House bill seeks tax on use of plastic bags

 Protect Bag MANILA, Philippines -- A bill imposing an excise tax of P2.50 forevery plastic bag used in business establishments has been filed atthe House of Representatives. House Bill 4134 filed by Albay Representative Al Francis Bicharaprovides automatic allocation of the revenue generated from thisproposed tax to the annual budget of the Department of Environmentand Natural Resources "to fund efforts to protect the environment." In pushing for the bill, Bichara said these plastic bags, which arenon-biodegradable and are found littered along roadside drains,have caused flooding during heavy rainfall. Plastic bags, likewise, kill one million sea birds, 100,000 seamammals and countless fish every year, he said. "We cannot deny the long list of disadvantages with the use ofplastic bags," Bichara said in a statement on Friday. "A person's use of plastic bags may be counted in minutes but aplastic bag takes between 15 to 1,000 years to be broken down bythe environment," he said. Besides, government in several countries and major cities likeAustralia, China, Ireland, Bangladesh, Paris, Italy, Taiwan, andTanzania have banned plastic bags or taken action to discourage itsuse, he said. "The Philippine government has a duty to protect the nationalenvironment and take an active role in safeguarding the health ofits citizen to combat the pernicious effects of the wantondestruction of our natural resources," the lawmaker said.