Introduction

When Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi signed the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) in September 2006, little did civil society and the general public know that she would, in essence, be signing a treaty legalizing and facilitating the importation of hazardous wastes into the country. Indeed, in a move that has been widely criticized by various sectors of the civil society, Pres. Macapagal-Arroyo has been aggressively pushing the country’s lawmakers to ratify the said treaty in spite of the worrisome presence of the “toxic” provisions and the lack of democratic consultations with affected stakeholders, particularly the marginalized sectors.

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