US can't address toxic waste

By Aurea Calica

The United States government has officially informed the Philippines that it could not address the issue on alleged toxic waste contamination at its former military bases at Clark Field, Pampanga and Subic, Zambales, Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr. said yesterday.

Instead, Siazon said US State Secretary Madeleine Albright, in a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs early this week, gave assurance that the US government would support the creation of a team that would deal with general environmental issues.

According to Siazon, Albright said the US government, through its ambassador here, would be ready to extend assistance on the country's environmental concerns.

But Albright, Siazon said, clarified that such help would not in any way be related to the clean-up of alleged toxic wastes left by American forces at Clark and Subic.

Albright added that under the Philippine-US military bases agreement, the US government was in no obligation to undertake such toxic waste clean-up.

Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Stanley Roth said the "key" to resolving the toxic waste issue "is to talk about it not as a bases issue, not as legal issue, but rather as a policy concern that relates to the environment."

"After all, protecting the environment is a very high priority of my government," said Roth in a press briefing yesterday.

Roth said the US government has fully lived up to its obligations in agreements with the Philippines.

A DFA official said the US government cannot be expected to take responsibility for the alleged presence of toxic wastes since such a move would open it to complaints from other countries which similarly hosted American military bases and which could demand compensation for health and environmental problems.

Last January, President Estrada signed Executive Order No. 202 creating a task force that will seek cooperation with the US government and the private sector in the clean-up of toxic wastes.