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MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) Malacañang summoned the ambassador of the United Kingdom on Tuesday to protest the racial slur against Filipina maids in a comedy show that was aired on television by the British Broadcasting Co.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo received UK Ambassador Peter Beckingham at the Palace, said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr.
"Secretary Romulo has set out for a while because he has summoned the British ambassador to bring this matter officially to the attention of the embassy," Conejos told reporters at the Palace.
Romulo and Conejos were in Malacañang to launch the Global Forum Migration and Development that Manila will host in late October.
In an episode of the comedy show "Harry and Paul," a Filipina maid in a sexy outfit was made to gyrate in front of a friend of her employer, before running off with a mailman.
"The department has acted very quickly on this issue. Our embassy in London has lodged a written protest with the regulatory agencies in the UK specifically the commission on communications," Conejos said.
"They have written to the mayor of London as well as the commission on the protection of women, the secretary for the protection of women, and to BBC itself protesting the slur on our domestic workers in the UK," he said.
Conejos said Filipino workers were planning a "silent protest" at the BBC offices and an email campaign against the slur.
In October 2007, Malacañang demanded an apology from American television network ABC after a character on the show "Desperate Housewives" berated Filipino doctors in one of the episodes. The show’s producers apologized.
