Cargo forwarder assessing 67 containers of Canada trash in Subic—SBMA head

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The 67 container vans loaded with trash from Canada were still being accounted for and evaluated by a cargo forwarder designated by the Canadian government, an official of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said on Tuesday.

SBMA Chair Wilma Eisma said lawyer Edward James Dy Buco, Bureau of Customs (BoC) deputy commissioner, has informed her that none of those containers being held at a yard here has been loaded onto a ship since no export declaration had been filed yet.

The Department of Finance had earlier set May 15 as the deadline for the BoC to ship back the containers of garbage to Canada but this was not met due to Canadian red tape.

The deadline was imposed after President Duterte criticized Canada for the rotting waste during an April 23 briefing in Pampanga.

At least 103 containers of trash were shipped from Canada to the Philippines from 2013 to 2014. The trash was disguised as scraps meant for recycling.

Two container vans filled with Canadian garbage are held at the Manila International Container Terminal while 67 others have been impounded at the Subic Bay International Terminal Corp, according to BoC.

The Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. accounted for 26 container vans that were emptied in its landfill in Capas, Tarlac, in 2015. (Editor: Leti Z. Boniol)