May 9 (UPI) -- Canada and the Philippines have agreed on a Wednesday deadline for the return of non-recyclable Canadian garbage, but different government agencies in Manila may be in disagreement about the timing of the delivery.
Philippine newspaper The Inquirer reported Thursday Manila's Department of Finance could be refusing an order from President Rodrigo Duterte and seeking a postponement of the return.
Trash items include adult diapers, household garbage and plastic bags. They were shipped to the Philippines six years ago.
The Department of Finance's departure from the agreement elicited a strong response from Manila's top diplomat Teodoro Locsin Jr. this week.
According to The Inquirer, Locsin used expletives on Twitter regarding the disagreement, before removing the message.
"The deadline is May 15. Period. I don't give two [expletives] what [the] DOF says," the Philippine foreign secretary tweeted. The message was later deleted after Locsin said the finance secretary "called him" regarding the issue.
"What is important is we work together to meet our president's deadline of May 15 and not give Canada excuses to push the deadline further," Locsin later said, according to the report.
Duterte has previously threatened to "declare war" against Canada if Ottawa fails to take back trash shipped to the Philippines.
Duterte's brash behavior has set him apart from other Philippine leaders since he assumed office in 2016.
The president has pledged to bring in a "golden age of infrastructure" and growth, but economic growth in the first quarter slowed, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Thursday.
The country's economy grew by 5.6 percent, lower than estimates, according to the Financial Times.
A fall in shipments of electronics had an impact on overall exports, according to the report.
The Philippines is to hold midterm elections next week.