Piñol apologizes for inverted flag in his Japan presentation

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol on Wednesday evening apologized for the blunder during his presentation in Japan which showed an inverted Philippine flag.

Such an image symbolizes that the country is at war.

In a Facebook post, Piñol acknowledged the mistake in his presentation before Japanese businessmen at a Tokyo hotel that day.

"One of the slides which showed President Rody Duterte shaking hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe displayed a Philippine flag with the red banner up," Piñol said.

"The correct display of the Philippine flag should have the blue banner up and the red below it. Displaying the flag with the red banner up actually means that the country is at war," he added.

Piñol said he received the material for his presentation via email from Manila, explaining that he had little time to prepare as he was not advised earlier about it.

"I actually saw the slide just before I made my presentation and there was no more time to edit the PowerPoint presentation," he said.

"I apologize for the mistake and assure our countrymen that I had no intention of declaring war against anybody. It was all an honest mistake," he added. —Veronica Pulumbarit/KG, GMA News