Administrative Order No. 2016 - O8 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) promulating the Water Quality Guidelines and General Effluent Standards of 2016.

This Administrative Order is issued to provide guidelines for the classification of water bodies in the country; determination of time trends and the evaluation of stages of deterioration/ enhancement in water quality; evaluation of the need for taking actions in preventing, controlling, or abating water pollution; and designation of water quality management areas (WQMA). In addition, this Order is issued to set the General Effluent Standards (GES).
Section 5 provides for the classification of water bodies, including: water body classification and usage of freshwater and marine waters. The rules and regulations established in Section 6 Water Quality Guidelines are intended to maintain and preserve the quality of all water bodies based on their intended beneficial usage and to prevent and abate pollution and contamination to protect public health, aquatic resources, crops, and other living organisms.