House Bill No. 8337 requires dealers to plant 10 trees for every vehicle sold

There’s a chance that House Bill No. 8337 or the ‘Mandatory Tree Planting for Every Motor Vehicle Sales Act’ will soon be mandatory. With it requiring dealers or retailers to plant 10 trees for every sales transaction.

The bill has just been filed in congress. It was also stated that the planting of 10 trees must be accomplished within six months from the date of purchase indicated on the receipt. It was Congressman Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. who pushed the filing of this bill. According to him, the bill aims to strengthen the deforestation efforts of the government. One of the key benefits of this is helping mitigate the effects of typhoons, which mainly targets flood-prone areas that often cause major catastrophes.

In fact, this bill does not only cover sedans, hatchback, MPVs, SUVs, and other LCVs, but the term ‘motor vehicle’ also pertains to bulldozers, payloaders, graders, forklifts, cranes, and other heavy equipment as well. Surprisingly, it actually covers quite a lot of machinery, from lawnmowers and street sweepers to trains, agricultural equipment, and trailers attached to trucks. 

Once it becomes effective, violators will be fined not more than P10,000 for every tree that’s not planted. On the other hand, repeated non-compliance for two or three years within a five-year period will then be subject to an additional fine not exceeding P20,000 or P30,000. That’s a hefty price to pay.

It seems that the government has been formulating ways on how to save our environment. Through contributing with the deforestation efforts of the government, we shall see greener surroundings, granted that this bill passes into law soon. Plus, these additional trees to be planted should be beneficial during natural catastrophes. With all that said, we shall soon find out if this bill will push through and be implemented in due time.