Solons join call to deport Chinese woman over taho incident

Senator Panfilo Lacson backed the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) recommendation to declare 23-year-old Jiale Zhang as an “undesirable alien,” which would eventually lead to her possible deportation. (File Photo: Senator Ping Lacson/Facebook)

MANILA — Two senators have joined the call for the deportation of a Chinese woman who threw a cup of taho (soy pudding) at a police officer in a Metro Rail Transit’s (MRT) station in Mandaluyong City.

Senator Panfilo Lacson backed the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) recommendation to declare 23-year-old Jiale Zhang as an “undesirable alien,” which would eventually lead to her possible deportation.

“Tanungin ko kayo meron ba sa inyo natutuwa? Sa akin lang, she’s an alien and she’s undesirable so tama ang move ng PNP to have her declared as an undesirable alien (Let me ask if any of you were amused by this? For me, she’s an alien and she’s undesirable so the PNP made the right move to have her declared as an undesirable alien),” Lacson told reporters in a phone interview on Monday.

“At pag sinabing undesirable alien, dapat aside from the cases she’s facing dapat tuluy-tuloy i-deport na because she’s undesirable (And by declaring her an undesirable alien, aside from the cases she’s facing, she should eventually be deported because she’s undesirable). We would not like her to be here in the country,” Lacson added.

Lacson called on Filipinos to unite and stand up against such ill-treatment.

“Ang sampal sa atin diyan kawawa na tayo at may mangyayaring ganyan, lalo parang naha-highlight pa na kawawa talaga tayo. So dapat bilang mga Pilipino, magkaisa rin tayo na hey, maliit lang kaming bansa, mahina kaming bansa, mahirap kaming bansa, huwag n’yo naman kami apihin nang ganyan, na parang kaya-kayanan n’yo kami. Tayuan naman natin (This is a huge slap in our face. It further highlights how pitiful we are. So as Filipinos, we need to unite: even though we’re a small, weak, and poor country, don’t abuse us as if you’re capable of oppressing us. Let’s stand up against this),” he said.

Senator Richard Gordon, meanwhile, urged the Bureau of Immigration to immediately start the deportation proceedings against Zhang for her failure to respect the country’s rules and laws.

“The Chinese passenger should be deported. The Chinese nationals here and all other foreign nationals staying in our country should respect our rules and laws. They should not flout our rules and they should also respect the officials who are implementing our laws,” Gordon said.

“China, as our nearest neighbor in Asia, should advise its nationals about complying with the rules and laws of our country and respecting persons in authority here,” he added.

Zhang was charged with unjust vexation, disobedience to an agent of person in authority, and direct assault before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Mandaluyong.

Reports showed that a security guard confronted Zhang, informing her she could not bring in her taho since it is prohibited to bring in any liquid item into the station as part of the MRT’s heightened security measures.

After refusing to yield to the security personnel, she was then accosted by Police Officer 1 William Cristobal who tried to explain the policy but an irate Zhang splashed the drink on the policeman.