Environment Secretary Elisea G.Gozun recently announced the start of the DENR’s "ECC CNC applications on line" Project as part of the national effort to make government transactions more transparent thus ensuring honest and responsive public service from the Department.
Gozun said that under the project both the DENR and EMB will post in their respective websites, lists of all ECC and Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC) applications received by the EMB Central Office and its regional office nationwide.
The lists, according to her, contain important details of the applications, particularly the nature of the project, project proponent location of the project, and the latest action taken by EMB. He also added that the on-line listings shall be updated every week in order to make the project more responsive to the information needs of the DENR clients.
Presidential Decree No. 1586 which established the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System, mandates that all environmentally-critical projects (ECPs) as well as projects that are located in environmentally-critical areas shall undergo thorough Environmental Impact Assessment to ensure the protection of the environment and the communities living within or near the project site.
Last year, in an effort to rationalize and streamline the implementation of the EIS system, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Administrative Order No. 42 authorizing in addition to the DENR Secretary, the EMB Director in the Central Office and the regional directors to grant or deny the issuance of ECCs.
The Order also sets time frames for processing ECC applications covering ECPs to 120 working days while those of non-ECPs but located in environmentally critical areas to 60 working days.
Aside from the list of ECC applications under review, the DENR and EMB websites have also posted the ECCs that have been issued last year and the current year, as well as those that were cancelled, recalled and denied.