(Eagle News) — The Palace on Thursday, April 25, said the seventy years of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Canada “will be put to naught” if the latter “will not act with dispatch and finality” on the issue of wastes shipped to the Philippines years ago.
Presidential Spokesperson issued the statement, as he described as “vague” the Canadian embassy’s response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s strong remark against Canada’s continued refusal to take back the garbage which continues to languish in ports.
According to Panelo, while Canada’s response to Duterte’s statement was done quickly, it is “not appropriate” as “any further discussion on the matter is unwelcome and unnecessary.”
Panelo said Canada has not only “not taken any decisive action on this arrant hostile demeanor, it has not likewise expressed regrets thereto.”
“Our stand against its making our country a garbage bin is non-negotiable. It cannot dilly dally on its getting them back. It must retrieve them pronto or we throw them back to its shores,” Panelo said.
Canada’s “offensive act cannot be countenanced,” he added.
In a statement on Wednesday, April 24, the Canadian embassy said it was “strongly committed” to working with the Philippines “toward a resolution” of the waste issue.
It said a technical working group had been formed to discuss the issues involved.
The embassy did not, however, say directly that the garbage, which was shipped to the country six years ago, would be taken back.
