Garbage contract another plunder case in the offing

Last Wednesday, the head of the Committee on Ecology conducted a forum and invited Jancom, NGO’s and other concerned parties to throw light on a highly controversial contract that has been upheld by the Supreme Court. What came to light are matters that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo should investigate before taking any action on the contract.

First of all, it turned out that there are two Jancoms. One is Jancom (Australia) represented by Jay Alparslan who faxed the House of Representatives to say that they are the rightful claimants of the contract. The other is Jancom Philippines who was represented in that forum by a certain Mr. Banawis, who claimed that they are the authentic Jancom. Suffice it to say, the forum ended without a clarification of the issue.

Dr. Metodio Palaypay of the Recycling Movement of the Philippines and the Concerned Citizens Against Pollution (COCAP) informed all present that he was one of those who reviewed the Jancom contract way back in 1997 and that he found it to be the "most onerous contract this country has ever seen" morally, economically and environmentally. DENR Regional Director Albert Magalang testified that they had previously turned down Jancom’s offer because Jancom had failed to come up with several conditions specified in the contract. The founder of COCAP, Ms. Ester Tagle likened the Jancom contract to the Westinghouse contract that was signed by former Pres. Marcos. The contract, she said, was so disadvantageous to the government that it could not be implemented. But because Marcos signed it, today’s taxpayers continue to pay P15 million every single day to service that debt. She concluded by saying that the Westinghouse scam pales in comparison to what will happen if the Jancom contract is approved.

Environmentalists were represented in that forum by Mother Earth President Sonia Mendoza, a chemist, who declared that a state-of-the-art incinerator would be safe by world standards and would cost US$115 a ton. The Jancom price of $59 plus hidden costs cannot meet the safety standards. This is not to mention the fact that our DENR does not have the means to monitor the ensuing emissions, which means that there will be no way of correcting or penalizing Jancom if they do not comply with the conditions of the contract.

To sum it up, the expert opinions expressed in the forum is that the Supreme Court approval of the Jancom contract will, if implemented, negate both the Clean Air Act and the Solid Management Act, which took 10 years to formulate.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has assigned two governmental bodies to review the contract. But the buck will stop in Malacañang. We hope she will be guided by the opinion of experts and not political or business advisers.