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Inverted flag during PH-Canada summit ‘an honest mistake’: DFA

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Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/09/06/20230906-canadian-prime-minister-justintrudeau.jpg"/><figcaption><em>Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>JAKARTA<strong> (UPDATED) </strong>— The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday downplayed the inverted Philippine flag displayed during the bilateral meeting between the Philippines and Canada, calling the gaffe an “honest mistake.”</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/06/23/trudeau-invites-marcos-jr-to-visit-canada-in-2024">Trudeau invites Marcos Jr. to visit Canada in 2024</a></li></ul><p>The inverted Philippine flag — which is usually used when the Philippines is at war — was seen behind Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.</p><p>&quot;It was an honest mistake that had nothing to do with our protocol officers,&quot; DFA Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said in a statement.</p><p>“But the battle of the socks continued,” she added, referring to Marcos Jr. And Trudeau’s shared knack of wearing colored or printed socks.</p><p>Aside from the two heads of states, several Philippine officials and staff were present during the bilateral meeting.</p><p>Among these officials were House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual.</p><p>It remains unclear why the error was not corrected shortly before the meeting.</p><p>The Philippines and Canada enjoy close bilateral relations, with nearly 1 million Filipinos residing in the North American country, data from the Canadian government showed.</p><p>Trudeau earlier invited Marcos Jr. to visit Canada next year in time for the Philippines and Canada’s 75th bilateral relations anniversary.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g-xBQdDDj8U?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The inverted Philippine flag was seen behind Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Inverted flag during PH-Canada summit ‘an honest mistake’: DFA

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Inverted flag during PH-Canada summit ‘an honest mistake’: DFA

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 06, 2023 06:56 PM PHT

|

Updated Sep 06, 2023 08:34 PM PHT

Read More:

DFA

Justin Trudeau

inverted Philippine flag

Canada

Philippines

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr

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