Filipinos
living in and around the former United States air base, Clark, in Angeles City
and Mabalacat, Pampanga are inflicted with puzzling yet life-threatening
ailments. Their lives are threatened by toxic wastes left behind by the US when
it abandoned the base 10 years ago. Yet Philippine authorities are not
listening.
By ZELDA SORIANO
For
many decades, American military bases in the Philippines served the United
States’ interventionist wars in the Asia-Pacific. Among others, the bases –
which for nearly a century became the badge of American power in the region –
were useful as staging points for American air attacks and troop deployment in
the Korean and Indochina wars and, more contemporarily, in the 1991 Gulf War. To
the Pentagon, the military bases in the Philippines – along with several other
facilities in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and other points – served as the
US’ first line of defense in the Cold War as they also ensured America’s
broad security interests in the Asia Pacific and as far as the Persian Gulf.
The
Americans were forced to abandon their bases following the Philippine Senate’s
historic rejection in 1991 of a proposed treaty that would have extended their
stay for several more years. That same year Mt. Pinatubo volcano woke up after
several centuries of slumber sending fleets of warplanes and nuclear warships
scurrying out of the country. Tens of thousands of American air and naval forces
left the following year.
But
not without leaving a toxic legacy.
Thousands
of families at the Americans’ former Clark Airbase in Angeles City and
Mabalacat, Pampanga which is about 100 km north of Manila, particularly believe
that the Americans have not actually left and are wreaking havoc on their
communities albeit in a new form: toxic contamination.
At
the former Clark Airbase Command (CABCOM) in nearby Mabalacat town, at least a
hundred people – many of them children – have died of leukemia, lung and
other ailments owing to exposure to toxic wastes. At least 500 others living in
the same community are awaiting their final reckoning. At Madapdap, 45 former
CABCOM residents were also found ill with various types of cancer, kidney
disorder, heart ailment, skin diseases and reproductive problems. In short, more
lives will be laid to waste there and in nearby towns unless immediate action is
done to clean up the former airforce base – for that matter, other former
military facilities throughout the country.
CABCOM
CABCOM
in Mabalacat, Pampanga is part of the sub-zone of a sprawling landscape of
31,824 hectares of reverted US base lands that stretch from Angeles to the
northern province of Tarlac. This vast estate is now part of the Clark Special
Economic Zone (CSEZ).
CABCOM
became a temporary sanctuary for some 35,000 Pampanga folks after Mt. Pinatubo
erupted. Until lately, 100 families still live in the resettlement area – a
wide, grassy plain, with portions planted with rice, bananas, cassava and
vegetables. If not for the relics of military barracks, depots and other
buildings, CABCOM could be a rustic beauty.
Century-old
acacia trees line the otherwise dusty road that leads to worn-out airforce
barracks and the commissary. On the east are two broken-down buildings, ruins of
what used to be office quarters of American servicemen assigned to the
command’s motor pool. Across the street are some remains of makeshift huts
which temporarily sheltered refugees. Near the barracks is a whitewashed chapel.
In
many corners are artesian wells. Since their evacuation in 1991, residents have
observed that the water coming from the wells smelt and tasted bad. But for lack
of other sources of water, residents still used some of the artesian wells for
drinking, cooking, bathing and laundry.
In
1999, couple Alex and Herondina Valencia thought something strange was happening
to their 6-year-old Crizel Jane – she was becoming pale and weak. They
suspected a simple cold with coughs. A few days later, dark spots resembling
mosquito bites appeared in some parts of her body. And soon, the spots grew
bigger and spread throughout the girl’s frail and almost reed-thin body.
The
couple had Crizel undergo a series of blood and bone marrow tests. By April, she
had been diagnosed with acute leukemia or cancer of the blood which remains
incurable by modern Philippine medicine. Donations from concerned groups and
individuals afforded the girl costly cancer treatments including chemotherapy.
But it was too late. Before Christmas that year, Crizel died.
Crizel
was one of about 500 residents inside the former airforce base who, in a 1998
survey conducted by volunteer doctors, were found sick of various ailments.
Their diseases suggested exposure to and contamination from a toxic environment,
the doctors said.
Before
her, 76 CABCOM residents had died. Their deaths were caused by various ailments
ranging from cancer, leukemia, sudden unexplained death, heart failure, kidney
disorder, lung problem, diabetes as well as testes enlargement, infection,
internal obstruction and nervous breakdown. After Crizel’s demise, at least 25
more have died mostly due to kidney disorder and cancer.
The
toll was unusual, says community leader Mandy Rivera. He recalls that before
they resettled at CABCOM the residents contracted only common illnesses such as
colds and flu.
