5 face charges over flag misuse

SANTIAGO CITY—For using Philippine flags as headgear to shield them from the sun, five city government employees are facing criminal and administrative charges here.

Jaime Salvador, Ruben Cogay, Samuel Almonte, Melencio Carag and Allan Berdadero were caught on video mishandling and then draping the flags over their heads to protect them from the sun. They detached the flags from poles lining the stretch between Mabini Circle and Victory Norte Village here.

The incident happened in August but its footage was shown only recently by a national TV news program.

Salvador is a regular employee while the rest were contractual workers of the city environment and natural resources office.

Mayor Amelita Navarro said the city government “does not and will not tolerate” illegal acts, to explain the administrative and criminal charges being readied against the employees.

The video footage showed Cogay tugging and twisting the flags he was trying to remove from the pole. The footage also showed Almonte and Salvador wearing the flags on their heads as bandanna.

“They did not only violate the law but also brought embarrassment to the city,” said a report by the city legal office. “They should be ashamed of themselves.”

Republic Act No. 8491 (Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines) prohibits the mutilation, defacement, and acts that dishonor or ridicule the flag. Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon