Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte has highlighted the passage of an eco-friendly measure that--if enacted--would ultimately make all government agencies more responsible toward the environment.

Villafuerte was referring to House Bill (HB) No.1272, or the proposed Act establishing a Green Public Procurement (GPP) program for all branches of government.

Villafuerte, majority leader of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA), said the House Committee on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) recently approved HB No.1272, which tasks the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) to craft with the Commission on Audit (COA) the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for a GPP program.

“This proposed GPP program is anchored on tasking all offices in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government to give priority to the purchase or acquisition of ecologically friendlier goods and services,” said Villafuerte, the lead author of the bill.

"This policy, which has gained traction abroad under the concepts of ‘sustainable procurement', ‘green public procurement’ or ‘green purchasing', requires public offices or agencies to meet their needs for goods, services, works and utilities in such a way that benefits society and the economy while minimizing damage to the environment," he noted.

The Villafuerte bill mandates that “all government departments, offices and agencies to establish their respective SPPs (Sustainable Procurement Programs) that puts a premium on finding the lowest life-cycle cost of products and services and including a coding system for packaging products that makes possible waste recycling and reuse".

The ranking solon is also a principal author of Republic Act (RA) No.11898, which lapsed into law last July 30, mandating companies to observe sustainable or eco-friendly practices in their plastic packaging, with the goal to upgrading the recycling or reuse of discarded plastic containers and packaging materials in pursuit of a circular economy or the “green” model of production and consumption.

He said that a 13-member panel, to be named the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), will see to it that big producers along with their distributors and retailers are responsible for the proper disposal of their waste products after their goods have been sold to and used by consumers.

RA No.11898, or the “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act,” amended RA 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, “to reduce waste generation and improve the recyclability or reusability of such wastes as plastic containers or packaging materials,” Villafuerte said.

As for HB No.1272, Villafuerte said that, because the Philippines is a party to the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 19th Congress’ adoption of an SPP legal framework “concretizes our country's commitment to the ideals of the UN’s 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), specifically SDG 12 on Sustainable Consumption and Production".

The bill requires the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PHILGEPS) to identify all government agencies procuring consumable supplies and equipment (CSE) and non-consumable supplies and equipment (non-CSE) identified by GPPB as part of the Green Procurement Roadmap.

All agencies are required under HB 1272 to submit their respective GPP Programs to the GPPB, the specific requirements and mechanisms of which shall be defined in the IRR to be promulgated by the GPPB and COA on GPP program, within 30 days after this Act takes effect.

The bill further mandates all government offices to conduct the verification of the compliance of the goods or items being procured with the green criteria established by the GPPB, along with the other technical specifications required by the agency for the particular procurement, in accordance with the relevant provisions of RA No.9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.