THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) committed to finish this month shipping out all 201 containers of waste products imported illegally in 2018 to the country of origin, South Korea.
In a statement Sunday, Port of Cagayan de Oro District Collector Jon Simon said the last batches of waste were scheduled for re-export yesterday, Feb. 16 and on Sunday, Feb. 23, to “finally rid the country of the illegally imported waste.”
The first re-export took place on Jan. 13 through the Port of Cagayan, involving 51 containers, followed by another 50 containers shipped back on Jan. 19.
In 2018, a shipment declared as plastic waste was found to contain mixed non-biodegradable waste. A warrant of seizure and detention was issued then and appropriate cases were filed for violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) and R.A. 6969, BoC said.
Last year, the South Korean government committed to help ship back some 5,177 metric tons (MT) of plastic garbage that was exported illegally to the Philippines in 2018. — Beatrice M. Laforga
