950813

Man jailed for

inapt handling

of flag

MANILA: A man visiting a government law-enforcement office apparently forgot where he was and used a Philippine flag to wipe his hands - resulting in his immediate arrest, a local daily reported here Sunday.

The Today newspaper said the man, indentified as Magdaleno Valde, had gone to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) office in the southern city of Davao on Wednesday to obtain a police clearance certificate to be used in a job application.

After imprinting his fingerprints on the clearance certificate, Valde looked for a rag to wipe the ink off his fingers. He found an unfolded Philippine flag and allegedly used it to wipe his hands despite warnings from other applicants, the newspaper said.

NBI agents immediately arrested Valde, who could face a year in prison if convicted of violating Philippine laws requiring proper handling of the flag.-AFP