MANILA // The Philippines on Tuesday “strongly protested” against an American television drama for showing a fictional Filipino president making a sexual advance on the US secretary of state.
In the trailer for the latest episode of Madam Secretary, the lead character punches "the Philippines' unconventional new president" in the face and gives him a bloody nose in reaction to his unwanted pass.
“I clobbered a world leader instead of saving a major regional agreement,” the secretary of state said.
The Philippine embassy in Washington released a statement saying it had written to the producer of the show, the CBS network, to urgently request it “take the necessary corrective actions”.
“This highly negative portrayal of our head of state not only casts doubt on the respectability of the office of the Philippine president but also denigrates [the] way our nation navigates foreign affairs,” it said.
While the description for the trailer used a fictional name for the president, the embassy said the show mirrored current events.
The real Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, has caused controversy with comments perceived to have been sexist and offensive.
The president has also been criticised for making jokes about rape, keeping mistresses and wolf-whistling at a woman journalist at a press conference. However, Mr Duterte, 71, has won praise for policies promoting women’s rights, including reproductive health.
His spokesman Ernesto Abella criticised the show on Tuesday, while also making a reference to womanising American leaders.
“I think they are projecting something they would really like to say about their own situation. I think they should use a fictional US president,” Mr Abella said.
“It’s their business. It’s their craft. You cannot deny them their craft, their taste perhaps.”
* Agence France-Presse
