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The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday said it will support the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) if it decides to file a case
against Canada for dumping waste in the Philippines.
The DENR and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) are the lead agencies handling the
waste issue, but DFA, as a member of an inter-agency committee, advises and
guides both departments.
The DFA has actively participated in efforts to find solutions, including providing
guidance to DENR, which is the Philippine focal point on how to file a case against
Canada at the Basel Secretariat on the convention on transboundary shipments of
hazardous and toxic wastes if the DENR so decides, Charles Jose, Foreign Affairs
spokesman, said.
Manila has expressed its great concern over some 50 containers that were
shipped to Manila in 2013, impounded by Customs, and left to rot for two years.
But the DENR ruled that there was no hazardous waste in the containers and then
recently allowed eight of the 50 to be dumped in Tarlac province, north of Manila.
This caused lawmakers and some environmental activists to cry out on the violation
of the
Basel Convention, which prevents the movement of hazardous waste between
nations,
specifically its transfer from developed to least developed states.
And although the Foreign Affairs department made it clear this was not a diplomatic
issue, but rather a commercial one, since it involved a private company, the agency
issued a note verbale to Canada in November 2014.
The Canadian Embassy in Manila, however, explained that they do not have
domestic laws that compel the private company to take back the containers to
Canada.
The DFA, which communicates with the embassy, said it is waiting for a decision
from the DENR on whether it will file a case against Canada.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino 3rd on Tuesday signed off on legislation to open
up the shipping sector and encourage more competition in the cloistered industry.
A new statute will provide greater access for international firms to the Philippines
shipping routes, replacing a 79-year-old law put in place to protect local firms.
The old law was apparently meant to encourage the development of the domestic
shipping industry, to encourage them to compete. The problem was our fleet hardly
grew, Aquino said at a signing ceremony.
This led to an absurd situation where the entire market was controlled by a few.
Despite the shipping sectors vast potential in the archipelago nation, the industry
accounted for a measly 0.23 percent of the Philippines gross domestic product in
2013, according to a government study.
During the ceremony, Aquino claimed that the lack of competition had made
shipping cargo across the Philippines with domestic companies more expensive
than exporting goods with foreign carriers to nearby countries.
In accordance with the new law, foreign-flagged vessels will be allowed to ship
imported goods and transport Philippine-made exports within the country.
Aquino also signed the Philippines first anti-trust act, which aims to prevent
businesses from stifling competition and bans companies from pricing goods below
cost.
Individuals or companies found violating the new law can be fined 100 million pesos
($2.2 million) and sentenced up to seven years in prison.
The passage of the legislation comes a week before Aquino is set to deliver his final
state of the union address, where he is expected to tout the raft of reform measures
enacted by his administration during his five years in office.
ORATION
I WILL PERSIST