Philippine flag upside down at Marcos-Trudeau meeting

JAKARTA —The Philippine flag was displayed upside down during the bilateral meeting between President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said it was an honest mistake.

“It was an honest mistake that had nothing to do with our protocol officers. But the battle of the socks continues,” Lazaro said in a statement sent by the Presidential Communications Office.

Under the Philippine Flag and Heraldic Code, during times of peace, when the flag is raised in horizontal position, the blue field of the flag should be above the red field.

The red would be on top of the blue in war.

As regards the "battle of the socks," Lazaro referred to the sock diplomacy with which Trudeau had been engaging leaders during their meetings.

At the APEC meeting in Bangkok in November, Marcos and Trudeau had their picture taken while they displayed their printed socks.

At their meeting on Wednesday, Trudeau invited Marcos to visit Canada next year for the celebration of the 75th diplomatic relations between the two states.

During the meeting, the state leaders talked about the Filipino-Canadian diaspora and what Trudeau tagged as “incredible ties” of the two countries.

“Next year we’re celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations and we will be celebrating, but the reality is the trade, economic ties between our two countries continue to grow. The opportunities and investment, the flow of people back and forth as well is strong and the Filipino-Canadian diaspora is incredibly important to all of us,” Trudeau said.

Marcos also expressed appreciation for Canada’s celebration of Filipino culture.

“We cannot have discussions without mentioning the diaspora the Philippine diaspora to Canada and I noted during our Independence Day, all of these celebrations being held officially by local governments around Canada — a celebration of Philippine culture, a celebration of Philippine independence — well really is indicative of how well they assimilated themselves into their work places and into your society,” the Philippine president said.

Marcos also noted how Filipinos praised Canada for welcoming them into the country. 

“There are many families that have grown up in Canada. They have always been unanimous in the praise for the way Canadian society has been open and warm and hospitable to them,” said Marcos.

“We would like to return the favor and we would like very much to promote this increased relationship,” he added.

The Philippine leader also raised during the meeting that Canada is one of the most desired destinations for Filipino workers.

“There was an attitude in the very beginning where Filipinos or workers abroad only work abroad because they had no chance to or a move that was forced upon them but we have changed our attitude,” Marcos said.

“You must accept that this is the way the world works now. It is that people exchange labor forces across the region, across different regions. We, of course, have been a rather more peripatetic race than most. We find ourselves in some of the most unusual and unexpected places, but Canada has become very much a desired destination for our workers,” he added.

With this, Marcos said he is “very optimistic” about the Philippine-Canada ties as he “cannot see any obstacle to our continuing and deepening relations.”

The President added that Canada’s shift towards Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific is “significant” and it only shows which economies are evolving.

This is the third bilateral meeting between the two leaders since Marcos assumed office last year. —NB, GMA Integrated News