It’s May 15 and Canada trash still stinks in Manila

MANILA, Philippines – Malacanang is willing to accept a few weeks’ delays in the return to Canada of trash shipments which arrived in the country six years ago, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Wednesday.

President Duterte earlier gave the Canadian government until Wednesday, May 15 to retrieve the shipment.

“The [Department of Foreign Affairs] said there might be a slight delay because of certain documents. If it’s just a slight delay, the President is a reasonable man. What’s important is they would take back their waste,” Panelo told reporters when asked about the deadline.

Authorities were still in the process of documenting the trash shipments, he said.

As to how long the “slight delay” is, he said a reasonable delay would be one to three weeks.

“What’s important is that they would take it back, unlike in the past,” he said.

He also said Canada was expected to shoulder the cost of shipment and storage fees.

Duterte earlier threatened to wage war against Canada if it would not haul back the trash shipment that had been brought to the Philippines in 2013 and 2014.

He threatened to ship the trash back to Canada and dump the same on its beaches.

The shipment was declared as recyclable plastics when shipped to the Philippines but contained household wastes, in violation of the Toxic Substances and Hazardous Wastes Control Act of 1990.

After the President’s rant, the Canadian embassy said it was committed to working with the Philippines to resolve the issue.  (Editor: Gilbert S. Gaviola) (Re-edit: Abe Cerojano)