Republic of the Philippines

House Or REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Sixteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNo._2714

Introduced by Honorable Evelina G. Escudero

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to provide for stiffer fines and penalties for the illegal
disposal of water materials and violation of other prohibited acts, amending for the
purpose Republic Act No. 9003, otherwise known as the “Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act of 2000.”

Section 48 of Republic Act No. 9003 specifically mentions prohibited acts
which include among others: littering, throwing, dumping of waste matters in
public places; undertaking activities or operating collecting or transporting
equipment in violation of sanitation operation; the open burning of solid waste;
causing or permitting the collection of non-segregated or unsorted wastes;
squatting in open dumps and landfills; open dumping, burying of biodegradable
or non-biodegradable materials in flood prone areas; establishment or operation of
open dumps as enjoined in this Act, or closure of said dumps; manufacture,
distribution or use of non-environmentally acceptable packaging materials;
importation of consumer products packaged in non-environmentally acceptable
materials; importation of toxic wastes misrepresented as "recyclable" or. "with
recyclable content;" site preparation, construction, expansion or operation of waste
management facilities without an environmental compliance certificate; and not
conforming with the land use plan of the LGU; and construction or operation of
landfills or any waste disposal facility on any aquifer, groundwater reservoir, or
watershed area and or any portions thereof.

In relation to Section 48, Section 49 of the Republic Act No. 9003 provides
for the fines and penalties corresponding to the prohibited acts. However, despite
the existing penalties and fines, tons of garbage still fill the roads and creeks

Bill Drafting Service


causing congestion which result to perennial flooding. Also, open burning of solid
wastes still persists, squatting in open dumps and landfills remains, and the
manufacture, distribution or use of non-environmentally acceptable packaging
materials still proliferates, among other violations. Hence this bill.

Increasing the penalties and fines will give more teeth to Republic Act No.
9003. Hopefully, stiffer penalties and fines will serve as a deterrent to further
commission of the prohibited acts thus avoiding wastage of resources which
otherwise should have been allocated for health needs and other social services for
the community.

In view of the foregoing, early approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

INA G. ESCUDERO


Republic of the Philippines
House Or REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Sixteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. ania

Introduced by Honorable Evelina G. Escudero

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR STIFFER FINES AND PENALTIES FOR THE
ILLEGAL DISPOSAL OF WASTE MATERIALS AND VIOLATION OF
OTHER PROHIBITED ACTS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9003, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
“ECOLOGICAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT OF 2000”

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 49 of Republic Act No. 9003, is hereby amended to
read as follows:
“SEC. 49. Fines and Penalties. —(a) Any person who violates
Sec. 48 paragraph (1) shall, upon conviction, be punished with a fine
of not less than [Three] FIVE hundred pesos [(P300.00)] (P500.00)
but not more than One thousand FIVE HUNDRED pesos
{(P1,000.00)] (P1,500.00) or render community service for not less

than [one] FIFTEEN [(1)](15) dayS to not more than [fifteen]

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THIRTY [(15)] (30) days to LGU where such prohibited acts are
committed, or both;

(b) Any person who violates Sec. 48, pars. (2) and (3), shall,
upon conviction, be punished with a fine of not less than [Three]
FIVE hundred pesos [(P300.00)] (P500.00) but not more than One
thousand FIVE HUNDRED pesos [(P1,000.00)] (P1,500.00)] or
imprisonment of not less than [one] FIFTEEN [(1)] (15) dayS to not
more than [fifteen] THIRTY [(15)| (30) days, or both;

(c) Any person who violates Sec. 48, pars. (4), (5), (6) and (7)
shall, upon conviction, be punished with a fine of not less than [One]
TWO thousand pesos [(P1,000.00)] (P2,000.00) but not more than
[Three] FIVE thousand pesos  [(P3,000.00)] (P5,000.00) or
imprisonment of not less than [fifteen] THIRTY [(15)] (30) days but
not more than [six] TWELVE [(6)] (12) months, or both;

(d) Any person who violates Sec. 48, pars (8), (9), (10) and (11)
for the first time shall, upon conviction, pay a fine of [Five hundred
thousand] ONE MILLION pesos [(?500,000.00)] (P1,000,000.00)
plus an amount not less than [five] TEN percent [(5%)] (10%) but not
more than [ten] TWENTY percent [(10%)] (20%) of his net annual

income during the previous year.


The additional penalty of imprisonment of a minimum period of
[one] TWO [(1)] (2) yearS, but not to exceed [three] FIVE [(3)] (5)
years at the discretion of the court, shall be imposed for second or
subsequent violations of Sec. 48, paragraphs (9) and (10).

(e) Any person who violates Sec. 48, pars. (12) and (13), shall,
upon conviction, be punished with a fine not less than [Ten]
TWENTY thousand pesos [(P10,000.00)] (P20,000.00) but not more
than [Two] FIVE hundred thousand pesos [(P200,000.00)]
(P500,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than [thirty] SIX [(30)] (6)
[days] MONTHS but not more than [three] FIVE [(3)] (5) years, or
both;

(f) Any person who violates Sec. 48, pars. (14), (15) and (16)
shall, upon conviction, be punished with a fine not less than [One]
FIVE hundred thousand pesos [(P100,000.00)] (P500,000.00) but not
more than [One] FIVE million pesos — [(P1,000,000.00)]
(P5,000,000.00), or imprisonment not less than [one] THREE [(1)]
(3) yearS but not more than [six] TEN [(6)] (10) years, or both.

If the offense is committed by a corporation, partnership, or
other juridical entity duly organized in accordance with law, the chief

executive officer, president, general manager, managing partner or


such other officer-in-charge shall be liable for the commission of the
offense penalized under this Act.

If the offender is an alien, he shall, after service of the sentence
prescribed above, be deported without further administrative
proceedings.

The fines herein prescribed shall be increased by at least ten
(10%) percent every [three] TWO [(3)] (2) years to compensate for
inflation and to maintain the deterrent function of such fines.”

SEC. 2. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,