MANILA — Canada might be finally able to take back the waste a private company brought into the Philippines from that country and which Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reportedly opposed.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised such possibility in a press briefing Tuesday at the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit held at the World Trade Center here, noting the Canadian government already addressed legal stumbling blocks hindering such waste’s return to that country.
“Canadian legal regulations prevented us from getting back the waste but these impediments have been addressed already so it’s possible to do so,” he said.
He noted Canadian authorities are working on the matter.
“I told President Duterte we’ll continue working on this and hopefully resolve the situation,” he said.
Reports in 2015 cited then-Davao City mayor Duterte as urging government at the time to file a diplomatic protest against Canada for waste dumped in the country two years earlier.
The Philippines’ Enviromental Management Bureau (EMB) said it issued between June and July 2013 five import clearances covering 40 container vans declared as plastic scraps for recycling.
Those plastic scraps were from exporter Chronic Inc. with business address at 113 Brock St., Whitby, Ontario LIN 5G9 Canada and were consigned to Chronic Plastics located at 6 T. Santiago St., Canumay, Valenzuela City, noted EMB.
EMB said parties concerned complied with all documentary requirements for the import clearances.
The agency, however, issued a notice of violation after inspecting in August 2013 facilities of Chronic Plastics.
Such inspection revealed imported scrap metals mixed with other waste and manually sorted by workers, noted EMB.
EMB found both exporter and importer violated RA 6969 (Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990) and Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.
The Basel Convention aims to protect human health and the environment from adverse effects of hazardous waste.
EMB hazardous waste management section chief Geri Geronimo Sañez noted both importer and exporter are already facing, in respective countries, charges for illegally shipping the waste.
“It’s already an issue for the foreign affairs department,” he also said Tuesday during another briefing on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.
Trudeau assured Canada’s preparedness in working with the Philippine government on resolving the matter.
“Canada is very much engaged in finding a solution that,” he said.
This week, Trudeau flew into the country for the 31st ASEAN Summit.
He also arrived for the 40th anniversary of dialogue relations between ASEAN and Canada.
In 1981, ASEAN and Canada signed the economic cooperation agreement which formalized the development assistance program commitment the latter made to the former during these parties’ first formal meeting in 1977.
ASEAN-Canada Economic Cooperation Agreement (ACECA) initially covered industrial, commercial and technical cooperation.
The revised ACECA expanded in July 1993 cooperation between both parties.
Such expanded cooperation already cover concerns like science and technology and environment policy networking, institution-building, organizational and management development programs and efforts for stimulating private sector activities, market development and bilateral business cooperation, noted ASEAN. (Catherine Teves/PNA)
