THE producers of Desperate Housewives apologised to the Philippines government today for questioning the training of Philippine doctors in the season premiere of the ABC television series.

"The producers of Desperate Housewives and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offence caused by the brief reference in the season premiere," they said in a statement.

"There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines," they said in a AFP report.

The offending comment was made when Teri Hatcher's character Susan Mayer asked to see a consulting physician's diplomas "because I want to make sure that they're not from some med school in the Philippines."

The comment was interpreted as a racial slur and caused an outrage in Manila, eliciting complaints from the highest government circles.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita demanded an apology "on behalf of our Filipino professionals."

"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," the Inquirer quoted Ermita as saying.

Letter of complaint

Phillipines consul in Los Angeles Mary Jo Bernardo Aragon wrote a letter of complaint to ABC saying that Filipino medical workers were in demand all over the world, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Ms Aragon also said many Americans go to the Philippines for medical services that they cannot afford at home, the Foreign Department said in a statement.

The Desperate Housewives premiere led ABC to a primetime win Sunday night, but the suburban soap dropped 23% from last year's season opener.

It was the top show in primetime with 19 million viewers and a 7.4 rating/17 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to preliminary estimates released Monday by Nielsen Media Research.

ABC has continually said that the true performance of Desperate Housewives and other returning programs won't be known until the live-plus-7 ratings come out in October. The data will reflect viewership from those who record the shows and watch them within a week. - AFP & wire agencies reports