Director Guillermo Eleazar, NCRPO chief, talks to Jiale Zhang, a Chinese national detained for throwing taho at a police officer at the Boni Station of MRT 3 in Mandaluyong. (Photo from the NCRPO)
MANILA, Philippines — “This non-issue trying to be one is pathetic,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said when asked about an incident on Saturday at a Metro Rail Transit 3 station where a Chinese woman threw taho, a soybean curd drink, at a police officer.
Locsin made his comment to a netizen’s tweet urging that the Chinese woman, 23-year-old Jiale Zhang, be deported.
“Paki-deport na po pero pakisampal muna,” the netizen’s tweet read.
[Please deport her, but slap her first.]
“Aw c’mon. Let’s not be trivial. This can happen anywhere to anyone in any country. Aggression by taho? Defense by the same? Boy we really need arms deals to flesh out our sense of nationhood and sovereignty,” Locsin tweeted in reply.
Aw c'mon. Let's not be trivial. This can happen anywhere to anyone in any country. Aggression by taho? Defense by the same? Boy we really need arms deals to flesh out our sense of nationhood and sovereignty. This non-issue trying to be one is pathetic.
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) February 9, 2019
The Chinese woman, a first year fashion design student, is facing with complaints of direct assault, disobedience to a person in authority, and unjust vexation for throwing her cup of taho at PO1 William Cristobal who barred her from entering the MRT-3 Boni Station because she was carrying food.
READ: Chinese woman faces assault raps after taho-throwing incident
MRT-3 recently implemented a stricter ban on any form of liquid that could be used to formulate explosives.
READ: NCRPO backs stricter implementation of MRT, LRT liquid ban
The Department of Transportation is also considering banning the Chinese woman from riding the MRT-3, while the Bureau of Immigration said it would consider possible actions against her. /atm
READ: DOTr eyes MRT ban on ‘taho-throwing’ Chinese woman