Palace: No apology needed from US for inverted RP flag

(Updated 3:48 p.m.) Malacañang will not demand an apology from the United States government because an inverted Philippine flag was displayed during a recent meeting of US and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders in New York. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Philippine government is satisfied with the US Embassy's explanation that the error in the display of the Philippine flag was an "honest mistake." The Philippine flag should always be displayed in such a way that the blue field is above the red field. The red field only goes above the blue field — similar to how the Philippine flag was displayed at the ASEAN assembly — when the country is in a state of war. "We are satisfied that they recognized it was an honest mistake. What is important is that our relations continue to be friendly. I know that it was not an intentional faux pas on their part," Lacierda said in a press briefing. Lacierda said Malacañang believes that the incorrect display of the flag was "not an intentional insult" to the Philippines. Lacierda said Philippine protocol officers noticed that the flag was inverted and informed the protocol officers of the US State Department. However, the error was not corrected because security was "very tight" at the meeting of US President Barack Obama and heads of the ASEAN countries, including President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III. Undersecretary Manuel L. Quezon III of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office informed the US Embassy in the Philippines of the incident. The embassy then promptly issued its statement explaining that the display of the inverted flag was an "honest mistake" although it did not explicitly apologize for the incident. "This was an honest mistake. The US treasures its close relationship and close partnership with the Philippines which were demonstrated this past week during President Aquino’s trip to the US, with the signing of the MCC Compact, the US-ASEAN meeting, and the meeting of our two Presidents that followed it," US Embassy in Manila spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson said in a short statement. At the Philippine military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said they believed the display of an inverted Philippine flag was an "honest mistake." "We believe it is an honest mistake and apparently, the organizers themselves immediately came out with the sorry and excuses (statement)," Mabanta told reporters. Mabanta said the incident will not strain relations between the Philippines and the US, particularly the assistance and training being given to Philippine troops in addressing terrorist threats in southern Philippines. "[The United States] remains a strong ally," he said. Aquino arrived in the US on Tuesday morning last week for the US-ASEAN meeting, signing of the $434-million Millennium Challenge Corporation grant to the Philippines, the United Nations general assembly, and various business conferences, among others. Lacierda said instead of dwelling on the incorrect display of the Philippine flag, the government prefers to focus on the "good news" Aquino will bring when he returns to Manila early on Tuesday, which includes the $2.7 billion in investment pledges from US firms. –VVP/RSJ, GMANews.TV