Various local government units were recognized by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Office IV-A for their consistent compliance to existing environmental laws at the 3rd Environmental Compliance Audit (ECA) Awards held during the celebration of Manila Bay Day in Tagaytay City, Cavite on December 4, 2017.
DILG Assistant Secretary for Plans and Programs and Chairperson of the Informal Settler Families (ISF) Program Management Office, Epimaco Densing III together with Assistant Regional Director Ariel O. Iglesia and Provincial Directors of DILG IV-A conferred the award to 20 LGUs which passed the regional compliance audit for 2017.
According to Iglesia, the ECA Awards is part of the DILG’s Manila Bay Clean-up, Rehabilitation, and Preservation Program (MBCRPP) which main objective is to monitor the compliance of LGUs to the Supreme Court Continuing Mandamus to rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay pertinent to provisions of existing environmental laws.
Expressing hope for LGUs to meet the ultimate goal of ECA, Densing lauded the efforts of the winner LGUs for exhibiting outstanding environmental practices, compliance to Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and other criteria of this year’s environmental awards program.
“At the end of the day, our ultimate goal here is to put an end to the compliance audit. If we stop cleaning up, if we stop rehabilitating Manila Bay, it only means that we have ended or we have already met the end-product of our objective which is to maintain and preserve the beauty of Manila Bay, one of the major frontiers of Metro Manila and the Philippines in general,” said Densing.
“Congratulations to all the winners of ECA Awards, the end-product of what we are doing is more than just compliance, and more than just following the law,” the Assistant Secretary added.
Citing the ongoing move of the current administration to shift to a federal form of government, Densing also encouraged LGUs to involve their constituents in the rehabilitation and preservation of the Manila Bay and the overall aspects of local governance as well.
“You cannot be government alone, we must let the people along Manila Bay be part of making sure that Manila Bay is preserved as an area,” he said.
“In everything that we do, specifically and especially local government units, we should start to involve our citizens in governance,” the Assistant Secretary explained.
The ECA winners received a plaque of recognition and a cash prize of P70,000 for Platinum winners, and P60,000, P50,000 and P40,000 for Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners respectively.
Meanwhile, the municipalities of Carmona, Cavite, and Teresa, Rizal received special citations as Hall of Fame Awardees and another cash prize amounting to P100,000.00 each for winning the Platinum Award since the inception of the environmental awards program in 2015.
The ECA Awards is open to 14 cities and 53 municipalities of Region IV-A Manila Bay Watershed Areas particularly those situated in the provinces of CALARIZ (Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal)
Iglesia added that while the DILG provides for the strict compliance of LGUs through numerous advocacies and policy guidelines, an effective strategy to motivate them and accomplish much more as far as the Supreme Court Mandamus is concerned is by giving incentives and awards. He said that the Manila Bay Supreme Court Continuing Mandamus is not just a mere compliance but also an avenue for appreciation and recognition.
Below is the list of winners of the 3rd ECA Awards:
HALL OF FAME
- Carmona, Cavite
- Teresa, Rizal
PLATINUM
- Tagaytay City, Cavite
- Carmona, Cavite
- Calamba City, Laguna
- Kalayaan, Laguna
- City of Antipolo, Rizal
- Teresa, Rizal
GOLD
- City of Bacoor, Cavite
- Mendez, Cavite
- City of San Pedro, Laguna
- Cruz, Laguna
- Tanay, Rizal
SILVER
- Imus City, Cavite
- Magallanes, Cavite
- City of Sta. Rosa, Laguna
- Pagsanjan, Laguna
- Angono, Rizal
BRONZE
- Maragondon, Cavite
- San Pablo City, Laguna
- Cavinti, Laguna
- Baras, Rizal
