Bill to address plastic waste filed

A BILL that seeks to address the plastic waste plague in the country was filed at the House of Representatives.

House Bill 7902, filed by Aangat Tayo Party-list Representative Harlin Neil Abayon III, states that it is the policy of the state to protect the nation’s natural resources and to ensure that use of property bears a social function.

“To address the plastic waste plague that has spread to our forests, mountains, farmlands, urban communities and to many of our country’s rivers, lakes, and seas, it has become urgently necessary for the enactment of a law designed to create, instill, and sustain the habit of caring for the environment and keeping it free from plastic wastes,” states House Bill 7902.

The bill prohibits the following:

1) Release of uncoverable plastic and rubber balloons into the air.

2) Sale and distribution of single-use plastic at retail and wholesale business establishments.

3) Throwing or disposal of cigarette butts, any form of plastic waste or matter, and non-biodegradable substances into the sea and other bodies of water, whether natural or man-made, including sewerage canals of any form.

4) Sale of personal care products, cosmetics, detergents, oil-based products, and other products containing microbeads.

The bill imposes a Plastic Bags Deterrence Fee of at least P20 per reusable plastic bag to discourage the use of plastic.

Any person who commits any of the prohibited acts provided for in the bill shall pay the fine of not less than P10,000 nor more than P500,000 for everyday violation.

Serious negligence of officials at the barangay, municipal, city, provincial, and national levels of the responsibility to properly collect and dispose of garbage, especially those along coastal areas, shall constitute probable cause for the Office of the Ombudsman to motu proprio immediately suspend such officials for three months without pay, allowances, and any other kind of remuneration from public funds.

Gross negligence of officials to do the same shall constitute the probable cause for the Office of the Ombudsman to suspend the official for six months without pay.

According to a report that was cited in the bill and entitled “Stemming the tide: Land-based strategies for a plastic-free ocean,” the Philippines, along with China Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, has been tagged as a major plastic waste polluter in the world.