The Bureau of Customs (BOC) will be sending back the tons of shredded plastics that were found dumped in a private lot in Barangay Tingub, Mandaue City, once a warrant of seizure is issued against the vessel carrying it.
Based on the Permit to Entry from the BOC, the cargo ship MV Christina arrived on January 21 from Seoul, South Korea, at Pier 4 in Cebu City hauling the tons of shredded plastics.
The consignees indicated in the permit were Moving Forward Global Trading Inc. and Robinland Global Trading Inc.
A staff at the BOC who declined to be interviewed said the consignees only had a Permit to Entry, but there was no Permit to Transport.
Verne Enciso, chief of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), told Cebu Daily News that their legal department is now reviewing the documents.
“This shipment needs to be brought back on its origin. It is clear under the Basel Convention,” Enciso said in a phone interview.
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is a 1992 international treaty signed by 182 states, including the Philippines.
The treaty prevents the transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries.
“There was misdeclaration here. The cargo estimated to weigh 5,000 metric tons was declared as wood chips and raisins,” Enciso said.
When officials of the Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas (EMB-7) inspected the shipment, it was found out that it contained heterogeneous and unsorted plastic materials, which were declared as hazardous by EMB-7 Director William Cuñado.
“Even though this shipment will be sent back, this does not correct the criminal liability of those involved,” Cuñado said.
A source who refused to be named and who acted as the middleman between EnviroTech and the trucking services that hauled the tons of plastics from Pier 4 in Cebu City to Tingub said they only temporarily store the plastics in Tingub for three months.
He added that the plastic materials are not garbage but components for making briquettes. /Michelle Joy L. Padayhag