Senate lauded for environment bill

The Concerned Citizens Against Pollution (COCAP) commended Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., chairman of the Senate trade and commerce committee, for finally pushing for the approval of a bill prohibiting the manufacture, importation, distribution and sale of laundry detergents containing the environmentally harmful hard surfactants (surface active agents).

In his sponsorship speech last Tuesday, Magsaysay called for the approval of Senate Bill No. 1168 in view of overwhelming evidence showing that hard surfactants are ecologically damaging.

On the motion by Senate President Franklin Drilon, the bill is scheduled for second reading on May 8.

Magsaysay said while hard surfactants may be cheaper raw materials and hence, economically more attractive, "the benefits may be negated by their harmful effects to the environment as the substance is considered the least biodegradable among other surfactants being used today."

Oscar Escobar, COCAP president, said the Magsaysay committee has finally heeded the call of environmentalists to help protect the environment from these harmful chemicals, which have already been banned by over 60 countries since more than 30 years ago.

Escobar said the bill, if approved into law, will ensure a cleaner environment for generations of Filipinos to come, a legacy that will be etched in the history of the country.

Mel Ricafrente, chairman of the water committee on COCAP, said many of the country's water systems, including those in Metro Manila, have exceeded the allowable surfactant level being repositories of these petroleum-based, non-biodegradable hard surfactants.

Ricafrente said among the petroleum-based surfactants are the hard or branched alkyl benzene, hard or branched alkyl benzene surfactants, hard or branched dodecyl benzene sulfonates, branched dodecyl benzene, their sodium or potassium salts and other technical terms referring to the same chemical compound.

In his sponsorship speech, Magsaysay said government cannot allow the environment to deteriorate and water resources wasted in exchange of a cheaper raw material.

He said the prohibition on the use of hard surfactants would encourage the use of biodegradable substitutes like coconut chemicals that will provide additional uses for such products and increase their value added potential.

"With the increase in the domestic use of coconut oil, replanting of coconut trees will be necessary. This is advantageous to the Philippines which has vast hectares of land suitable to this type of agricultural produce," Magsaysay said.

Besides Senate President Franklin Drilon, the other authors of the bill are Senators Juan Flavier, Francisco Tatad, Teofisto Guingona, Robert Jaworski, Raul Roco and Sergio Osmeña III.