Rep. Juliette Uy
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By JOEY NACALABAN
and LITO RULONA
with EDWIN IYO
Correspondents .

REP. Juliette Uy of Misamis Oriental’s 2nd District over the weekend said she has asked a congressional body to summon officials of the Phividec Industrial Authority along with VNS Verde Soko Philippines Industrial Corp. executives when it starts an investigation into the shipment of plastic wastes, including “hazardous garbage,” from South Korea to the province.

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In a statement sent to the Gold Star Daily, Uy also sought a summon for officials of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) so they could answer for the issuance of an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to Verde Soko, noting that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), under which the bureau functions, has questioned the garbage shipments.

Verde Soko operations manager Nathaniel Carampatana on Friday said the firm secured an ECC signed by EMB director for northern Mindanao Sabdullah Abubacar.

The two-page document, Carampatana said, gave Verde Soko the green light to produce plastic pellets and briquettes and set up a 300-kw thermal power generator in Sitio Buguac, Barangay Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan in Misamis Oriental. The firm’s plant is located within the Phividec Industrial Estate.

But the ECC set conditions. Part of it reads: “With the issuance of this ECC, you are expected to implement the measures presented in the Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), intended to protect and mitigate the project’s adverse impact on community health, welfare and the environment.”

The ECC also stated that environmental considerations should be incorporated in all phases and aspects of the Verde Soko project.

Government requirements were allegedly not followed based on the separate pronouncements of MICT port collector John Simon and Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda.

Simon said a group that included customs officials and Mayor Heckert Emano of Tagoloan inspected a shipment intended for Verde Soko and found what really appeared like garbage, foul-smelling and some even soaked with liquid, in the cargo. The bureau decided to hold the shipment following the inspection.

What was held last week was the second of two shipments since July, according to Simon. The first was in July at the private wharf of the Philippine Sinter Corp. in Villanueva town from where tons of wastes were “transferred” to the Verde Soko plant in Tagoloan; the second shipment was offloaded and now being held at the MICT in Tagoloan.

The DENR said the government allows the recycling of plastic materials from abroad as long as there are no hazardous materials mixed with the shipments.

Aside from being mixed with “hazardous wastes,” the DENR said the shipments were misdeclared as plastic flakes and there was no import permit from the environment department.

Environment Undersecretary Antiporda told reporters earlier that authorities found hazardous wastes in the shipment like used batteries, bulbs, electronic gadgets, dextrose tubes and even diapers.

“So what you do is bury these in the ground, and the first that will be affected will be our ground water. That we will not permit,” Antiporda said.

Simon, the MICT port collector, said the ongoing investigation into the Soko Verde shipments could result in charges against certain government officials and personnel, including those in the Phividec Industrial Authority and even customs bureau.

He said initial investigation showed discrepancies, including misdeclaration of the shipment.

Simon said that based on documents, the shipment should only contain pure plastic but it was found to contain wood, foam and even steel, among others.

EMB’s Abubacar, for his part, said he was still determining what really was in the shipment. But he said his information is that the shipment contained pure plastic materials intended for recycling at the Verde Soko plant.

“Basura lang na tan-awon but actually, it is not just like what we see in the streets nga mga pagkaon nagsagol. Segragated na na puro plastic unya dili baho,” said Abubacar. (with Herbie Gomez)

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