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'Clean Air Act' review sought after Metro cited as world's most polluted


Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri sought an immediate review of the Clean Air Act after the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) reported that Metro Manila has the most polluted air worldwide. "It has been ten years since the Clean Air Act has been enforced and yet the country has not shown any significant improvement in its drive to reduce air pollution," said Zubiri, chairman of the joint congressional oversight committee on the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act was enacted in 1999. "In other highly-urbanized cities in the world, after a landmark environmental protection law is passed, they show notable improvements. It seems that we are the only ones who are not picking up," said the senator. Citing data from the DENR, Zubiri said the air pollution in Metro Manila is almost twice the international standard: 90 ug/Ncm (micrograms per normal cubic meters) of the Total Suspended Particulates (TSP) or the amount of dust in the air. He said the vicinity around Pasay-Taft in EDSA is the most polluted area in the country with 257 ug/Ncm of TSP. He said the high level of air pollution poses a major health risk among urban dwellers. "We might be raising a generation of suffering children. They have stunted growth and are getting dumber," he said. Zubiri suggested that the DENR regulate the emission test for vehicles instead of the Land Transportation Office. "We know that there are many fixers are LTO who fasttrack your emission test for P1,200, without even having to bring your vehicle to the testing centers," he said. - VVP, GMANews.TV

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