An environment watchdog on Monday commended the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for keeping its promise to ship back the remaining illegal plastic waste imports sent here from South Korea.
(FACEBOOK / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
EcoWaste Coalition national coordinator Aileen Lucero said the re-shipment of the last batch of trash was a “big win for environmental justice and a strong affirmation of the rule of law.”
“Two thumbs up for the BOC and all the stakeholders, including the political leaders of Misamis Oriental and their constituents, for insisting on the obligation of the state of export to take back the waste shipments in question,” she said in a statement.
”Our united stance to protect our people’s health and the environment from the deleterious impacts of waste trafficking made this huge feat possible,” Lucero added.
The EcoWaste Coalition showered praises for BOC-10 district collector John Simon for his efforts as he announced the re-exportation of some 6,000 metric tons of assorted garbage will finally take place on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
The plastic waste shipments were misdeclared as “plastic synthetic flakes“ which arrived in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental two years ago. It was imported by the Verde Soko Philippines Industrial Corp.
BOC-10 records showed the illegal waste imports from South Korea were successfully returned to their origin in several batches since January 2019.
The re-shipment of the remaining 80 containers of garbage would bring to 331 the total number of containers sent back to South Korea.
“Collector John Simon acted with commendable integrity and speed and we would like to put that on record,” said Lucero.