DENR: IRR on Extended Producer Responsibility Act ready by November
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is well within the timeline of drafting of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 11898, or the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act, and on the efforts to protect the country’s wildlife.
DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones issued the statement during the organizational meeting of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources chaired by Senator Cynthia A. Villar.
Villar noted that the EPR law amended the 21-year-old Ecological Solid Waste Management Act by introducing the practice of EPR by large enterprises on generated plastic packaging waste while mandating the DENR to formulate a national framework on EPR for all types of waste.
Leones said a draft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) on the EPR law would be ready by November 15.
“I am very much hopeful that the EPR system will make a substantial difference in our collective efforts to reduce plastic waste and remove the Philippines from the rank of being the third largest source of plastic waste leaking into the ocean,” Villar said.
During the meeting, DENR Secretary Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga briefed the Villar committee on the state of wildlife protection.
In response to Villar’s inquiry on the implementation of Republic Act No. 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, Loyzaga noted that the Philippines lost an estimate amount of about P50 billion from illegal wildlife trade.
This includes “the market value of wildlife and its resources and their roles in the ecosystem; damage to habitats encouraged by poaching; and loss in potential eco-tourism revenues,’’ she explained.