MANILA- President Rodrigo Duterte slammed Canada Tuesday over heaps of illegal garbage shipped to Manila nearly five years ago.

Duterte said he wants the trash shipped back, even threatening to declare war against Ottawa.

“Yung basura ng Canada, I want a boat prepared. I’ll give a warning to Canada maybe next week that they better pull that thing out or I will set sail doon sa Canada, ibuhos ko 'yang basura nila doon (I’ll pour their garbage there),” he said during a briefing in San Fernando, Pampanga in the aftermath of a 6.1-magnitude earthquake that struck Luzon on Monday.

“Eh di ano? Awayin natin ang Canada. We’ll declare war against them, kaya man natin sila. Isauli ko talaga ah tingnan mo,” he added.

(We’ll fight with Canada. We can take them down. I’ll return their trash just wait and see.)

A total of 103 containers of Canadian waste, consisting of household trash, plastic bottles and bags, newspapers, and used adult diapers, arrived in Manila in batches from 2013 to 2014.

Trash from at least 26 containers (out of the 103) have already been buried in a Tarlac landfill.

Chronic Plastics Inc., the Valenzuela-based consignee, was accused of violating Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act and the 1995 Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Disposal.

The garbage was misdeclared as plastic scraps.

“I cannot understand why they are making us a dumpsite,” the President said.

“I will advise Canada that your garbage is on the way, prepare a grand reception, eat it if you want to. Kinakaya-kaya tayo di ako papayag ng ganun,” he added.

(They’re belittling us and I won’t allow it.)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his 2017 visit to Manila for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit said Ottawa was working on the issue.

“We also discussed the garbage issue which has been a long-standing irritant and I committed to him as I am happy to commit to you all now that Canada is very much engaged in finding a solution on that," he said.

• Why Canada garbage still in PH after 5 years while Korean trash is going back