Laws and Regulations

National Laws and Regulation

Littering has been prohibited since 1975 through Presidential Decree No. 825. In 1976, Presidential Decree No. 979 declared, as a national policy, the prevention and control of the pollution of seas by waste dumping. The National Pollution Control Commission was tasked to promulgates the national policy on marine pollution whilst the Philippine Coast Guard is to enforce it.

Presidential Decree No. 984 lists the responsibilities of the National Pollution Control Commission, one of which is to govern the issuance of permits for sewage work and industrial waste disposal systems. The commission is attached to the Inter-Agency Advisory Council, headed by a commissioner appointed by the President of the Philippines. The commission is composed of representatives from the departments of agriculture; health; industry; justice; labour; local government and community development; national defence; natural resources;  and public works, transportation, and communications; and the heads of the Laguna Lake Development Authority, National Economic and Development Authority, National Science Development Board, and Human Settlements Commission.

The National Environment Protection Council was established under Presidential Decree No. 1121 to focus on national environment protection measures, including those on used packaging and movement of controlled waste. The commission is composed of the President of the Philippines as chairman, the secretary of natural resources as executive officer, and, as members, the presidential assistant for development; the secretaries of public highways; local government and community development; industry; national defence; and public works, transportation, and communications; the heads of the Energy Development Board, Budget Commission, National Pollution Control Commission, National Science Development Board, and Human Settlements Commission; and the board of the Environmental Center of the Philippines.

During the Martial Law period under Ferdinand Marcos Sr., bicameral legislation was abolished, eventually shifting to a parliamentary system in 1979. However, 70% of national policies were issued via Presidential Decrees. However, during the transition to the Philippines’ Fifth Republic under the Corazon Aquino Administration, the bicameral legislative branch of government was reinstated, and the Executive Branch of government was also reorganized. The roles of the National Pollution Control Commission were now assumed by the Pollution Adjudication Board under the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 

The plastic issue is addressed with a holistic approach to solid waste management under Republic Act (RA) No. 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000). Section 2(a) of the Act intends the adoption of a systematic, comprehensive, and ecological solid waste management programme to ensure the protection of public health and the environment. Local collaboration is highly encouraged to support the Act. Section 13 of Article X of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines states: ‘Local government units may group themselves, consolidate or coordinate their efforts, services, and resources for purposes commonly beneficial to them in accordance with law’. Section 33 of RA No. 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991) elaborates on technical guidance to this effort: ‘In support of such undertakings, the local government units (LGUs) involved may, upon approval by the sanggunian (legislative council) concerned, after a public hearing conducted for the purpose, contribute funds, real estate, equipment, and other kinds of property and appoint or assign personnel under such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by the participating local units through Memoranda of Agreement’. Pursuant to Section 33 of RA No. 7160, Section 44 of RA No. 9003 mandates all provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays, through appropriate ordinances, to consolidate or coordinate their efforts, services, and resources to jointly address common solid waste management problems and/or establish common waste disposal facilities.

RA No. 9003 mandates barangays and municipalities or cities to segregate and collect solid waste. The Technical Guidelines for Municipal Solid Waste Disposal are imposed in Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order No. 49 Series of 1998. Section 10 of the RA No. 9003 says the barangay will be responsible for biodegradable, compostable, and reusable wastes, provided that the municipality or city shall be responsible for non-recyclable materials and special wastes. In support of the mandate, the provincial solid waste management board (chaired by the provincial governor) and the city and municipal solid waste management board shall be established (Sections 11 and 12 of RA No. 9003). A main function of the provincial solid waste management board is to allow the clustering of LGUs to solve common solid waste management problems.

Ecological solid waste management shall be based on the following hierarchy (DENR, 2015):

●      Source reduction (avoidance) and minimisation of waste generated at source

●      Reuse, recycling, and resource recovery of wastes at the barangay level

●      Efficient collection, proper transfer, and transport of wastes by city or municipality

●      Efficient management of residuals and of final disposal sites and/or any other related technologies for the destruction or reuse of residuals

The barangay plays important roles in the second hierarchy. Section 32 of RA No. 9003 provides for the establishment of a material recovery facility in every barangay or cluster of barangays. The facility shall receive mixed waste for final sorting, segregation, composting, and recycling, whilst resulting residual wastes shall be transferred to a long-term storage or disposal facility or sanitary landfill (DENR, 2015). Section 37 of RA No. 9003 prohibits open dumping within 3 years after the effectivity of the Act and prohibits controlled dumping for 5 years following the effectivity of the Act.

To support RA No. 9003, the government enacted RA No. 9512 (Environmental Awareness and Education Act), which integrates environmental education in curricula at all levels of public and private schools; barangay day-care centres; preschools; and schools that offer non-formal, technical vocational, professional, indigenous learning, and out-of-school youth courses or programmes. Education will cover environmental concepts and principles; environmental laws; the state of international and local environments; local environmental best practises; the threats of environmental degradation and its impact on human well-being; the responsibility of the citizenry to the environment; and the value of conservation, protection, and rehabilitation of natural resources and the environment in the context of sustainable development.

In 2022, RA 9003 was amended by Republic Act No. 11898, the Extended Producer Responsibility on Plastic Packaging Waste. This serves to complement RA 9003, which primarily focuses on the roles of local government units in the management of municipal solid waste, by now focusing on the role of the private sector through extended producer responsibility for plastic packaging waste in the Philippines. The Act aims to enhance waste management practices by holding producers accountable for the entire life cycle of their products, promoting waste reduction, recovery, and recycling.

As of 26 June 2025