Duterte threatens to dump garbage back to Canada, embassy

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine president has threatened to ship truckloads of garbage back to Canada and dump some of it at Canada’s embassy in Manila if Canadian officials don’t take back the waste that Filipino officials say was illegally transported to the country years ago.

President Rodrigo Duterte said late Tuesday: “I want a boat prepared. I’ll give a warning to Canada maybe next week that they better pull that thing out or I will set sail to Canada and dump their garbage there.”

More than 100 containers of household trash, including plastic bottles and bags, newspapers and used adult diapers, were shipped in batches from Canada to the Philippines from 2013 to 2014. Officials say the shipments of waste were misdeclared by a private firm as recyclable plastic scraps.

Duterte’s comments come just a day after he said he would “declare war” and ship the containers back himself if Canada did not take back the tonnes of waste within the week.

Canada has been trying for nearly six years to convince the Philippines to dispose of the garbage there even though a Filipino court ordered the trash returned to Canada in 2016.

Last week a British Columbia lawyer said in a legal brief that Canada is in violation of the international Basel Convention, which forbids developed nations from sending their toxic or hazardous waste to developing nations without informed consent.

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