On April 27, around 50 faculty members with significant experience in the social sciences and technology from 23 different SUCs and HEIs in Luzon took part in an orientation and training on the country's Environmental Impact Statement system facilitated by the agency’s Environmental Management Bureau .According to the DENR, an EIA is a process for anticipating the effects on the environment caused by a development, while an EIS is the document produced as a result of that process.
Only about 30 EIA reviewers are currently actively working at the DENR Central Office in Quezon City, Undersecretary for Integrated Environmental Science Carlos Primo David said. “With the training that we did, it will more than double the number of EIA reviewers we have. We are tapping the expertise of these academic institutions to help in the work of the DENR,” said David.