Council calls city-wide consultation

Mandaue City shoppers have shifted to the use of Eco and paper bag with the plastic ban implementation in the city.
CDN FILE PHOTO

Operators of shopping malls and grocery stores have been asked by the Cebu City Council to comment on a proposal to expand the implementation of the plastic ban ordinance from only two days to already four days a week.

A comprehensive consultation is needed before councilors decide on the measure proposed by Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia to impose plastic ban in the city on Sundays, Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays.

If approved, violators of the measure will be meted with a fine of P2,000 during the first year of its implementation.

The fine will be increased to P5,000 and/or imprisonment of not more than six months and cancellation of the establishment’s business permit for a period of one year during the succeeding years of its implementation.

Garcia said he is also studying the possibility of later on introducing another measure that would mandate commercial establishments to sell their plastic bags instead of giving these to their consumers for free.

This practice is already being implemented in other countries, he said.

The Cebu City government is now implementing plastic ban every Wednesdays and Saturdays in compliance with City Ordinance No. 2343 or “An ordinance regulating the use and sale of plastic shopping bags every Saturday of a week within the territorial jurisdiction of the City of Cebu and prescribing penalties for violations thereof.”

However, Garcia said, the measure is not enough to reduce the volume of plastic garbage that is blamed for clogging the city’s drainage system.
Councilors called a public hearing on October 10 to discuss Garcia’s expanded plastic ban proposal.

However, only Anthony Galon, who is founder of the 5 Pieces Daily Habit, an environmental advocacy group, spoke during the public hearing.

Representatives from SM City Mall, Ayala Center Cebu, E-Mall, Country Mall, Gaisano chain of stores and La Nueva Supermarket opted to just observe the proceedings.

“This (Garcia’s proposed ordinance) is a good solution to the plastic problem that we have knowing that it takes 400 years for plastics to decompose.

We want to have the four days (per week ban), but as much as possible, we want to have it for seven days,” Galon said during the public hearing.

He also mentioned a 2010 ordinance that is now being fully implemented in Mandaue City to prohibit plastic bag use in the city the entire week.

Galon, who claims to be a deputized officer of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO), said that based on interviews that they have conducted, they found out that even the small vendors in Mandaue City comply with the plastic ban to avoid payment of the P500 fine.

“We have done studies in Mandaue and we have talked with the communities. They say that avoiding the use of plastics is getting Mandaue City less floods,” Galon said.

Garcia said that while a total plastic ban in Cebu City is ideal, he would still prefer its gradual implementation here.

“Our plastic bag users may be shocked. Maybe this (proposed ordinance) is just a step forward. Then after that, we can impose a seven-day ban,” Garcia added.

Galon agreed with Garcia. He said it would also help people remember the plastic ban if the days of its implementation are much closer to each other.

He admitted that for a start, the plastic ban implementation is expected to cause discomfort among the shoppers.

But he assured that they will soon get used to the idea especially when they start to shift to the use of eco-bags, net bags, native bags or baskets.