Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Zen Hernandez

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178426382710117711339610181754626300708174931969548420181119-chinese-flag-xi-jinping-state-visit-MD-8757.webp" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Chinese flags wave with Philippine flags along Roxas Boulevard in Manila on November 19, 2018. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span>MANILA (<strong>UPDATE</strong>) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has formally protested China Daily&#x27;s depiction of Filipinos in a series of AI-generated videos and editorial cartoons on the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, calling the material demeaning, dehumanizing and racist.</div><p>In a statement released Friday, the DFA said it had conveyed its protest after China Daily, a Chinese state-run newspaper, published an AI-generated video on July 10 portraying a monkey dressed in a barong Tagalog and salakot while mocking the Philippines and the landmark arbitral ruling.</p><p>The department said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Leo Herrera-Lim first raised the issue directly with Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan during a meeting on July 16, demanding the immediate removal of the offensive material.</p><p>According to the DFA, Herrera-Lim stressed that the publication was inconsistent with the mutual respect expected between states and &quot;does no favors to the sound and stable management of bilateral relations.&quot;</p><p>The Philippine Embassy in Beijing has since sent a formal letter to the Editor-in-Chief of China Daily, reiterating Manila&#x27;s demand for the immediate takedown of the material.</p><p>In its diplomatic protest, the DFA said the video went beyond legitimate political commentary by resorting to &quot;demeaning, dehumanizing, and racist depictions of Filipinos.&quot;</p><p>While the Philippines has consistently rejected what it described as China&#x27;s false narratives surrounding the 2016 Arbitral Award and Manila&#x27;s lawful positions in the South China Sea, the department said disagreements over legal and political issues &quot;do not justify resorting to imagery that has no place in the public discourse of responsible states.&quot;</p><p>The DFA reiterated its call for the video&#x27;s removal, warning that such content only widens distrust between the Philippines and China and urging Beijing to uphold dignity, respect and truth in public discourse.</p><p>The protest comes a week after China Daily uploaded the 58-second AI-generated video titled &quot;The Philippine Politicians&#x27; Karaoke Show.&quot;</p><p>The video depicts a frightened monkey wearing Filipino attire being manipulated by giant hands labeled &quot;USA&quot; and &quot;JAPAN&quot; before being launched toward a vessel that blasts it with a water cannon. It ends with a crumpled sheet labeled &quot;South China Sea Arbitration Award&quot; floating in the water as &quot;litter.&quot;</p><p>The post came on the same day the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and independent thinktank, Stratbase ADR Institute, held two separate commemorative conferences, to mark the 10th anniversary of the July 12, 2016 Arbitral Award. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. even attended the DFA’s evening diplomatic reception, where representatives from the Philippines&#x27; treaty allies and international partners reaffirmed support for the legally binding ruling and the rules-based international order.</p><p>China also released additional AI-generated content marking the anniversary. On July 12, the Chinese Embassy in Manila published an animated video portraying the Philippines as a crab confronting a turtle representing China over an underwater garden. The animation suggests the United States encouraged Manila to initiate arbitration and ends with the tribunal&#x27;s ruling being torn into pieces, echoing Beijing&#x27;s long-standing position that the award is &quot;null and void.&quot;</p><p>The Embassy also separately criticized National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela, accusing him of promoting what it called the &quot;illegal South China Sea arbitration farce.&quot;</p><div> </div><div><strong>PH OFFICIALS CONDEMN RACIST VIDEO</strong> </div><p>The China Daily video has drawn widespread condemnation from Philippine officials.</p><p>Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the video revealed how the Chinese Communist Party viewed the Filipino people.</p><p>&quot;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.&quot;</p><p>He said the video&#x27;s mockery of the arbitral award and its depiction of violence against Filipinos exposed &quot;the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of China&#x27;s propaganda machine.&quot;</p><p>Teodoro said the material reflected a government that had failed to defend its maritime claims through &quot;reason, evidence, or law&quot; and instead resorted to &quot;racism, threats, and manufactured hatred.&quot;</p><p>He added that the incident further justified the government&#x27;s policy of suspending ministerial and Armed Forces of the Philippines defense engagements with the Chinese Communist Party and its agencies.</p><p>&quot;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. Pilipinas huwag magpalinlang! Ang nalilinlang ay nasisiil.”