“The SBMA (Subic Bay Management Authority) has no right to decide on whether or not imported wastes from the United States (US) can be allowed to enter the country. That authority lies with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB), which are the competent authorities in handling waste trade under the Basel Convention. It is unacceptable that a Regional Trial Court ruling has allowed the SBMA to keep violating international law with impunity.”
This was the statement of the Environmental Task Force Against Illegal E-Waste Imports to the Philippines (END E-Waste Imports) in response to news that the SBMA will accept non-hazardous e-waste from incoming shipments from the US. On July 31, 2026, END E-Waste Imports exposed an incoming shipment of 184 suspected illegal e-waste containers from the US set to arrive at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in the Philippines between August 6 and September 2026.
The exposé was based on a new Operation Can Opener (OCO) alert by waste trade watchdog Basel Action Network (BAN) that was sent on Wednesday, July 29, to the BOC and the DENR-EMB.
According to Jam Lorenzo, Deputy Executive Director of BAN Toxics and one of the conveners of the task force, accepting the shipments from the US will only add to the increasing number of Basel Convention violations of SBMA.
“SBMA’s stake in this issue is questionable as they have always been on the side of protecting the private business interests of the foreign recyclers. They have no right, and they are not credible enough to decide on matters of waste trade,” Lorenzo said.
The group has been asserting that any e-waste shipments from the US, hazardous or not, are illegal and constitute a criminal act under the Basel Convention, a global environmental treaty designed to combat toxic waste trade, to which the Philippines is a signatory and the US is not. Article 4(5) of the treaty states that “A Party shall not permit hazardous wastes or other wastes to be exported to a non-Party or to be imported from a non-Party.” Article 4 also states that “illegal traffic in hazardous wastes or other wastes is criminal.”
Meanwhile, Jim Puckett, Founder and Chief of Strategic Direction of BAN, says that under the Basel Convention’s E-Waste Amendment, a position that the Philippines agreed to and helped negotiate, all e-waste is now strictly controlled by the Basel Convention and cannot be traded with a non-Party like the US. “The SBMA is still demonstrating that they do not comprehend the Basel Convention’s E-Waste Amendment. Further, everything has to be done according to the PIC (Prior Informed Consent) procedure, and none of these shipments coming into the Philippines have been consented to by the Basel Competent Authorities, which are the BOC and the DENR-EMB.”
“The waste which SBMA wishes to import (“non-hazardous e-waste from the United States”) is illegal traffic, making the SBMA complicit in criminal activity should they import it,” he added.
The Task Force also responded to news reports that electronic waste recyclers in the Subic Bay Freeport had asked authorities to maintain the status quo and continue allowing the importation of recyclable materials. According to the reports, the recyclers argued that the Basel Convention cannot ban or restrict corporate entities on its own without a national law enacted by Congress.
The Task Force refuted this argument, stating that Republic Act No. 6969, or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990, although enacted before the Philippines ratified the Basel Convention, already provides the statutory framework for regulating hazardous wastes. The Convention’s requirements are implemented domestically through DENR Administrative Order No. 2013-22, the principal implementing regulation of RA 6969, which expressly incorporates the Convention’s provisions governing the import and export of hazardous wastes and recyclable materials.
“The SBMA, in collusion with the recyclers, has consistently ignored our existing laws, regulations, and international obligations regarding waste trade. How can we trust them to decide on what should be allowed to enter our country?” Lorenzo asked.
The Task Force is calling on the BOC and the DENR-EMB to include them, in the interest of transparency, in any inspection activities to be done for the incoming illegal shipments. They have also renewed their call on Congress to push through with House Resolution No. 1164 filed by the Makabayan Bloc on June 29, 2026, to investigate the illegal importation of e-waste in SBMA.
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About the Environmental Task Force Against Illegal E-Waste Imports to the Philippines (End E-Waste Imports)
The Environmental Task Force Against Illegal E-Waste Imports to the Philippines was launched on June 25, 2026, to raise awareness on illegal e-waste imports, mobilize community action, and ultimately stop illegal e-waste shipments into the Philippines. The task force is composed of several environmental groups including BAN Toxics, Basel Action Network (BAN), Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific, Break Free From Plastic – Asia Pacific, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, Greenpeace Philippines, Ecowaste Coalition, Center for Environmental Concerns – Philippines, Pangasinan People’s Strike for the Environment, Central Luzon Environmental Action Network, and Kabataan Partylist.
https://bantoxics.org/2026/06/25/envi-groups-stop-us-e-waste-shipments-to-the-philippines/
Media Contacts:
Jam Lorenzo
Deputy Executive Director
BAN Toxics email: jlorenzo@bantoxics.org s.org
Thony Dizon
Advocacy Officer
BAN Toxics
Mobile #: 09178322616
Email: tdizon@bantoxics.org
