Protesters tell Canada to take back tons of garbage illegally shipped to Manila two years ago. Almost half of 55 container vans of the solid waste have already been dumped in a landfill in Capas, Tarlac. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA/FILE PHOTO
TARLAC CITY, Philippines — Police on Wednesday night stopped the entry of five container vans carrying illegally shipped trash from Canada into a private landfill in Capas, Tarlac, an official of the company operating the facility told the Inquirer.
Rufo Colayco, president and chief executive officer of the Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. (MCWMC), said lawmen led by Senior Supt. Alex Sintin, Tarlac provincial police director, also stopped trucks carrying garbage delivered by local governments.
Colayco said Tarlac Governor Victor Yap sent the police to stop the entry of the garbage.
At least 26 container vans of trash from Canada have been dumped at the MCWMC facility.
According to Colayco, police stopped five container vans brought by Zim, the trucking firm hired by Chronics Plastic to haul 55 container vans of garbage that arrived from Canada in May and July 2013. The Bureau of Customs seized the cargo and ordered these condemned in May on the directive of the court in Manila.
The court ordered the disposal of the garbage on the recommendation of the Environmental Management Bureau, which classified several samples as “municipal solid wastes.”
Colayco said the container vans arrived unannounced. He assured Sintin that these would not be emptied until Thursday or Friday.
Reached on Thursday morning, Yap, who has ordered the suspension of the dumping of Canadian trash in the province, denied sending policemen to the Capas landfill. He said residents were the ones who reported to the police the arrival of the container vans.
Sintin said he went to the area to check the reports. He counted eight trucks but could not say how many of these are owned by Zim. He denied that he stopped or blocked any truck.
“I merely asked drivers about the contents of their trucks. I did not inspect them because that’s the job of the [Department of Environment and Natural Resources],” Sintin said.
The incident happened on the eve of the first public hearing by the Tarlac provincial board on the dumping of Canadian trash at the landfill in Sitio (sub-village) Kalangitan in Capas.