</p><p>Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said freedom of expression &quot;is not a license to dehumanize people,&quot; while Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Robin Padilla, ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña, and Tarriela condemned the material as racist and offensive.</p><p>The DFA said it remains committed to dialogue and diplomacy in managing relations with China but &quot;will not hesitate to call out discriminatory and offensive rhetoric wherever it appears.&quot;</p><div> </div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong>&#x27;UNACCEPTABLE&#x27;</strong> </div><p>Pangilinan said the video was &quot;insulting&quot; and &quot;unacceptable.&quot;</p><p>He said it was inappropriate for China Daily to release such a material, especially since it represents Beijing as a state-run media outlet.</p><p>&quot;Mas nakalulungkot pa na nanggaling ito sa China, isang umuusbong na pandaigdigang kapangyarihan sa ekonomiya at teknolohiya, gayong ang sarili nitong mamamayan ay nakaranas na rin ng diskriminasyon at racismo sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo,&quot; Pangilinan said in a statement.</p><p>&quot;Sa halip na magtaguyod ng pag-unawa at paggalang, ang ganitong uri ng propaganda ay hindi lamang nang-iinsulto sa mga Pilipino, sumisira rin sa hangarin ng China na kilalanin bilang isang responsable at iginagalang na lider sa international community.&quot;</p><p>Pangilinan wanted China to order the media outlet to take down the material, issue an apology, and hold accountable the people who created and distributed the video.</p><p>&quot;Ang tunay na pamumuno sa daigdig ay nakabatay sa dignidad, paggalang sa kapwa, at pananagutan — hindi sa pagpapakalat ng mga racist stereotype na ipinapalabas bilang &#x27;impormasyon&#x27; o &#x27;komentaryo,&#x27;&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Kung nais ng China na seryosohin bilang isang responsable at mapagkakatiwalaang pandaigdigang kapangyarihan, dapat magsimula ito sa pagtiyak na ang sarili nitong state media ay kumikilos nang may respeto at pananagutan, at hindi kabaligtaran.&quot;</p><p> On Saturday, Cabinet Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. added his voice to those condemning the publication.</p><p>&quot;As a Filipino, I take deep offense at any attempt to belittle our people through offensive and degrading imagery. There is no place for racism or the dehumanization of any nation or people, especially in responsible public discourse,&quot; said Abalos, who also expressed his support for the DFA&#x27;s move.</p><p>Also on Saturday, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Filipinos &quot;should never be caricatured and stripped of our humanity because of our nationality.&quot;</p><p>She expressed her support for the DFA and called on the international community to also condemn the &quot;reprehensible act.&quot;</p><p>&quot;This is a cheap attempt to isolate us from allies and like-minded countries. The more the Chinese government insults and demeans the Filipino people, the closer the ties we will build with nations willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with us on issues of vital national interest like the West Philippine Sea,&quot; said Hontiveros.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>TARRIELA: CHINA IS &#x27;LOSING&#x27; NARRATIVE BATTLE</strong> </div><p>Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said Filipinos &quot;don&#x27;t deserve to be called stupid monkeys by China.&quot;</p><p>&quot;This kind of very low offensive against the arbitral award shows China is very desperate to attack the 2016 arbitral award and our rights in the West Philippine Sea,&quot; he said.</p><p>He said the release of the video meant China is &quot;losing the battle of the narrative.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The Filipino people know what is happening.&quot;</p><p>As of this posting, the Chinese Embassy in Manila had not publicly responded to the DFA&#x27;s demand.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>OTHER NEWS:</strong><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ba_CjIWFg9Q?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></strong></div><div> </div>

<p>The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has formally protested China Daily's depiction of Filipinos in a series of AI-generated videos and editorial cartoons on the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, calling the material demeaning, dehumanizing and racist.</p>

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has formally protested China Daily's depiction of Filipinos in a series of AI-generated videos and editorial cartoons on the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, calling the material demeaning, dehumanizing and racist.

DFA formally protests China Daily's 'racist' depiction of Filipinos in AI propaganda video

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DFA formally protests China Daily's 'racist' depiction of Filipinos in AI propaganda video

Zen Hernandez,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 17, 2026 01:16 PM PHT

|

Updated July 18, 2026 01:04 PM PHT

Read More:

China

China Daily

South China Sea

West Philippine Sea

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