Aquino, John Roger S.

LLB2-LLB-2C1

PROCESS OF SECURING AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE

An ECC is issued by DENR-EMB after a positive review of the project’s application. This
certificate indicates that the proposed project or undertaking will not cause a significantly
negative impact on the Philippine environment. The ECC contains specific measures and
conditions that must be met by the project proponent before and during the operation of the
project. In some cases, conditions are listed to be performed during the project’s
abandonment phase to lessen identified potential environmental impacts.

o Project Identification – document, which may also be a chapter in an EIS, that

describes the nature, configuration, use of raw materials and natural resources,
production system, waste or pollution generation and control and the activities of a
proposed project. It includes a description of the use of human resources as well as
activity timelines, during the pre-construction, construction, operation and
abandonment phases.
o Screening - determines if a project is covered or not covered by the PEISS. If a
project is covered, screening further determines what document type the project
should prepare to secure the needed approval, and what the rest of the requirements
are in terms of EMB office of application, endorsing and decision authorities, duration
of processing.
o Scoping - the stage in the EIS System where information and project impact
assessment requirements are established to provide the proponent and the
stakeholders the scope of work and terms of reference for the EIS.
o EIA Study and Report Preparation - phase in the ECC application review process
to check for the completeness the required documents, conducted by EIAM Division
at the EMB Central Office or Regional Office.
o EIA Report, Review, and Evaluation - the phase in the EIA process whereby the
document submitted is subjected to technical evaluation by the EIAR
o Decision Making - involves evaluation of EIA recommendations and the draft
decision document, resulting to the issuance of an ECC, CNC or Denial Letter.
When approved, a covered project is issued its certificate of Environmental
Compliance Commitment (ECC) while an application of a non-covered project is
issued a Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC). The Proponent signs a sworn
statement of full responsibility on implementation of its commitments prior to the
release of the ECC. Then, the ECC is transmitted to concerned LGUs and other GAs
for integration into their decision-making process.
o Monitoring, Validation, and Evaluation/Audit - community-based multi-sectoral
team organized for the purpose of monitoring the proponent's compliance with ECC
conditions, EMP and applicable laws, rules and regulations