PCAPI Region 7, has been existing for more than 25 years now. PCAPI stands for Pollution Control Association of the Philippines, Inc. It is a private, non-profit organization. Among its members are the Pollution Control Officers/ Engineers representing the various industrial establishments/ companies and PCOs of local government in Regions 7. It is considered by the then National Pollution Control Commission, now the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, as their support arm in the abatement and control of pollution.
The association was organized on March 13, 1980, when the National Pollution Control Commission, together with the Philippine Women’s University, the Philippine Society of Chemical Engineers, Cebu Chapter, and the United Nation Environment Programme, held its first seminar, entitled “ The Pollution Control & Environmental Management”, at the Hotel Mercedes, Cebu City, on March 11-14, 1980. This seminar was attended by 86 participants representing various industrial establishments/ companies in Regions 7, and some government officials from the local government sectors. It was the NPCC, Manila, i.e., ex-Commissioner Guillermo Pecache, and ex-Deputy Commissioner Bienvenido Garcia and his staff of engineers who suggested in this gathering that an association shall be formed so that in the next seminar it will be easier for them to reach the participants. As it can be seen now, there is a PCAPI Organization or its equivalent in every region of the country.