Malacañang called as nonsense the claim of a Chinese hair product being sold in the country that the Philippines is a province of China, saying Filipinos will not let themselves be subjugated by any foreign force.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after photos of a Chinese hair product went viral after its box identified its address in Binondo, Manila as a "province of China".
In his Thursday presser, Roque said this was pure nonsense.
"Sa akin, kalokohan po 'yan. Hindi po dapat pinapansin 'yan (To me that's nonsense. We should not be paying any attention to that)," he said.
"Wala namang naniniwala na tayo’y probinsya ng Tsina. Alam naman natin na lahat ng Pilipino ay nagmamahal sa bansa (Nobody believes that we are a province of China because we all know that every Filipino loves the country)," he added.
"We are proud to be Filipinos and we will never allow to be subjugated by any foreign body," he continued.
Ashley Shine Keratin Treatment Deep Repair earned the ire of netizens as it went viral on social media this week because of its packaging showing its manufacturing address of "1st floor, 707 Sto Cristo Street, San Nicolas, Manila Province, P.R. (People’s Republic of) China.”
Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta Representative Jericho Nograles wanted the said product blacklisted in the country, saying it was hard to dismiss that it was just an error.
"It is hard to dismiss this insult as a simple error. The label clearly shows Manila, as a province of China," Nograles said in a statement.
"This incident must be investigated at the very least, and the manufacturer and importer should be blacklisted, as soon as legally permitted," he added.
However, Roque said that only the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can blacklist such a product in the Philippine market.
"Sa tingin ko po ang FDA po ang magdedesisyon diyan dahil merong criteria for blacklisting. I think one of those is kung merong banta sa kalusugan ng mga gagamit nito (I think it's the FDA that hast to decide because it has criteria for blacklisting. I think one of those if its use has harmful effects)," he said.
"Let’s allow the FDA to exercise its exclusive jurisdiction pagdating sa bagay na ito (when it comes to stuff like this)," he added.
This was not the first time in the past four years that the Philippines was referred to as a province of China. It was President Duterte who first floated the idea in 2018 as a joke when he said that Chinese President Xi Jinping promised not to build any structure at Scarborough Shoal.
"Kung gusto 'nyo, gawin 'nyo na lang kaming province, parang Fujian (If you want, just make us a province, like Fujian)," the President had said.
"Province of Philippines, Republic of China," he added.