By Michaela del Callar
MANILA, July 30 (PNA) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is readying another diplomatic protest against Canada for its inaction on the shipment of its waste to the Philippines.
DFA Spokesman Charles Jose said this will be the third time that the Philippine government is filing a protest on the transfer of tons of Canadian waste to the country, which has been left rotting in ports since 2013.
The protest is being filed upon the joint recommendation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) last July 27, Jose said.
“As soon as we receive the information and documents from the DENR and BOC that we requested, we will relay a third diplomatic note to the Canadian Embassy,” Jose said in a press briefing.
“The DFA stands ready to support and assist the DENR and the BOC on this matter,” he added.
Canada maintains it has no responsibility over the waste shipment, saying it has no laws covering private and commercial transactions.
The new protest, Jose said, will reiterate Manila’s request to the Canadian government to take “appropriate action” on the matter, which includes its re-exportation to Canada.
Around 50 container vans of waste from Canada were discovered and seized by customs authorities, but eight of these shipments were recently allowed to be unloaded at a private dump site in Capas, Tarlac. (PNA)