Outraged Philippine officials are demanding an apology from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) over what they say is a humiliatingly racist portrayal of Filipinos in one of its comedy shows.

An episode of Harry And Paul, starring British comics Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, denigrates Filipinas working as maids abroad, they say.

The sketch, broadcast on September 26 and posted on YouTube, shows Enfield's character trying to get his comatose-looking neighbour, played by Whitehouse, to have sex with his Filipina maid. She gyrates and dances provocatively around Whitehouse, while Enfield, in a 'posh' British accent, urges him to 'mount' her.

Filipinos are not amused.

Congresswoman Risa Hontiveros, a women's rights activist, calls the sketch "racist, humiliating and disgusting".

Senator Loren Legarda said: "Surely, some British broadcasting regulations must have been violated by this sorry excuse for a comedy."

The controversy spilled over into the diplomatic arena yesterday (October 7) when foreign secretary Alberto Romulo reportedly summoned Britain's ambassador in Manila, Peter Beckingham, to discuss the matter. The Philippine Embassy in London has sent a letter to the BBC protesting against "this slur on our domestic workers" in Britain.

Filipina maids working overseas are revered figures back home for the sacrifice they make to support their families and for their contribution to the national economy. Sexual and psychological abuse by employers is not uncommon.

Still, does the heated response mean that Filipinos cannot take a joke - albeit a rather tasteless one - at their expense?

The answer is both 'yes' and 'no'.

Filipinos lampoon themselves mercilessly in the entertainment industry - and jokes about the iconic maid working overseas are certainly not off limits.

The local media, too, is unflinchingly critical - sometimes to the point of self-flagellation - about the social and economic problems facing the country.

But Filipinos, too, can be acutely sensitive to criticism from foreigners about their country's problems.

"I guess it's still got something to do with our colonial experience under the Spanish and Americans, and a certain inferiority complex that comes with it," said local journalist Marites Vitug.

"Filipinos are proud people; we know the country is not doing as well as our neighbours, but we don't like to be judged like this either," she said.

This is not the first time that negative portrayals of Filipinos in the entertainment industry overseas have kicked up a storm in the Philippines. Last year, American television network ABC had to apologise for an episode of Desperate Housewives which questioned the competence of Filipino doctors.