BAGUIO CITY – The local government has assured the city’s air remains breathable despite a report from the World Health Organization (WHO) that purportedly labeled them as one of the most polluted cities in the country.
City government officials claim that the old 2013 and 2014 studies presented years ago city the Summer Capital among the most polluted has still to be updated.
City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) head Cordilia Lacsamana said the city has an updated 2016 DENR EMB air monitoring report which labels air quality in the city as good to fair representing the first and second quarter of the year.
“We remain to be aggressive in the implementation of various programs and projects geared towards improving the city’s air quality and we were able to go so far in sustaining and innovating our interventions that helped improve the air quality around the city,” said Lacsamana. Our city’s air remain to be breathable and appropriate advises have also been issued to individuals with conditions aggravated by pollutants in the air to stay away from the few identified areas that have been considered to be with fair air quality.”
Lacsamana said the city has been chosen as one of the pilot areas for Clean Air Certification, an international recognition of “innovative and impactful, voluntary action towards better air quality” given by the Clean Cities Air Partnership Program (CCAP) through the Clean Air Asia (CCA). (Zaldy Comanda)