Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Thursday condemned a social media post by China’s state-run newspaper China Daily that depicted Filipinos as monkeys, calling it a racist attack and a reflection of the Chinese Communist Party’s contempt for the Filipino people.
The Facebook post, published on July 10 ahead of the 10th anniversary of the landmark 2016 Arbitral Award on the West Philippine Sea, featured a monkey dressed in a barong Tagalog and salakot while being instructed by characters resembling Americans and Japanese.
The video also showed the monkey being sprayed with a water cannon at sea after receiving the arbitral award, which invalidated China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.
“The post of China Daily depicting the Filipinos as monkeys is a revealing insight into what the Chinese communist apparatus thinks of the Filipino people,” Teodoro said in a statement.
He described the video as a mockery of the 2016 Arbitral Award and criticized its portrayal of violence against Filipinos.
“This mockery of the lawful 2016 Arbitral Award and the video’s glorification of violence against the Filipino people and soldiers expose the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of China’s propaganda machine,” Teodoro said.
He added that the post reflected “the weakness of a government that resorts to racism, threats, and manufactured hatred because it has utterly failed to defend its ridiculous claims through reason, evidence, or law.”
Teodoro said the incident further justified the Philippines’ policy of refraining from ministerial and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) defense engagements or contacts with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its agencies.
“The recent spate of schizophrenic behavior of the Chinese Communist Party is too clear to disregard or to ignore. This latest act of dehumanization further reveals them as neither a secure and confident actor nor a trustworthy neighbor,” he said.
He ended his statement with the message: “Pilipinas huwag magpalinlang! Ang nalilinlang ay nasisiil.”
Meanwhile, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela also denounced the post.
“Racism has no place in this day and age — and racism meant to belittle another race deserves nothing but condemnation. Filipinos are not monkeys!” Tarriela said in a post on X.
