Press Release
August 16, 2007

LOREN BILL PROHIBITS IMPORTATION
OF SUBSTANCES HARMING OZONE LAYER

Sen. Loren Legarda has filed a bill seeking to prohibit the importation of substances that harm the ozone layer in the atmosphere that protects the earth from ultraviolet radiation that induce climate change and is harmful to life.

Known as among the most ardent advocates of environmental protection in the Philippines, Loren proposed a penalty of imprisonment ranging from six months to six years or a fine of from P10,000 to P50,000 or both for violation of the law.

Specifically, Loren's bill would prohibit importation of substances enumerated in the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement signed by representatives of 44 countries, including the Philippines.

Most of the substances mentioned in the agreement are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) formerly used to clean electronic circuit boards, and are now being used in aerosols and coolants, such as refrigerators and air conditioners. When released in the atmosphere, as explained by Loren in her bill, the substances' molecules turn into chlorine monoxide that cause destruction to the ozone layer. They have a life span of 10 to 100 years.

Ultraviolet radiation that reach the earth through holes in the ozone layer partly caused by the CFCs can enter the cells of living beings and destroy the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of many life forms on planet earth, Loren warned. The destruction of the ozone layer also causes climate change that results in floods, droughts and other climactic catastrophes.

According to Loren, scientists have already located a hole in the ozone layer somewhere above the Antartic, the size of continental America. If the ozone layer is wiped out it might signal the end of life on earth, scientists say.

Loren's bill declares that "It shall be the policy of the State to protect the right of the people to the health and balanced ecology. To this end, it shall control and regulate activities which have, or are likely to have, an adverse effect on the ozone layer that shields the earth from incoming ultra-violet radiation."

A multi-awarded former broadcast journalist and passionate environmentalist, Loren is the founder of Luntiang Filipinas (Green Philippines) Foundation that has planted two million trees throughout the Philippines. Trees absorb fluorocarbons but when excessive they escape to the atmosphere to punch holes on the ozone layer.

Former US Vice President Al Gore, in a famous film presentation, has graphically described how harmful gases from human activity destroy the atmosphere. According to Loren, human activity contributes from 75 to 85 percent of ozone damage. The rest is done by natural sources and volcanic eruptions.

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