Philippines’ bet Nikki de Moura was spotted waving a reverse Philippine flag during an event in Vietnam.
De Moura was with the other delegates of the Miss Grand International (MGI) as they toured through Ambassador Cruise Halong in Ha Long Bay in Ho Chi Minh City on October 10.
MGI did a livestream of the event on its Instagram and Facebook accounts. The recap of it can still be viewed on its online channels.
During the cruise, delegates were given small versions of the national flags of the countries they were representing.
Some pageant fans, however, noticed that the flag De Moura was holding had the red banner over the blue one, thus signaling the country was in a state of war.
Her flag also seemed to be poorly cut because of the thick white borders around the print. The flags of the delegates she was with do not have this design.
Facebook page Pageantology 101 also managed to get a screenshot of De Moura with the inverted flag and shared it with its followers.
While some Filipinos still showed their support, others expressed their disappointment with the incident.
“Nikki, maganda ka na sana okay na sana kaya lng gg ka din pagdating sa flag bakit gera gusto mo baliktad flag mo,” one Facebook user reacted.
“Disappointing. Miss Grand Philippines Nikki de Moura! This speaks volumes. I believe it is important as the Philippines’ representatives to handle the flag with care and ensure it is displayed correctly to show proper meaning, respect and understanding,” another Filipino commented.
The mandate on the correct display and hoisting of the national flag is stated under Section 10 of the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines.
“The flag, if flown from a flagpole, shall have its blue field on top in time of peace and the red field on top in time of war; if in a hanging position, the blue field shall be to the right (left of the observer) in time of peace, and the red field to the right (left of the observer) in time of war,” the provision reads.
“The flagpole staff must be straight and slightly tapering at the top,” it added.
Neither De Moura nor the MGI has issued a statement about this national flag blunder.
Local government officials have also been called out for displaying the reverse side of the flag in a public setting in the past.
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Travelbag, a United Kingdom-based online travel agency, earlier released survey results that showed the Philippines’ flag as among the “most misidentified flags” by the British.
READ: Travel agency says Philippine flag among ‘most misidentified’ flags by Britons
