Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. Ue

Introduced by Hon. HARLIN NEIL J. ABAYON, III

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Ina joint report entitled Stemming the tide: Land-based strategies for a plastic-free
ocean, the Ocean Conservancy and the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment,
the Philippines, together with China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, has been tagged
as a major plastic waste polluter. Our country ranks third in the world on this list of
infamy.

Critically, our research found that more than half of the plastic leaking into the ocean comes
from just five countries: China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. As an
immediate priority, wwe believe there is an opportunity to reduce plastic-roaste leakage by
65 percent in these five countries—resulting in a 45 percent reduction globally—through
measures including closing leakage points within the collection system, increasing waste-
collection rates, using a variety of technologies to treat zonste, and manually sorting high-
value plastic waste. (https://wwiw.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability-and-

resource-productivity/our-insights/saving-the-ocean-from-plastic-waste)

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.

This bill identifies and prol

ts the following acts:

1. the release of unrecoverable plastic and rubber balloons into the air;
the sale and distribution of single-use plastic at retail and wholesale business
establishments;



3. the 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; and

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

This bill imposes a Plastic Bags Deterrence Fee of at least twenty pesos (P20.00)
per reusable plastic bag for deterrence and discouragement purposes at point-of-sale
transactions at all retail purchase outlets nationwide. Such fees charged and collected
shall be remitted to the National Treasury and allocated as a special purpose fund for the
implementation of plastic waste management programs by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources and local government units. The fee shall be
adjusted for inflation by the Department of Trade and Industry and rounded off to the
nearest peso.

This bill penalizes serious and gross negligence by local government units on the
proper collection of disposed plastic wastes and garbage on public and private roads

within their respective jurisdictions.

This bill requires prominently and strategically-

layed warning, signs on
proper plastics disposal on public utility motor vehicles, and ships and water vessels of
any kind, and along riverbanks and coastal areas.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Trade and
Industry, and Department of Interior and Local Government are mandated to jointly
formulate, approve, and implement a national policy and implementing rules on
redemption, recovery and recycling of reusable plastic products and packaging, that
includes non-tax incentives, tradeable credits, and other mechanisms to foster effective

compliance.

This bill provides for the phaseout of single-use plastic and phase-in of non-toxic
and food-safe reusable plastic for the packaging, presentation, and storage of food and
beverages.

Manufacturers and importers of personal care products, cosmetics, detergents,
and oil products that have micro beads as ingredients or as part of their packaging shall
have five (6) years to phase-out all such products from the Philippine market and from
their respective inventories. Other countries have banned these plastic micro beads
because they are harmful to marine life.

Stiff penalties are embedded in this bill. Any person, whether natural or juridical,
who commits any of the prohibited acts provided in the immediately preceding section


or violates any of the provision of this Act or its implementing rules and regulations, shall
be fined by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources or by any law
enforcement officer, and local government official, in the amount of not less than Ten
thousand pesos (P10,000.00) nor more than five hundred thousand pesos (500,000.00)
for every day of violation. The fines herein prescribed shall be increased by ten percent
(10%) every two (2) years to adjust for inflation and to maintain the deterrent function of

such fines.

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 or in waterways and in coastal areas, shall constitute probable cause for the
Office of the Ombudsman to motu proprio immediately suspend such officials for three
(3) months without pay, allowances, and any other kind of remuneration from public
funds. This three-month suspension by the Ombudsman cannot be appealed.

Gross 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 or in waterways and in coastal areas, shall constitute probable cause for the

Office of the Ombudsman to motu proprio:

1. immediately suspend such officials for six (6) months without pay, allowances,
and any other kind of remuneration from public funds; and

file criminal and administrative charges to remove and ban from the same

officials from holding, any public office for ten (10) years.

The Ombudsman order of preventive suspension shall be immediately enforceable
and be subject to review and/or the issuance of any temporary restraining order only by
the Sandiganbayan and the Supreme Court.

Any Filipino citizen of voting age convicted of any of the prohibited acts shall lose
the right to vote and to be a candidate in the two national and local elections to be held
after the date of his or her conviction.

‘The Implementing Guidelines, Rules and Regulations of this Act shall be
formulated and promulgated by the National Solid Waste Management Commission
within sixty (60) days from the effectivity.

Considering all the foregoing, swift passage of this bill is sought.

an an 5 on, mL

Representative, AANGAT TAYO Party-



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. Helv

Introduced by: Hon. HARLIN NEIL J. ABAYON, III

AN ACT
MANDATING PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS AND
MEASURES, PROHIBITING THE RELEASE OF PLASTIC WASTE
INTO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, EMPOWERING THE
OMBUDSMAN TO IMPLEMENT WASTE MANAGEMENT LAWS,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the

Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Plastic Waste
Management and Prohibition Act of 2018”.

