President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed into law a bill seeking to measure the Philippines’ natural resources and how it affects the economy, Malacañang said.
Marcos, through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, signed Republic Act No. 11995 -- or the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS) Act -- last 22 May but was only released to the media on Sunday.
RA No. 11995 seeks to establish "a comprehensive information system and accounting framework that will take into consideration the role of our natural capital."
PENCAS will gather environmental statistics such natural capital depletion, degradation, and restoration, environmental protection expenditures, and land, air, and water pollution and quality.
According to the World Bank, low-income countries could see their GDP drop by 10 percent when environmental services stop working.
These reports can help figure out how much the Philippines can ask of the rich countries that cause most of the world's pollution and how much damage and loss they cause.
Hence, the Philippine Statistics Authority Board will monitor law implementation with an interagency committee addressing sectoral issues.
Other government agencies like the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Science and Technology, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, are supposed to gather, produce, and look over information about the country's natural assets.
The law will go into action 15 days after it is printed in a widely read newspaper or the Official Gazette.
The law was passed at the Senate level on 22 November 2023 and was adopted by the House of Representatives on 6 March 2024.
