FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2018 file photo, a horse-drawn cart, catering to tourists, passes by a statue of a "Comfort Woman" or alleged Filipino sex sla...
FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2018 file photo, a horse-drawn cart, catering to tourists, passes by a statue of a "Comfort Woman" or alleged Filipino sex slaves during WWII, which was erected along a scenic Baywalk in Manila, Philippines. A backhoe scoops earth from the spot where the statue was erected Saturday, April 28, 2018 after workers removed the statue overnight. The statue, which symbolizes Filipino women forced to work in Japanese wartime brothels and inaugurated on Dec. 9, 2017, has created a controversy after Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda reportedly voiced "displeasure" in her meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)
A backhoe scoops earth from the spot where a statue of a "Comfort Woman" or Filipino sex slave during WWII was erected along a scenic Baywalk in Manil...
A backhoe scoops earth from the spot where a statue of a "Comfort Woman" or Filipino sex slave during WWII was erected along a scenic Baywalk in Manila, Philippines Saturday, April 28, 2018. Workers removed the statue overnight. The statue, which symbolizes Filipino women forced to work in Japanese wartime brothels and inaugurated on Dec. 9, 2017, has created a controversy after Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda reportedly voiced "displeasure" in her meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A statue honoring women who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II has been quietly removed from a busy seaside promenade in the Philippine capital, angering women's groups.
Manila City Hall says the bronze statue of a blindfolded Filipina, unveiled alongside Manila Bay in December, will be returned once drainage work is completed. It gave no time frame for the project, alarming activists who suspect that the Japanese government pressured the Philippines to take the monument down.
Japan's Cabinet minister expressed regret over the construction of the monument in January. According to Kyodo News service quoting the Japanese Embassy in Manila, the Philippine government had notified the embassy of its intention to remove the statue.
