Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv

MANILA - Malacañang on Thursday rejected Ottawa's hiring of a shipping vessel to take back a Canadian firm’s trash shipment to Manila several years ago.

The garbage's removal "will be complete by the end of June, as the waste must be safely treated to meet Canadian safety and health requirements," said Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Philippine authorities, however, were already working to return the waste at the "soonest", said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, citing information from Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez.

Asked to clarify the timetable, Panelo said, "Hindi natin alam ano yung soonest."

"It could be this week or the week after. Definitely hindi (not) the end of June," he said.

"We will not allow ourselves to be dumping ground of trash," the Palace official added.

Over 100 containers of Canadian waste, consisting of household trash, plastic bottles and bags, newspapers, and used adult diapers, arrived in Manila in batches between 2013 and 2014. The shipment was marked as recyclable scrap.

Trash from at least 26 containers have been buried in a Tarlac landfill.

President Rodrigo Duterte in April said he wanted the trash shipment returned to Ottawa's shores, even warning that the issue might spark a war.

• Duterte threatens ‘war’ vs Canada over trash shipment

Last week, the Philippines' recalled its representatives to Canada after it missed a May 15 deadline to retrieve the garbage from Manila. Panelo described the move as a warning that diplomatic ties between the 2 nations may end.

Apart from the garbage row, ties between the 2 countries also soured after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2017 raised concerns over Duterte's drug war.

• Duterte says insulted by Trudeau's move to raise human rights