Palace: PHL won't go to war with Canada over garbage


By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News
Malacañang on Monday said the Philippines would not resort to armed conflict with Canada over the tons of waste that were shipped to the country six years ago.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte's threat last week to declare war with Canada over the trash was just a figure of speech.
"That was an expression of outrage couched in a very strong term," Panelo said at a news conference, as the government took Canada to task for its failure to remove the illegally imported trash which were left to rot in ports.
Asked if Manila will declare war with Ottawa over garbage, Panelo said: "Wala. Ibabalik [lang]. Itapon natin sa kanila."
Panelo also said the Philippines will not sever diplomatic ties with Canada over the issue even after he warned last week that the countries' 70 years of bilateral relations "will be put to naught" if Ottawa will not act with "dispatch and finality."
"Hindi ko sinasabi na mapuputol. I said disruptive, magiging irritant 'yon [on the relations with Canada]," he said.
The Canadian Embassy in Manila said on April 23 that a joint technical working group, consisting of officials from both countries, is “examining the full spectrum of issues related to the removal of the waste with a view to a timely resolution.” Canada did not say when it will take back the trash.
Canada's response did not sit well with the Palace.
"Our stand against its making our country a garbage bin of their waste is non-negotiable. It cannot dilly dally on it getting them back. It must retrieve them pronto or we throw them back to its shores," Panelo said in a statement on April 24.
Echoing the President's instructions, Panelo said Canada has one week to retrieve its trash or else the Philippines will send them back.
Duterte on Sunday even threatened to dump Canada's trash on Canadian beaches should the North American country fail to comply with his demand. 
Manila had previously conveyed its objection to the shipment to the Canadian government through diplomatic notes. Canada insisted it was not backed by its government and that it was a private transaction.
In 2016, Canada amended its regulations around hazardous waste shipments to prevent such incidents from happening again. —KBK, GMA News
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