Netizens have expressed outrage over a photo of a Chinese flag planted on the white sands of Boracay.
In a viral post on Facebook, a Chinese man was seen putting the flag at Station 2. Planting a flag means claiming ownership.
“This is not OK. It would only be OK if we don’t have a territorial dispute with China,” Malay town Councilor Nenette Aguirre Graf told The Manila Bulletin.
Local government officials are now looking into the incident as the original uploader of the photo has deleted the post.
The photo gained netizens reaction when it was reshared by a radio reporter.
Another photo showed a Chinese man carrying the Chinese flag in Balabag Elementary School.
The councilor considered the acts as an insult to Filipinos.
“I don’t think we, as Filipinos, can do that when we go to China. We can’t just go there and hoist our flag there. You’d get arrested or deported,” the official added.
There’s no ban on displaying other country’s flag in Boracay for major international events.
There has been a number of negative incidents involving Chinese citizens in Boracay since it reopened after a 6 month rehabilitation.
