Helping the Environment

Cristian Gumalo works with an NGO in Zamboanga City. In 2023 he joined a mentoring program for policy reformers, called Development Entrepreneurship (I was his assigned mentor). He decided then to seek a policy banning single-use plastics because he saw that it was bad for the environment and people of his city.

Cristian’s research in 2023 revealed that the city of Zamboanga produced up to 160 metric tons of garbage daily, 20% of which was plastic waste. Most of this plastic waste came in the form of single-use plastic bags.

Way back in 2019 an Executive Order was issued banning single-use plastics on Saturdays and Sundays. This EO aimed to promote the use of eco-friendly alternatives and create awareness among citizens about the harmful effects of plastic waste. However, the EO was implemented only up to the term of the mayor who issued it.

When Zamboanga experienced severe flooding in 2023, much of the waterways were clogged with plastics. Shortly after, he joined the Development Entrepreneurship mentoring program. He resolved to push for a local policy, preferably an Ordinance that would have a longer-lasting effect than an EO, to ban single-use plastics.

The program taught him to learn as much about the reform areas as he could, both on the technical and political sides. He learned that a city councilor had indeed proposed an ordinance to ban single-use plastics, but it was not passed by the city council. He found out that a plastic manufacturing plant was being built near the city, and that retail establishments were heavy users of plastics. He reached out to other citizens and organizations also interested in the environment and joined related community activities. He found, among others, a photographer who took shots of plastic-clogged waterways and shared images on social media, to make more people aware of the problem. He reached out to the councilor who introduced the draft ordinance.

By 2024, Cristian had almost given up hope of seeing the ordinance enacted, as the upcoming elections threatened to delay its progress. Fortunately, the councilor he had previously approached to champion the proposed ordinance was re-elected, along with another councilor who was equally committed to environmental protection. With one of the councilor’s staff members was also a member of the Board of Directors of Cristian’s NGO. Together with other allies, they worked to reintroduce and advance the proposed ordinance. Their efforts finally bore fruit when the City Council adopted the ordinance on July 1, 2026, and the mayor signed it into law shortly thereafter.

However, the passage of the ordinance was only the beginning. Cristian and his fellow advocates continue to push for its effective implementation. Some business establishments have requested an extension of the implementation period, explaining that they had already purchased stocks of single-use plastic bags before the ordinance took effect.

Cristian says that he played a very small part in the adoption of the ordinance. He’s just happy that it has been passed, as his small role as a policy advocate has been his way of seeking the good of the people of Zamboanga City.