Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has asked the Senate to look into what could be a breach of the Visiting Forces Agreement in light of the alleged dumping of toxic wastes in Philippine waters by a private logistics handler contracted by the US Navy.
“It is imperative to take a look at Article 8 of the VFA which provides… [that] vessels operated by or for the United States may enter the Philippines upon approval of the government of the Philippines,” Santiago said in a draft resolution seeking a Senate inquiry that she intends to file on Monday.
“The movement of vessels shall be in accordance with international custom and practice governing such vessels, and such agreed implementing arrangements as necessary,” she added.
The senator said she was ready to file the resolution as early as Friday but the Senate is open for business only from Monday to Thursday.
Santiago said that the “overarching principle in the VFA is that all activities of the United States armed forces in the Philippines, and the entry and exit of its aircraft, vessels and vehicles from the Philippine territory shall be subject to prior approval of the Phlippine government.”
“However, Glenn Defense Marine reportedly has not secured any permit required by the Philippine government to collect and dump wastes in Philippine waters,” Santiago said.
Santiago said that Executive Order No. 199 creating the VFA Commission gave it no authority to determine the liability of any party in connection with the agreement that covers the conduct of transient US forces in the Philippines.
“It should be noted also that under [EO 199], the commission is only a monitoring body mandated to submit regular reports to the President; it does not exercise quasi-judicial powers that could address the issues such as the one at hand,” Santiago said.
Glenn Defense’s lawyers from the Villaraza, Cruz, Marcelo and Angangco law firm have invoked the VFA and said the matter was under the jurisdiction of the VFACOM.
They argued that the Subic Bay Metropoliutan Authority, which has started an investigation, has no jurisdiction over the matter.
Santiago, in her resolution, enumerated the environmental laws, including those related to the VFA that may have been violated by Glenn Defense by its alleged dumping of toxic waste in Philippine waters.
She said the SBMA has jurisdiction over the Glenn Defense case under the country’s environmental laws and the Bases Conversion and Development Act.
Still, the senator cited the need for “a clearer and more concise measure that will address the lacunae in existing environmental laws to respond to certain aspects of environmental protection that involve foreign parties.”
“It is imperative for the State to protect its people’s health and the country’s environment by curbing rising incidents of violation against the country’s environmental laws,” Santiago said.
“It is imperative for the Philippines to ratify the amendment to the Basel Convention… which prohibits the exportation of all types of hazardous wastes including recyclables from industrial countries to developing countries; this will serve as the country’s first line of defense against toxic waste,” she added.