‘Superfund proportions’
The
presence of toxic wastes in CABCOM and in other parts of the US airforce base is
a given fact. And this was confirmed by several expert environmental and medical
studies done in CABCOM and other former US military sites since 1992.
As
early as 1992, former Clark officials themselves confirmed the presence of toxic
wastes in the military base. In a report submitted to US Sen. Daniel K. Inouye
and Sen. Ted Stevens of the subcommittee on defense, the US Senate committee on
appropriations as well as to the secretaries of state and defense, the National
Security and International Affairs Division of the US General Accounting Office
found “contaminated sites, such as firefighting training facilities and
underground storage tanks.” The report warned however that the cost of
bringing all contaminated sites in compliance with US environmental standards
could approach “superfund proportions.” It concluded that the United States
has “no liability for this damage,” adding that the Philippine Senate’s
rejection of the proposed agreement extending the bases’ operation “made the
issue of increased US environmental liability a moot point.”
In
Aug. 1994, concerned professionals Paul Bloom, Ph.D., Alex Carlos, M.S., Jorge
Emmanuel, Ph.D. and Theodore Schettler, M.D. released a report on the
environmental and health impact of known and potentially-contaminated sites at
the former US military bases. This was followed a few months later by a
Department of Health (DOH) report revealing that at least five of 32 artesian
wells tested positive for oil and grease.
Two
years later, a comprehensive health survey among 761 women in 13 communities
surrounding Clark showed high rates of urinary tract infection and nervous
system disorders. The highest rate was found in CABCOM and nearby barangays
(villages) Margot, Macapagal, Sapang Bato, Poblacion and San Joaquin. The
survey, conducted by Filipino nurses, epidemiologist Dr. Rosalie Bertell, the
Canadian Institute for the Concern of Public Health and the NGO Task Force for
Bases Clean-Up, also found that all kidney and unitary tract infections were
associated with poor water quality; respiratory problems were significantly
related to corrosive drinking water; problems related to the nervous system were
linked to water with an unusual taste and smell; and kidney problems were
associated with dust.
The
Bertell study was confirmed in 1999 by the Philippine government’s Commission
on Human Rights (CHR) in a spot investigation it made among CABCOM residents.
The CHR inquiry saw a direct relationship between health problems and the water
contamination by heavy metals. By that time, about 13 CABCOM children alone
showed signs of birth defects and neurological disorder.
The
Clark Development Corporation (CDC), on the other hand, confirmed in 1997 the
toxic waste contamination in Clark based on the Weston International
Environmental Baseline Study which it commissioned. The study identified eight
sites showing toxic contamination from oil and petroleum lubricants, pesticides,
PCB, lead and other deadly chemicals. The Weston report also said that the
contaminants were found in places where there are “aviation and motor pool
areas.” CABCOM is a former motor pool.
In
a recent survey among CABCOM residents, the DOH’s Non-Communicable Disease
Control Service also discovered that the common physical complaints among adults
were easy fatigability, dizziness, blurring of vision and loose teeth, among
others. Among children, common complaints included toothache, loose teeth, cough
and ear discharge. The environmental sampling showed the presence of nitrate,
lead and mercury while lahar samples taken showed nitrate and lead levels.
The
DOH findings attributed dental caries and complaints of loose and aching teeth
to lead contamination in water. Lead has renal-endocrine effect leading to
disturbed calcium metabolism as manifested in impaired tooth growth. Mercury or
lead was also blamed for the lesions found in at least six adults.
The
same survey also feared that four pregnant women who showed high blood lead
levels could suffer induced abortion or low birth weight of their infants. Lead
exposure was also manifested in fatigability, dizziness and increased urination
among some subjects.
Beyond CABCOM
Toxic
waste hazards threaten not only the CABCOM resettlement area and its immediate
environs but also farther down to many towns and cities of Pampanga, a group of
scientists from Agham and this writer found out recently. Medical records at the
Mabalacat District Hospital showed abortion as third among the top 10 reasons
for hospitalization of townfolk. The hospital’s medical records staff admitted
that indeed the high number of natural abortion cases in the town is alarming.
“We’re indeed wondering why natural abortion is always in the top 10 (of
complaints) among hospital patients in this town,” the staff said.
Ecologist
Delilah Padilla, who is also an Agham official, confirms that constant exposure
to lead and nitrate can disturb the reproductive systems of women. She cites a
laboratory test using rats and other animals that proved lead as abortive and
nitrate as behind fetal deformities.
Ana
Rivera of the DOH-Metro Manila recently reported some pregnant women living in
CABCOM as being found positive for mercury contamination. The department had
earmarked them for detoxification.
