THE tons of hazardous waste materials that arrived in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental last year are scheduled to be shipped back to South Korea on Wednesday, January 9.
This after the Philippine government and South Korean delegates reached an agreement during the two-day meeting and actual site inspection last December.
Misamis Oriental provincial board member Gerardo Sabal Wednesday said the country will return first to South Korea the second shipment of Verde Soko Philippines Industrial Corp which contains 1,400 tons of garbage.
Sabal said the re-exportation of other 5,100 tons of waste materials that were first shipped by Verde Soko in July last year will be delayed for about a month.
“Mauna sa ang second shipment kay mas sayon i-ship back kay naa pa sa container vans kay katong first shipment naa naman sa factory site unya nangabutbot na karon,” Sabal said.
“Dili mi mosugot nga basta-basta hakuton tong first shipment kay basin mangayagyag sa dalan so nag-ingon mi nga mag-re-bagging so gitagaan sila og another month para ma ship back ang first shipment,” he added.
Officials of the provincial government, Bureau of Customs (BOC), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and South Korean delegates Lee Jong Min, Yeo Jae Gap, Han Hee Chang, and Kim Young Gi met last December 27 and 28 to discuss the matter and conduct actual site inspection.
Sabal said the South Korean government will shoulder the cost of re-exportation amounting to more than P2 million.
However, the re-exportation of the first shipment is not yet final as to who will shoulder the cost.
“I-finalize pa unsaon ang first shipment kay nag-ingon man ang mga Korean representatives nga dapat naa participation ang Verde Soko kay sila man ang nagpadala diri,” he said.
Sabal clarified that the cases the Verde Soko will likely face for violations of the Philippine customs and environment laws will be handled by the BOC and DENR.
He said the BOC has decided the case and ordered the re-exportation of the shipments to its country of origin.
Verde Soko misdeclared the two shipments as plastic synthetic flakes when they actually contained various trash such as metals, wood, hospital wastes like dextrose hose, and other hazardous waste materials.
“Ang mga kaso naa sa DENR and BOC kay the provincial board has no punitive power to charge anybody busa ang atong lakang is in aid of legislation,” Sabal said.
Sabal said the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) secured by Verde Soko should also be canceled.
“Sa findings nakita man nato nga hazardous waste materials so angayan nga i-cancel ang ilang ECC pwede sila mo-apply utro pero kinahanglan sila mo-comply sa gi-require sa balaod,” he added.
Sabal said the provincial board will pass a resolution expressing its gratitude to the South Korean government for its swift action on the matter.
“Once ma-ship back na ang duha ka shipments ayha kita magpalabang sa resolution sa atong pagpasalamat sa South Korean government sa ilang immediate action,” Sabal said.