Senate committee wants US Navy contractor charged

MANILA, Philippines - A Senate committee recommended yesterday the filing of civil and administrative charges against the US Navy contractor  Glenn Defense Marine Asia, which was accused of dumping waste at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

The Senate committee on foreign relations led by Sen. Loren Legarda said the panel’s inquiry showed that Glenn Defense violated Philippine laws when it dumped sewage waste in seawaters covered by the country’s exclusive economic zone on Oct. 15, 2012.

The Senate investigation also showed that the dumping of sewage wastes it collected from US ships was an established practice of Glenn Defense over the past years.

“We are talking here of millions of liters of sewage wastes disposed at sea by Glenn Defense over a period of time, without the requisite permits from the government. They do not even have the necessary accreditation as waste collectors from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and SBMA,” Legarda said.

“This incident and the unfortunate grounding of a US minesweeper in Tubbataha Reef are two different incidents, grounded on the same issue,” Legarda said, referring to the need to enforce the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Legarda called for better coordinative and implementing arrangements to ensure, “respect for Philippine laws, state policies... and strict compliance with rules and regulations by our treaty partner and all entities performing services outside of the VFA.

“Our government agencies need to understand that in any agreement or treaty, national interest is first and second to none,” she said.

Legarda said Glenn Defense is not covered by the VFA since it is not operating vessels for the United States military and its employees are not US personnel as defined in the VFA.

The Senate panel asked the DENR, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct a full review and investigation to identify other individuals or entities that may have violated the country’s marine protection laws.

The committee also recommended to the Office of the President a review of the coordinative mechanisms of the VFA Commission to ensure that the country’s laws, rules and regulations are faithfully complied with.