Norwegia, Norwegian? PCOO exec gets flak

MANILA, Philippines — Where in the world is Norwegia?

The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on Thursday drew flak online after it mistakenly referred to Norway as “Norwegia.”

In a post on its social media account, the PCOO shared photos of President Duterte with outgoing Norwegian Ambassador Erik Forner.

But what appeared to be a regular post of the communications agency turned into meme fodder after netizens noticed the glaring error.

“The President conferred the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu to outgoing Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines Erik Forner for his service as representative of Norwegia,” it read.

The mistake has drawn criticism and was mocked online, with many pointing out the failure of the PCOO to notice the error.

“You guys have such a huge budget but can’t do a little research. It’s Norway. Don’t embarrass us,” read a comment on the post, which has since been corrected.

Some suggested to PCOO names of other countries such as Canadia, Belgia and Ukrainia.

A satire account, Malacañang Events and Catering, released a poster for a promo for a free trip to Norwegia.

“Experience the exact cold temperature like in Baguio. Join us in celebrating a new milestone in Philippine-Norwegian relations with Trip to Norwegia,” it read.

Another wondered if the scheduled peace talks with the communist National Democratic Front in Norway was cancelled because officials cannot book a flight to “Norwegia.”

In a response on the comments thread on Facebook, PCOO Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy retaliated and claimed that the error was a typo.

“So embarrassing. We’ve brought shame and destruction to this country – how unforgivable,” she wrote sarcastically.

“A typo. And from a department that has transformed the government communication system so millions of Filipinos are in direct link with the government – where before they never felt the presence of government in their lives,” she added.

Her response, however, drew further criticism.

“So instead of owning up to PCOO’s mistake, you choose to defend what is obviously an error,” one comment read.

“Why is it so hard to apologize with humility? Why is there always arrogance when you defend your office’s errors? Is that really a characteristic of this administration?” another added.

PCOO Assistant Secretary Rachel Queenie Rodulfo said the public should now move on since the snafu has been corrected. – With Christina Mendez