MANILA (Updated 2:19 p.m.) -- Malacañang echoed the sentiment of the Chinese government condemning the draping of Philippine flag on the coffin of the hostage-taker who killed eight tourists.
Presidential Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ricky Carandang said the government did not authorize the draping of flag over the coffin of former policeman, senior inspector Rolando Mendoza, who staged Monday’s hostage drama in front of the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.
"Nobody from the government has ordered that," Carandang said.
In a statement from the Chinese government dated August 27, it condemned the act of placing Philippine flag on Mendoza’s coffin, saying that this act does not deserve the former police officer.
“Television reports showed that Rolando Mendoza, the cold-blooded hostage taker, was laid in his house in a coffin draped in the Philippine national flag. The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines condemns the brutality of the criminal and expresses its strong indignation over this irritating act,” the statement read.
It added: “The person who deserves a national flag at funeral should be someone of heroism, decency and integrity, not someone who inflicts atrocity on innocent lives. This is nothing but a smear on the dignity of the Philippine national flag.”
Carandang said it was the family of Mendoza who decided on the use of Philippine flag. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)