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U.S. REFUSES TO BUDGE ON CLEAN-UP OF FORMER BASES

Agence France Presse

MANILA, Philippines, 23 July 2000 -- The Philippines and the US failed to reach agreement on a joint statement on environmental cooperation, following a refusal by Washington to clean up hazardous wastes allegedly left at two former American bases, officials said Sunday. The statement was to have been signed by President Joseph Estrada and US leader Bill Clinton during Estrada's 10-day visit to the US beginning Monday, Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said. But Siazon said US officials refused to include the former military bases in the draft text.

Discussions on the draft got "stuck" when Manila raised the clean-up issue, Siazon said, adding that the statement would now simply be a "rhetoric" that both countries intend to cooperate on environment concerns, but without any specific commitments. Philippine environment officials earlier confirmed the presence of hazardous wastes, including the cancer-causing asbestos, at the former Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base north of Manila.

Environmental officials as well as several legislators urged Estrada to ask Washington for assistance in cleaning up the wastes, which was to have been included in the draft agreement, Siazon said. Last week, a group representing former residents at the bases formally asked the US through its embassy here for a 102 billion dollar compensation for alleged victims of toxic contamination. The People's Task Force for Bases Cleanup said about 300 residents at the bases had either died or are suffering from various illnesses that could be traced to contamination. The group has threatened to file a class action suit against both the US and Philippines governments. The Philippines is being accused of gross negligence for having allowed Washington to abandon the bases early this decade without proper clean-up. Estrada is to leave Monday for an official visit to the US to boost bilateral ties.

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