EcoWaste Coalition seeks prompt re-exportation of us waste shipments in Subic

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO--- The environmental health and justice group EcoWaste Coalition is pushing for the prompt re-exportation of the intercepted waste imports from the US at the Subic Bay Freeport as soon as possible.

In a press statement, the group expressed its optimism that all the parties involved, including the US government, will cooperate to get the garbage out of the Philippines immediately unlike what happened to the infamous Canadian trash, which took six long years to r esol ve.

Together with other civil society groups, the EcoWaste Coalition had vigorously campaigned for the re-exportation of the Canadian garbage, as well as the more recent cases of illegal waste imports from Hong Kong and South Korea in 2018-2019.

“We support the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the Port of Subic in exhausting all means to prevent the issue from dragging on to avert a repeat of the Canadian garbage dumping saga that led to an unprecedented diplomatic crisis. We hope this matter is expeditiously and justly resolved,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“Like the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), we strongly denounce waste smuggling, which is an affront to national dignity and a threat to our people’s health and the environment,” she added.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator

Wilma Eisma had vehemently denounced the attempt to smuggle waste materials from the US and similarly deplored the use of Subic Bay Freeport as a transit point for the unlawful t r ade.

“We cannot, and should not, condone the dumping of wastes from any country into our shores,” Eisma said in a news release by SBMA last week.

Last October 17, the BOC at the Port of Subic led by Collector Maritess Martin raised an alert over probable illegal waste imports from the US comprising 30 containers based on information from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( DENR) .

On October 21, customs operatives intercepted two of the 30 containers declared as “old corrugated cartons for repulping”that were exiting the Subic Bay International Terminal Corp.

Initial inspection of five containers by customs and environmental officials last October 22 found mixed wastes among the baled materials, including corrugated boxes, paper, plastic wrap, aluminum container and used face masks.

Authorities are investigating the case to determine a likely violation of DENR Administrative Order 2013-22, or the Revised Procedures and Standards for the Management of Hazardous Wastes, as well as Republic Act 10863, or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. (PR)

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT - A Taiwan firm will produce face masks, personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other medical supplies in the region.

According to Wilma Eisma, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator, “with this development, the freeport will soon become the major distributor of face masks and other medical equipments to help address a continuing demand for health safety gears, during the COVID19 pandemic.

Eisma said Mask Secure King Inc. (MSK), a subsidiary of Taiwan-based construction and engineering giant MSK Group Work Inc., has committed US$500,000 for the manufacturing project at the Subic Bay Gateway Park II.

She said MSK has leased 1,860-square meter building space and will hire 35 workers during its first year of operation under the trade name “Secure Masks and Protective Gears.”

According to the SBMA Business and Investment Department, MSK’s proposal early this month after it filed for a Certificate of Registration and Tax Exemption (CRTE).

The agency later endorsed to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) the purchase by MSK of mask machines from Taiwan, as well as the importation of non-woven mask materials for its Subic manufacturing operations.

MSK will be the first Subic-registered company to engage in the manufacture of health and safety products and personal protective gears , including medical disposable masks, gloves, foot and eye protection devices, protective hearing devices like earplugs and muffs, hard hats, respirators, and full body suits.

Eisma said the operation of MSK will boost local production of N95 medical masks, PPE coveralls, as well as ventilators which had no known local producer prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the same time, she said it will bolster the growing confidence of Taiwanese manufacturers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and further enlarge MSK’s development footprint here.

The SBMA chief noted that the MSK Group had begun a P2-billion luxury residential project here in 2017 while Taiwanese real estate developer Xantheng Subic International Corp. followed it up with a P15-billion green industrial park development project last year.

“Taiwanese investors, particularly the MSK Group, have been thriving here and continuously supporting and contributing to the development of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. This manufacturing project by MSK will be another welcome addition to our list of timely business projects here in Subic,” Eisma added.(RicSapnu) Taiwan firm to produce face Masks, other medical supplies