Demonstrators hold placards while lying down on the road during a protest at the Canadian embassy in the Philippines. Photograph: Mark R Cristino/EPA

As row deepens, the Philippines threatens to rubbish back dump in Canadian waters

Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines has ordered to send 69 containers of garbage back to Canada by a private shipping company. The presidential spokesman, Salvador Panelo said that the Philippines must not be treated like trash by other foreign nation.

The waste was exported to the Philippines between 2013 and 2014, it was a commercial transaction done without the government notice.
Canada had agreed to take the rubbish back and the two countries were in the process of arranging the transfer. However, Canada seems like not taking this issue nor about the Philippines seriously. The Filipino people are feeling insulted by the action that has been done by Canada, treating the Philippines as a dump site, Panelo said.

According to a government statement on Wednesday, Canada had hired a company, Bollore Logistics Canada, to bring back the trash as soon as possible. The removal will be done by the end of June. Since 2016, the Philippines has made numbers of diplomatic protests to Canada for the garbage to be returned. It was filled with nappies, newspaper and water bottles.

The strain between the two countries is not only caused by this issue. Last year, Duterted asked the military to cancel a deal to buy 16 helicopters from Canada after Ottawa expressed concern that they used to fight rebels.