The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) has concluded an Airshed Management Training Workshop held on July 7 to 11, 2025, in Bacolod City, boosting regional capabilities in combating air pollution.

The intensive program equipped participants from various EMB Regional and Central Offices, alongside partner institutions, with advanced skills in air quality management, emissions inventory, ambient monitoring, and the innovative use of space-based monitoring tools.

Assistant Secretary for Environment and concurrent EMB Director Jacqueline A. Caancan said, “By integrating cutting-edge technologies like AI-powered systems and satellite data from Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) with enhanced regional capacities, we are not just monitoring pollution, but we are building a smarter, more responsive framework for environmental protection that truly empowers our local implementers.”

The event kicked off with regional presentations showcasing ongoing initiatives and challenges in air quality management. Detailed discussions on the Air Quality Management Fund (AQMF) followed, including updates on collections, certified amounts, releases, and proposals for AQMF in 2025 and 2026, highlighting the financial backbone supporting air quality efforts.

The participants received crucial updates on airshed categories, endorsed designations, and the status of new airsheds. Important guidelines on the designation of attainment and non- attainment areas (AA/NAA) and criteria for new airshed designations were also presented, underscoring the strategic planning involved in air quality zones.

A focused session delved into the status of ambient air stations nationwide, guidelines for determining design values, siting criteria, and critical protocols for establishing sensor collocation. These measures are vital for ensuring accurate and reliable air quality assessments across the country.

 

Likewise, sessions on emissions inventory provided updates on airshed emissions, followed by in-depth discussions on source-specific inventories, including stationary, area, and mobile sources (on-road vehicles and marine vessels).

Moreover, practical online exercises, utilizing spatial distribution tools on a digital platform, offered firsthand experience among the participants. The regional offices also shared their emissions inventory assignments, revealing diverse capacities and data collection challenges across the country.

The Daedalus IT Solutions presented a comprehensive overview of their Online Emissions Inventory System, detailing its features, functionalities, and its pivotal role in streamlining emissions data collection, analysis, and reporting at the regional level.

The system’s user-friendly interface, workflow for data input and validation, and integration of spatial visualization tools were highlighted for their ability to provide better geographic representation of emission hotspots.

A groundbreaking preview of the reimagined National Ambient Air Quality Information System (NAAQIS), now being developed with integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, was another highlight of the training program. This innovative system, also by Daedalus IT Solutions, marks a substantial leap forward in how ambient air quality data will be managed, analyzed, and utilized nationwide.

The enhanced NAAQIS is designed to leverage AI-driven analytics for faster and smarter decision-making by the EMB, offering real-time pattern recognition, predictive analysis, and automated anomaly detection.

By intelligently analyzing vast volumes of ambient air data, the system aims to generate actionable insights, support early warning systems, and optimize policy interventions for cleaner air.

Technical experts from the Philippine Space Agency guided participants on interpreting satellite-based air quality data and its application in Philippine monitoring programs. A hands-on session on PANDORA (a ground-based remote sensing instrument) data downloading and processing further equipped participants with skills to integrate spaceborne data into ground-based monitoring frameworks, broadening the scope of air quality surveillance.

“This capacity-building and collaborative effort will pave the way for more responsive, science-based air quality policies and programs that will ultimately contribute to a healthier and more sustainable environment for all Filipinos,” Caancan concluded. ###