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared policy of the State
to protect the nation’s natural resources and to ensure that use of property
bears a social function, and that all economic agents shall contribute to the

common good.

Section 3. Prohibited Acts. To prevent damage to or death and
destruction of animal and plant life and habitats, the following acts are
hereby prohibited:


1. the release of unrecoverable plastic and rubber balloons into the air;

2. the sale and distribution of single-use plastic at retail and wholesale
business establishments;

3. the 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; and

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

Section 4. Phaseout of Single-Use Plastic and Phase-in of Reusable
Plastic. The National Solid Waste Management Commission is hereby
mandated to formulate, approve, and implement a nationwide, five-year
program on the phaseout of single-use plastic and microbeads and the
phase-in of non-toxic and food-safe reusable plastic for the packaging,
presentation, and storage of food and beverages. The program shall be
evidence-based, objective, verifiable, and use consistent, time-bound
standards.

Section 5. Plastic Bags Deterrence Fee. A Plastic Bags Deterrence Fee
of at least twenty pesos (P20.00) per reusable plastic bag is hereby imposed
for plastics use deterrence and discouragement purposes at point-of-sale
transactions at all retail purchase outlets nationwide. Such fees charged and
collected shall be remitted to the National Treasury and allocated as a special
purpose fund for the implementation of plastic waste management
programs by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and
local government units. The fee shall be adjusted for inflation by the
Department of Trade and Industry and rounded off to the nearest peso to
maintain the deterrent function of the fee.

Section 6. Redemption, Recovery, and Recycling of Reusable Plastic
Products and Packaging. The National Solid Waste Management
Commission shall formulate, approve, and implement a national policy and

implementing rules on redemption, recovery, and recycling of reusable


plastic products and packaging that includes non-tax incentives, tradeable
credits, and other mechanisms to foster effective compliance.

Section 7. Signages. The placement of prominently and strategically-
displayed warning signs on proper plastics disposal is hereby mandatory on
public utility motor vehicles, and ships and water vessels of any kind, and

along riverbanks and coastal areas.

Section 8. Penalties. Any person, whether natural or juridical, who
commits any of the prohibited acts provided in the immediately preceding
section or violates any of the provision of this Act or its implementing rules
and regulations, shall be fined by the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources or by any law enforcement officer, and local government
official, in the amount of not less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) nor
more than Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00) for every day of
violation. The fines herein prescribed shall be increased by ten percent (10%)
every two (2) years to compensate for inflation and to maintain the deterrent
function of such fines.

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 or in waterways and in coastal
areas, shall constitute probable cause for the Office of the Ombudsman to
motu proprio immediately suspend such officials for three (3) months
without pay, allowances, and any other kind of remuneration from public
funds.

Gross 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 or in waterways and in coastal
areas, shall constitute probable cause for the Office of the Ombudsman to

motu proprio:

1. immediately suspend such officials for six (6) months without pay,
allowances, and any other kind of remuneration from public funds;
and


2. file criminal and administrative charges to remove and ban from
the same officials from holding any public office for ten (10) years.

The Ombudsman order of preventive suspension shall be immediately
enforceable and be subject to review and/or the issuance of any temporary
restraining order only by the Sandiganbayan and the Supreme Court.

Any Filipino citizen of voting age convicted of any of the prohibited
acts in this Act shall lose the right to vote and to be a candidate in the two
national and local elections to be held after the date of his or her conviction.

Section 9. Transitory Provisions. Manufacturers and importers of
personal care products, cosmetics, detergents, and oil products that have
microbeads as ingredients or as part of their packaging shall have five (5)
years from the date of the effectivity of this Act to phaseout all such products
from the Philippine market and from their respective inventories.

Section 10. Implementing Guidelines, Rules and Regulations. The
Implementing Guidelines, Rules and Regulations of this Act shall be
formulated and promulgated jointly by the National Solid Waste
Management Commission within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this
Act.

Section 11. Appropriations. The amount of one hundred million pesos
(P100,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated as initial funding to implement this
Act. In succeeding years, funding shall be included in the General
Appropriations Act.

Section 12. Separability. - If any provision or part of this Act is
declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not
affected shall continue to be in full force and effect.

Section 13. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, and
administrative orders or parts thereof inconsistent with any provision of this

Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.


Section 14. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)
days after its publication in the online version of the Official Gazette or in two
(2) newspapers of general circulation or with established internet website

presence.

Approved.