Duterte to certify as urgent bill banning single-use plastics
President Duterte is likely to certify as urgent a bill imposing a ban on single-use plastic products in the country to ensure its swift passage in Congress.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the President has expressed support for the plastic ban to curb pollution and save the environment during a recent Cabinet meeting.
"The President has floated that idea. It's for the members of Congress to adopt it, use their initiative to have that kind of idea bear fruition," Panelo said in a radio interview.
Asked if the President will certify the bill as urgent, Panelo said: “Because the President supports it, it will not be surprising if he does."
The House Committee on Natural Resources has vowed to tackle pending measures seeking to ban the use of plastics in the country.
Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., chairman of the panel, assured that they would immediately act on the bills, considering the negative impact of plastics to the environment and even public health.
"The Committee on Natural Resources will immediately convene to act on the pending bills pertaining to the ban on the use of plastic," he said in an interview after Malacañang announced that President Duterte is eyeing to impose a ban on the use of plastics in the entire country.
"We shall invite all the stakeholders including the Association of the Plastic Manufacturers in the Philippines and the government agencies involved in the legislation namely the DENR, DOH, DILG, and the environmentalist groups whose advocacy is the banning and/or regulating the use of plastic," the House leader said.
At present, two bills seeking to ban single-use plastic are pending in the Senate. The measures have been filed by Senators Francis Pangilinan and Cynthia Villar following reports that the Philippines has become the world’s third largest producer of plastic wastes that pollute the oceans.
Pending the passage of the plastic ban measure, the Palace meantime has called for the effective implementation of Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
The President made the pitch for plastic ban days after he and other Southeast Asian leaders committed to step up efforts to combat marine debris pollution during a summit in Thailand. The leaders have recognized that marine debris remained a global concern and that regional collaboration must be intensified to curb ocean pollution.
Barzaga urged the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Education (DepEd) to actively launch campaign against the use of plastics, while Congress is flexing its muscles to pass a law against the use of plastics.
Bohol Rep. Alexie Besas Tutor earlier filed House Bill 4724 seeking to ban the single-use of plastics from all tourist sites and destinations.