Go seeks mandatory insurance for environment projects

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bong Go is pushing for the immediate passage of a bill, which seeks to establish a national framework for mandatory insurance coverage of environmentally critical projects or ECPs.

Go stressed it is the duty of the government to ensure the quality of life of its people through the protection of the environment they live in.

“Environmental protection must be prioritized in order to also protect our future. Before I got elected to the Senate, one of my priorities is the environment. It is important that we face these issues because this is where we get our needs and is our source of life,” he said partly in Filipino.

He noted that the country is not only prone to natural calamities because of its geographical location, but also of man-made environmental disasters like the 1996 Marcopper mining disaster in Marinduque and the illegal logging activities in Cagayan Valley that led to massive flooding during recent typhoons.

Under Go’s Senate Bill 1189, a national framework for mandatory environmental insurance coverage shall be created, which all owners and operators of ECPs are required to secure.

The measure shall likewise guarantee sufficient funding coverage for the needed restoration and compensation for the adverse environmental consequences, which might include damage to health and property, and costs for environmental rehabilitation, remediation, cleanup, and other environmental impairments arising from their operations.

ECPs shall include heavy industries, major manufacturing industries, major resource-extractive industries, major infrastructure projects, and other similar projects that could pose serious risks to people and the environment.

Once passed into law, the Secretary of the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources shall establish and head an Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC), with the commissioner of the Insurance Commission and representatives of the insurance industry, mining industry and other stakeholders that the DENR may deem fit, as members.

The IATC will identify the perils or possible negative environmental impacts, activities, processes or undertakings; conduct risk assessment to determine the appropriate insurance coverage for different ECPs and activities; and formulate guidelines for the identification of primary impact areas and prescription of rehabilitation or remediation environmental damages, among others.

Owners and operators of ECPs shall not be allowed to commence construction or commercial operation without initially obtaining the mandatory environmental insurance coverage and, when they fail to do so, will be subjected to penalty fees.

Government officials, employees and agents who approve the construction or operation of ECPs without the necessary insurance coverage will also face penalties.