President Benigno S. Aquino, on the eve of his departure for a state visit to Canada, was pressed to take up with Prime Minister Stephen Harper the issue of the immediate return of some 50 container vans of mixed Canadian garbage lying in Manila and Subic ports.
Coalition and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives hold a
rally in Mendiola, Manila, to urge him to return Canada’s waste
to that country. Lino Santos
“We urge President Aquino to seek a just closure of the garbage dumping controversy that has remained unresolved almost two years since the first batch of the mixed-trash shipment arrived in Manila in June 2013,” said Aileen Lucero, coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition.
Aquino was scheduled to visit Canada from May 7 -9, with labor and economic cooperation high on the agenda of his meeting with Harper.
EcoWaste said Aquino should exhaust his diplomatic skills to seek Harper’s commitment to have the garbage shipment repatriated to its port of origin with immediate effect. The group stressed that the dumping issue is “a blatant case of environmental injustice” and not a mere “private commercial matter.”
As Canada’s sixth largest trading partner in Southeast Asia, priority market and a country of focus for its international development efforts, the President should have no trouble getting Harper’s ear, EcoWaste said.
“We expect the President to clinch a “return to sender” agreement with his counterpart and put the controversy to a close. Our people will rally any move to have Canada’s garbage disposed of in local landfills, cement kilns or waste-to-energy incinerators and pollute host communities,” Lucero said.
EcoWaste’s stance was supported by various labor groups which emphasized that returning the garbage shipment to Canada for treatment in appropriate facilities fully equipped with pollution prevention and control features will protect Filipino workers at local ports and waste disposal plants against exposure to biological, chemical and physical hazards from the reeking rubbish.
Josua Mata, Secretary-General of the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibo, said the speedy repatriation of Canada’s garbage shipment for environmentally-sound disposal in their country is a matter of serious concern for all Filipinos, including the working class, and should be a priority objective for Aquino’s state visit.
Allan Tanjusay, Spokesman and Policy Advocacy Officer of the Associated Labor Unions – Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, said in his meeting with Harper, they expect Aquino to make a strong and unequivocal plea for Canada to simply take back its trash and refute the misguided proposition coming from some bureaucrats to dispose of the garbage locally.
Gie Relova, Secretary-General of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino – National Capital Region, said “our government should not cave in to such a preposterous non-solution that constitutes an open invitation to garbage smugglers to continue with their illegal trade because they can easily get away with it.”
“Our waste and sanitation workers have more than enough domestic trash to manage. The imported garbage from Canada puts a heavy burden on our workers and environment and should be sent back at once,” said Wilson Fortaleza, Spokesperson, Partido ng Manggagawa.
The EcoWaste Coalition, Green Convergence for Safe Food, Healthy Environment and Sustainable Economy, Ang NARS Party List and many other groups and individuals, including the over 25,000 signatories to an online petition on change.org, have asked the Canadian government to take back their trash, a plea that remains unheeded.