The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) System in the Philippines, officially referred to as the Philippine EIS System (PEISS), was established under Presidential Decree (PD) 1586 on 11 June 1978. Section 4 of PD 1586 provides that no person, partnership or corporation shall undertake or operate any such declared environmentally critical project or area without first securing an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC). Full implementation of the PEISS transpired after the issuance of Presidential Proclamation 2146 in 1981 where the technical definition of Environmentally Critical Projects (ECPs) and Environmentally Critical Areas (ECAs) was provided.