By Ruben A. Veloria
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines – Officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) assured on Monday that the Subic Freeport is a safe area as the agency does not allow entry of hazardous electronic wastes or E-waste here.
The statement was made by SBMA Director Honorio “Yuri” Allado III in a media forum held in Subic Convention Center which was attended also by Bureau of Customs- Port of Subic District Collector Geniefelle P. Lagmay, SBMA Sr. Dep. Administrator Amethya Dela Llana, and other SBMA officials, as resource speakers.
“The agency does not allow entry of hazardous E-waste in the Freeport,” said Allado, adding that SBMA ensures the safety of the 6,000 workers in the company. “However, we respect the views of the NGOs,” he continued.
The media forum was held following reports from non-government organizations (NGOs) and environmental groups that some 234 containers of suspected e-waste from the United States have arrived at Subic Bay since March this year.
E-waste are discarded electrical or electronic devices, commonly referred to as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), such as broken computers, television, laptops, radios, and other similar electronic devices where reusable parts such as aluminum, gold, copper, electronic parts are being collected.
However, toxic or hazardous e-waste such as electric transformers, busted florescent bulbs, and used batteries are not allowed the Freeport.
There are nine recycling companies inside Subic Freeport, all of which were inspected by the BOC, SBMA, and DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) on July 1, following alleged arrival of e-waste shipments in the Freeport.
No result of the inspection was provided Meanwhile, Collector Lagmay said that an inter-agency meeting was convened in Manila and discussed the issue concerning the e-waste shipments in Subic and to determine the appropriate course of action.
The meeting focused on identifying the next steps in addressing the issue through coordinated ad whole-of-agency approach. The group also discussed measures to further strengthen existing mechanism and prevent similar incidents in the future. According to Lagmay, the meeting was led by BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno, together with key officials from BOC, SBMA, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Office of Solicitor General (OSG), Department of Justice (DOJ), Dept. of Foreign Affairs (DOF), and EcoWaste Coalition, Basel Action Network (BAN) Toxic, and other concerned government agencies and stakeholders.
When asked if the public is still safe in going to Subic Freeport, Dir. Yuri responded in saying, “Yes. We are safe in Subic.” For her part, Dela Llana said that SBMA supports recycling facilities, “As we (SBMA) support urban mining or urban recycling, the recovering and recycling reusable materials from discarded electronic equipment and devices. The process minimizes the environmental damage caused by industrial mining.
