QUEZON CITY, Philippines ~ On September 8, 2026, government agencies and climate partners convened for a stakeholder workshop focused on validating and prioritizing strategies to improve the Philippines' methane Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system.

Held at Novotel Manila, the event served as a direct follow-up to an initial visioning workshop held last July 2026, transitioning from preliminary assessments to validating refined findings and draft recommendations. Organized under Output 2: Improving Measurement of Methane Emissions of the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation for Methane Mitigation (AKCMM) Project, a three-year grant initiative funded by the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF), the project aims to bolster methane mitigation across ASEAN member states by establishing enabling policies, improving emissions measurement, supporting reduction projects, and promoting regional dialogue and partnerships.

In the Philippines, the project is implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) alongside the Philippine Methane Reduction Committee (MRC), whose core members include the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Climate Change Commission (CCC), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and National Irrigation Administration (NIA). A technical consortium consisting of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and Clean Air Asia led the situational analysis of national methane MRV systems across the agriculture, energy, waste, and industrial processes and product use (IPPU) sectors.

Opening remarks were delivered by DENR Assistant Secretary Noralene Uy, Chairperson of the MRC. Technical presentations detailed baseline findings and draft recommendations across the agriculture, energy, transport, waste, and IPPU sectors. Representatives from core MRC agencies and partner organizations, including the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Department of Transportation (DOTr), and Philippine Water Works Association, then engaged in sectoral breakout discussions.

During the breakout sessions, participants evaluated identified gaps and recommendations, scoring proposed actions on a 1-to-5 scale based on four criteria: Impact, Feasibility, Cost, and Relevance to ongoing activities. These prioritization scores will directly inform a phased Methane MRV Improvement Roadmap covering short-term (1–3 years), medium-term (4–10 years), and long-term (>10 years) implementation periods.

Notably, participants rated almost all of the findings as accurate, reinforcing the relevance of the issues identified during the discussions. Among the key priorities moving forward are stronger inter-agency coordination, clearer data-sharing standards and agreements, dedicated government funding for MRV, and greater interoperability among existing platforms. Participants also highlighted the need for dedicated staff for MRV activities and clearer institutional roles and responsibilities, particularly within the agriculture, waste and energy sector.

The workshop achieved consensus on priority actions for each sector and grouped the priorities around 4 P’s: people, policy, process improvement, and partnerships.  The event ended by each sector representative sharing their key insights and impressions not just of the validation workshop but of the whole initiative of strengthening methane MRV systems in the Philippines. This participatory and integrated approach aims to bring a sense of ownership among key government agencies and sustain the interest to fulfill a stronger MRV system.  Stakeholder feedback from the event will be used to refine the final project report and feed directly into the national Methane Reduction Plan, strengthening the Philippines' capacity to track emissions and fulfill its commitments under the Global Methane Pledge and the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGHGI).