Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. yesterday ordered the return of the recalled Filipino diplomats to their posts in Canada, shortly after the tons of Canadian wastes left Subic Bay Freeport for Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
In a social media post, Locsin apologized to the recalled diplomats led by Ambassador to Ottawa Petronila Garcia and thanked the Canadian Embassy in Manila for their cooperation.
“To our recalled posts, get your flights back. Thanks and sorry for the trouble you went through to drive home a point. Arrivederci! And thank you Canada CDA Mucci,” he said.
The over 1,000 tons of Canadian trash shipped to the Philippines between 2013 to 2014 left yesterday morning onboard cargo vessel MV Bavarian.
In April, President Duterte stepped up the pressure on Ottawa by issuing a May 15 deadline for the reshipment of the waste back to Canada.
Duterte even threatened to go to “war” with Canada if it fails to retrieve the garbage left languishing in Philippine ports for almost six years.
Canada, however, missed the deadline, citing government red tape in the processing of documents.
In protest of the delay, the Duterte administration further upped the ante by recalling the Philippine envoy and several other consular officials in Canada. (Roy Mabasa)