Garbage crisis on Philippines - Canada relations

These are testing times for the Philippines and Canada as the latter is not acting on the dumping of garbage in the country. The presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said seventy years of diplomatic relations between the two countries will be put to nought if Canada will not act with dispatch and finality the resolution of this undiplomatic episode.

The Canadian embassy in the Philippines in a statement said Ottawa was working for a timely resolution on the issue. However, the Philippines described this response as 'vague' in relation to the earlier remarks of President Rodrigo Duterte. The President warned that he would travel to Canada to dump their trash back. Panelo said they are disappointed with Canada's response and stressed that the position of the Philippine government on Canada's disposal of waste in the country is non-negotiable. "It cannot dilly dally on getting them back. It must retrieve them pronto or we throw them back to its shores."