Watch: President Duterte says he wants the garbage from Canada shipped back by next week.  @bworldph pic.twitter.com/yI8vekgQPj

— ARJAY@BWorld (@ARJAYBWorld) April 23, 2019

Earlier this month, World Bank Acting Director for the Philippines Agata E. Pawlowska said in a Marine Plastics Conference that the country now has the highest rate of mismanaged plastics in the world. "There is a lack of statistics on the amount of plastic in the Philippine waters. What is known is that the amount of mismanaged plastic waste is continuously increasing, and that the plastic crisis requires urgent action," she said.

In December, House Bill No. 8692 was filed seeking a nationwide ban on single-use plastic products such as grocery bags, food packaging, water bottles, straws, cups and sachets. It is still on first reading at the House of Representatives.