No Plastic Bag Shopping in Laguna

I had to rush to this popular department store in Calamba because I desperately needed to get a new pair of slippers.  My old ones succumbed to the harsh punishment that my sweaty feet subject them to, so I needed to find another set of victims.   After going around the mall and selecting a really good and durable pair, I went to the cashier to pay and I was pleasantly surprised to see that their No Plastic Bag policy seemed to be implemented strictly by the store employees.  I mentally congratulated the folks at the mall and wished that the same dedication could be done in some bigger malls in bigger cities in the country.    Actually, I did not know that this mall in Calamba has already followed the example that stores in Los Banos (a municipality in Laguna also) have been strictly implementing for the past several years.  So my surprise included a big question mark because I  wondered why stores in Laguna can implement it strictly, but the bigger cities can't.  If the same store can implement it in smaller areas ( strictly), why can't it implement the same policy in bigger areas, for instance, in Makati?  What did this branch do that the other branches can not do?  I know that it will be difficult for the first few days, weeks or even months, but if it will be consistently implemented, eventually, people will learn and will come out of their houses bringing their own plastic bag or other means of wrapping, packing or packaging:  any material or means except the store's plastic bag.  It was really difficult at first remembering to bring my own plastic bag/reusable bag whenever I am in Los Banos, but eventually, I learned to follow what the locals do or suffer bringing my groceries in a paper bag that might not stand their weight.  In short, they will learn to cooperate if they want to be able to shop in their favorite stores.  Also establishments should start using paper bags which need not be fancy or too thick especially if the items are tiny and stores can charge customers a few centavos for every plastic bag that the store give them.  If the customer has his own bag then he need not be charged anything. 


If there is just strict implementation (from all chains of department stores) regarding the No Plastic Bag policy and the local government officials (from the barangay to the mayors) will promote eco-friendly shopping by encouraging wet-markets to use paper for wrapping(except for fish vendors) then it will just be a matter of time for people to start bringing their own reusable plastic bag or "bayong" (a bag made from palm leaves which can be washed and let dry) or what-have-you whenever they go shopping.  Or can it be that people from Los Banos, or Laguna are just more disciplined compared to those who live in other areas of the Philippines?