PH Environment exec faces graft over Canadian trash
THE Office of the Ombudsman found basis to file a graft case against an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) who allowed the shipment of hazardous trash from Canada to the Philippines in 2013 without the proper documents.
In a statement on Friday, the Ombudsman said that investigators found that then-Environment Undersecretary Juan Miguel Cuna, director of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), allegedly issued a Registry Certificate for the Importation of Recyclable Materials Containing Hazardous Substances dated June 19, 2013 despite lack of details in the importer’s registry sheet.
In its resolution, the Ombudsman alleged that Cuna “acted with gross inexcusable negligence when he issued a Registry Certificate in favor of Chronic Plastics despite the insufficient details in its Importer Registry Sheet. Its failure to comply with the rules is apparent on the face of the application. Without the necessary information, the EMB cannot sufficiently make a determination that Chronic Plastics is capable of recycling materials to be imported. However, despite this, respondent Cuna still approved Chronic Plastic’s application for registration.”
Cuna also allegedly issued six importation clearances to Chronic Plastics, a Filipino firm from which the shipment by Canadian-based company Chronic Inc. was consigned, despite a notice of violation dated September 5, 2013 for supposedly importing plastic materials in violation of a DENR administration order.
The Ombudsman found Cuna administratively liable for simple misconduct and directed the Environment secretary to implement its order to suspend the official without pay for three months.
The Ombudsman said investigators found that Chronic Inc. exported shipments of container vans declared as plastic scrap materials.
“Consequently, the shipment was declared as abandoned and upon further inspection, it was discovered that the container vans were filled with garbage,” according to the statement.
In his last visit to the Philippines in 2017, during the 50th Association of Southeast Asian (Asean) Summit, Candian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assured the Duterte administration that his country has addressed “legal barriers and restrictions” that prevented it from taking back its trash and that it was now “theoretically possible” to return the shipment back to Canada. REINA TOLENTINO
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