House panel tackles proposal to impose P10 excise tax on single-use plastics

A proposal is being deliberated at the House of Representatives to impose a P10 excise tax on single-use plastics.

During its meeting on Monday, the House Committee on Ways and Means tackled House Bill 178, introduced by Sultan Kudarat Representative Horacio Suansing and his wife, Nueva Ecija Representative Estrellita Suansing, which essentially aims to reduce usage of single-use plastics which are harmful to the environment.

Under the measure, a P10 excise tax will be imposed for "every single-use plastic bag removed from the place of production or released from the customs house."

Single-use plastic bags are those single-use carrier bags with our without handles that are given to consumers when they purchase goods or other products.

According to Estrellita, who sponsored the bill at the committee hearing, the mass consumption of single-use plastics has negatively affected the environment, with billions of plastic bags ending up as waste both on land and in the oceans.

Over 400,000 marine mammals also die annually due to plastic pollution in the oceans after getting entangled or ingesting single-use plastics, she added.

READ: Life in plastic

"Given these growing concerns, it is therefore necessary that this Congress addresses the problem relating to the proliferation of plastic bag waste. By imposing this levy, this bill endeavors to encourage the exploration and utilization of environment-friendly alternatives to single-use plastic bags," Estrellita said.

"Furthermore, this proposed measure aims to generate additional revenues for the government which could be used to finance programs and projects to counter the harmful effects of plastic pollution in the Philippines," she added.

The Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) have expressed their support to the measure, but they were concerned about how the measure will actually be implemented.

"With respect to tax administration purpose, since it is also an excise tax and it is imposed on removal, I guess we could implement but same with the DOF, we just want a clear guidelines on the implementation," said lawyer Brianna Kay Delos Santos of the BIR.

Willy Go of the Philippine Plastic Industry Association Inc., however, have reservations on the measure, fearing that imposing higher excise taxes on single-use plastic would cause the death of the plastics industry in the country.

"There are already many cities banning plastics. So what remains with the industry is probably around 20%," he said.

"With the new bills introduced by the Committee on Ecology, probably plastic bag industry will just disappear. So we think there's no need to legislate this because we are already dying," he added.

The committee has set another meeting to further discuss the concerns raised by the government sector and the plastics industry.

Once the measure is enacted into law, 50% of the revenues collected from the excise tax on single-use plastics will be allocated to the solid waste management fund provided under the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

The remaining revenues, meanwhile, will be allocated to the general fund. — BM, GMA News