PB member Ouano: Cebu not a dumpsite
“Cebu is not a dumping site.”
This is the stern warning of Cebu Provincial Board Member Thadeo Jovito Ouano to other countries not to dispose their wastes to the Philippines, particularly Cebu.
Ouano, chairman of the committee on environment and natural resources, was referring to the recent mis-declared shipment of trash from South Korea weighing 5,000 metric tons.
“I condemn the act. Cebu is not a dumping site for any garbage from any other countries,” he said.
Ouano said this might set a dangerous precedent for other countries to also use Philippine soil as dumping grounds.
Earlier, M/V Christina, which was loaded with 5,000 metric tons of wooden chips and recycled synthetic resin, arrived at the Cebu Port on January 20, 2017 from South Korea.
It turned out that the shipment did not only contain wooden chips but also mixed garbage.
The 2,500 metric tons of mixed garbage will soon be shipped out of the country on board the same vessel.
Verne Enciso, Chief of the Customs and Intelligence and Investigation Service, said the Bureau of Customs will auction the remaining 2,500 metric tons of wood chips that was part of the mis-declared shipment of trash from South Korea.
Enciso said the BOC can auction the 2,500 tons of wood chips because the shipment has been forfeited in favor of the government by virtue of a warrant of seizure and detention issued by BOC Cebu District Collector Elvira Cruz last February 8, 2017.
In 2013, about 55 containers full of household rubbish or 1,375 tons of waste from Canada were seized at Manila's port on grounds that the waste was being passed off as plastic scrap material for recycling.
The container vans were containing mixed garbage, including nonrecyclable plastics, waste paper, household waste, and used adult diapers.
Ouano said authorities have to strictly implement Republic Act 6969 (Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990) that mandates for the proper disposal of hazardous wastes and other existing environmental laws.
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal – signed in 1989 and implemented in 1992 – aims to reduce or prevent the movement of hazardous waste among nations, particularly from developed countries to less developed nations.
Under the treaty, illegal waste traffic must be prosecuted by parties, including Canada, as a criminal act and the illegally exported waste should be returned to its territory unless it is impracticable to do so.
In a separate development, the Provincial Board has asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to require business establishments selling electronic products to post a notice of the proper disposal of electronic waste (e-waste).
The agencies were also asked to conduct an information drive on the proper disposal of e-waste.
“There is a need to properly dispose these electronic wastes to avoid hazards to humans and environment,” reads the resolution penned by Ouano.
Ouano said DTI, in partnership with DENR, has to check and monitor these stores selling electronic surplus products.
E-wastes refer to discarded computers, office electronic equipment, electronic devices, mobile phones, TV sets and refrigerators.
The e-waste, which contains toxic metals like mercury, chromium and lead, can contaminate groundwater and would impact plants and can even enter the food chain, thereby affecting public health.