Cebu experts urge gov’t to comply with WHO air quality standards

NETWORK. Health professionals, scientists, and environmental advocates launch the Cebu Clean Air Network (Cebu CAN) at the University of the Philippines Cebu on November 13, 2026, calling for stronger measures to address air pollution and protect public health.

Jacqueline Hernandez/Rappler

Experts from UP Cebu, in collaboration with Clean Air Asia, are set to deploy new sensor technology to support air quality monitoring in the province

CEBU, Philippines – Environmentalists and health and science experts launched the Cebu Clean Air Network (Cebu CAN) on Friday, November 13, to urge the government to take immediate action towards meeting the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Air Quality Guidelines.

Francis Joseph dela Cruz, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) Partnerships and Advocacy advisor and AktivAsia Co-founder, told Rappler in an interview that the network specifically chose Cebu for the launch due to developments in the province’s struggle for clean air.

“Cebu is a major economic center and it’s here that we find evidence of air pollution. We know where it’s coming from because research showed that 70% of it comes from mobile sources, which means transport and the rest, stationary — coal plants,” Dela Cruz said.

In April, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas (DENR-EMB 7) reported “very unhealthy” levels of air quality index (AQI) due to a lack of wind movement and accumulation of vehicle and industrial air pollutants.

“Data from the Talisay City Station confirms a significant and concerning rise in fine particulate matter (PM2.5),” said a DENR-EMB air quality advisory in April.

Cebu also experienced strong haze due to volcanic activity from the Kanlaon Volcano in July and forest fires from Indonesia in September.

The WHO air quality guidelines set an average annual limit of no more than 5 micrograms per cubic meter for concentrations of PM2.5 or particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers — these are particulate matter small enough to travel deep into the lungs and even enter the blood stream.

According to Cebu CAN, the country’s current annual guidelines for PM2.5, set in 2020, remain five times higher than the limit recommended by the WHO.

Dela Cruz explained that the impact of unhealthy air quality can be seen in disrupted economic activity and hampered use of public resources.

“If you have an unhealthy citizenry, then the money that they earn, rather than go to what they need, goes to medication and if they cannot work, it gives them more problems. If they go to a public health center, the center will have to allocate more resources for patients,” the clean air advocate said.

According to a 2021 study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and the ICSC, air pollution costs the country an estimated P4.5 trillion a year in economic costs. 

Acting on air quality

For Jonnifer Sinogaya, center head of the University of the Philippines in Cebu Center for Environmental Informatics, there’s a need to address gaps in the reliability of the monitoring of the province’s air quality index.

“During the haze, there was only one source of data, which was from the station in Talisay City so if there is now a network, more stations to deploy, you can get more reliable data and that will supplement those from the DENR-EMB,” Sinogaya said.

With the launch of the Cebu CAN, the University of the Philippines Cebu (UP Cebu), in a memorandum of agreement with Clean Air Asia, is set to deploy new air quality sensors in the province.

Apart from data gathering, Dela Cruz shared that local governance could also take part in improving Cebu’s air quality by reviewing the province’s reliance on energy sources like coal that emit harmful pollutants.

At present, Cebu contributes a majority of the energy from coal in the Visayas grid. The Cebu island sub-grid consists of coal (82.03%), diesel (12.94%), solar (4.93%), and hydroelectric (0.1%) power plants.

The province is also host to the coal-fired power plants that have been on forced and unplanned outages in recent months. 

Dela Cruz suggested that the electrification of transport packaged with a transition to the use of renewable energy would provide the province an advantage in addressing gaps in its energy and air quality demands.

“So that’s the first step, looking at how you can transform modes of mobility and transportation. If we can afford it, switching to electric vehicles will address mobile sources of pollution,” the clean air advocate said. – Rappler.com