PMA eyes P1-B class suit vs DOTC chief

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) is poised to file a P1-billion class suit before the Quezon City court against Transportation and Communication Secretary Manuel Roxas II for failing to “safeguard air quality” in Metro Manila.

In a statement, PMA president Dr. Oscar Tinio said they decided to turn to court because Republic Act 8749 or the Clean Air Act has not been implemented strictly since it was passed in 1999.

“We would like to exhaust all possible solutions, including legal actions, against those who directly or indirectly contribute to the life-threatening state of the air in the metropolis,” he said.

Tinio warned that “the current state of air in the metropolis poses a clear and present danger to the lives” of the people residing and frequenting Metro Manila.

PMA-Manila governor Dr. Leo Olarte – who is also a lawyer – said the law tasks Roxas, as secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), to “regulate and enforce the same clean air law on motor vehicles.” Roxas failed to do his job, he said.

PMA believes that had the DOTC taken smoke belchers off Metro Manila’s roads, air pollution would have been reduced because 80 percent of pollutants in the metropolis come from more than 3.2 million vehicles plying its roads.

Olarte added that aside from Roxas, the PMA also intends to sue the owners or operators of smoke-belching vehicles.

He said RA 8749 “confirms our individual right to breathe clean air and it also provides the legal basis for the filing of a citizen’s suit against those who violate the clean air law.”