Tacloban City (November 6) -- Yes Virginia, one of these days, plastic grocery bags will no longer be seen being carried by shoppers. Imagine the shoppers carrying the indigenous bayong and paper bags, instead.

It will be back to the days when Grandmother and Mother were going to the market or groceries using the bayong bag or the basket made out of the local grasses.

It will also be back to the days when brown bags were used in the groceries and in sari-sari stores. In restaurants, dog bags will again be using the paper bags instead of the styropor. In short, the in thing will be the biodegradable, recyclable indigenous materials, and the non-biodegradable plastics and styropors will bow and take the exit door.

When the day comes, ours will be a more environment friendly community. That day will be soon because as part of the government's efforts to promote and protect the environment from the negative effects of global warming, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will soon implement its massive advocacy campaign on the use of natural and indigenous materials in commercial establishments.

DENR Secretary Jose Atienza revealed that in compliance with the President" directives, DENR is now pushing for the use of indigenous bayong and the brown paper bags in all shopping malls, groceries, restaurants, among others, in lieu of the plastic bags and styrofor which are non biogradable and are contributory to the climate change that the world is now experiencing.

Already, the local government units have pledged their support for the advocacy. It is hoped that the necessary legislations will be passed at all levels of governance so that the advocacy will have teeth, sanctions and penalties determined to be imposed on violators.

More so, it is hoped that Congress will do its part of passing a law regarding the matter. But even with the absence of a law, it is all up to the Filipino people really to implement measures that will ensure the promotion and protection of the environment from the serious effects of global warming.