Solon files bill on environment protection

By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

CAGAYAN de Oro City Second District Representative Rufus Rodriguez has filed two proposals that seek to protect the environment.

House Bill 2512 makes mandatory the use of recyclable or biodegradable materials for the packaging of consumer products while HB 2521 would create an oil spill liability fund.

Rodriguez pointed out that under HB 2512, any business or non-business entity that use recycled or biodegradable materials for packaging consumer goods will be given income tax deductibility privileges.

“Establishing mechanisms for the use of recyclable and biodegradable materials particularly in the manufacturing of consumer goods is one way of conserving our resources,” Rodriguez said.

Meanwhile, HB 2521 was born out of past events of oil spills from tankers, particularly the 2006 disaster of the ship M/V Solar I, which spilled approximately 200, 000 liters of crude oil off the coast of Guimaras Island in Mindanao. It was considered as the worst oil spill in the country’s history.

Under the proposal, the fund would be sourced out from the contributions of operators of the tankers and barges that haul oil products through the country’s waterways and shipping routes.

“This legislative measure seeks to institute a mechanism for the prevention, abatement, mitigation and control of oil pollution within the territorial jurisdiction of the country,” Rodriguez said.

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