Water,
explains University of the Philippines chemist Titus Quibuyen, is the most
possible transport agent of toxic chemicals. Quibuyen, who heads the
university’s chemistry department, warns that after several decades of Clark
military activities, the toxic waste contamination must have leaked and spilled
to many parts of the base and even outside Clark itself.
Quibuyen
disputed the CDC claim that the toxic problem has been “contained” within
Clark. He said in a phone interview: “It need not take 15 to 20 years for the
toxic wastes to leak and spill and manifest their impact to the environment and
human health.” The poison, he said, can be carried readily and all the time,
by wind, water run-off or underground water mobility and also due to soil
porosity.
Trixie
Concepcion, another Agham official, says that topography can influence the
extent of toxic contamination. Clark airbase’s ground level is higher compared
to other communities.
A
separate research by the Task Force for Bases Clean-Up confirms Concepcion’s
theory: from their vantage point, surrounding communities whose average
elevation is 100 feet lower literally look up to the former Clark airbase. At
least two big rivers, the Quitangil and Sacobia and several creeks stream down
from the base toward several towns. Porous soil and volcanic ash from Mt.
Pinatubo provide little resistance to contamitants. Thus as toxins seep into the
groundwater, geography and gravity eventually push the water downwards the towns
and their aquifers.
The
government-commissioned Weston study revealed that at Macapagal, Margot, Sapang
Bato and other villages the presence of dieldrin, heptachlor, petroleum
hydrocarbon, polychlorinated byphenyls and other toxic chemicals exceeded the
safe standards. High levels of aldrin, dieldrin, lindane and hexachlorobenzene
were also discovered in the communities of San Joaquin and Poblacion.
Government stand
Despite
the scientific studies and preponderance of evidence showing the probable link
between the presence of toxic wastes at Clark and the high incidence of deaths
and life-threatening ailments in many communities, the response shown so far by
Philippine authorities in addressing the issue is far from laudable. In the
first place, the bureaucrats are torn between supporting the increasing clamor
for the US government to pay the costs of the toxic legacy it left in its former
military bases in the country and safeguarding the country’s “special
relations” with Washington.
One
thing is certain, though: the Philippine government simply lacks the political
will to assert a legitimate claim with the US and continues to harbor seemingly
unfounded fears that doing so would provoke hostility with Mother America.
Gerry
Sańez, head of the environment department’s Philippine Task Force on
Hazardous Wastes (PTFHW), once said that the issue of toxic contamination and
demand for the US government to commit itself to clean up its former bases,
“should be handled cautiously.” “We also need to protect our diplomatic
relations with the US government,” he said.
On
the other hand, CDC environment officer Roy Magat dismissed the toxic claims of
NGOs as “exaggerated.” NGOs tend to blow up every issue as a ploy for
securing more foreign funds, he said.
In
August last year, the Philippine Task Force on the Bases Clean-Up (PTFBC)
through the Lacson law office and on behalf of the toxic victims filed a class
suit with the regional trial courts (RTCs) of San Fernando, Pampanga and
Olongapo City, Zambales (site of the former US Subic naval base). The victims
demanded $102 billion and at least $1 billion in compensation from the US and
Philippine governments, respectively.
Instead
of supporting his beleaguered compatriots, however, then Philippine Foreign
Secretary Domingo Siazon, Jr. all the more upheld the American position. Siazon
warned the complainants that “they would have a hard time proving their
case.” More importantly, he said, Philippine courts have no jurisdiction to
compel a sovereign state like the US to answer the charges.
Apparently,
Siazon, who is now the Philippine ambassador to Tokyo, did not want to hurt
American sensibilities as expressed six months earlier by then US State
Secretary Madeleine Albright. In a letter to Siazon, Albright acknowledged
“the serious public health and environmental problems" raised. She
disagreed however that the US was legally responsible.
Echoing
Albright’s concerns, Gary Vest, the US defense department spokesman on
environmental affairs, insisted that his government was not liable for the toxic
wastes whether under American or international law and that no assistance will
be extended for the bases’ clean-up.
There
thus appears to be a congruence of positions between Philippine and American top
officials on the issue – to continuously deny Filipino victims of their right
to justice and indemnification arising from the criminal neglect of the US
government. Already, at least four Filipinos – three of them children – have
died during war exercises between the two countries held under the US-Philippine
Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). (VFA was ratified by the Philippine Senate in
May 1999.) Two other Filipinos were mauled by American soldiers. All cases have
been considered closed with the Philippine government lifting no finger in
hauling the American culprits to a Philippine court to answer for their crimes.
All
these prove the assertion of patriotic organizations that 55 years after the
Philippines “won” its independence from the US, the country remains wrapped
in neocolonial relations with its former colonizer. And this reality is more
particularly glaring among the people living in and around Clark. #