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By Alexander Villafania INQUIRER.net QUEZON CITY, Philippines – House Representative Edcel Lagman of Albay and Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel launched a petition to cancel the P503.65 million loan for 26 medical waste incinerators used by government-run hospitals. The petition aims to cancel the payment of the remaining P100 million for the medical waste incinerator project, which started in 1996. The loan from the Austrian government, through Bank Austria, is expected to be paid by September 2014. Eco Waste Coalition, Freedom from Debt Coalition and Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia initiated this parliamentarian petition. Lagman and Baraquel said the petition will gather support from lawmakers from both the House and the Senate and will be presented to the Austrian government. However, a timetable has not been set. Baraquel noted that members of the Congress have been supporting a provision suspending interest payments of fraudulent or wasteful loans that would have been included in the 2008 national budget. Baraquel stressed that the Austrian medical waste incinerator project is among the loans that are fradulent and wasteful. Menawhile, Lagman said he and Baraquel will campaign very hard to have members of the House sign the parliamentarian's petition. Health Care Without Harm-Southeas Asia Coordinator Mercy Ferrer claimed that many of the incinerators delivered to the Philippines under the project are not working properly or were sold as scrap. Ferrer stressed that the Austrian medical incinerator models used by Philippine hospitals are banned as they have failed tests for carbon monoxide emissions. Ferrer stressed that the Philippines is still paying for equipment that are obsolete, which might pose health hazards.