The 1987 Constitution expressly provides for the right to ecology.

Section 16 of the Declaration of Principles and State Policies says that the state shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.

Our state recognizes that ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being of its citizens is important. Equally crucial are building sustainable communities, promoting responsible consumption and production, and reducing marine, land, and air pollution towards achieving sustainable development goals.

To achieve this, it shall adopt policies that will address the recovery, treatment, and disposal of waste products, source reduction, and resource efficiency while recognizing the indispensable part of the private sector and other stakeholders in achieving a healthful ecology.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, or DENR, is the leading agency tasked with this responsibility. Along with its attached agencies, it is working towards this crucial objective. One of the many examples of the initiatives they are currently undertaking is implementing the Extended Producer Responsibility Act.

EPRA is the new law that requires large companies to develop policies and strategies for adequately managing plastic packaging waste. It was crafted in response to the clamor to regulate single-use plastics and their production, importation, and disposal by industries. 

The country is now entering the initial phase of the EPR law implementation as mandated by Republic Act 11898, which became effective only last August 2022. Under the EPR law, participating companies may apply for incentives following the approvals process under the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.

To ensure that the incentive mechanism is effective and properly in place, DENR collaborates with the Department of Finance in formulating policies related to fiscal incentives. The law enjoins enterprises that generate plastic packaging to establish EPR programs for the comprehensive handling and management of plastic packaging waste throughout its lifecycle.

The programs should prevent plastic waste from leaking into the environment.

The EPR is now the law that oversees how this is all done.  It is one step towards establishing a waste recovery system that can reduce the overall carbon footprint of the whole country. But overseeing is not its only important aspect; equally critical is its being one of the different program components, which include coordination and cooperation between the government and the private sector.

I heard that, aside from the recently passed EPR law, the House of Representatives is again hard at work to pass more laws specific to addressing the use of plastics and its detrimental effects on the environment and health.  Specifically, I gathered information that last Monday, the Committee on Ecology deliberated 24 House Bills involving single-use plastics and production or SuPPs. The legislators consolidated all proposals into one House Bill to make the work easy and methodical.

Among the measures included in the draft bill is the possible phase-out of single-use plastic packaging products by next year or another reasonable future date.

This tall and ambitious measure has a holistic approach to it incorporating the following elements: (a) consumption, reduction, and recovery program; (b) producer responsibility schemes; (c) alternatives to SuPPs; (d) awareness-raising measures; and (e) fiscal and non-fiscal rewards and incentives.

Various contributors to the problem of plastic were included in the coverage of the draft bill, which mentions producers, importers, commercial establishments, and other businesses generating and using plastic. On the other hand, more than 20 government agencies have been tapped to lend cooperation and support to the stakeholders, as they have been assigned different but complementary roles in the fight against ecological harm due to plastics.

These roles include (a) monitoring and market inspections; (b) information and education campaigns; (c) linkage mechanisms; (d) shifting to alternatives; and (e) production and import control.

Our right to ecology is not only a right that affects the present generation. How we deal with the plastics problem today will directly affect the health and well-being of future generations. The importance of caring for the environment is paramount. It transcends time and is the obligation of all.