NHCP upset over flag-sweeping video, ready to file case

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has expressed its dismay over the viral flag-sweeping video, to the point that its executive director said the agency is ready  to file a case.

“Ang sama ng loob ko with what that boy did to our flag,” NHCP executive director Ludovico Badoy said in a report on State of the Nation with Jessica Soho on Wednesday.

“If they want us to file a case, let’s file a case,” he added.

The video showed a male student tying the Philippine flag to a stick, waving it for a few minutes, and then using it to mop the floor.

“Huwag mo isama ang mukha ko, pre,” he even told the one taking the video.

NHCP Heraldry Section chief Teodoro Atienza also expressed his disappointment over the actions shown in the viral video.

“Kitang-kita mo na nabastos ang flag. Kitang-kita na ginawang biro na hindi naman dapat gawin sa ating watawat. Ginawang katawa-tawa. Ginawang katawa-tawa ang ating flag,” he said.

The University of the East has admitted that it was their students who were involved in the video and said that the most appropriate sanction will be imposed upon the student offenders.

“We share in the frustration of those who were offended by the video, primarily in its featured action's violation of Republic Act 8491, i.e., the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines-and appeal to the public's calm and patience as we in the University deal with this matter with utmost urgency and seriousness,” the statement said.

Section 34 of the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines states that it is forbidden "to mutilate, deface, defile, trample or cast contempt" on the flag, or allow "any act or omission casting dishonor or ridicule upon the flag over its surface."  — Trisha Macas/BM, GMA News