November 4, 1996

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 300

FURTHER STRENGTHENING THE PHILIPPINE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT SYSTEM AND CLARIFYING THE AUTHORITY TO GRANT OR DENY THE ISSUANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATES

WHEREAS, Section 4, of Presidential Decree No. 1586 establishing the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System empowers the President or his duly authorized representative to grant or deny the issuance of environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) for environmentally critical areas;

WHEREAS, Section 7 of Executive order No. 192 providing for the reorganization of the Department of Environment , Energy, and Natural Resources and renaming it as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) vests in the Secretary of the DENR the authority and responsibility to exercise the mandate of the DENR, accomplish its objective and discharge its powers and functions;

WHEREAS, the Secretary of DENR, as alter ego of the President, is deemed to have the implied power to grant or deny the issuance of ECCs on behalf of the President;

WHEREAS, under Section 21, Chapter 4, Title XIV, Book IV of Executive Order No. 292, Instituting the Administrative Code of 1987, the DENR Regional Offices are responsible for, inter alia, implementing laws, policies, plans, programs, projects, rules and regulations of the DENR to promote the sustainability and productivity of natural resources, social equity in natural resource utilization and environmental protection in their respective regions;

WHEREAS, the DENR Regional Executive Director, as the highest officer of the DENR in each Regional Office, is directly charged with carrying out said responsibility;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by Constitution, do hereby confirm the power of the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the DENR Regional Executive Directors to grant or deny the issuance of environmental compliance certificates (ECCs).

This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 4th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Six.