Mislang excluded from Japan trip

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino’s speechwriter Mai Mislang, who came under fire for tweeting disparaging remarks on Vietnam during his state visit there, will not join his delegation to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Japan on Nov. 12.

“Not this time,” said Mr. Aquino when asked if Mislang would be included in the Philippine delegation to the APEC Summit.

Mislang had accompanied the President in his first two foreign trips, in the working visit to the United States and the state visit to Vietnam.

She gained notoriety for several negative posts in her Twitter account. First, she tweeted that the wine served during the toast between Mr. Aquino and Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet “sucks.”

She also commented that there are “no good-looking men” in Vietnam and that crossing Vietnam’s streets “is one of the easiest ways to die.”

Malacañang has retained Mislang in her job and announced that she has apologized and taken down her Twitter and Facebook accounts.  

Searching “wine sucks” on the Internet immediately yields links to Mislang’s Twitter posts, articles about the incident, and to a hate page on social networking site Facebook.

Facebook users commenting on the hate page said the racial slur committed by Mislang might put a strain anew on the country’s diplomatic relations with China and Hong Kong which is still reeling from the shock of the failed hostage rescue operation last Aug. 23.

“To the minds of many Filipinos, especially since our standing among our neighbors has not been quite pleasant after the Aug. 23 tragedy, this is something so needless and so careless that adds to our national anxiety,” said a post from the Asian Correspondent.

Other users said Mislang should not be included in official functions attended by the President.

“A tactless aide should not accompany a President on official functions. I guess she should learn communication protocol considering that she’s under the communication department of the Office of the President,” wrote user Marivic Malinao.

User Dylan Gallaza said Mislang should be declared a persona non grata in Vietnam.

“Pasalamat siya restricted ang networking sites sa VN (She should be thankful that social networking sites in Vietnam are restricted),” Gallaza said.

Other users said Mislang should have been dismissed from her job. 

“The fact that she is not fired shows something wrong with the government! The fact that she has no shame and did not resign yet shows something very wrong with Pinoy culture!!!” said user Charles Lawrence.