THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Friday credited President Rodrigo Duterte’s executive order limiting firecracker use for the significant drop in New Year celebration pollution levels.
Secretary Roy Cimatu said he was overwhelmed by the significant reduction in air pollution levels recorded in Metro Manila during the New Year revelry as against previous year.
He attributed the welcome development to the presidential directive regulating the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.
He said there was no doubt the reduction was due mainly to the issuance of Executive Order 28, adding there was widespread public compliance.
“This just goes to show that the law, if properly implemented and readily complied with by the citizenry, will bring about the needed results for everyone’s benefit,” he noted.
He said although EO 28 was only on its first year of implementation, it already resulted in remarkable improvement in the National Capital Region’s air quality during the New Year celebration.
“We hope that this is just the start and Filipinos will get used to welcoming the New Year without the firecrackers and fireworks that pose serious danger to human health and the environment,” he said.
During the first hour of Jan. 1, all air-quality monitoring stations in the metropolis registered lower levels of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 or particle less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter and PM 10 or particle less than 10 micrometers in diameter, compared to last year’s figures.