Groups seek expanded and tighter controls on phthalates and bisphenols
24 September 2026, Quezon City. Policy reforms are urgently needed to address the invisible problem of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as phthalates and bisphenols, leaching from everyday plastics.
The Ateneo Center for Research and Innovation (ACRI) and the EcoWaste Coalition pushed for such reforms at the 2026 State of Nature Assessment (Green SONA) organized by Green Convergence in Indang, Cavite, in partnership with the Cavite State University and other entities, with the theme “Green Actions for a Sustainable Tomorrow.”
The annual Green SONA, organized by Green Convergence, provides a platform for various sectors to spotlight national and regional ecological issues and propose responsive actions.
At the gathering of some 350 participants from various sectors, resource person Anna Beatrice Enriquez, Senior Research Associate of ACRI, shed light on two families of endocrine-disrupting plastic chemicals, phthalates and bisphenols, known to disturb hormonal balance, damage hearts, impair developing brains, and compromise fertility.
Researcher Anna Beatrice Enriquez of the Ateneo Center for Research and Innovation unmasks the threats to health from hidden toxic plastic chemicals, such as phthalates and bisphenols.
“EDCs like phthalates and bisphenols disrupt our hormones, which act as the body’s chemical messaging system for growth, development, and reproduction,” said Enriquez. “They don’t act like typical poisons that make you sick right away. Instead, even minute exposures can cause serious harm that may only manifest decades later.”
“Plastics bring hazardous chemicals, like phthalates and bisphenols, into our homes and bodies, and we are not being told, warned, or protected from it,” said Manny Calonzo, Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition, noting “the limited controls our nation has do not offer real-world protection, especially to children, women and workers, who are most vulnerable to the harmful effects of these hidden toxic chemicals.”
Phthalates are plasticizers added to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic to make it soft and flexible, such as vinyl curtains and flooring, flexible hoses, medical devices, toys, raincoats, and other plastic consumer goods. Some are used for non-plastic purposes, such as personal care and cosmetic products. They are not chemically bonded, and they leach out continuously. Also known as the “everywhere and everyone chemicals,” phthalates have been detected in sampled individuals.
Bisphenols are monomers, or building blocks, used in a wide range of plastics, including polycarbonate, and found in some baby bottles, epoxy resins, food packaging, eyewear, medical equipment, water bottles, toys, and other applications. Like phthalates, bisphenols can be found in sampled persons, with concentrations typically higher in infants and children.
In a report published in 2026 by ACRI, Arugaan, EcoWaste Coalition, and the Interfacing Development Interventions (IDIS), with support from the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), the groups commented that regulations on phthalates and bisphenols in the Philippines exist, but are “narrow, outdated, and poorly enforced,” stressing that “the majority of high-exposure products are entirely unregulated for these chemicals.
For example, DOH Administrative Order No. 2009-0005-A, adopted in 2011, restricts six phthalates to a maximum of 0.1 percent in children’s toys, while FDA Circular No. 2019-004, adopted in 2019, bans BPA only in baby feeding bottles and sippy cups.
Numerous everyday items, including food packaging, building materials, medical devices, thermal receipts, and children’s products except for toys, remain unregulated under both rules. Even when bans are enforced, manufacturers may substitute one hazardous chemical for another, as bans are limited to specific chemicals and exclude “chemical cousins” with similar hormone-disrupting risks.
Fr. Migs Reyes Concepcion III (left) poses with fellow environmental stewards belonging to the Diocese of Imus Ministry of Ecology (DIMEC).
In general, the groups see the need to 1) regulate phthalates and bisphenols not as individual chemicals but as chemical groups, 2) address the full uses and not only partial uses of these chemicals, and 3) ensure chemical transparency and traceability to uphold the people’s right to know and promote compliance monitoring and accountability.
Specifically, the groups seek a broader regulation of phthalates in food- contact materials, medical devices, building materials, and children’s products, including school supplies. Understanding the unique vulnerability of children, the groups call for a PVC ban in children’s products, noting that phthalates are used to plasticize PVC.
As for bisphenols, the groups seek to extend the limited ban on BPA in baby feeding bottles and sippy cups to all food contact materials, regulate BPS, BPF, and all analogues, and phase out bisphenol-containing thermal receipts.
The groups also advocate for mandatory chemical composition disclosure, a unified interagency chemical safety body with a real mandate, and a national biomonitoring program for EDC exposure.
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Reference:
https://www.ateneo.edu/news/
https://ipen.org/wp-content/