ENVIRONMENTAL groups, lawmakers and non-governmental organizations have castigated the Aquino administration for trying to dispose of the toxic trash sent here from Canada, saying Manila is not Ottawa’s sanitary landfill.
Incensed by the failure of Malacañang to even raise a whimper about the illegal shipment of Canadian trash, the critics also found that the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) are keen on disposing of the miasmic toxic waste here.
This is really extreme puppetry on the part of the Aquino administration, which probably wants to be known as the basurero of the entire planet, they protested.
The shipment, they maintained at a news briefing in Quezon City on Thursday, violates international law and should be condemned by any Filipino with a sense of pride and a better sense of smell.
“I will not tolerate this matter. As a legislator, I filed a resolution calling for congressional inquiry on the unlawful entry of 50 container vans filled with garbage. Clearly, this dumping of waste in our country is a reflection of our dignity as a nation,” said Party-list Rep. Leah Paquiz of Ang Nars said.
Earlier this year, BOC seized 50 container vans containing various waste materials and hazardous waste imported from Canada and consigned to Chronic Plastics Inc.
The shipment was declared as “assorted scrap plastic materials for recycling.”
Last month 16 container vans were sent to Subic to ease the congestion at the Port of Manila.
“The unauthorized movement of the illegal shipments to Subic is proof that plans are afoot to have the waste shipments processed and disposed of in the country. The letter from the DENR reinforces and confirms this duplicitous intent on the part of our government authorities. We find it outrageous that the primary government agency mandated to protect the environment is the main instigator of the proposal to have these illegal waste shipments disposed in our shores. Why should Filipino taxpayers bear the burden associated with this illegal shipment?” asked Von Hernandez, president of EcoWaste Coalition and executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
“This government proposal sends a signal to unscrupulous and illegal waste traders to ship their unwanted junk to the Philippines. There can be no compromise here, this garbage shipment must be sent back to Canada, its country of origin. The Philippine government must do everything it can to prevent these incidents from happening ever again in the future, and it can start doing that by ratifying the Basel Ban Amendment.” Hernandez added.
The protesters stressed that allowing toxic waste shipments to be disposed in Philippine territory will set a wrong precedent and encourage other countries to ship to us their toxic waste.
Hernandez, Paquiz and their supporters expressed fears that the Philippines is now being primed to become the world’s toxic waste dumping capital under the guise that “green jobs” will be generated by the recycling business.
“Illegal toxic-waste trade is an international crime. It is no different from dealing in illegal drugs, endangered species, and other forms of trade that the international community has deemed noxious,” explained Richard Gutierrez, executive director of BAN Toxics.
“Why our government is even contemplating on accepting the illegal waste when we have international law behind us is exasperating,” Gutierrez added.
The importation violates a number of local laws such as the DENR Administrative Order 28 (Interim Guidelines for the Importation of Recyclable Materials Containing Hazardous Substances) and Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, he added.
It also violates the Basel Convention, which prohibits illegal toxic waste trade and mandates such trade to be considered a criminal act. The convention also requires the exporting country, in this case Canada, to take back the illegally seized shipment and to pay the costs for the return.
“Pick up your garbage Canada, and show us the decency that we so rightfully deserve as a nation. My motherland is not a garbage bin of Canada,” Paquiz said.
In an effort to gain public attention on the issue, the coalition filed an online petition on change.org that drew 23,600 signatories, more than half of whom were Canadians.
The group is encouraging more people to sign the online petition to appeal and urge the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines to facilitate the pick up the garbage and take it back to Ottawa.
Joining Ang Nars, BAN Toxics, Greenpeace Southeast Asia and Ecowaste Coalition are the Mother Earth Foundation, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Green Convergence and a host of other organizations.