Kabataan Partylist and environmental groups strongly condemned the US’ continued trampling of Philippine sovereignty and environment after reports that the US uses Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales as a dumping ground for toxic electronic waste (e-waste).

Kabataan Rep. Renee Co at a June 25 press conference demanded a comprehensive congressional investigation to hold the US and complicit agencies in the reactionary government accountable. Ban Toxics and Basel Action Network showed a video of hundreds of containers of US-sourced e-waste currently piled up and being processed in Subic.

KPL denounced the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for allowing this arrangement. SBMA used Subic’s status as a “freeport zone” to declare the freeport a “Basel Convention-free zone,” violating the global pact that bans dumping hazardous waste in poor countries.

“Subic is in the Philippines,” Rep. Co said. “That people can freely burn and dump toxic e-waste outside our legal protections simply because of being in a freeport zone is unacceptable.”

KPL said this scheme demonstrates the worsening colonial ties between the US and the Marcos reactionary government. Reports also point to a bilateral agreement being drawn up to allow US waste into the country. Co warned of the major security risks. She said that if illegal wastes bypass the Bureau of Customs, they could also contain other dangerous cargo, including US military weapons.

A regime pandering to Washington openly allows using the Philippines as a garbage dump to the detriment of the people’s health and the environment. The national-democratic movement demands stopping this US abuse. The Philippines is not imperialism’s dumping ground, and the local bureaucrat-capitalist accomplices must be held accountable.