DENR seeks ‘hold’ order on Dane

The environment department has asked the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to issue a hold departure order against a Danish national who is allegedly involved in the illegal importation of banned chemical substances into the country.

In a letter, the DENR requested the BI to stop Alfred Musper, general manager of EA Chemicals Phils., Inc., from leaving the Philippines.

This developed after the DENR recovered about 30,000 kilograms of Genetron 12 Refrigerants or choloroflurocarbon-12 (CFC-12) from the company’s All Transport Network Warehouse in Parañaque City last week.

The confiscated banned chemical substances were valued at P2.6 million.

The surprise inspection was led by DENR Secretary Heherson Alvarez III with the assistance of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commission Antonio Bernardo.

The BOC issues a warrant of seizure and detention against EAC Chemicals on Oct. 16 while the DENR consequently issued a Notice of Violation against the company on Oct. 24.

"Importing CFC-12 without the requested clearance is a violation of the country’s environmental laws and has negative implications on the country’s commitment to the Montreal Protocol. Considering that the case is still under investigation, may we request that BI issue a hold departure order to Mr. Musper until such time that the case is resolved by the proper authorities," Alvarez said in the letter.

According to the DENR, the EAC Chemicals was only allowed to import non-ODS alternative chemicals such as Genetron 404a, R404a, HFC-125, HFC-134a and HFC-143a, and not CFCs, as provided by the Certification of Registration issues to the firm by the department.

At the same time, the DENR attached in its letter to the BI records from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), showing that most of the stockholders of the chemical company are foreigners.

Alvarez said that the stockholders of the firm are EAC Chemicals Singapore; Danish nationals Claus Helby Petersen, Anders Normann, Jan Dam Padersen and Michael Petersen; and Filipinos Ala Jose A. Reyes and Antonio Agcaoili.

CFCs are ozone-depleting substances (ODS) used mainly as cooling agents in refrigerators and air conditioners. It is banned in most countries and phased-out in some countries, including the Philippines. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer called for the worldwide total ban on CFCs by 2010.

"The partnership of DENR with the BOC is to ensure the country’s compliance to its commitments to the Montreal Protocol and to strengthen the monitoring of the entry of ODS into the country," Alvarez said. — Katherine Adraneda