Valenzuela smoke belchers, watch out

Smoke belchers in Valenzuela City, be warned.

The city council has passed on third reading an ordinance that imposes sanctions on motorists who exceed allowable emission standards set by the national government.

Rommel Pondevida, officer in charge of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, told the Inquirer that the Anti-Smoke Belching Law will be implemented starting the first quarter of next year.

“Once this is implemented, the local government can really help the national government in its efforts to curb air pollution,” he said.

As a member of the Metro Manila Anti-Smoke Belching Association, the city government has been implementing the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 in support of the antipollution campaign of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

However, Pondevida said Valenzuela was only a “partner” and not a “primary player” in the project.

The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, or RA 8749, aims to put a national program of air pollution management in place by setting allowable emission standards for each motor type, industry, among others.

Under the law, it is the DENR that is primarily tasked to implement the Integrated Air Quality Framework.

“The DENR sends its team here to conduct emission tests. We only help them,” Pondevida explained.

Using the same emission standards embodied in the national law, the ordinance once implemented, would empower local Cenro officers since they will be “deputized” by the DENR to impose sanctions on erring motorists.

Pondevida said the focus of the emission tests would be vehicles, whether public or private, running on diesel engines.

“Vehicles contribute a lot to air pollution, especially those using diesel engines like SUVs [sport utility vehicles],” he said.

According to the DENR, motor vehicles account for up to 70 percent of air pollution in the country.

Earlier, the department reported that air quality in Metro Manila had improved with the decline in the total suspended particle levels—from an average of 166 micrograms per normal cubic meter (µg/Ncm) at the end of the second quarter of 2010—to 116µg/Ncm as of the third quarter of 2011.