Tarriela to senators: Demand China apology over ‘monkey’ video

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela on Friday challenged senators who previously criticized his caricature of Chinese President Xi Jinping to demand an apology from China over a state-run media video depicting Filipinos as monkeys.

Tarriela specifically named Sens. Alan Peter Cayetano and Robin Padilla, who earlier this year called on him to apologize to Beijing over the caricature, after Chinese state-run outlet China Daily released an artificial intelligence-generated video portraying monkey-like Filipinos while mocking the Philippines’ 2016 South China Sea arbitral award.

“My question now to the senators — particularly Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and Sen. Robin Padilla, who said I was the one who crossed the line last January because of that caricature — is this: will our senators also demand an apology from the Chinese embassy for calling us monkeys?” Tarriela told reporters in Manila.

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Tarriela said the China Daily video was fundamentally different from the caricature he used during an academic lecture, arguing that the former constituted a racist attack against Filipinos.

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READ: Padilla: China Daily’s ‘racist’ video unacceptable

“Again, there is a difference between satire and racist portrayal,” he said. “That was a satire… It was used in an academic setting. But this time around, it was a racist portrayal of the Filipino people.”

In January 2026, Tarriela drew criticism after using a caricature of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a lecture on Chinese information operations. Cayetano, Padilla, among others, said the illustration was inappropriate and urged the coast guard spokesperson to apologize to China. Tarriela defended the image as satire used in an academic setting.

Earlier Friday, Padilla’s office condemned the China Daily video, calling the racist depiction of Filipinos “unacceptable” and saying the portrayal of Filipinos in a demeaning and degrading manner deserved condemnation.

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Tarriela said the video portrayed Filipinos as “stupid monkeys” dressed in barong Tagalog and “salakot” (traditional Filipino hat), singing karaoke and blindly following the United States and Japan, in an apparent attempt to undermine the Philippines’ decision to bring its dispute with China before an international arbitral tribunal in 2013.

“They are undermining our strategic agency,” Tarriela said. “They wanted to show that we are just a low class of people who are being dictated by a stronger country.”

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He argued that the portrayal targeted all Filipinos regardless of their political beliefs.

“The portrayal of the monkey here, wearing a barong Tagalog, collectively represents the Filipino people,” he said. “If you identify as Filipino, it means we are all being called ‘stupid monkeys’ by the People’s Republic of China.”

Tarriela urged Filipinos to unite in rejecting what he described as racist propaganda.

“Calling us monkeys is unacceptable,” he said. “That’s why I’m expecting even those people who criticized me last January to ask China to apologize to the Filipino people, because we are not monkeys.”

He also defended the statements issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense condemning the video and calling for its removal.

READ: Teodoro slams China Daily video depicting Filipinos as monkeys

Tarriela said China Daily’s content should be viewed as reflecting the Chinese government’s position because it is a state-run media outlet.

“It is important for us to understand that China Daily is state-owned and operated by the People’s Republic of China,” he said. “Everything that is released on China Daily is approved and spread by the government of the People’s Republic of China.”

He questioned why the Chinese embassy in Manila had yet to issue a statement on the controversy despite responding to his previous comments on other issues.

READ: DFA demands removal of China Daily video depicting Filipinos as monkeys

“We really need to demand from the Chinese embassy why this kind of misinformation and racist behavior is being done by China,” he said.

Tarriela said the controversy had instead fueled patriotism among Filipinos.

“Thanks to China Daily, they’ve made Filipinos even angrier.” he said. “Awakening the sense of patriotism of any country is very dangerous because it will unite us.”

He added that the video would not affect the Philippine Coast Guard’s operational deployment in the West Philippine Sea, saying tactical decisions remain separate from information campaigns.

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As of posting time, the Chinese embassy in Manila had yet to publicly respond to Tarriela’s remarks or to the statements issued by Philippine officials condemning the video. /das

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