Twenty of the 118 overstaying refrigerated containers carrying agricultural products here have been condemned, while five more are scheduled for pullout this week, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said on Thursday.
According to the BOC, condemnation proceedings are underway to allow the disposal of the frozen cargo in accordance with existing regulations.
The remaining overstaying containers are still undergoing the required legal and administrative procedures before they can be removed.
The 118 refrigerated containers have been the subject of complaints from All Hands Beach Resort, which earlier filed a lawsuit against the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), alleging that foul odors from the cargo disrupted resort operations, drove away guests and caused financial losses.
The latest development came after personnel at the resort again reported a foul-smelling, floating substance near the shoreline, prompting the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the SBMA to conduct separate inspections.
Last week, the PCG’s Marine Environmental Protection Unit identified leachate as the pollutant that repeatedly surfaced off the resort’s shoreline and said the discharge allegedly originated from the SBITC drainage system.
The PCG, also said the leachate was allegedly coming from the refrigerated containers under BOC custody, although it emphasized that its conclusions remain subject to further verification and validation.
The SBMA Ecology Center has directed interim mitigation measures, including preventing further wastewater discharge, installing filtration systems at the drainage outlet, deploying floating containment barriers and recovering the floating scum for proper disposal.
The SBMA is also awaiting laboratory results, expected to be released next week, from seawater samples to determine the extent and nature of the contamination.