The Philippine Coast Guard’s spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela, pushed back on Sunday against Sen. Robin Padilla, arguing that the senator had misdirected his criticism when he held Tarriela responsible for a China Daily video that portrayed the Philippines as a monkey.
Tarriela’s central objection was that the offending material originated in China, not with the Western powers Padilla had invoked. “Ang dapat nating kondenahin ay ang China, dahil ang China ang gumawa at nagpakalat ng racist na video na ito,” he said. He framed the dispute as one between Filipinos who should be on the same side: “Hindi po tayo unggoy at hindi po ako ang kalaban dito dahil pareho po tayong Pilipino.”
The disagreement traces back to an AI-generated clip circulated by the Chinese state-controlled outlet China Daily, which depicted Filipinos as monkeys while attacking the country’s conduct in the West Philippine Sea. Padilla had responded a day earlier with statements in both Filipino and English, asserting that it was Tarriela “who drew first blood” in the mounting friction with Beijing. The senator also told Chinese media that Westerners regard all Asians as “monkeys,” noting that “demeaning caricatures [have been] used in wartime propaganda across the world including the Philippines, China and Japan.”
Padilla tied the controversy to an earlier incident in which Tarriela displayed a caricature of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a university lecture, which the senator said had “[escalated] into wartime propaganda.” Tarriela rejected that characterization, saying the image carried no propaganda intent. “Hindi ito sinadyang mailathala, ginawa ito sa loob ng isang unibersidad, at ito ay satire,” he explained.
The senator’s language grew pointed. Padilla said his office had “condemned the AI video of the Chinese media, but to my surprise, you aimed water cannons at us and splattered us with your saliva instead of using them against the China Coast Guard.” He further charged that Tarriela was “barking at us when you can’t even face your adversary point-blank.”
Tarriela countered that he had not gone after the senator at all, pointing out that Padilla had been the one to bring up his name first. The Department of Foreign Affairs and other Philippine officials have separately denounced the China Daily video as racist and unacceptable.
