DILG urged to arrest silver cleaner makers, vendors

MANILA, Philippines - Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas, along with other local government and police officials, should go after the producers and vendors of deadly cyanide-laced silver jewelry cleaning products, an environment watchdog said yesterday.

Members of the EcoWaste Coalition earlier went to Binondo, Manila to condole with the family of a 15-year-old mother of a two-month-old baby boy who took her own life last Saturday by drinking the solution.

“The number of cyanide poisoning deaths due to intentional and unintentional consumption of silver jewelry cleaner continues to climb,” said Thony Dizon, Coordinator of the the group’s Project Protect.

From January to May this year alone, the group monitored nine reported suicides, including three teenage girls, from the cities of Manila, Navotas and Pasay.

The Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) released in 2010 a joint advisory banning the manufacture and sale of silver jewelry cleaners containing cyanide and other toxic substances.

“The DOH-DENR advisory banning silver jewelry cleaner with cyanide is obviously inadequate in preventing such tragic deaths. Now more than ever, we need a stronger policy involving other agencies such as the DILG and one that has teeth to break the nasty supply chain and put the culprits behind bars,” Dizon said.

The group said newly elected city and municipal councilors should waste no time in drafting and filing ordinances that will impose severe fines and penalties on violators of the ban on toxic silver jewelry cleaner.