Philippines protests ‘Madam Secretary’ portrayal of leader

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has protested the depiction of a fictional leader of its country who makes a pass at the female U.S. Secretary of State in the CBS drama “Madam Secretary.”

A video teaser of the episode airing Sunday shows the middle-aged Filipino character with a bloodied nose after being punched by the titular character, U.S. Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord, played by Tea Leoni.

The Philippine Embassy in Washington said it wrote to CBS on Monday to “strongly protest the highly negative depiction of a character purported to be the Philippine President” and called on the network to take necessary corrective actions.

It’s the latest potential irritant between the United States and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who sharply criticized then-President Barack Obama for raising concerns over his deadly anti-drug crackdown and has called his own country’s foreign policy too dependent on the U.S.