A ramen joint apologized for its promotional post which referred to the inclement weather in Metro Manila as a “ramen weather.”
Mendokoro Ramenba on Wednesday took down its social media post welcoming Filipinos and telling them to “wait out the storm in comfort” inside its branches.
“Ramen Weather Advisory,” it began with a lighting-with-rain emoji.
“Our doors are open. Come dine with us and wait out the storm in comfort. We’ll keep you warm and dry,” the ramen joint added.
The post was accompanied by a publication material that featured the following text:
Now this is Ramen Weather.
Our stores are still open to serve you the #QuintessentialRamenExperience
Come, We’ll keep you warm and dry.
Some social media users were not pleased with the content, with others calling it “insensitive” to Filipinos who were stranded in floodwaters or evacuating from their homes at that time.
“I was a big fan of Mendokoro Ramenba and Ramen Yushoken until they thought [the] state of calamity is ramen weather. Appalling, disgusting, beyond insensitive,” a Facebook user wrote.
“Have brands not yet learned to be more sensitive,” another user commented, sharing a screengrab of the now-deleted post.
have brands not yet learned to be more sensitive 🙂↔️ pic.twitter.com/BCTC5K77h0
— Vincent (@VinQuilop) July 24, 2024
“Andaming binabaha at may [kailangan] ng tulong. ‘Ramen weather’?” another user wrote.
Mendokoro apologized for its post and assured the public that it was addressing the issue “internally.”
“We deeply regret our earlier post and the offense it caused. Our goal was never to harm or disrespect anyone, especially during such a challenging and distressing time. We recognize the insensitivity of the content and the impact it had on those affected by the typhoon,” the ramen joint said on July 25.
“We are taking immediate steps to address this issue internally, ensuring that such mistakes do not happen again. We are committed to better sensitivity and awareness in our communications moving forward,” it added.
“We sincerely apologize to everyone who was affected by this post. Your feedback is invaluable and we are listening and learning from this experience. Thank you for your understanding and for holding us accountable. Please stay safe,” Mendokoro said.
Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon were severely affected by the flashfoods and widespread flooding that Super Typhoon Carina brought as it entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility and enhanced the southwest monsoon (habagat).
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said that the inclement weather has caused at least 14 people to lose their lives, while over one million Filipinos were impacted.
It added that 51,726 individuals were in evacuation centers.
Around 1,453 farmers also felt the combined effects of the habagat and “Carina,” with over 1.3 million hectares of crop area affected — 351,590 hectares of which cannot be recovered.
Damage to agriculture is estimated to be at P9,706,852.34, with northern Mindanao having the largest loss at P6,597.134.