After drawing flak over Philippine rep, Condé Nast says it takes full responsibility

MANILA, Philippines — After receiving negative criticisms for choosing a representative supposedly inaccurately representing Filipino culture and traditions, the web video series of international travel and lifestyle magazine Condé Nast Traveler released a statement regarding the issue.

Last week, Filipino netizens called out the Filipino representative in a video project “Many People, Many Places” where around 70 countries were asked to translate phrases, words, and answer some questions in their respective native languages.

Netizens chided the representative for improperly portraying  the Philippine culture and “misrepresenting” the country as she answered the questions on “how to count,” translating “happy birthday” and “cheers” in English and not in Filipino. She also said the country does not have its own tongue twister which prompted negative comments from Filipinos.

Due to this, web video series “Many People, Many Places” said it takes full responsibility in “respectfully representing different aspects of the countries they cover.”

The web video series said it received several comments from around the world, drawing questions about their country’s language and culture, which include Filipinos.

“One of our subjects, a Filipino woman, answered our questions in English rather than Tagalog based on her experience growing up and living in the Philippines,” Many People, Many Places said in a Facebook post.

“We appreciate your feedback and take seriously our responsibility to respectfully represent the many different aspects of the countries we cover at Condé Nast Traveler,” it added.

The producers of the web series said real people from around the world answer questions about their country's language and culture.

The videos of Condé Nast Traveler were posted early June until July 25 and had only one and same Filipino representative for the series. Other countries were also represented by one and the same individual.