The Climate Change Commission (CCC) lauded President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s signing of Republic Act No. 11995 (RA 11995), or the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS) Act, saying the institutionalization of national resource accounting will protect and promote ecological balance and advance climate resilience of the Philippines.
The CCC said the PENCAS represented a “significant stride towards aligning the country’s economic policies with sustainable practices to ensure that climate change mitigation and adaptation are at the center of the country’s national development plans, consistent with the vision of President Marcos of a climate smart and resilient Philippines.”
CCC vice chair and executive director Robert Borje saidPENCAS initiated the adoption and integration of internationally accepted environmental economic accounting frameworks into the country’s resource management.
The PENCAS, Borje added, mandates the compilation of officially designated statistics on the depletion, degradation, and restoration of natural capital, environmental protection expenditures, pollution, and quality of lands, air and water. He said the data sets would be the basis for national decision-making processes on economic, environmental and health policy developments.
The law established a mechanism for monitoring and reporting that will contribute to the protection, conservation, and restoration of Philippine ecosystems and environmental resources. CCC News
“We thank President Marcos for signing the PENCAS Act. The new law is crucial in realizing the vision of a climate resilient and smart Philippines. PENCAS helps ensure that national policies continue to be driven by best available science and current and more complete data sets,” Borje said.
The CCC also thanked the Senate and the House of Representatives, including Senator Loren Legarda, for key roles in passing the law.
“The PENCAS Act mandates the inclusion of the country’s natural resources as a vital component of the national economy, supplementing traditional metrics such as gross domestic product (GDP) and human capital,” said Senator Loren Legarda, principal author of the law.
The CCC recognized PENCAS’ alignment with global and national climate frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement, National Climate Change Action Plan, National Adaptation Plan, Philippine Development Plan, and Nationally Determined Contribution Implementation Plan.
“PENCAS is the cornerstone for precise and transparent policy formulation and decision-making in ecological and natural resources management in the country. Furthermore, it provides the solid rationale for directing investments towards programs aimed at fostering healthy, sustainable ecosystem services, and resilient Filipino communities,” said Borje. CCC News