Canada must take back its trash

We normally do not write an editorial in reaction to an opinion piece in this paper or in another paper. But we thought of making an exception in this instance because the issue raised by Mr. Jojo Robles on the pages of the Manila Standard (“A stinking deal”) on Nov.17, 2017 is urgent and is a matter of the gravest importance.

In his column, Mr. Robles charged that the government of former president Benigno Aquino 3rd made an agreement with the Canadian government concerning the 200 tons of Canadian garbage brought illegally into the country and docked for two years now at Manila ports. Under the supposed agreement, the Philippines would bear with the garbage in exchange for the hiring of more than 500 Filipino nurses in Canada.