Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION No. 2220

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA

Reps. NERI J. COLMENARES and CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE

RESOLUTION
URGING THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ECOLOGY TO CONDUCT AN
INQUIRY, IN AID OF LEGISLATION, INTO THE DUMPING OF TRASH
COMING FROM CANADA INTO THE PHILIPPINES
WHEREAS, based on news reports twenty container vans of garbage imported from Canada
was dumped in a landfill in Tarlac. Additionally, the Philippine government supposedly also
allowed the dumping of tons of wasted shipped from Canada last year;
WHEREAS, another eight container vans of trash also arrived in Tarlac after the first twenty
and they are also to be dumped in the province, also there are reports that there are at least
ninety-nine containers vans of garbage to be disposed off in the Philippines;
WHEREAS, a Bulacan landfill is also being considered for the dumping of the Canadian
trash, as more residents of Tarlac are now voicing their opposition to the dumping in their
province;
WHEREAS, the Philippines and Canada are signatories of the Basel Convention on the
Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, and they are
bound to uphold and follow the treaty, that was designed to reduce the movements of
hazardous waste between nations and specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from
developed countries like Canada to less developed countries like the Philippines;
WHEREAS, there was already a similar situation then in 1999 when Japan dumped their
trash in the country and Pres. Joseph Estrada ordered the return of the garbage to Japan, using
the Basel Convention as one of its arguments against it;
WHEREAS, according to data of the National Solid Waste Management Commission
(NSWMC), the national daily waste generation amounted to 38,757 tons in 2013. It was
estimated at 37,427 in 2012 and is projected to climb to 40,087 in 2016;

WHEREAS, environmental groups like KALIKASAN-(Peoples Network for the

Environment) and BAN Toxics have already raised the alarm on this issue years ago and
have conducted protest actions for the trash to be returned to Canada;
WHEREAS, such groups are raising that solid waste management is still a persistent
problem in the Philippines and questioning the government policy of allowing garbage
importation into the country;
WHEREAS, according to Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR)
Report on the 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plans submitted to the National Solid Waste
Management Commission out of the 1,516 cities and municipalities excluding ARMM only
539 have submitted their respective Solid Waste Management plans and out of the 80
provinces, only 3 have submitted their Solid Waste Management Plans. Furthermore, out of
those who have submitted, only 2 plans are approved with finality;
WHEREAS, now there is a continuing flow of imported garbage from Canada that is being
dumped in the country;
WHEREAS, according to KALIKASAN-PNE, "It is the height of insult to any country if
another country treats your land as its dumpster. What sort of diplomacy does President
Aquino advance to bag such a trashy deal? The people's rejection of such an arrangement
should've been a topic of discussion in his state visit to Canada last March, but instead, but
the talks with Canadas Prime Minister Stephen Harper only resulted to the expedited
dumping of Canadas garbage in Philippine soil;

WHEREAS, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental

Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) recent claim that the imported garbage is not toxic is
contrary to the Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS) conducted by the same
agency nary a year ago. Upon examination, the trash did not contain plastics for recycling
but a mixture of kitchen waste, broken bottles, hospital wastes, household residuals, and even
used electronic waste. Some report that used adult diapers are even in the heap;
WHEREAS, such waste can pose short term hazards on public health and long term threats
to the environment, hence should be subjected to more rigorous analysis of the garbage by the
DENR so the presence of chemicals, bacteria and diseases that could leach out from that tons
of trash are examined;
WHEREAS, the issue here is not just the health matters but our countrys sovereignty and
national interest as well as the respect and compliance to international treaties;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the

Committee On Ecology to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the dumping of trash
coming from Canada into the Philippines.

Adopted,

Rep. NERI J. COLMENARES

Bayan Muna Party-list

Rep. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE

Bayan Muna Party-list