Short Title.
Section 1
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Chemical Weapons Prohibition Act".
RA 12174 (Chemical Weapons Prohibition Act) CHAPTER I
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Declaration of Policy.
Section 2
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State, consistent with national interest, adopts and pursues a policy of freedom from chemical weapons in its territory and protection of human life and the global environment from the effects of chemical weapons, in conformity with its obligations under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, known as the "Chemical Weapons Convention" (the Convention), to which the Philippines is a State Party. Towards this end, the State shall not, under any circumstance, develop, produce, manufacture, acquire, posses, stockpile, retain, or use chemical weapons, or engage in any other activities prohibited under the Convention, and shall prohibit all persons from engaging in such activities.
Definition of Terms.
Section 3
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act: (a) Chemical Weapon refers to one (1) or a combination of the following: (1) Toxic chemicals and their precursors, except when intended for purposes not prohibited under the Convention, where the type and quantity is consistent with such purposes; (2) Munition and devised designed to cause death or other harm through the release of toxic properties from the chemicals specified in subparagraph (1) herein, as a result of using such munitions and devices; and (3) Any equipment specifically designed to be used directly for the employment of munitions and devices specified in subparagraph (2) herein: (b) Facility refers to any of the industrial sites defined below: (1) Plant Site (Works, Factory) refers to the local integration of one (1) or more plants, with any intermediate administrative levels, which are under one (1) operational control, and includes common infrastructure, such as: (i) Administration and other offices; (ii) Repair and maintenance shops; (iii) Medical center; (iv) Utilities; (v) Central analytical laboratory; (vi) Research and development laboratories; (vii) Central effluent and waste treatment area; and (viii) Warehouse storage. (2) Plant (Production facility, Workshop) refers to a relatively self-contained area, structure, or building containing one (1) or more units with auxiliary and associated infrastructure, such as: (i) Small administrative section; (ii) Storage or handling areas for feedstock and products; (iii) Effluent or waste and handling treatment area; (iv) Control or analytical laboratory; (v) First aid service or related medical section; and (vi) Records associated with the movement into, around, and from the site, of declared chemicals and their feedstock or product chemicals formed from them, as appropriate; (3) Unit (Production unit, Process unit) refers to the combination of items of equipment, including vessels and vessel set up, necessary for the production, processing, or consumption of a chemical: (c) Person refers to any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, political entity, foreign government or nation, agency, instrumentality or political subdivision of any such government or nation, or other entity located in the Philippines; (d) Precursors refer to a chemical reactants which take part at any stage in the production by whatever method of a toxic chemical. This includes any key component of a binary or multi-component chemical system. Precursors which have been identified for the application of verification measures by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are listed as scheduled chemicals of the Convention's Annex on Chemicals; (e) Purposes not prohibited under the Convention shall mean: (1) industrial, agricultural, research, medical, pharmaceutical, or other peaceful purposes; (2) Protective purposes directly related to protection against toxic chemicals and chemical weapons; (3) Military purposes not connected with the use of chemical weapons and not dependent on the use of toxic properties of chemicals as a method of warfare; and (4) The use of non-lethal weapons which are not prohibited under this Act and the Convention, for the maintenance of public security and order by: (i) Law enforcement authorities; (ii) The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) when taking measures to suppress insurgency and other serious threats to national security, and where the use thereof is most appropriate other than the use of deadly force; and (iii) The AFP within the framework of a system of mutual collective security, and training for its use: (f) Riot control agent refers to any chemical not listed as a scheduled chemical in the Convention's Annex on Chemicals which can rapidly produce sensory irritation or disabling physical effects in humans that disappear within a short time following termination of exposure; (g) Schedule chemicals refer to chemicals listed in Scheduled 1, 2, and 3 of the Convention's Annexes on Chemicals as attached and made an integral part hereof and any subsequent amendments thereto; and (h) Toxic chemicals refers to those which, through chemical action on life processes, can cause death, temporary incapacity or permanent harm to humans or animals. This includes all such chemicals therein, regardless of origin or method of production, and regardless of whether they are produced in facilities, munitions, or elsewhere. Toxic chemicals which have been identified for the application of verification measures by the OPCW are listed in the scheduled chemicals in the Convention's Annex on Chemicals. Unless a contrary intention appears, an expression or term that is used both in this Act and the Convention but is not defined in this Act, shall have the same meaning provided in the Convention. Verification Annex means the Convention's Annex on Implementation and Verification.
National Authority.
Section 4
SEC. 4. National Authority. - The Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) is hereby designated as the Philippine national authority on the Chemical Weapons Convention. The ATC shall serve as the national focal point for effective liaison with the OPCW and other State Parties to fulfill the country's commitments under the Convention, including the preparation and submission of annual declarations on scheduled chemicals and facilities. The Anti-Terrorism Council-Program Management Center (ATC-PMC) shall act the secretariat.
Functions.
Section 5
SEC. 5. Functions. - The ATC, acting as national authority, shall: (a) Ensure proper elucidation and representation of the country's policy on the non-proliferation of chemical weapons in coordination with the Philippine Permanent Representative to the OPCW; (b) Develop rules and regulations and formulate policies in cooperation with appropriate government agencies, concerning the production, processing, consumption, importation, exportation, in-country transfer, use, and proper disposal of scheduled chemicals and facilities, and production facilities of other chemicals not included in the scheduled chemicals of the Convention's Annex on Chemicals; (c) Create committees, sub-committees, and advisory boards, as may be necessary, to carry out specific functions for the attainment of the objectives under this Act; (d) Designate local inspectors and specify their required qualifications, trainings, and functions, and in coordination with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and other appropriate government agencies, spearhead inspections of facilities involving scheduled chemicals; (e) Identify local laboratories to become an OPCW Designated Laboratory which should be able to perform off-site analysis of samples collected by inspectors from chemical production facilities, storage depots, and other installations, or from the site of an alleged use of chemical weapons; (f) Cause or direct the investigation of violations of laws concerning chemical weapons, or the handling of toxic chemicals in violation of this Act; (g) Support capacity-building initiatives and information campaigns on chemical safety and security; and (h) Perform such other functions to effectively implement the provisions of this Act and the Convention. The ATC may require the assistance and support of all departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, or instrumentalities of the government, including government-owned or -controlled corporations to effectively perform its duties and functions under this Act. The ATC shall periodically update the list of scheduled chemicals in Schedules 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention's Annex on Chemicals upon the request or advice of the OPCW. Such updates shall be in the form of formal resolutions of the ATC to be published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation before they become effective.
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