A CONGRESS leader on Tuesday lauded the enactment of a law that will provide the government an accounting of the country’s natural resources.
President Marcos signed Republic Act 11995 or the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS) Act on May 22. The PENCAS law aims to recognize, protect and promote the ecological balance and resilience of the country.
Rep. Eddie Villanueva of CIBAC party-list group, chair of House Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, said RA 11995 institutionalizes environmental and economic accounting frameworks that are accepted internationally.
“We’ve always believed that attaining economic growth does not necessarily mean compromising our God-endowed environmental wealth. With the enactment of the PENCAS law, we are in a better position to achieve sustainable development while promoting the conservation of our environment,” said Villanueva.
Villanueva is the principal author of the law at the House of Representatives.
“By adopting a system that quantifies how we fare in taking care of our environment, we will be pushed to be more accountable and responsible stewards of our natural resources,” he added.
“The establishment of an accounting system of our natural resources will greatly aid the country to be more conscious and disciplined in attaining our sustainable development goals (SDGs) especially in the sectors of climate change, disaster risk management, and conservation of our marine and terrestrial resources,” Villanueva said.
Included under the law’s accounting framework is the list of officially designated statistics on the depletion, degradation, and restoration of natural capital; environmental protection expenditures; pollution and quality of land, air and water; and environmental damages.
The law is expected to support the government’s economic, environmental and health policy development and decision-making. It will also help provide tools and measures that contribute to the protection, conservation and restoration of the country’s ecosystems.
To ensure effective implementation of the law, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Board has been tasked to oversee its implementation. The PSA Board will direct a relevant interagency committee to assist the body in addressing agency and sectoral concerns that may arise in the development of natural capital accounts.
Under the law, the PSA is ordered to constitute an interagency working group to issue the rules and regulations necessary for the effective implementation of PENCAS within one year from its effectivity.
The law will take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette, or in a newspaper of general circulation.
