PDF Open Access