Duterte threatens to have trash shipments dumped on Canadian beaches if not recalled

President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday threatened to dump Canada's trash on Canadian beaches should the country fail by next week to recall containers of its trash that had been shipped to the Philippines.

"Sabihin ko sa—sabihin mo sa kanila i-karga ko ‘yan next week. ‘Pag hindi niyo tinanggap ‘yang basura ninyo, ibubuhos ko ‘yan doon sa magandang beach ninyo. T— i—… Do not… We are not a garbage dump here," he said in a speech during the opening ceremonies of the Palarong Pambansa 2019 in Davao City.

"The Filipinos are not scavengers. And you do that to us as I—as I am wont to do, ganun ako, nagbababoy talaga ng tao," added Duterte.

Duterte on Tuesday already called on Canada to recall its trash sent to the Philippines six years ago, else risk "war" with the Philippines.

For its part, Canada on Wednesday said it is working with the local government for a "timely resolution" to remove the shipments from the Philippines.

Some 50 containers of waste from Canada were impounded by Philippine customs authorities and left to rot in a landfill in Tarlac in 2013.

In 2017, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said "legal barriers" prevented their government from taking the shipments back.

"...There are about 200 containers there sent by Canada para tayong ginagawa ng dumpsite," said Duterte. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News