The Philippine government on Wednesday said it will hire a private ship to immediately return garbage dumped in the country over five years ago to Canada, which has so far failed to take the waste back.

“The government will shoulder the costs of the shipment, which has not yet been determined,’’ presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

According to Panelo, President Duterte is upset about the inordinate delay of Canada in shipping back its containers of garbage.

“The Filipino people are gravely insulted about Canada treating this country as a dumpsite,’’ he told newsmen.

Panelo said Duterte has directed government agencies to look for a private shipping company that can immediately send the waste back to Canada.

“If Canada will not accept their trash, we will leave the same within its territorial waters or 12 nautical miles out to sea from the baseline of any of their country’s shores,” he said.

Recently, the Philippines recalled its ambassador and consuls in Canada after Ottawa missed a May 15 deadline to get the garbage back.

Over 100 containers of waste from Canada, consisting of household trash, plastic bottles and bags, newspapers, and used adult diapers – were shipped to the country and declared as plastic scraps between 2013 and 2014.

Canada had insisted then that the dumping was not supported by its government and that it was a private transaction.

The Philippine government has repeatedly demanded that Canada take the waste back, however, no definite resolution has been offered by Ottawa.

In April, Duterte said that he would ship the garbage back to Canada even if it leads to war.

(NAN)