House bill seeks tax on use of plastic bags
A BILL imposing an excise tax of P2.50 for every plastic bag used in business establishments has been filed at the House of Representatives.
House Bill 4134 filed by Albay Representative Al Francis Bichara provides automatic allocation of the revenue generated from this proposed tax to the annual budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources “to fund efforts to protect the environment.”
In pushing for the bill, Bichara said these plastic bags, which are non-biodegradable and are found littered along roadside drains, have caused flooding during heavy rainfall.
Plastic bags, likewise, kill one million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals and countless fish every year, he said.
“We cannot deny the long list of disadvantages with the use of plastic bags,” Bichara said in a statement on Friday.
“A person’s use of plastic bags may be counted in minutes but a plastic bag takes between 15 to 1,000 years to be broken down by the environment,” he said.
Besides, government in several countries and major cities like Australia, China, Ireland, Bangladesh, Paris, Italy, Taiwan, and Tanzania have banned plastic bags or taken action to discourage its use, he said.
“The Philippine government has a duty to protect the national environment and take an active role in safeguarding the health of its citizen to combat the pernicious effects of the wanton destruction of our natural resources,” the lawmaker said.
Maila Ager, INQUIRER.net
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