THE Clean Air Act (Republic Act 8749) has turned out to be another example of a law that is well written, but is poorly implemented. One thing for sure, the Legislative Branch has already done its part, and it is now up to the Executive Branch to implement it. Recently, the Coalition of Clean Air Advocates (CCAA) has filed charges of negligence and dereliction of duty against the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), thus bringing in the Judicial Branch into the fray. Hopefully, the latter will also do its part, so that the law could be tested in a baptism of fire, so to speak. It is written in RA8749 that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will be the lead agency in the implementation of the law, but there are other agencies that are mandated to implement certain provisions, such as the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), the DTI and the LTO. While it is very clear that the DENR is the lead agency, it is also very clear that the functions have been Balkanized in such a way that each of the other agencies could very much do (or not do) what they want, without any agency that performs the coordinative functions at the top. In the midst of the finger pointing and blame throwing that is now going on between and among the national government agencies (NGAs) that are supposed to be doing their part in the implementation of the law, perhaps it is better for the law to be interpreted in such a way that the Local Government Units (LGUs) should be ultimately responsible for the quality of clean air in their own jurisdictions, regardless of what the NGAs would do or would not do. This idea is based on the principle of subsidiarity, a principle that supports the decentralization and devolution of national functions that are presently centralized at the top. So far, the CCAA has only filed cases against the LTO, and not against the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). While many of us are confused about the differentiation of functions between the LTO and the LTFRB, it is very clear that motor vehicles should not be registered by the LTO if they could not pass emission tests, and more so, the LTFRB should not grant franchises to public transportation units not unless these are compliant with approved emission standards. By the way, there should be no confusion when it comes to tricycles, because their registration and regulation is clearly under the LGUs. The balkanization of functions is very common in the government, resulting in poor coordination between and among the NGAs on one hand, and the LGUs on the other hand. One example of this is the balkanization of the traffic management function, in relation to the balkanization of the air quality management function. As it happened, the Metro Manila Development Authority implemented the license number coding system, in order to reduce the volume of traffic in the metropolitan roads. Obviously the MMDA saw the problem only from their perspective, because the better approach would have been to implement the emission standards, and by doing that, more vehicles would have been removed from the roads. •• I am with everyone who are still mourning the death of our SAF44 heroes, but how I wish that all of us would be equally scandalized about the death of many Filipinos who are victims of various diseases that are directly related to polluted air, numbering more than 10,000 people per year, according to reports. Sad to say, our emotions are driven by what we read or hear in the mass media. Much sadder than that, the mass media does not really report about deaths that are caused by air pollution, and that is why there is also no violent reaction from the general population. By the way, more than 44 soldiers die in combat each year, but no one is scandalized either. As it is supposed to be, we are supposed to be concerned about air pollution because of the damage the greenhouse gases could cause the ozone layer. It is a long story that eventually results in climate change and global warming. While we may be feeling some of the damage now in terms of more natural disasters and increasing temperatures, the worst is yet to come in terms of massive flooding that will be caused by rising sea levels, a phenomenon that is in turn caused by the melting of the polar ice caps due to the damage in the ozone layer. We have reason to be afraid of the deaths that would come in the future, but we should also fear the deaths that are presently caused by air pollution. According to the CCAA, much of the air pollution is caused by the emissions caused by motor vehicles. Since that is the case, we should really think hard about strictly implementing our emission standards, and we could do that by banning non-compliant vehicles from using our roads, instead of implementing the number coding scheme. Truth to tell, we have the rights to use our roads because we are all paying taxes, particularly the road user’s tax. Because of the number coding scheme, we are being punished by preventing us from using our roads on certain days, even if our cars have passed the emission tests. Instead of punishing those who are complying with the law, the government should just punish those who are breaking the emission laws, by banning their vehicles not just on certain days. I understand that the CCAA is just focusing on vehicle emissions as of now, but we should also quickly shift our focus on the factories that are also violating the emission laws. Aside from that, we should also go after the operators of landfills that are now below standards in preventing the emissions of methane gas and other greenhouse gases. Going after the villain factories would be much easier, because that could be done through fines and the implementation of a local carbon credits scheme. I know that there is no local system yet for carbon credits trading, but the government should already fast track that. As far as the landfills are concerned, the government should crack down on them as soon as possible. As it is supposed to be, there is supposed to be lesser corruption in the private sector when compared to the public sector. As it happened however, the Motor Vehicle Inspection System (MVIS) that has been privatized has been the victim of corruption, because it is now issuing emission compliance certificates to vehicle owners on a “non-appearance” basis. As it happened, the MVIS contractors have turned the inspection system into a lucrative business by issuing either fake or doctored documents. According to the CCAA, it is the DTI that has been negligent in watching over these contractors. As I see it, it may be better to turn over the inspection system to the LGUs, because at least, the Commission on Audit (COA) could serve as another layer of oversight over them.