Duterte gives Canada until May 15 to ship out garbage —Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte gave Canada until May 15 to ship out its garbage as the North American country vowed to shoulder the cost, Malacañang said Tuesday.

“The President gave May 15 as the deadline. If they cannot get that then we will be shipping them out and throw them to the shores or beach of Canada,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said at a news conference.

Duterte had lashed out at Canada over the the tons of household trash that were illegally exported to the Philippines in batches in 2013 and 2014. He even threatened to go to war over the garbage now rotting in ports and a landfill, but Panelo said the President’s remark was just a figure of speech.

On Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources reported to Duterte and the Cabinet that the Canadian government is committed to shoulder all the expenses to ship out all the 69 waste containers.

“The President is firm that we are not garbage collectors, thus he ordered that the Philippines will no longer accept any waste from any country,” Panelo said. —KG, GMA News