MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Sunday (May 26) confirmed the issuance of a memorandum directing government officials to refrain from travelling to Canada.
The directive came after Canada’s failure to uphold the May 15 deadline of taking back the trash shipment that has been abandoned on Philippine soil for years.
“We maintain that these directive are consistent with our stance on the diminished diplomatic relations with Canada,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
The memorandum, signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and issued on May 20, covers all department secretaries, heads of agencies and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCC) as well as government financial institutions.
Those concerned are barred from giving travel authorities for official trips to Canada and are directed to limit interactions with the Canadian government.
The Philippines earlier recalled its envoys to Canada and reduced diplomatic presence in the North American country.
President Rodrigo Duterte also directed concerned agencies to look for a private shipping company that would ship the garbage materials back to Canadian domain at the soonest possible time even at the expense of the Philippines.
This, even as the Canadian government already awarded a private firm to ship the garbage out of the Philippines in late June.
Meanwhile, Panelo said the Palace commends the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for the early detection of the entry of mixed plastic wastes from Hong Kong into Misamis Oriental.
“We understand that the BOC would export this illegal shipment back to its port of origin,” Panelo said of the waste shipment which have been declared “assorted electronic accessories”.
“We call on concerned agencies of the government to continue exercising vigilance and hinder the entry of such shipments of garbage into our territorial jurisdiction at the first instance,” he added in the statement. Panelo reiterated the Philippine government’s firm position “that it will not allow its territory to be treated as a dumping ground for trash by any foreign country or entity.” – Marje Pelayo (with details from Rosalie Coz)
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