The Philippines is preparing to ship back Canadian garbage by 15 May, Fox News reported Tuesday, citing Filipino officials. According to the Philippine Department of Finance, cited by Fox News, Ottawa has agreed to receive their waste back and to cover all the expenses for the return.
However, Canadian authorities have reportedly said that it could take weeks to make the necessary arrangements, and that could impede Ottawa from meeting the announced deadline.
READ MORE: Philippines' Duterte Vows to Declare War on Canada for Garbage Smuggling
Filipino officials said that the country is ready to ship out at least 69 container vans of the Canadian trash that was previously disposed of in the Asian country, according to Fox News.
Back in April, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to declare war against Ottawa over the garbage issue. "I give a warning to Canada, maybe next week, they better pull their thing up or I will set sail to Canada, I will pour their garbage there", the president said as quoted by Rappler portal, adding that he would declare war against the North American state if it gave no response.
READ MORE: Canada Responds to Duterte's War Threat Over Philippine Garbage Issue
Notably, most of the Canadian containers reportedly remain in Filipino ports, sparking protests from Filipino environmental activists. According to AP, Philippine officials say they were falsely declared by a private firm as recyclable plastic scraps.