Immigration bureau lifts entry ban vs Chip Tsao

MANILA, Philippines - To show the Philippines is a "forgiving" country, the Immigration Bureau has lifted the ban on a Hong Kong columnist who apologized for an article branding the Philippines as a "nation of slaves."

But Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said Monday the BI will not hesitate to reimpose the ban on Chip Tsao if he "errs" against the Philippines again.

"Ito [ay] nagpapakita ng ating pagiging sensitibo bilang bansa, noong huminig ng kapatawaran at pumunta sa ating konsulado ... Doon ay pinakita rin na marunong tayong magpatawad [We are showing we are a sensitive country, especially after he apologized to us. And we have shown that we are a forgiving nation]," Libanan said in an interview on dzXL radio.

The BI had placed Tsao on its blacklist after he wrote an article describing the Philippines as a “nation of servants."

"Kung may gawing di tama maba-blacklist na naman siya [If he offends the Philippines again, he’ll find himself back in the blacklist]," Libanan warned.

Earlier, Tsao admitted he crossed the line in calling the Philippines a "nation of servants" in his article.

Tsao, a columnist for HK Magazine, had approached Philippine authorities in Hong Kong to personally extend his apologies.

In his “The War at Home" piece published in HK Magazine last March 27, Tsao wrote that the Philippines was unworthy of claiming the Spratly Islands from China because "as a nation of servants, you don’t flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter." - GMANews.TV

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