Business owner faces up to 20 years in prison over Canada waste importation

This file photo shows one of the 69 containers of waste that were returned to Canada from the Philippines at Global Container Terminals after being offloaded from the Anna Maersk container ship, in Delta, south of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada June 29, 2019. Darryl Dyck/Pool via REUTERS

A Manila court has sentenced a business owner to up to 20 years in prison for illegally importing hazardous waste materials from Canada, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

In a statement, the DOJ said the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) found the business owner guilty of aiding and facilitating the importation of hazardous waste in 10 container vans at the Port of Manila in June 2013.

The court sentenced him to 12 years and one day to 20 years in prison and imposed a P1-million fine, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency.

According to the DOJ, the shipment was initially declared as compressed plastic scrap.

However, it contained mixed, unsorted and heterogeneous plastic materials that allegedly entered the country without the required clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Meanwhile, the Manila RTC acquitted two customs brokers after the prosecution failed to establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.—MCG, GMA News

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