The law regarding the national flag was brought up online after a China flag was spotted in a warehouse facility in Valenzuela City.
Reports said that the Bignay Police Sub-Station 7 removed and confiscated the Chinese flag hoisted on the building after receiving a tip.
The secretary of the warehouse said that the flag has been hoisted since last year.
The secretary added that it does not mean anything and that they have no intention of it, saying they have many Filipino workers.
The secretary said the Chinese flag was only being used for doves or pigeons.
“Nailagay siya doon, gawa ng, may mga kalapati kasi kami, so parang, tanda siya ng mga kalapati na, ‘pag halimbawa, dinadala sa ibang lugar, makabalik sila. Tapos eh, ‘yun ‘yung magiging tanda nila,” the secretary said in an interview with DZBB Super Radyo.
“Tinanggal kanina ‘yung flag. Binigay po namin mismo. Tinurn over po namin mismo dun sa mga pulis na nag-check din po at nag-documents din po ng pagtatanggal ng flag,” the secretary added.
@xtian_mano Watawat ng China sa isang warehouse sa Valenzuela City, pinatanggal at kinumpiska ng pulisya #fyp ♬ Trailer music intense like a movie – Platinum Notes
Reports said the Valenzuela City Police are coordinating with the warehouse owner to find the reason for hoisting the foreign flag.
It is also investigating possible violations that the facility has committed.
Meanwhile, senior history researcher Kristoffer Pasion said the action is against the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, also known as Republic Act 8941.
“This is a VIOLATION of the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines (RA 8491), under ‘Prohibited Acts’ Sec. 34.h.,” he wrote on June 4.
“‘To display in public any foreign flag, except in embassies and other diplomatic establishments, and in offices of international organizations,’” Pasion added, quoting the law.
The warehouse reported is not an embassy nor a diplomatic establishment.
The national flag represents and symbolizes a nation. It stands for a nation’s land, people and its government.
It serves as a powerful symbol of the nation’s identity as it is the country’s way of portraying itself to the rest of the world.
