Anything bought and packed in plastic is ten pesos (P10.00) more expensive, if a law now in Congress is passed and approved by the President.
ANYTHING bought and packed in plastic is ten pesos (P10.00) more expensive, if a law now in Congress is passed and approved by the President.
Pushed as a pro-environment legislation, the law intends to limit use of single-use plastic bags in factories and imports.
“We are just controlling the use of plastic bags,” Rep. Estrellita B. Suansing (1st dist., Nueva Ecija), author of the law said, adding that the intent is not to ban use of plastic bags.
Consumers, however, see this law as a punishment to them not the seller or manufacturer as the penalty is tucked into the price of goods sold.
“There is something wrong with the way Congresswoman Suansing intends to punish the enemies of earth,” the Institute of Consumers Research and Empowerment (I-Core) said.
According to I-Core, this is a classic example of a beautiful law that ends up as a big burden to the buyers or consumers.
This proposed law, House Bill No. 178, got approved by the Committee on Appropriations last Wednesday. (ORT/With reports from Erin Ocampo)