Ramos urged to raise waste issue

Ramos urged to raise waste issue

CLARK FIELD, Philippines (AFP): Local Philippine officials yesterday urged President Fidel Ramos to ask U.S. President Bill Clinton for U.S. help in cleaning up toxic waste in its former military bases here.

The council of Angeles city, which covers this former U.S. air force base, passed a resolution calling on Ramos to raise the issue with Clinton during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Nov. 25.

City councillors said Ramos should "reiterate the responsibility both morally and financially of the American government in cleaning up toxic wastes from two former U.S. military bases."

Several groups have accused the United States of failing to clean up toxic waste in their former bases -- a claim denied by U.S. officials. Until 1992, Washington maintained the strategic Clark Air Base and the nearby Subic Bay Naval Station north of Manila.