THE Philippine Bureau of Customs today announced the successful “re-exportation” back to South Korea of 6,000 metric tons of garbage that arrived on two separate occasions in 2018.
Port of Cagayan de Oro district collector, John M. Simon, in a report to customs commissioner, Rey Leonardo Guerrero, said 80 containers of the Korean trash were loaded early today on board the ‘M/V MAHIA.’
The remaining balance of 10 containers, he added, would be loaded in another vessel this coming Saturday, August 8, 2020, thus completing the garbage’s return to South Korea and putting a closure on the issue.
Simon said M/V MAHIA is expected to call port in Pyeongtaek City, South Korea, the port of origin of the shipment.
The bureau had expected to complete the re-exportation of the 251 containers of the Korean wastes by early this year but the operation was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Simon added the recipient, Verde Soko Philippines Industrial Corporation, had also failed to immediately secure the necessary permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that contributed to the delay.
Verde Soko, Simon noted, had ‘misdeclared’ the shipment as “plastic synthetic flakes” in their customs declaration. On actual inspection however, the shipment was found to contain “hazardous” household wastes.
Simon said the return of the garbage to South Korea sends a “clear message” to other countries that the Philippines is no longer a dumping ground for foreign garbage that poses serious threat to the public’s health and also the environment.
It can be recalled that only after Pres. Duterte was elected in 2016 and threatened to cut off diplomatic ties that Canada agreed to take back its shipment of 103 containers of household wastes. This shipment was exported to the Philippines in 2013, during the administration of Pres. Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III.
The wastes from Canada was finally shipped back on May 30, 2019.