Olongapo city: Government agencies and environmental groups will submit position papers this week on the electronic waste shipments found at the Subic Bay Freeport in Olongapo City, a Bureau of Customs (BOC) official said Tuesday. BOC Deputy Chief of Staff lawyer Chris Noel Bendijo stated that these submissions aim to address the ongoing issue concerning e-waste.
According to Philippines News Agency, the BOC, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Office of the Solicitor General, EcoWaste Coalition, BAN Toxics, and other concerned groups are preparing recommendations. These recommendations are intended to tackle the challenges posed by the e-waste shipments and develop strategies to prevent future occurrences.
Bendijo conveyed via a text message that issues identified during a recent meeting will be addressed in the position papers, which are to be submitted within the week. The meeting was held on Monday with various agencies and organizations to discuss potential courses of action and coordinate efforts regarding the shipments.
Participants of the meeting agreed that the position papers will support an evaluation of legal, regulatory, and policy options. This evaluation includes steps to fortify existing mechanisms to prevent similar incidents in the future. Bendijo mentioned that the next meeting is scheduled in two weeks, contingent on the availability of the involved parties.
During the inter-agency meeting, there was an emphasis on the importance of agencies continuing to perform their regulatory duties despite any pending legal proceedings. This guidance comes after government agencies conducted a joint inspection of nine recycling companies within the freeport, following allegations by environmental groups about the entry of hundreds of containers of e-waste from the US.
The BOC's actions were further bolstered by a joint inspection led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority on July 1. This initiative underscores the collaborative effort to address the environmental concerns raised by the e-waste shipments.
