Customs drive leads to Canadian trash Conviction
SIXTY-NINE containers of Canadian waste were shipped to the Philippines in 2013-2014, triggering a years-long diplomatic dispute.
Photograph courtesy of Darryl Dyck/POOL/Agence france-presse
The Bureau of Customs’ (BoC) 2013 operation against the illegal shipment of Canadian trash has led to the conviction of an importer for bringing prohibited plastic waste into the country, records released recently showed.
In a decision dated 26 August 2026, the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 1 convicted the owner of Chronic Plastics of violating Republic Act 6969, or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990.
The case stemmed from suspicious shipments from Vancouver, Canada, that arrived in the Philippines in 2013. Then-Bureau of Customs Enforcement Group Deputy Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno issued alert orders to inspect and investigate the shipments.
During an inspection conducted by the BoC in cooperation with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, authorities found that the shipments, declared as plastic scraps, contained mixed, unsorted or heterogeneous plastic materials that did not match the descriptions in the shipping documents.
The findings prompted a deeper investigation and the filing of criminal charges. Documents and testimonies from BoC officials and personnel on intelligence operations, alert orders, cargo examinations and shipment processing formed part of the prosecution’s evidence.
In Criminal Case 14-311191, the court found the importer guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Section 13(d) of RA 6969. He was sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 12 years and one day to 20 years and ordered to pay a P1 million fine.