THE Davao City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) is waiting for Davao City Mayor and Vice Mayor-elect Sebastian “Baste” Duterte to sign the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the city’s “No to Single-Use Plastic” (SUP) Ordinance.
“Nagahulat pami sa city mayor sa implementing rules and regulations, naa nami, naa natay technical working group na nag draft sa IRR ug gi-check na pod sa city legal office (We are still waiting for the city mayor to approve the IRR. A technical working group has already drafted it, and the City Legal Office has reviewed the document),” said Engineer Lakandiwa Orcullo, head of Cenro’s Environmental Waste Management Division, during a media interview on Thursday morning, June 19, at the City Mayor’s Office.
Orcullo added that the City Legal Office has forwarded the finalized IRR to the Mayor’s Office. While they do not have a timeline for the mayor’s approval, he said they plan to follow up.
Environmental groups Ecoteneo and Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis), both based in Davao City, have been urging the approval of the IRR so they can roll out their information, education, and communication (IEC) campaigns.
EnP Lemuel Lloyd Manalo, program coordinator of IDIS, said that while some parts of the ordinance are already being enforced, the IRR would help strengthen implementation across the board.
“There’s significant sections of the ordinance na ini-implement na din siya so that’s why we are hoping for the IRR to be approved already so that mas strong yung implementing agency on this particular ordinance (There are significant sections of the ordinance already being implemented, which is why we are hoping for the IRR to be approved to empower the implementing agencies),” he said.
City Ordinance No. 0500-21, also known as the “No to Single-Use Plastics Ordinance,” was approved in May 2021 under the administration of then-Mayor and now Vice President Sara Duterte. However, implementation has remained incomplete due to the absence of an approved IRR.
The ordinance prohibits the sale, use, or distribution of single-use plastics without a special permit. Items covered include drinking cups, ice cream cups, condiment containers, cup lids, stirrers, cutlery, straws, meal boxes, pastry boxes, egg containers or clamshells, balloon sticks, and plastic gloves. RGP