Villar urges SWMP to continue helping save PH from 'marine culprit tag'

CITING the urgency for the country to rescue the Philippines from the tag of 'marine litter culprit,' Sen. Cynthia A. Villar said they count on the Solid Waste Management of the Philippines (SWMP) to continue doing this task.

"With your expertise in solid waste management, you could do a lot in helping in the reduction of our solid wastes," said Villar, chairperson of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources.

"With your help, let us strive towards our common aspiration to live in a healthy environment that will likewise benefit the future generations," added Villar.

The senator was the Guest Speaker during the Solid Waste Management of the Philippines Conference 2022 (SWAPPCon 2022) with the theme "Disaster Waste Management," organized by the Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines Inc.

In cooperation with the Iloilo City government, it was held at Zuri Hotel in Iloilo.

Villar acknowledged that solving our problem of overwhelming plastic waste became urgent because a 2015 University of Georgia report ranked the Philippines as the world's third largest source of plastic waste leaking into the ocean, next to China and Indonesia.

The report places at 75% of our collected trash going back to the environment as mismanaged garbage.

Considering how difficult it is to collect trash from an archipelago of thousands of islands, and bring them to accredited and well managed landfills, she branded as "travesty " the reentry into the environment of already-collected trash.

As a lawmaker, Villar noted that she has been rallying the national government, local govenrment units (LGUs), communities and the private sector to improve waste management via composting.

In fact, being as Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Finance and in charge of the budget of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) during the 18th Congress, she had convinced the Bureau of Soil and Water Management (under DA) and the Environmental Management Bureau (under DENR) to purchase and distribute composting facilities to LGUs nationwide to encourage them to institutionalize composting as part of efficient waste management practice.

She emphasized that composting, along with other efficient waste management practices, has allowed her hometown- Las Pinas City. to have the lowest expense in waste management among the cities in Metro Manila. The city saves around 300 million pesos annually from recycling 75% of their wastes, which savings go to social services, health centers, schools and other developmental programs for the people.

To further help in the reduction of plastic wastes, the senator principally authored the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022 or Republic Act No. 11898, which lapsed into law.

Villar related that the EPR Act mandates large enterprises to be responsible for the proper and effective recovery, recycling or disposal of the plastic packaging on their products after the same have been sold and used by consumers.

"I believe that many large enterprises have long begun designing their business practices around sustainability. But while these enterprises adopted the EPR framework as their ethical responsibility, it is about time that we turn this ethical responsibility into a legal one with the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Law," said Villar.

The DENR, she said, has timely finished the drafting of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) and "they are just polishing it, but it will be ready in time to be rolled out within the month."

Villar, umapela sa SWMP na patuloy na tumulong sa pagligtas sa PH mula sa 'marine culprit tag'

DAHIL sa kailangang mabilis na maligtas ang Pilipinas sa tag na 'marine litter culprit,' inihayag ni Sen. Cynthia A. Villar na umaasa siya sa Solid Waste Management of the Philippines (SWMP) na patuloy na gawin ang bagay na ito.

"With your expertise in solid waste management, you could do a lot in helping in the reduction of our solid wastes," ani Villar, chairperson ng Senate committee on environment and natural resources.

"With your help, let us strive towards our common aspiration to live in a healthy environment that will likewise benefit the future generations," dagdag pa ni Villar.

Guest Speaker ang senador sa Solid Waste Management of the Philippines Conference 2022 (SWAPPCon 2022) na may temang "Disaster Waste Management," na inorganisa ng Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines Inc.

Sa pakikipag-ugnayan sa Iloilo City government, idinaos ito sa Zuri Hotel sa Iloilo.

Kinilala ni Villar ang mabilis pagresolba sa matinding suliranin sa plastic waste dahil sa ranking ng Pilipinas sa 2015 University of Georgia report. Number 3 ang ating bansa n sumusunod sa China at Indonesia sa pinakamalaking source ng plastic waste na pumupunta sa karagatan.

Ayon pa sa report, 75% ng nakolektang basura- 'mismanaged garbage,' ang pumupunta sa ating mga karagatan.

Tinawag niyang kalokohan ang pagbalik sa kapaligiran ng mga nakolektang basura.

Bilang mambabatas, iginiit ni Villar na pinangungunahan niya sa national government, local govenrment units (LGUs), communities at private sector n mapabuti ang waste management sa pamamagitan ng composting.

Sa katunayan, ng Vice Chairperson siya ng Committee on Finance at in charge sa budget ng Department of Agriculture at Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) sa 18th Congress, hinimok niya ang Bureau of Soil and Water Management (sa ilalim ng DA) at Environmental Management Bureau (sa ilalim ng DENR) na bumili ng composting facilities at ipamahagi ito sa local government units sa buong bansa. Aniya, makukumbinsi nitong gawing institutionalize ang composting para sa epektibong waste management practice.

Binigyan diin niya na dahil sa composting at iba pang 'efficient waste management practices,' ang kanyang hometown- Las Pinas City- ang may pinakamababang gastos sa waste management sa mga siyudad sa Metro Manila.

Nakatitipid ang Las Pinas ng may 300 million pesos kada taon mula sa recycling ng 75% ng kanilang basura.

Upang lalo pang mabawasan ang basura, inakda ni Villar ang ang Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022 o Republic Act No. 11898, na nag-lapsed into law.

Sa ilalim ng EPR Act resoonsable ang malalaking enterprises sa "recovery, recycling at disposal ng kanilang plastic packaging.