Bill seeks mandatory insurance coverage for potentially harmful environmental projects

- Advertisement -

A lawmaker yesterday filed a bill seeking to require owners and operators of “environmentally critical” projects to secure insurance coverage before being allowed to operate.

House Bill (HB) 1937 requires institutions and corporations to obtain mandatory environmental insurance coverage (MEIC) before they are allowed to start construction or commercial operations of their projects.

Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan, the author of the bill, said securing insurance coverage would guarantee sufficient compensation for communities that may be adversely impacted by the projects.

- Advertisement -

“Our 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,” he said.

“Despite 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,” Yamsuan added.

Environmentally critical projects

Under the measure, environmentally critical projects are, among others, activities like quarrying, logging, reclamation, mining, major infrastructure projects, and those constructed in areas frequently visited or hard-hit by natural calamities such as floods, typhoons and volcanic activity.

Yamsuan said the ultimate goal is accountability for institutions and corporations that embark on such projects.

“We want to make sure that they operate as responsible owners to help prevent man-made disasters,” he added, saying if environmental damage occurs, the MEIC will ensure that communities are properly compensated and rehabilitation programs are immediately implemented.

Insurance beneficiaries

Among the beneficiaries of the MEIC cited under the bill are affected communities, stakeholders, and the local government units within the primary impact areas of the environmentally critical projects.

Government agencies tasked under the law to undertake the rehabilitation, cleanup and monitoring of the affected sites for which no responsible public or private entity is specified are also included as MEIC beneficiaries.

An Inter-Agency Technical Committee chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) shall be established to implement the bill’s provisions.

The Commissioner of the Insurance Commission, representatives from the insurance industry, mining sector and other stakeholders that the DENR may deem fit will sit as members of the Committee.

Yamsuan said the bill was meant to complement the House-approved HB No. 11093, which aims to institutionalize environmental assessments in all policies, plans, programs and projects.

HB 11093 establishes a Philippine Environmental Assessment System (EAS), where critical projects such as heavy industrial activities, major infrastructure and resource extraction will be required to secure a Certificate of Proponent’s Environmental Commitment (CPEC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Yamsuan said HB 1937 “sets up the MEIC in the form of an environmental guarantee cash fund or an environmental insurance policy (EIP) obtained from bonding or insurance companies, in cases when the former is insufficient to cover the costs of the adverse consequences.”

Penalties

The bill penalizes failure by owners and operators to secure an MEIC for environmentally critical projects with fines ranging from P500,000 to P2 million or imprisonment of six to 12 years, or both, depending on the court’s discretion.

Government officials and employees who approve the construction of such projects without the necessary MEIC face the penalty of being suspended from 30 days to six months.

Author

- Advertisement -

Share post: