VATIS UPDATE Article

The Philippines has made significant strides to ensure the protection of the ozone layer in compliance with the Montreal Protocol, particularly in the phase-out of ozone depleting substances (ODS). Coinciding with the local celebration of World Ozone Day, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has announced that the government was able to meet the targets in phasing out all ODS, except for hydrofluorocarbons (HCFCs).

“The country also began reducing the production and use of HFCs by 10 percent in 2016 until the total ban of the last remaining ODS by 2040,” said Analiza Rebuelta Teh, at DENR. The Philippines signed the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer on Sept. 14, 1988 and ratified it on March 21, 1991. As a party to one of the most effective environmental treaties ever, the country agreed to the gradual phase-out of ODS, particularly CFCs and HCFCs.

The Philippines imposed a ban on the importation of CFCs and HCFCs in 2010 and 2013, respectively. In 1994, the Philippine Ozone Desk (POD) was created to facilitate and coordinate ODS phase-out projects and policies for the overall implementation of the country’s obligations under the Montreal Protocol. The POD is under the Environmental Management Bureau, an attached agency of the DENR. Since ODS are not produced in the Philippines, the focus of its regulation was on the import, processing, sale and disposal of such chemicals.