17 January 2008

MIRIAM: UNCHECKED BIOFUELS HARM ENVIRONMENT

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, who will chair the new Biofuels Oversight Committee, warned that unregulated biofuel production can result in environmental destruction, pollution, and human health damage.

“The oversight committee has to ensure that standards are set and enforced, on how the fuels are produced. Different biofuels have different levels of eco-friendliness. If we are smart, we should promote only the right biofuels,” she said.

Santiago said that the New York Times on-line of 15 January 2008, reported that the European Union has drafted a law banning importation of some biofuels from crops grown in forests, wetlands, or grasslands.

In the article “ Europe may ban importation of some biofuel crops,” James Kanter said: “But a flurry of studies has discredited some of the claims made by biofuel producers that the fuels have reduced greenhouse gases…Growing the crops and turning them into fuel can result in considerable environmental harm.”

The senator said that the environmental warning was based on published studies of reputable scientific groups, including: Royal Society, the British national science academy; New Energy Finance at London ; Friends of the Earth; Renewable Fuels Association in Washington ; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Washington; and Europe ’s Energy Commissioner.

Santiago said her oversight committee will require biofuels to deliver a minimum level of greenhouse gas savings, with the minimum level to be determined by scientists, not politicians.

The senator listed the potential dangers of unchecked biofuels farming, as follows:

• Tempts farmers to cut down tropical rainforests;
• Uses tractors which consume diesel;
• Demands nitrogen fertilizer made with natural gas;
• Consumes huge amount of water;
• Encourages farmers to convert grasslands, which need to be preserved, into cornland for ethanol production;
• Encourages conversion of land to biofuel use although they contain high levels of biodiversity.

Santiago said the oversight committee will prioritize the design of a procedural mechanism that will allow government to track biofuel from origin to use, in order to ensure sustainable practices.

In another development on biofuels, Santiago as a constitutional law expert, warned Congress members to comply with the constitutional provision that: “They shall notify the House concerned of a potential conflict of interest that may arise from the filing of a proposed legislation of which they are authors.”

Santiago also warned Congress members to observe another constitutional provision prohibiting them from holding “any financial interest in any special privilege granted by government,” since the Biofuels Act grants fiscal incentives.

The senator said she is questioning whether certain Congress members might be violating the Anti-Graft Law, which makes it unlawful for any Congress member “to acquire or receive any personal pecuniary interest in any specific business enterprise which will be benefited by any law authored by him.”

Santiago , a former RTC judge, said the penalty for unlawful pecuniary interest is imprisonment from 6 to 15 years, and perpetual disqualification from office.

“If the Congress member hides his illegal interest behind a corporate structure or a dummy, then his criminal liability includes the added crimes of fraud, falsification of public document, and violation of the Anti-Dummy Law,” Santiago said.

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News Release

10 August 2007

MIRIAM WANTS DEP’T. STORES, SUPERMARKETS, DRUGSTORES NATIONWIDE TO IMPLEMENT PLASTIC BAG RECYCLING PROGRAM

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago today urged retail stores all over the country to implement a massive plastic bag recycling program.

Santiago’s bill, Senate Bill No. 1443 or the “Plastic Bag Recycling Act,” was filed today.

According to the senator, the amount of plastic bags dumped as garbage every year has become a global environmental problem.

“Every year, four to five trillion plastic bags are used worldwide, with billions of bags ending ups as litter,” she said. “Almost all these bags are non-biodegradable. Non-biodegradable plastic bags take from 500 to 1,000 years to disintegrate.”

“These plastic bags contaminate soil and waterways, and enter the food web when animals accidentally ingest them,” Santiago said. “The plastic bags that end up in the ocean have been documented to harm at least 267 marine species. They are especially lethal to sea turtles.”

“During the rainy seasons, these plastic bags clog drainage systems, causing floods,” Santiago explained.

Santiago’s bill mandates stores which have gross sales of over P100,000 each month to establish an “in-store” recycling program for the plastic bags they provide consumers.

“The bill will cover department stores, boutiques, supermarkets, big groceries, and drugstores, all of which provide consumers with plastic bags to store or transport goods at the point of sale,” Santiago said.

The bill requires that the plastic bags provided by stores to their customers be emblazoned with the following words: “Please return to a participating store for recycling.”

Stores will be required to place a plastic bag collection bin in their premises. The bin must be visible, easily accessible to consumers, and clearly marked that it is available for the purpose of collecting and recycling plastic bags.

Further, stores are mandated to recycle all the plastic bags they collect. They are also required to keep records describing how they collect, transport, and recycle the plastic bags. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the local government concerned are empowered to examine these records to determine compliance by the stores.

The bill proposes stiff penalties to stores that violate its provisions. A fine of P100,000 for the first violation, P200,000 for the second violation, and P300,000 for the third and subsequent violations shall be imposed on retail stores that do not comply with the Act.

“The stores can sell reusable bags to their consumers to replace single-use plastic bags or paper bags,” the senator said. “After all, the purpose of my bill is to encourage the use of reusable bags and to significantly reduce, if not totally eliminate, the consumption of single-use plastic bags.”

“Plastic bags have only been around for 50 years. In the United States, department stores started using plastic bags only in the late 1970s and grocery chains in the early 1980s,” she said. “The harm they have caused the environment in these 50 years has been incalculable,”

“I call on environmental groups to support my bill. Lobby your favorite senator or congressperson to pass this bill into law,” Santiago said.

“Retail stores, especially the big department stores, will be demonstrating corporate responsibility by supporting my bill,” she said.

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