The Compendium of Philippine Environment Statistics (CPES) is a compilation of environment and related socioeconomic statistics collected from various government agencies. The CPES has six components, namely: 1) environmental conditions and quality, 2) environmental resources and their use, 3) residuals, 4) extreme events and disasters, 5) human settlements and environmental health, and 6) environmental protection, management, and engagement.
Component 6 of CPES compiles data pertaining to environmental protection and resource management expenditure. This includes a wide variety of programs and initiatives encompassing environmental information and education including the activities conducted for both private entities and local communities. It has four (4) subcomponents: Environmental Protection and Resource Management Expenditure, Environmental Governance and Regulation, Extreme Event Preparedness and Disaster Management, and Environmental Information and Awareness.
Environmental Protection and Resource Management Expenditure
Expenditure on environmental protection and resource management is one measure of public and private engagement in protecting, restoring, and managing the environment towards more sustainable use (United Nations, 2013).
In 2022, expenditures for the protection of biodiversity and landscape amounted to PhP 9.54 billion or 40.0 percent of the PhP 23.83 billion total expenditures. Environmental protection not elsewhere classified expenditures comprised the second largest expenditure of PhP 6.80 billion or 28.5 percent of the total expenditures. This was followed by waste management expenditure amounting to PhP 3.66 billion, which represents 15.4 percent of the total government environmental protection expenditures in 2022. (Figure 1 and Table 6.2)
Figure 1. Government Environmental Protection Expenditure
in Billion Philippine Peso (PhP), 2014 to 2022
Environmental Governance and Regulation
Environmental governance and regulation include setting standards and norms, providing adequate resources, and ensuring the ability to enforce these standards and norms.
This component compiles various limits for air and water pollutants. These limits are stipulated in Republic Act No. 8749 or the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water of 1993, and the Water Quality Guidelines (WQG) and General Effluent Standards (GES). Different Department Administrative Orders (DAOs) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) describe the limits for different types of vehicles and other air pollutant sources. The DAOs of the DENR also prescribe the WQG and GES for selected parameters and the standard parameters and values for drinking water quality. (Tables 6.4.1 to 6.4.37)
In 2022, the DENR and its bureaus, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), and attached agency, the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), allocated a budget dedicated to the enforcement of environmental regulations amounting to PhP 1.62 billion, a decrease of 1.8 percent from last year’s PhP 1.65 billion budget. Meanwhile, the staff dedicated to enforcement of environmental regulations increased to 12,828 persons in 2022 from 10,871 persons in 2021. Tables 6.7.1 and 6.7.2)
A list of 25 Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and other international conventions of the Philippines is also presented in this component. Information on these MEAs such as objectives and dates of entry, adoption, signature, and ratification were from the DENR, FMB, and BMB. (Table 6.8)
Extreme Event Preparedness and Disaster Management
Statistics under extreme event preparedness and disaster management include the existence and strength of the disaster management agency’s facilities and infrastructure.
As of 2022, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) had four national disaster plans and programs, namely: (1) National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan 2020-2030, (2) National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) for Hydro-Meteorological Hazards Version 2, (3) NDRP for Consequence Management for Terrorism-Related Incidents, and (4) NDRP for Earthquake and Tsunami. The number of pending and approved volunteer organizations and accredited community disaster volunteer members is also included in this component. The Emergency Alert and Warning Message and the OCD Text Blast System were among the list of early warning systems for all hazards. (Tables 6.9 to 6.11)
Environmental Information and Awareness
In 2022, the total number of enrolled students in environment-related education degree programs was recorded at 28,784 students. The degree program Environmental Science recorded the highest number of enrolled students at 11,911, while Environmental and Sanitary Engineering recorded the lowest number of enrolled students at 1,384 among the programs in the Philippine Standard Classification of Education (PSCED). This covers the first semester of the indicated academic years sourced from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). (Figure 2 and Table 6.16)
Figure 2. Number of Students Pursuing Environment-related Higher Education, 2012 to 2022
DIVINA GRACIA L. DEL PRADO, PhD
Assistant Secretary
Deputy National Statistician
Sectoral Statistics Office
1Others include Environmental Planning/ Management, Sanitary Engineering, Environment, and Environmental Education
