Drone operator Dronetech PH on Saturday publicly apologized for displaying an inverted Philippine flag in a drone show as part of the closing ceremony of 2023 Palarong Pambansa held at the Marikina Sports Center.
The public apology was released hours after the Marikina City government condemned the interchange of colors blue and red in the Philippine flag, and said that it will sue the drone operator.
“We would like to apologize to the City of Marikina, Mayor Marcelino 'Marcy' Teodoro and to the whole country it's people and the Philippine government for a grave error we have made in the drone show programming of colors red and blue of our Philippine flag were interchanged," Dronetech PH said in a statement.
Nag-sorry ang supplier ng drone na ginamit sa Palarong Pambansa sa pagkakamali sa formation sa watawat ng Pilipinas.
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) August 6, 2023
DroneTech Philippines: We have innocently made this mistake and have no malice or bad intentions on anyone. | via @liezel_once https://t.co/q6WXW431L9 pic.twitter.com/P23P4C6ldq
It admitted that it failed to test the drone due to the “severe conditions and signal interference on the said area for several rights.”
Dronetech PH vowed that it will make sure to execute proper protocols in testing in its future shows.
“The company is sincerely sorry for this unintentional error in programming. As God is our witness, we have innocently made this mistake and have no malice or bad intentions on anyone and the people of Marikina and the Philippine as a whole,” it said.
“Once again, we apologize for any inconveniences this has caused and we are hoping for your kind understanding in this unfortunate event,” Dronetech PH added.
Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8491 stated that the country flag if in a hanging position, “the blue field shall be to the right in time of peace, and the red field to the right in time of war.”
