UPDATE June 24, 2026 11:11 PM:

CEPMO Recommends Sustainable Post-quarantine Environmental Policies

City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) Asst. Dept. Head Rhenan Diwas has submitted initial recommendations about environmental programs that the city can adopt as we face the new normal.

According to the Public Information Office – City of Baguio (PIO-Baguio), the recommendations were included in the Roadside Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Report.

What is the Roadside Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Report

This report submitted by CEPMO was based on the real-time monitoring data taken from the air sampler equipment that was installed near the city hall from March 2-31 and from April 1-15.

CEPMO: Low Readings of Air Pollutants

Based on the Roadside Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Report, normally, during the summer season or the beginning November to May, readings of dust sentry are at higher ‘good’ to ‘fair’ due to increased motor vehicles from tourists/locals and dust particles formed during warm weather.

However, since the implementation of the Enhance Community Quarantine (ECQ) on March 16, 2020, readings of air pollutants have been consistently low. 

ECQ Resulted in Good Air Quality

The report has revealed that lesser vehicles and activities in the City Hall area resulted in consistently low readings.   

Moreover, Diwas said that foreign forecasts show that ECQ resulted in good air quality in major cities around the globe. However, its environmental impact may only be momentary since the economic and transport activities will most likely surge after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Sustainable Environmental Policies

In line with this, Diwas also said that it is important for concerned LGUs to adopt sustainable environmental programs or policies for the “new normal”, such as but not limited to:

POLICY 1

• In the implementation of the gradual operation of the City’s transport system, only PUJs that are roadworthy or have undergone voluntary emission testing should be allowed to travel within the city
  • Emission testing at barangays until all PUJs are tested
    • will be done by the Road Side Inspection Team, in coordination with the City Engineering Office-Traffic and Transport Management Office and the respective transport associations

POLICY 2

• Road Side Inspection and Monitoring Team (RTMT) should be intensified at high-risk areas to monitor smoke-belching vehicles.
  • Smoke Belching Fees will be temporarily suspended but the erring PUJ operator/driver will be directed to do the proper maintenance/repair/cleaning of the PUJ before it resumes operation

POLICY 3

• Baguio City should eventually adopt low carbon urban transport system (i.e. project of Dept. of Transportation in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

POLICY 4

• The City should implement urban forests initiatives as a way to mitigate air pollution
• CEPMO is currently refining the Urban Greening Action Plan of Baguio City entitled: “Re-Greening Action Plan: A decade of Urban Forest Initiatives” for submission to the Local Chief Executive and eventual presentation to the City Council

POLICY 5

• Establish walkable connections throughout the City to encourage people to walk and provide positive places for community pride
• The inclusion of urban greening elements in sidewalks is one way to further the goal of walkable connections and the Urban Greening Action Plan, with the benefits of good air quality distributed equitably among the Baguio populace.

SOURCE PIO Baguio

For more information, see our complete guide on A Glimpse of the New Normal for the Hotel and Accommodation Industry.