PH flag law strict, demands respect–Palace

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. Kristine Angeli Sabillo/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

The Philippine “flag law is strict about respect for the flag as a national symbol. Hence, this should be made clear to organizers and performers in concerts to prevent a repetition of the incident.”

This was what Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said on Sunday, clarifying a report saying that the Philippines was keen on banning pop star Madonna in the country after she allegedly disrespected the Philippine flag during her concert in Manila last week.

  READ: PH wants to ban Madonna after flag furor

“Malacañang is keen on banning Grammy award winner and Queen of Pop Madonna from performing in the Philippines for disrespecting the Philippine flag in her concert,” the Agence France Presse quoted Coloma as saying.

“I inadvertently passed on to AFP an inaccurate report on what Usec  (Manolo) Quezon said. I realized this after reading the transcript of his briefing yesterday and promptly made the clarification,” Coloma told INQUIRER.net through text.

In a press conference Saturday, Undersecretary Manolo Quezon was asked whether Madonna or her organizers should be banned, to which he said that this controversy stems from the fact that we have very strict laws about our flag, even stricter than other countries.

“I do think what should be taking place is a more serious debate and discussion. Siyempre, ang expectation natin kapag may darating na bisita, entertainer man o hindi, na gagalangin nila ang mga tradisyon at ang ating batas. Dahil nga, di ba, ignorance is no excuse, ngunit we have to be reasonable I think,” Quezon added.

(Of course, when a visitor comes into the country, whether an entertainer or not, we expect that they respect our traditions and our laws. This is because ignorance is no excuse, but we have to be reasonable, I think.)

Madonna staged a two-night concert in Manila last week as part of her “Rebel Heart” world tour where she appeared on stage draped in the Philippine flag, which drew mixed reactions from the public. JE