BOC open to PH as garbage dump

We are deeply disturbed by the proposal of Bureau of Customs (BOC) spokesperson Charo Logarta Lagamon “to just dispose (Canada’s toxic waste shipment) here (if) given the legal backing to do so” (‘“To decongest Manila port, send back trash, diaper cargo to Canada,’” Metro, 8/27/14).

This indecent proposal is a 360-degree reversal of the previous statement by Customs Commissioner John Sevilla who, not mincing words, said “it is very clear that these waste materials were shipped to the Philippines illegally.” Customs Deputy Commissioner for Enforcement Ariel Nepomuceno even warned that the unlawful shipment from Canada “could pose biohazard risks to our people.”

For successfully intercepting this obvious illegal traffic of hazardous waste, we lauded the BOC and commended it for promptly filing charges against the responsible importer and customs brokers for violating provisions of the country’s Tariff and Customs Code, Revised Penal Code, and Republic Act No. 6969 (Toxic Substances and Hazardous Wastes and Nuclear Wastes Control Act). The botched illicit importation, in our view, also violates RA 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act), which bans the importation of toxic waste disguised as “recyclable” or “with recyclable content.”

Despite the glaring violation of our laws, as well as of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (of which both Canada and the Philippines are parties to), Lagamon is proposing an obscene option that is totally bizarre and offensive to our national interest, dignity and sovereignty. The legal backing being suggested by Lagamon is almost like an open invitation to make the Philippines a dumping ground for the unwanted waste of other countries.

Dumping the 50 container vans of Canada’s garbage into our landfills or burning them in cement kilns or incinerators—even with so-called “legal backing” will be a gross environmental injustice that will also exacerbate the volume and toxicity of our own trash, which is projected to reach 38,757 tons per day this year.

The Canadian government, through Ambassador Neil Reeder, has assured our people of their intention to resolve the problem that is affecting the relationship between our two countries. As we have long insisted, Canada should take its garbage back and honor its commitment to settle this stinking crisis.

Our country is not, and will never be, a dumping ground for toxic and hazardous waste.

—AILEEN LUCERO,

national coordinator,

EcoWaste Coalition,

Unit 329, Eagle Court, 26 Matalino St., QC