Professional Schools

Master in Environmental Planning

Name : MICHELLE D. MALANGUIS, CE

Teacher : JASON BEN R. PARAGAMAC, EnP
Subject : EP 308-Environmental Laws & Policy

Summary of Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of
1990

The Republic Act 6969

AN ACT TO CONTROL TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND HAZARDOUS AND NUCLEAR
WASTES, PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

Scope

2008 Roxas Amendment

This Act shall cover the importation, manufacture, processing, handling, storage,
transportation, sale, distribution, use and disposal of all unregulated chemical
substances and mixtures in the Philippines

Policy

Administrative Fines
It is the policy of the State to regulate, restrict or prohibit the importation, manufacture,
processing, sale, distribution, use and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures
that present unreasonable risk and/or injury to health or the environment
In all cases of violations of this Act, including violations of implementing rules and
regulations which have been duly promulgated and published in accordance with
Section 16 of this Act, the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources is hereby
authorized to impose a fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00), but not
more than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) upon any person or entity found guilty
thereof.
a) To keep an inventory of chemicals as may be considered relevant to the protection of
health and the environment;

Objectives
b) To monitor and regulate the use and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures
that present unreasonable risk or injury to health or to the environment in accordance
with national policies and international commitments;
d) To prevent the entry, even in transit, as well as the keeping or storage and disposal of
hazardous and nuclear wastes into the country for whatever purpose.
c) To inform and educate the populace regarding the hazards and risks attendant to the
manufacture, handling, storage, transportation, processing, distribution, use and
disposal of toxic chemicals and other substances and mixture; and

Penalties

The Role of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

The penalty of imprisonment of six (6) months and one day to six (6) years and one day
and a fine ranging from Six hundred pesos (P600.00) to Four thousand pesos
(P4,000.00) shall be imposed upon any person who shall violate section 13 (a) to (c) of
this Act and shall not be covered by the Probation Law.

Prohibition
This act aims to...

The DENR is tasked to keep an inventory of chemicals, test potential hazardous

substances, evaluate, monitor, subpoena witnesses and disseminate information

The Inter-Agency Technical Advocacy Council

Cause, aid or facilitate, directly or indirectly, in the storage, importation, or bringing into
Philippines territory, including its maritime economic zones, even in transit, either by
means of land, air or sea transportation or otherwise keeping in storage any amount of
hazardous and nuclear wastes in any part of the Philippines.
Failure or refusal to submit reports, notices or other information, access to records, as
required by this Act,
Knowingly use a chemical substance or mixture which is imported, manufactured,
processed or distributed in violation of this Act

SOCIAL CRITICS OF RA 6969:

In response to the growing problem of Disposal of Hazardous Waste, RA6969,

Providing Penalties for Violations thereof and for other purposes are currently in
the implemented in the Philippines. Our laws are good and have as well good
intentions but the problem is the implementation itself.

RA 6969 clearly prohibits the bringing in of toxic wastes into the country. What
we can do is raise the penalties against violators, to show that we mean business
and we are serious about this and that our people's safety comes first and do not
tolerate this wrong doings.

The present RA 6969 penalties and fines provided for under this act are not
commensurate to the gravity and seriousness of the dangers that toxic
substances and hazardous and nuclear wastes bring to health and environment.
It is, therefore, imperative that RA 6969 be amended to impose stricter and stiffer
penalties and fines in order to give more teeth to the said law.

Relative to this, Sen. Roxas filed Senate Bill No. 2519 amending Republic Act
No. 6969, the Toxic Substance and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act
of 1990 to assure full compliance with the ban on export of toxic and hazardous
waste into the Philippines.

If we will remember the imported cargoes from Canada got which struck us and
got our attention in 2014 after 50 40-foot container vans left at the Manila Port
since 2013 has "garbage juice" already leaking and posing a health hazard.

In such incident, DENR, however, declared the household garbage inside the
cargoes are nontoxic. Declaring it as not hazardous was the decision of the
interagency committee created to deal with the issue. The Committee somehow
said that even though the garbage is not hazardous, the importation of the
cargoes is against the Basel Convention which deals with household wastes.

Resolving the issue involves diplomatic talks between Canada and the
Philippines. But if the cargo could not be shipped back to Canada, DENR is
looking at disposing the garbage in the country as another option.

However, the 69 containers were loaded back again onto a vessel at the port of
Subic, northwest of Manila, and travelled back to the Canadian city of Vancouver.
A Philippine court in 2016 declared such import of 2,400 tonnes of Canadian
waste illegal. It had been mislabeled as plastics for recycling.

The Philippines’ tough-talking President Rodrigo Duterte however threatened to

“declare war” over the issue. He recalled his ambassador to Ottawa, banned
Philippine officials from traveling to Canada and set a deadline for the trash to be
removed. Canada immediately hired a shipping company to retrieve the 69
containers, which set off across the Pacific.

In these times of heightened environment consciousness, addressing the issue

that involves proper health care waste disposal, may it is a toxic substance or
not, it is still of paramount concern not only for the planners, environmentalist and
of today’s unsung heroes, the health sectors but for the whole society as well,
most especially for the agencies involved in the regulation of this very vital
element. Hence the need for government intervention to ensure the adoption of
the necessary measures toward a safe and healthy environment is highly
necessary and timely.