Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Brian Yamsuan 鈥敽诹仙� file photo
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan has called on his colleagues at the House of Representatives to approve a bill that would require owners and operators of environmentally-critical projects to obtain insurance to avoid adverse impact on surrounding communities.
Yamsuan, in a statement on Tuesday, said House Bill No. 1937, or the proposed Mandatory Environmental Insurance Coverage Act, must be passed to ensure that there would be safeguards for communities where possibly dangerous operations are conducted.
Among the environmentally-critical projects that will be considered are quarrying, logging, reclamation, mining, major infrastructure projects, and those in calamity-prone areas like floods, typhoons, and volcanic activity.
READ: Global study lists PH provinces at most risk of climate damage
鈥淥ur country is the most disaster-prone in Southeast Asia. But we cannot ignore the fact that the calamities we are experiencing now are also due to man-made activities that damage the environment,鈥� Yamsuan said.
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鈥淒espite these realities, there is still no action or policy to ensure adequate compensation for losses resulting from these activities that lead to environmental degradation and cause harm to lives and property. This bill aims to fill this gap,鈥� he added.
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According to Yamsuan, companies operating environmentally-critical projects must be responsible for preventing man-made disasters and other environmental risks.
The said bill was filed last July 14, 2022, and has been pending with the House committee on ecology.
鈥淥ur ultimate goal is accountability for institutions and corporations that embark on environmentally critical projects. We want to make sure that they operate as responsible owners to help prevent man-made disasters,鈥� he said.
鈥淚f environmental damages do occur, then the MEIC will ensure that communities are properly compensated and rehabilitation programs are immediately implemented,鈥� he added.
Under the bill, a Mandatory Environmental Insurance Coverage (MEIC) will be established, with it coming in the form of an environmental guarantee cash fund or an environmental insurance policy (EIP) obtained from bonding or insurance companies.
The EIP meanwhile, may either be an environment performance bond or an environment pollution, impairment, and cleanup liability insurance, which the bill said will be 鈥渞equired for all existing and future activities or projects鈥� that have been issued an Environmental Compliance Certificate.
If enacted, affected communities, stakeholders, and the local government units who have jurisdiction over the projects will be the beneficiaries of the insurance.
An Inter-Agency Technical Committee chaired by the Environment secretary will be created to implement the provisions if they are signed into law.
The Philippines remains to be one of the countries most vulnerable to calamities, as it faces several tropical cyclones yearly, and is seated at the Pacific Ring of Fire, making volcanic activity and earthquakes common.
Last September 2024, the World Risk Report ranked the Philippines as the most at-risk country for extreme natural events and negative impacts of climate change, out of 193 United Nations member-states.
The index showed that the Philippines was followed by Indonesia, India, Colombia, and then Mexico.
Then in 2023, according to the Gross Domestic Climate Risk ranking by the Sydney-based climate-change research firm The Cross Dependency Initiative, five Luzon provinces were considered the most at-risk areas because of climate-induced disasters.
President Marcos has spoken several times, in local events and foreign meets, about climate change. During the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta last September, the Chief Executive called on world leaders to speedily enact the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF), as countries bearing the brunt of climate change need urgent financial assistance.