The Department of Education has ordered the mandatory use of lead-safe paints in all public and private elementary and secondary schools nationwide.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones, in DepEd Order No. 4, Series of 2017 dated January 18, has directed all bureau and service directors, regional directors, schools division superintendents, and heads of both public and private schools to ensure that all paints used inside the school premises are lead-free.
Briones said that the order was issued in line with Department of Environment and Natural Resources Administrative Order 2013-24 or the “Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds” and the Commission on Human Rights’ “The People’s Right to Chemical Safety: A Fifteen-Point Human Rights Agenda.”
The order, Briones stressed, aims to strengthen the DepEd Memorandum No. 85, Series 2016, or “Use of Lead-Free Paint in Schools” issued by former Education Secretary Armin Luistro.
In that memo, DepEd said that “use of only lead-safe coatings or paints shall be mandatory to all pre-school, elementary, and secondary schools in anticipation of the phase-out deadline for lead-added architectural, decorative, and household paints by January 1, 2017.” (Ina Hernando Malipot)