No to imported trash: Pro-env't groups urge Duterte to ratify agreement vs foreign waste dumping

Environmental groups EcoWaste Coalition (EWC) and Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines (Greenpeace) have urged President Duterte to rush the government's ratification of the Basel Convention Ban Amendment which seeks to prohibit foreign waste dumping in the country.

In a joint statement, the groups said that Duterte should prioritize the ratification of the agreement before the end of his six-year term on June 30.

"President Duterte should not miss the opportunity of leaving a lasting legacy by decisively fixing glaring policy gaps to protect our people and the environment from the relentless threats of exploitative and unjust trade in hazardous waste and other wastes," ECW National Coordinator Aileen Lucero said on Thursday, Feb. 3.

Lucero further said that ratifying the Basel Convention Ban Amendment and enforcing the total ban on foreign waste imports will uphold environmental justice and human rights.

On the other hand, Greenpeace Zero Waste Campaigner Marian Ledesma said that the move would prevent the entry of hazardous wastes from 38 Organisations for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations.

"This is also a chance for the Philippine government to show strong leadership alongside other Asian nations who have closed their borders on imported waste and respond to Global South countries' exploitation in the waste trade," she said.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) has already conducted several consultations from 2019 to 2020 on the proposed amendments of DENR Administrative Order (DAO) 2013-22 or Revised Procedures and Standards on the Management of Hazardous Wastes.

"After review of the EMB Policy Technical Working Group, this will be forwarded to the DENR for final review and endorsement to the DENR Secretary. We hope that the amended DAO will be approved this year," EMB Director William Cuñado told the EcoWaste in September 2021.