Review, freeze DENR effluent standards

Leaders of various industry groups and trade associations, joint foreign chambers, and a government agency are appealing to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to suspend the implementation of the revised General Effluent Standards (GES) to allow for the order’s review and consultation with stakeholders.

In a joint position paper, 12 industry and trade chiefs expressed concern over unaddressed issues with regards to implementing DENR Department Administrative Order (DAO) 2016-08: Water Quality Guidelines (WQG) and General Effluent Standards (GES).

Also in a separate position paper, Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT), wrote to the DENR on the adverse impact of the DAO especially on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

In the joint paper that the 12 top officials submitted earlier in July this year to Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, they reiterated the issues they said have yet to be addressed.

“The implementation of the revised GES will have a huge impact on the viability of existing companies and may pose a barrier to future investments without optimally addressing prevailing environmental issues,” they warned.

One of their major requests is “to be enlightened on the basis of the revised GES.” The groups are requesting for a review and copy of the study upon which the new and more stringent parameters were based.

“The revised Philippine standards (are) considered to be one of the strictest in the world, some of the parameters for discharge are more stringent than the drinking water standards of the World Health Organization,” they pointed out.