DC2012-11-0009: Renewable Energy Safety, Health and Environment Rules and Regulations (RESHERR)

Department Circular No. DC2012-11-0009, signed 21 November 2012 by DOE Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla. Establishes the Renewable Energy Safety, Health and Environment Rules and Regulations (RESHERR) — the umbrella safety framework for all renewable energy operations in the Philippines, issued under RA 9513 (RE Act) and RA 7638 §5 (DOE Act) [DC2012-11-0009, Statement of Authority, 2012-11-21].

Scope

Applies to all Employers, Employees, contractors, and other entities engaged in RE Operations in the Philippines [DC2012-11-0009, §2, 2012-11-21] — the broadest possible coverage, deliberately not limited by technology, so that the five 2021 technology-specific codes (geothermal , hydropower , solar , wind , biomass ) could each build on the same shared core.

Administration and Enforcement

The REMB Director (or an Authorized Representative) enforces the Circular: enforcing regulations, inspecting RE Operations for compliance, summoning officials/employees for investigations, issuing suspension/variation orders under OSHS, investigating fatal accidents and dangerous occurrences, and suspending any activity causing imminent danger [DC2012-11-0009, §4, 2012-11-21]. Within six months of effectivity, the Bureau (REMB) was directed to promulgate, in consultation with RE stakeholders and government agencies, a technology-specific Code of Practice [DC2012-11-0009, §8, 2012-11-21] — the mandate the five 2021 sub-codes eventually fulfilled, roughly nine years after the six-month deadline.

Employer and Employee Duties

Employers must assess and record health/safety/environment risks to their own employees and to third parties, review that assessment when circumstances change, and give employees comprehensible hazard information [DC2012-11-0009, §5, 2012-11-21]. An annual comprehensive Safety, Health and Environmental Management Plan and Program for the succeeding year is due to the Director by 1 December each year [DC2012-11-0009, §6, 2012-11-21]. Employees must use supplied equipment per company policy and this Circular, and report dangerous work situations or shortcomings in the employer’s protective arrangements [DC2012-11-0009, §7, 2012-11-21]. Employers sharing a workplace must cooperate, coordinate compliance measures, and inform each other of cross-cutting risks.

SHE Organization and Personnel

Every Employer issues a written SHE policy statement and places its safety unit under the direct control of the highest official [DC2012-11-0009, §§9–10, 2012-11-21]. Minimum full-time Safety Engineer/Officer staffing is scaled by project phase and headcount — e.g., 3 during Development/Construction/Plant Operation for 1,000+ employees, dropping to 1 across all phases for 50–499 employees [DC2012-11-0009, §11, 2012-11-21]. A Safety, Health and Environment Committee is required at every RE Facility from the start of operations, sized 5 members (under 100 workers) or 6 (100+), chaired by the site Manager [DC2012-11-0009, §12, 2012-11-21].

Safety Engineer’s/Officer’s Permit [DC2012-11-0009, §13, 2012-11-21]: issued by the Bureau to a licensed engineer with 2 years’ RE-industry occupational-safety experience, a degree/2-years-college holder with 5 years’ such experience, or a DOLE-accredited Safety Practitioner — each also requiring minimum BOSH training. Application requires a sworn form (Appendix A), employer endorsement, photos, and a PhP300 processing fee; renewal is annual, applied for within 1 month of expiry. The Director may cancel accreditation for criminal conviction involving moral turpitude, professional-ethics violations, or gross negligence causing incidents.

Reporting, Recording, and Training

Employers report Lost Time Accidents with major loss/damage in writing, and must use the fastest available means within 24 hours for fatalities, hospitalization of 3+ persons, explosions, accidental radiation/toxic exposure, or property damage of PhP1,000,000 or more [DC2012-11-0009, §14, 2012-11-21]. A quarterly statistical report on accidents/incidents/illnesses/diseases is due within 20 days of each quarter’s end (Appendix C); records are kept on a calendar-year basis and made available to the Director on inspection [DC2012-11-0009, §15, 2012-11-21]. Safety and health training must recur every 3 years (or as directed by the Bureau), delivered by a DOLE-Accredited Safety Training Organization, and triggered again by any change in responsibilities, equipment, technology, or work systems [DC2012-11-0009, §18, 2012-11-21].

General Safety, Health and Environment Provisions

Covers PPE selection, fit-testing, and provision at the employer’s expense [DC2012-11-0009, §§19–21, 2012-11-21]; machinery guarding per OSHS Rule 1200; a mandatory work permit system barring hot work, electrical work, excavation, critical lifts, work at heights, or confined-space entry until hazards are controlled [DC2012-11-0009, §23, 2012-11-21]; restrictions on explosives storage/handling/transport within RE Facilities, with a quarterly transaction report (Appendix D) [DC2012-11-0009, §24, 2012-11-21]; construction-site safety per DOLE DO No. 13 s.1998; fire protection and warning systems, segregation of high-risk processes, and Fire Code compliance [DC2012-11-0009, §26, 2012-11-21]; and serious-and-imminent-danger planning — a Disaster Emergency Preparedness/Contingency Plan, an emergency alarm system, and biannual emergency drills [DC2012-11-0009, §27, 2012-11-21].

Occupational Health

Employers must run an occupational health program covering pre-employment/periodic/special/transfer health examinations, injury/disease treatment, immunization, health education, and medical record-keeping, plus biological and medical surveillance [DC2012-11-0009, §31, 2012-11-21]. Medical/dental services follow OSHS Rule 1960; where no nearby clinic exists, employers must arrange transport and trained first-aid personnel; sanitary and welfare facilities follow PD 856 (Sanitation Code) [DC2012-11-0009, §32, 2012-11-21].

Administrative Fines and Penalties

Six violation categories, each with an escalating fine schedule [DC2012-11-0009, §33, 2012-11-21]:

Appendices

Four blank administrative forms are attached: Appendix A (Safety Engineer’s/Officer’s Permit application), Appendix B (Accident Report), Appendix C1–C6 (statistical accident-analysis reports, including a breakdown by body part injured), and Appendix D (Explosive Monthly Transaction Report).

Implementation: The 2021 Technology-Specific Codes

Nearly nine years after RESHERR’s own six-month deadline for a Code of Practice, the DOE issued five parallel technology-specific codes on 11 June 2021, one per RE technology: geothermal , hydropower , solar , wind , and biomass/biofuels . Each cites RESHERR Rule 2, §8 as its basis and follows a parallel structure (Policy Statement, Definitions, General SHE Practices, Power Plant Facilities, Technology-Specific Operations) — see Renewable Energy Safety, Health, and Environment Rules and Regulations (RESHERR) for the shared-core detail and MOC: RESHERR Safety Codes for a cross-code comparison.

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