The Philippine Plastics Industry Association (PPIA) is opposing a plan that will impose an excise tax of P20 per kilo of plastic bags removed from the factory or customs territory.
In a statement, PPIA president Danny Ngo said instead of pushing this plan as contained in House Bill No. 9171, government should come up with ways to harness P55 billion potential revenue from plastics recycling in the country.
Ngo said for more than four decades, the plastic industry has been recycling waste plastics, it could not fully realize its goals due to gaps in the value chain.
PPIA cited a March 2021 World Bank Asia Pacific study which said only 28 percent of the key plastics were recycled back into resins in 2019.
If totally utilized, the total material value could amount to $1.1 billion or about P55 billion, 11 times greater than the estimated tax collection revenue from this proposed measure of P4.867 billion, which could not be realized when the affected producers’ business becomes unfeasible when this law is passed.
PPIA said the proposal will severely affect not just plastics manufacturers but all industry users of plastic bags as primary and secondary packaging, like processed or frozen foods, hygiene, and health care, medical and pharmaceutical products, and all agricultural and agro-industrial commodities, including products for export.
“The entire domestic retail and micro-businesses on the use plastic carrier bags and all consumers will shoulder the higher costs. This does not spare even the smallest outlets like sari-sari stores that are about over 1.3 million that are mostly located in the impoverished areas. The measure would severely affect the informal sector like the vendors,” Ngo said.
Plastic, he said, remains the safest, stronger, and most hygienic material for transporting goods.
According to the PPIA, the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines supports their position saying the bill will kill the industry and cut jobs especially at a time when the number of jobless Filipinos has soared to 4.14 million.
PPIA said the Federation of Philippine Industries described the measure as “discriminatory” saying as “ any carrier bags could also be potential waste items.” – Irma Isip
