Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines

Metro Manila

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6969

AN ACT TO CONTROL TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND HAZARDOUS AND NUCLEAR

WASTES, PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Toxic Substances and Hazardous
and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to regulate, restrict or prohibit
the importation, manufacture, processing, sale, distribution, use and disposal of chemical
substances and mixtures that present unreasonable risk and/or injury to health or the
environment; to prohibit the entry, even in transit, of hazardous and nuclear wastes and their
disposal into the Philippine territorial limits for whatever purpose; and to provide advancement
and facilitate research and studies on toxic chemicals.

SECTION 3. Scope. — This Act shall cover the importation, manufacture, processing, handling,
storage, transportation, sale, distribution, use and disposal of all unregulated chemical substances
and mixtures in the Philippines, including the entry, even in transit, as well as the keeping or
storage and disposal of hazardous and nuclear wastes into the country for whatever purpose.

SECTION 4.  Objectives. — The objectives of this Act are:

a) To keep an inventory of chemicals that are presently being imported, manufactured, or used,
indicating, among others, their existing and possible uses, test data, names of firms
manufacturing or using them, and such other information as may be considered relevant to the
protection of health and the environment;

b) To monitor and regulate the importation, manufacture, processing, handling, storage,

transportation, sale, distribution, use and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures that
present unreasonable risk or injury to health or to the environment in accordance with national
policies and international commitments;

c) To inform and educate the populace regarding the hazards and risks attendant to the
manufacture, handling, storage, transportation, processing, distribution, use and disposal of toxic
chemicals and other substances and mixtures; and

d)  To prevent the entry, even in transit, as well as the keeping or storage and disposal of
hazardous and nuclear wastes into the country for whatever purpose.
SECTION 5. Definition. — As used in this Act:

a) Chemical substance means any organic or inorganic substance of a particular molecular

identity, including:

i) Any combination of such substances occurring in whole or in part as a result of chemical

reaction or occurring in nature; and

ii)  Any element or uncombined chemical.

b) Chemical mixture means any combination of two or more chemical substances if the
combination does not occur in nature and is not, in whole or in part, the result of a chemical
reaction, if none of the chemical substances comprising the combination is a new chemical
substance and if the combination could have been manufactured for commercial purposes
without a chemical reaction at the time the chemical substances comprising the combination
were combined. This shall include nonbiodegradable mixtures.

c) Process means the preparation of a chemical substance or mixture after its manufacture for
commercial distribution:

i) In the same form or physical state or in a different form or physical state from that which it
was received by the person so preparing such substance or mixture; or

ii)  As part of an article containing a chemical substance or mixture.

d) Importation means the entry of a product or substance into the Philippines (through the
seaports or airports of entry) after having been properly cleared through or still remaining under
customs control, the product or substance of which is intended for direct consumption,
merchandising, warehousing, or for further processing.

e) Manufacture means the mechanical or chemical transformation of substances into new

products whether work is performed by power-driven machines or by hand, whether it is done in
a factory or in the worker’s home, and whether the products are sold at wholesale or retail.

f)  Unreasonable risk means expected frequency of undesirable effects or adverse responses

arising from a given exposure to a substance.

g)  Hazardous substances are substances which present either:

i) Short-term acute hazards, such as acute toxicity by ingestion, inhalation or skin absorption,
corrosivity or other skin or eye contact hazards or the risk of fire or explosion; or

ii) Long-term environmental hazards, including chronic toxicity upon repeated exposure,
carcinogenicity (which may in some cases result from acute exposure but with a long latent
period), resistance to detoxification process such as biodegradation, the potential to pollute
underground or surface waters, or aesthetically objectionable properties such as offensive odors.
h) Hazardous wastes are hereby defined as substances that are without any safe commercial,
industrial, agricultural or economic usage and are shipped, transported or brought from the
country of origin for dumping or disposal into or in transit through any part of the territory of the
Philippines.

Hazardous wastes shall also refer to by-products, side-products, process residues, spent reaction
media, contaminated plant or equipment or other substances from manufacturing operations, and
as consumer discards of manufactured products.

i) Nuclear wastes are hazardous wastes made radioactive by exposure to the radiation incidental
to the production or utilization of nuclear fuels but does not include nuclear fuel, or radioisotopes
which have reached the final stage of fabrication so as to be usable for any scientific, medical,
agricultural, commercial, or industrial purpose.

