Palace to wait for results of SBMA investigation into alleged Subic waste dump

From GMANews: (Nov 11): Palace to wait for results of SBMA investigation into alleged Subic waste dump

Malacañang will be keeping a close eye on the investigation of a third-party contractor accused of dumping toxic waste into Subic Bay, but said that the provisions of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement will not apply to the contractor. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Sunday that the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority is already investigating the incident, while the Senate is poised to hold its own probe. “From what we understand, the VFA does not apply. This particular entity, Glenn Defense Marine Asia Philippines Inc., is a third party. Hindi ito nagfa-fall under sa VFA [but] from what we understand, the SBMA is already investigating this,” Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. She added that Sen. Miriam Santiago had also indicated her intent to investigate this under the oversight functions of the committees in the Senate. When asked what President Benigno Aquino III’s directive on the case is, she said, “Tingnan natin ano maging resulta ng investigation ng SBMA.” “It’s a point of concern for us but we want to wait for results of the SBMA investigation,” she added. But this early, she said, the government can prevent the dumping of such waste through “monitoring” and “enforcement.” Earlier reports quoted the DFA as saying the contractor is not covered by the VFA, which covers only US military personnel and US civilian personnel employed by the US Armed Forces or those that accompany them such as employees of the American Red Cross and United Services Organization. The VFA governs the conduct of visiting US personnel conducting military exercises in the Philippines.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/281860/news/nation/palace-to-wait-for-results-of-sbma-investigation-into-alleged-subic-waste-dump