The Philippines signed the Montreal Protocol on September 14, 1988 and ratified it on March 21, 1993. The Philippines’ commitment to the Montreal Protocol is to phase out its consumption of all ODS. The Montreal Protocol defines consumption as production plus import minus export. Since the Philippines is neither a producer nor an exporter of ODS, its consumption is equal to its importation. As part of its monitoring and regulatory function, it has been charged with the issuance of clearances for all ODS importations.

The Philippine Ozone Desk

The Philippine Ozone Desk (POD) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) – Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) is the national coordinator of programs for the implementation of the Montreal Protocol. It is also known as the country’s National Ozone Unit (NOU).

The mission of POD is to ensure the country’s compliance to the Montreal Protocol and promote the protection of the ozone layer among Filipinos. POD is a government project under the DENR-EMB funded by the Multilateral Fund. There are currently three projects under the POD which are all implemented by the World Bank: the Institutional Strengthening Project (ISP), the National Chlorofluorocarbon Phase-out Project (NCPP), and the National Methyl Bromide Phase-out Strategy (NMBPS). The NMBPS is co-supervised by the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) of the Department of Agriculture.