ILOILO City – Ilonggo Sen. Franklin Drilon called for a total ban on waste imports in the country.
Under Senate Bill No. 18 or the “Waste Importation Ban Act of 2019,” the senate minority leader said violators may soon face hefty fines or imprisonment of up to 12 years.
The proposed measure seeks to ban all waste imports, including recyclable materials, from entering the Philippines.
Drilon’s proposal came following reports showing that the country is gradually becoming a dumpsite of foreign waste.
The Ilonggo senator specifically lamented how the Canadian garbage inside the 103 shipping containers found its way to the country.
Drilon also hit how the Philippines became a “cross-boundary disposal site” of unwanted and toxic shipments from waste exporters like Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan.
Despite several laws intended to protect the country from being a waste import destination, Drilon said “waste from various countries continue to be imported into our country to the detriment of our people and environment.”
“These incidents indicate that we have become a dumping ground for waste generated by other nations. We must fix our laws that allowed that to happen,” he said. “We must then prohibit the importation of all kinds of waste or scrap including recyclable materials. We should never allow our country to be a dumpsite.”
Drilon’s bill also seeks that all imported waste shall be immediately brought back to its country of origin at the expense of the consignor or importer.
“The passage of this measure will no doubt stop the waste trade in the country and send a clear message to other countries that the Philippines is not a landfill,” the minority leader said.
Under the proposal, any person who misdeclares, brings into the Philippines any waste, or assists in the importation of waste products shall be punished by hefty sanctions and penalties.
“Violators may be fined with up to P15 million and/or imprisoned for 8 to 12 years,” Drilon warned.
If the offender is a foreigner, he/she shall be deported after serving sentence, Drilon added.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Bureau of Customs shall be the primary agencies to implement stricter monitoring of imports and enforcement of tighter regulations in order to avoid shipment of waste and even recyclable products into the country, the proposal stated./PN
