'Desperate Housewives' apology over Philippines slur

Makers of the hit US television series 'Desperate Housewives'have apologized for a slur against Filipino medical workers that caused uproar here.

The apology was sent to Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN's bureau in the United States and aired here Thursday by its cable news channel, ANC, following protests by the Manila government.

"The producers of the show and ABC studios offer our sincere apology for any offence caused by the brief reference in the season premier," ANC quoted the statement as saying.

"There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines," it said.

The apology was made a day after President Gloria Arroyo's office said it considered a portion of the dialogue in an episode aired last weekend as a "racial slur."

The episode showed actress Teri Hatcher, who plays Susan Mayer, asking during a medical consultation to check "those diplomas because I want to make sure that they're not from some med school in the Philippines."

An online petition calling on the ABC to issue an apology quickly spread through the large Filipino expatriate community in the US, many of them in the medical profession.

In Manila, Arroyo's chief aide, Eduardo Ermita said: "On the face, we can look at it as a racial slur."

"We are looked down upon too much, considering the number of our medical professionals in the US," Ermita said.

ABC said it remained committed to present "sensitive and respectful images of all communities" featured in its programs.