The City Government of Iloilo and three local universities forged a Memorandum of Understanding to affirm their commitments to contribute to better air quality.

The MOU signing ceremony was attended by Iloilo Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, Dr. Teodoro C. Robles (President of the Central Philippine University), Dean Emeliza Lozada (representing the University of the Philippines - Visayas (UPV) on behalf of Chancellor Minda J. Formacion) and Ms. Chamaigne Luz Jamandre (on behalf of Fr. Raul M. Marchan of the University of San Agustin). The MOU was signed specifically for the joint conduct of emissions inventory but is seen to jumpstart longer-term collaborations between the city and academic institutions through conduct of technical studies and researches which can serve as basis for legislative measures or policy reforms in the area of air quality management.

MOU Signing Ceremony

The MOU stated that the city will assist the three universities in all emissions inventory activities especially the conduct of data gathering, surveys and interviews in study area and different barangays and provide links or access to relevant data and information of different government offices.

The universities are assigned to three different sources. UPV will be the focal for stationary sources, CPU for mobile sources and USA for area sources. Emissions inventory is the accounting of the amount of air pollutants discharged into the atmosphere. An emissions inventory can be used in a variety of ways as part of an integrated air quality management program. It can be used to estimate magnitude of local emissions, evaluate emissions tendencies, serve as input to air quality modeling and assess compliance with various regulations and emissions standards.

This initiative by the city and the three universities is being supported by the ASEAN-GIZ Clean Air for Smaller Cities Project coordinated by the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center (CAI-Asia Center). Iloilo City and Cagayan de Oro City are the two Philippine cities selected for the pilot implementation of the project which aims to support emerging cities in developing science-based clean air action plans.

For more information on the Clean Air for Smaller Cities Project, contact ronald(dot)cartagena@cai-asia(dot)org