Business owner convicted over 2013 shipment of Canadian waste to PH

MANILA — The owner of Chronic Plastics, which facilitated the transfer of container vans with hazardous waste from Canada, was found guilty of violating Republic Act No. 6969 or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990 by the Manila Regional Trial Court.

In the decision of the court penned by Acting Presiding Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar and promulgated on August 26, 2026, the owner was sentenced to 12 to 20 years of imprisonment and was ordered to pay a ₱1 million fine.

The DOJ noted that the shipment was initially declared as compressed plastic scrap but was found to contain mixed, unsorted and heterogeneous plastic materials and allegedly entered the country without the requisite clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“During the proceedings, evidence showed discrepancies between the shipment’s declared contents and the materials discovered during inspection,” the DOJ said in a statement.

The 10 container vans of Chronic Plastics arrived at the Port of Manila on June 23, 2013.

In 2019, then President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to “declare war” against the Canadian government.

“Real justice for all means not only upholding the rights of every person, but includes protecting our environment by holding accountable those who exploit or abuse it for selfish gains,” DOJ Secretary Fredderick Vida said.

Vida also commended Assistant State Prosecutor Christine Fatima Estepa for the successful prosecution of the case.

Two customs brokers were however acquitted because their involvement was limited to facilitating the release of the shipments, with insufficient proof that they knew of or participated in the loading of the prohibited waste materials.