By APD writer Melo M. Acuña

MANILA ,May 7.(APD)– The Philippines is prepared to return some 69 container vans of garbage to Canada by Wednesday, May 15 but bureaucratic red tape in the Canadian government has “slowed down” the process of reexporting the trash back to their country.

The Department of Finance (DoF), in a statement released today said Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero reported to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said all requirements and preparations on the part of the Philippine government have already been met to expedite the reexport of the waste back to Canada.

Guerrero was quoted saying a series of meetings from April 30 until yesterday between the Philippine Inter-Agency Committee (IAC) and representatives from the Canadian government, along with the inspection of the containers housing the trash both at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) and the Port of Subic (POS), to ensure compliance with Secretary Dominguez’s instructions to ship the wastes out of the country by May 15.

“However, despite the Philippine government’s readiness to reexport the wastes, the Canadian government informed that it might take weeks for them to arrange the necessary documents from their end and that they might not meet May 15 deadline,” Guerrero said in his official report to Finance Secretary Dominguez.

The required documents include import permits and bidding of fumigation services for the containers, which Canada has agreed to shoulder. The Canadian government said the documents may take a “couple of weeks” to process.

The 69 container vans were what remained of the 103 container vans of garbage from Canada that were dumped in the ports of Subic and Manila in 2013 and 2014. Thirty-four of the containers have already been disposed. Charges have already been filed against the importer, broker and other parties involved in the shipment.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)