Section 11. Section 12 of Republic Act No. 7586 is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 12. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).— Considering that protected areas are environmentally critical areas, the proponent of development projects and activities with potentially significant adverse impacts as determined by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), whether or not these projects or activities are included in the management plan, shall secure an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) in accordance with the Philippine Environment Impact Statement (EIS) System: Provided, That for development projects and activities that are not environmentally critical, an initial environmental examination (IEE) shall be undertaken instead of a full-blown EIA. No project or activity may be undertaken by any project proponent without prior clearance from the PAMB. The DENR shall require the submission of the PAMB clearance, among others, before issuing an ECC to a project proponent.

“No actual implementation of such activities shall be allowed without the required ECC under the Philippine EIA System. Violations of environmental laws, rules and regulations, including those under the EIA System, shall be penalized accordingly.”