SECTION 6. Functions, Powers and Responsibilities of the Department of Environment and

Natural Resources. — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall be the
implementing agency tasked with the following functions, powers, and responsibilities:

a) To keep an updated inventory of chemicals that are presently being manufactured or used,
indicating, among others, their existing and possible uses, quantity, test data, names of firms
manufacturing or using them, and such other information as the Secretary may consider relevant
to the protection of health and the environment;

b) To require chemical substances and mixtures that present unreasonable risk or injury to health
or to the environment to be tested before they are manufactured or imported for the first time;

c) To require chemical substances and mixtures which are presently being manufactured or
processed to be tested if there is a reason to believe that they pose unreasonable risk or injury to
health or the environment;

d) To evaluate the characteristics of chemicals that have been tested to determine their toxicity
and the extent of their effects on health and the environment;

e) To enter into contracts and make grants for research, development, and monitoring of
chemical substances and mixtures;

f) To conduct inspection of any establishment in which chemicals are manufactured, processed,

stored or held before or after their commercial distribution and to make recommendations to the
proper authorities concerned;

g) To confiscate or impound chemicals found not falling within the standard set by the rules and
regulations and the said acts cannot be enjoined except after the chemicals have been
impounded;

h) To monitor and prevent the entry, even in transit, of hazardous and nuclear wastes and their
disposal into the country;
i) To subpoena witnesses and documents and to require other information if necessary to carry
out the provisions of this Act;

j) To call on any department, bureau, office, agency, state university or college, and other
instrumentalities of the Government for assistance in the form of personnel, facilities, and other
resources as the need arises in the discharge of its functions;

k) To disseminate information and conduct educational awareness campaigns on the effects of

chemical substances, mixtures and wastes on health and environment; and

l)  To exercise such powers and perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out its
duties and responsibilities under this Act.

SECTION 7. Inter-Agency Technical Advisory Council. — There is hereby created an Inter-

Agency Technical Advisory Council attached to the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources which shall be composed of the following officials or their duly authorized
representatives:

Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Chairman

Secretary of Health Member
Director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute Member
Secretary of Trade and Industry Member
Secretary of Science and Technology Member
Secretary of National Defense Member
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Member
Secretary of Labor and Employment Member
Secretary of Finance Member
Secretary of Finance Member
Secretary of Agriculture Member

 
Secretary of Agriculture Member
Representative from a non-governmental organization on health and Member
safety

The representative from the non-governmental organization shall be appointed by the President
for a term of three (3) years.

The Council shall have the following functions:

a) To assist the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the formulation of the
pertinent rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act;
b) To assist the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the preparation and
updating of the inventory of chemical substances and mixtures that fall within the coverage of
this Act;

c)              To conduct preliminary evaluation of the characteristics of chemical substances and

mixtures to determine their toxicity and effects on health and the environment and make the
necessary recommendations to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; and

d) To perform such other functions as the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources may,
from time to time, require.

SECTION 8.            Pre-Manufacture and Pre-Importation Requirements. — Before any new

chemical substance or mixture can be manufactured, processed or imported for the first time as
determined by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the manufacturer,
processor or importer shall submit the following information: the name of the chemical
substance or mixture; its chemical identity and molecular structure; proposed categories of use;
an estimate of the amount to be manufactured, processed or imported; processing and disposal
thereof; and any test data related to health and environmental effects which the manufacturer,
processor or importer has.

SECTION 9. Chemicals Subject to Testing. — Testing shall be required in all cases where:

a) There is a reason to believe that the chemical substances or mixture may present an
unreasonable risk to health or the environment or there may be substantial human or
environmental exposure thereto;

b) There are insufficient data and experience for determining or predicting the health and
environmental effects of the chemical substance or mixture; and

c) The testing of the chemical substance or mixture is necessary to develop such data.

The manufacturers, processors or importers shall shoulder the costs of testing the chemical
substance or mixture that will be manufactured, processed, or imported.

SECTION 10. Action by the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources of his Duly
Authorized Representative. — The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources or his duly
authorized representative shall, within ninety (90) days from the date of filing of the notice of
manufacture, processing or importation of a chemical substance or mixture, decide whether or
not to regulate or prohibit its importation, manufacture, processing, sale, distribution, use or
disposal. The Secretary may, for justifiable reasons, extend the ninety-day pre-manufacture
period within a reasonable time.

SECTION 11.         Chemical Substances Exempt from Pre-Manufacture Notification. — The
manufacture of the following chemical substances or mixtures shall be exempt from pre-
manufacture notification:
a)              Those included in the categories of chemical substances and mixtures already listed in
the inventory of existing chemicals;

b)              Those to be produced in small quantities solely for experimental or research and
developmental purposes;

c)              Chemical substances and mixtures that will not present an unreasonable risk to health
and the environment; and

d)              Chemical substances and mixtures that exist temporarily and which have no human or
environmental exposure such as those which exist as a result of chemical reaction in the
manufacture or processing of a mixture of another chemical substance.

SECTION 12.         Public Access to Records, Reports or Notification. — The public shall have
access to records, reports, or information concerning chemical substances and mixtures including
safety data submitted, data on emission or discharge into the environment, and such documents
shall be available for inspection or reproduction during normal business hours except that the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources may consider a record, report or information
or particular portions thereof confidential and may not be made public when such would divulge
trade secrets, production or sales figures or methods, production or processes unique to such
manufacturer, processor or distributor, or would otherwise tend to affect adversely the
competitive position of such manufacturer, processor or distributor. The Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, however, may release information subject to claim of
confidentiality to a medical research or scientific institution where the information is needed for
the purpose of medical diagnosis or treatment of a person exposed to the chemical substance or
mixture.

