Duterte threatens war vs. Canada for dumping trash in PH

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 23) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday threatened to go to war against Canada over the trash illegally shipped to the Philippines beginning 2013.

"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 doon sa Canada, ibuhos ko ýung basura nila doon [I will dump their trash there]. I cannot understand why they are making us a dump site," Duterte said during the situation briefing for the quakes which jolted Luzon and the Visayas.

A total of 103 container vans containing trash weighing 2,450 tons were shipped to the Philippines in several batches from 2013 to 2014. Canadian-based firm Chronic Plastics, Inc., which exported the vans, declared their contents as plastic scrap materials without securing import entries for its shipment that arrived in July and August of 2013.

Some of the vans remain at the Port of Manila.

"Awayin natin ang Canada. We'll declare war against them, kaya naman natin sila [Let's fight Canada. We'll declare war against them, we can handle them anyway]," Duterte said.

The President also warned he will dump trash in front of the Canadian embassy.

"Garbage is coming home. 'Yung iba. 'Yung iba mga limang truck, ibuhos mo dyan sa Canadian Embassy ... supladohan lang ang mundong ito," he added.

[Translation: Garbage is coming home. The others, around five trucks, dump it in front of the Canadian embassy. The world runs on arrogance.]

In November 2017, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said "a Canadian solution" was being developed on the trash problem.