MANILA, Philippines — Senator Risa Hontiveros on Saturday expressed her disgust over a geotag, “Philippines, Province of China”, which became an option in social media apps.
“Sabi ng ilan, joke lang naman daw itong ‘Philippines, Province of China’ sa social media. Pero nakakagalit pakinggan,” posted Hontiveros on Twitter. “Katunog siya ng mga mangingisda nating tinataboy mula sa sarili nating mga karagatan. Katunog siya ng Wow China na ini-ere sa sarili nating radio station.”
(Some people said this ‘Philippines, Province of China’ was just a joke in social media. But it’s irritating when you hear it. This sounds like our fishermen getting bullied in our own oceans. It sounds like the Wow China that is being aired in our own radio station.)
“Wow China”, a cultural-feature program, is being aired in the state-owned AM radio station Radyo Pilipinas and Hontiveros deems it as propaganda for the East Asian nation that has continued to show force in disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea.
There was also the time when President Rodrigo Duterte, who’s entered into questionable dealings with China, joked in 2018 that the Philippines should be a province of China.
Hontiveros said that the geotag resembled the Philippines’ islands slowly getting conquered but there’s a way for the Filipinos to stand up.
“Hindi tayo (We are not) Province of China! Never were and never will be,” tweeted Hontiveros.
To counter the malicious geotag, Hontiveros encouraged mass reporting to remove it from the options.
“Kahit ‘biro’ pa itong Philippines, Province of China na geotag, ‘wag nating hayaang ma-normalize ito. Let’s mass report!” tweeted Hontiveros. “Let’s go! We’re not a province of China. Not now, not ever!”
(Although this ‘Philippines, Province of China’ geotag is a ‘joke’, let’s not normalize this.)