Palace: Up to Congress to pass bill vs plastic use

November 10, 2019

Malacanang on Sunday said it would be up to Congress if it would adopt President Rodrigo Duterte's idea of banning the use of plastics in the country.

“The President has floated that idea and it’s for the members of Congress to adopt it, to use their initiative to have that kind of idea bears fruition,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in an interview by Radyo Inquirer.

Panelo said it could be time for the almost two-decade old Republic Act 9003 or Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 to be implemented properly.

“Maybe it’s time for it to be implemented properly so that whatever it is needed to do, they can do it since the ecology is being affected,” he said.

Asked if the President would certify as urgent the passage of the bill, Panelo said the Palace would check first if a lawmaker has sponsored a measure on the matter.

Panelo earlier said that Duterte expressed his interest to ban the use of plastics during a recent Cabinet meeting when they were discussing about climate change. Ella Dionisio/DMS