The continued generation of E-waste is not only confined within the geographical boundary
of the country. External E-waste generation through importation of secondhand electronics
and electronic scraps has contributed significantly to the entire volume of E-waste generated.
While the country is a major electronic exporter, it is also importing second-hand electronics
which may be approaching their end-of-life or in the form of waste for further processing.
Thus, the issue of domestic E-waste generation is further aggregated by the continued influx
of secondhand electronics and electronic waste coming both from developed and developing
countries (see also Kojima, 2005, Terazono (2008), JICA (2007). The country is a party to
Basel Convention yet there seems to be contradiction in the implementation of the Basel
Convention and the bilateral trade agreements between the Philippines and other developed
countries (e.g. US-Philippines Free Trade Agreement and Japan-Philippines Economic
Partnership Agreements) that allow continued trading of second-hand electronics and waste
products. The geographical situation of the Philippines, being and archipelago and isolated
from the rest of mainland Asia, presents a given condition for the country to be self-sufficient
both in terms of resource utilization and waste disposal. The Philippines has the geographical
advantage that could easily control the transboundary movement of E-waste and the
importation of second-hand electronics. Yet, the management of E-waste and the issue of
trading and importation of second-hand electronics remains a complex matter that touches the
economic, social and political spectrum.