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DFA: Recall of envoys from Canada, ‘final’ official PH position

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin reiterated that the move of the government to recall Filipino officials in Canada is the “last word.”

“Mine is the first, last and only word in foreign affairs after the President’s,” Locsin said in a social media post.

“After the President and then me, no one has the authority to sever anything but his own throat. Certainly not diplomatic relations. Can we all keep silent?” he added.

Locsin’s statement came after Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that the government’s decision was a way to persuade Canada to speed up the repatriation of trash that was dumped in the country some years ago.

“The more they delay, the more personnel will be coming back,” he said on Thursday.

Last month, President Rodrigo Duterte threatened the Canadian government with “war” if it failed to repatriate its trash by May 15, 2019.

“We’ll declare war against them. Kaya man natin ‘yan sila. Isaoli ko talaga. Tignan mo,” Duterte said.

Six years ago, about 50 containers of waste from Canada were impounded by customs authorities and left to rot in the ports.

Manila has conveyed its objection to the shipment to the Canadian government but Canada refused to take action.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on a visit to the country in 2017, said it is “theoretically possible” to get back the trash and that the issues raises questions on “financial responsibility.”

The Canadian government had insisted that the trash shipment was done through a private transaction.

Staff Report

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