President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.expressed strong condemnation of an AI-generated video posted by Chinese state media that depicted Filipinos as monkeys, calling it dehumanizing and racist.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro stated that while some officials might accept such portrayals, Marcos explicitly rejected the depiction, emphasizing that no Filipino would tolerate being likened to monkeys.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Embassy in China both condemned the video, arguing it crossed from territorial disputes into racism.The AI-generated clip, shared by China Daily on July 10, showed a monkey wearing a traditional barong Tagalog being blasted with water.The embassy criticized the content as violating editorial norms and exacerbating distrust between the Philippines and China.This incident comes amid ongoing tensions over the South China Sea, where Beijing rejects the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated its claims.While the Senate urged action against China, the DFA is handling diplomatic responses, highlighting the complex geopolitical dynamics at play.