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Friday, March 29, 2024

Escudero urges Canada to take back trash

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CANADA should take back the trash it has been shipping to the Philippines since 2013 because the Philippines itself is having problems disposing of its own, Senator Francis Escudero said Sunday.

Escudero, who heads the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, supported a petition by environmentalists, academicians, lawmakers and other concerned Filipinos asking Canada to remove the trash it has sent here. 

“We can hardly dispose of our own garbage properly, and now we have this mountain of garbage to deal with. We have to keep trying to get this out of our backyard,” Escudero said. 

“Who will pay for this disinfection? The Philippine government has no resources to keep or treat 103 container vans of trash while we await a more decisive action on the matter.”

Escudero urged Philippine officials to bring up with the Canadian leaders attending the Apec meetings the return of tons of garbage that were exported to the Philippines by a Canadian company, and which now sit rotting in the Port of Manila.  

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“While we aim to be gracious hosts, the Philippines must also be able to use the summit as a venue to discuss very important matters affecting our constituents,” Escudero said.

He said the garbage rotting in Manila and leaking what could possibly be toxic juices was an environmental problem and a public health hazard.

He expressed hope that newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would be more open to resolving the garbage issue than his predecessor, who ignored a note from the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs seeking assistance in the “expeditious return of the containers to the port of origin at no cost to the government.”

Trudeau has confirmed his attendance to the Apec summit and is set to have bilateral talks with some countries, although it has not yet been confirmed if those include the Philippines.

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