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MANILA, Philippines -- The Harry and Paul show that showed a Filipino maid gyrating in front of her British employers was more of a critique of British behavior than of the Filipino maid, the United Kingdom embassy here said.
Quoting British Ambassador Peter Beckingham, UK embassy spokesperson Oya Arriola said, "The British were making fun of themselves, of the British culture. It is regrettable that they offended some people."
Arriola said this was the feedback the ambassador received from some Filipinos in the UK on the comedic episode that was aired on the British Broadcasting Company.
"And he agrees with the feedback," she said.
Arriola, a Filipino, said her main beef against the episode was that it wasn't funny, noting that British humor is very dry.
At the same time, Beckingham, who met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo under "friendly" circumstances, agreed to convey to London the Filipinos' adverse reaction.
"There was no tension during the meeting," Arriola said.
Beckingham also pointed out that the BBC was independent of the UK government.
"Like the Philippines, the UK respects freedom of expression and the free exchange of ideas. The BBC has editorial independence, and views expressed/portrayed by the BBC are completely independent from those of the UK government," the ambassador said in an official statement
released by the embassy.
The UK embassy agreed that Filipinos in the UK were "an important part of British society, making invaluable contributions to our scientific and service sectors, and enriching UK culture."
In fact, the embassy said, former Foreign Commonwealth Office Minister Meg Munn spent time with the Filipino community earlier this year to recognize their role in British society.
Beckingham said he intended to continue dialogues with Filipino communities in the UK early next year.
