Sokor garbage: Misor board knew as early as August

By JOEY NACALABAN
and NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent .

MISAMIS Oriental Vice Gov. Jose Mari Pelaez and provincial board members knew about the controversial July shipment of garbage from South Korea to Tagoloan town and have even summoned executives of VNS Verde Soko Philippines Industrial Corp. and officials of the Phividec Industrial Estate as early as August.

Until yesterday, the firm’s executives disregarded the summons of the provincial legislature.

Meanwhile, Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano claimed he was unaware of the shipment, and that it took a media practitioner — not one member of the provincial board who had the information about the shipment as early as three months ago — to bring the matter to his attention just recently.

Vice Gov. Pelaez and provincial board members Gerardo Sabal and Boris Olivier Actub revealed that Verde Soko executives were invited by the provincial board to shed light on the July garbage shipment but they failed to come.

Sabal said the firm’s representatives were sent invitations by the provincial board twice, and twice they snubbed provincial legislators.

This paper checked with the provincial board and found out that two public hearings on the shipment of garbage were held in Aug. 14 and Sept. 6. The hearings were called by the provincial board as a committee of the whole.

“Ingon sila (Verde Soko) na-busy kuno sila, mao nang wala sila makatunga sa among invitation kanila,” Sabal said.

What the provincial officials did after being “snubbed” in the Sept. 6 hearing and why not one of them spoke about the controversial shipment after that until this week remains unclear.

The firm has been slapped with a notice of violation by Environmental and Management Bureau (EMB).

Yesterday, Pelaez criticized Phividec and the firm for not cooperating with the provincial board.

“We conducted two hearings already but they did not attend,” said Pelaez.

He said he was informed by the Bureau of Customs that it did not authorize the release of the wastes from South Korea.

Pelaez said a customs bureau representative was surprised when he was told that the shipment has already reached the plant of Verde Soko plant  in Sitio Buguac, Barangay Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan town. The plant is located within the Phividec Industrial Estate in Tagoloan.

Actub, chairman of the provincial board’s committee on environment protection, ecology and natural resources, said the shipment lacked supporting documents like a permit  from the Bureau of Quarantine.

“With this development, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan is contemplating on legal actions against them (Verde Soko and Phividec),” Actub said.

Gov. Emano, for his part, said the shipment of garbage would have a negative impact on the province that has been promoting tourism.

“Nganong mag-import pa man tag mga plastic nga daghan man diri sa atoa? Bisan asa ka daghan plastik bisan sa kadalanan. Galisud man gani tag dispose ani,” Emano said.