SECTION 13.         Prohibited Acts. — The following acts and omissions shall be considered
unlawful:

a)              Knowingly use a chemical substance or mixture which is imported, manufactured,

processed or distributed in violation of this Act or implementing rules and regulations or orders;

b)              Failure or refusal to submit reports, notices or other information, access to records as
required by this Act, or permit inspection of establishment where chemicals are manufactured,
processed, stored or otherwise held;

c)              Failure or refusal to comply with the pre-manufacture and pre-importation

requirements; and

d)              Cause, aid or facilitate, directly or indirectly, in the storage, importation, or bringing
into Philippine territory, including its maritime economic zones, even in transit, either by means
of land, air or sea transportation or otherwise keeping in storage any amount of hazardous and
nuclear wastes in any part of the Philippines.

SECTION 14.         Criminal Offenses and Penalties. —

a) (i) The penalty of imprisonment of six (6) months and one (1) day to six (6) years and one (1)
day and a fine ranging from Six hundred pesos (P600.00) to Four thousand pesos (P4,000.00)
shall be imposed upon any person who shall violate Section 13(a) to (c) of this Act and shall not
be covered by the Probation Law. If the offender is a foreigner, he or she shall be deported and
barred from any subsequent entry into the Philippines after serving his or her sentence;

ii) In case any violation of this Act is committed by a partnership, corporation, association or any
juridical person, the partner, president, director or manager who shall consent to or shall
knowingly tolerate such violation shall be directly liable and responsible for the act of the
employees and shall be criminally liable as a co-principal;

(iii)   In case the offender is a government official or employee, he or she shall, in addition to the
above penalties, be deemed automatically dismissed from office and permanently disqualified
from holding any elective or appointive position.

b) (i) The penalty of imprisonment of twelve (12) years and one (1) day to twenty (20) years,
shall be imposed upon any person who shall violate Section 13(d) of this Act. If the offender is a
foreigner, he or she shall be deported and barred from any subsequent entry into the Philippines
after serving his or her sentence;

(ii)  In the case of corporations or other associations, the above penalty shall be imposed upon
the managing partner, president or chief executive in addition to an exemplary damage of at least
Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00). If it is a foreign firm, the director and all the
officers of such foreign firm shall be barred from entry into the Philippines, in addition to the
cancellation of its license to do business in the Philippines;

(iii) In case the offender is a government official or employee, he or she shall in addition to the
above penalties be deemed automatically dismissed from office and permanently disqualified
from holding any elective or appointive position.

c) Every penalty imposed for the unlawful importation, entry, transport, manufacture, processing,
sale or distribution of chemical substances or mixtures into or within the Philippines shall carry
with it the confiscation and forfeiture in favor of the Government of the proceeds of the unlawful
act and instruments, tools or other improvements including vehicles, sea vessels, and aircrafts
used in or with which the offense was committed. Chemical substances so confiscated and
forfeited by the Government at its option shall be turned over to the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources for safekeeping and proper disposal.

d) The person or firm responsible or connected with the bringing or importation into the country
of hazardous or nuclear wastes shall be under obligation to transport or send back said prohibited
wastes;

Any and all means of transportation, including all facilities and appurtenances that may have
been used in transporting to or in the storage in the Philippines of any significant amount of
hazardous or nuclear wastes shall at the option of the government be forfeited in its favor.
SECTION 15. Administrative Fines. — In all cases of violations of this Act, including
violations of implementing rules and regulations which have been duly promulgated and
published in accordance with Section 16 of this Act, the Secretary of Environment and Natural
Resources is hereby authorized to impose a fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos
(P10,000.00), but not more than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) upon any person or entity
found guilty thereof. The administrative fines imposed and collected by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources shall accrue to a special fund to be administered by the
Department exclusively for projects and research activities relative to toxic substances and
mixtures.

SECTION 16. Promulgation of Rules and Regulations. — The Department of Environment and
Natural Resources, in coordination with the member agencies of the Inter-Agency Technical
Advisory Council, shall prepare and publish the rules and regulations implementing this Act
within six (6) months from the date of its effectivity.

SECTION 17. Appropriations. — Such amount as may be necessary to implement the

provisions of this Act is hereby annually appropriated and included in the budget of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

SECTION 18. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is declared void or
unconstitutional, the remaining provisions thereof not affected thereby shall remain in full force
and effect.

SECTION 19. Repealing Clause. — All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders and
issuances, and rules and regulations which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.

SECTION 20. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following
its publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.

Approved: October 26, 1990

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